Summary:  A continuation of the Home is the Sailor Series
Rating:  PG   (164,925 words)

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Home is the Sailor Series:  The saga continues after the conclusion of the Captain Cartwright series.

Home is the Sailor
The Iron Horsemen
There will Always be Rainbows
The Pledge
No Greater Love
Kismet
The Gap…
A New Direction – Changes
Equinox
The Cattle Station
Love Thyself Least
No-body’s Hero

 

No-body’s Hero…

 

The train roared into the station with a screech, the hissing of brakes and steam, the usual shower of smoke, soot and cinders upon the unwary bystanders waiting on the platform . Those more aware of the unpleasant feature of being liberally coated with such debris stood far back and only surged forward to greet the passengers who alighted when doors were opening and humans emerged.

 

Amid the cacophony of noise, of chatter, laughter, shouts of joy, crying babies, a man stepped from his carriage, paused a moment before alighting onto the platform and glanced around as though to get his bearings. He was a handsome man, darkly tanned, slim and averaging 5ft 10 inches in height. He was middle aged as evidenced by the grey and silver in what hair could be seen, and the grey in his beard. As for dress, despite days of travelling, he was immaculate. The suit obviously bespoke, shoes gleaming, the gloves he wore were grey, Italian sheepskin, very best quality.

 

A porter came to enquire about his luggage and was given instructions as to where he should take it, money was handed over and the porter promptly disappeared into the carriage to locate the various suitcases and despatch them accordingly.

 

He walked from the station, receiving admiring glances from some women, which he ignored, striding purposely to the steps that took him into the main thoroughfare of the town.

 

Virginia City … it had changed a lot since his last visit. Some good points, some not so good. He noticed it all with one long sweep of his eyes … sharp, scrutinising eyes.. and then he stepped towards the side walk and made his way to the hotel. He knew where the Witney Hotel was located from years back. As he made his way, slowly, sauntering, he took note of other changes, of the people that he passed, with his eyes always moving to check out a familiar face.

 

By the time he reached the hotel he was disappointed. There had been no one he recognised along the way, and of course, no one who recognised him. He approached the Reception area with a sigh, he had obviously been away too long.

……………….

 

He signed his name with a flourish which received not a flicker of interest from the young man behind the desk. He was handed his keys, given directions to the dining room and further relevant details towards the comfort of his stay at the prestigious Whitney Hotel. He mounted the stairs to his room and heard the signing in book close with a slight whisper of a thud.

 

Once in the room he walked over to the window and stared out upon the town as it was sprawled before him. It was still busy, it gave the appearance of a thriving town, unless one knew that its main source of prosperity was drying up a stranger would never know the difference. A very tall man with the badge of sheriff glinting on his shirt front came and lounged against a supporting pillar of the overhang that shaded the pavement that passed the sheriff’s office and Jail house.

 

The stranger to town, for he felt a stranger now, remembered a much older man being the sheriff, a man who was both feared and loved by the townsfolk, and one of the best law men in Nevada and California, so people said and who was he to disagree having known the man in the past. He watched the current sheriff push himself away from the post and turn to go back into the building.

 

Well, he mused, nothing to be gained just standing and staring. He was hungry and had not eaten since the previous day. He checked his pockets…. wallet, papers etc and tucked neatly away a very smart derringer which he checked now to make sure it was loaded. He never felt really dressed for any occasion without his derringer close to hand.

 

He felt restless. Unpacking did not suit him just now, he wanted to get out from the room and check out the town. It had never been home, never really felt like his home where his roots were, no, that was far away, but lost in memories and journeys, in lies and subterfuge..and even now he was not sure why he had come here..not really.

 

The clerk at the desk looked up at the newcomer and asked him if everything was to his satisfaction…whatever that meant…so he had nodded, tipped his hat and strode across the foyer, opened the doors and stepped back outside.

 

He walked where his feet took him.. to where things were a little more familiar still. He glanced through the window of the Territorial Enterprise, the towns news tabloid

and then turned to give his attention to the building across the road from there..

