Summary:  It’s an adventure on a trip to Senora, Arizona for Ben and Joe.
Rating:  T 53,420 words

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Though the Library already contains stories from this author, this story was forwarded by Corina to be included as part of this project.

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LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT PHAEDRA

 

PROLOGUE

 

She dreamed the same dream night after night for almost a week. The dream centered around a particular man who was non-threatening, so she wasn’t afraid. She would know him when she saw him, so vivid were her dreams.

 

In her dreams, he never spoke, but somehow she knew she would recognize his voice when she heard it. She knew that she would be meeting him soon and smiled to herself. She didn’t question how she knew this – she never questioned the “how” or “why” of things. Over the years, she had learned to accept this “knowing” and was comfortable with it.

 

Still smiling, she padded across the floor to the kitchen to brew some tea and, while the water boiled, she sat down at the table and picked up her paper tablet and a pencil and began to sketch a face. When the water was ready and the tea had steeped, she sipped from her cup and made changes to the sketch until she got it drawn as best she could. Satisfied finally with the sketch, she put her pencil down, finished her tea, put the pad of paper containing the picture in a drawer, rinsed out her cup, and padded back across the floor to her bedroom. She smiled as she plumped up her pillow. Her last thought before drifting back to sleep was “soon…. Soon.”

 

CHAPTER ONE

Ben and Joe Cartwright had almost reached Sonora, Arizona, when Buck stepped into a prairie-dog hole. Hoping against hope that his horse would not be lame, Ben dismounted immediately, patting Buck on the neck reassuringly. But, as he walked his horse around in a circle, Ben sighed. His horse was definitely favoring his right front leg and the small-but-deep cut was steadily oozing blood.

 

“Pa? Looks like Buck’s going to need some attention. I can’t tell if the cut is hurting him or if he’s gone lame or both,” observed Joe.

 

“I can’t tell either,” was Ben’s reply. “But I can’t ride him now. It’d only make things worse.” Ben sighed as he patted Buck on the neck again. “Looks like Cochise is going to have to carry the weight of two men until we get to town and can have him looked after.”

 

Joe grinned and reached down an arm to help his father mount up behind him. Joe couldn’t remember a time in his life when Ben had had to ride double with him and he took a certain amount of pleasure in this. But he did feel sorry for Buck and was thankful that the ride into Sonora would be a short one and would be less of a strain for Ben’s horse.

 

Ben wriggled uncomfortably as he settled himself over the saddlebags, trying to find a position that was least offensive to his backside. Then he swore softly.

 

“You all right, Pa?” Joe asked.

 

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just managed to rip the pocket of my pants.”

 

Joe grinned again. “You’ve got another pair in your saddlebags. You could change out here. There’s nobody who can see you.”

 

Ben snorted. “I am not climbing down off this horse, changing clothes, and then getting back on again! I didn’t like doing it the first time! Now nudge this old nag and let’s get going before the sun burns us up!”

 

Cochise, with a gentle nudge from Joe, began moving while Ben held Buck’s reins and watched him walk. Poor Buck was limping badly by the time the two Cartwrights arrived in Sonora.

 

CHAPTER TWO

At the appearance of the first water trough in town, Joe reined in Cochise. He glanced back at Buck and shook his head. “Pa, I don’t think Buck can go much longer. Maybe a long drink of water might perk him up some. Then we can find somebody to do some doctoring on that leg.”

 

Ben patted his youngest son’s shoulder and slid, rather unceremoniously and with a definite lack of grace, from Cochise’s back. Cochise broke wind loudly, and Ben cursed under his breath as he quickly backed away and led Buck to the water trough.

 

“Aw, Pa. Cooch couldn’t help it.” Joe tried not to laugh. “Or maybe he’s getting back at you for the extra weight he had to carry.”

 

Ben, muttering something about a glue factory, stood by Buck’s side as the animal drank noisily from the trough. “I seem to have torn more of my pants’ pocket. I’ll change as soon as we get Buck tended to and after we get settled in the hotel.”

 

Soaking his neckerchief in the water and then wiping away the dried blood from Buck’s leg, Ben could get a good look at the wound. Joe knelt down to look also as Cochise began guzzling water.

 

“I can’t tell how deep the cut is and it’s pretty swollen,” Ben stated as he watched Joe run his hand around the wound. Buck jumped a little and put his ears back in protest.

 

“Well, it feels hot to the touch,” Joe responded. “Wonder where the livery stable is? Sonora ought to have a vet around somewhere.”

 

Rolling his eyes, Ben spoke in a flat tone. “Virginia City doesn’t have a vet. Why should Sonora have one?”

 

A voice startled them. A man with flaming red hair and a beard to match was standing behind them and had been watching and listening. He was an astute judge of the obvious. “Horse looks like he went lame.” The man spoke with an accent that Ben thought sounded Scottish or Irish in nature.

 

Ben nodded. “Is there a vet in Sonora who can tend to him?”

 

The unknown man shook his head. “No vet here, but we have a livery stable. Old man Jeffords might could help you. Sure, but that’s a fine-looking horse, and I wouldn’t trust him to just anybody. At the other end of town on the left is a blue house, kinda set apart from everything else. That’s where you’ll find Quinn Bannan. If you don’t mind an Indian’s help, he’s the one to talk to. He’s got a way with animals.” Having stated that, the man turned and strode up the street and seemed to disappear.

 

“Uh, Pa?” Joe asked as he looked down the street. “Did that man just walk through the side of the bank?”

 

Ben had noticed the same thing but thought it had been an optical illusion. “You’ve been out in the heat too long, son. Let’s go.”

 

Though Joe didn’t know it, Ben had looked back over his shoulder twice. He finally shrugged and figured out that he had been in the sun too long.

 

It was this “meeting” that set a whole bunch of things in motion.

 

CHAPTER THREE

Ben looked at Joe. Wordlessly, the two took their horses’ reins and walked in the direction that the man had indicated. Buck limped pitifully, a fact which broke Ben’s heart. He wondered silently if his beloved horse might actually have a broken bone, in which case he’d have to be put down. Ben shivered at the thought.

 

Father and son passed the livery stable. It looked clean enough, and there was a man there who looked like he owned the place.

 

Ben spoke. “Excuse me, sir. Would you be Mr. Jeffords?”

 

The man spat out a wad of chewing tobacco. “I am. Looks like you’ve lamed your horse.” His voice was accusatory.

 

Ben had to bite his tongue to keep his retort to himself. “He stepped in a prairie-dog hole. Can you take a look at him?”

 

 

 

Mr. Jeffords wiped the spittle from his chin with his hands, crawled through the wooden slats of the corral, and snatched up Buck’s leg. Buck jumped in surprise at the rough handling and at the pain it caused him.

“Hey, mister! Don’t be so rough!” Joe was angry but wasn’t as good at biting his tongue as was his father.

 

But Ben was angry. When he spoke, his voice was low and slow. “You should know better than to treat an animal that way. Your hands are filthy, and you’ve got a bad attitude to boot. I’d just as soon find a human doctor than to leave my horse in your care, even if you swore on a stack of Bibles that you could fix him up.”

 

Mr. Jeffords spat again, almost hitting the toe of Ben’s right boot, then stalked away towards the barn. Ben was gentle as he pulled on Buck’s reins and turned him back toward the street. He’d have to hope that Quinn Bannan could give him the help he needed. Or he’d have to put Buck down. There was no way that the horse could make it even to San Francisco where Ben knew there were several excellent vets.

 

Father and son walked in silence until they reached a light blue house, small but well-kept, with flowers growing in the yard and in pots on the porch. On the wide porch, sitting in the shade of the large overhang, drinking lemonade and eating cookies, were several ladies – deep in conversation. Some had bolts of fabric peeking out of bags set next to them. The house did seem to be separated from the other houses but Joe quickly found the reason: There was a barn and a big corral behind the house, and there were a few horses in it. The sign in front of the house showed the name “Bannan” in neat, hand-written letters. Below the name, in smaller letters, were written “Phaedra – Seamstress” and “Quinn – Farrier.” There appeared to be bullet holes in the sign. Undaunted and handing Buck’s reins to Joe, Ben walked up the steps, tipped his hat to the ladies, and knocked on the door.

 

CHAPTER FOUR

“I’m running a bit late today, Mrs. Leon,” came a voice from inside the house. “There’s fresh lemonade and oatmeal cookies on the table on the front porch. Have a seat and help yourself. I’ll be with you soon.”

 

“Uh, I’d like to talk to Mister Bannan, ma’am,” Ben called through the closed door. “My horse has gone lame and I’d like to talk…” Ben never got a chance to finish the sentence because the door flew open.

 

He’s here! That voice is unmistakable even though I’ve never actually heard it spoken aloud. I wonder what this is all about? The woman had jumped up from Miss Jane’s fitting and had sprinted to the door, flinging it open wide. She smiled. That’s the face! That’s the voice!

 

“You’ll need to go ’round back to the corral, sir. Quinn is either in the barn or he’s working with a rather recalcitrant horse. Tell him that I sent you back there.” Slowly the door closed. Ben turned, tipped his hat again, and joined his son at the front of the house. Behind the closed door, the woman took a moment to gather her thoughts and then returned to her client.

 

Mister Bannan wasn’t in the corral. “He must be in the barn,” Joe stated. “I’ll go get him.”

 

Ben shook his head. “No, son. This appears to be private property. We can’t just walk in like we’re old friends. If this Bannan is anything like Jeffords, I need to keep my distance. I’m liable to give him a poke in the nose.” Ben took a deep breath as he thought about Jeffords and wondered how so unlikable a man could be trusted with a wounded horse.

 

“Mister Bannan?” Ben called. “I have a lame horse here – would you take a look at him?”

 

Ben’s deep voice apparently carried all the way into the barn, and a man emerged from the shadows and stepped into the sunlight. Only the man wasn’t much older than Joe. Obviously, this was not the husband of Mrs. Bannan.

 

“Maybe she likes younger men,” Joe whispered with a giggle. He had been thinking the same thing that had flitted through his father’s mind initially.

 

There was no doubt that this young man was an Indian – his high cheekbones, his black hair and eyes, and the beaded deerskin shirt that he wore gave his heritage away. He looked first at Buck and at the leg that Buck was holding slightly up, then he looked at Ben.

 

“Who sent you here?” There was suspicion in those dark eyes but the tone of his voice was non-threatening.

 

“I think it was Mrs. Bannan,” Ben answered just as calmly. “I knocked on the door and the lady inside said for me to come back here.”

 

The suspicion fled from the black eyes, and the young man extended his hand. “That was my mother. My name is Quinn. Now let’s take a look at your horse.”

 

Without giving either Ben or Joe a chance to introduce themselves, Quinn took Buck’s reins from Ben’s hands. But Buck had enjoyed all he could stand with being led from one man to another, being touched and prodded, inducing more pain. He reared and snorted and laid his ears back in anger.

 

Quinn dropped the reins gently to the ground. “What happened to him?”

 

“He stepped in a prairie-dog hole and cut his leg on something. We were lucky to be so close to town. I don’t think he could’ve walked much more.” Ben’s answer was succinct.

 

“Did you ride him into town?” Quinn asked as he watched Buck.

 

“Do we look like idiots!” Joe exclaimed. “We rode double on my horse!”

 

Ben’s eyes flashed a warning which Joe recognized as meaning to be quiet.

 

“Why didn’t you take him to the livery stable in town?” Quinn’s eyes were on Buck who had settled down only slightly. Buck’s eyes were on Quinn as the young man reached out an open hand and touched the horse’s nose gently.

 

“We stopped at the first water trough we found. A kind stranger came up and mentioned Jeffords’ name and your name. We met Jeffords and took an instant dislike to him. So we came here.”

 

Quinn picked up Buck’s reins and led him into the corral. “I’ll bet you dollars to donuts that the man had red hair and a red beard.”

 

When Ben nodded his assent, Quinn’s smile spread from ear to ear. “That figures. Now let’s see what we can do to fix up this fine horse.”

 

Ben and Joe looked at each other – confused. “Must be a private joke or something,” Joe whispered. Ben nodded. Father and son entered the corral and carefully closed the gate behind them.

 

CHAPTER FIVE

“We haven’t introduced ourselves,” Ben began.

 

“Don’t need to,” Quinn answered as he gently unsaddled Buck and then reached for a halter hanging on the corral’s fence. “This horse’s name is all that’s important right now. We’ll get to your names later.” He put the halter on and took off the reins.

 

“His name is ‘Buck’.” Ben’s answer was short.

 

Quinn nodded and took the saddle into the barn. When he came out, he carried a bottle of something in one hand and a bucket of something in the other. There were clean white strips of cloth over his shoulder. Ben and Joe decided that the best idea for both of them was just to remain silent and watch.

 

Quinn put the bucket and the bottle down on the ground and watched intently as Buck’s head went up and he began walking away from Quinn. Lowering his eyes and bending slightly from the waist, Quinn began whistling a nameless tune. It didn’t take long for Buck to become curious and he slowly approached this strange man. Slowly, without making eye contact, Quinn stretched out the back of his hand for Buck to sniff. Gently taking Buck’s head in his hands, Quinn whistled softly into Buck’s nose.

 

Ben and Joe looked at each other. Why was Quinn doing this? They were flabbergasted when they saw Quinn poking his finger into the side of Buck’s mouth. What in the world was going on?

 

The whistling-in-the-nose and the finger-in-the-mouth processes lasted for only a minute or two. Quinn bent way over from his waist until his upper body was parallel to the ground. Gently, he pulled downwards on Buck’s halter and, slowly, Buck’s head came down until his nose almost touched the dirt. Gently, Quinn (still whistling) rubbed the open palm of his hand over one of Buck’s eyes, and the big horse actually leaned into him. He looked as though he was almost asleep. He was completely relaxed. Quinn rubbed Buck’s nose, massaged slightly above his withers, and began long, slow strokes over the horse’s body. He spoke in a sing-song voice the whole time.

 

“I think Buck’s falling asleep,” Joe whispered. “I’ve never seen him so relaxed. I’m gonna have a million questions for Quinn when this is all over.”

 

Ben nodded silently in agreement.

 

Buck was familiar with bottles and pails of all kinds – there was no shortage of their usage in the Ponderosa barn. But, with one sleepy eye, he regarded the strange man bringing these items over in his direction. Up went his head – on alert – but he didn’t move.

 

The bottle and the bucket were placed practically under the horse’s nose. Quinn bent over and began rubbing underneath the middle of Buck’s belly – long, slow, smooth strokes on Buck’s navel in a circular motion. Slowly Buck’s head came down as he relaxed and began investigating the objects in front of him. Quinn continued to whistle or to talk in that sing-song tone. Once again, he returned to kneading over Buck’s withers. The horse turned his head and began biting at Quinn’s shoulder.

 

“Shhh,” said Quinn as he pushed Buck’s head away gently. The kneading continued. Buck’s head almost dropped into the big pail, so relaxed was he.

 

Quinn stepped away from Buck and faced Ben and Joe. “We now have one very-relaxed horse. It’s time to start dealing with his leg and maybe his hoof. You’re very welcome to stay and watch, but this will take longer than just getting him relaxed. In the bucket is some very cold water with ice in it – the ice is kept all summer long in the ice house. I plan to apply ice compresses on that bad leg – the coldness will make the pain and swelling lessen, the melting ice will wash that leg and hoof off, and then I’ll apply some castor oil externally to the wound to make it heal faster. Then I’ll wrap the leg to keep it clean. I doubt you want to stand in the hot sun while I do all of this. My advice is for you to go up to the porch, drink lemonade and eat cookies, and talk to my mother. She has something to tell you.”

 

“She doesn’t even know us! How could she want to tell us something?” Ben seemed confused.

 

“No, she doesn’t know either of you. But she’s been expecting your arrival for almost a week. Our lives are meant to entwine now for some reason. But you need to talk with her. It seems to be important.”

 

Joe couldn’t help but ask, “Is she a gypsy who tells fortunes?”

 

Quinn’s black eyes flashed. “My mother most certainly is not a gypsy! I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t put her in that category. She’s half-Indian with a…a…gift. You’ll see!”

 

Grabbing Joe by the elbow, Ben spoke softly. “He didn’t mean to sound insulting. We’ve dealt with good gypsies and bad ones. We’ve dealt with good Indians and bad ones. Every culture has both good and bad.”

 

Quinn nodded. “You can stay here or go sit on the porch. Do as you wish.”

 

Ben propelled Joe towards the house. “Please try to mind your manners and watch what you say!”

 

“Did Quinn say that he was gonna use castor oil on Buck’s leg? I feel discombobulated,” Joe muttered.

 

“Me, too,” Ben replied. “I thought castor oil was supposed to be taken internally.”

 

They would be more discombobulated when they met Quinn’s mother.

 

CHAPTER SIX

Every town has its gossip-mongers, and Sonora was no exception. Hattie McCabe and Josephine Pendleton were the eager bearers of all tidings whether there was truth in what they said or not. Along with Lori Edwards, they were sitting on the porch with what appeared to be a brand new batch of cookies and a full pitcher of lemonade. All three of the women looked up as Ben and Joe ascended the steps and tipped their hats in greeting.

 

“What nice young men,” cackled Josephine, watching as father and son sat down. Josephine was old enough to be present when Moses brought the tablets down from the Mount.

 

Hattie, who appeared to be older, must surely have been alive when the Dead Sea was just “sick.” She poured two glasses of cold lemonade and handed them to the new male arrivals.

 

Lori, a young lady and also the beauty of the town, passed the platter of cookies to the men first and then to the older ladies. She turned her brightest smile towards Joe and received a sexy grin in return.

 

Hattie looked at the cookie in her hand. “Oatmeal! My favorite! But it’s got bugs in it!”

 

Josephine shook her head. “Hattie, those aren’t bugs. They’re raisins, for God’s sake!” Josephine rolled her rheumy eyes and smiled at Ben. “Honestly! Hattie is blind as a bat without her glasses! I don’t know what she’d do without a friend like me to help her when help is needed!”

 

Lori smothered a laugh. Joe whispered to Ben, “Clementine Hawkins.” Ben flinched and gave his son a dirty look.

 

Hattie looked at the cookie in her hand. “They’re bugs. They have legs! Indians eat bugs, you know.”

 

Josephine pulled a raisin out of her cookie and squished it between her fingers. “It’s a raisin, I tell you! Just eat it!”

 

Lori looked pointedly at Joe. “Do Indians eat bugs?” Why she chose to ask Joe this question defied reasoning – except that he was young and handsome and she looked forward to making another male conquest.

 

Joe liked to make conquests of his own. “I don’t know the answer to that. But I read once that there are tribes somewhere in Africa who find grub worms to be a delicacy.”

 

Hattie and Josephine put down their cookies and never ate a single bite. But a flurry of questions began from them. “Are you new in town? Are you moving to town? What business are you in? Do you like to read? What happened to that horse’s leg?”

 

No introductions had been made – as a matter of fact, nobody could’ve spoken because the two older women never gave time for an answer.

 

The door opened and out came a woman, carrying a small baby. She had a puzzled but happy look on her face. She walked away and Lori’s name was called. Into the house went Lori, leaving Ben and Joe with the two old ladies.

 

Josephine leaned forward towards Ben and whispered, “Are you here for a reading?”

 

“A ‘reading’?” Ben asked. “Do you mean having my fortune told?”

 

“Well, I guess they’re kinda the same thing,” whispered Hattie.

 

“Why would you ask that? I came here to see Quinn about my lame horse.” Ben was perplexed. So was Joe.

 

“Do you mean to tell me that you haven’t heard about her?” Josephine asked, her eyes wide, as she looked quickly through the window behind her. “You haven’t heard about Phaedra?”

 

Father and son shook their heads.

 

Hattie took a deep breath. “Let me tell you about Phaedra. She’s an Indian or half-Indian or something. She knows things. She sees and talks to dead people. And then she tells you what they say. Sometimes she sees things from the past, sometimes stuff in the future. I hear that she sneaks around the graveyard at night and that ghosts come up out of the ground and they all talk and dance around until the wee hours of the morning…”

 

Josephine interrupted. “Let me tell you about Phaedra. She keeps a crystal ball hidden in the root cellar and goes down there to look into it. She makes magic potions. Oh, dear! These cookies may be full of God-only-knows-what!”

 

“When she does a reading, she’s right on target. We come here sometimes, but we never linger after dusk. Everything she’s told us is true! And some of the other folks in town come here too. Even though she and her son are Indians, they can go into any establishment in town and be admitted – nobody wants to have her put a curse on them or what they own.” Hattie stopped to take a breath and then looked suspiciously at her lemonade.

 

“We’ve been drinking this!” she exclaimed. “Josephine, let’s go right to church and pray that we’re not under some kind of ‘spell’!”

 

Up they jumped and, with speed unusual for elderly folks, they bolted off up the street. This left Ben and Joe sitting and staring at each other, dumbfounded.

 

The door opened and Lori waved as she exited the house and went down the stairs. Immediately, out came a diminutive woman with a broad smile on her face. She sank down into a chair, poured a glass of lemonade, poked a bit of cookie into her mouth, looked at Ben and said, “Hello! I’m Phaedra. I’ve been waiting for a whole week to meet you.”

 

CHAPTER SEVEN

Ben and Joe had risen to their feet, hats in hand, when Phaedra had emerged. When she was seated, father and son sat down with a plop. Both men’s faces reflected their confusion.

 

Ben was the first to find his voice. “You’ve been waiting for a week to meet us? How can that be? You don’t even know us. As a matter of fact, we’ve never been to Sonora before – not even close to Sonora. As far as I know, we’ve never seen either you or your son before.” Ben paused to take a breath. “Let me introduce ourselves. I’m…”

 

Up went Phaedra’s hands to indicate that Ben should stop talking. “I don’t want to know your names. Not yet. I don’t want to know where you came from or why. I don’t want to know where you’re going. Not yet, anyhow. While Quinn is working with your horse, let’s just sit and talk.” Phaedra looked at Ben and Joe who seemed to be distinctly uncomfortable. Phaedra laughed.

 

“I heard what Mattie and Josephine told you. Some of it’s true and most of it is just silly gossip which started because folks don’t understand about my…um…’gift’.  I’ll tell you about it – you can take it with a grain of salt, believe or not believe. Have we got a deal?”

 

Ben nodded, reached for another glass of lemonade, and immediately put the glass back down. What he would prefer would be a cup of coffee.

 

As though she knew what Ben was thinking, Phaedra laughed again. “It’s gotten way too hot to sit out here. And I bet the two of you would prefer coffee to lemonade, even in this heat. Why don’t we go inside where it’s cooler? We can talk there. I’m not expecting any more clients today so we won’t have any interruptions.”

 

Phaedra opened the front door and gestured for Ben and Joe to enter. The house was comfortably-furnished and larger than it had appeared from the outside. The woman indicated that the kitchen area was in the back of the house, so father and son walked that way with Phaedra bringing up the rear.

 

“Hmmm,” she said, touching Ben on the shoulder. “Your back pocket is about to fall off. I can fix it while we chat.” She pointed to a small room off to the right. “Go in there and take off your britches. There’s a large sheet you can wrap around you when you come out, and bring your pants with you.”

 

“But, I…” Ben protested.

 

Phaedra rolled her eyes. “Nobody will see you. And I sew men’s clothes too. Now, git!”

 

She spoke with an air of confidence, so Ben meekly disappeared into the room while Phaedra and Joe headed into the kitchen – bright and airy and cheerful with comfortable chairs at the table. By the time Joe was seated and the coffee urn and spoons and large mugs were placed on the table, Ben emerged. The sheet was tightly tucked at his waist and he handed his pants to this strange little woman.

 

“Pour yourselves some coffee while I get my sewing kit. I’ll be right back.”

 

Dutifully, Ben and Joe poured their coffee and took a sip. It was just right, needing no sugar or milk.

 

“D’ya think she went to get her crystal ball?” Joe half-whispered.

 

Laughter came from the other room. “I heard that and the answer is ‘no’.” More laughter as the woman returned to the kitchen, sewing kit and Ben’s britches in hand. When she was seated, had poured her own coffee, and threaded her needle, she spoke.

 

“Surely you can tell that I’m an Indian. Well, half Indian. My mother was Apache and my father was a Mountain Man. They married – according to Indian tradition – and moved up into the high country where trapping was good. I was born there. I learned to speak English there and learned to read there – my father taught my mother how to do both and she taught me. Along came a lost white stranger one day, and he stayed with us all winter long. We fell in love, moved to Sonora and got married. This is where Quinn was born.” Phaedra’s fingers fairly flew as she sewed an almost-invisible seam on Ben’s torn pocket. “As my parents got older, they returned to our original camp and lived there until ‘the fever’ all but wiped out the camp. My husband and I had already built this house, the barn and the corral. We decided to stay here, close to my mother’s family, until they died also. We’re still here with no plans to ever move. The town accepts us – probably for the reasons that Hattie mentioned. That ‘curse’ is what I’m referring to and it’s a bunch of horse hockey. I’m an excellent seamstress – which is how I help support my son and me. Quinn, from visiting at different Indian camps, learned at an early age about horses, how they act and react, what soothes them and what scares them – another marketable skill that puts money in the bank.”

 

By now, the torn pocket was sewn up and appeared to be as good as new. Phaedra looked out the kitchen window to glance at her son, pride on her face. “He’s had a tough row to hoe, but there’s nobody better with healing horses or saddle-breaking horses than Quinn. Now he seems to fit in both worlds – that of the white man and that of the Indian.”

 

She handed the now-mended pants to Ben and told him to go put them on. “I know you have questions. Let’s see if I have the answers.”

 

CHAPTER EIGHT

As Ben unwrapped the sheet that had covered him, he felt a kind of “softness” brush against his cheek. He figured it must be a spider’s web and ran his fingers over the area. Finding nothing attached to his fingers, he pulled on his pants and put on one boot. There was a distinct feeling that something tugged on his hair but, looking in the mirror, he could see no reason that this would be so. He figured his hair must’ve gotten caught on his shirt collar. He pulled on his other boot, tucked in his shirt and looked again in the mirror.

 

He quickly thought about Phaedra. She was neither plain nor ugly, and her high cheekbones and slightly almond-shaped eyes gave her an exotic look. Her muslin blouse and deerskin skirt revealed that she had a more-than-decent shape. And there was that smile or, more correctly, those smiles – she seemed to have several kinds that apparently meant different things. But they – along with her dark eyes – gave a sense of honesty and charm. Her black hair – streaked with areas of silver – was clipped up to the back of her head, probably to keep her cool in the late summer heat. Ben felt comfortable in her presence. And she made excellent coffee!

 

As he exited the small room, he paused to listen to Joe’s conversation which had started with, “Do you read palms? Do you use cards or anything?”

 

She laughed – a lilting laugh that was most pleasant. Her answer to Joe? “No, I don’t read palms or use cards or a divining rod or crystal balls or anything. But, if you’d like for me to look at your palms, I’ll be glad to.”

 

Ben shook his head and stepped into the kitchen, his mind full of questions. When he was seated with more hot coffee in his mug, Phaedra looked him in the eye.

 

“We were just talking about fortune-tellers. I’m not one of them. Well, you won’t find me performing at a circus show under a tent decked with stars and glitter. Those types of people are experts at discerning what to say just by looking at who walks in.”

 

“How so?” Ben asked, sipping his coffee and taking a bite out of a donut which had been placed on the table in his absence.

 

“I can see right away that your clothes are well-made and rather on the expensive side, so I figure you must be financially-secure. You are well-spoken, so my guess is that you are well-educated – either by traveling or by schooling or by reading or by life itself. Physically, you both have tanned faces, so you must work outdoors a lot. And you look strong – undoubtedly from physical labor.” She looked from one face to another as she spoke. “A fortune-teller might say that you either just came into or will be coming into a great deal of money. She might say that you are somehow involved in farming or ranching or something outdoorsy.”

 

Looking directly at Ben, she continued. “I see that you carry yourself with a quiet dignity without being condescending. You look like a leader, not a follower. I’ll bet you say what you mean and you mean what you say. I would think that you are a prominent man with many friends who often come to you for help – either financially or for advice or just for a nice chat. A ‘fortune-teller’ might be smart enough to pick up on these things and find some way to add them to your ‘reading.’ And she probably would say to both of you, based on the fact that you’re attractive men, that you are now or soon will be involved with a blond-haired lady.” Phaedra shrugged. “It may or may not happen, but you’re sure to have some kind of dealing with a lady with blond hair at some point.” Pause. “Then the con artist asks to be paid, and you think you’ve found out some interesting things. There are a million variations on this kind of scam. Some folks are better at it than others.”

 

“How do you know when you’ve been scammed?” Joe asked.

 

“You don’t. You just take what you’ve been told with a large grain of salt and go on with your life. Sometimes what’s been told will happen, but it’s sheer coincidence.”

 

“You said that you were expecting my arrival. How do you know? How do I know that you’re telling the truth?” Ben’s question was to the point.

 

“Wait here a minute. I’ll be right back.” Phaedra left the room and quickly returned with a large pad of paper and a pencil. Sitting down, she flipped through several pages of drawings and symbols and other strange markings. Finally, she smiled. “Here. I always put a date on my sketches, and you can see by looking at the last page’s date that I drew this almost a week ago.”

 

Turning the pad around, she indicated a page with yesterday’s date – a page filled with sketches of a lady’s dress. Then she flipped over to an older page which was dated from the previous week. On it was the face of a man.

 

“Who is this man?” she asked with an enigmatic smile.

 

“Pa! That’s you!” Joseph practically shouted.

 

Indeed, the likeness on the paper was strangely on-target. Ben’s eyes widened – he couldn’t disagree with his son.

 

Phaedra giggled. “Well, now I know that you’re father and son. Please don’t make a mistake and tell me your names. You won’t believe a word I say if you think I know who you are. Try very hard to answer any questions I might ask you with a simple “yes” or “no” from now on.”

 

“But how did you know that I was coming here?” Ben always based his knowledge on facts. There were no “facts” to explain the picture.

 

“I don’t know how I know things. I just do. I’ve been this way since I was very young. I see things in my mind – and I hear voices in my mind. Indians don’t find this unusual, but everybody else thinks I’m crazy. When I saw you at the door and heard your voice, I knew exactly who you were. I had consistent dreams about you and I heard you speak inside my head. What I don’t know is why you were brought to Sonora and to my home – except that we were supposed to meet for some reason.”

 

Ben handed the tablet back to Phaedra. She turned to a fresh page, dated it, and sipped her coffee.

 

“Are you saying that our meeting is ‘Fate’?” Ben asked.

 

“Not at all. Your horse stepped into a prairie-dog hole and went lame. You had to come to Sonora whether you wanted to or not. And you found yourselves guided here – to my house.”

 

Joe broke in. “If it hadn’t been for that man we met at the edge of town, we never would’ve known about this place.”

 

Phaedra’s eyes and face softened. “What man? Tell me about him.”

 

“Well, we were watering the horses and a man came up to us and noticed that Pa’s horse was lame. He suggested that we see either Mister Jeffords at the livery stable or come here.”

 

“And what did this man look and sound like? Did he walk with you to the livery stable?”

 

Ben answered this time. “He had red hair and a beard. An accent, too. He spoke, suggested what we do, and then walked down the street and ..um …went into the bank, I think.. Never saw him again.”

 

Abruptly, Phaedra rose, went into the living room, and returned with a picture. “Does this look like the same man?”

 

“That’s him, all right,” Joe stated with certainty. Ben nodded in agreement. Though the picture was in black-and-white, professionally-photographed, there was no mistaking that man with his thick hair and well-trimmed beard.

 

Phaedra had a rather bittersweet look about her face. “That’s Rory – my husband – and me, taken about a year ago. Quinn was busy – and he hates being photographed – so he’s not in the picture.”

 

Ben smiled. “He looks like a nice man. He was kind to help us.”

 

“He’s part Scottish and part Irish. He has an accent. And he’s been dead for over six months.”

 

CHAPTER NINE

While Ben shakily put down his coffee mug, Joe had a coughing fit. Phaedra, with an inscrutable smile, returned the picture to the living room. When she returned, she saw the looks of bewilderment on their faces.

 

Ben found his voice. “We saw and spoke to a ghost? How can that be? There are no such things as ghosts! Why didn’t he just tell us to come straight here?” Ben’s questions came tumbling out and seemed to have no coherency.

