Summary:  Joe defends a friend accused of murder when all the evidence is against him

Rated: K  WC  9600

A Clear Cut Case

Three Cartwrights were seated around the dinner table waiting for Hop Sing, the Chinese cook, to serve supper.  Hop Sing was waiting on the fourth and nothing those present could say would persuade him to do otherwise.

            “Dadburnit…Hop Sing. A man could starve waitin’ this late for his food.”  Hoss complained, leaning his large frame against the table and propping his chin up on his hands.

The Chinaman simply shrugged and padded back to his kitchen as the sound of a horse in the yard told him the boss was home.

“How come we have to wait for Pa when he’s late, yet if one of us is late we get yelled at by Pa and Hop Sing.  Why doesn’t anyone tell Pa he’s late.”  Joe grumbled.

Adam lifted an eyebrow and allowed a small smile to turn up the corners of his mouth. “You go ahead and tell him, Joe.  Hoss and I will pick up the pieces when you’re done.”

Wisely Joe subsided into a quiet sulk as Ben Cartwright entered the room, hanging up his hat and gun belt, he joined his sons at the table.   Adam raised an eyebrow at Joe.

“What kept you, Pa?  Hoss was beginning to think he’d starve and Joe was all for starting without you.”  Adam said with a smirk at his little brother.

Joe glared back across the table, expecting some comment from his father, but Ben seemed agitated.

“I’m sorry, boys.  I went with Roy to make an arrest, seeing as Clem isn’t in town, he thought he might need a bit of support.”  Ben said seriously.  “Mort Saunders was robbed and shot last night.”

“He hurt bad?”  Hoss asked, his eyes on the mouth watering beef stew Hop Sing was putting in front of him.

“He’s dead.”  said Ben, flatly.  “Safe empty and some supplies gone.  Roy reckons he surprised the robber.”

All three boys stopped serving up the food and gaped at their father.

“Dead!”  repeated Joe, unnecessarily.

Adam looked hard at his father, there was more to this and Adam could see Ben wasn’t looking forward to telling it.  “You said you went with Roy to make an arrest, anyone we know?”  He asked, apparently casually but already knowing that it had to be someone they knew well from the expression on his father’s face.

“Lee Hogan.”  Ben replied, his eyes on his youngest son.

For a second time, Joe’s mouth dropped open.  “Lee?  I don’t believe it. Why would he do a thing like that?   Just ‘cos he’s down on his luck and gets into fights a bit, don’t mean he’s a murderer.  I reckon Roy’s got a down on him.”  He said, hotly.

Ben sighed.  He had expected this reaction from his volatile youngest son.  Joe and Lee had been friends since school, not a friendship Ben had been keen to encourage but one he felt powerless to prevent.  “Joe…”  He said placatingly, then “Joseph!”  more forcefully when his son rose to his feet in anger.  “Roy has witnesses and evidence, it couldn’t be a clearer case.”

“What witnesses?  What evidence?”  Joe stormed.

Ben frowned and indicated that Joe should sit down.  “Cool off.”  he said sharply.  Then picking up his glass of water he continued with his story.  “Several people heard Mort refuse Lee anymore credit yesterday and heard Lee threaten to make Mort sorry he’d not given him the supplies he needed.  Roy and I found some of the stolen supplies hidden in Lee’s root cellar with some of the money.  The evidence is overwhelming, Joseph.  I’m sorry but you’ll just have to accept it.”  he said firmly.

Joe sat but his temper was still boiling below the surface.  “I don’t have to do anything of the sort.”  Joe retorted hotly.  “It’s too damned easy for Roy to accept it.  Maybe it’stoo obvious.  Lee isn’t a murderer and I’ll prove it. Tomorrow I’m gonna check out his so called evidence.”

“Watch your language, young man.” Ben spoke sharply.  “And you will stay away from any trouble, leave the investigating to Roy.”

Joe subsided into a sullen silence but as soon as supper was over he stormed off to his room.  Ben made as if to follow but Hoss’s quiet words stopped him.  “He’ll cool off Pa.  Lee and him been friends for a good many years it must be hard to accept that he’s a murderer.”

Adam moved over to the fireplace with his coffee and seated himself in his favorite blue velvet chair.  “Lee’s had a pretty rough life but I’m surprised he’d go as far as murder.”  He mused, sipping at his coffee.  “We know he did some petty thieving as a kid and he was kinda wild until he married Angie…but murder!”

Ben shrugged and poured himself coffee before sitting opposite his oldest son.  “Roy thinks he panicked when Mort surprised him and used the gun without thinking.  You’ve got to admit he’s been in and out of trouble most of his life and with a wife and son and no job…”  his voice trailed off, recalling that he had been the one to dismiss Lee from the Ponderosa less than a year ago.

“He’s had jobs since he left here, Pa.”  Hoss said quietly, understanding his father’s feelings of guilt.  “He just couldn’t hold on to ’em.”

Adam gave a grim smile  “Always out for a quick buck, remember some of the schemes he and Joe thought up when they were kids.”

“Uh huh!  That’s what worries me.  Joe’s likely to go do something stupid.  Lee stood up for him a time or two and he’s too darned hot tempered.”  Ben fiddled with his pipe, snapping a match in his anxiety.

“Want me to keep an eye on him for a day or two?”  Adam asked.

Ben nodded. “It might be an idea, but don’t let him know it or it’ll make things ten times worse.  Roy’s trying to hurry the trial.  Things are hot in town, Mort was well liked and Lee doesn’t have to many friends.”

Joe paced back and forth across his room.  As usual he now regretted losing his temper but he could not and would not go back and apologise.  He stared out of the window and thought of his friend.  Lee wasn’t his best friend but they had shared many adventures, good and bad as kids.  Lee’s father was the town drunk and his mother kept the family together by taking any work she could get, mostly sewing and cleaning.

