Summary: Adam meets a man by coincidence on several trips, but eventually, it is by design and leads to a new direction in his life.
Rating: T  Word count: 21,713

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Ride, Ride, Ride

Ride 1

Adam was twenty-two and heading home from New England when he first met Sayer Michael. He needed work to finance his travel. Because of his experience living in the west, he chose the overland route. With so many traveling to the gold fields, there were ample opportunities for employment. He signed on with a freight company to be a driver and guard for a merchant. When the wagon master of the freight train introduced Adam to the merchant, Adam thought the man had inadvertently reversed his names.

“No, my family name is Michael, and my parents did me no favor with my first name.”

The two found an easy camaraderie and talked quite a bit as they traveled west. In the evenings after the animals were bedded down, there wasn’t much else to do. The wagons in the train had to be guarded, but the drivers took turns with that. Michael was worried about Indian attacks, but Adam explained that theft was much more a problem than the possibility of an attack.

“Most Indians think it is quite stupid how white men let their property sit unguarded so much and leave it vulnerable to their enemies to take.”

“But that’s stealing. We leave property unguarded because we’re honest and don’t believe in theft, and usually those we fight think the same way.”

“To them, it is not stealing if it is taken from an enemy. To take property from the enemy is to weaken the enemy. It is far less dangerous and yet effective in winning a war.”

Sayer sat and thought about that for a time.

“So this thing I hear about ‘thieving Indians’ is because we leave our property open to our enemy to take?”

“Yes. It is a source of pride to them to take from their enemies. It is counting coup.”

“You came here from New England. How do you know all of this?”

So Adam told Sayer about his upbringing in the west, his years in the east getting an education, and then they began to discuss why he was going home even though he wished he could do other things.

“Why is it so important to you to return to your father’s home? You have a college education. You and I have discussed all sorts of wonderful ideas you have, and I know there are many businesses that would want you working with them to share those ideas. A man like you could go so many places and do so many things, but you only want to go home? I don’t understand that.”

“I feel I owe it to my stepmother to take care of my younger brother. The way she looked at me when we were attacked said as much as that to me or I felt she did. When my second stepmother died, I felt the same responsibility to my youngest brother. My father said I should take some time for myself because I never had that. But I feel guilty about being gone so long. They’re still so young.”

“How young?”

“Hoss is sixteen now, but Little Joe is only ten. I feel I owe them some time, and my father could use my help too for a time. We were like partners before I left.”

“So this will not be a permanent arrangement?”

“No, I plan to leave when my brothers are more capable of taking care of themselves and my father’s dream is realized.”

“How long will that be?”

“Well, they’re almost there now so I would think no more than five or six years.”

“It will take that long?”

“I guess it’s not only what I’ve said they needed but what I need too. By then, maybe I’ll figure out what my dream is. I’ve never had a chance to figure that out.”

“Trapped in your father’s dream?”

“I wouldn’t call it trapped. I want to help him get what he wants. It was my mother’s dream too. It’s as much my heritage as it is his dream. It’s like closing the circle for me to help him achieve it.”

“And you think five or six more years will do it?”

“I’m not sure. I suppose many may think he already has achieved it, but he always seems to want more. In his mind, I don’t think his dream is realized yet. I guess I don’t know how he defines success in this.”

“May I ask your father’s name?”

“Of course. My father is Ben Cartwright and his ranch is the Ponderosa outside of Eagle Station.”

“Then you must be Adam Cartwright. I have heard stories about you too. Surely the Ponderosa must be big enough and his wealth great enough to satisfy the ambition of your father.”

“I’m afraid that is far from the truth. However all this movement of people to California has opened up quite a few opportunities so there is great potential for growth.”

“I wish you well on that. Twenty-eight isn’t such a bad age to strike out on your own. you should have built up some resources and contacts by then.”

Although Adam heard the doubt in the man’s voice, he didn’t question what the man said to him. He guessed that Sayer thought five or six years was too much, and his brothers would be ready for him to depart sooner than that. For three years, he held that memory to himself never discussing it with anyone until he boarded a stage to California and found the same man sitting inside. There was a chance for them to review that previous conversation and update each other.

“Yes, I’m still traveling and trying to sell my company’s production. And what about you, Adam? Are you making your plans to strike out on your own yet?”

There was no way Sayer could miss the change in tone from the previous conversation even if it had been three years earlier. The youthful enthusiasm or even exuberance was gone. A staid and sober persona had replaced the earlier more earnest, fresh, and hopeful young man.

“I’m still living and working on the Ponderosa.”

So it was the Ponderosa now and not home.

“You’re still living with your father at twenty-five? I must admit I didn’t expect that. I would have thought you would have struck out on your own by now or making plans to do that even if you said you would stay longer. Three years ago it sounded like by this time you would be making plans to leave unless there was Indian trouble. There’s no trouble. You wanted to wait until your brothers were able to stand on their own. One is twenty-two now and the other is sixteen. They should be ready. So what’s changed in your thoughts?”

“My brother Hoss has worried that I might leave. He told me he never wants me to go. I’m afraid he would be terribly hurt if I left. He would feel abandoned.”

“Like you must have felt when you were young so you don’t want him to have to face that?”

“I was never abandoned.”

“Your mother died and left you. Your stepmother was killed and left you. Your father must have been gone often when you were young. He had to work much of the time so who took care of you? You must have been alone quite often.”

“I was alone but never abandoned.”

“All right, I’ll drop that issue, but what about your youngest brother? You must have been working like a man by his age. At thirteen, he should be able to stand on his own now. What’s holding you back from making your own life?”

“Yes, I was mostly a man by thirteen because I had to be. Little Joe is still a boy. He is quite different than me too. He’s impulsive and emotional. He needs me to watch out for him so he doesn’t get in any serious trouble.”

“You’ve been interceding on his behalf then?”

“Yes.”

The answer was terse and given quickly with no embellishment.

“Without your father’s knowledge?”

“Sometimes.”

“Is that wise?”

“My father can have a heavy hand, too heavy sometimes. He thinks he’s changing behavior with his discipline, but all he really does is cause anger and resentment. The end result is not a change he wanted. The behavior he doesn’t want is hidden not stopped.”

“Personal experience? Never mind. No man should ever answer a question like that.”

Both knew the answers anyway. It was quiet for a time until Sayer asked again if Adam was planning to leave.

“I will leave. I still have to help my father and brothers, but when I know what my dream is, I will go.”

The words conveyed the same information as they had three years earlier but were tinged with regret already.

 

Ride 2

Sayer had never been in Virginia City for any length of time until he got an assignment that kept him in that vicinity for over a month. He had to make a trip to Carson City, and then in bad weather, because of a pressing engagement, he was forced to board the stage to return to Virginia City. Climbing into the coach as the other passenger was busy tying down the window covers and doing his best to weatherproof the coach, Sayer didn’t recognize him at first. It was when the man spoke that he suspected he knew him. It was when he turned to hand a leather curtain to Sayer to secure on his side of the coach that he greeted him by name.

“Hello again, Adam. I never expected to see you here.”

“Sayer, I never expected to see you anywhere.”

“I’m a traveling man in my job. But in this weather, I would have thought you would be tucked in snugly on the Ponderosa.”

“No, there was a delivery that had to be made to Carson City, and I drew the short straw. I think it was rigged, but I find it hard to believe my father would participate in such a thing. On the other hand, I don’t know how my brothers could rig it without his cooperation.”

“Color differences in the straw?”

“Damn. I didn’t think about that. I guess I am not a natural at cheating. That would be Little Joe. He’s quite good at being devious. It’s a darn good thing he has us to watch out for him so he doesn’t end up in jail.”

“Maybe a few times in jail would be better for him than to have you intercede for him so often.”

“I am not comfortable with any member of my family sitting in a jail cell for any reason.”

Somewhat familiar with the family history by this point, Sayer nodded. Adam never questioned his easy acceptance of that statement. Instead the two settled into their seats for the ride as they heard the driver yell that he was ready to go.

“At least these blankets should make the ride tolerable.”

“Sensible people would not be making this trip.”

Adam snorted at that.

“I am not a sensible man then. I’ve traveled far too often in bad weather, often worse than this.”

“And you’re heading back home again.”

“Of course. Where else would I go?”

“It may have been a number of years, but I recall we have had this conversation before.”

“We have, and the reasoning is still the same.”

“You have not told your family how you feel and what you want to do?”

“It’s never been the right time.”

“You think you are doing a noble thing. You want to believe you are sacrificing for the benefit of all, but you are going to hurt everyone. Nothing good will come of this. Denying truth for whatever purpose no matter how noble one believes the cause to be only leads to shame as well as heartache. The guilt that follows will tip the scales inevitably toward condemnation of the one who did not tell the truth.”

“You think my family will reject me for trying to help?”

“I know they will. It may not be said in words, but in their hearts, they will put distance between you and them. Haven’t you had some problems already?”

“There have been problems.”

“Are you going to let that hang there or tell me something about what happened?”

In some ways, Adam realized then how much easier it was to talk to a near stranger. It didn’t matter what he said so he decided to open up more than he had in probably seven or eight years to anyone.

“I’ve tried to help when I’ve seen my brothers or even my father about to make a move that would create huge problems for them. Even if they eventually accept my advice or do what I suggested, there is resentment after the fact.”

“Can you give me an example?”

“My brother Hoss was going to marry a woman who had been with a number of men, and I’m sure you know what I mean. I went to talk with her to see if she had truly changed and she kissed me. I let her because it was proof of what I suspected. Hoss saw us and assumed I kissed her. She had never divulged any of her past and I had not told him.”

“You tried to help but he saw it as interference?”

“Yes, he did, and I had the bruises afterwards to prove that. I don’t think our relationship ever recovered from that. I think he must still wonder who kissed whom.”

“And your younger brother?”

“There was a similar situation but I didn’t interfere. I was almost a bystander on that one, but he doesn’t believe me. I think he carries some doubt too.”

“Now that sounds like a strange story.”

“It is. The wife of an old friend of my father arrived with her daughter and was intent on her daughter marrying Joe. But the young lady had other ideas and decided to kiss me one day after several overtures to me that I ignored.”

“You never mentioned to your brother that this woman was making advances to you?”

“My younger brother is a proud man. I don’t think he would have believed that a pretty young woman he was romancing would do that. Anyway, one day as I was working at the forge, she came up to me and kissed me. I pushed her away, but Joe arrived as I had my arms on her arms and well, it didn’t look right at all.”

“What did you do?”

“Besides denying it, I took a trip for a few weeks. By the time I got back, it was all over.”

“Except for some lingering resentment?”

Adam had a chuckle then that had no joy.

“Now how did you know that?”

“It seems to be a pattern in your family. Don’t you think it’s time for you to think about leaving with all this turmoil?”

“I can still work with them. There’s still a lot to do.”

“But how well will they work with you? Because of these events, in many ways, they do not trust you. They see you as interfering not helping. They will not trust you with their thoughts and feelings. They won’t trust you enough to ask for help. I think trust is very important to you. You need to tell them how you feel. You have to open up to them if you want them to understand and do the same.”

“I’ve never found that easy to do.”

“I didn’t say it was going to be easy. It may take time for you to do it, but you need to tell them how you feel. When they hear it, they may reject your words and your ideas. You should be prepared for that and even for harsh words to be spoken at first. But remember that they will not be rejecting you. Any of those words will be because they do not want you to leave. You already know that. It means they love you. You will be able to carry that with you when you leave if you tell them the truth.”

“It’s going to take time.”