 

Phaedra laughed. “ First of all, both of you saw him and heard him. You’ve identified him correctly and without reservation by looking at his picture. Let me assure you that Rory is quite dead, but you did see him. And you’re not the only folks to do so. The mayor and his wife, the president of the bank, and the sheriff have all seen him. So have others. Rory always said, when he died, he’d come back ‘in spirit’ to let Quinn and me know that he was okay and to prove to me that spirits are real.” Phaedra sat back down at the table. “Life is full of choices. If you hadn’t gone to the livery stable first, wouldn’t you wonder if that ‘stranger’ wasn’t just running a scam by sending you straight here? We were meant to do what we’re doing right now – and that’s just talking. It would’ve happened sooner or later anyway. And I’m not doing this for money. Quinn is tending to your horse and he is doing this for money – and also because he loves horses so much.”

 

Joe’s hand shook slightly as he raised his coffee mug to his lips. “Is there something you’re supposed to tell us? It wasn’t until Quinn knew that you had sent us to the corral that he seemed to relax.”

 

“We’ve had trouble in the past with people we didn’t know who arrived to try to look at the ‘crazy lady’ or to try to ‘have their fortunes told’ by using their horses as an excuse to be here. Sometimes they would deliberately lame their horses or stick rocks in their hooves to make them limp. Quinn can tell, for the most part, if the injury is deliberate or not. I knew that you were coming (she looked at Ben) and told Quinn about you, showed him your picture that I had sketched. Anybody can tell, just by looking at the quality of your horses, that you wouldn’t be abusive to those animals.”

 

“What is it that you’re supposed to tell me…us?” Ben asked as he played with the handle of his coffee mug.

 

Phaedra cocked her head. “I’m not sure. Perhaps it has to do with business? Yes or no?”

 

Ben nodded but said nothing. He suddenly clapped his hand to the back of his head, then smoothed his hair down.

 

Phaedra giggled. “Somebody has been trying very hard to get your attention.”

 

“Rory?” Ben queried.

 

Shaking her head, Phaedra laughed. “No. Rory has a delightful sense of humor but it’s not him. It’s a woman. She’s giggling because this isn’t the first time today that she’s pulled your hair – she did it earlier. She also rubbed your cheek.”

 

CHAPTER TEN

“You can see her? Hear her?” Ben was astonished. How could Phaedra have known about the incidences in the little room when he put his britches back on.

 

“I can,” came Phaedra’s answer. “She’s standing right behind you and has a huge smile on her face. She’s quite beautiful.”

 

Joe stood up. “I can’t take any more of this malarkey! I’m going to check on Buck!”

 

As Joe reached for his hat, Phaedra whispered, “Mon petit Joseph.” The slight accent was familiar to Ben, as were the three words.

 

Joe spun around to face Phaedra. Ben stood up abruptly. “That’s a cruel trick to play on us! You speak French and apparently know who we are!”

 

Phaedra was unfazed by Ben’s anger. Her answer was calm. “I don’t speak French though I’ve heard it during my lifetime. I speak a few words of Spanish, am fluent in several dialects of Apache, and I think I speak English very well. Do those French words mean something to you?”

 

“Yes,” Ben replied, his legs shaking so badly that he had to sit down.

 

“Ow!” yelped Joe as his hand went to the side of his head. “Pa, did you just hit me?”

 

“No, I didn’t touch you,” Ben said quietly. “But I’m thinking that Phaedra will tell us more if you sit back down.”

 

“She just smacked you on the head for appearing to be disrespectful. Can you tell me the meaning of what I said and why it’s important?” Phaedra was still calm. “Only if you want to, though. I can see that this is painful for you both. But it may be helpful to me in trying to figure out some things.”

 

“It means ‘my little Joseph’. That’s what his mother used to call him. Almost everybody still calls him ‘Little Joe’.”

 

After jotting down something on her pad of paper, Phaedra looked at both men. “’Little Joe’ calls you ‘Pa’. Only a mother would refer to her son as ‘my little Joseph’. I think that the woman I’m seeing is ‘Little Joe’s’ mother – and your deceased wife. Yes or no?”

 

“Yes,” Ben answered slowly.

 

“She says to tell you that it was an accident and for you to stop feeling guilty about her death. The horse was spooked and moving way too fast. There was nothing you could have done to stop it or to help her. Does this make sense to you?”

 

“Yes,” Ben almost whispered.

 

At the same time, Ben felt a pressure on his shoulder. Joe felt a pressure on his shoulder, too.

 

“She’s touching you both. She says she loves you and watches over you all the time. She says that you both see her sometimes but don’t believe what your eyes tell you. True?”

 

Joe spoke for himself. “True.” Ben was rendered speechless, and unshed tears stung his eyes. He could only nod his assent.

 

“She also says something about a meeting tomorrow. She says not to sign the first paper right away. There’s something better for you if you just wait. It will come to you unexpectedly – quite by chance. And now she’s saying something like ‘go long’. Does this make sense to you? Yes or no?”

 

Ben looked into Phaedra’s eyes. “Some of it does. Some of it doesn’t. What else does she say?”

 

Smiling, Phaedra answered. “’No more liniment’. Does this make sense?”

 

It made immediate sense to Joe, and he said so. He blushed as he silently remembered the incident when his brother had rubbed horse liniment on his back causing an incredible burning sensation which prompted him to submerge himself in a nearby water trough.

 

“She’s waving goodbye. She came to help you make a decision. But you’ll continue to see her – to feel her touch – many more times if you pay attention.”

 

Dusk was falling, so a discombobulated father-and-son shakily thanked Phaedra and headed out to the corral to see how Buck was doing. Not in the corral, they found both Quinn and Buck in the barn. Buck was standing in a stall filled with sweet-smelling, fresh hay. His water bucket was full of clean water, and he had his head down with his eyes half-closed. His leg was bound with strips of white cloth.

 

“I’ll need to keep him here to watch that leg so it doesn’t get infected. He can be ridden in a few days, but I’d give it longer to be on the safe side. I’ll work with him every day to watch his progress.” This from Quinn. He looked at Joe. “Would you like for me to keep your horse here? I can put him in a stall next to Buck.”

 

“I’d appreciate it,” Joe replied, shaking hands with Quinn. “His name is ‘Cochise’.”

 

Quinn grinned. “Can’t go wrong with an Indian name, can ya?”

 

All three men laughed. It was obvious that Quinn had a sense of humor – and pride – about his heritage.

 

Quinn then looked at Ben. “If you need a horse to ride while you’re in town, we have some good ones here that you can choose from. No charge.” Pause. “Did you have a good visit with my mother?”

 

Ben smiled. “Thank you for the offer of borrowing a horse – I probably will take you up on that. And, yes, we did have a wonderful and rather-enlightening visit with your mother. She’s quite unusual and delightful. Your father sounds like the kind of man we would have liked to have known. And…” Ben stopped abruptly. “We never introduced ourselves! Let me write down our names for you. We’re staying at the Sonora Hotel.”

 

“No need,” Quinn answered. “You’ll be back.” He smiled the same sphinx-like smile that appeared occasionally on Phaedra’s face.

 

She was still sitting at the table, pencil in hand, sketching on this day’s page about the two men. None of the things she sketched made any sense to her at the moment, but she knew that the “father” would return, either with or without the son. There seemed to be a hunger in his eyes to know more.

 

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Ben and Joe walked in silence until they were out of earshot of the Bannan place.

“Do you think she guessed, Pa?”

“I don’t know. It’s impossible for her to know what she did simply by guessing. She was too specific.” Ben rubbed his chin.

“Well,” Joe sighed. “I want to talk to Quinn some more about how he handles horses. Hoss sure would be interested to know, even though he has his own ‘calming’ ways with all animals. Adam would probably be interested too.”

Father and son entered the Sonora Hotel, signed the guest register, got a key to their room, and headed straight into the restaurant-part of the hotel. It was a small area with the tables very close together and, for a moment, they listened to the voices close to them. One man was telling a friend about the store he planned to build; another was discussing how big Sonora was growing. But most of the conversations revolved around the many gold mines that had sprung up that were yielding incredible amounts of gold.

Having looked at their menus and placed their orders, Joe mentioned to Ben that Sonora was fast becoming he next “boom town.”

The man at a table next to them jumped into the conversation. “If you want to strike it rich,” he said with a broad grin, “you’d better stake your claim in a hurry.” From his pocket, he pulled out a gold nugget almost as big as Joe’s fist. “If you’d like to partner-up with me, we’ll be rich men in no time at all!”

Ben smiled but shook his head. “Thank you for your offer, but I’m not here to dig for gold. I’m more interested in buying a seed bull.”

The man put the nugget back in his pocket. “I can’t understand not wanting to get rich quick and easy. I found this nugget on top of the ground!” He shrugged. “But if it’s cattle that you’re after, I can’t help you.”

Plates holding thick steaks were placed in front of the two ravenous Cartwrights. Other than cookies, lemonade and coffee, they hadn’t eaten since breakfast. As Ben was raising the first bite of the steak to his lips, another man from a different table spoke to him.

“If it’s a seed bull yer after, ya oughtta talk to Pablo Garcia. He’s got a very small ranch jest east o’ here. By golly, he’s got two seed bulls that I know of – maybe more! Why, his herd done almost tripled in size since jest las’ year!”

“’Pablo Garcia’. Thank you. I’ll keep that in mind.” Ben stuffed his steak-laden fork into his mouth quickly.

“Hey, mister! Didn’t I see you in town today with a lame horse?” This from a man at yet another table. Apparently, nothing in this establishment remained private. Ben chewed and nodded and quickly cut another piece of steak and crammed it into his mouth. He thought that, if it looked like he had a mouthful of food, he wouldn’t be expected to talk. Wrong.

“Didja take yer horse t’ Jeffords? Or didja go t’ Bannan’s place. That kid works miracles with horses. And then there’s Phaedra…didja talk t’ her?”

Several heads turned in the Cartwright’s direction. Neither Ben nor Joe answered – all they wanted to do was to eat in peace and quiet. But it didn’t look like they would get it because another man pulled his chair right up to the table and began speaking.

“Let me tell you about Phaedra,” he began. He was well-dressed and well-spoken. Neither Ben nor Joe had time to protest his rudeness at sitting at their table.

“She’s very nice and is an excellent seamstress. But she seems to have some kind of secret powers. She sees dead people! And they talk to her! She’s honest. You can trust her in whatever she says or does. Poor woman – a widow with a half-grown son. And they’re both ‘breeds’, not that I care, you understand. Rory, that was her husband, owned a surveying office – he laid out most of the claims on the land around here. He got killed by actually falling through the top of a very old gold mine. Rocks fell down on him and buried him. We worked all day trying to get to him, but we were too late.”

The man had Ben and Joe’s attention, though they continued to eat.

“That Rory, he was a good man. Never had an enemy even though he was married to a half-breed. He loved to laugh and sing and dance a jig or two. Scottish, I think he was. No, maybe Irish. It doesn’t matter, I don’t guess. Anyway, several of us have actually seen him even though he’s been dead for nigh onto six months.” Several heads in the room nodded in unison and assent. “Now, there are three boys who used to bully Quinn – that’s Rory’s son, you know – and Rory tried to stop it. But those three boys went and shot holes through the Bannan’s sign. And you know what? Wherever these boys go, strange things seem to happen. They think – and some other folks think – that Phaedra put a curse on them. I, personally, think Rory’s the one who knocks their hats off or spills their beer or hits ’em in the head. Go to the ‘Snake Eyes Saloon’ one afternoon. It’s the only place that serves decent liquor or a good, cold beer. Just sit back and watch ’em if they come in. You can’t miss them because hey keep looking over their shoulders like they’re seeing something. I think they’re seeing Rory. But Phaedra isn’t the kind of woman to put a curse on anybody. I asked her about it one day, and she just smiled and said, ‘What goes around comes around’. Still, I wouldn’t cross her or make her mad. There just isn’t any telling what she can or can’t do.”

With all that being said, the man stood up and moved his chair back to its original place. Ben and Joe had finished their meal.

The man turned to them. “Keep an eye out for a man with thick, curly red hair and beard. He always is seen wearing a dark suit with a white shirt. That’s what he was buried in. But he looks like a real person. Gossip has it that he even talks! You see him and then he kinda disappears. Go talk to Phaedra if you wanna know about dead loved ones. She never lies.”

With that, the man left. Ben and Joe looked at each other, paid the bill, and went to their room. Each one was lost in his own thoughts – and they were both thinking about Phaedra.

CHAPTER TWELVE

During breakfast the following morning, Joe ran his hand through his hair. “I don’t know what to believe about Phaedra. She seems to be honest but, for all we know, she could’ve rigged her house to do things – like making folks feel that they’ve been touched, maybe. And it’s not too much of a stretch of imagination to guess that you’re my Pa.”

Ben sipped his coffee. He wasn’t going to try to push or persuade his youngest son into believing what was hard for he himself to believe. But his interest was definitely piqued. He wanted to hear more from this lady with a “gift.”

Joe looked out the window and his eyes danced with delight. “Pa? Do you need me to go with you to see Mister Jackson?”

“Not necessarily, son. If you have something else to do…”

“Take Cochise,” Joe said quickly. “I just saw my ‘something else to do’. And her name is Lori Edwards. From yesterday. Remember?”

Ben laughed and waved his hand in dismissal. “I remember. Go ahead and catch up to her before she gets out of sight.”

Joe practically sprang from his chair. With a “Thanks, Pa!” he sped out the door. As luck would have it, Lori had stopped walking and was looking at a display of new hats in one of the store-front windows. Joe introduced himself and, between his having signed his name (and Ben having signed his name on the register at the hotel) and the fact that Lori had heard of the Cartwright name (and the fact that she loved to spread gossip if it was to her advantage), the news of the identities of the “strangers” in Sonora would spread through the town by late afternoon. And Lori had decided to set her cap for the son of one of the wealthiest men in Nevada Territory.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The closer Ben Ben got to Phaedra’s house, the more the questions began to fill his mind. But, first, he wanted to check on Buck. At the corral, he was greeted by Quinn who was working with a yearling, leading the young colt around and around by a rope attached to the halter. Quinn, seeing Ben, stopped what he was doing and approached the gate to allow Ben to enter the corral.

“How’s Buck doing today?” Ben asked.

“He seems to be in fine spirits, but he’s still limping slightly. His leg wound is healing nicely and much quicker than I had hoped, thanks to the castor oil,” responded a smiling Quinn. “I worked with him for a little while this morning – not too long, though. He’s back in his stall resting that leg.”

“I’ve never heard of using castor oil as a healing agent to be used externally on a wound,” Ben said , returning Quinn’s smile.

“Oh, yeah. It’s great stuff for animal and human cuts and bruises and such. Its healing powers are just about unrivaled and it doesn’t sting or burn. Would you like for me to unwrap Buck’s bandage and show you the improvement?”

Ben paused. He did want to see Buck’s leg, but he also knew that he had business to tend to before noon. “I don’t think that will be necessary. I’ll take your word for it. I trust you to be telling the truth. The fact is that I need to saddle Cochise and tend to some business. Do you mind if I go into the barn and saddle him?”

“I’ll do you one better. I’ll get him ready for you if you’ll go see my mother. She was up late last night making sketches. She said that they had to do with you. That’s all she would tell me.” Quinn sighed. “I haven’t seen her this worked up since she helped Sarah and Barry Hornsby find their lost daughter.” Pause. “I shouldn’t have said that. Anything my mother says or does is not for me to tell, but most of the town knows it anyway, so I don’t think I’m giving away any secret by telling you.”

Ben’s eyes twinkled. “Telling me what? All I know is that we talked about Buck and Cochise.”

Quinn’s eyes danced. “Yessir, that’s all we discussed. I’ll put this colt away and have Cochise ready for you.”

Ben started to turn away but stopped. “By the way, who – in your opinion – has the best seed bulls around here?”

Quinn scratched his head. “I would say that Oliver Jackson does, but then so does Tim Brady. And I can’t discount Pablo Garcia. His entire herd is quite small but it’s one of excellent quality.” Quinn didn’t ask why. He was a savvy young man who never pried into anybody’s business. He had kept a poker face – his mother had shown him the numerous sketches that she had made last night. She didn’t know why they were important and neither did Quinn. The fact remained that they were important for some unknown reason.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Phaedra opened the door practically before Ben could knock. She held a steaming mug of coffee in her hand. “Good morning,” she chirped. “I saw you in the corral and figured that coffee might coerce you into coming in to talk with me. And there are some hot biscuits, butter and jam to act as an added lure.”

Ben laughed out loud as he took the mug and entered the house. Even though he had already eaten breakfast, the smell of hot biscuits made his mouth water. Together, he and Phaedra walked back to the kitchen and, in doing so, he noticed the picture of Phaedra and Rory on the end table by the sofa. He wondered how he had missed seeing it yesterday.

Sitting down at the now-familiar table as Phaedra put biscuits on a plate, Ben spoke. “I want you to know my name. And I want for Quinn to know my name. I’m uncomfortable in dealing with both of you, using your names but knowing that you don’t know what to call me.”

Phaedra thought for a moment. “That’s fair. But just your first name, please.”

“Ben,” came the answer.

“Well, good morning, Ben,” Phaedra chirped again.

“And good morning to you, Phaedra.” Ben laughed as he buttered a biscuit and took a bite. “Your biscuits are as good…” He stopped himself before he mentioned Hop Sing’s name. “Your biscuits are as good as they come. They’re melting in my mouth!” Taking another one, he buttered it and added jam and then took another bite.

Phaedra sat down and opened her sketch book to a page which was dated from yesterday. “Do any of these drawings or symbols make sense to you? Yes or no?”

As Ben sipped his coffee and ate his biscuit, he pointed to several things and gave his answer.

The first thing he pointed to was a small sketch of pine trees with an “x 1,000” written above it. The next thing was of a cow with an “x 8,000.” The next thing was of a horse with an “x 50.” The next thing was a long pigtail. The next thing was something that looked like a body of water. Then there was a house and then a barn. To all of these, Ben’s answer was simply, “Yes.”

Then there was a “3.” Then, next to three other horses was a fourth – larger than the rest – which was marked with a notation of “blue eyes.” Very close to that was a small sketch of a man’s face – it had dark hair and a dark beard and was very close to a stack of books. There were a star and a meat cleaver practically on top of the face of a man who had hair the way Ben wore his. Ben hesitated slightly and then answered, “Yes.” These things made sense to Ben but he didn’t know for sure if his interpretation of them was correct.

There were four faces that looked almost devilish. There was something that looked like a cave surrounded by trees. There was what appeared to be a piece of paper with squiggles on it to indicate writing. There was the number “5.” There was a sign that said “bank.” There was what appeared to be an old cabin surrounded by trees and bushes. To these, Ben shook his head.

Phaedra had been studying Ben’s face, watching him closely as he identified what he could. When he sat back and finished his fourth biscuit, Phaedra refilled his mug. Then she spoke. “Shall I tell you what I think some of this means to me? If I falter, don’t fill in the blank spots for me unless I ask you to.”

Ben nodded.

Phaedra put her finger on the paper. “These are what Joseph’s mother showed me last night. For some reason it’s important that I know about you – who you are and what you do. Yes, I could ask you and you could tell me these things, but that’s not the way I work.” Pause. “Okay. Here we go. I think this is your house and your barn. This is your land. You have so many pine trees that I couldn’t even begin to count them. The same with the cattle and horses. You don’t live very far from a large river or lake or something to that effect. Joseph’s mother is very proud of all of this.”

Sipping her coffee, Phaedra continued. “I don’t understand the pigtail or the number “three” or the star. But they are associated very closely to you. I’ve seldom seen a horse with blue eyes, and I don’t know the bearded man – it’s not Rory or I would feel that – but the owner of the beard likes books.” She pointed to one of the pictures. “This man, I think, is you – and the star and the meat cleaver are very close to you, so I think they’re friends or family. As for the rest of the drawings, I have absolutely no idea what they mean and, apparently, you don’t either.” A quick pause while Phaedra sipped her coffee. “I’d like – I need – for you to fill in some blanks for me without telling me too much. Again, it’s important but I don’t know why.”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

All of this interested Ben, but he was more interested in finding out about Joe’s mother. And he said as much to Phaedra.

She smiled and nodded. “I understand. And we will have more – much more – to say about her later. Just indulge me for the moment.”

Ben looked into her eyes. There was no guile there. So he began to speak.

“I don’t doubt your…abilities…fully. I can’t say that I understand them because there are so many variables to consider. But, even in Biblical times, there were ‘prophets’. So why shouldn’t there be some people, like you, in the present day? Before I talk about myself, I’d like to know if you can tell me the name of Joe’s mother.”

Phaedra closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I very seldom – deliberately – give out names. They aren’t important to most people. Let me think a minute.”

Phaedra rubbed her temples and was silent for several minutes. Ben waited patiently and quietly.

“She’s telling me that her name starts with the letter ‘M’. I see her standing behind you and she’s smiling, like she’s teasing you. And me. ‘Muh…MMMMuhhh…’. “ Phaedra stopped. “Sounds like ‘Merry’ or ‘Mary’ or ‘Meredith’ or ‘Miranda’. I’m just not getting it. Don’t tell me. It’ll come to me. She’s laughing at both of us – you and your poker face and me and my fumbling around. And she’s still saying ‘Go long’ – whatever that means. Let’s talk about you for a little while. If I stop concentrating so hard, she’ll tell me. I know she will.”

Ben looked behind him but could see nobody. But he felt a bit of air ruffle the hair on the back of his neck. He looked at Phaedra and she nodded. “She’s letting you know that she’s here. She loves to tease you, doesn’t she?”

Though Ben felt a lump in his throat, he smiled and nodded. “Always.” He remembered well the sound of her laughter and the sly look in her eyes when she teased him. “Let’s get to work,” he almost growled.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

“You’re correct about the house and barn belonging to me.” Ben mentioned nothing about “family” on purpose. He used his finger to point to different things on the sketch pad. “My property does have lots of trees, cattle and horses, and it does extend to a large lake on one side. Let me tell you about the pigtail, the number ‘3’, the horses, the bearded man, the books, the star and the meat cleaver. First, you drew four horses – one much bigger than the rest. This one is Cochise – he belongs to Joe. This one is Buck and you already know that he belongs to me. This one belongs to my eldest son, Adam. And this big fella is my middle son’s….”

Phaedra’s mouth dropped open. “You have a son who’s a horse?”

Ben laughed out loud. “You didn’t let me finish my sentence. I was about to say that the biggest horse belongs to my middle son, Hoss. He has the bluest eyes you’ve ever seen and he’s a very big, strong man.”

Phaedra was now laughing. “Why in the world would you name a defenseless child ‘Hoss’?”

“He didn’t get that nickname until he got older. It basically means ‘a big and friendly guy’. It’s not his given name. I’ll buy you supper if you can figure out his real name!” Ben waggled his eyebrows in delight.

Phaedra wrinkled her nose and rolled her eyes. “So the number ‘3’ that you see is for your three sons.”

Ben deliberately withheld some information. “Correct. The dark-headed man is Adam, but he doesn’t have a beard. The books are his – he reads every chance he can get. The pigtail is indicative of my housekeeper. The star and the meat cleaver being so close to what looks a lot like me belong to two very close friends – one of whom is my town’s Sheriff. The meat cleaver belongs to the housekeeper, another long-time, close and trusted friend.”

With a twinkle in her eye, Phaedra giggled. “Maybe you should marry your ‘long-time, close and trusted friend.”

Once again, Ben’s booming laughter filled the room. “The person to whom you’re referring is a man!”

Phaedra’s laughter mingled with Ben’s. They shared a mutually-happy joke, and Ben was realizing just how comfortable he had become with a woman he had met only yesterday. He happened to look out the window and saw Cochise, saddled and ready to ride. The sight brought him back to the reality that he had business to attend to. With a sigh, he rose, took his last sip of coffee and told Phaedra that he had to leave but would bring the horse back later.

Together, man and woman walked to the back door and out to the corral. Ben was in the saddle with Phaedra opening the gate when she suddenly whirled, an unusual look on her face.

“’Go long’,” she repeated. Then, without hesitation, she looked up at Ben and said with certainty, “Eric and Marie.”

So startled was Ben that he jerked the reins, causing Cochise to rear up slightly and then charge through the gate at a gallop. It was all Ben could do to keep his seat, and it took a few minutes to slow the spirited horse down. His thoughts were on Phaedra – there was no way that she could have come up with both names!

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

With his mind still whirling, Ben reached the Jackson ranch. Ben and Oliver had never met but had been keeping in touch from the time Ben had read in the newspaper that Oliver had a seed bull to sell. An appointment had been made to meet on this day and Oliver promised to draw up a tentative contract for the sale of the bull.

Dismounting, Ben walked to the front door and knocked. A smiling man opened the door, saying, “You must be Ben Cartwright. I’m Oliver Jackson. Please come in.” The two men stepped into the large and very comfortable house. A woman emerged from the back of the house and introduced herself as “Lamar, Oliver’s wife,” and asked if Ben would like a slice of pie and coffee. Politely, Ben declined, saying that he had already eaten and was anxious to look at the bull. Lamar smiled and exited the room.

“I hope I didn’t hurt your wife’s feelings,” Ben said. “But I just polished off four biscuits and several cups of coffee at Phaedra’s. I don’t even want to think about food right now.”

Oliver laughed. “No, Lamar’s feelings wouldn’t have been hurt.” Then, “So you went to see Phaedra?”

Ben went through the explanation of how he met Quinn and his mother.

Oliver nodded. “Let me tell you about Phaedra. She and her son are two of the most honest people in Sonora. They both work hard but make very little money – even though they could charge an arm and a leg for horse-care and for sewing. Both ‘businesses’ are in great demand in Sonora right now because it’s a boom town. Gold is everywhere, it seems. New miners with new families are coming in by the dozens every day. I’m no bigot, but some folks are. Being what folks call ‘breeds’, both Quinn and Phaedra have a tough row to hoe to be accepted for their skills. I would imagine that you’ve heard of Phaedra’s ‘gift’. I don’t believe in such things myself, but there are people who do believe. I don’t think the woman lies. She appears to just know things.” Oliver stopped. “Ah, but we have some bulls to look at, don’t we? If you’re ready, let’s get to it!”

Inside of thirty minutes, Ben had looked at four different bulls. All were of excellent quality and were well-worth buying. But Ben could still hear, in his mind, Phaedra’s (and Marie’s) “go long.” Ben had no idea what that meant and now, facing Oliver, Ben felt a little embarrassed.

“Oliver, I know you’ve gone to the trouble of drawing up a tentative contract and bill-of-sale, but there are a couple of other bulls that I’d like to look at before I sign anything.”

Oliver smiled. “I wouldn’t expect any less from a cattleman of your prominence, Ben. A good seed bull from my ranch doesn’t come cheap, but the ink and the paperwork cost nothing. I want for you to be as sure as possible that you’re getting exactly what you want. Look around as long as necessary. But I have to advise you that another man will be arriving in the next few days and, if he wants to buy one of these bulls, I’ll sell it to him.”

“That’s more than fair,” Ben smiled. “I wouldn’t expect anything less from a cattleman of your prominence to do otherwise.”

Shaking hands and then climbing into their saddles, the men waved at each other as they went in different directions.

Ben had done his homework. He knew exactly where the next two ranches were located, but his visit would be unexpected. He’d take his chances at finding the owners at home.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

The Brady ranch was next on the agenda. Ben’s eyes and savvy missed nothing as he noted that the house needed repairs and that the barn’s roof was sagging. There were several horses in the corral that looked like they needed currying badly. The corral itself needed attention. Tying Cochise at the water trough, Ben noted that the water looked slimy and green, so he untied Cochise and led him to the front of the house and tied him to the hitching post there.

Out of the house came a woman – neatly and very nicely-dressed. She looked rather out-of-place standing in front of a house with the paint peeling everywhere.

Ben introduced himself. “I hear that Mister Brady has some good seed bulls. I’m interested in looking at them, perhaps to buy one or two. Is he at home?”

The woman smiled but didn’t introduce herself. Instead, she went inside the house, practically shutting the door in Ben’s face. All he could do was to wait. Fairly quickly, a man appeared at the door. “I’m Tim Brady.” The two men shook hands. “My wife says you wanna look at some of my bulls. Got some really good ones to sell. Let me throw a saddle on my horse and I’ll take you out to where they are.” He looked at Cochise with a greedy eye. “Good horseflesh. Is he for sale?”

Ben untied Cochise and took his reins firmly in hand. “Afraid not.”

“Too bad. I could use a horse like that on this ranch. I’d pay you a thousand dollars for him.”

Ben was insulted but didn’t let it show. “Not for sale.”

As Tim Brady saddled a rather tired-looking horse, Ben could smell the liquor wafting his way from the man. To Ben, it was too early to be drinking, and the man could have used a shave, but Ben was out to buy a bull, not a man.

Ben was surprised when he took his first glance at the different bulls, one by one because they weren’t all in the same place. And Ben also looked at the calves to try to figure out which bull might have done the siring. Most of the calves looked just “okay,” but there were some that had strange disfigurements – not enough to cripple them and to keep them from running and kicking up their heels – but there seemed to be something “not quite right” about them. Ben knew from experience that an excellent bull and an excellent cow could produce such calves, so he discounted his gut feelings.

The herd was large. The bulls looked to be in excellent condition. Quinn had been right about the quality of the bulls. Maybe the cows themselves tended to have problems in producing quality calves.

“How long have you had these bulls?” Ben asked as he mopped his brow. It was hot outside, much hotter than Virginia City ever seemed to be.

“About two years,” Brady answered. “They’re all proven, if that’s what you want to know.”

Ben nodded. He was still thinking about “go long.” Did that mean to take a chance?

“Thank you very much for showing me your herd. It’s quite large, and I’m sure you’re very proud.” Ben heard himself say this and wondered why he had said it to begin with. “I have other places to go before I make up my mind, though.”

Brady shrugged. “If you don’t buy one or two now, somebody may beat you to it. My advice is to not look anywhere else. I can write a contract and a bill of sale right quick.”

The man was too pushy to suit Ben. “I’ll take my chances. But thank you for your time. I may come back later.”

“Suit yourself,” Brady snapped. “But I’m not making any promises.”

“Understood.” Ben shook Brady’s hand and got a clammy, soft grip in return.

The men parted company and Ben loped off to see the last ranch. “Go long” still echoed in his head.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

The Garcia house was a rambling adobe structure, white-washed til it almost blinded Ben. Goats were munching on the lush green grass, and flower beds surrounded the house in a beautiful splash of bright colors. The barn was small but in excellent condition. A dirt path, lined with flowers, led to the nearby corral which held a pair of mules and three horses busily munching on fresh hay. These animals were well-groomed. Ben tied Cochise to a rail of the fence and noted that the water in the trough looked fresh and clean. Cochise drank noisily. As Ben approached the house, the aroma of fresh food reminded him that he now was hungry.

As he knocked at the door, Ben could hear the murmur of many voices. The door opened, revealing a smiling brown-eyed girl who appeared to be about twelve years old. She and Ben smiled at each other for a moment. “Hello,” she said with only a trace of an accent.

“Hello,” Ben replied. “My name is Ben Cartwright and I would like to speak with Pablo Garcia. Is he home?”

“Please come in,” said the girl. “My name is Mary. I will get my Papa for you.”

Ben stepped inside the small house and found it to be cool and comfortable. The furniture was old but well-kept. Everything was spotless.

A man appeared with a smile on his face. “You look for Pablo Garcia. Now you find heem, Señor Cartwright.” The two shook hands, and then Pablo asked, “How I can help you?”

“I am in the market to buy a seed bull. Do you have one to sell?”

Pablo’s smile broadened. “Sí! Yes! Please to come in to share the meal of noon with us!”

Without having a chance to decline, Ben found himself being half-dragged into a small dining room where there were four children and a woman who immediately jumped to her feet. She smiled but said nothing.

“Thees ees my wife, Rosalita. She no speak the English like me or my children.” Ben smiled at the rather rotund Rosalita.

“And thees is my son, Carlos, and my other son, Pedro. Thees ees my little girl, Mary, and my other little girl, Esmerelda. Now, you please to seet here and eat. Then we talk about a bool. Yes?”

After Pablo said grace, Ben ate the best Mexican food that he had eaten in a long time. “This is wonderful,” he said to Rosalita. “Um…muy delicioso.” Rosalita giggled. The children giggled.

“Did I say it wrong?” Ben asked.

“Oh, no, Señor. It is correct. You speak the Spanish?” Pablo wiped his mouth with his napkin.

“No. I know very little Spanish,” Ben confessed.

“My children speak the Spanish and the English. They teached me.” Pablo looked so proud. “Now we go to see the bools, yes?”