Joe remembered that as he and Lee got older they had got drunk together, teased each other about girls, in fact Angie, Lee’s wife, had gone out with Joe for a couple of months a few years back.  He remembered Lee telling him that Angie was his girl.  He’d been so proud of the fact.  Most every fella in town buzzed around Angie and here was Lee Hogan, an out of work cowboy marrying her. It was then that Lee had begun to settle down. He’d taken the job offered by Joe on the Ponderosa and for almost a year he had worked hard at it.

Joe tried to recall when things had started to go downhill for Lee.  It had been around the time he had finally married Angie.  Angie wanted the best and it wasn’t long before the one-roomed cabin Lee built wasn’t good enough for her.  Lee started gambling to make more money but only succeeded in losing.  It had been his gambling that had lost him his job on the ranch.  One of Ben Cartwright’s strictest rules was no gambling on the ranch.  Joe had tried to cover up for him by paying up some of his debts, but finally big brother, Adam, had got wind of the poker games held in the bunkhouse and Pa had handed Lee his wages and told him to go.  Joe’s anger rose again, Adam always interfering.  He slammed his hand down on his bureau, if it hadn’t been for Adam, Lee would still be working here and wouldn’t need to rob anyone.

Despite what Pa had said he fully intended to go into town tomorrow and talk to Lee and to Angie and see what he could find out.  He laid his plans carefully.  He was supposed to be checking the herd in the Washoe Valley near Steamboat, that would mean he could take the short cut over the mountains and avoid the road and still have time for a very quick check on the herd.

Ben came down to breakfast next morning to find only Hoss at the table.  “Morning, son.  Your brothers not finished chores yet?”

Hoss hurriedly swallowed down a bite of Hop Sing’s delicious hot cakes before he answered.  “Both done and gone already.  Joe said he wanted to make an early start on checking the herd and Adam was muttering about looking over the trees for cutting and the water at Davis Creek.  Can’t think why.  I mean that creek never runs dry, we’ve always floated logs down it before…”  He stopped with a forkful of ham halfway to his mouth.  “He can see the herd from the Creek cain’t he?”  Hoss sighed.  “Pa, Joe’s gonna be fightin’ mad if he thinks Adam’s following him.”

Ben shrugged  “I’d rather have him mad at his brother than in jail and that’s where he’ll end up if he gives Roy any trouble.”

From high above the valley floor, Adam watched the distinctive pinto as horse and rider made their way to the herd grazing peacefully in the meadows.  He saw his brother have a quick conversation with the foreman of the cattle operation and then angle away from the herd and across the grassland toward the slight gap in the mountains that would lead him down into Virginia City.  He shook his head, and encouraged Sport to move slowly down the slope.  It was as he and Pa had feared, Joe had no intention of leaving things alone and he was almost certainly heading for trouble.

Adam made his own stop at the herd to find out what had transpired.  The foreman shrugged  “Joe just asked if I’d check ’em over and report back to him when he rode back through tonight.  We ain’t got no problems I know of Mr Adam…you checkin’ up on me?” the man asked slightly hurt at the suggestion.  “I know I ain’t bin with ya long but I know my job.”

Adam smiled.  “No, Steve, not checking on you…more checking on my little brother.”  he muttered.  “He was supposed to stay and give you a hand.  Pa wants to know how many more calves we’re likely to get before we move the herd further south.  You just report back to Joe tonight like he asked.”  With a nod at the foreman he moved Sport on at a slightly faster pace.

As he rode he tried to puzzle out how to find out what Joe was doing without being seen.  He reckoned the jail would be his brother’s first stop.  He’d have to leave Sport on the outside of town and half wished he’d chosen another mount but then Joe knew most of the ranch horses so it wouldn’t have gained him much.

Joe always rode like the devil was after him and today was no exception.  It never occurred to him that he was being followed so he didn’t look back and stopped only when he arrived outside the jailhouse.   Tossing Cochise’s reins over the rail he took the steps two at a time and burst into the Sheriff’s office ready to do battle.

“Mornin’,  Little Joe.”  Roy said laconically, looking up from his paperwork and peering over his half spectacles that were perched on his nose.  “Been expectin’ ya.  You wanna see Lee?”

“Yeah, I wanna see him.  I wanna know what the hell you’re thinking about locking him up too?  He’s no murderer, Roy and you know that.”  Joe spoke heatedly and advanced toward the lawman’s desk.

Roy hardly moved but his voice changed tone slightly  “You cool off, young fella, or you don’t get to see nobody.”  He rose slowly from the desk and reached for his keys.  “Now what’s it to be, you gonna behave or do I throw you back out in the street?”

Joe sighed and moderated his tone. “Okay, okay, but I wanna know what evidence you got to hold him and what’s bail?”

“There ain’t no bail.”  Roy held up a hand to stop Joe’s next protest.  “He’s a dang sight safer in here than out on the street.  Mort had a lot of friends and they’re talking up a storm.”

Joe nodded, even in his hot-tempered mood he could see the sense of that.

“As for evidence, I got four witnesses heard Lee threaten Mort and even Lee don’t deny it and we found most of the supplies and some of the money in his cellar and Lee can’t explain how it got there.”

“That don’t prove nothing, Roy, anyone could have hid stuff in his cellar.”  Joe protested.

“Yeah, but why would they?  And Joe, the bullet that killed Mort came from Lee’s gun, Doc Martin confirmed that this morning.”  Roy added almost apologetically.  He could see how much this was hurting his young friend.

“You mean it came from a gun like Lee’s, you can’t prove it was his.”  Joe’s mind was desperately trying to find a way around the overwhelming evidence Roy was presenting.

Roy nodded.  “That’s true but it all adds up, Joe.  And to top it all Lee can’t tell me where he was night before last, says he got drunk in some of the saloons on ‘E ‘street and don’t remember nothin’ until we went to arrest him.”

Joe hung his head in defeat ‘E’ street was not a place most folk would admit to being, at least not respectable folk who’d make good witnesses.  Even if he could find someone who had seen Lee it was unlikely they’d testify except for money.