“Yes, but the longer it takes, the more bitterness will build up in you and the more harsh their judgement of you will be. You have allowed this to happen. Only you can change it.”

“It’s going to be difficult.”

“Yes, I get the impression you have been trying to be strong for everyone else for so long, you have forgotten how to be strong for yourself.”

The dark look Sayer got told him that those words had not been well received. Because he genuinely liked this man he hardly knew, and he respected him, he decided to explain more. He had not meant to offend but realized what he said might have done that.

“I don’t mean that in a negative way. What I mean is that you have pushed your own feelings into the background. You have not given yourself time to feel what others feel. My guess is that they think you have a heart of ice.”

The slight nod was the answer he expected.

“In my experience, changing how you react is going to be difficult too. You’re going to have to work on being more open, and they will have to be accepting of you doing that. Of course, the burden of both will be on you.”

“You’re offering a rather gloomy view of my future.”

“Only in the short term. If you make the changes, it will get better. If you don’t, I can only see things being more oppressive for you. Frankly, I don’t understand how you have lasted in this situation this long. You must love your father very much.”

“I do. I still feel I owe him for all he’s done for me.”

Sayer was impressed by the man’s loyalty and honor. He had seldom met any men like this young man and wished he could work with him, but Adam was committed to the Ponderosa. If integrity like his was more common, Sayer wouldn’t have the job he had which wasn’t the one Adam believed he did. Most of the time they discussed Adam’s life so it wasn’t a problem for Sayer. It was only later that Adam realized that he knew very little about the man, but he didn’t think it mattered. It had been a coincidence to see him again. Another meeting was highly unlikely.

 

Ride 3

Decked out in a disguise he had used for a month in Virginia City, Sayer Michael was at the end of his assignment. After sending in his reports, all he had to do was stay a few days after the arrests so no one was likely to connect him to those. Even in a disguise, he was careful. It was how someone in his profession stayed alive.

Spending time in various saloons, drinking a little, playing cards a lot, and listening much more than talking, he learned an extensive amount of information about the city and those who lived there. He didn’t need any of it at that time, but he never knew when it might be useful. It was a matter of curiosity and to a certain extent, a professional interest, that made Sayer Michael pay attention when he overheard a large man say his brother was leaving home probably for good. He had to wonder if it could be Adam Cartwright. When the Ponderosa was mentioned, Sayer was certain he knew that it was.

With his business in town concluded successfully, he used his skills to find out when and how the oldest Cartwright son was leaving town and got a ticket for the same stage. He had an ulterior motive when he made sure he would be able to have a frank and undisturbed conversation with the man. Using his influence and handing over some significant amounts of cash, he made sure no other tickets were available for that stage and arranged for another stage to be there a mere two hours later so there were no disgruntled passengers who might arouse suspicion about what had happened. He guessed that he had this one chance with Adam and didn’t want some chatty, inquisitive passengers to intrude on their conversation. He shaved off the facial hair but kept the rest of his disguise intact until he was on the stage. When he threw off the heavy coat and wide-brimmed hat, he knew Adam would recognize him. He rolled those items up and stashed them under the bench seat. Well aware of the kind of man Adam was and in order to avoid setting off any fire alarm with him, he struck first when Adam boarded the stage.

“Now, my good man, once is a coincidence, but this defies chance. Are you following me for some purpose which I cannot imagine?”

“No, of course I’m not following you. Are you following me?”

Then Adam smiled but again without humor in it before adding more to his first salvo.

“As if anyone would want to follow me.”

“I can surmise then that there’s been some significant trouble for you?”

“You could call it trouble, but that would be greatly understating the situation. With too little care, I have burned my bridges here. It was time for me to go long ago as you know. I finally had enough and said what I was thinking for years. I let the turmoil build up inside for so long, I’m afraid that it came out in a more bitter way than I wanted. I guess no one should have been surprised. I haven’t been easy to live with for the last couple of years. When you deny your true self, you’ve got nothing. I told them the truth. I said that I never wanted to come back to the Ponderosa after I got my education. I came back for them, but it didn’t seem they wanted me to be there anyway. If I couldn’t be accepted then the best choice was to leave.”

“What was the reaction?”

“The same tired arguments that my father and brothers have made for years. I did not pull any punches especially when I talked with my father.”

“He said he needed you?”

“Yes, the same old story. I told my father that the situation was ridiculous. My brothers are grown men, for God’s sake. They can take care of themselves.”

“What was his response to that?”

“He told me there would be no cursing in his house.”

“So he completely ignored the main issue you were trying to raise.”

It was not a question. It was too obvious.

“And that’s the crux of the matter, isn’t it? It’s still his house after all these years and all the blood and sweat I’ve given to build everything the Ponderosa is. It will never be ours or mine. He expects me to be his son only and never to be a man. I’ve got to accept my responsibility for that. I let him do it for far too long but no more. I am going to live my life finally and that means leaving. Nothing he said could change my mind. You were right all those years ago. The longer I let it ride, the worse it got. I made the mess, but now I have to clean it up. The only way to do it is to leave it. It’s poison for me and for them for me to stay.”

“You said that to him?”

Sayer was shocked. He had never expected that from Adam. He thought it justified but had never expected that it would happen. It was the beginning of a re-evaluation of the man who was talking to him for the fourth time in thirteen years.

“I said that a lot more. He responded in kind, but nothing he said could change my mind. It had gotten to that point. He told me I always was too stubborn for my own good.”

“I suppose he argued that he had given you logical reasons for staying?”

“No, he didn’t. I don’t think he had any. I did give him logical reasons for my decision, and all he had was criticism of me as a person. He told me too that he didn’t see the logic of giving up all that I had to go out to seek a dream that I can’t even spell out.”

“Oh, you mean like looking for a place where the trees touch the sky, that kind of spelling out that you told me he did?”

“Exactly. He wants to hold me to a higher standard than he held himself. According to him, I don’t have the right to explore anywhere or satisfy my curiosity about things I’ve so far only seen in books. According to his reasoning, I have to meet some standard higher than that. No matter when I would have decided to leave, he would have had some kind of expectation of me that I can’t possibly reach. That way, he will have reason to find fault with my decision.”

Quiet for a time, Adam waved a hand in surrender.

“I know. You told me to tell them sooner. The longer I waited, the worse it would be. It certainly turned out that way, and I regret too all the opportunities I have now missed and that may be forever lost. And yet, I feel guilty about leaving this way and regrets about how I handled all of it. I can’t undo it though. That would be worse.”

“Yes, it would.”

“My fear now is that I will fail because I waited too long.”

“Rather than regrets over missed opportunities, think about the possibilities you never knew you had. If you find employment difficult, come to see me.”

Sayer dug in a pocket and handed over a card.

“If you choose not to use it, do not give it to anyone. I only give those cards to men or to women I actually intend to hire if they contact me for employment.”

“I’m sorry, but I’m not much interested in freight hauling or sales.”

“If you come to see me, you may find that my interests are far more diversified than you ever realized. I’m sure we can find something suitable for your talents and skills.”

Staring at the man for a short time, Adam recalled all of their meetings and compared the man before him to other merchants and sales representatives he knew. Sayer was different in many ways from them yet didn’t stand out as different unless you decided to analyze the situation as he was doing sitting on that stagecoach bench seat. Sayer was well-dressed, soft-spoken, and well-educated. He was supposed to be selling products or at least promoting them, but Adam had never heard him talk about anything specific he was selling. With his engaging style, he certainly could sell things. He had managed to gain Adam’s trust at their first meeting and held it through subsequent encounters. There was an air about him like that of a man of the cloth. When you talked to him, you felt you had confidentiality but also empathy and respect from him. He had drawn things from Adam that he had not told people much closer to him. He had been a confidante, a confessor, and an advisor. All of that was certainly odd for someone in sales. Adam had a growing suspicion then that Sayer Michael was involved in some kind of undercover work that was conducted on a much grander scale than he could probably even imagine at this point.

“I see you are about to ask questions. Don’t do that. You only need to know that I am honest and work in a noble endeavor. I am as ethical and you wish to be.”

“Why would you give me your card?”

“I offered that card to you because I think you are the kind of man who could do the same kind of work that I do. It is confidential work though. Very few know even as much as you do. I trust you will say nothing about what I have said to you. If you are interested in my offer, the contact information is there. It is all that I will say about it unless you decide to accept my offer at some point. Then I can explain more that will help you make a decision.”

Their journey was not over but that conversation was as they were near the first station. The stage picked up more passengers at that stop. The prattle of those new arrivals bored Adam who leaned back and dropped his hat over his eyes to feign sleep. It gave him time to think about what Sayer had said. When he reached the city, he shook Sayer’s hand and forgot about that card for a time as he set out to try to find employment related to the education he had received all those years ago. He had high hopes, but within a few months he had reason to review that last conversation with Sayer once more. He was interested and if he would admit it, he was truly intrigued but had to try to remember what he had done with the card.

 

Ride 4

“I’m coming home.”

Adam wrote out the message for the telegram but then he stared at it for a time. He had nearly panicked when he thought Hoss was gone because he knew the Ponderosa would never be the same without him. His life could never be the same if he could never see him again and reconcile with him. Their last meeting had been bittersweet. Hoss had been as understanding as he could be but yet still couldn’t offer his complete blessing to his older brother’s decision. It had been too painful to him. For years, Adam had been haunted by seeing the tears in those blue eyes as he left. News Hoss had died had hit him hard, but when news came that he was still alive, the guilt he had been carrying returned and plagued him yet. He had to hope that somehow he could repair his relationship with the man who had always been the closest to him.

When he left, in his younger brother’s face, there had been a mix of emotions that he doubted Joe had even fully understood. There was the expected anger, but in some ways relief that the pressure of trying to measure up to his older brother’s expectations was soon to be lifted. Of course, there was some excitement as well as nervousness at the responsibilities that were going to land on his shoulders. Some of those things had probably built up a healthy dose of resentment as well. In the last two years, Joe had suffered through so much with the loss of Alice and their unborn baby. He would be a different man for that reason alone but there were so many more reasons. He was older too and had so many more life experiences than when Adam had seen him last. Adam had no idea how Joe would react to him on his return or if he would even want to see him again.

His father had nearly lost a son. He had another who had walked away from the legacy he wanted to give him. With all of that and his age, he too would be a different man. And there was Jamie, a brother he had never met. Adam was forty-years-old. The news of Hoss’ death and then the news he had not been lost, and later the news of Joe’s misfortunes had hit him hard. He didn’t even know how to react to the adoption of a son into the family. That was new territory. Parting from his family had been far more difficult than facing the many life-threatening dangers of his job. Now reuniting with them promised to be as difficult. It might not even work out.

Pushing the paper across to the operator, Adam used his left hand to get coins from his pocket and slid them across the counter as well to pay for the telegram. There was too much to say in a telegram. He hoped he would get the chance to say it all when he got to the Ponderosa if he was still welcome there. He would find out. With this message, they would know he was coming and could decide on what kind of reception he would get. He was too proud to beg. It was their decision. All he could do was let them know.

Keeping his right hand free as he always did, Adam picked up his valise in his left hand, checked both ways on the street before he exited the telegraph office, and headed directly to the train station. There he purchased several tickets to various destinations and waited. When the first train came into the station, he hurried to it, climbed aboard, handed his ticket to a conductor, and exited out the other side as soon as he could do so without being noticed. Moving to a supply shed he had spotted earlier, he stepped inside and watched to see if he was followed. Two men walked along the passenger car looking inside and then checked the baggage and freight cars before heading back into the station. He leaned on the wall there until the second train arrived, and he used the same routine. That’s when he saw the men again. Once more, they walked along the cars peering inside and looking at the passengers. When they got to the end, one shook his head and the one from the other side joined him. They went back to the depot.