Ben smiled at all the happy faces. “Yes. We go now.” But he had little hope of finding out what “go long” meant in a place where there was a slight language barrier. Or maybe that’s what “go long” meant – to stretch one’s imagination.

With his thoughts whirling, Ben waited as Pablo saddled his horse, then both men mounted up and rode away.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Pablo’s herd was pitifully small – maybe about two hundred head. But, as they rode among the cows and calves, it was obvious that they were of superior quality – as good as Oliver Jackson’s cattle. Ben and Pablo rode around for quite a while and stopped only to look at the bulls – again, these appeared to be of superior quality. Ben wondered how Pablo could possibly afford these two bulls but kept his mouth shut. Pablo’s finances were none of Ben’s business.

Pablo must have read Ben’s mind. “I once had many more cattles. But I make the trade with Señor Jackson to have good bools. I have a dream to one day have a ranch so grande – so grand – that people will say, ‘That Pablo Garcia, he has the best cattles in Sonora – we buy from heem’. I have land enough for many cattles but not money enough to make thees dream be true pronto. Eet matters not that the family Garcia is poor ahora – now. We save what we can and then we wait. Already, the number of cows ees two times as much since the bools arrive. I tell you true that, to sell one bool, this will not harm anything. One bool does the work of two with thees small amount of cows. And there are bull calves already borned to grow up and to be of use.”

Ben smiled. He knew about dreams – the Ponderosa had been a dream of his once. He weighed the idea of buying a bull from Pablo to give the man extra money versus taking one of the bulls away.

“Let’s go back to the house and talk about this,” Ben suggested, turning Cochise around. Pablo nodded silently.

On the way back to the house, Ben spotted yet another bull which was standing in the shade of a big tree. “You didn’t tell me about this bull.”

Pablo’s eyes got wide. “Oh, no, Señor! That bool wandered in a few weeks ago. He ees beautiful, yes? But he has not been proved – the cows are not yet in their season. I would not sell to you – how you say? – a ‘peeg in a pokey’.”

Ben stifled a laugh. And then the bull turned all the way around to face them. The animal was – as Pablo had said – “beautiful.” But he was a longhorn – maybe he had found his way here from the dwindling longhorns in Texas. But he wasn’t long and thin like longhorns should be. He was short and had a lot of meat on him. He looked like a cross between a longhorn from the neck up and then a shorthorn from the neck down.

Ben sighed. “I’ve bred the longhorns out of my herds, so I don’t think…” Ben stopped short. Did “go long” mean to buy a longhorn-cross bull? He would never tell anyone – well, maybe Phaedra – that he heard in his mind a female’s resounding ”Yes!”

“That’s the bull that I want to buy!” Ben said with certainty.

“But, Señor! I cannot sell to you thees bool! I know about him nada – nothing. Maybe he ruin your herd! Maybe he carry some disease!”

“You might be right. But I’ll take my chances on one condition: You must let me take him to Quinn Bannan to check him out before I buy him. Also, I would like to buy a few first-calf heifers. Quinn won’t need to check them out if they’ve been dipped and had their shots. Tell me what I need to pay.”

Pablo’s eyes were as big as pie-plates. In his head, he figured up the asking price which ended up being just about what Ben had planned on paying to buy one good bull. Afraid that this man might change his mind, Pablo raced to throw a rope around the bull’s horns and led him to where Ben was waiting. “Hees name ees ‘Sultan’. Carlos gave to him thees name.”

Ben handed over a wad of money – much more than the bull was worth, he was sure. “This is good-faith money. If Quinn says that this animal is in good health, I’ll buy him. And I will pay you the rest of the money when I come back for the heifers. Is that satisfactory?”

“No necessario – not necessary,” Pablo stammered. “Take heem. Bring heem back if he no good. I pick out the best heifers for you when you return. Yes?”

“Yes,” Ben answered. The two men shook hands (which was as good as a receipt), Pablo gave Ben the rope attached to Sultan, and the two men rode off in different directions. Ben felt a soft touch on his right cheek. But no wind was blowing.

 

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

Ben led the bull straight to the Bannan corral and, not knowing quite what do do, tied the animal to a fence post and turned Cochise loose in the corral, Quinn emerged from the barn and looked at Sultan, then at Ben, and then at Sultan again.

 

“What is that?” he asked as he walked around the animal, looking at it from all angles.

 

“It’s a seed bull that I want to buy,” Ben said slowly. “I already know that you’re a good judge of horseflesh and that you’re probably the best vet in Sonora even though you don’t have a diploma. Can you tell me if this animal – his name is ‘Sultan’ – is healthy or not?”

 

“Have you already paid for him? Has he been proven? Where did you find this…um…creature? He looks like two animals rolled into one.”

 

“No, I haven’t paid for him, but I did give Pablo Garcia ‘good-faith’ money. I can take him back if need be. And, no, he hasn’t been proven – he just showed up at Pablo’s ranch not long ago. It’s too soon to know if he can…er…do the job.” Ben paused. “I also plan to buy a few first-calf heifers from Pablo. And I might try to get some more from the Jackson ranch.”

 

Quinn scratched his head. “What prompted you to buy this particular bull? You could get one from Mister Jackson – one that you can identify and have a good idea of what you’re getting.”

 

“Your mother said…” Ben started to say something but was interrupted by Quinn.

 

“If my mother said to get this bull, then she’s probably right. Give me some time with him and I’ll be glad to check him out. Since he’s a longhorn, probably from Texas, he may have ticks on him. But, all things being equal, he might be a throwback to the hardier longhorn breed with the more tender meat of the shorthorn breed.”

 

“Your mother didn’t say to get this bull exactly,” Ben sighed. “But it fit in with what she said to me.”

 

Quinn just nodded as he walked from one side of the bull to the other. He scratched his head again. “Like I said, give me a little time. I won’t be able to tell you whether this bull can breed or not, but I can tell you if I think he’s healthy. In the meantime, show my mother what you’ve come up with.”

 

Ben sighed again as he headed towards the house. He had been so sure that this was the right bull. Maybe he just wanted to believe that “go long” meant a longhorned bull. Phaedra didn’t even know that he was in the market for a bull – she had just known that he had business in Sonora. Maybe the puff of air on his cheek was really just a puff of air. He had hoped, deep inside, that Marie was touching him – telling him that he had made the right choice.

 

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

Hattie and Josephine were sitting on the front porch happily involved in their knitting when they spied Ben. They had been talking but had gone silent as they watched Ben approach.

 

“Well, Mister Cartwright! Good day to you!” Hattie smiled brightly.

 

“We had no idea that the owner of the Ponderosa would ever come to Sonora. Your visit certainly is a feather in our town’s cap. Is this a pleasure trip or a business trip?” Josephine didn’t care if she appeared nosy or not. She wanted the scoop on Ben’s visit.

 

Gossip apparently traveled fast, probably due to the proclivities of these women to talk about anything and everything. Other than signing the guest register last night at the hotel, Ben couldn’t think of but only three people who knew his name: Oliver Jackson, Tim Brady, and Pablo Garcia. They wouldn’t have had time to mention his visit. Oh, and there was Lori Edwards’ name to add to the list probably. Anyway, Ben didn’t care. He had never tried to hide who he and Joe were to begin with. It was Phaedra who hadn’t wanted to know either their first or last names at the outset. Phaedra now knew Ben and Joe’s first names and also knew that they were father and son.

 

“Good day,” Ben said as he tipped his hat and stepped onto the porch. “In answer to your question,” he looked at Josephine, “I’m here on business. Is Phaedra with a customer right now? I don’t want to disturb her if she is.”

 

Hattie took a sip of lemonade and tried batting her skimpy eyelashes at the senior Cartwright. She and Josephine had found out what they could about “Ben Cartwright of the Ponderosa Ranch in Nevada Territory.” Hattie knew that he was a very wealthy widower, but she hadn’t really had time to find out much else before she and Josephine came to roost on Phaedra’s front porch. She actually had hoped to make a conquest of a very handsome man.

 

“She’s finishing up with a dress, but Mrs. Peyton hasn’t arrived to try it on for the final fitting,” cooed Hattie. “Won’t you sit down with us and have some lemonade?”

 

“Thank you very much,” Ben answered, “but I have more business to take care of. I just need a minute or two with Phaedra.” Josephine and Hattie seemed to be, more and more, in the same category as Clementine Hawkins and made Ben give an involuntary shiver. He knocked quickly on the door and hoped that Phaedra would whisk him away from the two gossipers.

 

The two women looked at each other. To continue to sit where they were, the window open behind them, seemed rude. They did have some sense of decency, so they hauled themselves out of their chairs, bid Ben goodbye, and waddled off down the street.

 

Ben sighed with relief. Then the door opened and Ben was looking into Phaedra’s smiling face. He was surprised at how happy he was to see her; a pleasant warmth spread through him as he made his way to the kitchen. A hot cup of coffee and lemon cookies were waiting on the table.

 

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

Phaedra smiled. “So you’re Ben Cartwright.” It wasn’t a question but a statement. “You’re somewhat of a celebrity around here. Very few important people come to Sonora – the ones who have come lately have mostly been miners. And there are the old families who have made a name for themselves already and continue to live here.”

 

Ben had to ask. “How much did Hattie and Josephine tell you about me?”

 

Phaedra’s face took on a peculiar look – almost one of hurt. “I don’t listen to gossip, and I especially don’t take stock in what those two ladies have to say. Before I could shut her up, Josephine told me who you were. I asked them very politely to say nothing else about you to me. I told them that they were welcome to sit on the porch and knit but that they were not to discuss anything about you or your life because I could hear every word they said through the window. I told them, if they ignored my wishes, that they would no longer be welcome here. I am familiar with the ‘Cartwright’ name. Who around here isn’t? But I don’t know the specifics of your life and, unless you tell me otherwise, I don’t care to know. Is this explanation satisfactory to you?”

 

Ben stood up and put his hands on Phaedra’s shoulders. “I’m sorry. I seem to have hurt your feelings by being so abrupt. I guess I’m just paranoid. In Virginia City, the town gossip is rampant. If somebody sprains an ankle, the whole town knows about it within an hour.” Pause. “I think you and I have a rather…special…relationship. Odd but special. You know things about me, about Joe, about Marie, that I’m trying hard to understand. This is a very difficult thing for me to work out in my mind. I just needed to know that you are unaware of my life – that what you say to me is real.”

 

Looking into Phaedra’s dark eyes, Ben saw the honesty that he had recognized before. She didn’t need to say anything but she did anyway. “Ben, I swear. I know only what you’ve told me. Only what we’ve talked about. I know that your wife was named ‘Marie’, that she died, and that you have three sons: Adam, the one you call ‘Hoss’, and Joseph. Marie touches you occasionally so that you know she’s there.”

 

Ben gave a devilish grin. “That reminds me. I promised to take you to supper if you could tell me Hoss’s given name and Marie’s name. You did it – I don’t know how, but you did it. How about that supper tonight?”

 

Phaedra giggled. “People will talk, you know. A ‘breed’ out with Ben Cartwright! I like it! But it won’t do your reputation any good. There’ll be a lot of gossip.”

 

Ben snorted. “This kind of gossip will probably tarnish my reputation. I find that absolutely delightful. Life is more fun if one lives on the edge of the wild side!”

 

Phaedra’s face lit up. “Goodie,” she said as she clapped her hands. “Let’s stand Sonora on its ear! But first, I want to know how your business deal turned out. Sit and talk with me until Mrs. Peyton gets here for her dress.”

 

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

Ben laughed and stood up quickly. “I’ll do better than that! I’ll show you!”

 

With that, he took Phaedra’s elbow and propelled her out the back door and over to the corral. His excitement was obvious!

 

Phaedra squinted, rubbed her eyes, and walked up to the corral fence. “Um, Ben? What is that?”

 

“It’s my bull! Well, if Quinn says he’s healthy, then I’ll buy him. That’s the ‘business’ that I came to Sonora for.”

 

“I can plainly see that it’s a bull. But it’s not a purebred of any breed I’ve ever seen before.” Phaedra looked plainly puzzled.

 

Ben’s hopes began sliding away. Phaedra could see the disappointment on his face.

 

“What prompted you to want this particular bull, Ben?”

 

“Well, it’s what you said to me…what Marie said to me…I thought…,” Ben began stammering.

 

Phaedra thought for a moment. “’Go long’ was what she told me. And that’s what I told you. And you picked a longhorned bull. Where did you find him?”

 

“On Pablo Garcia’s ranch. He just appeared, not long ago, according to Pablo. Nobody knows where he came from.”

 

“Come with me, Ben!” Phaedra said quickly. “I want to show you something I drew last night!”

 

Ben protested. “But I want to talk to Quinn about…”

 

But Phaedra was halfway to the house already. Ben sighed and followed her into the kitchen where he found her studying her sketchbook dated from the night before.

 

“I didn’t understand what I was drawing. I thought it was a specific picture of something on the Ponderosa. Now everything makes sense!” Phaedra could hardly keep still.

 

On the paper were pictures of a few cows standing with small calves – all small ones with markings around their eyes and in the middle of their foreheads. The notation said “x 1,000.” And right there, beside the calves were the words “go long.”

 

Trying to calm her excitement, Phaedra spoke. “These markings on the calves are quite odd. They’re almost like they’ve been deliberately put there. Your bull has these exact same markings. Is it normal for a bull to have this many progeny that look exactly like he does?”

 

Ben understood exactly what Phaedra was saying. He tried to hide his excitement. “I’ve known calves to look like their sires, but these are all exact matches! I’ve never seen that happen, and I’ve been in the cattle-breeding business for years. These have the physical shape of ‘Sultan’s’ body – rather round and…and…beefy-looking.”

 

“Who’s ‘Sultan’?” Joe had arrived just in time to see his father and Phaedra disappear into the back of the house. He could see their faces through the window, so he just walked into the kitchen through the still-open door.

 

Ben laughed, the sound was deep and happy. “’Sultan’ is our new seed bull!”

 

Joe looked out the window at the corral. “Pa, that’s a longhorn bull. We don’t breed them any more.”

 

“We do now, son. We do now. Sit down and we’ll fill you in.”

 

Ben was fast becoming a believer in things he had heretofore been skeptical of. Joe couldn’t make up his mind, but he would eventually become more open-minded.

 

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

Ben and Phaedra explained their reasoning about why the purchase of the bull may have been tied in with the fact that Phaedra had been told ‘go long’ on whatever business that Ben was involved in. Joe listened intently, looked at Phaedra’s sketchbook, and couldn’t find fault with their reasoning. But his mind wasn’t really on the bull or on the reasons that his father planned on buying the critter. Joe’s mind happened to be on the very-attractive Lori Edwards, with whom he had spent most of the morning and would be taking out to supper tonight.

 

“Would you mind if Phaedra and I joined you tonight, son?”

 

His father had a date with Phaedra? Joe grinned. “A double-date? Sounds like fun to me!” One of the reasons that it sounded like fun was because Joe knew that Ben would pay for the meal. “I didn’t realize that you two were…”

 

Phaedra was quick to jump in. “It’s not what you think, Joseph. Your father made a bet with me. He said he’d take me to supper if I could tell him your brother’s given name. I didn’t actually guess it, though, because your mother told me herself. Your brother’s name is ‘Eric’. And she told me that her name is Marie.”

 

This news stunned Joe. He shook his head in disbelief. “Very few people know that Hoss has another name. And you couldn’t have just invented ‘Marie’!” So he sat down and paid closer attention to the sketches on the pages as both Ben and Phaedra explained their perceptions of each drawing. Joe was, like his father, at a loss to explain who the four men were or why there was a sketch of the bank sign or a sheet of paper or why there was a cave, a cabin, trees and bushes. But, on the dark-headed, bearded man, Joe agreed with his father. “That can’t be Adam – he’s never worn a beard.”

 

Phaedra shrugged and smiled. “I’m not right all the time. That’s why I asked Ben to explain to me what he thought.”

 

Joe shook his head. “Maybe the stuff we don’t understand isn’t right either. Excuse me, but you could have found out some of this stuff late last night. It seems like everybody in town knows who Pa and I are. We signed the guest register at the hotel, you know.”

 

“What you say could be true,” Phaedra said calmly. “But it isn’t true. Hattie and Josephine told me early this afternoon that you were Cartwrights. I had no contact with anyone from town last night.”

 

“But…but…” Joe stammered. “How did you get both names absolutely correct?”

 

“Marie told me.” Phaedra smiled.

 

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

Ben had a sense of honor. He had “borrowed” the bull from Pablo and now it was time to take him back if he didn’t get a good bill of health from Quinn. But Quinn could find absolutely nothing wrong with Sultan – his eyes were clear, his body was free of ticks and other skin-burrowing critters, his coat was thick even though it was summertime, his teeth were free of decay, his hooves were in excellent shape, and his conformation was excellent despite the fact that he had long horns.

 

“I think he’s a throwback,” Quinn said to Ben. “Whether he will be a good breeder, I don’t know. But there’s not a thing wrong with him except he looks different than any other cattle that I’ve ever seen. The fact that he appears to have that ’roundness’ about him means that he is full of good meat. If he turns out to be sterile, you can turn him into a steer. Or you can eat him. You win, either way.”

 

Ben was ecstatic. His gut told him that this had been the right decision. But he wanted to check on Buck before he completed the transaction with Pablo. Cochise, still saddled, had wandered into the barn and was busily grooming – and being groomed by – Buck.

 

“He still favors that leg, but it’s healing very nicely. My opinion is that you don’t ride him for another five days or so. It’s not that far from here to Virginia City but a lot of the trail is full of rocks and prairie-dog holes. If that leg is re-injured, I don’t know if it will ever be the same.”

 

Ben nodded and started to pat Buck on the neck but Quinn stopped him. “Horses don’t like to be patted. They respond quickly to just a smooth rub.”

 

Indeed, as Ben rubbed Buck’s neck, the horse’s eyelids began to droop and his head lowered.

 

Quinn grinned. “That means he’s relaxed. Oh, will you be riding Cochise any more today?”

 

“I need to return Sultan to Pablo. And Pablo is going to round up some first-bred heifers for me. I remember an empty corral on Pablo’s ranch – maybe he’ll keep Sultan and the heifers for me until I can go back home. Right now, I need to send Joe on an errand into town, but he won’t be needing Cochise today, I don’t think. Leave him saddled. I’ll be back shortly.”

 

Returning to the house, Ben found Joe looking at one of Phaedra’s sketches. It was oval-shaped and, contained within that shape, there was another oval. The smaller oval was marked “locket and picture.”

 

“Pa? That looks very similar to the picture frame beside my bed. You know the one – it has Ma’s locket with her picture inside. Phaedra couldn’t know this, no matter where she might get any information.”

 

Ben looked at the sketch while Phaedra watched. “I don’t know what else it could be, son. I can’t find another reasonable explanation.”

 

Ben looked at Phaedra. “These dueling pistols with the word ‘honor’ written next to them mean something to me. I would like to delve into this more, but right now I need to send Joe on an errand while I go back to the Garcia ranch to pay for Sultan.”

 

“Your timing is perfect,” Phaedra responded. “I see Mrs. Peyton coming up the front walk.” Phaedra closed her sketchbook and put it away.

 

Ben and Joe walked out the front door, tipped their hats at Mrs. Peyton and then walked on the short path to the street.

 

“Joe, go send a wire to Adam and Hoss. I plan to buy more cattle and will need them to help us herd them back home. I’ll also need more money,” Ben said to Joe as he tried to calculate the amount of cash he’d need. Yes, he could’ve written a bank draft, but cash-on-the-barrel-head would give him a better bargaining position.

 

“But I want to talk more to Phaedra,” Joe whispered. “I want more specifics about Ma.”

 

Ben touched his youngest son on the shoulder gently. “I want the same thing. But Pablo comes first, then I need to return Cochise, and then you and I have dinner dates for tonight. That means baths for both of us. Maybe after supper, we can find out more about your Ma.”

 

“Uh, Pa? If Adam and Hoss come here, who’ll take care of the Ponderosa?”

 

“Why, Hop Sing will! Doesn’t he always?”

 

The laughter of father and son mingled, and the two went in different directions.

 

CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

Lori Edwards had been bragging to all her friends that she was dining this evening with Joe Cartwright. She hastened to tell them that she had heard that he was the most eligible bachelor in Virginia City and that he now was smitten with her. “Imagine,” she chortled, “going out to eat with Joe, son of the wealthiest man in Nevada Territory! He bought me a very expensive hat today, and I plan to order the most expensive meal that the ‘Excalibur’ has to offer – whether I actually like it or not!” Lori had set her cap for Joe and planned to snag him.

 

Her friends, male and female, didn’t want to be impressed – but they were. They couldn’t help it. But too much talk isn’t necessarily a good thing…

 

At the other end of town, Phaedra looked at her clothes. She had been to the Excalibur before and knew that she had the “right” kind of dresses to wear, but tonight was different. She knew that she was very plain-looking and she was also aware that she was a “breed.” She wanted to look pretty. Yes, she and Quinn could go into any establishment in Sonora but it was only because nobody wanted a “curse” put on their business. Normally, Indians (or people who had Indian blood in them) weren’t allowed to go into hotels or restaurants – the best that they could hope for would be to stand at the back door and ask for handouts.

 

Tonight was special to Phaedra because Ben Cartwright, of all people, was taking her out to eat. True, it had happened because of a silly wager, but they were going out – in public – all the same. For the first time, Phaedra wished two things: that she was not half-Indian and that she had sewed some nicer clothes for herself. I am what I am. I am who I am. Just grab a nice dress and put on some jewelry to brighten things up a bit! She put on her favorite silver-and-turquoise necklace, took one last look in the mirror and then sat down to wait for Ben’s arrival. She picked up her sketchbook and began to make entries.

 

In the middle of town, Ben and Joe were helping each other with their string ties. Joe had a question on his mind but was having trouble putting it into words.

 

“Pa?”

 

“Hmm?” Ben answered.

 

“Are you taking Phaedra out tonight because you couldn’t renege on your bet with her?”

 

Ben knew that there wasn’t a bigoted bone in his son’s body. The question was a good one. If I had known that Phaedra could’ve possibly answered with the correct names, would I have made that bet with her? I don’t know.

 

Looking into his son’s eyes, Ben spoke. “I wish I knew how to answer that question but I don’t. However, I can tell you that Phaedra is an exceptional woman. She’s comfortable to be around, she’s smart, and she is obviously good at what she does – the sewing, I mean. I’m intrigued by her because of what she’s told both of us – because of what she refers to as her ‘gift’. She has her feet in two worlds – the ‘white man’s’ world and in the ‘Indian’ world. Her life can’t be easy. She seems to be honest and she carries herself with dignity. Frankly, I enjoy her company.”

 

Joe nodded. “That’s explanation enough, Pa. That’s all I need to hear. Now let’s go fetch our dates! I’ll meet you at the Excalibur in a few minutes.”

 

Leaving the hotel, Ben walked one way while Joe turned the other way. Dusk was falling. Both father and son had smiles on their faces.

 

CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT

The Excalibur was almost packed to capacity when the two couples arrived. Despite – and because of – the high prices, only the town’s elite dined there. Neither Ben nor Joe had thought to make reservations and each one was embarrassed. But, upon further investigation, Ben did spot some empty tables. Maybe there was hope that they would be seated.

 

They were approached by a harried young man with an armful of menus – Ben guessed that he must be the maitre d’. When the young man looked at Phaedra, he blushed and began to stutter.

 

“I..uh..we….um…aren’t allowed to serve Indians. I’m sorry, but it’s the rule.”

 

Ben looked very indignant and started to say something. Phaedra took this news very calmly. “We understand. We don’t want to cause trouble so we’ll go elsewhere.”

 

At just this moment, Barry Hornsby, the owner, appeared beside the young man. “Well, hello, Phaedra! How wonderful to see you! I think you’ve arrived just in time to get a table.”

 

Phaedra smiled. “Hello, Barry. I’m equally happy to see you. I’d like for you to meet Ben and Joseph Cartwright – they’re visiting Sonora on business.”

 

The men shook hands and were then introduced to the young waiter whose name was Henry. He looked a little puzzled, though.

 

“Wait a minute,” he said slowly. “I seem to remember that name.” He looked at the reservations list quickly.

 

“Aha! Here it is. ‘Cartwright’, table for four at seven o’clock.”

 

Ben looked at Joe; Joe looked at Ben. Both of them shook their heads, puzzled. They looked at Phaedra and Lori. Lori’s face was scarlet – imagine how her friends would laugh at her for being thrown out of the finest restaurant in Sonora! But Phaedra’s eyes sparkled.

 

“Who wrote this reservation down?” Phaedra asked.

 

“Why, I did,” Henry said. “But the man with whom I spoke earlier apparently isn’t with you.”

 

Barry could stand it no longer. “Did he have a beard and red hair and speak with an accent?”

 

“That sounds like the man. I really wasn’t paying attention to what he looked like. Is it important?” Henry was beginning to worry that he would lose his new job.

 

Barry looked at Phaedra and a knowing glance was exchanged between them. But Barry said, “Henry, please see that this group is seated at their reserved table. I believe it’s over there by the window.”

 

“But,” Henry protested, “she’s an Indian and…”

 

Putting his mouth close to Henry’s ear, Barry’s voice dropped into its lowest register. “Phaedra Bannan and her son, Quinn, are always welcome in my establishment. They happen to be personal friends of mine – a fact that’s well-known among my employees. Don’t ever forget it!”

 

“Yessir,” came Henry’s shaky reply. He quickly led them to their table, seated them, and gave them their menus. Then he fairly fled back to his post at the front door.

 

“What just happened?” Lori asked, her face the picture of confusion.

 

“Indeed,” Ben echoed. “What did just happen?”

 

“Did you or Joseph make the reservations?” Phaedra asked.

 

“No, we didn’t,” Joe responded.

 

“Think about the description of the man who did make them.” Phaedra’s eyes twinkled.

 

Father and son looked at each other. Realization hit them at the same time.

 

“Rory.” Ben’s voice was practically a whisper.

 

Phaedra’s smile spread from ear to ear.

 

Lori’s face went white. “But your husband has been…deceased…for almost six months!” Now she was having a hard time talking. “How could…did…can it be possible? I’ve heard that people still see him. I thought it was just gossip… “ Her voice trailed off.

 

“Well, Pa and I have not only seen him. We’ve talked to him too!” Joe looked rather proud.

 

As Joe explained the details to Lori, Ben leaned closer to Phaedra. “Barry knew Rory, didn’t he?”

 

“Quite well, as a matter of fact. Rory helped Barry build this place. And I was a member of the search party that found Barry’s little girl. She was lost for two days. Everybody thought she was dead but I didn’t think so. We kept looking and found her – cold and scared but unhurt.”

 

A waitress appeared with champagne in an ice bucket – compliments of the house.

 

“Hi, Phaedra,” she chirped as she opened the bottle of champagne.

 

“Hi, yourself, Betty Lou! It’s good to see you! How’s that baby of yours?”

 

Betty Lou never missed a beat. She poured two glasses of champagne and set them in front of Ben. Then she filled glasses for Joe and Lori. “Suzie’s just fine. She’s trying to walk now. You need to come see her!” Slight pause. “I’ll take your orders now, if you’re ready.” She wrote everything down and disappeared into the kitchen.

 

Ben looked at the two glasses of champagne in front of him. “Why do I have two glasses full of champagne but you have none?”

 

Phaedra giggled and wrinkled her nose. “Haven’t you heard? It’s against the law to serve alcohol to an Indian. But it’s not against the law for you to have two glasses and then to give me one of them.”

 

“Cheers!” was all Ben could say as he raised his glass. Four glasses clinked together.

 

CHAPTER TWENTY NINE

Lori was true to her word: She ordered the most expensive appetizer, entree and dessert on the menu. And she drank a lot of champagne. Unfortunately, all that rich food and alcohol didn’t mix well in her stomach and she begged Joe to take her home. As he propped Lori up with one arm, Joe leaned over and whispered to his father, “Can I come to Phaedra’s after I see to Lori? I won’t be long.”

 

“You’re most welcome to come,” Phaedra answered before Ben could say anything. “I think we have some talking to do.”

 

As soon as Joe had half-dragged Lori out the door, Barry appeared and pulled up a chair. “Was the meal satisfactory?”

 

“Everything was delicious, thank you! And I’ll remember to make my own reservations the next time!” Ben laughed.

 

“That Rory!” Barry laughed, shaking his head. “I wish I had seen him myself. I keep hoping that I will, but it just hasn’t happened yet.”

 

“Maybe he knows that you see him in your heart, Barry.” This from Phaedra.

 

Barry nodded and then turned to Ben. “Did Phaedra tell you about finding my little girl?”

 

Ben nodded. “She said that she was part of the search party.”

 

Barry snorted. “After the first day, a lot of people had given up. Winter was coming on and the weather was turning chilly. Nobody wanted to be around to find my presumed-dead only child. Let me tell you about Phaedra. She stuck with it and continued the search. I can never repay her kindness.”

 

“Phaedra’s an exceptional woman,” Ben said quietly.

 

Barry stood up. “By the way, your meals are on the house.”

 

Ben shook his head. “Thank you, but I must decline your kind offer. The champagne was quite enough to accept.”

 

“Listen to me,” Barry began as he looked into Ben’s eyes. “I know of the Cartwright name, and I know that you could buy all of Sonora if you wanted to. But Phaedra doesn’t eat here except for every now and then. Somehow you finagled her into actually leaving her house and dining in style. I owe you for that. I owe her for my daughter’s life. I hope you bring her back here again. Soon.”

 

Ben weighed Barry’s words and knew that there was a time to decline an offer as well as a time to accept an offer. This was a time to accept. The two men shook hands and Barry kissed Phaedra on the cheek.

 

Ben extended his arm to Phaedra. It was time to take her back home. But the night wasn’t over.

 

CHAPTER THIRTY

“Did I forget to tell you how lovely you look?” Ben asked as he steered Phaedra towards her house.

 

Phaedra felt herself blush. “I don’t think anybody has ever called me ‘lovely’ before. Thank you.”

 

“The silver in your necklace brings out the sparkle in your eyes. You and it were made for each other.” Ben tipped his hat as he passed by, of all people, Hattie and Josephine.

 

“Were they giggling?” Phaedra asked, trying to stifle her own giggle.

 

Ben’s deep chuckle rumbled. “Do you s’pose, by tomorrow, we’ll be married?”

 

“Oh, without a doubt! And I’ll be pregnant!”

 

They laughed then, a comfortable and happy laugh.

 

“I’d like to ask you a question, Ben. But it might not come out just right.”

 

“Ask anyway.”

 

“Are you interested in me or are you buttering me up so I will tell you….things?”

 

Ben was silent for a moment. “Yes.”

 

Phaedra looked very confused. “What?”

 

Ben opened the front door, allowing Phaedra to enter first. Then he spoke. “You’ve opened my eyes to a side of things that I hadn’t considered possible. I’m hungry for more information to help me understand that your ‘gift’ is real. Maybe, through you, I’m reliving a very happy part of my life. But I’m also interested in you – not for what you can tell me but for the happiness I feel when I’m around you. I’m comfortable and at ease. If you never told me another thing about my life before now, it wouldn’t matter. I would still sit in your kitchen, drink your wonderful coffee, and eat biscuits and cookies.”

 

“Thank you for your honesty. That means a lot to me.”

 

This was a magical moment for two people. There was no kiss, no hug, no hint of anything physically-personal. There was just a moment when they looked into each other’s eyes that was overwhelmingly special and understood by both.

 

“Pa? Phaedra? Am I too early?” Joe shifted from one foot to another. Even he had felt the magic and was embarrassed that he had interrupted the moment.

 

“Come in, Joseph. No, you’re right on time. How’s Lori?” Phaedra took his hand and led him through the door.

 

Joe sighed. “She was really sick. She cried all the way home.”

 

“That’s too bad,” Ben said sympathetically. “I’ve known you to come home in such a state, and I remember well how bad you felt the next day.”

 

“Pa!” Joe was horribly embarrassed.

 

“Of, for Heaven’s sake!” Phaedra snorted. “Show me a person who hasn’t had too much to eat or drink during their life and I’ll show you a liar!”

 

“Why, Phaedra!” Ben looked amused. “Don’t tell me that you’ve experienced this yourself?”

 

Rolling her eyes and making a face, she answered. “Of course I have. At first I was afraid that I’d die and then I was afraid that I wouldn’t!”

 

Father and son followed Phaedra into the kitchen and sat down at the table and watched as she made a pot of coffee. Though they had just eaten, neither Ben nor Joe could resist just one more cup of coffee with a big slice of cherry pie. Phaedra fetched her sketchbook.