“Can I see him, anyhow?”  he said, more quietly now.

Roy nodded.  “Ten minutes and I’ll take the gun.”

Joe cursed but handed over his pistol and followed Roy through to the cells.  Lee was stretched out on a bunk staring at the wall.

“You got a visitor, Hogan.  Ten minutes, no more.”

Lee sprang to his feet, he looked tired and scared and his blond hair stood up in spikes as though he had been running his fingers through it a time or two.  “Joe, boy is it good to see a friendly face.  I was beginning to think I was the only fella on earth ‘ceptin’ for Coffee.”

Joe listen as the door clanged shut behind him and heard Roy turn the lock.  “Ain’t Angie been this morning?  He asked with a puzzled frown.

Lee shook his head  “Nah, guess she didn’t want to bring the baby into a jail and she ain’t exactly made friends with the neighbours.”

Joe seated himself on the bunk and waited for Lee to join him.  “Look I’ll help if I can, but you gotta tell me what happened.  Sheriff seems to have an awful lot of evidence against you and not much in your favor.”

Lee nodded and started to pace.  “Joe I swear I never went near Saunders place after he refused to give me the supplies.  We had a fight, sure but it was all words.”

“Where did you go then?”  Joe asked.

Lee shrugged.  “After I left Saunders I went home.  Angie started in at me, ’bout me bein’ useless so I went out again and got drunk.  I don’t remember much about anything after that, ’til Coffee turned up and arrested me.”

Joe was now pacing alongside his friend,  “If you had no money for supplies how did you get drunk?”  He asked, his scepticism obvious.

Lee chuckled.  “You know me, Joe.  I pulled a few tricks on some of the drunks and won a couple of hands of poker.  I was gonna go home and prove to Angie I could get money but she…well she’s been pretty nasty since I lost that last job and I figured I deserved a night away from her yelling and the baby crying.”

Joe talked for a while longer but nothing Lee told him was helpful.  He called to the sheriff to let him out.  “Look, I’ll do my best Lee but you ain’t giving me much to go on.”  Joe sighed.

“It ain’t that I’m not grateful, Joe, but why you doin’ this?  No one else in Virginia City gives a damn about me.”

Joe shrugged.  “You stood up for me a time or too.”

Joe left the jail deep in thought and headed down the hill toward the saloons and brothels of the lower part of town.  For most of the morning he sipped warm beer as he tried to find one person who would admit to seeing Lee.  The miners who frequented these establishments refused to comment and even turned away as Joe approached. The barmen openly told him that they never recognised customers on principle.  Most didn’t want to be identified.  The girls were often Chinese or Mexican and their English wasn’t good and those that spoke the language held their hand out for money.  Joe knew that bought witnesses would cause more problems, since the girls would swear to anything for a few dollars.  By mid-afternoon he still hadn’t found one witness, he knew he’d have to come back late at night to find those who might have drunk with Lee or lost to him at poker.  He headed back up to the main street, knowing he’d have to head home and report on the herd or his father would be suspicious.

Adam had stayed in the shadows following his younger brother for the first couple of hours then he decided that Joe was unlikely to get into any trouble and had spent the rest of the day at the mine office.  He was about to leave when his foreman called by.

“You got a minute, Mr Cartwright?”  Tom Stone enquired.

“Well, I was heading home, is it urgent?”  Adam replied, stacking the papers he had been working on.

The man wrinkled his brow  “Could be.  There’s a problem with number two shift.  The amount reported out the shaft head don’t tally with the assay.”

Adam frowned.  “You mean someone’s siphoning some off after it comes up?”  he asked.

Stone grimaced.  “Sure looks like it.  I done checked it three times in the past week ‘cos it didn’t seem enough and I can’t see how the returns are so low considerin’ what the men are bringing out in ore.”

Adam came around his desk and joined the foreman, together they headed for the shaft.  “Could be the quality is dropping as we go lower.”  Adam suggested.

Stone shook his head  “Then how come it’s only on number two shift.  The other two shifts work the same face.”  He held out the tally sheets to his boss.

Adam took it all in and did some rapid calculations in his head, then nodded.  “If you use the other shifts as the baseline, we’re losing about a hundred dollars a week on this shift, give or take a few dollars.”  He looked hard at his foreman  “You say you’ve checked three times this week, so it’s probably happening everyday…for how long?”

“Well, I first noticed it about three weeks back but put it down to the fact the shift was a man short, that’s when I started checking the ore weight at the shaft head and the assayed returns.  It’s true that shift two brings up less ore because they are a man short but it don’t account for all the difference if you take it ton for ton.”

Adam nodded and handed back the tally sheet.  “Get me a list of men who handle the ore between shaft head and the stamp mills and those who handle the processed ore before we take it to assay.”

Stone nodded.  “Can do that now boss.  Cross, Brickell and Sadler handle the ore for shift two and Bassett and Webster tally the processed ore and take it for assay.”

Adam considered the names  “No new men there, they’ve all been with us for a while.  Known most of them for ten years or more.”

Stone nodded in agreement.  “I can’t see it bein’ any of ’em.   Brickell’s the newest but he’s bin with us for two years and he worked with the Ophir before that.  Sadler and Bassett bin working with me for more than five years and we prospected together.  They got families, I can’t see them risking jail for a few hundred dollars, they’d know they’d be caught.  Cross and Webster started here right from school, they’re both single, I cain’t see them doin’ it neither.”

“Any of ’em got gambling debts or money problems that you know of?”  Adam asked.

Stone frowned then shook his head.  “Not that I know of, boss.  Jimmy Cross is courtin’ and savin’ for a weddin’ but he was saying the other day that her Pa is givin’ them a bit of land, so he don’t seem bothered about bein’ short.”

“What about Matt Webster?  Has he got a girl?”

Tom Stone laughed.  “Several, I shouldn’t wonder. He’s kinda like your young brother, a hit with the ladies.  Fact he and Little Joe often run around together, so maybe you’d better ask Joe.”