Seeing the professionalism of their efficient search, Adam knew he had to make adjustments to his travel plans. Opening his valise, he put on a full disguise. He had not wanted to do it, but now he knew it was necessary. Some of his cautious behavior had been taught to him by Sayer, but others were because of his normal skeptical attitude about the motives of others.

Within a short time, Adam looked about seventy years old and bent over requiring a cane to walk. However, his pistol was still within easy reach. Another one was in his boot, and a small one was in a shoulder holster. Some of these criminals whether they made it a career or took advantage of a new office were quite vengeful. From the moment they faced charges, they wanted to make an example of any crusading lawyer, writer, or any officer of the law who took down any part of their empire or removed any lethal agent they had. They had tried to ambush him at his apartment when he returned from the courthouse. His friends had been there to stop them, but Adam knew that they couldn’t protect him everywhere. That had been while he was using an alias, and he went to his secret mail drop where he used his own name. Returning to his apartment, he spent some time going through the mail that had accumulated while he had been undercover and was shocked to find the news about Hoss and then about Joe. The decision to go back to the Ponderosa had been a relatively easy one at first although the timing had not been decided until outside factors made the decision easy for him. The doubts and misgivings came later, but he was already committed to that course so he kept going. The agents of his enemies must have been watching for him by a description because he realized he was being followed soon after leaving his apartment. He had been unable to shake the pursuit and decided the only thing he could do was to head so far west they wouldn’t follow.

When Adam finished this trip and got home, he assumed his family would want to know about his career choice. The letters he had sent had been cover stories for what he was actually doing. It was quite possible they knew that. They wouldn’t like that he had misled them, but by the time he left the Ponderosa to find his own dream, his hard-earned skills and knowledge of architecture and engineering had deteriorated too much or were too outdated to be useful. Facing the prospect of being an apprentice at his age or going back to school, Adam had opted to use the skills he did have. The government was grateful to have his services, and there was never a shortage of assignments for him. Sayer’s recommendation got him hired immediately. None of his postings though, no matter how close to the Ponderosa, had allowed him an opportunity to visit his family. Now he could but could also imagine the resentment that might be smoldering there as well as the hurt. No assignment he had faced in the previous five years was as daunting as the prospect of telling the whole truth to his family. There was no guilt on his part because he had done good things, but he doubted his family especially his father would approve of his decisions.

Looking back, the memories of all those years of worrying about what his father thought came rushing back, but that wasn’t the man Adam was anymore. He had to wonder if his father had accepted that yet. If he had not, this might be a short visit. There was quite a bit more that had changed in his life that he had not told anyone in his family. Only his closest associates knew. It was safer for everyone that way. He had some decisions to make in that regard too.

Meanwhile, Adam had to get to Denver in this disguise and then hopefully to Salt Lake City in another disguise, and then probably he would have to don another before traveling cross country to get home. That would be the safest way to go. After all these years, it was strange to think of the Ponderosa as home. He doubted even the most vengeful of the criminals facing justice because of him would send anyone that far to get to him. But he would take no chances. That was how he was still alive after five years of dangerous work. He intended to stay that way.

 

Ride 5

Riding out of Salt Lake City, Adam had a long time to think. He didn’t want to push the horses or himself and arrive exhausted. It had been a long time since he had solitude and peace. He wanted to enjoy the benefits of both. However, he guessed he wasn’t going to have much of either after seeing a familiar man tailing him from the train and shadowing every movement until he headed out cross-country. There were extra supplies on the packhorse because of his anticipation of having a traveling companion before the night was over.

Later Adam watched as a figure moved into his dark camp and slithered over to his bedroll to poke a rifle into where his back could have been. He had to smile as he heard the man speak.

“I thought I taught you better than this.”

Staying quiet and still, Adam waited for the reaction and got it as Sayer whirled around when the brush in the blanket didn’t react. He knew he had been fooled, but Adam didn’t yet know if his partner was traveling alone. When he heard the whistle, he knew the answer and moved to intercept the second man. By then, Sayer knew it was too late.

“All right, Adam, you win this one. Trey, come on in. He snookered us good. If you don’t come in, he’s going to give you the scare of your life in a few seconds.”

“I don’t see him anywhere, Sayer.”

“That’s because cougars attack from behind.”

Trey whirled around, but by then Adam had moved and tripped him toppling the big man which led to a considerable number of expletives being yelled. He finally stopped with an explosive “Damn!” as he stood.

“Where the hell did you learn that?”

“I grew up with the Paiutes and learned how to be sneaky from Sayer. It’s a tough combination to beat.”

“Well, can we have a damn fire at least now. Sayer made us sit out in the cold and wait until he said you were probably sleeping.”

“He should have known better.”

“Yes, I should have, and yes, Trey, go ahead and build a fire. I’d like some coffee too. We need to talk. Tomorrow we’re going to backtrack our friend here and see if he’s still being followed.”

“I lost them in Denver.”

“We lost them in Denver too. We think they turned back when they couldn’t find you. Did you use the old man disguise or the railroad worker?”

“Both. I used the old man first. In Salt Lake, I switched to cowboy.”

“I can see that. It suits you. Not as much as when I first asked you to work for me, but these colors don’t stand out like that black did.”

Nodding, Adam pulled what he needed from his packs and set about making a proper meal. Sayer and Trey looked on with smiles. It was more than they had expected, but it was more than welcome too. Trey grinned more broadly than Sayer and for good reason.

“Sayer, he knew we were coming. He even had three plates in there.”

“I know. I saw that. I think the student has learned more than the teacher.”

“Oh, hell, Sayer, he always knew more than you. He uses every one of us like a book and reads all we got inside and soaks it all up. Ain’t no accident we gave him the code name, Schoolboy.”

“Schoolboy?”

“Yeah, didn’t you know that? When we sent messages about you, that was your name so nobody knew who we was talking about.”

Adam grinned. There was nothing else to do.

“I hope you have a new name now because if that is well known, it could be found out.”

“Yeah, we got another. Your friend suggested it. She said cougar would do.”

“I like that too. What’s hers?”

“We’ve changed hers too. It’s now cargo. She didn’t like that, but once the two of them are moved, we’ll give them a new one.”

“Moved?”

“We have to move them, Adam. It wasn’t safe for you there so it can’t be safe for them, and you can’t come back anytime soon. We’re putting them in Reno. Small town makes it easy to tell when someone new comes in. She’ll have a job in the office, and he’ll stay at a boarding house with a family where the two of them will have an upstairs apartment. The family in the downstairs apartment will watch over him during the day.”

“That sounds like a good plan.”

Both noted though that Adam sounded disappointed, and they could guess why too. It wasn’t the time to talk about that though. They talked about the trial and how long it would likely last, and how long he had to stay incognito before all the principals in the case were locked away.

“A year?”

“Most likely it will take that long for all the trials and for all the appeals and everything to get done. That’s our best estimate. The Port Authority in New York is a big operation and many of the people working there were involved in that scheme. All those who owned those warehouses were part of the profiteering so they face the most serious charges. It will take some time to sort through all the evidence and take all of them to trial. So, our question is can you stay with your family that long or do we need to make another plan for you?”

“My best answer is that I don’t know. It will depend on how things go at first, and I can’t predict that. Then when you give me leave to tell them the rest of the story, whether they will accept that is another big issue.” Adam paused in thought and in turmoil about all that was happening in his life. “Do either of us have to testify?”

“No, we don’t think so. The records she got and gave to you should be enough especially once some of them sought better deals by turning on the others. You do know how they can get to people though. If enough bribes are paid and threats are made, who knows what will happen.”

“Caleb Marsh was the biggest fish in that dirty pond, but not the dangerous one. He’s embarrassed and finished politically, but like usual, Grant will fire him and then let him off easy. At least that’s my prediction. It’s the ones behind the whole thing that worry me.”

“They always make mistakes though, don’t they. They didn’t trust each other and kept records so the cheaters couldn’t cheat each other. It’s a perfect record of avoiding customs duties, smuggling, bribes, and extortion.”

“The papers are calling it the Port Authority Ring. It’s certainly quite a system they had with bribes and extortion and exorbitant fees. With all that money, there is bound to be one or more who will try to use money to avoid justice. They can use money to make evidence and witnesses go away too. The ones we arrested aren’t the ones who are the greatest threat. We worry more about the ones we haven’t found out about, the money and the power behind the whole scheme. We may never know who they are. There are rumors that other Cabinet members may be involved if not in this corruption than in other schemes. Grant is trying to reform the civil service, but it’s a steep uphill battle with both parties against him and lots of powerful people doing all they can to stop him. Of course, they want to stop us too.”

“That’s what worries me. Don’t let her testify. Get her that new life she was promised. I’ll go if someone has to testify.”

“I don’t know that the testimony of either of you is of that much value at this point. I think the effort to get to you was to set an example for others. When it proved too difficult, they gave up. That’s our working theory. Trey and I will follow up on that and keep a watch. Do you have someone trustworthy locally who could spot men who don’t fit in?”

“Oh, I know just the person who could do that for me.”

“Put him on the payroll then with confidentiality and so forth. You know the basics of what has to be done.”

“I’m sure I can trust him, and he’ll go along with it. He was the sheriff. I was a thorn in his side on occasion, but we respected each other. I can count on him.”

“How much will you tell him?”

“If you knew him, you wouldn’t ask me that. I’ll have to tell him everything because he won’t give me any peace if I don’t. Besides, he might start to poke his nose in where he shouldn’t unless I let him know the hornet’s nest he could stir up. He can watch my back better if he knows what needs to be avoided as much as he needs to watch out for men who may be looking for me.”

“Avoided?”

“We have a rather nosy newspaperman, and he may decide that a Cartwright son returning home deserves some space in the newspaper. One way or another, he will be convinced that is a bad idea.”

“Adam, if you sheriff friend can’t handle that one, don’t do anything. Let me know. We’ll handle it so you can keep low.”

“I might like to take a trip to Reno.”

“In a couple of months, that could be arranged.”

“That long?”

“By now, they may be looking for the two of you to rendezvous. The three of you could be too conspicuous to miss. No, wait a couple of months.”

“It’s going to make a difficult situation even worse.”

“I know. She doesn’t trust any man on the whole earth.”

“Including me now after I ran out on her.”

“You did what you did for all the right reasons. She’ll understand when you get to talk with her and tell her why you left like you did.”

“In a couple of months. I hope it’s not too late by then. She risked her life for me, and then I left without even saying goodbye.”

“A goodbye could have been forever. You know that. Stop feeling guilty over something you couldn’t control. Think about what you can control. What will you tell your family?”

“It’s the other part of the reason I’m traveling cross country. It gives me more time to think about all of that. I’m so different now or at least I think I am. I’m not sure what to say to them or what to expect from them. After being gone so long without even a visit, I don’t know how they will react either.”

“All we have left now is speculation. Let’s get some sleep.”

Trey and Sayer watched as Adam built a small stone and brush shield around the fire so that it only showed against the rock wall at their backs. He took the first watch, and each of them took a turn. All three were careful men. It was why they were still alive after doing a dangerous job for years. In the morning, they checked in all directions for signs of movement watching for a half hour before they decided it was safe to split up and move out. Adam headed out first with his packhorse.