 

“We need to talk,” she said as she sat down.

 

CHAPTER THIRTY ONE

Phaedra spoke. “I want for you both to know that I’m no fortune-teller. I don’t tell the future. Well, not normally. I tell what I see and hear. I don’t know how to explain what I see except to describe it like a handful of pictures moving in front of my eyes. Sometimes they move very fast and make it hard to see anything clearly. Sometimes they move slowly and allow me to focus on them. These ‘pictures’ aren’t in any order at all which causes me to jump around a lot. I can only tell you my perception of what I see. Only you know if I’m making any sense.” Pause. A sip of coffee. “As for my hearing things, I can compare it only to somebody whispering directly into my ear. But the voice is more inside my head. And sometimes there are several voices trying to talk all at once. It used to drive me crazy, but now I just tell the voices that they can speak only one at a time. They’re usually very obliging. If it hadn’t been for my mother’s having the same experiences and my being able to talk things through with her, I don’t know what I would’ve done.”

 

“Are we asking too much of you?” Ben was truly concerned.

 

Phaedra shook her head. “Not at all. I told you that there’s a reason that we met. There’s something I’m supposed to tell you or do for you…something. But I don’t know what it is. Maybe it had to do with buying that bull. But I just feel that there’s something more. Let’s just stick to your ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answers. If I think I need more, I’ll ask. Okay, having said that, I’ve drawn a few more things. Let’s take a look.”

 

CHAPTER THIRTY TWO

There were pictures of several horses. There was a picture of two men, one bigger than the other, and one with dark hair and a dark beard. The saddlebags bulged, and on each one was a dollar sign. There was a zig-zag mark. And there were four men with horns growing out of their heads. In their hands were four guns. There was a small cabin. Trees with a lot of bushes. A big hill with a darkened entrance. The number “5.”

 

Ben knew right away who the two men were and was almost positive that he understood the bulging saddlebags with the dollar sign on them. He looked at Joe and got a nod. “I understand these,” he said. “But I don’t know about the horses or the zig-zag mark. And the rest are things that you showed us before. They don’t make any sense to me. Do they make sense to you, Joe?”

 

Joe shook his head.

 

Phaedra shrugged. “I told you that I’m not always right. But these things that don’t make sense to you may or may not make sense to me. The zig-zag mark is lightning. To me it means ‘danger’. Because it comes right before the four men – bad men as indicated by the horns – suggests to me that four men mean you harm. I see the number ‘5’ but it could mean just about anything. The rest of the pictures don’t make sense to me. Without telling me too much detail, why does some of this make sense to you? It might help me.”

 

Ben spoke. “The two men are my other sons, Adam and Hoss. They’re bringing cash to me to pay for the bull and some cows. Are they in danger?”

 

Phaedra gnawed at her bottom lip. “I don’t know. If you look at my zig-zag mark, you’ll see it’s not close to them. That means that trouble is coming but not right away. Or it can be handled easily. But it’s not a chance meeting – this is the second time that I’ve drawn the four men and the rest of the things – so it’s a ‘planned’ meeting. When are your sons going to arrive here?”

 

“It depends on what trail they take,” Joe answered. “And I’m not so sure that the bearded man is Adam. He’s never grown a beard before.”

 

Phaedra stopped gnawing on her lip. “Aha! The different trails! That’s a good thing. I’ve already told you two that life is full of choices. It may very well be that the chosen trail will be the safest one. In that case, I’ve worried us all for nothing! There are so many trails leading into Sonora that four men couldn’t possibly cover them all!”

 

All three people relaxed. Ben watched as Phaedra cocked her head as though she might be listening to something. She looked at Ben.

 

“You thought she was beautiful, and she really is. She says that she’s a ‘young Creole girl’ but she has only the slightest accent. She didn’t like you at first, did she? She’s laughing. There’s a swampy area and something about dueling pistols. Ben, did you shoot somebody? No, she’s shaking her head. Something to do with her ‘honor’. She told you once that ‘to love is to place one’s self into someone else’s hands’. And she did just that with you – and came to ‘where the trees touch the sky’. She says that she always gave you the best of her and that you always gave her the best of you. Does this make sense to you?”

 

Ben smiled as he remembered Marie. He put his arm around Joe. “That’s exactly what she said to me. You repeated it verbatim and there’s no way you could’ve done that unless she – or I – told you. I never told you, so you had to hear it from her!” Pause. “Uh-oh, my skepticism is vanishing!”

 

Phaedra’s face looked happy but tired. Ben wanted to hear more but, ever the gentleman, he ended up saying that it had been a long day and that he wasn’t as young as he used to be. He and Joe headed to the door and left. Phaedra thanked Ben for supper and then headed to bed and ended up falling asleep – still fully clothed. She smiled to herself: Ben had thought that she looked “lovely.”

 

CHAPTER THIRTY THREE

Very early the next morning, Ben and Joe arrived at Phaedra’s. The house was quiet but Quinn was in the corral. Ben checked on Buck and then borrowed a horse to ride. He and Joe were going to Pablo’s ranch and maybe to Oliver’s also. Perhaps there were more cattle to buy, and Adam and Hoss would be in Sonora to help herd the critters back to the Ponderosa. A good cattleman never turned his back on excellent-quality beef-on-the-hoof.

 

Lori languished in bed. She had had a frightful night where her stomach continuously refused the food and the alcohol she had consumed earlier. Also, she knew that, by now, her hoity-toity friends had heard about her “escapades” from last night and she didn’t want to deal with their derisive comments.

 

Phaedra got out of bed later than usual. She hadn’t slept so well in many days. She undressed quickly, washed her face and brushed her hair, then re-dressed in fresh clothes. She hummed a happy tune as she made coffee and fresh biscuits and some shortbread cookies. Quinn came in and told her that Ben and Joe had come and gone and hadn’t mentioned what time they’d return. Phaedra felt a stab of disappointment. But, as it turned out, she was busier than she’d ever been before. The “socially-elite” ladies of Sonora, having either seen or heard about her “date” with Ben Cartwright were quickly filling up the front porch and waiting in line with bolts of material to be used to make their “finery.” Now, there wasn’t a greedy bone in Phaedra’s body, but the amount of work to make such dresses (and the time that it would take to do so) prompted Phaedra to raise her prices. Not a single woman questioned the expense.

 

Quinn was having equally good fortune. His mother’s having been seen on the arm of such a prominent man as Ben Cartwright had caused a boom in his own business of being a farrier and an “almost” veterinarian. Quinn was a young man with a good head on his shoulders – and he raised his prices. By mid-morning, the empty stalls in the barn were full and Quinn was busy making horseshoes as fast and as expertly as he could.

 

But somewhere there were two men who were angry and quite put-out with Ben Cartwright. They put their heads together and formulated a plan, but they needed to find two more men to help them execute this plan – two men with certain “specialties”: Two men who had no scruples and who could be trusted to keep their mouths shut. And the first two men knew exactly where to find the second two men…

 

CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR

In the afternoon, when all the ladies had finally gone home, Phaedra sat down at the kitchen table and happily began to count the money she had received on dress deposits. Quinn came in and pulled up a chair, pulling his earnings from his pocket. They had gone from poor to middle-class all in one single day! And they could look forward to more money coming in after completion of their individual jobs.

 

Dividing the money into four separate but almost-equal piles, Phaedra smiled at her son as she pushed one pile towards him. “Quinn, this money goes to you to do with what you like. You worked hard for it and you should have it!”

 

Quinn shook his head. By pooling their normally meager amount of money, they had managed to keep their heads above water after Rory’s death. Though he had made a Will and had left everything to Phaedra and Quinn, the money hadn’t lasted very long. Rory had put most of his money into his business. Phaedra had been forced to use what money that was left to her to pay bills. There was still a little money in the bank account, but it was being saved for emergencies.

 

Phaedra pointed to one pile of money. “This goes to pay off some of our bills – or at least to diminish the amount.” She pointed again. “And this money goes right into the bank.” Her eyes twinkled. “And this money is ‘fritter money’. I’m going to buy a huge roast of beef!” At the Excalibur, Phaedra had eaten a wonderful roast chicken, but neither she nor Quinn had eaten a really good cut of beef since before Rory’s death.

 

Quinn’s dream was to save enough money to start a ranch of some kind – probably breeding horses. Rory had owned some good land outside of town and had started to build a house out there but then Rory had died before much of the house could be worked on. Only the framework of the building was left and, if it stood out in the weather much longer, the only thing left would be the rotten wood. Both Rory and Phaedra knew of Quinn’s dream and, though Rory knew little about animal husbandry, he knew that Quinn was capable of running a ranch. Though Quinn wasn’t aware of the fact, Phaedra and Rory had been putting some of their money into a secret account for Quinn when the right time came. In the last six months, Phaedra continued to sneak money into that account, even when the time for paying bills left her short in her account. Rory had thought of everything. Knowing that Indians couldn’t open bank accounts, once the account was opened legally, an Indian was allowed to put in and draw out money.

 

Flushed with excitement, Phaedra now rushed to the bank to make her deposit. Silently she wondered if Ben had been sent to help her and not vice-versa. The bank deposit being made, Phaedra took the rest of the money and paid bills and then headed to the butcher shop. When she emerged, she had a bag of a beautiful beef roast and a smoked ham.

 

All three smiled at each other immediately.

 

“Ben! Joe! You two must be good-luck charms!” she gushed. “Gossip has started and because my name – and Quinn’s – are linked to the Cartwright name, our businesses have soared!”

 

“Are we married yet?” Ben asked, waggling his eyebrows.

 

“Not yet. And I’m not pregnant either,” Phaedra giggled.

 

“Pa?” Joe looked bewildered.

 

“It’s a private joke, son,” Ben responded with a deep chuckle. To Phaedra he said, “I didn’t know that the Cartwright name was so important.”

 

Phaedra wrinkled her nose. “Well, it is. At least in this town.” She shifted the bag of meat into her other hand.

 

“That looks heavy,” Joe observed. “I’ll be glad to carry it to your house for you.”

 

Phaedra had a thought. “Thank you, Joe. But I can carry it. It’s got the makings for a fresh roast in it and I want to get it into the oven. By the way, I know that you borrowed a horse from Quinn, and I know that you told him you’d return it today. I would be very pleased if you two would let me fix you a home-cooked meal tonight. Please say yes.”

 

This was the first time that Phaedra didn’t use the name “Joseph.” Ben intuited, correctly, that Phaedra’s comfort level had been reached.

 

He overtly pretended that he wasn’t interested. “I don’t know. Will there be potatoes? Onions? Carrots?” A long pause with a devilish grin. “And biscuits? Lots of biscuits?”

 

Phaedra could play the game, too. “I s’pose so. And maybe some hot coffee and pie…”

 

“What time!” Joe jumped in, his mouth watering at the thought.

 

Laughing, Phaedra asked, “Where are you on your way to right now? I need some lead time to get this meal cooked and edible.”

 

“We thought a cold beer would be mighty good about now. ‘Ruby’s Slipper’ is right across the street. And then we need to get our clean clothes from Lee Chang’s place. A bath, a shave and an empty stomach should have us on your doorstep at about seven o’clock. Is that too late?” Ben asked.

 

“That’s an excellent time. But, Ben. Don’t go to ‘Ruby’s Slipper’. They water down everything, including the beer. Go to ‘Snake Eyes’ instead – more expensive but you get your money’s worth. And, if you’re lucky, you’ll see the Gospel Trio.”

 

Joe looked astounded. “They have a Gospel group in the saloon?”

 

Phaedra’s lilting laughter erupted. “No, Joe. I’m referring to Matthew, Mark and Luke. They hang around together, get drunk a lot, and always find some trouble to get into. Rory disliked them, so every now and then he ‘haunts’ them. I hear that the goings on are quite fun to watch. Maybe you’ll see them, maybe you won’t. Anyway, you’ll have good cold beer to enjoy. Now, excuse me, but I need to get home. Ben and Joe Cartwright are coming to supper at my house tonight. I can’t stand here talking to riff-raff when I have more important matters to attend to!” Sticking her nose up into the air, Phaedra pretended to flounce off.

 

“Seven o’clock!” Joe shouted.

 

When she turned, Phaedra stuck her tongue out at Joe. He did the same thing back to her. Oh, yeah, the two were definitely comfortable with each other…

 

“Joe? When we ate at the restaurant the first night we were here, didn’t a man tell us about some young men who had bullied Quinn? About how Rory disliked them because they shot holes in the Bannan sign? About the strange things that happen to them in the ‘Snake Eyes’ saloon?”

 

Joe nodded. Together, father and son turned around and rushed up the street.

 

CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE

While Phaedra stood in her kitchen, she hummed as she prepared the roast – it was much bigger than she had thought when she bought it. There was enough there to feed an army! Quinn came in and she told him about the dinner guests. Her face was aglow with happiness – Quinn couldn’t remember the last time she had seemed so happy. She continued to hum as she prepared dessert – huckleberry pie.

 

Meanwhile, Ben and Joe made their way into the “Snake Eyes Saloon” and ordered a cold beer from Marty, the bartender. Handing over the cold mugs, Marty smiled. “Here ya go, Mister Cartwright.”

 

“You know my name?” Ben asked.

 

“Oh, ever’body in town knows who both of you are. And I bet Phaedra told you t’ come in here – only the ‘reg’lars’ know that I keep kegs of beer on ice. And it ain’t none of that watered-down stuff neither!”

 

Joe dropped his voice. “Are the ‘Gospel Trio’ guys here?”

 

Marty chuckled. “No, they ain’t come in today. Not yet, anyway. But it’s done been a coupla days since I seen ’em, so they’re due t’ come in for a beer that ain’t watered down. And I guess you already know about Rory…”

 

“We’ve heard rumors.” This from Ben. “Do you see him?”

 

“Sometimes. When he gets to messin’ with those three guys, I might catch a glimpse of him out of the corner of my eye. Other folks swear that he ain’t here, that they don’t see ‘im, but I know different.” Marty paused. “If the guys come in, I’ll let you know. Just watch ’em. They’re really funny!”

 

Ben paid for the two mugs of beer and added a handsome tip to the amount. Marty smiled. “Thank you, sir. Enjoy your beers. There’s more where that came from.”

 

Ben and Joe settled back and talked about their day as they drank their beers. Out of the corner of his eye, Ben caught the shadow of what looked like a man back in a corner of the saloon. And Marty came rushing over, a big grin on his face.

 

“You’re in luck. Rory’s here – I saw him…kinda. That means he’s gettin’ ready for the guys. I’ll bring ya more beer when they get here so you’ll know. The beer is on the house.”

 

CHAPTER THIRTY SIX

Not knowing exactly what to expect, Ben and Joe sat and waited. Other than the quick glimpse of the “shadow,” Ben saw nothing at all. So he and Joe continued to sit and talk. Just as they had decided that the “Gospel Trio” wasn’t going to show up, the swinging doors to the saloon opened, allowing entry of three dusty men about Joe’s age. Marty promptly showed up at Ben’s table, put down two more very cold beers, winked and walked back behind the bar.

 

“Howdy, Matthew! What’ll it be?” Marty chirped.

 

“Been out diggin’ fence posts all day. Gimme a cold beer and a whiskey chaser,” Matthew growled.

 

Marty looked at the other two men. “Mark? Luke?”

 

“The same,” came the answer.

 

The three men chugged their beer and whiskey and ordered another round which they drank immediately.

 

Joe looked at Ben. “They don’t look worried, and nothing seems to be happening. I’m kind of disappointed.”

 

Ben wouldn’t admit it, but he was disappointed too. They’d have to leave soon to get their clean clothes, take baths and shave before going to Phaedra’s. But they kept watching anyway.

 

Matthew got shoved so hard that he bumped into his buddy. He looked to his left and growled, “What’dja shove me for, Luke?”

 

“I never did such a thing!” Luke’s face was the picture of innocence – mainly because he was innocent.

 

“Did too gimme a big shove,” countered Matthew. “Made me spill whiskey all over Mark’s shirt! Watch what yer doin’!”

 

“What’d you just say to me?” Mark hollered.

 

“I ain’t said nuthin’ to ya,” came Matthew’s answer. “I was talkin’ to Luke.”

 

“Ya said something about my mama!” Mark said angrily. “Whispered it to me right in my ear!”

 

Luke spoke. “Mark, he was talkin’ t’ me. He ain’t said nuthin’ t’ you, much less whispered in your ear!”

 

The spittoon, which had been a good two feet away, somehow managed to move itself and to empty its contents onto Luke’s foot. Luke howled with anger and blamed it on both Matthew and Mark. The three began arguing with each other.

 

Joe couldn’t help it – he laughed out loud. Ben himself had to smother a smile.

 

“Whatcha laughin’ at, boy?” Matthew turned glowering eyes in Joseph’s direction and began to approach the table when he seemed to trip and sprawled on the floor. Luke tried to help Matthew to his feet. “Ow!” he protested. “I’m just tryin’ to help ya stand up! No need to punch my arm like that!”

 

“I ain’t touched yer arm,” Matthew muttered through gritted teeth. “Mark, help me up!”

 

“Ain’t gonna!” Mark announced as he grabbed the back of his head. “Yer drunk and fell down on yer lonesome and can get back up on yer lonesome. Who just hit me in the back of my head?”

 

Luke’s gun, which was askew, went off and shot a hole in the floor – narrowly missing his foot and Matthew’s arm.

 

Matthew stood up. “Idjit! Ya coulda killed me!” He glared at Luke.

 

“But, Matthew! I ain’t touched my gun!”

 

The three men began looking around the room suspiciously. Then their faces went white and they almost tripped over each other as they bolted out of the swinging doors and into the street. As they ran, one of them was yelling something about “that witch’s curse.”

 

Joe looked around the saloon and his jaw dropped. Ben, seeing the expression on his son’s face, looked in the same direction and just managed to see a red-headed, bearded man – wearing a black suit with a white shirt – wink in his direction and then disappear into the wall.

 

“Pa?” Joe asked hesitantly. “Have we had too much to drink? Did you see what I saw?”

 

“Uh-huh,” came Ben’s answer. “Let’s leave before the Gospel Trio decides to come back in again. If they haven’t died of fright yet.”

 

Marty smiled brightly at father and son as they made their exit. Ben grinned and nodded in return.

 

Both Ben and Joe looked at the three “friends” – now sitting in the street. One was holding his arm, one had a black eye, and one was rubbing his shin.

 

Ben spoke to Joe with a poker face. “I guess Rory’s a little upset still.”

 

CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN

Phaedra was in a rush. The dinner was cooking, she had bathed and had taken care to dress nicely, and then she snatched up her sketchbook. Her pencil fairly flew across the page and, when the knock came at the door, she wasn’t ready to put her pencil down. Smoothing back an errant lock of hair, she sighed and answered the door. She was as ready as she’d ever be.

 

When she opened the door, Ben and Joe weren’t there. But there were two strange men, hats in hands, standing there. Phaedra smiled as she looked into the bluest eyes she had ever seen. “Please come in. I’ve been expecting you.” She shook hands with each man but felt her fingers tingle when she clasped one man’s hand.

 

“I’m…” the man started to say.

 

Phaedra smiled. “I know who you are, but I thought you had a beard. You’re Adam Cartwright, aren’t you?” She turned to face the other man. “And that would mean that you’re Hoss. I’m Phaedra, but I imagine you already know that. Please come in and make yourselves comfortable. Do tell me what happened to Ben and Joe.”

 

“Well, ma’am,” Hoss said slowly. “Pa wanted t’ give us a li’l time alone with ya, I reck’n. He told us all ’bout you, what you do, ‘n’ stuff. He an’ Little Joe won’t be long. They know that supper’s waitin’.”

 

“There’s no big hurry. The roast is ‘resting’,” came Phaedra’s response. “You are planning to stay for supper, aren’t you?”

 

The wonderful aromas emanating from the kitchen prompted Hoss to answer quickly. “Yes, ma’am! Iffen ya got enuff to go ’round.”

 

“Hoss!” Adam almost shouted.

 

Phaedra’s lilting laugh was contagious, and Adam felt himself smiling at her in spite of himself.

 

“There’s more than enough to feed five hungry men and one woman,” Phaedra said as she sat down.

 

“Five, ma’am?” Hoss was confused.

 

“My son will be joining us. His name is Quinn.” Pause. “So Ben told you all about me, did he? Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

 

Adam spoke. “I don’t mean to be rude, but playing ‘parlor-game tricks’ on my father and youngest brother seems…unfair. They both believe what you say. Pa and Little Joe have seen the alleged ghost of your husband – and they don’t even believe in such things. And this talk about Marie is hurtful. It brings up sad memories for all of us.”

 

Phaedra’s eyes had been locked into Adam’s. “Adam, let me tell you right now that I have no ulterior motives on my agenda. I’ve been honest with your father and your brother. I tell them what I see and hear. And I also have told them to take what I say with a grain of salt. I told them that we were supposed to meet for some reason but I don’t know what that reason is. I don’t hold it against you that you are protective of the ones you love. I’d be the same way.”

 

Adam’s eyes softened. Phaedra wasn’t angry. Her face was relaxed and her eyes were honest. He had rather expected her to react differently. But Adam was a born skeptic. Like his father, Adam’s mind worked on facts and nothing else.

 

Quinn appeared and introductions were made. Quinn offered to take Adam and Hoss’s horses into the barn and to stable them next to Buck and Cochise. “I need to know their names,” he said. “I always talk to the horses by name. They like it.”

 

Hoss, the animal lover, took an instant liking to Quinn. “The black one is mine. His name is ‘Chubby’ but I call him ‘Chubb’. Adam’s horse is ‘Sport’. Little Joe done tole me ’bout how ya work with horses. I’d kinda like to watch ya work – I might kin learn some things from ya. Maybe ya can learn some things from me.”

 

Quinn grinned. He liked this big man. “Any time you’re ready, just come on out to the corral.”

 

Phaedra rolled her eyes. “Not before supper you won’t! Put the horses away and then come in and wash up.”

 

Phaedra looked at Hoss. “You have something in your saddlebag. Something personal that means a lot to you. Will you fetch it and bring it in? Cover it with something so I can’t see it.”

 

Hoss looked puzzled. “I don’t understand.”

 

“You know what I’m talking about.”

 

“No’m, I don’t reck’n I do.”

 

Here appeared Phaedra’s enigmatic smile. “It’s got silver around it.”

 

Hoss’s eyes widened. He knew right away what Phaedra was referring to. “Yes’m. I’ll fetch it t’ ya all covered up.”

 

He and Quinn went outside.

 

Adam’s face was stony. “Up to tricks already?”

 

“You and I are going to butt heads a lot, aren’t we?” Phaedra stood up but she wasn’t angry with Adam. She had heard Ben’s deep voice outside and was moving toward the door to greet him and Little Joe.

 

“Oh, Adam? While you’re stewing in your own juices, would you mind carving some of the roast? There’s a good sharp knife next to the roasting pan. I think that roast has ‘rested’ long enough.” Phaedra pointed towards the kitchen.

 

Adam did not want to like this woman. But he liked her anyway. She had an honest look on her face, and even his deliberate rudeness didn’t rattle her. He went into the kitchen and began carving the roast.

 

CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT

Phaedra welcomed Ben and Joe warmly and ushered them into the house.

 

“How did you like my two surprises?” Ben asked with eyes twinkling.

 

“I liked them just fine. Adam’s in the kitchen carving the roast, and Hoss is outside with Quinn. But, Ben, they weren’t surprises. At the last minute, I knew they would be here.”

 

“How could you know? I didn’t even know they were here until I bumped into them in town after leaving the saloon. By the way, that’s another story that you need to hear. They cleaned up in my room and came straight here. I cautioned them to keep a low profile. They’re quite safe, as you can see. And Adam didn’t arrive sporting a beard.”

 

Phaedra thought about her sketchbook and decided to keep her mouth shut – for now. She smiled. “Okay, so I was wrong about a couple of things. I’m glad that they got here safely.”

 

Hoss and Quinn came through the door. Both men had washed up outside and, in Hoss’s big hand, was something covered in a clean handkerchief. He presented it to Phaedra, but she shook her head. “After supper, Hoss. I’ll look at it then. In the meantime, put it on the mantel where it’ll be safe. Now, I’m famished! Let’s eat!”

 

The small kitchen seemed even smaller when it was filled with six people. There was just enough room so that nobody was squashed, and Phaedra hummed as she piled platters onto the already-set table. Ben had brought several bottles of good wine which he poured with a flourish. Quinn said grace, and then each platter was passed from hand to hand.

 

“Phaedra, you outdid yourself! This is wonderful! If you ever get tired of sewing, you could open your own restaurant!” Ben’s face was the picture of contentment. But Adam’s face was not.

 

“What was that tune you were humming earlier?” he asked rather abruptly.

 

“I have no idea,” came the answer. “It was just something that popped into my head. Why?”

 

Adam shrugged but he had a strange expression on his face. He concentrated on the meal while Ben and Joe regaled everybody else with the story of the “Gospel Trio” in the saloon. Hoss, Joe and Quinn carried on a conversation about horses – a subject that turned out to be quite interesting to everybody. Dessert and cups of freshly brewed hot coffee came last.

 

“Huckleberry pie! Mah favorite!” Hoss exclaimed as he helped himself to a big slice and slid a piece into his mouth. All he could say was, “Ummmm!”

 

Joe was antsy as he finished his pie. He finally spoke. “Uh, Phaedra? Would you be insulted if I excused myself from the table? I…uh…made plans for after dinner.”

 

“Joseph!” Ben boomed.

 

“Would those plans happen to involve a certain young lady named Lori?” Phaedra’s eyes twinkled with glee.

 

“Yes’m,” Joe admitted, his cheeks turning slightly pink.

 

“Of course you may be excused. Have a fun evening and give Lori my regards. Ben, don’t you say a word!”

 

Ben had opened his mouth to chastise his youngest son but Phaedra had shut him up before he said anything. Joe thanked Phaedra and said how delicious the meal had been and then sped out the door.

 

“Okay, everybody. Hand me your plates so I can get this kitchen cleaned up!” Phaedra rose and held out her hands.

 

“We’ll help you…” Ben started to say.

 

“Nope. Quinn said he’d wash the dishes and store things away for me.” Phaedra kissed her son on the cheek. “Let’s take the coffee urn and our cups and go into the living room where we can be more comfortable. It’s rather crowded in here.”

 

Phaedra hummed as she poured the coffee into the urn and then led the way into the living room. Everybody sat down except Adam who chose to stand, leaning against the mantel. Again the question he’d asked before. “Are you sure you don’t know the name of the tune you were humming?” His eyes were almost flashing.

 

“I told you before that I’m not familiar with the tune, but I’m thinking that you are. A woman is showing me an elegant and very-beautiful music box. She’s putting the tune into my head. She’s standing right next to you and is smiling and therefore she’s someone closer to you than to Hoss.”

 

CHAPTER THIRTY NINE

Adam’s coffee cup slid dangerously around in its saucer. Ben’s and Hoss’s eyes opened wide. Phaedra went to get coffee mugs – these big men weren’t meant to be holding dainty teacups and saucers.

 

Adam looked at Ben questioningly. Ben shook his head. “I’ve told her nothing. I swear it.”

 

Phaedra returned and doled out mugs. The look on her face was one of confusion. “Hoss, in that handkerchief is a picture of someone close to you. I don’t want to look at it yet, though it’s a photograph of a woman. I’ll get to you in a minute.”

 

Then Phaedra spoke assertively. “There are entirely too many people in here trying to speak all at the same time. You ladies must speak one at the time or I’ll never get this mish-mash unraveled.” Phaedra was looking slightly past Adam’s shoulder and then turned her gaze to just past Hoss’s left side.

 

Sighing, Phaedra looked at Adam and then at Ben and then pulled out her sketchbook. “I see ships. I see Ben having a picnic with a lady with long, dark hair. He gives her a music box that came from out of the country. But the lady is not Marie. I see a young boy, feeling quite ill, who plays the music box for comfort.” Pause. “Ladies, please! If all of you are speaking at the same time, I can’t hear anything!”

 

Phaedra rubbed her temples and then looked at Adam. “This woman says she’s very proud of the man you grew up to be. And she’s thanking Marie for taking care of you. Does this make sense to you?”

 

Adam continued to lean. “Yes and no.” Adam’s answer was rather abrupt.

 

Phaedra looked at her sketchbook again. “Ben, this woman is very close to you. She loves to embroider things. She loves for you to read to her and says that your voice is like a ‘lighthouse foghorn at night’. She picked the name ‘Adam’ from a book you were reading to her. She’s laughing because a cloud looks like an elephant. I can’t figure why she’s the one who named Adam…unless…” Phaedra’s jaw dropped. “She’s Adam’s mother!”

 

Adam, who was very seldom startled by anything, exhaled sharply. “But you could’ve found that information if you looked hard enough or talked to enough folks in Virginia City.” He was not about to let go of his skepticism.

 

Ben had a faraway look in his eyes. “You quoted her verbatim, just as you did with Marie. I made her a promise. What was it and what was her name?”

 

Phaedra looked past Adam’s shoulder. “The promise was that you would ‘go after your dream’. And her name is…is…” Phaedra rubbed her temples and then covered her ears. “You don’t have to shout at me! I’m not deaf.” Triumphantly, Phaedra looked at Ben. All she said was, “’Liz’. I’m assuming that her full name is ‘Elizabeth’, but I could be wrong. You called her ‘Liz’.”

 

Ben’s smile was bittersweet as he looked at his eldest son. “Phaedra’s right. That music box – it came from Amsterdam while I was a sea captain. I’ve told you all this before. What I didn’t tell you was the promise I made. Phaedra couldn’t have known that – or your Ma’s correct name as well as what I called her.”

 

Adam poured another mug of coffee from the urn. His face showed that he wasn’t entirely convinced.

 

“I’m not sure that I have all the pieces in place.” Phaedra went to the kitchen and grabbed a plateful of cookies. When she returned, she gave a half-smile. “Sometimes I think better when I eat.” Then she consulted her sketchbook. “I see lots of wagons. And there’s a blond-haired woman who’s holding up everything because she’s tending to something and won’t stop. She says that she’s a ‘very large peasant woman’ and, though she speaks English quite well, she has an accent. Ben, you didn’t like her when you first met her – something about your pride and a bowl of pork and onions for a sick child. She’s talking fast and I’m having trouble understanding her. Something about a dirty beard and the fact that you would look more attractive if you smiled. ‘Walk by faith, not by sight’. She’s asking to share your dream. The little boy is saying, “Look at the size of him, Pa!”

 

Phaedra looked at Ben and then at Hoss. Both had eyes brimming with tears. “Hoss, you have the same blue eyes as she does. Are you going to tell me that she’s your mother?”

 

“Yes’m.” That was all that Hoss could manage to say.

 

“Well, that explains the number ‘3’ that I drew: three sons and three wives. Adam, hand me whatever that is that Hoss brought in. “I need to see it.”

 

Handing it to her, Adam stood back a little as Phaedra unwrapped the object. Phaedra’s sharp intake of breath was the only sound in the room, and then she suddenly jerked forward – a look of surprise on her face. Her eyes brimmed and spilled, rolling down her cheeks. “Ben, I’m so sorry. How you must hate Indians!”

 

Ben dabbed at his eyes. “No,” he said softly. “I don’t now. I did for a while.”

 

“She didn’t suffer, Ben. The force of the arrow knocked her down, but there was no pain. She’s trying to tell me her name, but all I can hear is something like ‘Inner’. That’s the best I can do.”

 

Hoss spoke. “’Inger’. Her name was ‘Inger’.”

 

Adam, the skeptic, looked at his father. “Is everything she said the truth? Hoss and Joe and I know what you’ve told us, but Phaedra gave specifics. Is she right?”

 

“Yes, son. I had almost forgotten the things she said, but I remember them clearly now.”

 

“I think we all could use something to drink that’s stronger than coffee.” Phaedra got up, slid back a door on the bookshelf, and pulled out a bottle of brandy. When she was through pouring, half the bottle was empty.

 

“I’m not through yet,” she said as she flipped over a page in her sketchbook. “We have more to figure out. Things are falling into place for me now. But there are some serious things that I don’t know yet.”

 

CHAPTER FORTY

Quinn poked his head into the room. “The kitchen’s all cleaned up. Do you need me for anything else?”

 

“Come in, Quinn. There may be some things that you might see that I’ve missed.”

 

Though he had heard everything that had been said, he was proud that his mother was including him. While Phaedra moved in front of the sofa with Quinn at her side, she gestured for Adam, Hoss and Ben to sit behind her. The sketchbook was opened and was laid in her lap. Adam, still skeptical, stuck a toothpick in his mouth. He looked at the open page which was full of pictures. Phaedra pointed to each one and then listened intently.