Adam smiled.  “Thanks Tom, perhaps I’ll do that.  In the meantime, try swapping them around a little, say it’s ‘cos we’re shorthanded.  Let’s see if we can narrow the odds a bit.  But take it easy, I want to catch this thief not scare him off.”

Adam arrived home just as Joe was reporting to Ben and had to turn his face to the wall and pretend to be concentrating on hanging up his jacket and gun belt to avoid the grin that broke out.  Joe’s explanation of why checking on the herd had taken all day was imaginative to say the least.

“Hmm…”  Ben muttered.  “I still don’t see why it took all day.”  he turned as Adam came into the centre of the room.  “Did you have any problems today, Adam?”  he asked with an eyebrow raised.

Adam shook his head.  “No, nothing much.  We’ve got a thief at the mine but we’ll catch him.  Nothing else, Pa.”

“A thief!”  Ben exclaimed.   “How much are we losing?”

Adam moved over to his chair and dropped into it his long legs stretched out in front of him.  He leaned back and considered  “Tom and I reckon about a hundred dollars a week for maybe three or four weeks.  It’s processed ore, we think, taking it before would be too obvious.”

Ben toyed with his pipe  “Any ideas.”

Adam sighed.  “Five men handle it but none that I’d like to say were suspects.  It has to be one of them, but I can’t think who, they are all good men.  Tom and I are going to do some shift changes to see if we can narrow it down without alerting them.”

Hoss leaned over the back of his brother’s chair “If’n the thief gets wind of it, he’ll stop.”

“I know that, Hoss. You got any other suggestions?”

Hoss shook his head.  “Search everyone leavin’, maybe.”

Adam gave a grim chuckle.  “We’re not all your size.  I don’t plan on getting my head stove in by accusing Big Mike or his mate of stealing.  And anyhow that would sure tell the thief we’re on to him.”

Joe leaned against the fireplace apparently not taking much interest in the conversation but in reality all ears.  If Adam had been in town then there was a chance he had been seen.  He waited for his older brother to mention something incriminating but when nothing was forthcoming he had to satisfy his curiosity.

“What were you doing in town?”  He asked as casually as he could when Adam stopped speaking.  “I thought you were checking out timber.”

Adam looked up at his younger brother and gave a smile like a sly cat.  “I was, but it doesn’t take long to check out Davis Creek and that stand there.  Its amazing how quick some jobs can be accomplished if you put your mind to it.  I needed to finish up the monthly accounts and check over the new equipment so I spent the rest of the day in town.  Had lunch with Andrew Holloway and a couple of beers in the Silver Dollar.”  He said, watching Joe’s expression.

Joe knew from his brother’s manner that he had been seen and he wondered why Adam wasn’t telling Pa.  Then it struck him; Adam didn’t need to tell Pa because they had planned it together.  Pa had set Adam to follow him.  At this realisation his temper almost let him down but for once he kept it under control.  If they wanted to play that game it was fine.  He wasn’t a kid and as long as his work was done he could do as he pleased.  His conscience pricked a little at the thought of the work he had left for his foreman but he’d make up for it tomorrow.

The night was still and the stars bright in a velvet inky blue sky as Joe slipped quietly out of his window and headed for the barn.  He didn’t know why he was sneaking around like a kid.  He could have simply told Pa he was going into town for the evening.  He sighed.  There would have been an inquisition and his activities today might have come out.  Pa did not approve of nights in town when there was a working day to follow.  He waited to mount until he and Cochise were clear of the yard and then rode like the wind into town.  Virginia City never slept, at any one time half of its male population was under ground and the other half in the saloons.

Joe tethered Cochise outside the Silver Dollar, just in case he was seen and a report went back to Pa.  Being on a saloon on C Street was just about acceptable; being seen in the saloons and brothels of the lower part of town certainly wasn’t, at least not in his father’s eyes.  He headed down Taylor street passing the white painted cabins with their red lights on the corner of D street and headed on down the hill into the squalor of the saloons and cabins that made up the poorest quarter of the city.   There was nothing to choose between the establishments, they all served warm beer and cheap rotgut whisky and were populated by miners and cowboys down on their luck and serviced by jaded girls who had been rejected by the higher-class saloons and brothels.

Joe started at one end of the street and two hours and a good few beers later he was almost at the other end by the railroad depot.  He had spoken to drunken miners and girls who barely spoke English but no one could remember seeing Lee Hogan much less drinking with him.  In fact most of the men and girls he spoke to couldn’t remember anything.   Dispirited he headed back to the Silver Dollar and collected Cochise to head home.  As he rode out of town he saw a figure on a black horse angling across the mountain towards town.  The rider was somehow familiar but Joe’s brain befuddled by drink couldn’t place him.  He wondered why anyone would be riding into town from that direction in the early hours of the morning unless they lived out there.  The road led to a few shacks and then beyond there were three or four small homesteads.  Only a miner on an early shift would be heading into town and to Joe’s knowledge no miners lived that way.  He shrugged; it wasn’t important just puzzling.

It took barely a week for Roy to set up a trial for Lee and, despite Joe’s pleas to give him more time, the sheriff was adamant that it took place quickly before the townsfolk took matters into their own hands.  The last thing Roy wanted was to have to face down a lynch mob.   With no one to speak for him and no contrary evidence the jury found Lee guilty in under half a day.   The hanging was set for three days later and Joe followed Roy back to the jail to talk to Lee.  He was surprised that although she had been in court, Angie had not gone back to visit with her husband.

“Where’s Angie?”  Joe asked when he and Lee were alone in the cell.

Lee shook his head  “She don’t wanna know me.”  His face was pale and his hands shaking as he appealed to his friend.  “I know I done a lotta crazy things, Joe, but I ain’t no murderer.  You gotta believe me.”  He shrugged.  “Sure as hell, no one else does.”

Joe sympathised but he couldn’t see what else he could do.  “Can’t you remember anything?”  He asked in desperation.