Sayer and Trey waited for over an hour and there was still no movement indicating anyone following. Then they headed back down the trail they had followed to get there watching for any sign that anyone had been there. They never saw any sign. Their report would be that the pursuit seemed to have stopped at least temporarily. After a few days at the office in Salt Lake City, they bought tickets to Reno and to Denver and watched to see if anyone checked to see which train they boarded. No one did. It seemed that part of the story was over. Trey’s body and a badly injured and unconscious Sayer were found when the train pulled into the station in Reno. The other agents had come to see why they did not disembark. The woman they had come to protect fled that night with her small son.

 

Ride 6 at home

It was a long, hot, dry ride for Adam, but nothing other than what he expected. Skirting the Humboldt Sink, he took longer than the direct route would have been but avoided the risks. Knowing how to travel alone and not attract attention after living in the Nevada mountains for so many years put him in a good position. It was still a relief to see more green than brown as he approached the boundaries of the Ponderosa. Continuing along the property, he headed to Virginia City first to meet with Roy Coffee. After spending most of a day with him, he checked in with Clem who was the new sheriff before he decided he could head for the ranch and get there before the sun went down.

That timing seemed a good strategy in that no matter the reaction, there would be little time for it to get too involved and then it would be time to sleep on it. He had to admit to himself that he expected a negative reaction. In his apology, he was ready to accept responsibility any bad feelings over how he left over five years earlier, for not sending letters more often than he did, and if he was honest, for not saying more in the letters he did send. Another issue was that it had been necessary but rude to come home on short notice with no details. Adam hoped to smooth the waters enough at first so they could talk. If he could get them to do that, he was prepared to do what he had to do to mend his family relationships as well as he could. What he didn’t know was how willing his father and brothers were to mend their relationship with him. It hadn’t been good for a long time before he left. It could be they didn’t care enough to have a strong bond with him. That thought bothered him more than he wanted to admit. A day later he had a confrontation in the barn on the Ponderosa with his adopted youngest brother.

“I don’t think you belong here anymore. You don’t fit in this family very well.”

“What right do you have to judge me?”

“I’m part of this family. I’ve been here when you were gone. I stood by Mister Cartwright through all the troubles this family has had. He didn’t even hear from you until he got that telegram. Then all it said was you were coming home.”

“So, you think you paid your dues? You think a couple of years being here is enough to balance out what I’ve done?”

Not quite sure how to proceed, Jamie was quiet but still defiant with that chin stuck out. He decided not to answer those last questions but to offer a different challenge.

“They only welcomed you home because they had to. Mister Cartwright said not to make trouble. I guess he doesn’t want you to leave again even if I don’t know why.”

“You think their welcoming me and not making trouble are the same thing? You have a long way to go in understanding us.”

“Huh?”

“And that may be the smartest thing you’ve said.”

“Now you’re making fun of me.”

“There’s no need for me to do that.”

“What? You saying I’m stupid now?”

Walking into the barn, Hoss could see how upset Jamie was. At the same time, he could see the tension in Adam and guessed he was holding back a lot of what he wanted to do.

“Jamie, you best go to the house.”

“Hoss, he insulted me, I think.”

“Jamie, if he insulted you, you would know it. Now, do as I told you.”

“All right, but I don’t have to like it.”

Jamie could have said him instead of it because they all knew what he meant. When the younger brother was out of earshot, Hoss turned to Adam whose jaw was still clenched.

“Sometimes, he ain’t got the sense of a jackrabbit. We’re still trying to teach him. I hope he didn’t rile you too much.”

“He didn’t rile me.”

“Yeah, I can tell.” Hoss knew better than to approach Adam. This new version of Adam had that feel of a Mojave sidewinder sometimes. It was best to give him room at times and this was one of those times. “Something’s bothering you though. You care to talk to me about it?”

Waiting patiently as Adam wrestled with how to say what he needed to say or if he even wanted to say it, Hoss settled onto a bench and stretched out his legs. It was his way of letting Adam know that he wasn’t going anywhere until they had time to talk, really talk. Adam walked to the doors and pulled them closed which told Hoss that he was going to tell him things that at this point he didn’t want anyone to overhear. When he walked back, he nodded and grabbed a stool to sit near Hoss.

“I’ve been doing dangerous work for the past five years. Most of the time, I’ve had to watch out for others who might want to kill me.”

“I noticed you keep your right hand free all the time. You keep your pistol with you all the time too right up to your bedroom at night. Candy thinks you’re dangerous yourself.”

“Yeah, I might have overreacted a bit with him.”

“Might?”

“All right, I did. He pushed, and I pushed back. Good for him to know right off that he shouldn’t push me.”

“He got that message. Did you have to push a pistol up against his chin?”

“Sorry, but that was habit. Somebody comes after me, I react.”

“He thought he was standing up for me and Joe and Pa.”

“That’s not his place to do that with me. You may treat him like a brother, but that gives him no privileges with me. He needs to know that.”

“He knows that now. I told him about the same. We don’t need him to work out our family issues especially as he could get himself hurt going up against you. He didn’t like to think that you were dangerous to him, but I told him not to test that out. I’m a little worried yet about that.”

“That’s what worries me. I’m all right with you and Pa and Joe. I settled right down with you three because I know you, and I trust you. But there are others here who could do what Candy did or what Jamie wanted to do. If somebody does push me, it could get me to react in ways I don’t want to react, and I could guarantee they won’t like it either.”

“We have a hand here who was in prison. We’ve learned not to surprise him by coming up behind him or waking him by grabbing his shoulder or arm. Seems you’re in that same kind of situation. We can put the word out. The men here understand. I’ll tell them you’re like Griff but for other reasons, and if they surprise you or push you, they better watch out for what happens next. They’ve seen it with Griff. I hope they don’t need any more of that.”

“I know I don’t. It would get men talking in town too, and I don’t want that either.”

“You’re not wanted, are you?”

“Not by the government, but some people the government is prosecuting would like to get even with me to make an example or to remove me as a potential witness. I worked for them, and then, with some help, I turned over all their secret records to the government and left town. It wasn’t soon enough though. They got a description of me, and men were following me. I lost them on the way to Denver, but I don’t know if they gave up or not.”

“They could be coming here?”

“No, at least not yet. Two men are watching behind me, and I stopped in town and talked to Roy before I came here.”

“Roy’s not sheriff anymore.”

“I know, but old habits die hard. He still watches everyone who comes into town. He’s always had a good sense for men who were here for trouble. I described the men I saw following me. He’ll be watching. I notified Clem I was here too.”

“Notified? You on some kind of official business or something?”

“No, but when I’m in a jurisdiction, I’m supposed to let local law enforcement know I’m here. The exception would be if I was working undercover. Then that requirement would be waived.”

“What the hell kind of job do you have anyway?”

“I get paid through the Marshals Service.”

“You’re leaving out a lot though, ain’t ya?”

“For now, I am. I’ll tell what I can when I can. That’s it.” After a long pause, Adam decided it was his turn to ask some questions. “What’s wrong with Pa? I can see how worried you and Joe are.”

“We don’t know. We’re afraid it’s his heart. He seems all right at the end of the day after doing a few things, but then he sleeps at night. After lying in bed all night, he looks awful and can hardly do nothing.”

“Every night?”

“Every night. We ain’t had a chance to tell you about Hop Sing. He had a heart attack. That’s why he ain’t here. It seemed like he was like that for a time too just like Pa and then his heart gave out. He’s resting up with his family in town. We’re sending his wages like he was still working. I don’t know if he’s ever coming back. I guess they’re getting older. It’s kinda hard to get used to the idea. you know.”

“How long has Pa been like this?”

“Oh, maybe two months ago. Pa got on that commission about the stuff the government is supposed to send to the Paiute on their reservation. It was after his first meeting with them. He came home not feeling so good. It’s been like that since then. Paul can’t figure it out. He had another doctor come out here, and he couldn’t figure it out neither. I think it’s all the extra pressure and the travel on top of all the work here. It’s too much for him.”

Although Adam had a suspicion already, he didn’t want to voice it.

“Hoss, I don’t want to go to town, and you probably know why. I’d like a special bottle of brandy though. Perhaps you could buy one for me when you go to town?”

“Adam, Pa’s got a bunch of brandy in the cellar.”

“I know, but I have my favorite. I don’t drink much, but when I do, I like to have this one. I’ll buy your drinks when you’re in town. In fact, buy two bottles, and you can have one. You’ll see what I mean when you try some. Keep it in your room, and you can have a glass when you go up to bed. It’s a nice way to finish off an evening.”

“Now that sounds like a good plan. What’s the name of this here brandy you want?”

“I’ll write it down for you. It’s French. I would appreciate it if you didn’t let anyone know what you were doing. Keep it all quiet as you can.”

“Maybe I’ll have someone else get it for me then. If I go in there and ask for a couple of bottles of brandy, there ain’t no way there aren’t gonna be a lot of questions.”

“Yes, if you have someone who can be discreet.”

“I do.”

Adam smiled when Hoss didn’t play ignorant as if he didn’t know what the word meant. He had gotten over that game or that insecurity apparently and was willing to let people know he was smart. Hoss saw the smile.

“Yeah, the gal I got now got to talking about books with me early on so I mentioned some of the books I was reading that I got from your room. We started talking about books, and it brought us closer together. Surprised her that I could read that well.”

“She sounds like a good choice for you.”

“She is, but she owns a part interest in a saloon and works there. Pa don’t like that.”

“And?”

“I told him that it was my decision who I was gonna see. We plan to get married. We got to work out one thing though. I want to have a family, and she ain’t so sure she does. When we get to an agreement on that, we’ll get hitched together.”

“Lots of ways to have a family.”

“That’s what I told her. But one way or another, I got to have some children whether we have them or we adopt them.”

“I hope she comes around to your way of thinking.”

“You’ve changed.”

“Yes, I have. Everyone changes. Some more than others.”

“You still talk in riddles sometimes.”

“Yes.”

“And those damn short answers that make me guess what you’re thinking.”

“Yes, you’re right again.”

“Joe was happy to see you. That did surprise me some. He’s had some harsh things to say about you over the last five years. But I think he was relieved you were here thinking maybe you can help.”

“I’ll try.”

“For Pa, it was a dream come true. He was so worried you would never come back. I’m real glad you did.”

“For Pa, or for you too?”

“For Pa especially, but I want to see if we can get back to where we were.”

“I’d like that too. I missed that most of all.”

“When you trust me enough again, maybe you’ll tell me her name.”

Adam was more startled than he had been in a long time and sat staring at Hoss.

“Don’t ever forget that I’m the one man who knows you better than anyone else. I saw how you looked and sounded when you talked about what you did tell us and when you heard what we told you. It seemed like the only really important thing you could have been leaving out.”

“Damn, you’re good.”

“Yeah, and don’t you never forget it again.”

Standing, the two walked to the house without speaking but relaxed once more in each other’s company. Adam could be relaxed because he had not heard yet what had happened in Reno.

 

Ride 7 – at home

Riding together on the ranch, Joe and Adam talked about the changes that had been made. Joe did almost all the talking as Adam listened and occasionally asked questions. They stopped for lunch on a hillside with a beautiful view of the lake and the mountains on the other side. Leaning back, Adam closed his eyes for a time letting the sun warm him and letting his muscles relax. Joe watched his oldest brother and had one observation.

“You still don’t talk much. You hold it all in. The only one who seems to know anything is Hoss. I guess things haven’t changed much.”

“Things have changed a lot. You have changed and so have I. The only reason I talked with Hoss first and not you was that I didn’t want to burden you with any of my troubles after all you’ve been through.”

“Your troubles?”