 

“That looks like Pa and me. We’re in a wagon, so this must be from our trip West. He’s letting me hold the reins. I’m smiling there because I felt so grown up.” Adam grinned in spite of himself. “And that’s Hoss. Some lady, I can’t remember her name, rode in the back of the wagon and kept an eye on my little brother. He was little at one time. And that picture over there looks like my books. Because Pa read to me so much, I learned the love of the written word early. And that’s my guitar. And those look like the building blocks that Pa made for me. And that’s me holding Hoss – he was a handful!”

 

Hoss gently brushed Adam’s hand aside. “That’s me with mah first critter. Too bad he happened to be a skunk! But he was hurt and Pa let me keep ‘im ’til he got better. He never sprayed me or nuthin’ but he sprayed the lady what cared for us and we had to move outta the house ’til the smell weren’t so bad. Those are other critters that I brung home – I always made ’em better and then let ’em go back to the wild. Ya cain’t keep a wild critter for a pet, you know. And that there picture looks like me and Little Joe with our rabbits. We was going to start a rabbit-fur business but we didn’t have the hear t’ skin ’em. When they was too many of ’em, they invaded the house and made Pa mad, so we had to let ’em go. That there is a picture of a li’l gal chasin’ me and tryin’ to kiss me! I ain’t never been comfortable ’round gals – they skeer me sometimes. Ain’t never learned t’ talk t’ ’em like Adam and Little Joe kin do.”

 

Ben’s fingers touched the page. “That’s our first house on the Ponderosa. Just a small cabin, really. And this picture here is what it looks like now. Adam designed the first elevation all by himself with his building blocks and then perfected it as he got a little older. Here we are planting trees. For every one we cut down, we make it a policy to replace it with a new seedling. Here’s Marie – holding Little Joe; Hoss is holding a puppy, and Adam is holding his guitar. And there’s Joe riding his pony – but he’s sitting backwards on it. That boy can ride like the wind now. There’s Adam, Hoss and Joe sitting on Chubb. And here’s a picture of me pointing my finger at Hop Sing. He’s the housekeeper I told you about – the one with the meat cleaver. I must be arguing with him or I wouldn’t be pointing at him like that.”

 

“Did you win?” Phaedra giggled.

 

“Nobody wins an argument with Hop Sing. He threatens to quit so we back down. We can’t run the house without him. He’s taking care of things while we’re here,” Hoss chuckled.

 

“Speaking of ‘taking care of things’,” Ben began, “tomorrow we’ll go pay for the animals that I’ve bought already. And Adam wants to look at some horses that I noticed at the Jackson Ranch. The next day we’ll head back to Virginia City.”

 

Phaedra’s face took on a peculiar expression. She turned the page of the sketchbook. There was the number ‘5’, four men with guns – complete this time with horns and tails, a cabin, trees and shrubs, and what could either be a mountain or a big hill with some kind of opening. New to the addition of pictures that Ben had seen before was a picture of what looked like a pilgrim. But the biggest picture of all showed what appeared to be the Cartwrights – one with a dark beard who could only be Adam – standing close together with a large zig-zag right above them.”

 

“This is my own interpretation, but it means that the danger is not just on its way. It’s here!”

 

CHAPTER FORTY ONE

“What danger?” Adam swapped his toothpick to the other side of his mouth.

 

“That’s the problem. I don’t know what the danger is. But there are four men with guns, and the fact that they have grown horns and tails means that they’re bad men. And I mean really bad!” Phaedra gnawed on her lip and then turned to Quinn. “What do you think? Look at these pictures and how they’ve changed since I first drew them: They go from no horns to small horns to large horns. And now they have tails to match their devilish faces.”

 

“And the zig-zags are closing in too,” Quinn mused. “The fact that it’s right above the four of you means big trouble for all of you.”

 

Poking a large finger at the newest addition to the pictures, Hoss asked, “What – or who – is this?”

 

Phaedra shook her head and Quinn did the same.

 

Ben’s brow furrowed. “It looks like a pilgrim. Are there any pilgrims in Sonora or nearby?”

 

Again, both Phaedra and Quinn shook their heads.

 

Adam rolled his eyes and muttered, “Why don’t you ask one of our Mothers?  I’m sure you’d get an answer.”

 

Ben’s voice was deep. “Adam, that was  uncalled for. You owe Phaedra an apology.”

 

Adam was stubborn. “Look, Pa. Sure, she’s told us things that perhaps only we know. But some of it she could’ve guessed at, and maybe some of it she already knew. I neither believe her nor disbelieve her. Is she a scam artist? If she is, then she’s very good at it. But I do know, the longer we stay in town, the more money we spend. Maybe this is a ploy to keep us here longer. If what I say is ‘uncalled for’, then so be it.”

 

Phaedra turned to Adam, her face dark with anger. “It’s your choice to believe me or not to believe me. I never force what I say on anyone. But you’ve insulted me by insinuating that I’m a liar and a cheat and that I’ve got ulterior motives for the good of the town’s finances! The pictures I’ve drawn here were shown to me by either Liz, Inger or Marie. Maybe Rory. I don’t know. But I didn’t just sit down and make them up to put on a good show. All of you are in danger – I don’t know how to put it any plainer than that! There’s enough negative energy on these pages without your adding to it. If you have nothing to contribute other than your own negativity, then I think you need to leave!”

 

“Gladly!” came Adam’s retort, the toothpick in his mouth snapping in half. “Just don’t brainwash my family any more!” With that, he stalked out the door and headed for the hotel. Though there was no wind, his hat blew off his head and something hit him so hard in the back that he actually stumbled. He ignored the pain, picked up his hat, and strode on.

 

Ben touched Phaedra’s shoulder. “He didn’t mean what he said. I apologize for his lack of manners and hope that you’ll forgive him. I know that you’re trying to help us…”

 

Phaedra looked into Ben’s eyes. “No need to apologize for him, Ben. Adam’s a deep thinker; he’s a lot like you – he says what he means and means what he says, no matter how it comes out. He hasn’t been here from the beginning like you and Joe have. He needs time to think. I just want all of you to be safe. But that doesn’t mean that I’m not very angry with him and I will remain so until he apologizes to me. He owes me that. I don’t tolerate disrespect from Quinn and I won’t tolerate it from Adam.”

 

Ben nodded. “I didn’t raise my sons to be disrespectful in any manner. I might expect such an outburst from Little Joe but certainly not from Adam. He may be too old for a ‘trip to the woodshed’ but he’s not too old to hear how disappointed I am in him, how embarrassed I am, how angry I am.”

 

Hoss was embarrassed too. “Pa, ya said so yerself. That ain’t like Adam a’tall. But mebbe it’s like Phaedra done said – Adam’s tryin’ to work all this out in his head.”

 

Looking into Hoss’s blue eyes, Phaedra responded. “Hoss, you’re a very understanding and wise man. I don’t need to hear your mother tell me that. I hear it in your voice and I know what you say comes from the heart. It wouldn’t hurt for me to be more like that. I’ll try.”

 

Hoss blushed and then turned his attention back to the sketchbook. He pointed. “This person looks t’ me like a pilgrim. I know that they settled in Plymouth first, but didn’t some of them spread out into…”

 

Quinn grinned and finished the sentence. “Jamestown’! Jamestown came first and then Plymouth. And there’s an old place called Jamestown not far from here! Nobody lives there any more – there was a little bit of gold in some of the creeks but it ran out.”

 

Did a piece of the puzzle just slide into place? If so, where did it fit in?

 

CHAPTER FORTY TWO

After thanking Quinn for taking care of the horses, and having told Phaedra how much they enjoyed the meal, Ben and Hoss walked on to the Sonora Hotel.

 

Ben, Hoss knew, was simmering. So Hoss reiterated what he had said earlier about Adam’s needing time to think things through.

 

“That’s no excuse for exceedingly bad manners,” Ben growled. “By now, Adam has registered at the hotel and has a room for both of you. Take my room key and go there – Little Joe may have returned. I’m going to have a talk with my eldest son, and I’d like to do it in private.”

 

Hoss sighed. “Pa? I dunno what t’ believe ’bout Phaedra an’ what she said. But I cain’t explain how she knowed so much about mah Ma – and me when I’s jist a li’l guy. I mean ’bout the critters and that gal that chased me t’ kiss me. Phaedra knowed a whole bunch o’ stuff about our Ma’s and us. I guess mebbe I’m more open-minded than Adam.”

 

Ben looked up at the sky and considered what Hoss had said. “Son, you’re a peacemaker – just like your mother. The very best of her lives on in you. But that doesn’t mean that Adam’s off the hook. He’s going to get a piece of my mind whether he likes it or not. And he needs to apologize to Phaedra!”

 

Hoss’s only comment was, “Yessir.”

 

CHAPTER FORTY THREE

Joe cradled Lori in his arms as they both looked up at the stars. Lori turned her face up for yet another kiss.

 

“Don’t you think you’ve had more than your share of kisses yet?” Joe flashed his boyish grin.

 

“I’ll never get tired of kissing you!” Lori murmured as she nuzzled Joe’s neck.

 

“When I head back to the Ponderosa, you’ll forget all about me.” Again, Joe smiled.

 

“You’re going back home?” Lori sat upright immediately. “But I thought you’d stay here in Sonora with me!”

 

Joe was truly puzzled. “The Ponderosa is my home! I’ll never leave it. Pa’s given me land to build my own house on someday. He’s done the same for my brothers. Why would I ever want to leave my home and my family?”

 

Lori pouted. “It’s time for you to make your own life. You don’t have to spend forever with your family, you know. And Sonora is fairly close, too.” She paused. “Of course, if you’ve got your heart set on living on the Ponderosa, I guess I could live there too.”

 

Joe was only half-listening but heard the last part of what Lori had said. “You could live there too?”

 

“Joe, I know that you’re in love with me,” Lori purred. “When we’re married…”

 

Joe jumped in surprise and moved slightly away. “Love? Marriage? Lori, where did you get such ideas?”

 

Judging from the look on Joe’s face, Lori realized that she had taken things a little too far. “You do love me, don’t you? Love and marriage go together.” She batted her eyelashes and tried to look seductive.

 

Putting both hands on her shoulders, Joe held her at arm’s length. “Lori, whatever gave you the idea that I’m in love with you? We’ve had a wonderful time together – with the exception of the night that you got…er…ill. I like kissing you but I also like kissing other girls. I’ve known you less than a week and now you’re talking marriage? I leave Sonora in two days. I’ll remember you and the fun we had, but…but…marriage? I’m not ready to settle down yet – not with you or anybody!”

 

The sharp crack of Lori’s palm striking Joe’s face echoed in the night. “You’ve been trifling with me – with my heart! I’ve told all my friends…”

 

It was Joe’s turn to sigh as he touched his cheek – burning from the slap it had received. “So that’s it? You’ve told all your friends that I love you and want to marry you? Are you worried about being the laughing-stock of Sonora? You don’t love me any more than I love you! If I’ve ‘trifled’ with you, you allowed it and enjoyed it!”

 

Lori was furious! Joe had guessed correctly. Lori had spent much time telling her friends that she and Joe would be married. She had gone into detail about what her wedding dress would look like, about the size and cost of the wedding, about how a honeymoon on the French Riviera sounded so wonderful. Now she was caught in her own fantasies. What would she tell people? All she could think of now was to put as much distance between herself and Joe as she could. So she ran home, tears of anger rolling down her cheeks.

 

Joe watched as she ran. He made a half-hearted attempt to stop her but ended up letting her go. And he wished that he was leaving Sonora in the morning rather than having to wait until the next day.

 

CHAPTER FORTY FOUR

Four men sat close together and were quietly making their plans.

 

“We ain’t counted on this,” said one man, shaking his head.

 

“Yeah. We counted on only one ole man an’ a kid. Now you say there’s four of ’em to deal with?” The second man frowned.

 

The third man was exasperated. “It ain’t my fault that the whole damn family’s together! I ain’t got no crystal ball, ya know!”

 

The fourth man was smart and had given this problem a lot of thought. “You’re sure that the other two are in town?”

 

“Both names are on the hotel register. I looked. They’re sharin’ a room. Why don’t we jist git rid of ’em and have only two to deal with like we had planned in the beginnin’?”

 

“You idiot! That would tip our hand! No, we have to make another plan. It’ll be riskier and we gotta be quick. There won’t be any room for error. The Cartwrights are well-known just about everywhere. There’s bound to be stuff in the newspapers that’ll draw lots of attention and we sure don’t want it drawed to us.” This from the fourth man – the “head of the snake,” so to speak.

 

“We need supplies. We need to disappear for a while.”

 

“There’re two of us who can’t disappear,” mused the “snake’s head.” “At least, not for too long. We need more information about when to meet up. And where. Keep your ears open. An opportunity like this don’t come by too often.”

 

“Supper’s ready,” the woman said with a smile. “Better come to the table while the food’s still hot!”

 

CHAPTER FORTY FIVE

Adam sat on the bed in the hotel room and pinched the area at the top of his nose – something he often did when he was thinking hard. And, in this case, he was feeling guilty too. A double whammy.

 

Pa was right, of course. I was way out of line – maybe not so much in what I said but in the way that I said it. Why didn’t I just keep my mouth shut? I don’t believe in ghosts and ghoulies and long-leggedy beasties, and I didn’t think Pa did either. Hoss? Hoss is just naturally open-minded and considers all possibilities, believes the ones he wants to believe and dispenses with the rest. Joe? Marie was his mother, and I can see where he’d wantto believe. But Pa?

 

There were voices in the hallway – and one voice was very deep and unmistakable: Ben’s voice. Adam hoped against hope that his unlocked door would open and only Hoss would be standing there. There was a sharp rap at the door and Adam’s hopes were dashed. Getting up off the bed, Adam took a deep breath, turned the knob and looked into his father’s very angry face. Hoss wasn’t with him to cushion the “discussion” that was about to ensue.

 

Ben stood in the middle of the room and looked at his eldest son.

 

“Is it possible…is it at all possible that you left your manners at the Ponderosa? Or maybe…just maybe…you drank too much wine at supper?”

 

Adam shook his head and responded quietly. “The answer is ‘no’ to both questions, Pa.” Maybe if I play submissive, Pa won’t explode.

 

Ben’s face turned red and the explosion came. “Then tell me what in hell you were thinking!”

 

“I wasn’t,” came Adam’s answer. Being submissive wouldn’t work, so Adam crossed his arms over his chest and played the staring game with his father.

 

“That’s right! You ‘wasn’t’!” Ben was now waving one finger around and finally pointed it at Adam. “I want a reason – a very good reason – that would cause you to speak to a woman that way! You were a guest in her home! You ate the meal that she had prepared! Even if you didn’t like her, you could’ve kept your mouth shut. Or you could have made up some excuse and left when the meal was over. Are you insane?”

 

“Pa, sit down. You’re all riled up and you’re going to make me mad all over again. Please sit down.”

 

“I’ll sit when I want to,” Ben huffed. And then he sat on the bed that Hoss would be sleeping in. “And, yes, I’m riled up! You were insulting and rude and…and…” Ben was so mad that he could say no more.

 

And now Adam was mad. “She’s brainwashed you and Little Joe – and maybe Hoss, too. Pa? What do you know about that woman? You know nothing except that she can draw stupid pictures and pull names out of a hat and have you believing everything she says.” Adam was pacing in circles. “You want to believe her, and now you want for me to believe her. Well, I don’t and never will! I don’t want anything to do with her! Why can’t you accept the fact that sometimes I’m right and you’re wrong?”

 

“Tomorrow morning at first light, all of us are going to Phaedra’s to fetch our horses.” Ben’s voice was deep and deliberate. “You’re obviously not a good judge of women but you are a good judge of horseflesh – and I want your opinion on some mustangs at the Jackson Ranch. If Phaedra is awake, keep a civil tongue in your head or say nothing at all. I would be most happy if you would apologize to her but it looks like that won’t happen. Do not embarrass me again!”

 

With that, Ben stormed out the door and slammed it behind him and headed for the room that he and Joe shared. The two brothers were deep in conversation, but Ben interrupted.

 

“Hoss, go see if you can calm your brother down. I hope you snore all night so he’ll be worn out in the morning.”

 

“But, Pa! Joe’s got somethin’ he’s tellin’ me and he ain’t done yet!”

 

“Do what I say!” boomed Ben.

 

Hoss sighed. “Yessir.” Down the hall he went to face an angry Adam. Being the keeper of the peace sometimes was just too hard.

 

While Joe was telling Ben the story about how things ended with Lori, Hoss opened the door to Adam’s room. Adam was still pacing, so Hoss put his arm over his brother’s shoulders and paced with him. “Tomorrah’ll be a better day, Adam. You and Pa won’t be buttin’ heads no more.”

 

“Don’t count on it, Hoss,” Adam growled and then winced in pain as Hoss patted him on the back.

 

“What’s wrong? Did I hitcha too hard?” Hoss was concerned.

 

Adam peeled off his shirt and looked over his shoulder into the mirror. There was a large bruise between his shoulder blades. And he had no idea how it got there – he just remembered that something had hit him when he left Phaedra’s. But he kept that tidbit to himself and answered Hoss. “I must’ve bumped into something.”

 

“Or something…” Hoss replied. Adam seemed calmer now and Hoss didn’t want to get him all riled up again. So he sat down on his bed and told Adam as much as he could about Lori and Joe. Adam shook his head and actually chuckled.

 

But he didn’t sleep well that night – and it wasn’t because Hoss was snoring…

 

CHAPTER FORTY SIX

The sun was just peeking over the horizon when the Cartwrights headed out the door of the Sonora Hotel. The restaurant was not yet open and, according to the desk clerk, no place else was open yet either. There was little conversation among the four men as they walked to fetch their horses from the Bannan place. Hoss looked at Joe and sighed but said nothing. He had already told Joe about what had happened at Phaedra’s after Joe’s exit – about the harsh words between father and eldest son. Both Hoss and Joe could feel the tension in the air. Joe, whose antics could bring a least a chuckle from his family, followed Hoss’s lead and wisely kept quiet.

 

The owner of a bleary pair of eyes watched the four and then followed along, darting from shadow to shadow to avoid being seen.

 

Ben was hoping that Phaedra would be awake. For one thing, he wanted to see if Adam would apologize. For another, he wanted to see Phaedra to see what frame of mind she was in. But, if the truth be known, Ben wanted a good hot cup of coffee and maybe some biscuits, butter and jam.

 

Quinn, an early riser, was already in the corral after mucking out the stalls. He greeted the Cartwrights with a smile even though he held a bit of a grudge against Adam for the disrespect he had shown to Phaedra last night. Even though his mother had been angry, she had admonished Quinn to maintain his respect toward Adam, no matter what Quinn’s protective feelings were.

 

Discovering that Phaedra was not yet awake and that Quinn hadn’t made coffee, Ben sighed with disappointment. No Phaedra, no interaction between her and Adam, no coffee, no biscuits. But Quinn said that Buck had healed much quicker than projected and could be ridden today. Not all day but just enough to give him some good exercise. When told that the Cartwrights would be leaving on the morrow, Quinn nodded. “He should be good and ready. Cattle move slowly so you can watch out for prairie-dog holes. And, by the way, if you want to stop for some good grass and lots of creeks with sweet water, you might want to consider making a stop at that old Jamestown area. It’s an easy ride – and comes at a good nooning place to take a break. You have Hoss to thank for the idea – he made a connection between the picture of the pilgrim and Jamestown.”

 

Ben watched as Hoss blushed slightly, something he always did when paid a compliment. “Aw, you came up with the name of ‘Jamestown’.”

 

Quinn grinned. “There’s a stockyard outside of Sonora – just to the east. You can pen up your cattle there even though it isn’t used much any more. Then, tomorrow when you leave, all the stock will be in one place. Mister Jackson was by here early yesterday and asked me to tell you that he has some fine horses for you to look at. My guess is that the stockyard might come in handy for any extra critters you might end up with.”

 

Adam’s mind was working. Uh-huh. Phaedra showed us a picture of horses last night. She guessed that we’d be buying some. She already knew that we’d be looking at horses because she had been told that. If she’s not running a scam, she’s missed a perfectly good opportunity. Looks like I was right about her and that’s too bad – I kinda liked her in the beginning.

 

As the four men departed, the owner of the bleary eyes was wide awake at his hidden spot behind some trees. He heard every word that had been said and couldn’t wait to tell the others!

 

CHAPTER FORTY SEVEN

Buck seemed to enjoy being out of the barn and out of the corral. Ben had asked his sons to keep an eye out for any limping or any signs of damage to the wounded leg but all was well. By the time most of the day was done, Ben had visited several ranches and purchased more stock to be herded to the stock yard. Adam and Ben, having their attention turned to critters rather than to Phaedra, seemed to have forgotten their differences – until it was time to go back to the Bannan place and let Quinn re-check Buck’s leg and to stable the horses for one last night.

 

As luck would have it, Phaedra was sitting on the front porch – alone. She waved as the Cartwrights rode up and walked around to the corral where Quinn took Buck’s reins while Adam, Hoss and Joe unsaddled their horses in the barn.

 

“My mother wants to talk to you,” Quinn said. “All four of you. She’s been sick the whole day and seems to be getting worse but I don’t know what’s wrong with her. It doesn’t seem to be physical as far as I can tell.”

 

Ben was concerned. He paid Quinn in full plus a little extra. Quinn didn’t bother to count the money that was handed to him – he knew he was dealing with an honest man.

 

By the time Quinn had pronounced Buck as quite fit to make the trip back to the Ponderosa, Ben’s three sons were ready to leave. Ben told them what Quinn had said.

 

“I’ll go back to the hotel,” Adam muttered.

 

“You will not!” Ben growled. “You will go with us to see Phaedra. I don’t give a damn if you want to or not! An apology is up to you. But hear me, Adam! You will keep a civil tongue in your head. Do you understand me?”

 

Adam pinched the bridge of his nose. “I understand.”

 

Father and sons marched around to the front of the porch. Ben smiled at Phaedra and noticed that she looked quite pale and had dark circles under her eyes. He pretended not to notice these things as he greeted the woman he had grown to care for – as a matter of fact, he cared for her more than he would admit openly. Hoss and Joe greeted her verbally; Adam tipped his hat and leaned against the porch post, arms crossed over his chest.

 

“Quinn said that you wanted to see us,” Ben began. “We plan on leaving in the morning and I wanted to say goodbye to you now in case you’re not awake when we leave tomorrow, and I also want to thank you for all your kindness – and for opening my eyes to things that are more than just a possibility.”

 

“It’s been a pleasure meeting all of you,” Phaedra responded softly as she looked at the entire Cartwright family. Even Adam. Please indulge me one last time.” She opened her sketchbook and pointed to the pictures from last night. “Don’t forget that you’re all still in danger. It’s so close that I can feel it. There is safety in numbers, so make sure that you all stay together. Promise me!”

 

Ben nodded. “And when we get back to the Ponderosa, we’d like for you and Quinn to come visit for a while. Hoss and Joe never had time to watch Quinn work with the horses, and Hop Sing would love to spoil you rotten.” Ben didn’t mention anything about Adam or what he felt.

 

“You’ll be seeing me again,” Phaedra said as she stood up and kissed Ben on his cheek. “And that’s a promise!”

 

Joe hugged Phaedra; Hoss gave her hand a very gentle squeeze. Phaedra turned her eyes to Adam’s. “How’d you sleep last night?”

 

“Fine,” responded Adam in a monotone.

 

“Hmm… I thought that your back may have been bothering you.” With that, Phaedra sat back down in her chair.

 

Adam opened his mouth to say something, decided against it, and turned and walked away. How did she know about my back? And does she know about the other thing?

 

A slight breeze blew back the pages of the sketchbook and revealed the page that Phaedra had decided not to show Ben. Shivering slightly, Phaedra went into the house and closed the front door. Fear gripped her but she could do nothing to stop what was now already set in motion. Maybe tomorrow her words of warning wouldn’t fall on deaf ears…

 

CHAPTER FORTY EIGHT

Though it had taken Adam and Hoss only a little over a day to get to Sonora, cattle with calves would move much slower. With that in mind, provisions had been bought and stuffed into four saddlebags – there’d be enough food for a full three days with some left over. Ben had done some good bargaining and, although he had spent most of the money brought by Adam and Hoss, there was still money enough to restock at the small towns along the way. Everything was ready. The only negative thing was that Ben and Adam had yet to completely “mend their fences.”

 

This day dawned cloudy and dreary. At breakfast, Hoss looked out the window of the cafe and sighed. “I kinda hate leavin’ here on sich a day. And mah big toe says it’s gonna rain.”

 

Joe snickered. “Your big toe hurts all the time, no matter what the weather. It hurts when there’s work to do; it hurts when the sun shines; it hurts when there’s fog; it hurts when you have to pick up supplies; and it hurt before you and Bessie Sue went to the dance a few months back.” Joe snickered again.

 

Ben managed a smile. Adam’s face was stony. He and Ben had argued again last night after seeing Phaedra. It was plain that there would be no meeting of the minds on this matter.

 

Breakfast was now finished and the four men walked to the Bannan place one last time, each man carrying saddlebags full of food. Ben secretly hoped that Phaedra wouldn’t be awake – he didn’t relish the thought of saying goodbye again. But he was worried about her – she had looked so ill yesterday.

 

Ben was surprised to see all four horses saddled and ready to go. All that was left to do was to secure the saddlebags, check the cinches, and then head to the stockyard. Quinn appeared from the barn with an unsaddled horse and greeted the Cartwrights cheerily.

 

“If you don’t mind, I’ll ride with you as far as Jamestown,” he said. “This is ‘Cody’ and I’d like the opportunity to get him used to herding cattle but not on a large basis at first. He’s got spirit and responds very well – I hope to keep him as my main horse. Is it okay if I come along?”

 

“Of course,” was Ben’s reply. “What good training…” Ben stopped when he saw Phaedra.

 

“Wait! Wait! I’ve got something for all of you!” she said as she approached the corral, several bags in one hand and the sketchbook in the other.

 

Adam groaned. “Here comes ‘ye olde sketchbook’. Probably with more dire predictions.”

 

Ben shot a dirty look in Adam’s direction. Adam turned away from his father’s baleful glare and double checked Sport’s cinch and saddle.

 

Phaedra’s eyes had a haunted look. It was plain that she hadn’t slept well. “Have you got room in those saddlebags for these?” She handed over the sacks – full of fried chicken and biscuits and large slices of apple pie.

 

The aroma drew even Adam to stand with his father and brothers. As each man took a bag – including Quinn – Adam managed to say a civil “thank you.”

 

Phaedra spoke. “You’re bound and determined to leave today, Ben? Can’t you wait until tomorrow or the next day when the weather is better?”

 

Ben shook his head. “We need to get moving. The weather isn’t a factor – we always carry rain slickers just in case of bad weather. We’ll be fine.”

 

Phaedra jutted out her chin stubbornly. “I drew this last night. Please look at it!”

 

Even Adam looked at the page that had only one drawing on it: A huge zig-zag of lightning ran from the top of the page to the bottom.”

 

“Please don’t go today,” Phaedra begged. “The danger is right on top of all of you.”

 

Adam turned his back and shoved the food into his saddlebags. He was sick and tired of Phaedra’s sketches and predictions.

 

Ben was startled at the drawing but he patted Phaedra’s hand. “We’ll be careful. We’ll stay together. And I’ll send you a wire when we get back to Virginia City. Quinn will be with us part of the way and can give you a full report almost immediately.”

 

Phaedra sighed. “I’ve done the best I can. If there’s nothing else I can say or do, I give up.” Without saying goodbye, she hurried back into the house, the tears blinding her.

 

“Mount up, boys!” Ben directed. “We’re going home!”

 

CHAPTER FORTY NINE

Once the group was well away from town, Adam seemed calmer but somewhat distracted. The good thing was that the father-son discussion was over because Ben hadn’t opted to stay longer in Sonora despite Phaedra’s pleas otherwise. Adam’s anger was beginning to fade.

 

Despite what looked like it would be a dreary day, the sun came out and the clouds disappeared. Joe looked at Hoss and snickered. “Looks like your prediction of rain was wrong. I know better than to trust your big toe.”

 

Hoss sneered at his younger brother. “I betcha it’s rainin’ in Sonora. And I don’t care iffen ya trust mah big toe or not. So there!”

 

The herd of cows, calves, and horses (numbering twenty five) crested a small hill and, looking in the distance, Quinn pointed to what had once been a booming town – now a ghost town. Supposedly.

 

“Well, there’s Jamestown – or what’s left of it!” Quinn shouted. “And over there is what I suppose would serve as a corral.” He was in a hurry because nobody had eaten since breakfast, and the thought of his mother’s fried chicken and biscuits was making his mouth water and his stomach growl. “I’ll go on down and check to make sure that there’s a gate that’ll close to keep these critters penned up. I’ll wave my hat if the gate is there or if it can be fixed in a hurry.” With that, he galloped off down the hill.

 

Looks are deceiving. The old town seemed much closer than it actually was and, even though Quinn was riding as fast as he could, it still took a good thirty minutes for him to get where he was going. While they waited, Hoss looked around.

 

“Kinda a purty li’l place with all them hills and grass and stuff. Mebbe we should let the stock graze here for a while. Over yonder’s a stream they kin drink outta.”

 

Ben stood up in his stirrups and looked. “Good idea, Hoss. This bunch had lots of fresh hay this morning in Sonora’s corral, so they shouldn’t be needing a lot of time to graze. If we move to our north a little, we can still see Quinn. And one of these calves looks like he’s done in already.” So the group moved to a higher hill where men and animals could take a rest.

 

As they dismounted, Ben watched the little calf, younger than the others. It was clearly in distress. “I think I’ll need to carry this one on down to the corral as soon as we get the signal from Quinn,” he said.

 

“I kin do that, Pa,” Hoss responded.

 

Ben shook his head. “I’m not too old to stay in the saddle with a calf across my lap.”

 

Adam only half-meant for his comment to be heard by his father. “But you’re at that stage of life when you start believing everything you hear from a scam artist!” 

 

Ben’s face was grim. “You just won’t drop the matter, will you!” Ben’s hurt and anger were obvious.

 

Adam opened his mouth to say something but never had time to say it. Several things happened all at once. Quinn waved his hat. Hoss handed the calf up to an already-in-the-saddle Ben. From out of the blue, lightning struck the tree closest to where the herd was grazing. Twenty-five animals immediately stampeded in every direction. Adam, Hoss and Joe leaped into their saddles and heard Ben call out to head them towards the corral. Joe looked back and saw that Ben was having only minor problems with a terrified calf. Joe kicked Cochise into a gallop and sped out after his brothers and the wild-eyed herd. He heard a noise behind him but couldn’t make out exactly what it was because of the pounding of hooves drowning out his hearing.

 

Twenty-five spooked critters were not easy to get under control but the feat was accomplished. The stock was in the pen, and Quinn – having seen the stampede – had launched himself into his own saddle to help gather the herd together. He closed the gate and looked at the blue sky. “What happened?” was all he could ask.

 

“Lightnin’. From outta nowheres,” Hoss answered as he struggled to catch his breath.  “Jist like Phaedra’s drawing…”

 

Adam and Joe nodded and wiped their dirty faces. They hadn’t even dismounted yet when the question arose from Adam. “Where’s Pa?”

 

CHAPTER FIFTY

Four men scanned the horizon and could see nothing. No Ben. No Buck. No calf. Adam took charge.

 

“Hoss, where did you see him last?”

 

“Up yonder on that hill,” came the answer. “I had jist handed him up that li’l calf when the lightnin’ struck. Maybe he didn’t ride with us ’cause he had t’ go slower. That calf was all wiggly to begin with. I heared him say t’ head for the corral. I didn’t think t’ look back.” Hoss sighed and looked at the ground. “I jist thought he was with us, I reck’n.”

 

Adam looked at Joe and asked the same question that had been posed to Hoss.

 

“I looked back and saw that he was settling the calf across his saddle. I jumped on Cooch and rode hard. I didn’t look back to see what Pa was doing. I just wanted to keep the herd from running all over the countryside. Pa paid a pretty penny for them…” Joe’s voice trailed off.

 

Quinn was folding and unfolding the brim of his hat. “Uh, I don’t want to cause trouble but did anybody hear anything other than the lightning striking?”

 

“I thought I heard something but I didn’t know what it was…”

 

Adam took a deep breath. “Quinn? Did it sound like a rifle shot?”