Lee put his head in his hands.  “Only what I said in court.  I thought Angie would know what time I got home but she says it was dawn though I was sure it was still dark when I got there.”

“Didn’t you see anyone on your way home?”  Joe asked, “I mean maybe you wasn’t as late as she says.”

“Even if’n I did, what difference would it make?  Mort coulda bin killed anytime that night.”  Lee said dejectedly.

“Boy, weren’t you listening, Mrs Saunders said it was near dawn when Mort went down to investigate a noise in the store.”

Lee sighed.   “I ain’t sure but I think there was a rider headed to town.  He was kinda in the shadows though, didn’t show up well, the horse was dark.”

Joe’s memory fought to recall why that seemed significant then he remembered the black horse and its rider; the familiar shape that still eluded recognition.  “Who lives out by your cabin?”  He asked.

Lee frowned.  “Old Andy Packer and his missus, the Osbornes and the Freelands.”

Joe shook his head  “No, there has to be someone else.”

“Joe, I done lived there for three years now, there ain’t no one else on that road.”

“Then someone’s been visiting out that way, someone on a black horse, who stays late.”  Joe mused.  “What about one of the Osborne girls, they courting.”

Lee snorted.  “If they was old man Osborne ‘ud chase ’em off before midnight, that’s for sure.”

Joe got to his feet.  “I gotta go up to the mine, Adam wants to talk to me about something but I’ll keep looking and asking and I’ll be back tomorrow.  You want me to go see Angie?”

Lee nodded.  “See if she’s okay, willya.  I know she don’t think much o’ me but I care about her and the kid.  He’s bright as a button, Joe.  Temper too, must be that red hair o’ his.  Takes after his Ma, I guess.”  He looked up quickly, his eyes misting over  “He’s the best thing that ever happened to me, Joe.  I don’t want him thinking his old man’s a murderer.”

Joe patted his friend’s shoulder  “I’ll see he’s all right, you know that.”  He choked out.

Joe stood outside the jailhouse for several minutes trying to think what else he could do for his friend.  He reckoned he had talked to everyone who might know and he was running out of time and options.  He dug his hands into his pockets and started up the street towards the mine offices.  Adam had been very mysterious this morning, simply saying he needed to talk to Joe and it had to be at the mine.

When he arrived at the office his brother was in deep conversation with Tom and he hung around waiting for them to finish.  He turned his charm on for Katie, who helped with the paperwork, and soon forgot what he had come in for.  He sat on her desk and regaled her with stories of daring deeds, which he embellished for her benefit.

Adam finished his conversation with Tom and  leaned out of his office, seeing Joe, he shook his head and grinned.  “Hey, little brother, let my staff get on with their work.”  He called.

Katie flushed and bent her head back to her bookwork with a “Sorry, Mr Cartwright.”

Joe slid off the desk and chuckled.  “Don’t let the boss get to you, Katie.  If he causes trouble just call on me.”

Adam raised an eyebrow and held the door open for Joe to enter his inner sanctum.  When his brother was comfortably seated in one of the leather chairs he lounged against the desk and folded his arms.  “You been to see Lee?”  He asked.   “I heard the verdict went against him.”

Joe nodded.  “He didn’t do it, Adam.  I just wish I could prove it.”

“No luck, huh!”

Joe shook his head.   “Nothing I can make any sense from.  I’m going out to see Angie but I doubt she knows anymore than I do.”

Adam moved around his desk and sat down.  “She may still be in town.  I saw her coming out of the dressmakers across the street not more than fifteen minutes ago.  For a girl with no money she sure had some boxes with her.”

Joe shrugged.  “Maybe she’s taking in sewing to earn some.”

“Yeah, maybe.”  Adam replied.  “This isn’t what I wanted to talk about, it’s about another buddy of yours, Matt Webster!”

“Matt!  What’s the problem?”  Joe asked, surprised.

“You know if he’s got money problems?”

Joe shook his head  “No, always seems pretty flush to me.  You pay your workers too well, pity Pa doesn’t do the same for me.”

Adam grinned.  “You could always work down the mine.”

Joe groaned.  “I like it up here, fine thanks.  You can keep your high wages if it means living underground for half my life.”  He frowned.  “Why you asking about Matt?”

“Not sure yet, but it looks like he may be supplementing his wages some with a bit of processed ore.”  Adam explained.

Joe sat up “Why Matt?”

“Like I said, I’m not certain but we’ve been changing shifts around and so far the losses are always on his shift.  I was hoping you might know a bit more.”

Joe flew into a temper all at once and pushed back his chair and leaned toward his brother.  “Don’t you think I’d tell you if I thought he was stealing from you?   You don’t have a very high opinion of my friends or me do you, Adam?”

Adam sighed.  “Calm down, Joe.  I’m not accusing anyone, just trying to find facts and so far Matt Webster fits the known facts.”

Joe stayed on his feet  “Yeah, nice and easy, just like Lee…”  He stopped speaking and his mouth dropped open.

Adam stood up  “What is it?  Joe… what’s wrong?”  He asked with a worried frown.

“The black horse… it was Matt.  I’m sure it was Matt.”  Joe muttered.

Adam came around the desk  “What black horse?  What are you talking about? ”

Joe looked up at his brother  “Lee saw a dark horse coming into town the night Mort was killed.  I’m sure it was the same horse I saw the other night when I came into town to check out Lee’s alibi…”  He stopped a she realised he had just told his older brother that he had sneaked out and been on E Street.

Adam raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

“I didn’t find any witnesses but on the way home I saw this rider and I couldn’t work out why it seemed familiar.”  He slapped his gloves against his other hand.  “Now I’m sure it was Matt.  The build was right and he rides a black gelding.”

Adam shrugged.  “So it was Matt, how does that help?”

Joe sighed.  “It doesn’t I guess.  I mean if he’s thieving from you why would he bother with a few dollars from Mort?”

Adam frowned on concentration  “I don’t know, but I wonder why he was on that road late at night?    He lives in town.”