“I know. It can’t seem like any trouble could be like what you suffered. So I didn’t want to put any additional burden on you.”

“That’s just it. By not trusting me, it makes things worse.”

“Joe, I trust you. That wasn’t the issue. Can you believe me?”

“Yeah, I can, because you never lied to me. You held things back but never lied. So what did you tell Hoss?”

With a shrug, Adam told Joe about the same story as he told Hoss. He couldn’t remember exactly how he had phrased things because it had been an emotional time, and he admitted as much to Joe who understood.

“I’ve been there myself. I know what you mean, but I have a question. You never were a brandy drinker. When did that change?”

“It hasn’t changed.”

“Huh?”

Then Joe thought back through what Adam had said about his conversation with Hoss and understood what Adam was suspecting. He found it hard to believe.

“You don’t think someone in our house is poisoning Pa?”

“No, I think someone has poisoned something in our house and that’s poisoning Pa. The most likely suspect is the brandy. Pa drinks it every night, but you must know that Hop Sing always added extra to the supply list and had some in his room too.”

“We’ve got to stop Pa from drinking that brandy right now. Why didn’t you stop him last night?”

“That’s why I suggested to Hoss that he go into town for the supplies today. We’ll have the new brandy this evening. Last night he drank brandy right after dinner. By the time I suspected the brandy, it was too late to stop him. If Pa drinks the new brandy and wakes up tomorrow morning without those terrible symptoms, then we’ll know.”

“And we’ll smash those bottles of brandy in the cellar.”

“No, we’ll keep them. I have a plan of how we might use them.”

“Something nasty to the people who did this to Pa?”

“If my theory is correct, yes.”

“But who would do that?”

“I’ll tell you and Hoss and Pa too if my theory checks out. I’ll get other people involved too because if this fails, there could be other efforts.”

“Is this tied into something you did? Did you bring this trouble here?”

“No, I didn’t. Any trouble that follows me will be against me. No, Joe, I won’t endanger any of you if I can help it. Right now, no one knows where I am except the two men I was working with. They’re watching my back to make sure no one follows me here.”

“And if they do?”

“I’ll be warned, and I may have to leave to keep all of you safe.”

“No, I think you should stay, and all of us will keep you safe.”

“Thanks, Joe, but I hope it never comes to that choice.”

“And I want to thank you for being honest with me. It means a lot that you trust me.”

“I’m glad we got past all those old habits.”

“I’m glad about that too. As long as we’re being straight with each other, there’s something you did that bothered me. The way you confronted Jamie was kind of harsh by my way of thinking. I think he was only worried about what you might do to the family here and was trying to protect us. He might be insecure yet about his place here too.”

“That may all be true about Jamie, but he has to learn to mind his manners around me like he would with any other member of the family. What would you do if he told you your decisions were wrong before he knew any of the story behind any of them?”

“I understand what you’re saying too. I only wish you could have been a bit easier on him.”

“I know you didn’t think it then, but now do you wish I had been easier on you when you were young?”

“You’re right. It seems I was always mad at you. I claimed you didn’t respect me, and looking back, I realize you were the one who did respect me. You thought I was a man and ought to act like one. All right, I get it. Jamie acted like a boy so you treated him like one. If he had come to you and talked more like a man, you would have treated him with more respect.”

“Yes, our little brother needs to learn that lesson yet about thinking before he talks.”

“Took me a while to learn that.”

“Yes, it did.”

Throwing the remains of his lunch at Adam, Joe got a laugh in return.

“I know I deserved that, but it had gotten so serious. I needed to see your smile again too. Now let’s ride more and you can show off all the work you did while I was gone. So far, it’s been impressive.”

When the two rode back into the yard by the house, Ben was sitting on the porch with a ledger. Jamie was at his side as both appeared to be working. The brothers waved before going into the barn to get the horses settled.

“Tell me again why you made so many of the changes I suggested, but there still is no stablehand to take care of the horses.”

“It’s kind of strange, but Pa won’t let us put one here. At least we can assign chores here to a hand in the morning and the evening so we don’t have to use our time doing those.”

“So no matter how much he’s changed, he still has to show that in the end, he’s the one in charge.”

“Adam, I don’t think that’s it. I think he’s afraid of losing his status, of losing the right to have any say. Hoss and I make almost all the business decisions now.”

“Now that I’m back, is he worried about what the three of us might do?”

“No, Jamie was right on that point. He’s mainly worried that you’ll leave again.”

“You know I will at some point, don’t you?”

“I figured that, but I’m hoping it’s a long visit, and that there will be a lot more visits. I don’t want another five years when we hardly know what’s going on with you.”

“That won’t happen again, Joe. I am sorry about that, but there were circumstances I couldn’t control. I wish I could tell you about them now, but I don’t have leave to do so.”

“When you can tell us, you will?”

“Yes, I can promise that.”

“Good, because I know you keep your promises. Let’s go talk to Pa and assure him that we got along well all day. He may have a difficult time believing that.”

“Now why would he think that?”

Ben was worried about how the two would get along. Seeing them ride into the yard looking relaxed, and then they came out of the barn laughing so hard that they were leaning on each so he could relax too. Jamie didn’t understand it at all. After hearing all the stories of how Adam and his father had argued and about the almost legendary trouble between Adam and Joe, this easygoing camaraderie was not at all what he expected. Ben saw the look the boy had.

“Jamie, what you don’t understand is that no matter what trouble that ever happened among us, we love each other as much as any family can love.”

“But he left. He walked away from all of you and hardly even sent a letter in five years.”

“Yes, he left, but he felt he had to do it. Now that I see how we all get along, I have to admit he was probably right in his reasoning. He needed to go, and we needed to work things out without him here.”

“But what about not writing to you?”

“Adam always has a good reason for things he does. You will have to learn to trust him on that. When he can tell us why he didn’t write, he will. There’s a lot more we don’t know than what we know. He’s talked with Hoss and by now probably with Joe.”

“Will he talk with you next?”

“No, I don’t think so. I lost too much of his trust long ago. I’ll probably find things out about the same time you do.”

“That’s not right.”

“Maybe it is and maybe it isn’t. It’s not your place to judge him.”

“That’s what he said.”

“And he was right. If that was part of what got you so upset, then you shouldn’t be upset. You don’t know him well enough to judge him. You don’t know him at all yet. If you’re lucky and show enough respect, you may get to know him.”

“But I’m his brother now. That should count for something.”

“With Adam, honesty, integrity, and character count. You could be a complete stranger but if you had those, he would count you as a friend and treat you like family. He might trust you. Adam is a careful and cautious man usually. Keep that in mind.”

“I feel like I have to walk on eggshells now around him.”

“That problem is of your own making.”

Hoss had walked outside and heard part of the conversation. Jamie had nothing more to say as Joe and Adam turned from the corral and came up to the porch. Joe gave a quick synopsis of their day, and then the family slipped into light banter and small talk. Jamie was silent until he directed a question at Adam.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“You just did.”

With a sigh, almost because he knew it was going to be difficult, Jamie rephrased.

“Can I ask you a question about you and get an answer, please?”

“Yes.”

“Where have you been living the past five years?”

“Nowhere.”

Thinking he had been blown off again, Jamie got a bit red in the face and had a difficult time holding back an angry retort. But then he saw his father and other brothers nodding as if they understood.

“What did he mean by that? What does it mean to live nowhere? I mean we had an address to send letters.”

“You could have asked me. It meant I had an apartment that I used as a mail drop and someplace where I could store a few things. I didn’t live there. I didn’t live anywhere. Now that’s enough for today, and please don’t repeat that to anyone.”

Although Jamie was frustrated by the conversation, Joe poked him in the shoulder and told him they would talk later. When it was time to go to bed, Joe stepped into Jamie’s bedroom and saw how impatient the young man was. He chuckled.

“I think I know exactly how you feel. I felt that way sometimes with Adam too. He’s not going to tell you anything before he’s ready to tell you. Prodding him with questions won’t help. There is one thing important you need to know from that conversation you had with him though. He offered you his trust. That’s a big deal with Adam.”

“What? How?”

“He told you something and told you not to tell anyone. That means it’s important yet he trusted you with that information. You tell anyone that and it could put him in jeopardy.”

“How?”

“That doesn’t matter. Someday we may know. He’s got a lot he can’t tell us right now. We have to trust him on that.”

“Why?”

“Because he doesn’t lie. He may leave things out, but when he tells you something, it’s straight up truth.”

“He doesn’t even tell little lies?”

“Not usually as far as I know. Hoss may tell a little lie to spare your feelings. I might do that to save my butt from getting in trouble or save somebody else from that. But Adam, nah, usually he shoots straight from the hip and things happen the way they happen. Used to bother me, but I guess I’ve gotten used to it.”

“I don’t think I ever met anyone like him.”

“Probably isn’t another one like him.”

“Of course, I never met anyone like you or like Hoss either. Pa sure raised three different kinds of sons.”

Jamie paused then not sure at first how to bring up the next topic. Joe made it easy by telling him to spit it out.

“What was the deal with the brandy tonight? Adam insisting that Pa drink the new brandy he had, and you and Hoss practically grabbing that other bottle and taking it out of Pa’s reach. It was like you thought it was poison or something and didn’t want him to touch it by the looks on your faces.”

Joe had a dilemma then. He had not been given permission to share anything with Jamie yet the boy had already guessed a lot.

“Come with me.”

Jamie had pulled his nightshirt on, but without waiting for anything else, Joe propelled him down the hall to the guest room Adam was using. He knocked on the door and pushed Jamie in ahead of him when Adam answered and told him to come in.

“All right, Jamie, ask him that question.”

“What question?”

“Don’t be dense. Ask that last question you asked me.”

“What was the deal with the brandy tonight? You insisted that Pa drink that new brandy you got today, and Hoss and Joe were grabbing at that other bottle to take it away from where Pa could reach it. It was like the three of you thought it was poison or something, and none of you wanted him to drink any of it by the looks on your faces. I thought Pa noticed too, but he was too tired to go up against all three of you.”

Adam stared at Joe.

“I didn’t tell him anything. He’s not stupid. As you heard, he is very observant.”

Turning his attention to Jamie, Adam told him to sit. Jamie didn’t want to take orders from Adam, but like a lot of men older, stronger, and more experienced, he was intimidated by the dark brother. He sat.

“You are correct. We suspect someone is poisoning Pa and using the brandy to do it. The brandy is safely hidden away now, and the new brandy is secure where no one can get to it. Doctor Martin has a bottle of the old brandy and will do his best to test it.”

“But who would want to poison Pa?”

“If Pa gets up in the morning and is feeling better not worse, we’re going to have another meeting except we’ll include Hoss. I’ll tell you my suspicions then, and we’ll begin working on a plan.”

In the morning, Ben got up earlier than usual and announced to his sons that he felt better than he had in months. He said he had slept well although he had a bit of a headache. He told Adam that he enjoyed the new brandy.

“In fact, when my brandy is gone, I’d like to switch to that new brand.”

“You don’t have to wait, Pa. That was your last bottle of the old stuff.”

“Last bottle?”

“Yes, with Hop Sing gone, apparently no one thought to add brandy to the supply list. Yesterday, when I saw the list, I had Hoss buy this new brandy because I was so sure you would like it.”

“Well, Adam, I don’t like changes like that being done without me being asked.”

“Pa, you were asked last night. If you didn’t like it, me and Hoss were each going to take a bottle and then get you a supply of your old brandy.”

“Oh, well then, that’s fine.”

Off to the side, Jamie whispered to Joe.

“I thought you said Adam didn’t lie.”