 

“Yeah,” Quinn answered slowly. “Yeah, it kinda did.”

 

“I heard it too.” Adam growled. “Somebody open the gate. I’m going to look for Pa! Meet me at the place we were last!”

 

In the wink of an eye, Hoss and Joe mounted up and sped after Adam. Quinn lagged behind only long enough to close the gate. The four men spread out in different directions and, after two hours, they began to regroup in the original spot. Not far from there was a tree which had been split in half by the odd lightning. The sky was still clear blue.

 

Adam was in his saddle, gnawing on a piece of fried chicken when the others began to arrive.

 

Hoss gawked at his older brother. “How kin ya eat at a time like this? Pa’s missin’ right from under our noses; we don’t know where he is or how he is, and all you kin think ’bout is yer stomach.”

 

Adam chewed. “We ate an early breakfast. We’ve been in the saddle all morning. We’ve stopped a stampede. My mind isn’t as sharp as it could be. We all need food to help us think straight if we’re gonna figure out what happened to Pa. I suggest that we eat now. Who knows when the chance might come again.” This was a statement, not a question. Having finished the first piece of chicken, Adam reached into the bag for another piece.

 

Hoss, Joe and Quinn fished into their bags, given to them by Phaedra several hours ago.

 

Quinn spoke sadly as he chewed on his piece of chicken. “My mother makes the best fried chicken in the world. Right now it tastes like cardboard. It doesn’t go down easy.”

 

“No, it don’t,” replied Hoss. “But Adam’s got a point. We need t’ think straight right now.”

 

Joe had finished his chicken and was cramming a biscuit in his mouth. All it did was to dry his mouth out worse. He drank from his canteen but the water did nothing to get rid of the dryness. He knew that the cause was fear.

 

The bawling of a calf carried on the wind – it didn’t come from the corral. As one, the group of men threw down what was left of their chicken and followed the sound. Standing close to some bushes was a calf.

 

Hoss jumped down from the saddle and grabbed his rope. “This looks t’ be the calf that I handed to Pa. I ‘member this diamond shape on its side.” The calf was now tied up so it could be taken back to the herd. Hoss, the tracker, was already searching the area looking for tell-tale signs of hoof prints or boot prints or anything that might provide a clue that Ben had been here. The fact was that he wouldn’t or shouldn’t have been here to begin with unless the calf had fallen from his arms and, terrified, it had run here on its own.

 

Adam, Joe and Quinn began combing the area carefully, making wider and wider circles. Hoss shouted from where he stood – several yards away and up a slight incline. “C’mere! Quick! I mighta found somethin’!”

 

Three men sped to where Hoss was standing. “Adam? You and Quinn said y’all thought that you heared a rifle shot. What’re the chances of finding a spent cartridge right here all by its lonesome?” Hoss pointed but didn’t touch anything.

 

Adam did pick it up. “It’s a Winchester casing. Are there others around here?”

 

While the others searched the ground, Adam eyeballed from where he was to the place where they had all been before the stampede. If a rifle had been fired from here, a bullet would’ve traveled easily to that particular place, unimpeded by trees or bushes.

 

Quinn had learned from his Indian family how to track game and other things. “Bootprints here!” He followed them, along with Hoss to a copse of trees by a small creek. The two men looked at each other.

 

Hoss spoke. “I figure mebbe two horses. The tracks’re deep enough t’ show that they were ridden in here.”

 

Quinn nodded and moved in another direction. “Make that three horses. And one of them is Buck!”

 

Adam grabbed Quinn’s shirt. “Don’t say that unless you mean it!”

 

“Adam, I’ve worked with Buck and that leg and hoof for five days. I know what his hoof print looks like. His lead shoe has a notch in it – nothing bad where he needed to be re-shod or I’d have done that. Look at this print.”

 

Adam slowly released Quinn’s shirt, squatted down, and took a good look around. There were several prints mixed in with each other but one particular print kept turning up. It showed a notched shoe.

 

Joe’s sharp intake of breath caused heads to turn. Joe couldn’t speak – he just pointed. On the ground and on the tops of the scattered leaves were dark spots. Both Quinn and Hoss touched the stains and then looked at their fingers. Blood. Adam walked up the creek bed and found more hoof prints that led both to him and away from him. Hoss and Quinn agreed that the former prints were made by two horses and that the latter were made by three. And there were more drips of blood on the tracks leading away.

 

Adam said what nobody wanted to hear. “Somebody’s kidnapped Pa. But we don’t know if this is Pa’s blood or not.”

 

Joe’s face was bewildered. “But why grab Pa? Why not one of us? And who would know that we’d be heading this way?” His questions came out in a flood.

 

Hoss clamped a hand around Quinn’s throat. “You knew. And your Ma knew. If you don’t tell me right now…” Hoss didn’t need to finish the sentence.

 

Quinn barely had enough air to breathe, let alone talk. But he managed to get words out.

 

“Never said anything to anybody. I swear it!” The look in his eyes was not one of fear but of the same honesty he and his mother both had displayed since the beginning. There was something in that look that made Hoss let go of Quinn’s neck. Quinn gasped for breath and then spoke. “Hoss, it was you who picked out the pilgrim in my mother’s sketchbook. It was you who made the connection with Plymouth. Yes, I came up with Jamestown because it fell into line with what you were thinking. But, if I had bad intentions towards your father, I had more than enough chances to do it and never get caught even before you and Adam arrived. I’m asking for you to trust me.”

 

Hoss and Joe looked at Adam. He nodded his head. “Quinn’s right. Quinn knew where we were staying. He knew we walked everywhere unless we came to the corral to get our horses. And if it’s money he was after, Phaedra could’ve gotten all she needed every time she saw Pa.”

 

“Money!” Joe exclaimed. “Somebody did this for money! But why wait until we’ve already used up our cash – or most of it?”

 

“Ransom.” Adam’s one word made them all shiver. “But that means we’ll get a note or something. And we don’t have that yet. Let’s try to follow these tracks and see where they lead us.”

 

Hoss never apologized to Quinn. Nobody did. And Quinn didn’t hold it against them. Instead he and Hoss, eyes to the ground, followed the hoof prints until they reached rocky ground that was too hard to leave any prints. No more blood was found.

 

Adam looked up at the sky and realized that it would soon be dark. “We’re going back to Jamestown. Joe, hand that calf up to Hoss.”

 

Joe shook his head. “I’m not leaving until we find Pa.”

 

Adam appeared calm, sounded calm, and made sense when he spoke. But he was scared beyond belief. “Joe, the owners of the horses know where we are. If it’s ransom money they want, and I think it is, then a note will get to us in Jamestown. It’s going to be dark soon, and we’re probably being watched. The last thing we want to do is to drive the kidnappers farther away. Hand that calf up to Quinn and get out of here. Do as I say.”

 

“I don’t like it,” Joe fumed.

 

“Neither do I,” Adam responded between clenched teeth. “Not one bit!”

 

CHAPTER FIFTY ONE

A cursory look at the corral showed that the newly-purchased stock hadn’t escaped. Quinn put the little calf in the pen and it ran to its mama to nurse. Not far away was a small house which appeared to have an intact roof even though the shape of the rest of the house was questionable.

 

Still in control, Adam pointed. “We’ll stay there tonight. There’s a chimney so we can gather wood and can take the chill out of the night. Maybe there’s still wood in there. Maybe even a stove. We can use the water from our canteens to make coffee – I have a feeling we’re going to need it.”

 

Joe looked up and down the street. “Maybe some folks still live here. Maybe they’ve seen Pa. Maybe Pa’s right here under our noses. I’m going to check things out.”

 

Quinn murmured softly. “We all better go.” He was thinking about what his mother had said about staying together.

 

Adam nodded. By the time the group had checked out every nook and cranny of every building, it was totally dark outside. Only the sliver of moon lit the way back to the little house. The animals in the corral were fairly quiet. Quinn and the Cartwrights made sure that their horses were tied securely and that the saddles’ cinches were loosened only slightly. They had no idea what the night would bring but they planned on being ready to ride at a moment’s notice. Hoss whispered an apology to the horses. “I’m sorry. No food tonight. At least you had a chance to graze earlier.” Saddlebags and bedrolls were carried into the house.

 

The little house was falling apart everywhere, but it did have a stove, a chimney, and something that could be used for a coffee pot. Finding already-chopped wood was a plus, so Quinn made coffee. He knew that everything he did – everywhere he went – would be under scrutiny. He wanted to be as useful as he could be.

 

********************

Back in Sonora, tears filled Phaedra’s eyes as she whispered, “Ben. Ben. Why didn’t you listen to me? Marie, Inger and Liz aren’t here to help me so I’m hoping they’re with you. I know something’s happened – I can feel it but I can’t see it. Rory, you know what’s going on. Please talk to me.” But Rory neither appeared nor spoke, so Phaedra prayed then in English and in her native tongue. She didn’t know what else to do.

 

********************

In a run-down cabin sat four men. In a different room, a fifth man lay on the floor with his hands tied. He could hear everything that was being said. Was it his imagination or had he heard these voices before? His head hurt and so did his leg. What had happened? He remembered trying to settle the wiggly calf in front of him on the saddle. There was a loud noise. Livestock stampeding. A ringing in his ears. Falling. Then what? Waking up here – but where was here? He now struggled with trying to get his hands free – not rope but leather that dug into his flesh. He still had circulation in his hands and was thankful for that. Moving around made his head hurt worse. His left leg was in some kind of splint. Had he broken it? When? He was thirsty. He listened, trying to identify the voices that he was hearing.

 

“You fool! You could’ve killed him!’

 

“Weren’t my fault. He moved. I had a good bead on his shoulder – jist wanted t’ give ‘im a flesh wound. That stupid calf made ‘im move.”

 

“Naw. The lightnin’ made ‘im move. Since when do lightnin’ come outta a clear blue sky?”

 

“You should’ve gone for one of the sons. We’d have been able to ask for lots more money, I bet.”

 

“Naw. Them three boys’ll dig up a king’s ransom for their ole man. We was lucky about the lightnin’, though. Ain’t nobody coulda heard that rifle shot.”

 

“Them boys are still in Jamestown. They still gotta go back to Sonora ‘cuz it’s the closest bank. Gotta get that note written and delivered so’s they kin hurry up ’bout it.”

 

“Yeah. But who’s gonna deliver that note? They’ll be watchin’ for anythin’ that moves.”

 

“I’ve got it all figured out. Don’t worry.”

 

“What we gonna do with a ole man with a bloody head and a broke leg? That head wound bled like stink!”

 

“You two will stay here with him. Two of us have to go back to town so we won’t be missed. And remember to wear your masks all the time!”

 

“Ah, hell! Those things are hot!”

 

“Would you rather be recognized?”

 

“If he sees us, we’ll kill ‘im. Kidnappin’ and askin’ fer ransom is jist ’bout as bad as a killin’.”

 

“We may have to kill him later. But for now, let’s get that note written. Nobody can hide out here for long, I don’t think. Go see if the ole man is awake.”

 

CHAPTER FIFTY TWO

Though they had plenty of food in their saddlebags, nobody was hungry. Four men drank their coffee in silence. Adam had his hands wrapped around his coffee cup, the muscles in his jaw flexing as he thought. Am I making the right decision to wait here? Can Quinn really be trusted? Hoss and Joe are looking to me for answers. They want to know what to do. I want to know what to do. Pa’s hurt – maybe dead. No, I won’t let myself think that right now. Am I right about a ransom note? What if there isn’t one? Both Hoss and Quinn are good trackers. Should we light torches and try to find tracks? No, the ground was just too hard to leave any tell-tale signs, even in daylight. Adam remembered his last words to his father, uncharacteristically mean words, and he remembered the hurt look on his father’s face. Why did I have to say that? I’ve never spoken to Pa that way. Sure, we’ve argued before, but I’ve never stooped so low as I did today and the days before. What’s wrong with me? And suddenly he knew why he had been acting so badly in Sonora. Unshed tears stung his eyes and he felt a deep shame. He pinched the bridge of his nose and listened to the creatures of the night – wolves howling mingled with the sounds of crickets, frogs, and a few owls. Hoss, Joe and Quinn were whispering quietly among themselves.

 

Suddenly Adam was startled. “Shhh,” he said. “Listen!”

 

“I don’t hear nuthin’,” Hoss responded.

 

“That’s what I mean. It’s gotten completely quiet. No frogs, no crickets, no nothing.” Adam stood up.

 

Then everybody heard it – the unmistakable sounds of hoofbeats that didn’t come from the penned animals in the corral.

 

“Pa!” Joe shouted as he ran to the door and flung it open.

 

Adam, Hoss and Quinn were right behind him, each face reflecting hope. But that hope turned to icy fear when they saw a riderless Buck.

 

With guns drawn and with vigilant eyes looking in all directions, the group ran outside and grabbed Buck’s reins. Hoss found, wrapped around the saddle horn, a piece of paper.

 

“Hey, Adam! What’s this?”

 

Adam snatched the paper out of Hoss’s hand. “Quinn, unsaddle Buck and put him in the corral. It’s too dark to read this outside. The rest of you come with me back into the house.” Staccato orders.

 

Quinn, wise beyond his years, didn’t mind that he wasn’t included in the reading of what seemed to be a note. This was a matter for the Cartwright family, not for him. Buck was unsaddled, and that was when Quinn noticed dried droplets, small dark stains, at the bottom of Buck’s neck. Quinn hurried into the house.

 

By the light of an old lamp, still half-full of coal oil, Adam read what was written on the paper.

 

I am being held for ransom. Fifty thousand dollars. You have until tomorrow night to get the money. Leave it in the bank bag in the hollow of the willow tree in Jenkins’ Creek at midnight. Go alone. There will be a map showing where I am. I am all right.

 

“That’s a good sign, isn’t it, Adam?” Joe once again looked hopeful.

 

“I don’t know,” Adam answered slowly. “The note is written in Pa’s handwriting, but it’s signed ‘Dad’. When have we ever called Pa ‘Dad’?”

 

“He’s trying to tell us something,” Hoss mused as Adam spread the paper on the table for his brothers to read. “But what?”

 

Quinn entered the room and looked at his fingertips surreptitiously. He took a deep breath before he said anything. “I found dried drops of this on Buck’s neck. He’s not hurt. But this is blood.”

 

CHAPTER FIFTY THREE

This time, Adam didn’t lean on purpose – he leaned against a not-too-sturdy wall because his legs threatened to give way.

 

Hoss spoke. “Reck’n it kin be the calf’s blood? Mebbe that’s what we seen on the ground back yonder. Mebbe it’s not Pa’s blood a’tall.”

 

Joe looked at Quinn. “You turned the calf loose in the corral. Did you see any signs of blood on it?”

 

“I didn’t look. I came straight in here.” Quinn’s face was sad.

 

“Well, let’s go look now,” Adam said as he stood up straight, grabbed a pine knot out of the stove, and headed to the door. The burning pine knot might not give too much light but it would have to do. “Stick together and keep your eyes open. We may be being watched. Whoever’s got Pa may send him out into the street to make sure we got the note and to prove that he’s alive. For God’s sake, don’t shoot him!”

 

The night creatures had returned to making their noises. Hoss commented on this. “They wouldn’t be makin’ sich a racket if folks were movin’ ’round. We’re bein’ quiet so we ain’t skeerin’ ’em into silence.” And quick as a wink, Hoss had gone into the corral and found the littlest calf who was happily suckling. So fast was it taken away from its mama and restrained in Hoss’s arms that dribbles of milk ran down its chin. Hoss apologized to it in a soft voice. “Sorry, li’l feller. As soon as we kin git a good look atcha, ya kin finish eatin’.” Hoss toted the calf to the fence where Adam had the lighted pine knot.

 

Sure enough, close inspection showed that there were dried droplets on the calf’s head and back. But further examination by both Hoss and Quinn revealed no cut or scrapes under the fuzzy hide – anywhere. The blood was not from the calf. With a heavy heart, Hoss returned the critter to its mama, and it began to nurse again.

 

Four dejected men went back into the house. Adam poured another cup of coffee and, though he wasn’t hungry, he gnawed at a biscuit and ate the slice of apple pie.

 

“Food to help you think, Adam?” This from Joe who wasn’t hungry either.

 

Adam nodded and looked at his brothers and at Quinn. “I suggest you do the same.” So they ate and drank more coffee. Quinn put on another batch to brew.

 

“We need to keep our minds sharp and make a plan. You can bet that whoever has Pa has made a good one already. Ours has to be better than theirs.” Adam was thinking out loud. “Let’s look at what we know. The last time we saw Pa was right as the stampede began. Lightning had struck. When we got here, Pa was missing. We found a spent cartridge. We found tracks and blood by the creek but we couldn’t follow the trail over the hard rocks. We searched a wide area with no other signs. Pa’s horse showed up here after dark with a note attached to the saddle – a note in Pa’s handwriting asking for fifty thousand dollars but signed ‘Dad’.”

 

Swallowing a piece of pie that normally would’ve been delicious but was now tasteless, Joe spoke. “Buck didn’t just happen to find us. Somebody knew we were here – wanted us to see that note. We were being watched and didn’t know it. We may still be being watched. The blood on Buck and on the calf didn’t come from either animal. Both Quinn and I heard a strange sound about the same time as the lightning struck – it sounded like a rifle shot. Adam, you heard the same thing. So somebody was either following us or lying in wait for us.”

 

“Had to be follerin’ us,” Hoss added. “I was the one t’ say to move over t’ where the grass was green. I shoulda kep’ mah mouth shut!”

 

Adam spoke softly. “Hoss, it’s not your fault. We were sitting ducks when we stopped to wait for Quinn to check the corral and the gate. The lightning strike would’ve caused the stock to stampede anyway. I think we were being followed. No matter where we were, there was plenty enough time for somebody to hide and get a bead on us.”

 

Quinn, who had been sitting quietly, asked a question. “But why Ben – why not one of you three? I obviously was never a target if it’s ransom money somebody wants. Mother and I don’t have much money to begin with. Who did your father know that might’ve held a grudge? Everybody knows that the Cartwrights are wealthy but it seems to me that there’re at least two people who are very angry and very greedy.”

 

“Good points, Quinn.” Adam almost smiled. “Joe, you were with Pa the longest. Who did Pa know or do business with?”

 

Joe thought. “We met Sheriff Valen briefly. There were Barry Hornsby, Betty Lou and Henry at the Excalibur. Hattie and Josephine. Lori. Phaedra and Quinn. Oliver Jackson, Tim Brady and Pablo Garcia. There was the bartender at the saloon by the name of Marty. But I don’t think any of them had a grudge against Pa or me.”

 

Adam swirled the coffee in his cup. “We have to come up with a plan. We have only one full day to get such a large amount of money. Where’s Jenkins’ Creek?” Adam looked at Quinn.

 

“It’s between here and Sonora. Just a little creek that’s got a few trees – one of which is a big willow tree. I used to fish in that spot with Tate Jenkins when I was younger.”

 

“That’s enough to start planning. No long-range plans yet. Let’s just get through tomorrow.” Adam drained his coffee cup. He clenched his jaw lest he say more of what was on his mind. Though the Cartwrights were the wealthiest family in the Comstock, the bank in Virginia City wouldn’t have enough cash on hand to wire it to Sonora without liquidating some of the Cartwrights’ assets – and that would take time. More time than until midnight tomorrow. And the bank in Sonora certainly wouldn’t have all that money in its vault.

 

CHAPTER FIFTY FOUR

Meanwhile, in a small cabin, one man sat and waited. He breathed a sigh of relief when the second man walked into the cabin.

 

“Ya had me plumb scared cuz ya was gone s’ long!”

 

“Had to make sure that the note was found, didn’t I?”

 

“Reck’n so. But it’s creepy bein’ here alone – just me an’ the ole man…”

 

“Is he still breathin’?”

 

“Yeah. He groaned when I checked on him. Bet he’s got one hell o’ a headache.” Laughter.

 

“Didja wear that mask when you checked on ‘im?”

 

A door opens and closes. A chair scrapes across the floor.

 

“Yeah.” A sigh. “I wish we could just kill ‘im right now. We’re gonna end up doin’ it anyhow. Didja wear yer mask in Jamestown?”

 

A snort. “Naw. Them guys was too interested in that horse and the note to be lookin’ at anythin’ else.”

 

“I don’t like the thought of killin’ anybody. That weren’t the plan in the beginnin’. Iffen you’d planned on killin’ ‘im, why’d ya let me doctor ‘im up? I done a good job on that leg.”

 

“Yer sich a wimp! He had to be the one to write the note, idjit!”

 

Huffy. “Well, I ain’t gonna be no part to no killin’, that’s fer shore! I’m leavin’!”

 

Low voice. “Let me tell ya somthin’. You breathe one single word o’ this and I’ll kill ya myself!”

 

The scraping of a chair. Boots stomping across the floor. A door slamming.

 

“Ya think he’ll rat us out?”

 

“Nah. Wouldn’t surprise me none if he heads straight fer Mexico. He’s skeered of his own shaddah! He don’t dare cross us!”

 

“We cain’t have no slip-ups. We’re awful close to gettin’ that money. Then we can get on down to Mexico and get away from here. I wish there was more of us in this cabin – I sure would feel a lot safer.”

 

“Yeah, me too. But the others had to go back to town. Cain’t have folks wonderin’ where they was while all this is happenin’.”

 

********************

Ben had pinpointed his location in the tiny windowless room. He had also figured out that he could roll across the floor more quietly than trying to stand up and walk around. These guys might just shoot him if they knew, even with his hands tied behind him, that he was mobile. Besides, rolling hurt his leg less than trying to stand up – when he had done that earlier, he had made so much noise that somebody came to check on him. He had heard boots approaching and was able to crumple to the floor just in the nick of time.

 

Silently he rolled to one side of the room, lay on his back and felt the floorboards with his fingers in hopes of finding one or two that were loose. He nudged gently against the wall. No luck. He repeated this procedure at another side, feeling the floor and nudging the wall as he went. Nothing. But he was luckier the next time – though the floor seemed sturdy enough, the wall had rotted and there were a couple of boards where the nails were either sticking out or gone. Ben smiled to himself: There was more than one way to skin a cat.

 

Hearing boots approaching the room, Ben rolled back to his original position, groaning loudly as he moved, hoping to cover any sounds his body made by using his voice.

 

“Yer makin’ a lots of noise in here. Be quiet!”

 

“I can’t feel my hands,” Ben groaned as he peeked at the masked man. “This leather is too tight. You’re going to end up killing me anyway – can’t you just undo my hands a bit?”

 

A snort. “I kin do better’n that. Ya got a broke leg and ya cain’t run away. I ain’t too sure thatcha can run a’tall!” The man bent closer – his mask was a burlap bag that had two eyeholes and an opening for the mouth. Ben was lying on his side and his hands were grabbed roughly, enough to elicit a yelp of real pain. The man laughed as he plied his knife to the leather. “You ain’t so tough now, are ya!” A painful kick to Ben’s ribs and the man was gone. Ben’s hands were free. Though his left leg throbbed painfully, Ben smiled slightly.

 

Somebody had just underestimated “ole man Ben Cartwright” and his abilities…

 

CHAPTER FIFTY FIVE

Against everyone’s advice, Adam headed back to Sonora. He had managed to eat a few bites of beef jerky and to drink some coffee but, as had been the case the night before, the food was tasteless. The sun was just barely peeking over the horizon, and the sky was filled with clouds – it was going to be a dreary day. He was aware that he was alone and very vulnerable but counted on the fact that, if he was being watched, somebody would know that he was headed to town to go to the bank. He rode fast along the shortcut that Quinn had told him about. It was narrow and rocky and wouldn’t have been any use for driving the stock to Jamestown but it was the quickest way back to Sonora.

 

Joe, Hoss and Quinn were left in charge of two things: turn the new stock out to graze and get water and then to return to the area where the tracks – and blood – had been found. The cattle would probably stay in one place, happy to have something to eat. The horses might or might not. Right now it didn’t matter to Adam if all the stock dispersed and were never found.

 

Hoss and Quinn were excellent trackers and would have all day to search a wider area than yesterday. Joe was the quickest with a gun but was warned not to shoot to kill if anybody showed up nosing around. A dead stranger – especially one who might be guilty – would be of no use to anybody.

 

********************

Adam tied Sport to the hitching post in front of the Sonora bank. “I’m sorry to have run you so hard, fella,” Adam said as he stroked the animal’s lathered neck. “There’s water for you here in the trough. In a little while, I’ll get you some fresh feed.” Sport plunged his mouth into the water and slurped noisily while Adam wiped his hand on his dusty britches and headed into the bank.

 

Signing the provided bank draft would be no problem in itself, but Adam realized – at the last minute – that Ben’s name had to be included for such a large amount of money. Either Adam or Hoss or Joe’s names would also be required in such an instance. So Adam did the only thing he knew to do and that was to approach the bank president – and tell a lie.

 

Mister Hargrove was a lanky man with a kind face. Adam introduced himself, trying hard to look nonchalant.

 

“I heard about the Cartwrights being in town, buying cattle and horses. But I thought that all of you had gone back to the Ponderosa already. No matter. You’re here for a reason. What can I do for you?” Mister Hargrove pointed to a chair for Adam to be seated and then sat down himself.

 

“This has turned into more of a buying expedition than we had thought,” Adam began. “P….uh…Dad…well, he decided that he liked the look of more cattle here than originally thought. I need to get more money but…Dad’s already as far as Jamestown and isn’t here to sign a bank draft.”

 

Hargrove tented his fingers. “It would be highly unethical – and illegal – to do such a thing….” He thought about it for a minute. “But I think I could make an exception in this case. After all, the Cartwright name is always good.”

 

Adam sighed with relief and began to fill in the bank draft but looked up when Hargrove asked, “How much money do you need?”

 

“Fifty thousand dollars.”

 

Overcome with a coughing fit, Hargrove’s eyes goggled out of his head. “Fifty thousand?” His voice came out as a squeak. “You could buy every head of cattle and every horse in Sonora for that amount of money and still have enough left to buy the entire town of Sonora! I just can’t hand you over that kind of money without your father’s signature.”

 

Adam was desperate but he couldn’t let it show. “I understand. But that amount of money would also include the outright purchase of one of the gold mines here.”

 

“Hmmm,” murmured Hargrove. “That does change things, but only a little bit. But I must tell you that we don’t keep that amount of money in the bank. Yes, Sonora is becoming a boom town, but our cash reserve won’t cover anywhere close to that amount.”

 

“How about I get twenty-five thousand from you and wire our bank in Virginia City for the other half?” Adam didn’t want to give up.

 

“We don’t have that amount of money either.” Hargove was looking at Adam suspiciously. “I sense that I’m not getting the whole truth from you. Out with it!”

 

Adam didn’t know who he could trust and who he couldn’t. He took a chance and whispered the truth and then added that Hargrove would have the money from Ben’s bank in San Francisco – a bank that would liquidate the Cartwrights’ assets until the exact amount of money had been reached. It would then be sent to the Sonora bank. But it would take several days.

 

Adam, as a result of telling the truth, walked out of the bank with five thousand dollars in his pocket and with the admonition that Sheriff Valen be apprised of the situation. Hargrove had been very understanding but had told the truth about the money in the vault – there just wasn’t enough to give Adam more cash than what he had just given. Now Adam needed to send a wire to the bank in Virginia City and to Ben’s attorney in San Francisco. Mark Cain had power of attorney to liquidate assets and to wire money to Sonora.

 

Having attended to the sending of the telegrams, all Adam could do was wait for replies. He knew what he needed to do but he just couldn’t make himself do it. And then he ran into Oliver Jackson. Oliver was an astute judge of the obvious and, with one look at Adam’s grim face, he knew something was terribly wrong. He leaned his head into the telegraph office and said, “We’ll be in the cafe across the street if there’s a response required.” Without saying a word to Adam, Oliver steered him away from the closest bar and into the cafe. The two men sat and took a sip of their coffee.

 

Oliver spoke for the first time. “Drinking at this hour of the morning will solve nothing. Tell me everything.” So Adam did.

 

CHAPTER FIFTY SIX

Hattie and Josephine happened to be sitting close by – fortunately or unfortunately. Hattie’s eyesight may have been bad but there was nothing wrong with her hearing. She and Josephine looked at each other, watched as Adam unwillingly shoved food into his mouth, watched as the telegrapher came in, watched as Adam wrote something, and watched as the telegrapher hurried away. Having finished their breakfast, the two eavesdropping old ladies left money on the table for what they had eaten and left the cafe. It was because of them that the news spread – news which happened to be right for a change. When Adam and Oliver came out of the cafe, Hattie and Josephine were peering into the display window of ladies’ clothing next door.

 

“Well, if it isn’t Adam Cartwright!” Hattie cooed. “We saw you at breakfast but didn’t have time to stop and chat. We’re very busy ladies, you know.”

 

The last people on earth that Adam had patience for at the moment were these two gossiping women. But he tipped his hat – as did Oliver – and tried to think of a way to escape from them.

 

“How’s that father of yours?” Josephine asked with an innocent face. “Such a nice man with such well-raised sons.”

 

“Thank you, but…” Adam didn’t get to finish his sentence.

 

Hattie smiled and handed over something in a small box. “This is a gift from us to your family. We hope you can find some use for it. Now please excuse us but we have shopping to do.” With that, they scurried off. Adam sighed as he looked at the unsealed box. “I’ll bet it’s a winter scarf or a pair of socks,” Adam mused as he opened the box. He gasped as he looked and then looked again. With shaking hands, he read the short note. You need this more than we do. You are all in our prayers. His hands shook so hard that he handed the box to Oliver who made a tally of the contents: Five thousand dollars.

 

“I can’t take this money!” Adam whispered, his voice like gravel. “This is probably the only money they have in the world.”

 

“You can’t not take it,” Oliver answered with a smile. “They keep their cash hidden somewhere in their homes. Their gold is in the bank vault – they own a small share of one of the mines. Didn’t you know that?

 

“No.” Adam shook his head. “But how did they know that I needed this?”

 

Oliver chuckled. “Hattie’s blind as a bat almost. But she can hear a gnat fart from ten miles away. She had to have heard you talking over breakfast. Of course, now the whole town will know about the kidnapping… You won’t have to find Sheriff Valen. He’ll find you.”

 

Adam was stunned into silence.

 

“Grab your horse and come out to the ranch with me.” Oliver said.

 

“I don’t have time…” Again, Adam couldn’t finish a sentence.

 

“Make time. It’s important.” Oliver smiled enigmatically. “It won’t take long and you can check with the telegrapher when you come back.”

 

********************

Adam left the Jackson ranch both stunned and humbled – and ten thousand dollars richer.

 

“This is a loan,” Oliver had said as he opened his cashbox. “You can pay me back when you capture the kidnappers – which you will. And, by then, you’ll have cash on hand from the big bank in San Francisco. My guess is that they’ll send money in bits and pieces as they liquidate things which you will be able to buy back once the kidnappers cough up the money. I have no intention of charging you interest on this – I have a gut feeling that Ben would do the same thing for me because he’s an honorable man. You need cash right now and, though it’s not the entire amount that you need, I won’t be taking money out of the Sonora bank and leaving them short on funds.”

 

Adam hadn’t wanted to accept the money but he was between a rock and a hard place: With his father’s life probably at stake, every cent he could collect made his father’s safe return that much closer. A sense of paranoia overcame him – he was now alone and was carrying twenty thousand dollars, so he nudged Sport into a gallop to return to the telegraph office to see if there had been any response to the wires he had sent. And there were. With wires in hand, Adam sped to the bank to talk to Hargove.

 

The bank president’s face showed a smile as he read the wires. “These wires give me the authority to take the money from our vault – it’ll be replaced almost immediately and won’t leave us short. Wait here for a moment, please.” When Hargrove returned, he was carrying a rather insignificant-looking valise. “From your bank in Virginia City, there’s twelve thousand dollars with another wire from Sheriff Coffee advising that he’s on his way here. From your bank in San Francisco, there’s another twelve thousand with a promise of more tomorrow.”

 

Adam did some quick figuring in his head: That would make a total of twenty-four thousand in the valise plus ten from Oliver to equal thirty-four thousand plus five from the Sonora bank to equal thirty-nine thousand plus five from Hattie and Josephine to equal forty-four thousand. He was short by the amount of six thousand dollars.

 

“You’ve been more than helpful,” Adam said as he looked at Hargrove. “But I need more cash now.” He didn’t tell about Oliver’s money or about Hattie and Josephine’s money. “The deadline is midnight tonight!”