Joe started for the door.  “I don’t know but I have an idea.”

Adam grabbed the door as Joe went to go through it.  “Where are you going?”

Joe turned back in frustration  “To see Angie.”

Adam’s expression was puzzled for a second then it cleared.  “Matt and Angie?”

Joe shrugged.  “He went out with her for a time just after I did and before she married Lee.  She don’t seem too concerned that her husband’s in jail and gonna be hung and Lee said she was giving him a hard time.”

Adam reached for his hat and gunbelt.  “I’m going with you.”

Joe caught his brother’s arm  “No,” he said forcefully.  “I don’t want to make her suspicious.   I’m just a friend calling to see how she is and offering help.  I can take a look around and then if I find anything we can work out what to do.”  He looked up at Adam and his expression was deadly serious.  “Lee’s life depends on us being sure.”  He softened his tone.  “Please, Adam?  Let me do it my way for once.  He’s my friend.”

Adam had never seen such an earnest expression on his young brother’s face.  “Okay, Joe.”  He said softly.  “But if you need help…”

“I’ll stay out of trouble and I’ll be back before Matt goes on shift in what…two hours?”

Adam nodded.  “If you’re not back here in two hours, I’m coming after you.”

Joe rode slowly up the dirt road to Lee’s cabin.  The place looked untidy with loose shingles and chickens roaming the yard.  He dismounted and wandered around there seemed to be no one at home, then he saw a movement inside.  He knocked on the door and waited.   Angie came to the door, a little flustered and flushed.

“Oh, Joe, its you.  I was just putting the baby down for a nap.”  She excused herself, patting her hair into place.

“Can I come in, Angie.  I need to talk about Lee.  He’s worried about you and the baby.”

“Oh, sure, Joe.”  She opened the door wide and bustled about making coffee.

“You ain’t been to see him much.”   Joe perched himself on a chair and looked around.  The cabin inside was tidy and clean and showed no sign of the neglect outside.

Angie kept her back to him as she answered  “It’s hard with the baby, I don’t have no one to leave him with.  The neighbours don’t like me and Lee much.  What with Lee’s drinking an’ all.”

Joe nodded as she handed him a cup of coffee.  “Thanks Angie.  You don’t get many visitors then?”

She shook her head.  “No one since Lee lost his job last month, ‘ceptin’ when the sheriff and your Pa came.”

“Must get kinda lonely.”  Joe suggested.  “You got enough money to get food for you and the baby?”

Angie seemed flustered again.  “Yeah, it is sorta quiet up here.  I wanted to move back to town but Lee said we couldn’t afford it.  He spends his money on drink.”  She said with some anger.

“Gonna be even lonelier with Lee gone and you don’t seem too concerned about that.”  Joe pushed.

“Course I’m worried.  He’s my husband.”  She spoke quickly but her eyes were downcast as if she didn’t want him to see what she really felt.

“Money’ll be short too, won’t it.  I guess the dressmaking will help out.”

Angie’s face wore a puzzled frown  “Dressmakin’?  I don’t…” her eyes fell on two boxes left on the settee.  “Oh…oh yeah, that.”  she finished, her color rising.

“Lee said he was home earlier than dawn the night Mort died.”  Joe said casually.

Again she turned away busying herself folding clothes.  “He didn’t know what time it was, he was too drunk.  He’s always drunk.”

“Where’s he get the money from Angie.  He ain’t worked in over a month.  Don’t look like your starving neither.”  Joe commented.

“How should I know, gamblin’ or from his friends.”  She snapped back.

“Friends like Matt Webster, maybe?”  Joe asked quietly.  He saw her stiffen. “Matt always was sweet on you.  He been hanging around helping out?”  He continued, pushing his small opening.

“I don’t know what you mean.”  She replied not looking at him.  “I ain’t seen Matt for weeks.  He used to hang around with Lee but not since…”

“Not since the murder, Angie, huh!”  Joe shrugged and drained his coffee cup.  “Thanks for the coffee, Angie.  I told Lee I’d keep on eye out for you and the baby, so if you need anything let me know.”

She watched him ride off and Joe could have sworn she was relieved to see him head away from the cabin towards town.  He made it back to the mine in record time and walked into Adam’s office without knocking.

“We were right.”  He blurted out, then realised that Adam wasn’t alone.  “Sorry Tom, didn’t know you were here.”  He apologised.

Tom Stone raised a hand to show he didn’t mind.  “Guess we’re talkin’ ’bout the same person anyways Little Joe.”

Joe looked from one to the other for an explanation.

Adam waved his brother to an empty chair.  “Tom’s asked Roy to be here when Matt comes off shift in the morning.  We’re almost a hundred percent certain it’s him doing the thieving.  What did you find?”

Joe sank down into the wooden chair and leaned forward  “Angie says no one’s been up there since the murder except Roy and Pa when they arrested Lee.  There was fresh tracks around the cabin and fresh water in a bucket for a horse they don’t have.   All they got is chickens.”  He raised an eyebrow and continued   “Angie got real flustered when I mentioned dressmaking and the place looks good, better than when Lee was there.  Her dress looked pretty new to me and she was wearing a silver locket I ain’t seen her with before.  Lee never bought her jewelery.   She doesn’t seem very upset that he’s gonna hang and was real edgy when I mentioned Matt.”  He finished

“Don’t prove nuthin’ though.”  Stone examined his hands.  “I’d sure like to take a look around his place.”

Joe nodded but Adam shook his head.  “We leave that to the sheriff, that’s his job not ours.”  He said firmly.

Joe frowned and raised an eyebrow at Tom but said nothing.

Adam started to tidy away his papers  “I’m heading home so I can be back here with Roy at the end of the nightshift.  You coming, Joe?”

Joe shook his head  “I said I’d go back and let Lee know that Angie was okay.”

Adam nodded and reached for his jacket.  “I’ll see you at supper then.”