“I guess maybe he’s changed some.”

 

Ride 8 – still at home

The family meeting minus Ben took place away from the house. Adam and Hoss rode off together and Jamie and Joe rode off in another direction. However, in the barn, they had made plans to meet within the hour at the closest line cabin. Hoss and Adam talked only briefly while making their way there.

“I was sure happy to see how Pa looked this morning, but inside I was so mad. Somebody done that to him, making him sick and all. He could have had a heart attack like Hop Sing.”

“Yes, I’ve been thinking about that. If they wanted him to have a heart attack, they could have put more into the brandy. I think they wanted to make him sick not kill him. It fits with what I’ve been thinking.”

“But Hop Sing almost died.”

“Hop Sing is a much smaller man, and except for the family, who knew he drank that brandy too?”

“Oh, so he got sicker cause he was so much smaller.” After a moment to think about it, Hoss turned to his brother as they rode and pulled up his horse. He looked even angrier. “That probably means somebody on the ranch cooperated. No stranger would know that Pa drinks brandy in the evening and the rest of us usually don’t.”

All Adam did was purse his lips letting Hoss know that he had drawn the same conclusion. They had a likely traitor in their midst. They picked up the pace then to get to the line cabin. On the Truckee River, it was where Ben had settled with Adam and Hoss when he had first come to the area and run a trap line to get money to buy land and stock. It wasn’t very useful as a line cabin, but they kept it more for family history than anything. It came in handy sometimes when guests needed to stay for an indefinite time or for meetings like this when they didn’t want anyone to notice. Joe and Jamie were already there when they arrived, and both were anxious to hear what Adam had to say.

“What I tell you needs to stay with only the three of you. I work as a special agent for the President but officially I work for the Interior Department and occasionally for the Treasury Department.”

“You’re a Marshal?”

“I can do anything a Marshal can do but quite a bit more too. The President has been working to clean up the corruption in government. Many of the stories you hear about him are being spread to tarnish his reputation to stop those efforts.”

“But both Democrats and Republicans say the same things about him.”

“Yes, Joe, they do.”

Letting the statement hang for a moment, Adam waited for his brothers to digest it and draw the logical conclusion.

“He’s going after the crooks in both parties.”

“Yes, he is, Hoss, and in business. Have you heard about the New York Customs Ring as they are calling it in the newspapers?”

All three brothers nodded to that. Then Joe got a bit excited.

“Was that you? It said a government agent cracked the case open with secret documents and then informants provided everything else the courts needed.”

“That was me. I infiltrated their organization and got the trust of one employee who was being mistreated by them. She told me where the secret books were. When I had a chance, I took them and turned them into the honest authorities.”

“Is that why they might be after you? You could testify against them?”

“My testimony isn’t really needed. If they’re after me, it’s revenge or to set an example.”

“Set an example?”

“Jamie, there are other agents investigating other corruption. If they kill an agent or two, that’s a warning to others to back away. My investigation of them is complete. There is no need to kill me, so they have another agenda in mind. The men who worked with me on that case are watching to see if anyone followed me from Denver. As far as I know, I lost them there.”

“So what do you know about why Pa got poisoned?”

“This part is only guesswork, Joe, but it’s based on facts I do know. While I was still in Washington, I talked with agents who were working on a possible scandal in the War Department. They were just beginning to check into things. It seems there might be a ring that is defrauding the government over allocations to Indian reservations. An investigation into something like that can take years. But Pa is on the commission to oversee the Paiute reservation. He was appointed when one of the original members died. My guess is that this ring if it exists, and it probably does, didn’t like that appointment and wants him off the commission.”

“They’d take a chance on killing him just to make some money?”

“Jamie, you must have seen men out here do far worse for money,”

“Yeah, but this is so underhanded and sneaky. It makes me sick to my stomach. I’d rather have someone face me directly than go slithering around like a snake.”

Joe and Hoss wondered if Jamie realized he was indirectly criticizing what Adam had been doing. He didn’t seem to know it, especially by what he said next.

“Joe said you don’t lie and I should trust you. You lied to Pa last night. Why should we believe you now?”

The eyes narrowed and the voice got lower and softer. Joe and Hoss knew the signs of anger in Adam. Jamie did not. Questioning his integrity and his honesty with his family was a step way too far for Adam to accept or tolerate.

“In my job, telling the truth could get me a bullet in the head or get someone else killed. To stay alive and keep others safe, I have had to learn to be careful with the truth. The next time Pa goes to that commission, do you want him to know the other men at that table poisoned him? If they suspect he knows, what do you think they will do next? Sometimes to save lives, a man has to sacrifice something else. Maybe when you grow up, you will find things are not so simple as you seem to think they are.”

“I’ve lived on my own. I’m grown up.”

“Not enough yet. It’s time for you to go do your work for the day. I have things to talk over with Joe and Hoss. We have plans to make and I can’t risk you being part of that.”

“I have a right to stay. You’re talking about my Pa too.”

“I decide who has a right to hear what I have to say. You don’t.”

“You can’t make me leave. This isn’t just a job to me. He’s my father.”

Before Adam could move, Joe and Hoss did ushering Jamie to the door and telling him to go do his work for the day. The young man wanted to object, but the odds against him were far too great. Hoss reminded him to keep everything confidential including that they had met. Jamie wasn’t happy about it but agreed. Joe closed the door and turned back to Adam.

“I can tell you from experience that he’s already feeling terrible about what he said, and it will be his pride that will hold him back from apologizing in a reasonable length of time.”

“He’s done things like this before?”

“No, I did things like that to you too so I know how he feels. Being young and stupid is a hard place to be when you have two older brothers who know so much more than you do, and he has three.”

Putting a hand on Joe’s shoulder, Adam squeezed gently. He looked to Hoss and nodded.

“I can try to take it a bit easier on him, but I am worried about Pa. I have to admit, it was a shock to see him looking so weak. I hope it was the poison that did it. It hasn’t been that long that I’ve been gone.”

“All right, what’s the plan. Me and Joe are ready to do whatever needs to be done.”

“For now, nothing. I need to find a way to talk to Pa and convince him to act sick even though he isn’t. It’s got to be a conspiracy against him, but it can’t be the one I described to you for the reason I gave already. They want him to be sick. If they realize he feels better, they’ll try something else. But who else might want to sicken him?”

“So, now you want us all to lie?”

“C’mon, brothers, you all had more experience at it than I did growing up. It shouldn’t be that difficult.”

It was a light moment in an otherwise serious discussion. They decided that Joe ought to be the one to talk with their father. He had been in negotiations with the timber and railroad interests who wanted to clear-cut a section of timber. Others then wanted to come in and mine the region. Ben had been adamant that he was not open to their proposals, and Joe had made that clear with counteroffers he had made to them. The negotiations had ground to a standstill. Joe was going to insinuate that perhaps this was how they were trying to break the stalemate. He wanted Ben to play along until he and Adam could talk to the authorities and get them investigating. There was still too much they didn’t know, in this story they made up for Ben and in what they suspected was actually happening.

“Pa, if you’re suddenly healthy, they’ll know they failed. Then we don’t know what they’ll do. Maybe ambush one of us? Start a fire somewhere else on the ranch? No, if you act like you’re still sick, they’ll think their plan is still working.”

That part of the plan worked. The other part of the plan was for Adam to contact Sayer and set up a meeting. Adam wanted to find out which members of the commission had ties to the War Department and to those who sold the supplies that ended up on the reservation. His part of the plan got much more complicated when his return message got him the news that Sayer was gravely wounded and the ‘cargo’ was missing and had probably left voluntarily. He said little to his father before he left other than he was going to be gone for a short time. To his brothers, he was more specific.

“I have to go to Reno. I need to find out what happened and which plot led to it. If a woman with a little boy shows up here, protect them with everything you’ve got. I’ll be back as soon as I can. If Pa has a commission meeting, one of you has to go with him. I’ll try to have someone here to help you. Code will be cougar.”

“What?”

“Joe, if the man tells you that cougar sent him, then he’s legitimate. If he uses any other explanation, don’t trust him, but probably keep an eye on him.”

“Adam, me and Joe had an idea about that commission meeting. We thought Pa could bring some brandy to the meeting from home here. He could see who was reluctant to drink or refused it altogether.”

“But he wouldn’t bring the bad stuff?”

“Nah, he’d bring good stuff, but they wouldn’t know that. If the men on the commission are in on it, then they won’t want to drink that brandy. Joe will be there too so he can watch them too.”

“That sounds like a good plan.”

“You’re going to wear those clothes to travel?”

“Yes, Joe, going on the stage looking like a working cowboy and taking my saddle with me is a better cover than anything I know right now. I should fit right in when I get to Reno.”

“Adam, this is the name of the man we’ve dealt with up there when we needed horses. He’ll treat you fair. Ask him for a place to stay too. He’ll give you a good recommendation.”

“Thanks, Hoss. Maybe I’ll use your name.”

“Careful of your cover story up there. He knows everything that happens in that town.”

“So if I say I came up to visit a friend.”

“Leave it at that and don’t use my name. That should be good enough for him.”

To avoid any attention, Adam caught the stage at a station outside of town. Hoss gave him a ride there in a wagon. The stage was full so he rode on top with the driver who didn’t recognize him. They talked of general things for most of the trip when they did talk. In Reno, Adam climbed down and took his saddlebags and saddle to head to the livery stable to meet the man Hoss had recommended. He left his saddle there and promised to come back to probably buy a horse within a day or two. Then he headed to a boardinghouse that had been recommended. There he heard the rules. No drinking on the premises, no smoking except on the porch, and no spitting except in the yard. Meals were at seven, one, and seven. If you were late, you got what was left on the table as there were no late servings. If you missed a meal, you missed a meal. Payment was one day at a time in advance. He paid for two days.

“What if you don’t stay for two days?”

“You can keep it.”

“I think I like you.”

“Thank you.”

Taking his leave after dropping his saddlebags in a room, Adam headed to a saloon expecting to be contacted. It didn’t take long. They had been expecting him. He got a note with directions when a man bumped into him and he felt him stuff something in his pocket. At the saloon, he ordered a beer and pulled the note from his pocket, read it, and downed the beer if a few gulps. A short time later, he knocked on the door of the room to which he had been directed. He had his gun out and another in his left hand as he stood to the side of the door. The door opened and an agent stepped out.

“It’s all right, cougar. Sayer is inside. He’s waiting for you.”

“After you.”

Adam followed the man in and only put his guns away when he saw Sayer smile at him.

“Damn if you aren’t the most careful man I ever knew. I should have been that careful.”

“What the hell happened?”

“I’ve had a lot of time to think about that. I didn’t want to contact you and give them any kind of clue until I had some idea of what was going on.”

“You should have warned me.”

“At first, I was unconscious and unable to warn you. Then when I woke and found out that nothing had happened to you, I understood that they don’t know who you are.”

“So they don’t know where I am.”

“And the men who attacked me and killed Trey were not the ones following you. Everything our agents can find out indicates they did indeed lose your trail at Denver, gave up, and went back home. Killing you this far west wouldn’t have much impact anyway on a case in New York.”

“Except to tell anyone that they couldn’t run far enough to get away from them.”

“Well, there is that except the outfit is a New York one mostly. Now, what’s out here is much larger, and they have ties to New York.”

“Are you talking about that investigation we heard about concerning the War Department and the Indian reservations allocations?”

“Yes, and what I surmise is they thought we had come here to investigate them and sought to eliminate us. They had no idea we were your backup team. They don’t know who you are so they’re not worried about you.”