 

“I’m truly sorry, Adam. But surely you understand my position. I have to reserve my cash for the people of Sonora. I don’t want a bank run on my hands. I have to wait until tomorrow for more money from your San Francisco bank before I can give you more cash. Just sign these papers – a formality, you know…”

 

Adam sighed and nodded and signed the papers. He did understand. He rose and shook Hargrove’s hand. “I trust that you won’t breathe a word of any of what I’ve told you.”

 

“Adam, you’re an honorable man. I’m an honorable man. I know how to keep my mouth shut, I promise. Go see Sheriff Valen – you’ll certainly need his help. I may not be able to give you the cash that you need right now but I will be part of a posse if that’s what you and the sheriff decide is necessary.”

 

Adam felt a lump in his throat. All he could do was to say, “Thank you, sir, for all your help.” He walked outside and looked down the street towards Phaedra’s house. He knew what he needed to do.

 

CHAPTER FIFTY SEVEN

The only sound in the cabin that Ben could hear was somebody’s snoring. But, how many “somebodies” were actually in the cabin? Ben worked as quietly as he could in mostly darkness. Slivers of light shone through the chinks of the cabin’s wall but didn’t provide enough light to see well, so Ben went mostly by feeling his way around. Continuing to ignore the pain in his head and in his leg, he allowed his fingers to push against the rotted wood that was close to the floor and was delighted that it crumbled easily and noiselessly. Pretty soon there was a fist-sized hole in the wall. Scrunching down, Ben peered out of the opening and saw nothing but bushes. Well, at least this is an outside wall and not one that goes into another room. Continuing his work, he found another plus: The floorboard below the dry rot was also crumbling and fell away quite easily but made a little more noise as it fell. Further observation showed that this room was not smack on the ground but was a couple of feet off the ground. The next floorboard and wall plank were almost as rotten and were removed as well. But pulling at the wall plank above the rotten area made a loud “cracking” sound. The snoring stopped and boots could be heard approaching, so Ben sat over the opening he had made with his back against the wall to hide the light shining through.

 

“What was that noise?” a hooded figure asked.

 

“You can’t expect me to stay in one position for hour after hour. The bits of light shining through hurt my eyes and give me a pounding headache. It’s darker over here. And I’m unbelievably thirsty!”

 

“I reck’n givin’ you a sip o’ water won’t hurt none.” The figure disappeared and returned with a canteen which was thrown in Ben’s direction. Ben gulped as much as he could until the man almost shouted, “That’s enough! Now throw that canteen back here before you drink it all! I cain’t go down to the crick and get more ’til there’s somebody else here!”

 

The water wasn’t enough to slake Ben’s thirst but it would have to do. He capped the canteen and threw it back. The man snorted at him and then left.

 

Ben immediately returned to his work. Though he knew he had splinters in his fingers, he couldn’t stop now. He was making progress, slowly but surely – and the opening was widening bit by bit.

 

The sound of a door opening. A chair scraping. A devilish laugh. “One of the Cartwrights was t’ the bank first thing this mornin’. Then he sent some wires to somewheres – don’t know where. Banks mebbe. Then he had breakfast with Oliver Jackson. They left – headed for the Jackson ranch. Betcha there’s some money-borrowin’ goin’ on. I didn’t dare foller ’em ’cause it would be obvious.”

 

“Midnight won’t come soon enuff for me! But I ain’t too sure that Jackson’s got that kinda cash on hand – in the bank or on the ranch.”

 

“He knows folks who do, though. Young Cartwright’ll be holding out a tin cup, begging for money.” More devilish laughter.

 

“Ole man Cartwright was thirsty so I give ‘im a sip o’ water. Just enuff to keep him alive but not enuff t’ quench his thirst. He makes a awful racket draggin’ that splint ’round, though.”

 

“Why’s he movin’ ’round?”

 

“Says the light hurts his eyes. Geez, that room ain’t got no windah and there ain’t much light gets through the cracks between the walls. But he was hunkered down in the darkest corner he could find.”

 

“Why do we still need ‘im?”

 

“Might be his sons’ll need another note t’ prove he’s alive. Once we git the money, we kin just ride away from here. He ain’t et in two days. He’ll just starve’. He looks like death-warmed-over now.”

 

“When we git the money, what’s t’ keep them other ones from watchin’ for us?”

 

“Idjit. They gonna want to see dear ole daddy when we git the money outta the tree. The ole geezer can write another note and say where to find him and we hammer that note to the tree – hammer it real loud so’s their curiosity is up. But we’ll give the ole man the wrong directions to write down.”

 

“I don’t like it. Wouldn’t they ruther take us and the money and then try t’ beat us into talkin’?”

 

“Nah. Their daddy is more important to ’em than either us or the money. Jist relax, willya?”

 

In the dark corner of the tiny room, Ben was awakened by the pressure of hands on his shoulders. He had nodded off briefly and fancied that he saw Liz, Inger and Marie, and he felt comforted and wanted to stay asleep. But it seemed that they were telling him to wake up. He was thirsty and weak from hunger. His head and hands and leg hurt. But he knew he had to hurry so he redoubled his efforts.

 

CHAPTER FIFTY EIGHT

News traveled fast in Sonora. As Adam was leading Sport towards the Bannan place, he was stopped in the middle of the street by a stranger.

 

“Adam, you don’t know me. I know who you are, though, from the description that some folks gave me. My name is Barry Hornsby and I own the Excalibur Restaurant. Your father and brother dined with us one night with Phaedra and Lori Edwards.”

 

Adam was growing impatient. “Yes, I’ve heard of you. If you’ll excuse me…”

 

“I know you’re in a hurry. But I really liked Ben and Joe and, well, I’d like to help a little bit.” Barry shoved an envelope into Adam’s chest and hurried away without another word. Inside the envelope was a wad of money: Three thousand dollars! That brought the total up to forty-seven thousand dollars – only three thousand more to go! How in the world could this be happening in a town that none of the Cartwrights had ever visited before? How could such generosity be repaid? Another lump formed in Adam’s throat as he tied Sport to the hitching post in front of Phaedra’s house.

 

“Adam Cartwright! You take that poor animal around to the barn and give him fresh hay and water and a handful of sweet feed! Then get your butt in this house!” The door slammed shut. Out came the coffee mugs and slices of bread and smoked ham and oatmeal cookies.

 

Adam did as he was told and then walked through the kitchen door and stood there with his hat in his hands. He looked down at the floor, took a deep breath, looked into Phaedra’s eyes and said, “I need your help.”

 

There were many things that Phaedra could have said but she didn’t. She could have turned her back on him or scolded him for his insolence or chastised him for his disrespect. She did none of those things. Instead she pointed to a chair at the table and then at the food. “Eat. You must be starving! Don’t say a word until you’ve fed your body. You look like hell!” She poured coffee for two and sat down, her sketchbook in her lap. “Yes, news travels fast. I hoped you would come here but I wasn’t sure. I’m glad you’re here and so is your Ma. She’s been with you most of the day, though I think she disappeared long enough to check on Ben. The mental pictures have been flying through my mind all morning and I can’t make any sense out of most of them! I get the impression that there are now five men who are wearing masks: One is very unhappy, and two are close by, but I don’t know the identities of any of them. Ben is wounded but very much alive. There’s money all around you. The trees and the bushes and the cabin and the entrance to something large are still looming. And Rory keeps whispering things to me that make no sense. One is: ‘Money is not just the root of evil but is evil.’ Another one: ‘What good is it for you to gain the whole world yet forfeit your soul?’ The last one: ‘The Spirit of the Lord has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners’. Does any of this make sense to you?”

 

Adam had been ravenous though he didn’t realize it. The plate in front of him was empty and the oatmeal cookies were almost gone. He had drunk two cups of coffee and was starting on his third. He was listening intently to Phaedra. Now he shook his head. “The very last thing sounds like it might be something from the Bible, but I don’t know what it means. Can’t Rory be more explicit?”

 

“That’s the problem. I think he is being very explicit. I just don’t understand what he’s getting at.” Phaedra sighed.

 

“Phaedra? I’m sorry…” Adam began slowly.

 

“I know you are. Let it go. We have bigger fish to fry right now so let’s start thinking. Time is of the essence.”

 

A knock at the front door heralded the unexpected arrival of Sheriff Valen. Introductions were made, hands were shaken, and another coffee mug came out.

 

“You’re a hard man to find, Adam,” Valen said. “I’ve been trying to track you down most of the day. I have a posse forming to meet at the edge of town in a coupla hours..”

 

Adam shook his head. “The last thing we need is a bunch of folks running all over the countryside and scaring the kidnappers away – with or withor without their money. I appreciate the fact that you’re the Sheriff and are trying to do your job, but isn’t there another way?”

 

Valen smiled. “I’ve hand-picked the posse. Rather they hand-picked themselves. I’ve turned away many men and told them that they’re needed in town to ‘count noses’ – to see who may be missing. But Oliver Jackson, Tim Brady, and Pablo Garcia can be trusted. They’re bringing a few of their ranch hands along, and Pablo has already stocked a wagon-full of food to take to Jamestown to feed everybody. All of these men take orders well and will keep a low profile, I promise you.”

 

Adam looked at Phaedra as though hoping she had an answer. She didn’t. So Adam thanked Valen. “There’s a lot of country to cover. I guess I need all the help I can get. Thank you.”

 

Another knock at the front door. Phaedra excused herself and ushered in another man unknown to Adam. “Adam, I’d like for you to meet Scott Rowell. ‘Father’ Scott Rowell. Scott, this is Adam Cartwright.” The two men shook hands, but Phaedra’s face, and Valen’s face, showed confusion.

 

Out came yet another mug which was immediately filled with coffee. “Scott, I’m surprised to see you. What brings you here?”

 

Father Rowell looked confused as well. “As you know, I’m new to Sonora. I have yet to meet all the members of the church. I was told that I was needed here immediately and was then practically shoved out of the church. Quite odd, I must say.”

 

Phaedra’s lips began to twitch into a smile. “Um, who was it that told you this?”

 

“I don’t know. A new parishioner, I suppose. Seemed like a nice man but in a bit of a hurry. He had red hair and a red beard and had an accent. I told him that there was no need to shove me, that I would come here right away, but he ran out of the door and I didn’t see where he went. It’s almost like he disappeared…”

 

Phaedra, Adam and Valen looked at each other. Three voices in unison said, “Rory!.”

 

CHAPTER FIFTY NINE

“So you know the man?” Scott asked innocently.

 

Phaedra, who could have steered the conversation into a whole different direction if she had wanted to, responded. “Yes, I’m quite familiar with the man.” She knew that Rory had sent the priest here for a reason and wanted to know what that reason was.

 

“I was under the impression that this was rather an emergency,” Scott said as he looked around. “But I guess I misunderstood…”

 

Still trying to hold back a smile, Phaedra answered. “Maybe not.” She gave Scott the short version of the kidnapping. She knew he’d hear about it sooner or later anyway.

 

Scott shook his head sorrowfully. “Man’s inhumanity to man is incredible. Would you like for me to pray with you, Adam?”

 

“A prayer would be nice but not at this moment. Phaedra has written down some things…”

 

Scott smiled and nodded. “Yes, of course. Phaedra. You are aware that there were prophets even in Biblical times. I would be delighted to talk with you about your “gift” at a later date. But as for this moment, I’d be interested to see what you’ve written.”

 

Phaedra pulled out her sketchbook and showed the quotes to the young priest. He studied them carefully and then thumbed through his Bible until he found what he was looking for.

 

“Phaedra, do you make it a habit to memorize Bible passages?”

 

“No. Can’t say as I do,” she answered. “Why?”

 

“Well, this first sentence is in the Bible and you’ve written it verbatim. It comes from the ‘Book of Matthew’.” More flipping of pages, shakes of his head, and more page-turning. “Aha. This is verbatim also. From the ‘Book of Mark’.”

 

Phaedra’s eyes met Adam’s; she knew what Scott would say next and so did Adam.

 

“Oh, yes. Here it is. Verbatim, just like the others. In the ‘Book of Luke’…”

 

Adam and Phaedra jumped up so quickly that the table almost toppled over. “Scott, you’ve been a very big help and I appreciate your coming here. But you’ve just answered a question that has to be tended to right this minute. Please excuse us for rushing but we must leave here immediately!” She all but pushed the poor priest out the door.

 

Sheriff Valen looked bewildered. “What’s going on?”

 

Adam said it before Phaedra could. “Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The ‘Gospel Trio’ that hangs out at the Snake Eyes Saloon. One – or all of them – is the kidnapper. Let’s get to the saloon and see who we can find!”

 

Adam and the sheriff walked so fast that Phaedra had to run, skirts flying, to catch up.

 

“You stay at home!” Adam commanded.

 

“Will not!” Phaedra panted.

 

“But Phaedra. You’re a decent woman….and you’re an Indian. You can’t go into the saloon.”

 

“Well, I’ll stand outside behind the wooden Indian holding those damn cigars! Or I’ll knock him over and I’ll hold the damn cigars!”

 

Valen almost stopped in his tracks. “Phaedra, I’ve never heard you swear before!”

 

“And I’m about to do it again. Now move your ass!”

 

********************

At a table in a dark corner at the back of the saloon sat a very drunk and frightened Luke. For one thing, he was afraid of getting caught as being a party to a kidnapping. The other thing was that Rory was sitting at the table with him but nobody in the room but Luke could see Rory – and Rory wouldn’t let Luke leave the saloon. So Luke was actually relieved when the sheriff approached him and said quietly, “Luke, come with me.” Rory disappeared. Luke’s mind was too fuzzy to realize that going with Valen wasn’t necessarily a good thing until he saw Adam. The look on Adam’s face made Luke’s blood run cold. It ran colder when he saw Phaedra – inside the saloon – standing beside Adam.

 

“What…wha’s…wha’s goin’ on?” Luke asked as Valen steered him into the street, flanked by Adam and Phaedra.

 

Adam’s face was dark with fury. “You’ve got my Pa and you’re going to tell me where he is right now!”

 

Luke’s head wobbled unsteadily. “I ain’t done nuthin’ with yer Pa. Don’t know what yer talkin’ ’bout.”

 

“Don’t play stupid with me, boy,” Adam growled as he grabbed Luke’s shirt front. His face was only inches from Luke’s.

 

Phaedra placed a hand over one of Adam’s hands while Valen watched. “Adam, if you plan to beat Luke half to death, he won’t talk. But I know someone who can and will make him talk. Let’s just walk over to my house and put him in a room and lock the door. Then Luke and Rory can have a nice chat.”

 

“Nooooo!” wailed Luke, his face turning white. “I doctored up the ole man’s head and splinted that broke leg! I left because I didn’t want no part of no killin’. They’ll kill me if I talk!”

 

Phaedra purred. “Rory will kill you if you don’t talk. And won’t leave a mark on your body. Everyone will think you drank yourself to death or had a heart attack.”

 

“Nooooo,” Luke wailed again as the four of them began to cross the street. A rifle shot. Luke slumped to the ground, bleeding from a mortal wound to his neck.

 

Adam knelt down. “Tell me. Who’s got my Pa? Where is he?”

 

To his credit, Luke tried to talk. “Cabin. Matthew. Mark. And…and…” Luke was dead before he could say more.

 

By now, a large crowd had gathered to gawk. Adam, Valen and Phaedra searched over people’s heads and down distant streets and up on rooftops. No shooter could be spotted.

 

Tears stung Adam’s eyes so he closed them and pinched the bridge of his nose so the tears wouldn’t spill. So close. He had been so close and had failed.

 

Valen spoke quietly. “Adam, get your horse. We need to head to Jamestown now. There’s nothing more you can do here. Luke and his friends were always together and they’re not here. We’ve got to find them.”

 

With shoulders slumped, Adam and Phaedra walked back to the Bannan house. Valen went in the other direction to fetch his own horse. Scott Rowell was kneeling over Luke’s body praying for him. The only good thing was that the valise full of money was still inside Phaedra’s house.

 

CHAPTER SIXTY

Ben kicked at the wall first and then at the floorboard. Nothing budged. Disheartened and weakened, he sat down and put his head in his hands.

 

“You must not give up, my darling,” the woman said. “You need to be ready when the time comes.”

 

Ben, startled, recognized the voice and looked around but found that he was alone. Was I asleep? Was I dreaming? That was Liz’s voice! I know it! A cool hand touched Ben’s sweaty forehead and lingered for a moment. I must be going crazy. But Phaedra had told me to pay attention to these things. “Liz? Is that you?” Did I just hear a whisper in my ear saying “Yes”?

 

“Whatsa matter now, ole man?” demanded a masked figure.

 

“I’m thirsty! If I don’t get water, I’ll die before you can kill me! And you just might need me to be alive for a while longer.”

 

“Yer more trouble than yer worth,” the man grumbled. But he threw his canteen to Ben anyway. And Ben drank his fill. He was hungry, too, but dared not push his luck by asking for food. Being allowed to drink so much water was a sign that his captors had considered keeping him alive – at least until they had gotten their money. He threw the canteen back and growled a thank-you.

 

The figure left. “Get up, mon chouchou. There is work to be done yet.” I am going crazy. Marie used ‘my pet’ many times. But I don’t see her! But he couldn’t deny that his hair was being tugged – hard.

 

“Jag älskar dig av hela mitt hjärta,” whispered yet a third voice. In Swedish. That can only be Inger! She always told me that she loved me with all her heart! I’m not crazy! They’re with me! If I listen hard, I can hear Inger singing a Swedish lullaby!

 

Ben was filled with a surge of energy – so much so that he almost forgot about the pain in his fingers and head and leg. Somehow the noise of his working never fell on his captor’s ears because there wasn’t another visit from the man telling him to shut up.

 

********************

Valen and his posse were already at the edge of town when Adam arrived. Pablo Garcia sidled his horse up next to Adam and handed over an envelope surreptitiously. “Eet ees only three thousand dollars but eet might a help be? Yes?”

 

Adam was overwhelmed. He remembered the tiny little ranch, the wife who spoke no English, the children who did speak English, and he remembered what his father had said about Pablo’s dream. The gentle man was poor but cared enough to give what he could ill-afford to do without. And he was giving the gift of his presence as well.

 

Gripping Pablo’s hand tightly in his own, Adam accepted the envelope. “This is more than enough money. I don’t know how to say anything more than ‘thank you’.”

 

Pablo’s eyes twinkled. “Ah, but there ees – how you say – a ‘catch’ to thees money. I would like very much to own a good bool calf from Sultan. We have deal? Yes?”

 

Adam’s smile was genuine as he continued to pump Pablo’s hand. “We have deal, yes!”

 

Into the valise went the envelope. Adam did the math over again in his head: Five from the bank in Sonora; five from Hattie and Josephine; ten from Oliver; twelve from Virginia City; twelve from San Francisco; three from Barry Hornsby, and now three from Pablo. That made fifty thousand dollars even. What are the odds of that happening?

 

Something caught Adam’s eye – a figure standing by a tree. A figure wearing a dark suit with a white shirt. A figure with red hair and a red beard. The figure waved his hat and walked away. Adam blinked and the figure was gone. Adam grinned. I’ve just seen my first ghost.

 

Sport felt the hard nudge at his sides and took the lead as Adam, Valen and the posse followed behind. Eyes watched as the group left, and a sole figure rode out too but took a different route to a place other than Jamestown.

 

CHAPTER SIXTY ONE

Adam knew that he was pushing Sport hard but also knew that his horse could handle the grinding, rocky ride. But, looking over his shoulder, Adam could see that some of the other horses were tiring quickly. Glancing at the sun as it began its downward descent, Adam knew that he was pushing the time limits. But he also figured that the possibility of getting shot for the money if he surged ahead all alone was a viable one. So he stopped at a nearby creek and let Sport drink. The others did the same.

 

Behind the group, Adam spotted a horse and rider kicking up a cloud of dust. Turning to Valen, he asked, “Who’s that?”

 

Valen squinted, fetched his binoculars, looked through them and chuckled. He quickly handed the binoculars to Adam. “That’s…it looks like…”

 

“Phaedra.” Valen finished Adam’s sentence.

 

“Yep. She’s riding bareback like an Indian.” Adam handed Valen the binoculars.

 

“She is an Indian. Well, half-Indian anyhow.” Valen chuckled. “She’s riding ‘Catori’, and she looks mad enough to take scalps!”

 

“’Catori’?” Adam echoed.

 

“Means ‘Spirit’ in Apache. Good mare. Fast and strong with good stamina.”

 

“Yeah, I can see that,” Adam muttered. “But we don’t need a woman with us. Everything’s under control now. I have the money and soon I’ll have Pa too.”

 

“We’ll hope for the best. But Phaedra might come in handy.” Valen walked away as Phaedra got closer and closer.

 

Catori soon dug her hooves in and stopped on a dime. A very angry, flushed Phaedra slid down from the mare’s back and stalked up to Adam. “You left without me! How dare you!”

 

“Now, Phaedra. Just calm down and listen to reason,” Adam said as he took a step backwards. “This isn’t going to be a picnic and we don’t need to have a woman with us to have to keep an eye on.”

 

“I can take care of myself! I’m too old to need a babysitter. Can you walk over rocks or through leaves or twigs in those boots and not make a sound? I can. If, for some awful reason, the money gets taken without exchanging Ben, can you find him? I can. If Liz or Inger or Marie or even Rory speaks to you, can you hear or see them? I can. And you would leave me behind? Have you lost your mind?”

 

Adam considered this. “Do you really think you can find Pa if all these men can’t?”

 

“I have my sketchbook. At least I know what we’re actually looking for!” Phaedra’s chin jutted out stubbornly.

 

Adam sighed. “I don’t have time to argue with you. If you can keep up, then you can ride with us.”

 

Phaedra snorted as she grabbed a handful of mane and swung onto Catori’s back. “We can outrun that nag of yours any day of the week. Hmpf… ‘Sport’. What kind of a name is that for a horse? The trouble with you is that you have no imagination!” With that, Phaedra galloped away down the shortcut that she knew well. Her tribe had traveled here many times in the past and, although it had been many years since she had ridden here, her memory hadn’t lost its acuity.

 

Adam mounted up in a flash – and the race was on with the others following along as best they could. Jamestown was reached in almost no time at all. But Phaedra had won and was already greeting Hoss, Joe and Quinn when Adam arrived and climbed down from his saddle.

 

“Where’ve you been, Adam? And who are all those people behind you?” Joe asked.

 

“That’s Sheriff Valen and his posse,” Adam responded as he flashed a faux-grumpy look at Phaedra. She snickered and started talking to Quinn.

 

“We was worried,” Hoss said. “It’s gittin’ late and… Well, you gotta posse. Didja get money?”

 

“I did,” came the answer. “Did any of you three find anything? Anything at all?”

 

Hoss shook his head. “We ain’t found hide nor hair nor nuthin’! But the stock’s bin fed and watered like you said t’ do. Ain’t none o’ ’em run off, neither.”

 

Joe looked at Phaedra. “I’m glad you brought her along. She can be a big help, I’ll bet.”

 

“She needs her mouth washed out with soap,” Adam said loudly enough for Phaedra to hear.

 

She sneered at him.

 

“Adam, I know you don’t like her, but try to get along with her – for Pa’s sake.” Joe’s voice was serious.

 

Again, speaking loud enough for her to hear, Adam said, “Who said I didn’t like her. I like her just fine!”

 

Phaedra blew a fake kiss in Adam’s direction, leaving Adam with a lop-sided grin on his face and leaving Hoss and Joe with their mouths agape.

 

By now the Sheriff and the posse had arrived. Pablo had set up a kind of chuck wagon and was starting a big fire. Rosalita was busy bringing things out of the wagon. There would be lots of food to eat tonight!

 

CHAPTER SIXTY TWO

“Luke is dead.” Voice number one.

 

“Whadya mean ‘Luke is dead’!” Voice number two.

 

“I mean that he’s dead. Valen and Cartwright got ‘im and I think he was spillin’ the beans. Rattin’ us out – or tryin’ to. I had to shoot ‘im. I ain’t sure how much he told but Valen’s got a posse and they’re headed to Jamestown.” Voice number one.

 

A chuckle. “I don’t reck’n they’ll find us here. I didn’t know this cabin was here!” Voice number three.

 

Momentary silence.

 

“I don’t like it. Don’t like it a’tall. That witchy-woman was with Valen and Cartwright and she may know somethin’. Seems like there ain’t too much she don’t know. I don’t think we’re safe here. Maybe we oughtta move somewhere’s else.” Voice number three.

 

“We only gotta stay here til midnight – and that ain’t far off. The sun’s already goin’ down. Stop worryin’! Yer makin’ me nervous!” Voice number two.

 

More silence.

 

“Guess who’s ridin’ with the posse?” Voice number one.

 

“Who?” Voices two and three.

 

“One of Sonora’s fine upstandin’ citizens.” Voice number one again.

 

Loud laughter.

 

“That’s like havin’ a rooster in the henhouse!” Voice number two.

 

More laughter.

 

********************

Ben was so very tired, so very hungry, so very weak. He listened to the conversation with interest. His hands felt at the opening in the wall behind him. In order to make the opening big enough for him to squeeze through, he’d have to make a lot of noise. He’d get caught and he’d be one dead Cartwright.

 

Unseen hands prodded at him. Women’s voices, so familiar to him, coaxed and cajoled him into working harder and, to his surprise, some nails seemed to just pop out of the old wood wall. All it would take, maybe, would be some pushing here and there. It might just work.

 

********************

Phaedra watched her son and the three Cartwrights like a hawk – she made sure that they ate whether they wanted to or not. Hoss, Joe and Quinn were no problem but Adam looked….”haunted.” The posse had chosen where they wanted to stay and were settling in and awaiting a meeting with Sheriff Valen as to what the plan was for tonight. Tension was palpable everywhere. Pablo sent his men to the corral to let the stock loose up on the hill and to watch them for as long as necessary.

 

Finally, Valen spoke to Oliver alone. It’s not that he didn’t trust anybody else, but too many people in on a plan might create a huge problem. And Oliver was passably familiar with the area.

 

Valen spoke. “I’d like for you to take a couple of men up to Jenkins’ Creek but be sneaky about it when you get there. The area may be being watched so let’s have it understood that there will be no talking or lighting of or smoking of cigarettes. No fires to keep warm. If you or your men don’t have jackets, borrow some from somebody. Quinn says that there are three different sides that will give good coverage and allow you to be able to see if anybody comes or goes before Adam gets there with the money. He’ll be hard to see, dressed in black like he is, so don’t shoot him. As a matter of fact, don’t shoot anybody – we want those men alive! Just watch and wait. Your group will be the closest to the creek.”

 

Oliver paid close attention and nodded his head. “We’ll slip out now while folks are busy. Nobody’ll know that we’re gone. What’s Brady going to be doing? We don’t want to be tripping over each other.”

 

“I’ll be talking to Brady in a little while. He won’t be as close in as you – I want him to be a little ways back in case there are any stragglers that we might miss. Phaedra says she thinks there’re only four men involved now that Luke is dead but I just don’t know for sure.”

 

Oliver turned, spoke quietly to his men and made an easy and quiet exit from the little ghost town.

 

********************

“He cain’t leave the posse – it wouldn’t look right. But he’s sneakin’ away t’ tell me what you need t’ know. Ain’t no plans been made yit. Ain’t nobody left the town yit neither – ‘cept that Mexican, and he and his men are watching over the stock up on the hill. I don’t know when I’ll hear more.”

 

“Well, I think we should make another plan. We’s the ones takin’ the chances so why cain’t we jist take the money our own selves and not give mister-give-all-the-orders any of it?”

 

Momentary silence.

 

“I kinda like that notion. Ain’t nuthin’ he can do without tellin’ on hisself. And we can high-tail it t’ Mexico like we planned.”

 

“Hmmm. Splittin’ that money three ways. Not bad.”

 

A chair scraping across the floor. A muffled voice. A thud. A devilish laugh.

 

“Splittin’ money two ways is better’n splittin’ it three ways, doncha think?”

 

“Well, ya done kilt him! What we gonna do now? There’s a posse gonna be watchin’ for us!”

 

“Yep. But a posse won’t be hard to miss. We jist be’s real quiet-like and wait for whoever’s bringin’ the money. We take ‘im hostage and ride away with ‘im and then leave ‘im out in the desert without no horse.”

 

“But what about ole man Cartwright?”

 

“You looked at ‘im lately? Almost dead, he is. He’s gonna die fer shore cuz nobody’ll be able to find ‘im in time t’ save ‘im.”

 

“I don’t know. Things could go wrong…”

 

“Naw. We’s holding all the cards.”

 

Laughter.

 

CHAPTER SIXTY THREE

Valen approached Tim Brady next and instructed him to plant him and his men at opposite ends of the creek. “There’ll be Oliver’s group a little higher up – this way we’ll have the whole area covered. Keep quiet and out of sight because we don’t know exactly how many guys will be watching for us.” Brady nodded, gathered his men and slipped off into the night.

 

It was Pablo who escorted Roy Coffee into town at gunpoint and headed straight to Adam.

 

“Thees man. He say he ees the Sheriff in Virginia City. He wears a badge. He is friend?”

 

Adam pumped Roy’s hand and smiled grimly. “Thank you, Pablo. You can put your gun away now. Yes, Sheriff Coffee is a friend, and I’m very happy to see him.”

 

Pablo nodded. “Eet ees good thing I no shoot heem then.”

 

“Yes, it’s a good thing,” Adam replied.

 

Pablo rode away, and Adam ushered Roy towards the house. “Let me tell you the whole story, Roy. I can’t begin to tell you how happy I am to see you here.”

 

Roy scratched his head. “Adam, you know that I don’t have any jurisdiction in this area. But I want to help Ben – I couldn’t not be here.”

 

Before Adam opened the door, he paused. “Um, there’s a woman here. You need to know about Phaedra.”

 

Adam gave Roy the short version about Phaedra and Quinn and then steered Roy into the house where Rosalita presented the newcomer with food. While Roy ate, Adam told him the whole story from start to finish.

 

********************

“Psst, where are you?”

 

No answer.

 

The lone figure skulked around, searching in vain. Something had gone wrong but there was no clue as to what it was. Maybe the man was late arriving. Maybe his horse had gone lame. Time was running out, so the man made yet another plan – just in case: He’d have to shoot his cohorts.

 

********************

“Shouldn’t we be goin’ now?”

 

“Ya got rope? Didja fill the canteens? Didja pack food?”

 

“Yep. All done. Gonna check on the ole man one last time.”

 

********************

Ben heard the approaching boots. He quit what he was doing and sat down on the floor and leaned against the wall and allowed his chin to rest practically on his chest, but he kept one eye open. The figure stood in front of him, unmasked, and Ben knew immediately who it was.

 

“Say yer prayers, Cartwright. Looks like ya got one foot in the grave already. I ain’t worryin’ ’boutcha no more.”

 

Ben wasn’t faking a raspy voice when he spoke. His mouth was as dry as cotton. “Why?” he asked.

 

“You got what we want – money. ‘Sides, I got a personal grudge agin’ ya. That young son of yourn gone and done things t’ mah Lori – she didn’t tell me ever’thin’, but I kin just imagine what he done that she ain’t tellin’. She says she’s ‘ruined’ now – and it don’t take much of a imagination to know the reason. She’s bin mah girl for a while but I couldn’t afford t’ give her all the nice things she deserves. After tonight, that’ll change. She’s gonna meet us in Mexico as soon as she kin.”

 

Ben closed his eyes. His plan had to work. But what was in store for his sons? Ben knew that they were flirting with danger…

 

********************

Adam was in the saddle and reached down for the valise that Hoss was holding. Joe, Hoss, Sheriffs Valen and Coffee mounted up; Quinn was already in his saddle – he was indispensable because he knew where Jenkins’ Creek was and the exact location of the willow tree.

 

“You all are sure you know what to do and where to be?” Adam’s brow was furrowed.

 

Quinn spoke. “I drew a map for them, Adam. Just watch out for yourself. Those men might not wait until you put the money in the tree – they might shoot you before then. They’re expecting for you to be alone. And they just might be expecting your brothers to show up too, so Hoss and Joe – you better keep your distance. If there’s any shooting going on, watch for the flash from guns – we can pinpoint locations that way. If Valen can’t get them on kidnapping and robbery, he can get them for attempted murder.”

 

“Where’s Phaedra?” Adam asked. “I don’t want her to be a party to any of this.”

 

Quinn grinned. “I think she’s pouting somewhere.”

 

With a nod, Adam turned and loped off into the night with Quinn at his side. The rest of the group waited the specified amount of time before they headed in the same direction.