“Nah, tell Pa I’ll eat in town, I might be a while with Lee.  He ain’t got no one else.”  He waited for his brother to object but Adam just shrugged and held the door for them to leave.

A few hours later Joe caught up with Tom in the Silver Dollar and offered to buy him a beer.

“Thanks Joe, I could use one.”  Tom replied.   Then with perception he looked at the younger man.  “You thinking what I am?”

Joe grinned.  “Depends on what you’re thinking, but my big brother ought to be home by now and the nightshift is down at six hundred feet.”  He chuckled.   Then he grew serious  “I can go alone, I wouldn’t want you to get in trouble with the boss.”

“I’m on my own time now.  If I just happen to walk down to the rail depot and past Webster’s house…  well…  I might see something suspicious and need to investigate, can’t have a fellow miner being robbed can we?”

The two men drained their beer glasses and set off.  First they casually stood by the depot and watched the V & T set off for Gold Hill.  On the other side of the tracks the Webster cabin was in darkness and both checked it carefully before crossing behind the train in the cloud of smoke and steam to disappear into the shadows.

They prowled around the cabin until Joe spotted a broken window catch.  Carefully he prised it open and the two slipped inside.  In the dim light it was hard to see much but Joe could tell that there weren’t many luxuries.  Matt Webster lived a Spartan bachelor existence.  “Can’t see nothing.”  Joe grumbled.

Tom struck a match and for a few seconds the scene was illuminated.  “Can’t do that too often or we’ll be spotted.”  He whispered back.  “Through there.”  He pointed to a door at the back of the cabin.   It led into a small storeroom come kitchen and there were several boxes stacked against the wall.  He opened one but shook his head.  “It’s from Mort’s but he could’ve bought it.”  He said, holding up a sack of sugar.   “We need more than this.”

Joe had wandered back into the main room and was checking under the bed.  “Hey, look at this!”  He called softly.   When Tom re-joined him, he opened a carpetbag.   “Looks like he’s packed to go some place and packed in a hurry.”  Joe whispered.  He dug deeper into the bag and then grinned.  He pulled out a small pouch and a larger heavy leather bag.

Joe tipped the smaller pouch and gasped, “There has to be more’n two thousand dollars here he said as he extracted a wad of notes and flipped them through his hands.”

Tom had opened the large bag, it was rather like a doctor’s bag and he had to light a match to see clearly inside.  “Silver,”  he said quietly  “Processed silver ore, and I’d be willing to bet that when it’s assayed it comes from a Ponderosa shaft.”

“We’ve got him…”  Joe said eagerly.

Tom nodded  “We’ve got ‘im for the theft but there’s nothin’ here to connect him to Mort’s murder.”  He looked at the younger man.  “Think Joe, are you sure it ain’t Lee?  I mean Matt has a small fortune here, why would he risk everything for a few supplies and maybe fifty dollars?”

Joe looked up  “I know Lee didn’t do it, it has to be Matt.”

“But why, Joe.  He ain’t got no reason to rob the store.”  Tom persisted.

“Shhh….”  Joe commanded, suddenly.  “There’s someone outside.”  He whispered.

Sure enough as the two men ducked back into the shadows of the kitchen, soft footfalls were heard at the door.  A key scraped in the lock and two people entered.  There was some fumbling with matches and then a lamp flooded the room with light.

Joe almost gasped but stopped himself just in time.  There in front of him was all the proof he needed.  Matt Webster pulling Angie Hogan into his arms and kissing her.  He made to move forward and show himself but Tom caught his arm and silently shook his head.  They needed more.

Angie pulled away  “We have to get out of here.  Joe Cartwright was asking questions, he suspects something.”  She said, her voice filled with a sense of urgency.

“Yeah and they bin swapping my shifts at the mine, I reckon Stone knows how the ore’s goin’ even if he don’t know who, yet.  Pity it was workin’ well until Saunders got in the way.”

Angie shuddered  “Did you have to kill him?  Lee woulda been put away for five or more for the robbery.”

Matt shrug  “So the plan went wrong.  You wanted rid of him, this way its permanent.”  He began pulling the bags from under the bed.

“We can pick up the baby from Mrs Allen on our way out of town…”  Angie was saying, when Matt swore.    “What is it?”  She asked anxiously.

“Someone’s bin here.”  Matt said, throwing the bag on to the bed.  “Someone’s been in this bag.”  His eyes darted around the room and in one swift motion he drew his gun and fired toward the kitchen, falling to the floor he pulled Angie with him and rolled behind the heavy sofa.

In the great room of the Ponderosa ranch house, Adam paced back and forth in front of the fire.  His younger brother looked up in exasperation.  “Dadburnit Adam, if you’re that worried about him, let’s go and find him.”

Adam stopped pacing and looked across at Hoss.  “It’s not that late, but I have a feeling.”

“Yeah, well where Joe’s involved a feelin’ is usually enough.  He gets into trouble even when we ain’t got a feelin’.  Let’s go.”

Adam glanced at the staircase  “Reckon we should tell Pa?  I hate to disturb him, he was pretty tired.”

Hoss raised an eyebrow and then heaved himself from the sofa.  “If we do he’ll wanna come with us and it maybe nuthin’.   Joe’ll be mad if we get Pa all riled up and yellin’ at him when he ain’t done nuthin’ wrong,  ‘ceptin’ maybe have a few drinks.”

Adam nodded.  “All right, we let him sleep.  But we’d better find little brother and get him back here before morning.”

Years of getting their brother out of scrapes told them his likely haunts and the Silver Dollar was one of their first stops.  Hoss spotted Cochise first and swinging down from Chub, reached out and gave the pinto a friendly pat.  “Where is he?”  He asked the horse.  “It’s for sure he never goes far without you.”

Entering the saloon both men glanced around and seeing no sign of their little brother approached the bar.  “Hey, Sam you see Little Joe tonight?”  Hoss asked.

The bartender nodded.  “He was in here a while back, drinking with Tom Stone.”

Adam frowned then nodded.  “They leave together?”