For the next few minutes, Adam explained what had happened with his father. When he paused and said no more, Sayer guessed what his thoughts must be.

“She’ll be fine, Adam. She got scared. It was a logical conclusion to draw, but she’s a resourceful woman so I’m sure she will be safe.”

Adam’s look was more sad than worried. He wondered if he would ever see her again.

 

Ride 9

Watching Adam stand at the window and look down at the street, Sayer knew what he had to do. He didn’t like doing it, but he couldn’t see another way to handle things.

“Adam, you need to resign your position or I’ll have to fire you.”

Shocked, Adam turned to his friend and couldn’t speak at first. He saw the concerned expression that was so at odds with the words he had heard from him. Inside, his emotions were already churned up before Sayer had spoken.

“I’ve never seen you like this. You’re a troubled man torn in too many directions. You won’t be effective in this job and you won’t be safe.”

“You’re underestimating me.”

“No, you’re overconfident in your abilities.”

“I don’t think you have authorization to fire me.”

Sayer’s bluff had been called. As an invalid not on active duty, he couldn’t fire Adam. However, he had hoped to force him to at least take a leave.

“Adam, you need to back away from this.”

“I need to find the men who murdered Trey. They’ve taken this a step way too far.”

“Yes, we have seen nothing like this until now. If they were apprehended for murder and sent to the gallows, it would likely make anyone else back off. Do you understand all the risks though? This would likely be your last job. You have had a lot of exposure and sooner or later, they’re going to know who you are and kill you.”

“I hope I understand the risks by now, and I accept that I won’t be able to keep doing this kind of work. But by now, I’m very good at it and I can do one more especially to save her life and yours. What kind of role do you think would work best to smoke them out? Investor or disgruntled federal employee?”

“I think we’ll have you sent here as a new supply distribution manager for the Paiute reservation. I read in one of the reports that strategy is being planned. You can act as unhappy with that transfer as you want. I would expect that it wouldn’t take long for contact to be made.”

“As soon as it is, I will be following up on it.”

“I know. It means you probably will be fired because it’s going to create a problem for the broader investigation.”

“What about you?”

“I may get fired too, but I’ll likely get hired back. I know where too many of the skeletons are buried.”

“Are you going to be well enough to work as my spotter? I’ll need someone to watch for the criminals as they move in.”

“I will. I can’t trust anyone else to do it. They would figure out that were getting ahead of the plan and stop us.”

Adam let his beard grow and fit a lot of padding under the much larger clothing that was purchased for him by the aide who was helping Sayer. In this disguise, no one would recognize him. Adam got a quick course in supply disbursement and budget management federal style. Then he was taken out of town and caught the stage well away from Reno arriving in town as if he had traveled a great distance. He was met in town by two men who escorted him to the Indian Agency. On the trail, Adam managed to complain constantly and about everything thoroughly irritating the two men who had been sent to get him. At the agency, he began to do his job, but he often stopped to look at the scenery and probably think about leaving. After less than a week, he was approached when he was alone in his quarters. A knock on the door wasn’t unexpected.

“Who is it?”

“I’m a guest bearing a gift to share. I have a bottle of good whisky, not the crap they sell on the post here.”

“C’mon in then. You are most welcome here.”

After pouring a generous measure into Adam’s glass, the two drank deeply, and then Adam had his glass refilled.

“To what do I owe this gesture? I’m not complaining. I only wonder what I have to do to get more.”

“Oh, you can get more of this and a lot more of everything.”

“Go ahead. I’m listening.”

“No limits?”

“I’ll do anything. I need money to get the hell out of here.”

“That’s what I like to hear. Now, this is what I would like you to do.”

The man outlined a procedure for shifting all the valuable supplies to a freight hauler who would then send less and inferior supplies in their place. Adam nodded in the affirmative but had a question.

“The clerk here seems honest. Is he going to cooperate? I am fully agreeable, but he keeps damn good records, and this would blow up in my face in the first month unless he agrees to work with us.”

“We have someone else for you to hire in that position.”

“Oh, my clerk is quitting?”

“No, not exactly. He’s about to have a terrible accident.”

“You have someone to take care of that?”

“Yes, you met them already. The men who escorted you here do that kind of work. If you had been a government plant, they would have taken care of you on the way in.”

Good at playing his role, Adam looked shocked at that. But he had the information he had been seeking as well as a bit more. Sayer was working as an itinerant gambler on the post. It was about all he could manage with the last stages of his recuperation. There were a couple of agents working at odd jobs, and two Paiute who were working for them too. If Adam gave the signal, this man would be arrested. However, that could mean the two murderers would flee and avoid apprehension. Adam had to come up with something better.

The man with the whisky wasn’t very big nor did he look to be very strong. That assessment proved to be correct. Soon he was gagged, bound, and rolled up in a blanket laying in the shadows of the room so someone looking in a window wouldn’t see him. Adam kept the whisky glasses on the table and sat down acting as if he was quietly drinking. It took about an hour for the two men to show up. The first sign was the shadow by the window, and then the knock at the door. Adam stood, pulled the small curtain closed, and then opened the door to confront the two men.

“Oh, hello, again. Is there something I can help you with?”

“A friend of ours came to see you. We’re wondering where he is.”

“Yes, he brought me this wonderful whisky, but he left about an hour ago. We did talk about you and your job skills. I must say I had no idea when we were traveling together.”

“Shut up, you fool.”

“Sorry. It’s the whisky. I guess I must have had too much, but it’s been so long since I had good whisky.”

There were shadows moving up behind the two men. Adam burped loudly to distract them, and then he laughed about it before apologizing.

“Get inside. We need to talk with you.”

The men were shocked though as Adam suddenly talked in a clear and sober voice as he stood tall and looked at them with a cold and stony face with all hint of merriment vanished.

“No, I don’t think so. I think you need to raise your hands over your heads so the men behind you don’t shoot you in the head. However, I wouldn’t mind them shooting you in the head, so if you would rather resist arrest, that would be fine with me too.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

Sayer’s voice sounded from behind them.

“What he’s talking about is that there are five men behind you with guns drawn. If you don’t raise your hands now, we fire.”

Without pause, Adam stepped back into his quarters pulling the heavy pine door closed. He heard gunfire for a few seconds and opened the door to find one of the men dead and the other with his hands in the air.

“Luke did the killing. I only rode with him. Honest to God, that’s the truth. I’ll tell you anything you need to know.”

“Sayer, I do like it when we get a cooperative witness. There may be another one inside rolled up in a blanket. From the smell of him, he is plenty scared from what he heard out here.”

“This will blow up this part of the corruption, but probably set back the larger investigation maybe by years. The others will be far more careful when they find out what happened here. The theory is that this corruption may reach all the way to the top of the War Department.”

“If no one else gets killed, maybe it will be worth it. The Paiute will be better off too. There is good that came from this.”

“Yes, but it’s politics too, and there are always scapegoats.”

“I don’t care. I’ll write that letter of resignation now. But first I want to get this damn padding off. It’s too hot to be wearing this here.”

“You might want to ride away before doing that so you won’t be identified. There may still be members of that ring here.”

“That’s good advice. I’ll be leaving soon.”

“Where will you go?”

“I have to find her.”

“Where will you look?”

“I don’t know.”

“If I can get any help to you, I will.”

“Thank you, Sayer. I guess this is goodbye.”

“There is one thing more, Adam. Your father and brothers pulled off their little brandy scam with the Indian Commission. We have the names of the men who refused to drink the brandy your father brought. With the two witnesses we have now, we can probably tie them into the corruption and the assault on your father. It may help break open the corruption here in Nevada.”

“Thank you.”

“Goodbye, Adam.”

Leaving camp, Adam’s thoughts were not on what he had accomplished but on what he thought he had lost. He didn’t know where to find her nor even how to look for her. He had told her of the Ponderosa. His one hope was that she had found her way there. A telegram might tip off their foes so the only thing to do was to ride home to find out if she had gotten there. On arrival, that hope was dashed. His family had no word of a woman looking for him. Hoss asked him about her and he finally opened up to his family telling them about Sayer and the kind of work he had done battling corruption by infiltrating organizations posing as an investor or disgruntled employee or whatever role would get him inside.

“The New York Customs Ring as it was called was huge. It wasn’t difficult to get inside. They were so confident in their power because of bribes they paid and all the politicians, judges, and others in power who were part of it. But I got inside, and then I found out who knew a lot about the organization and who might not like what was going on.”

“And that’s how you met her?”

“Yes, Hoss, I took advantage of her, but I didn’t know I was going to have feelings for her.”

The family wondered how strong those feelings were. It seemed he was understating them.

“I got close to her. I commiserated with her and shared similar stories to hers. She began to have strong feelings for me, and when I admitted what my real purpose was, she helped me. She told me about the secret records and where they were kept. Everything I needed to get to those records was provided by her, but when the records were taken, they knew that too. I had to get her out.”

“But it was more than that too, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, I had developed strong feelings for her too. It was something I was cautioned against, but my heart didn’t listen. I didn’t know much about her. I didn’t know she had a child, yet I used her to get what I wanted and as a result put her at great peril.”

“Aw, c’mon, Adam, why don’t you just say that you love her?”

From the door, another voice echoed Joe’s question.

“Do you love me, Adam?”

Whirling around, Adam crossed the room in a few strides and took the woman with one arm as his other hand dropped down to grasp the hand of the small boy at her side. He kissed her and declared for all to hear.

“I love you, Monica.”

“Well, thank the Lord, that happened. I was going to have to smack you one if you didn’t say it. I found these two up at the northwest line cabin. All she could talk about was this wayward son of yours, Mister Cartwright. I figured I better get her here as fast as I could. I’m afraid I left the boys a little shorthanded and a couple of horses short up in that section.”

“Candy, thank you.”

“You’re welcome, Adam. Do I get an invitation to the wedding now?”

Looking down at Monica, Adam grinned.

“What do you say?”

“To what? To inviting Candy or to marrying you?”

“Both?”

“Yes.”

“Bodie, do you like the idea?”

“Which one?”

“Both.”

“Yes.”

“Hot diggity, there’s gonna be a wedding, and Pa, you’re gonna get a grandson right quick. How about that?”

“That sounds wonderful.”

“Hey, Adam, I got a question.”

“Yes, Joe, what’s the question?”

“Who is going to stand for you?”

“I don’t know. I’ll leave all the wedding decisions to Monica.”

“Well, I need someone to stand for me, and someone to walk me down the aisle, and someone to be with Bodie because he can’t be alone, and someone to stand with Adam. Do we have enough for all of that? Can the four of you handle all of that?”

Ben, Hoss, Joe, and Jamie looked at each other trying to assess how the roles should be split with each one picking their favorite spot. Adam looked at Candy.

“Perhaps we should all go outside as the four do a Cartwright discussion.”

“Sounds good to me.”

Hop Sing brought cookies, coffee, and milk to the porch as they all listened to the ‘discussion’ inside. Monica asked Candy if he would greet their guests at the door, and he agreed. She asked Hop Sing if he would supervise all the cooking and baking, and if he would hire as many of his cousins as necessary to do a banquet for all and do the cleanup. He was quite pleased. The wedding was to take place in two weeks. Neither Adam nor Monica wanted to wait any longer than necessary to order the food and get out invitations. They would deal with other issues as they arose.

At least they didn’t have to deal with the other members of the family who came to an agreement as to what each one would do. Hoss would stand with Adam. Ben would walk Monica down the aisle. Jamie would sit with Bodie and keep him busy or at least well behaved, and Joe would stand with Monica. With that settled, they could relax and start to get to know one another. Everyone wanted to know what Adam had done and where Monica had been, but Bodie was still there. When it was time for Bodie to go to bed, others were too tired to continue the conversation.