 

Phaedra was not pouting. She was smiling as she swung onto Catori’s back. I may be old but I’m not dead! I know where I’m going and I can beat Oliver and Brady there. Nudging Catori’s flanks with her moccasined feet, Phaedra moved forward silently and slipped away unnoticed.

 

CHAPTER SIXTY FOUR

Both Oliver’s men and Brady’s men did exactly as they were told: They found good hiding places and hunkered down. They watched as two men arrived at the creek bed, tied up three horses, and then darted up a small hill and took refuge in the bushes. Even as a light rain began to fall, the posse drew their guns but held their fire. Adam and his group arrived, leaving their horses quite a distance away. And then everybody but Adam melted out of view. The darkness and the mist made everyone seem to disappear except for Adam who walked alone carrying the valise filled with fifty thousand dollars.

 

********************

Ben was a strong man but his weakened condition made things difficult. He had fallen asleep but was now being jostled by unseen hands.

 

“Wake up, Benjamin. It’s time. We’re with you.” It seemed like three women were saying the same thing at the same time. Moving as quietly as he could – considering the splint on his leg – he edged to where he could peek out of his tiny room. He saw a body on the floor but didn’t investigate; who knew if one of his captors had gone outside. Getting away right now was his only chance. He turned his attention to the two loose floorboards and the almost-three wall boards that he had been dismantling bit by bit. Putting his shoulder to the wood, he pushed – hard. The boards creaked but didn’t move. Gathering what little strength he had left, he rammed the boards with his shoulder and his body weight, tumbled, fell, and found that he was now outside in the rain. Despite knowing that he needed to put as much distance between him and the cabin – surely the breaking wood made enough noise to alert anyone close by – he tilted his head back and drank the rain as it fell.

 

The problem now was the pain in his leg. He wondered vaguely if he had broken it again when he fell, but he couldn’t worry about that now. He clenched his teeth and moved forward as fast as he could, sometimes tripping, sometimes falling, but always getting up and moving forward. Even if it had been broad daylight, he wouldn’t have known where he was going. He had no idea what time it was. He just kept moving for what seemed like forever. Rocks tripped him and mud sucked at his boots but didn’t deter him. Finally he knew he just couldn’t go on. Pushing his way through a thick clump of bushes and suffering from a dizzy spell, he put his hand out and grabbed what felt like sturdy vines. He fell through them and darkness surrounded him.

 

********************

Adam had almost reached the willow tree when a voice called out to him.

 

“That’s far enough! Take one more step and you’ll be a dead man!”

 

Adam watched as two men emerged in the now-heavier rain. He stopped and waited.

 

“You got the money?”

 

Adam studied the faces. He had never seen these men before.

 

“It’s in the valise. All of it. Now you give me back my Pa!”

 

“Jist wait a minute whilst I take a peek inside that there bag. We ain’t fools, ya know!”

 

Time dragged. The rain fell harder.

 

“Tie his hands,” one man said to the other. “Yer comin’ with us. Don’t you know that we’s aware of a posse out there? Keepin’ you with us is the onliest way we kin get outta here alive.”

 

All the anger and fear and tension came out of Adam’s body in one big roar! He grabbed the man’s shirt with one hand and threw a punch with the other one. “Where’s my Pa!” he screamed. He crumpled to the ground as the breath was knocked out of him from a punch to his belly and a blow to his head.

 

“By the time you find ‘im, he’ll be dead.”

 

Adam felt his hands being yanked behind him. But he raised his face when he heard a loud screech and saw what looked like a giant bird leap out of the nearest tree and land on the back of the man with the rope. The “bird” slid to the ground, and Adam caught a glimpse of something shiny. Hoss, Joe and Quinn, with both sheriffs, were at his side immediately, wrestling the two men into submission. Down from the hills came Oliver and Brady, temporarily leaving their men to keep watch over the area. Roy and Valen snatched the captors’ guns away.

 

Hoss’s voice was low and slow. He spoke like that only when he was angry. “Tell us where our Pa is or I’ll kill you where you stand.”

 

As afraid as the two men were, they wouldn’t speak. If they told where to find the cabin, then both Ben and Jeffords would be found – either dead or close to it. Neither Matthew nor Mark wanted to face a murder charge.

 

Quinn looked at Phaedra. “Did you just jump out of that tree?”

 

“Well, it seemed like the thing to do at the time. Nobody else was doing anything. Besides, I know how to make Matthew and Mark speak right up.” Phaedra seemed quite calm despite a sense of urgency that had its grip inside her head.

 

In her hand was a knife. A very large knife. She deliberately took a moment to study the shiny blade. Then, “You know what? You can threaten a man with words, inflict serious bodily harm on him, and sometimes he’ll talk and sometimes he’ll just choose to die outright.” Her words hung in the air.

 

“Joe, would you please remove their gunbelts? Thank you.” Phaedra leaped forward and slit both men’s britches from waist to crotch – and then watched as the clothing fell to the ground. “But there are a man’s body parts that are so sensitive that even the slightest discomfort can be turned into terrible pain.” The knife flashed again – from bellybutton downward. Longjohns were cut and gaped wide open. Trickles of blood oozed where the tip of the knife had cut the skin slightly .

 

Transfixed, nobody moved or spoke. The posse in the hills and at the creek came forward to watch.

 

Phaedra stared. “You poor things. It’s hard to tell just by looking whether you’re men or women. I’m supposing that you’re men, though I am giving you the benefit of the doubt… Oh, well, no matter. I’m going to turn you into women. I s’pose it’ll hurt real bad but you can save yourselves by telling where Ben Cartwright is.”

 

Mark was the first to scream. “Noooooooo! I’ll tell! I’ll tell!”

 

Matthew was no help at all. His eyes rolled back in his head and he simply fainted on the spot.

 

“The cabin…back aways from here..may still be alive iffen ya hurry! I didn’t want to do this – Mark and Tim made me do it!”

 

There was no need to ask who “Tim” was because Tim Brady had already begun backing away and then turned and ran. Joe, in the rain and the dark, shot him neatly in the leg and Tim Brady – the trusted rancher – fell to the ground. He screamed in pain and fear. “He lies! I’m part of the posse, for God’s sake! Don’t listen to him!”

 

Matthew had now regained consciousness. “It was Brady and Jeffords! It was their idea! Brady was mad cuz Cartwright wouldn’t buy no cattle or horses from ‘im. And Jeffords was mad cuz Cartwright insulted ‘im and wouldn’t stable his horses there! Brady needed money t’ buy his wife everything she wanted so she wouldn’t leave him. Jeffords was jist greedy.” Matthew began to cry.

 

“Who else is part of this…plan?” Hoss’s face was only inches from Matthew’s face.

 

“Luke, and he’s dead. Jeffords shot ‘im. And Jeffords is at the cabin – he’s dead. I think he tripped and fell on his knife.” Of course, this was a lie but Matthew was not about to admit to murder. Not yet, anyway. “Nobody else is with us – I swear it!”

 

“And yer gonna take us to the cabin right now, aintcha?” Hoss asked, his eyes steely blue.

 

“Uh-huh!” Matt gulped. “But keep that witchy-woman away from me!”

 

The entire group of men mounted up and followed Matthew and Mark to the cabin. Adam was the first man in the door. “Pa! Pa!”

 

But answer came there none. After stepping over Jeffords’ lifeless body and looking through every room, the only thing remarkable to be found was a broken-out area of wall in a tiny back room. A search around the cabin in the now-pouring rain revealed no sign of Ben Cartwright.

 

CHAPTER SIXTY FIVE

Hoss and Joe were quick to enter the cabin but not as fast as Adam had entered. “He’s not here.” Adam sat and slumped in a chair.

 

Stunned, Joe looked from Jeffords’ body and into Adam’s face. “What do you mean ‘he’s not here’?”

 

Adam pinched the bridge of his nose. “He’s not here. We’re too late.”

 

For such a big man, Hoss moved quickly and was outside and bellowing at Matthew and Mark. “Where’s my Pa? He ain’t inside. What didja do with him?”

 

It took Oliver, Valen, Roy and Quinn to hold Hoss back and, even then it took all their strength.

 

The looks on the captors’ faces were blank. Mark spoke. “He was in that room at the back, I swear it! I checked on him before we left here! I talked to him!”

 

Phaedra cocked her head as though she was listening to something. Sliding off Catori’s back, she approached Hoss who had been joined by Adam and Joe. Gently she put her hands on Hoss’s chest. “They’re telling the truth, Hoss. They don’t know where Ben is because he outsmarted them. He escaped. He’s alive and is hiding.”

 

“Where?” Adam asked.

 

Phaedra shook her head. “I don’t know – yet. But he’s not that far away.”

 

Quinn spoke. “The rain has probably washed away his tracks, if there are any. All these rocks wouldn’t leave much of any prints anyhow. And it’s dark. I say we wait until morning to start searching.”

 

“It might be too late by then,” Joe whispered.

 

Phaedra shook her head. “He’s in a safe place. We’ll find him. Trust me.” She turned to Valen.

 

“All of you can go back to Sonora. Throw Brady and Matthew and Mark in jail – I may not yet be done with any of them. Take Jeffords’ body with you. Too many men searching for Ben will be more of a hindrance than a help. Oh, and take that valise full of money as evidence. I’m sure the Cartwrights will see that it’s all returned at the proper time. Will you ask Pablo and his men to drive the stock back to Sonora? It’ll make it easier for us to concentrate on reaching Ben if the animals are taken care of there.”

 

Under normal circumstances, Adam would’ve been angry that Phaedra had taken charge of everything. But right now, she was saying what he would’ve said had he been in the right frame of mind. But his mind was on his father and he was grateful for Phaedra’s leadership.

 

“Sheriff Coffee, will you please stay here with the rest of us? We won’t need you in a legal capacity but rather an emotional one. Ben will be delighted to see you.”

 

Adam nodded. She sounds so sure of herself. Is she right or is she wrong? Will tomorrow be too late – Pa may be okay now but things can change.

 

Matthew, resigned to his fate of going to jail, was upset. “We cain’t go to’ Sonora lookin’ like this.” He looked down at the gaping hole in his britches.

 

Phaedra rolled her eyes. “There isn’t much to see. Nobody’ll even notice.”

 

********************

Ben could see, by the occasional flashes of lightning, that he was in a cave of some kind. In the absence of lightning, everything was pitch black. Trembling from the cold, Ben longed for a fire but he had no way of starting one. He let his mind wander to his sons and he prayed for their safety.

 

A bolt of lightning struck directly outside of the cave and, in one area that was shielded from the rain, a small fire started. Making his way through the vine-covered opening to the cave, Ben tore off a piece of bark from the blackened tree and scooped up the burning embers. Carrying this welcome surprise, he stopped only to gather some dry sticks of wood as he returned through the vines into the cave. Now he had warmth and light. And the light illuminated piles of wood in the far corner of the cave. Making sure that the fire was well-fed, Ben limped to the woodpile – and kicked something. Looking down, he saw first a skull and then more bones – this had once been a human being! Upon further inspection, the skeletal hand seemed to be closed around something – something that made Ben smile. Without disturbing the remains, he gathered the wood, returned to the fire and began warming himself.

 

********************

Hoss, Joe, Roy, Quinn and Phaedra sat inside the cabin and discussed what had happened this night. Adam sat in the tiny room and looked at the section of boards that had been torn out. Phaedra’s light touch on his shoulder startled him.

 

“Talk to me, Adam,” she said gently as she sat cross-legged on the floor.

 

“I’m worried about Pa,” was all Adam said.

 

“There’s more to it than that. There’s something that’s deeper than that.”

 

There was a very long silence. Phaedra waited patiently until Adam began to speak. And once he started talking, he couldn’t stop – things came out in a jumble and not necessarily in order.

 

“I said some terrible things to Pa. Hateful. Spiteful. I could see the hurt on his face and in his eyes. I hated you too. I wanted to believe that Pa and Joe were fools for listening to everything you said. I believed you were a scam artist, out for your own personal gain. Pa was interested in you. More interested than I wanted him to be. More interested than he’s been in any other woman for quite a while. I’m a bigot, I guess. I didn’t want him to have that connection with an Indian. And I’m not a believer in things I can’t see. Although you said many things that only Pa and Hoss and Joe and I could know, I didn’t want to believe you. Hoss and Joe’s mothers got killed but mine died giving me life. Hoss and Joe never knew her. If it weren’t for my birth, my Ma would still be alive. I killed her.”

 

Phaedra didn’t speak but slipped her hand into Adam’s. He didn’t notice it consciously but his grip tightened around her hand.

 

“The music box – that was Pa’s and my memory. We shared it – it strengthened our bond. You were treading on sacred territory. And Pa and I fought about you – what you drew, what you said, and how you knew. I had what I thought was a dream one night – a dream where I saw my Ma. I could see her and hear her plain as day. She said that Rory had hit me in the back to get my attention. She told me to believe in what you said, told me that she loved me, told me how proud she was of me. I don’t think it was a dream. I think it was real. And I was more confused than ever. I wanted for all of us to get as far away from you as we could. I said a terrible thing to Pa right before he disappeared. I meant to hurt him and I succeeded. Now he’s gone. By the time we find him – if we find him – he might be dead. When we left Sonora, I saw Rory waving his hat at me. That was no dream. And it was what opened my eyes to the real you. I misjudged you and treated you badly because I’m selfish and think I know everything. I killed my Ma and broke my Pa’s heart.”

 

Phaedra spoke softly. “You didn’t kill your mother, Adam. She wants to talk to you. Will you look and listen?”

 

Adam nodded. In the gloom of the tiny room, Adam saw a woman who looked just like the picture he had. She spoke. “Adam, long before I met your father, the doctor told me that I had a heart condition. My father took me to several specialists who all agreed with what I had been told. I never told your father about all this. I had several episodes of being near death – even after your father and I were married. Ask him. He knew only that I got tired very easily and needed lots of rest. I sailed through your birth with no problems at all. But my heart chose later on to just give out. I love you, my son. For my sake, drop the guilt that you’ve carried all these years. Will you do that for me?”

 

“Yes,” Adam whispered. And his mother disappeared, a loving smile still on her face.

 

Phaedra could feel Adam’s body shaking but she said nothing. She sat and held his hand until the rain stopped and the sun peeked through the clouds.

 

CHAPTER SIXTY SIX

“Listen, Benjamin!” This was definitely Inger’s voice.

 

Ben listened. The rain had stopped but there was the sound of water dripping close by. He limped toward the sound and found water running down the smooth rocks. With grateful heart, he cupped his hands and caught the liquid – bringing it to his mouth. He had sense enough to taste it first and, finding it to be fresh, drank and drank until he was satisfied. But his body cried for food – something he didn’t have. Picking up a big rock to use as a weapon, he scoured the cave from back to front but found nothing living to kill and eat. He sat down, dejected, and fell asleep. The fire, which he had tended to all night, went out.

 

********************

The search for Ben lasted from daybreak until the sun had almost reached directly overhead. There were no tracks to follow; there was only hard ground. The morning mist had finally cleared away so that the area could be seen easily.

 

“We’re not in the right place,” Phaedra said as she looked around. “We need to go lower and more east.”

 

“How do you know?” Joe asked.

 

Hoss answered before Phaedra could. “It wuz dark and rainy las’ night. The rocks’d be slippery and would make it too hard t’ move t’ higher ground. A man’d have t’ come downhill – he could move faster that way. Goin’ downhill would make a man move more t’ the east, like Phaedra said.”

 

So the group moved eastward and down, trying to follow a path of least resistance. There were many areas of loose rocks so the group took its time.

 

“Close,” was all Phaedra said as she sat down next to a sandy area. Having left her sketchbook in Jamestown, she was forced to draw something in the sand. She looked at it and shook her head – it made no sense to her, so she wiped away the outline and started over again. This time she smiled.

 

“Vines!” she chortled. “We can’t see where to go because of all the vines!”

 

Roy shook his head. “This whole mountain is covered with vines. They’re everywhere. It’ll take days to check ’em all out.”

 

Phaedra sighed. Roy was right. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on the images she was seeing. Finally she got up. “We’ve got to go further east.”

 

Adam looked at Roy and his brothers and shook his head. They had all shouted and called Ben’s name until they were almost hoarse. They were depending on Phaedra to lead them immediately to the right spot but a thorough search of the area had turned up nothing. Still they followed Phaedra for quite a while as she looked slightly upwards and continued to move to the east. Finally she stopped and sat down again, her eyes glued to one area of the mountain. “This is it,” she said with certainty. “Look for a row of bushes and a lightning-struck tree and lots of vines. He’s behind them, in a dark place.”

 

********************

“Wake up, lazy bones!” Marie said as she pulled Ben’s hair. “Go outside!”

 

Ben groaned but didn’t have the strength to stand up. He fell into a semi-conscious state and failed to hear voices calling him…

 

********************

Adam’s eye for geometric shapes in his architectural studies at college were more than useful. There was one small area that fit Phaedra’s description. He took a chance and headed straight up about twenty feet and found a small, blackened tree. There was a long row of bushes in front of him and an even longer area of vine-covered mountain behind him. He began tugging at the vines and found nothing but rocks until one bunch of vines came away fairly easily. No rocks behind it. Down came handfuls of vines behind which was a small cave.

 

With his gun drawn, Adam entered slowly. Anything might be living in here from bears to mountain lions to rattlesnakes. The sun was at the right angle and its light shown on a sleeping figure!

 

“Pa!” Adam yelled. No response, so Adam stepped backwards to the cave’s opening and fired his gun in the air to get attention drawn to his location. “He’s here! He’s here!”

 

While the others were climbing in his direction, Adam ran back into the cave. Ben had opened his eyes at the sounds of the gunshots but he was disoriented when he first looked at the man leaning down. At first he mistook the dark stubble for a beard and thought it was Rory. But all he could hear was “Pa! Pa! You’re alive!” His rescuer was Adam. The two men clung to each other, crying unashamedly.

 

Then there was Hoss and then Joe and then Roy. Phaedra and Quinn stood outside and smiled. They let the family – and Roy – have a private reunion.

 

Ben emerged from the cave on shaky legs and turned his face upwards to look at full sunshine which he hadn’t seen in several days. He spotted Quinn first and hugged him. Somehow Phaedra seemed to melt into his arms in an embrace that lasted for several minutes.  “I told you that you’d see me again!” she whispered.

 

“Aw, Pa! You kin do all ‘at mushy stuff later. We gotta git you off’n this here mountain and git some food inta ya.” Hoss was laughing but what he said was true.

 

“Our horses are back at the cabin,” Roy said. “We gotta go back there.”

 

Phaedra nodded and started back alone. The men took turns half-dragging, half-carrying a man who was too weak to walk. At the cabin finally, Ben refused to go in, and not a soul tried to change his mind. Phaedra had been busy opening a can of beans – the only food left inside that she knew was edible. But beans on a starving stomach wouldn’t set well, so she scooped out most of the beans and heated up the liquid on the little wood stove that Matthew, Mark, and Luke had used. And Ben didn’t use a spoon – he drank right out of the bowl and said it was the most delicious thing he had ever tasted.

 

The ride to Jamestown didn’t seem long at all. Once again, Ben rode double with Joe, but he sat in the saddle instead of behind it as he had done what seemed a lifetime ago as the two arrived in Sonora. Quinn and Phaedra had galloped quickly to Jamestown and had prepared a kind of pallet for Ben to rest on until he got strong enough to make the trip back to Sonora. There would be papers that Valen needed to be signed. There would be money to be returned. There would be people to thank. And then the Cartwrights would return, with their livestock, to Virginia City.

 

A sadness came over Phaedra then and she wept.

 

Quinn put his arms around his mother. “Are you crying because you’re happy and relieved?”

 

“I guess so,” Phaedra sniffled. But she knew that wasn’t the entire reason.

 

CHAPTER SIXTY SEVEN

Pablo and Rosalita had left for the group all the food in their little wagon Phaedra busied herself with cooking and with baking. It kept her mind busy.

 

For three days, Phaedra cooked morning, noon and night. Quinn took care of the horses. Roy, knowing that Ben was in good hands, headed to Sonora to see if Sheriff Valen needed help with his prisoners and all the paperwork. Hoss, Joe and Adam spent so much time with Ben that Phaedra started brandishing a broom to make them let Ben get some rest. But she allowed Adam a little more time with his father than she did with Hoss and Joe – Adam needed some extra privacy so he could relay what had been in his heart.

 

The night before the group was to leave, even though Ben had regained so much of his strength, a travois was put together so that he wouldn’t have to ride horseback to Sonora. The pallet that Ben was sleeping on now would fit perfectly. Phaedra had cooked what food was left from Pablo’s wagon and would pack saddlebags with things that wouldn’t spoil in the morning. She stood outside and listened to the laughter inside the house.

 

Adam touched her shoulder. “Why don’t you come in and share some fun with us? Pa’s finding that laughing at what happened takes the sting out of it. Thanks to you, he’s so much stronger now – physically and emotionally. I know we’ve thanked you many times, but I don’t think what you’ve done for us… Well, we just can’t thank you enough. I can’t thank you enough.”

 

Phaedra tried to smile. “We’ve come a long way, you and I. You and your family have become so dear to me…”

 

“You’re in love with him, aren’t you.” This was a statement, not a question.

 

Phaedra was startled at hearing what had been running around in her mind. “I…don’t…know,” she answered slowly. “I don’t know how your father feels, other than being grateful…”

 

“I don’t have an answer for you as to how Pa feels. But my gut tells me that his feelings for you run deep. Very deep. The two of you need time to work things out.”

 

“Time.” Phaedra looked at the stars. “Yes, that’s it. We need time. But we have a trial to go through that will be draining emotionally for everybody. And the Ponderosa won’t run itself forever, not even with Hop Sing at the helm.”

 

Adam chuckled. “There’s something you haven’t commented on but that Pa brought up. Remember that picture of Pa, Hoss, Joe and me that you drew early on? The one where it seemed that I had a beard and we were all so confused?”

 

Phaedra nodded and then giggled. “Why, Adam Cartwright! I had forgotten that! And look at you with all that stubble – you’re on your way to a full beard! Just like in the picture! Who noticed it first?”

 

“You let us look at your sketchbook – there’re some drawings that haven’t been torn out, you know. That was one of the first things Pa noticed that nobody could explain. It makes sense now, though.” Pause. “What did you do with the pages that were torn out?”

 

“Burned ’em. Nobody needs to look at them ever again. None of any of it will hold up in court anyway. Good riddance to bad rubbish.” Phaedra looked away.

 

Adam kissed the top of her head. “I hope that you and Pa can work things out. I really do.” With that being said, Adam turned and went back into the house.

 

Phaedra stood and looked at the stars for a long time before she went inside.

 

********************

Ben protested that he was fit enough to ride but Hoss lifted him bodily and put him on the travois. Quinn had already hooked up the apparatus to Cody who didn’t seem to mind this “thing” dragging along behind him. The procession proceeded to Sonora but it took most of the day. Phaedra was glad that she had packed food and filled all the canteens earlier – it all came in handy when it was time to stop for lunch.

 

As they reached the outskirts of Sonora, Ben made the group come to a halt. “I will not be carted into town like a decrepit old man! I will ride in and make one stop before we go to the Hotel!”

 

Phaedra frowned. “To the Hotel? I just took it for granted that you would all stay with me.”

 

Ben’s voice softened. “The thought is very appealing. But there are too many of us – we need to spread out a little bit. You’ve been shouldering so much over the last several days that, if you plan to be worth anything, you need sleep and rest. We all do. We’ll have the trial coming up soon and we all need to be as strong as possible.”

 

Phaedra watched as Ben got off the travois – he seemed quite strong – and she watched as he climbed aboard Buck’s saddle. Strong again. With Ben sitting comfortably in the saddle, the travois was abandoned and the group went into town. People waved and smiled and some even applauded as the group headed down the street – what a wonderful welcome from delightful people. Hattie and Josephine wiped their eyes and blew their noses loudly.

 

Ben stopped at the Assay/Claims office and went inside with his sons, Phaedra and Quinn – with puzzled looks on their faces – following behind him like ducklings.

 

“Welcome back, Mister Cartwright. You look fit as a fiddle!” This from Robert Stovall who was in charge of the office.

 

“Thank you. It’s good to be here.” Ben now pulled something from his pocket, something wrapped in a handkerchief, which was presented to Stovall with a flourish. “What’s this worth?”

 

“Good God Almighty!” Stovall shouted, his eyes bugging out as he peered at the object. “This is solid gold all the way through! Where’d you get it?”

 

Ben smiled. “I want to file a claim on the mountain above Jenkins’ Creek. Is there a claim already filed on it?”

 

The assayer looked through a ledger. “No. No claim. You want to file a claim on part of the mountain?”

 

“No. On the whole mountain.”

 

Stovall’s mouth dropped open. “The whole mountain?”

 

“Yes.” Ben’s smile was growing bigger.

 

Stovall’s hand literally shook as he pulled out the necessary paperwork which Ben signed in his bold handwriting. “And now I want to give this mountain – this claim – to Phaedra Bannan, Quinn Bannan, Oliver Jackson, Pablo Garcia, Barry Hornsby, Josephine Pendleton, and Hattie Smithwick. It’s to be shared with each person named receiving one-seventh of the proceeds from the gold that is mined. Be sure to add ‘in perpetuity’.”

 

“Give…? As in ‘for free’?”

 

“Correct.” Ben pulled from his pocket the money that his captors had failed to look for. “Please mark the filing fee as ‘Paid In Full’. If you need a legal reason….”

 

“No. No. It’s yours to do with what you want. Let me write down these names. Uh, would you repeat them?”

 

“Of course.” Ben repeated them and watched as Stovall’s shaky hand filled out the appropriate papers and handed them over along with the large piece of gold.

 

Phaedra and Quinn looked goggle-eyed at Ben. Phaedra spoke. “Ben, what is this all about? What are you doing?”

 

Ben laughed. “Remember that skeleton in the cave? Must’ve been an old gold miner because he had this gold in his hand. Apparently he died before he could stake a claim. I explored that cave myself. From what I can tell, it’s got one of the richest veins of gold that I’ve ever seen!”

 

Phaedra couldn’t speak, but Quinn could. “And you’re giving this to all of us? Why?”

 

Ben looked at Phaedra and at Quinn. “You can’t put a value on friendship from people you’ve known for a few short days. You can’t put a value on a man’s life. You gave me my life back – a gift, so to speak. I’m just giving you a gift in return – and not just you two. This is a gift for a valise full of money from people who truly cared. They’ll get their money back after the trial – plus a little extra.”

 

With that, Ben put the rest of the papers in his vest pocket and strode out the door with Adam, Hoss and Joe. He looked back and saw that Phaedra and Quinn appeared rooted to the spot inside the office.

 

Adam grinned. “I seem to remember a phrase that Phaedra said to Sheriff Valen and me a while back.”

 

“And what would that be?” Ben’s brow furrowed.

 

With a twinkle in his eyes, Adam looked at Phaedra. “Move your ass!”

 

CHAPTER SIXTY EIGHT

Ben’s hope for sleep and rest didn’t pan out. Everybody who had anything to do with the kidnapping-hostage-murder trial were fair game for the press for miles around! The story made the front page as far East as Philadelphia! The poor telegrapher barely had a chance to send one wire before he had to send another one, and another one, and another one. Phaedra was dubbed as a prophetess and a small but growing number of folks showed up on her front door. Since Jeffords was dead, Quinn spent what money he had saved to purchase the livery stable and was trying desperately to keep up with horses and buggies and carriages that were arriving. Ben had made the mistake of giving out the gold-mine “gifts” almost immediately, so land around Jenkins’ Creek was at a premium for hopeful miners. Robert Stovall swore that he hadn’t told a soul – but that was debatable. Hattie and Josephine had more than likely helped spread the word.

 

 

 

The trial itself was just a footnote. Tim Brady, the mastermind of the whole sordid thing, was convicted of everything in the book except murder. And even then his “guilty-list” included him as an accessory to murder. He’d be in the penitentiary until he died. His wife, while he was on trial, drained his bank account, bought a brand new wardrobe and moved to San Francisco where she could be part of the social goings on. She played the victim of an abusive husband quite well – even though Tim had never raised a hand to her. She delighted in letting folks think he did.

As for Matthew and Mark, nothing could help them. Being caught red-handed while trying to steal a valise full of money and attempting to take a hostage didn’t help their cause. Each one turned against the other one and tried to deny killing Jeffords. They were sentenced to the same penitentiary that would hold Tim Brady, but Matthew and Mark would be executed there for their numerous crimes fostered at the beginning by pure greed.

 

The money in the valise could now be released, so the Cartwrights paid visits to Oliver and Lamar Jackson. Hands were shaken and thanks were given and future invitations were issued for visits. Pablo and his family, with their money returned, threw a huge party that included most of their Spanish-speaking friends. Unfortunately, the Cartwrights spoke very little Spanish and ended up smiling a lot and nodding their heads even more. Hattie and Josephine could be found every day, all day, on Phaedra’s front porch with pencils and paper in their wrinkled hands, jotting down information from anybody who made the mistake of talking to them. They were interviewed by journalists and even had their pictures in the paper – it didn’t matter that the only thing they had actually contributed was money. Poor Lori Edwards had contributed nothing and had gotten a terrible reputation for hanging around with Matthew and Mark. She slipped away in the dead of night and moved to parts unknown.

 

On the night before Roy Coffee and the Cartwright clan were to leave, Barry Hornsby threw the biggest gala event that Sonora had ever seen. It was an event open to every soul in the whole town. Music blared, tons of food were served, and champagne flowed like water. There was a run on headache powders at the apothecary the next day and, in nine months, there would be an unprecedented baby boom.

 

********************

Now came the hard part – the goodbye part. Roy was waiting at the stockyard while the Cartwrights went to the Bannan house. The first goodbyes were to Quinn who hugged Ben tightly. “Thanks to you, I can have my dream. That property that my father left me, well, I can now begin to turn it into a horse ranch. And I can finish building the house. I can’t find the words…”

 

“No need, son,” Ben answered. “Every man needs a dream and yours is a good one. Breed the best horses possible. I’ll be back to see if they’re good enough to buy. And I’ll bet that they will be. You’re making your mother – and your father – very proud.”

 

“I wish you had known my father. I think the two of you would have become good friends.” Quinn’s lower lip was quivering a little.

 

“Yes, I believe the same thing,” Ben answered.

 

Quinn turned and headed towards the barn.

 

Out the door of the house came Phaedra – her arms loaded with sacks.

 

Joe laughed. “Every time we go anywhere, she brings food.”

 

Hoss grinned. “God bless ‘er!”

 

Ben said nothing but smiled as he watched her first hand the sacks to his sons and then watched as she kissed them all on the cheek. He felt a lump in his throat. What should he do? What should he say?

 

Adam whispered to Phaedra, “Don’t forget what I told you back in Jamestown.”

 

Adam, Hoss and Joe watched as Phaedra approached Ben. They turned their backs and pretended to be adjusting saddles and sacks of food, trying to give the man and the woman some kind of privacy.

 

They looked at each other, Ben and Phaedra.

 

“I wish you didn’t have to leave,” Phaedra said quietly, searching Ben’s eyes for…what?

 

Ben took a deep breath. “The time went too quickly.” Is she thinking what I’m thinking?

 

“Ben, a lot has happened in such a short amount of time. I wish…”

 

Ben put his finger to her lips. “I wish it too. We need more time.” His voice was husky with emotion.

 

“Will you come back to Sonora?”

 

“I don’t know. I need to heal…inside.”

 

“I understand. We all need to heal.”

 

“But you and Quinn can come visit at the Ponderosa, you know.” Ben was dragging his feet. He didn’t want to leave.

 

“And we will. I’ll write to you and let you know when. Well, I’ll probably write to you anyway. I want to know what kind of a sire that odd bull turns out to be. And I know that Adam promised the first bull calf from Sultan would go to Pablo.” If I keep talking, he can’t just walk away.

 

A trace of a smile on Ben’s lips. “I haven’t forgotten.”

 

Awkward silence. Ben put his foot in the stirrup, hesitated slightly, and then settled into the saddle. His “let’s go home, boys” wasn’t as cheerful as he wanted it to be.

 

When the foursome got to the corral gate, Phaedra ran and climbed up on a rail. Ben stopped. They were eye to eye. And Phaedra kissed him – gently, sweetly, tenderly. And he kissed her back.   As a tear slid down her cheek, she drew away. With a look at Adam and a look at Ben, she said, “Now move your ass before I forget that I’m a decent woman!”

 

Ben didn’t – couldn’t – look back. The four Cartwright men loped away to the stockyard where Roy was waiting. Phaedra watched until they were out of sight. Squaring her shoulders she walked back to the house.

 

END