Sam agreed that they had and Adam sighed.  “Thought Tom had more sense,”  he muttered.  “Thanks Sam.”

“This mean sumthin’ to you?”  Hoss asked puzzled.

Adam nodded and ushered his brother back out into the street.  “Tom and Joe were all for searching Matt Webster’s place tonight while he was down below working.   My guess is they’ve gone to do just that.”

“Didn’t ya try to stop him?”  Hoss asked, surprised.

Adam gave a grim smile  “I told both of them to leave it to Roy,  but you ever try to stop Joe when he’s got his mind set on something.”

Hoss couldn’t help a small chuckle  “Like someone else I know,” he replied earning himself a glare from his older brother.  “Well, I guess we go find ’em.  At least Webster is safely outta the way.  Pa ain’t gonna be too pleased if our little brother’s caught breakin’ in though.”

The two headed down the hill toward D Street then cut along to Webster’s cabin.  They were maybe two hundred yards away when they heard the shot.  Adam took off at a run with Hoss not far behind.  Adam didn’t worry about breaking in, but he did approach with caution once they were outside the cabin.  He waved Hoss to the back as another shot rang out, then two more in quick succession.

“Joe, you in there?”  He yelled.

“Yeah, Tom and me,” was the response.  “Webster’s at the front, he’s got Angie with him.”

Adam swore loudly, that meant three innocent people in the way of any gunplay from outside.  “Webster…” he yelled,  “There’s no way out, give yourself up.”

The only reply was another shot, this time at the darkness but a little too close to Adam’s position for comfort.  He moved to the side of the cabin and waited, trying to think out the relative positions of the occupants and what to do to isolate Webster.

Meanwhile, Hoss had made it to the back window and softly tapped on it.  Joe whirled at the sound then realised it had to be one of his brothers.  He moved carefully to the window and whispered  “That you, Hoss?”

He got his answer by the big man appearing at the window  “Where’s Webster?”

“Out front behind the sofa with Angie,” Joe whispered.

Hoss nodded  “I’ll tell Adam and we’ll come in from the front, when you hear us stay back but try to get some light in there, we don’t want to hit Angie,”  and he disappeared into the inky darkness.

After a whispered conversation with his older brother the two took up positions on either side of the door.  “You’re last chance Matt,”  Adam called out.  “Throw the gun out and come out with your hands up, or we come in.”

There was an answering shot then silence again.

“I make that four shots…”  Adam commented, “You willing to risk it?”

Hoss nodded and they took up positions either side of the door.  With one mighty kick the rotten plank door fell inwards and the two rushed forward.  There was a scream as Webster fired wildly at the two shadowy figures and both fell to the floor.

Praying that the gun was now empty, Hoss had launched himself in the direction of the flashes and he connected with a crunch.  “I got ‘im, Adam.” he yelled as he effectively pinned the man beneath his huge frame, crushing his victim.   There was no answer from his older brother but the room was suddenly flooded with light as Joe and Tom emerged from the back room, Tom with a lamp and Joe with his gun drawn.

Hoss held Webster tightly and hauled him to his feet.  He heard Angie crying and then a gasp from his younger brother.

“Adam!”  Joe shouted.

Hoss turned to look at the splintered door, to its left Adam lay in a crumpled heap his head resting against a table leg.   Seeing Joe bending over their brother, he asked  “Is he hurt bad?”

Joe tried to examine his older brother without moving him too much  “Can’t tell he’s got a head wound but I think it’s from the table not a bullet.”  Joe replied.

People were now gathering outside and Tom set down the lamp and sent someone for the doctor and another for the sheriff.   It took minutes for them both to arrive and while Doc Martin examined Adam, Roy Coffee snapped handcuffs on Matt Webster and listened to the tale Tom and Joe had to tell.

Three very chastened Cartwright sons were seated in the great room, two on the sofa and one in his favorite chair, while their father paced up and down in front of the fireplace.   The lecture had been long and fiery and focused on why they had kept him in the dark with regard to their plans.

“But you couldn’ta done nothing we didn’t, Pa?”  Joe tried when the tirade appeared to be slowing down.

Adam and Hoss shook their heads in wonder, experience had taught them that when Pa started to cool off it was best to keep quiet.  Obviously Joe hadn’t learned that lesson yet.

Ben rounded on his youngest son  “I could have stopped you from getting yourselves killed.”

“Who got killed, Pa?”  Adam asked with his most innocent expression and a wink at his brothers.

Ben swung back again and pointed a finger at his oldest son “None of your smart remarks are required either, young man.  If you weren’t all so darned stubborn none of this would have happened.  Think yourself lucky that a bump on that hard head is all you got.”

“If we weren’t so stubborn, as you put it, Lee Hogan would be dead by now.”  Adam replied more quietly, his voice taking on a serious note.

Ben’s temper cooled rapidly  “I know.”   He stopped his pacing and sighed,  “You’re intentions were good but would it have been so hard to get Roy involved from the outset?”

None of his sons felt that they needed to answer this, or even that it would be wise to do so.

Hoss looked up first  “Pa, it all turned out fine.  Lee’s free, Matt Webster’s in jail and we won’t lose any more from the mine.”

Joe stared morosely into the fire  “Yeah, but Lee’s freedom don’t mean much if he loses the baby and Angie says she ain’t going back to him.”

Adam expression was grim  “He’d be a fool to have her back.  Most of his troubles have come from her pressure to have more and more.”

“But he loves her and he’s crazy about his son,” Joe glanced at his father  “I guess love and friendship are funny things.  I mean I tried to help one friend and ended up putting another in jail.”

“You did what you had to, Joe.  Never change, son,”  Ben looked at them all, “not any of you”  he smiled at them.

Adam grinned  “Not even our stubbornness, Pa.”

Ben chuckled  “No, not even that.”

“Guess, we had a real good teacher… and a friend.”  Adam said softly.

The End

 2001

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters and settings are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.

Tags: Family, Joe / Little Joe Cartwright, Trial