It took some time to settle everyone in their rooms. Adam and Monica were in separate rooms temporarily. She was exhausted anyway and needed rest. There were many things they needed to discuss after their hasty decision, but neither was ready for it that night. Adam knew he would be better prepared by the next day although he doubted he would sleep much. As it developed, Hoss helped him with that.

 

Ride 10

That night, Adam stood outside for a time under the stars and wasn’t surprised when Hoss was the one who walked out to talk with him.

“You drew the short straw?”

“Nope. I volunteered, and they all thought it was the best idea. I got great ideas sometimes.”

“Yes, you do. So what do you think about my idea this time?”

“Can’t rightly answer that until you tell me how you feel about it. If you’re feeling she’s the right woman to have by your side, then I’m plenty good with it. As worried as you were when she wasn’t here, I kinda figured you had made that decision already. Was I wrong about that?”

“You weren’t wrong.”

The two stood quietly for a time. Hoss knew that Adam wanted to tell him something but was having a difficult time finding a way to say it.

“She was supposed to help them kill me in New York. They had made threats against her. She owed me nothing, but she helped me, risked herself and Bodie, and saved my life. In the process, she pointed me in the direction of the evidence that brought down the biggest corruption ring yet in the government.”

Hoss was still mulling over that first statement unable to accept if fully.

“Wait a minute. You’re going to marry a woman who was going to kill you?”

“She was supposed to kill me. You missed the point. She got to know me and didn’t do it. Hoss, her husband worked for them. When he died, they offered her his job keeping records for them. She guessed that they had assumed her husband had told her things about his job. If she said no, she thought they might kill her. She suspected they had killed her husband because he had been telling her he had expressed some doubts about how big the corruption had gotten and then had been worried that had put him in jeopardy.”

“How did he die?”

“Run over by freight wagons near the docks.”

“Wagons as in more than one wagon ran him over?”

“Yes, supposedly the first one couldn’t stop in time and the second one never saw him lying in the street after the first one ran him over.”

“So, it was murder.”

“Most likely.”

“She had reason to worry.”

“Yes, she did.”

“But she trusted you to keep her alive?”

“By then we were very close. At first, it was part of the job, but then it was more.”

Thinking about that for only a moment, Hoss knew what he meant.

“I don’t suppose you’re supposed to do that.”

“No, I wasn’t supposed to love her.”

It wasn’t what Hoss meant, but he got all the information from that statement that he was seeking. A lot made more sense too.

“So, if they were going to try to kill you, they were going to try to kill her too.”

“Yes.”

“And her son?”

“Probably not, but then he would be all alone.”

“You still look darn worried. What is it that you ain’t told me yet?”

“The ones who came after us turned back in Denver. There’s another scheme going on out here. It’s the one that Pa is running into. They’re nastier in that we’re worried that they may be more violent or perhaps have less conscience. When they saw Sayer and Trey, they assumed they were sent here to investigate the corruption. If they find out I’m here, they’re likely to think the same thing. I’ve asked my employer what I should do. I’m waiting for a response.”

“What will you do until then?”

“Get married and enjoy some time with Monica.”

With a smile, Hoss slapped his brother on the shoulder. With Adam, some things never seemed to change.

After a few days of rest and getting to know the family, it was time for Adam and Monica to talk about all that had happened and make plans for the future. However, they couldn’t do that with Bodie around so Hoss offered to take charge of the boy. Offers of kittens, a colt, and cookies convinced Bodie it was a good arrangement, but only when his mother said the alternative was getting back to school lessons which had been neglected for so long.

“Oh, no, Mama, you should go with Mister Adam like he asked. And I’ll go with Mister Hoss like he asked. I’m being polite like you said.”

“Yes, you are. Very well, Bodie, I guess we’ll do as you ask.”

“Thank you, Mama.”

Amused, Adam looked around to see how impressed his family was by her. He was too so it wasn’t a surprise. Hoss nodded with a greater understanding already of why Adam had chosen her to be his wife. He had a guess too that his brother had more planned than talking and was correct in that assumption. But first, the two did talk.

“I had a lot of time to think. I realized that as soon as I knew there was trouble, I thought of you and what you told me to do. I headed for the Ponderosa and stayed away from all settlements and settlers. Then I looked for the line cabins you mentioned. Once we found one we stayed there to wait for you.

“You’re still worried, aren’t you?”

That meant Adam had to explain all the things that had happened to other people. He had spread out a blanket for them and the lunch they had brought along. The spot was a grassy area with bushes and trees for a backdrop with the shore of the lake below them and gorgeous views. They had plenty of time to talk but first, he made sure they had time to express their love for each other. When they finished, she brushed the stray hairs from his forehead and reminded him of her question. With a smile, he began the stories he had to tell. He told her about Sayer and Trey as well as his father being poisoned. Hop Sing was back at work but needed a cousin to help out now so he didn’t overdo the work and tire himself too much. He told her of Sayer’s visit and all that he had learned.

“I’ve sent off a message to my employer to ask what I should do. I’m not part of that investigation, but what my father did and what I did brought some of those involved to the attention of the authorities. Some have been arrested. It’s probably that they think Sayer and I have something to do with this investigation.”

“So they might try to kill you and maybe try to kill Sayer too.”

“It’s possible.”

“I don’t like hearing that. I thought it was all behind us.”

“It should be. Here on the Ponderosa, they should be able to tell I’m not actively pursuing an investigation and let it go at least for a time. If a message comes, I told Hoss to read it and let me know as soon as possible what it says.”

“You trust him, don’t you?”

“With my life if need be.”

“I feel safe here, but I’ve been uneasy too since I arrived. Not when I was with Candy, but since we got here to the main house. I keep getting the feeling someone is watching us or at least me.”

Never one to discount feelings like that because he knew they could be based on real evidence but simply something a person hadn’t recognized as evidence consciously. Hoss was good at that and to some extent, so was Joe. He guessed perhaps Monica had that talent too.

“Can you tell me exactly when you feel that way? Is it when you’re in the house or outside?”

“Outside.”

“Who’s around at the times you feel uneasy?”

“It’s not so much who that I notice but the time of day. It’s in the early morning or the time before dinner.”

“That’s when the hands are leaving for the day’s work or coming back in. We knew someone here gave information to those who poisoned Pa, but we assumed it was for money. Maybe it wasn’t. Maybe there is someone here actively working for the other side.”

“If there is, then you and I are in a great deal of trouble, aren’t we, and maybe right now.”

“That’s what I was thinking. I didn’t tell anyone exactly where we were going although they may have guessed. Monica, wrap that blanket around you now.”

“What’s changed?”

Adam had whispered that last command to her and pulled his pistol. She had whispered back even as she complied. She knew he was aware of some danger she had not noticed.

“The birds stopped singing. Someone or something spooked them.”

“What do we do?”

“You need to roll under those bushes now. That blanket should be good camouflage in the shade of the bushes.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Try to find out who’s out there.”

With Monica tucked safely under the bushes, Adam didn’t have a chance to do as he said before a rifle shot took him in the leg. He hobbled to a tree for cover and whispered to Monica to stay put.

“It’s not too bad. He’s likely to come down to finish the job. I need to take him then. Stay quiet. Don’t make any sound.”

Grabbing pine needles and a few stay branches, Adam did his best to camouflage himself. Hearing footsteps approaching, he stopped moving and waited. The man was cautious and apparently wondered how badly he had wounded Adam and most likely wondered where Monica was. Then he startled both of them by calling out.

“I only came for you, Cartwright. They don’t care about her. Come out and face me, and she can live.”

The man moved closer then to where Adam was. Soon Adam could see part of him and the rifle he carried. He recognized the man as one of the hands who worked on the ranch. Hoping the man would walk a little closer, he waited, but the man began to search the area where he and Monica had been so happily engaged only a short time earlier. With no choice, he called out to him.

“I’m over here. You got me. I can’t stand to face you.”

“I heard you were smart. I’m not believing that for a minute.”

With a sigh, Adam resigned himself to a dangerous proposition. He would have to attack because if he let the man hunt him, he would definitely be killed. With his last bit of strength, he lunged forward and fired toward where he saw the man. He missed, and the man rushed for cover and returned fire hitting Adam in the arm. It wasn’t a bad wound, but he dropped his pistol. Forced to prop himself up with his left hand and with some numbness in his right hand, he couldn’t pick it up. Unable to use that pistol, he watched as the man approached him with a sneer and a sarcastic comment.

“They said to worry about you. They said you were so good. Look at you. You’re as helpless as a baby.”

As the man drew near, Adam dropped to the ground using his left hand to grab the pocket pistol in his boot and fired into the assassin’s belly at short range. The pocket pistol was only good at that range, but it was deadly if it hit its target with its double-barreled discharge. Grabbing his belly with both hands, the assassin dropped to his knees as blood gushed between his fingers. Crawling forward, Adam took the man’s discarded rifle and fired it three times into the air. Monica had gotten to his side by then.

“Why did you do that?”

“I’m summoning help. They might have thought the other shots were from hunting or some other purpose, but we have always used three shots like that as a sign of distress. Sweetheart, I am definitely in distress.”

“How bad is it?”

“Not bad in that I’m going to live, but they hurt like hell.”

“Let me get your pants down to look at the wound in your leg.”

“As you know, that could expose a lot more of me than I want people to see. The trousers are ruined anyway. Just cut them away around the wound.”

Suppressing a smile, Monica did as requested. She found the wound did not require a tourniquet as she had feared it might. She let that go for the moment to focus on the wound in his arm because although it was superficial, it was bleeding profusely. Pulling up the skirt of her dress, she ripped her petticoat to get cloth to wrap around his arm. Then she retrieved the two napkins from their lunch and added those. About that time, help arrived with Joe in the lead.

“Dang, Adam, what happened here?”

Monica answered because Adam was getting too lightheaded.

“We need to get him back to the house and bandaged up first, please. We can explain everything then.”

Soon Adam had more of the crude bandages applied and was on his way to the house. Doctor Martin was summoned and agreed with Adam’s assessment.

“The wounds are not serious, but the one in his leg will be especially painful because it went right through the main muscle in the front. The one in his arm is a shallow wound but over six inches long. As long as you change the bandages and keep both wounds clean, he should recover well with no ill effects.”

Ben was concerned.

“Paul, he’s supposed to get married next Saturday.”

“He can get married. You still have that old wheelchair around, don’t you. You can push him around in that.”

They all heard the answer Adam roared to that when Monica told him what the doctor said.

“I am not getting married sitting in a wheelchair. Hoss, get up here!”

Hoss explained that it would be a little obvious if Adam had to wrap his left arm around Hoss’ shoulder to move and then stand for his wedding.

“Joe, get up here!”

Joe thought it was rather funny as Adam begged him to stand with Hoss so the two of them could hold him up for his wedding. He agreed to do it though. So, Hoss and Joe stood with Adam trying to be as unobtrusive as possible holding him up with a hand under each elbow and a finger wrapped around his belt. Jamie and Bodie stood with Monica after Ben walked her down the aisle. People remarked at how close the family was.

Then after a short recuperation for Adam, he left with Monica and Bodie for a trip to the Sandwich Islands and then an extended stay in southern California. They promised to return in six months by which time the ring would hopefully understand that Adam was not part of the investigation of the corruption.

That investigation lasted a full seven years and eventually reached the Secretary of War.