 

He narrowed his eyes against the glare of the sun and scanned the building from top to bottom, counted the windows, noticed the wrap around terrace and balconies….a slow smile came to his lips as he read the banner that was adorning the saloons frontage

 

“UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT”

 

He stood observing the building for a while before deciding to cross the road and enter through the bat wings. They swung back and forth as he stepped inside and paused. The bar keep looked up and noticed him, nodded and waited for him to approach the counter before asking him what he would care to drink.

 

A man was playing the piano, and doing so excellently. There were four men engaged in a game of poker, faces blank but sombre, the ‘pot’ in the centre of the table looked like a good sum was mounting up between them and not one of them was prepared to give way to the others.

 

“Well, Mister,I ain’t a mind reader…….” raised eyebrows made the point to the man on the other side of the counter. Who nodded, and asked for a whiskey, the best in the house. This brought more raised eyebrows but no comment was made as the money was slapped down and the glass taken.

 

He stared down into the amber liquid contained in the glass and just gently swirled it to create a little whirlpool and then he raised it to his mouth, swallowed and swallowed again before setting the empty glass upon the counter. He looked around again, no one he knew, no one he recognised.

 

Behind him the bat wings swung open and two men entered. One the stranger knew, the other he did not but he stepped back a pace to give them room. Daniel dequille nodded, looked at the bar keeper and requested the usual…then followed the other man to a table in the far corner of the room. The bar keep turned and prepared a jug of coffee and two cups which he bore over to the table where Daniel and James Colby were seated.

 

A brief smile flittered across the face of the man watching them, before he then turned to the bar keep “Keys to the office…”

 

“What?” the man’s eyes widened, he stepped back slightly “Why do you want them fer?”

 

“This saloon is under new management …” he paused long enough for the bar keep to nod “and I’m your new manager. Keys ..please.”

 

He took the keys and holding them in his hand strode over to the door marked Private..as he passed deQuille’s table he caught the man’s eye, saw the gleam of recognition so gave him a brief nod. It was, he thought as he pushed open the office door, a nuisance that deQuille would be here, the old fox was bound to recognise him.

But nothing he could do now, he just stepped into the office and closed the door behind him.

 

Daniel drank his coffee and poured himself another cup while he listened to James relating his concerns for old Roy Coffee but his mind was already turning over and over conjecturing on the reasons why the new Manager had to be .. who he was…he glanced up as the bar keep came up to the table, they exchanged a glance

 

“Do the Cartwrights know he’s back?” Solomon asked, keeping his voice as low as he could despite the absence of anyone else near by

 

“Not that I’m aware of….” Daniel drawled slowly, glancing over at the office door

 

“You going to print it up, let ’em know…?”

 

Daniel shrugged “I don’t know…may be more fun to let them find out for themselves “

 

Solomon frowned, shook his head and returned to his place behind the counter. Daniel said nothing, nodded to James to continue with what he was saying…

Chapter 2

 

The crew had been paid off the previous day so it had been left to Candy and the three Cartwright brothers to finish off what little remained of the work on the house. Adam decided that the front door needed to be re-hung as he was not satisfied with the fact that it kept sticking, and Joe got to work with a hammer to secure some shingles he was sure had shifted during the night.

 

Hoss had elected to dig in the plants and shrubs that Ann had sent from her garden. Candy had insisted that she had it just as she liked so that she and the children would feel that it really was home from home. Hop Sing had arrived earlier in the week with them all carefully wrapped in burlap sacks stacked in the wagon. There was also a list of instructions that told him what had to be positioned where…tallest at the back, of course, and pride of place went to a rose bush in a big blue ceramic pot that was to be stationed by the front door.

 

Inside the house Candy was putting the last strokes of paint on the walls. Of course the same colour in each room as the previous house. Ann like continuity, but she wanted the children to feel .. settled.

 

It was hot and by mid-day the sun was at its peak. Candy was glad to leave the interior of the building and the smell of paint as he stepped outside and almost fell over Hoss who was hauling the potted rose to its destination by the front door. Adam was standing well back giving his idea of where it should be placed but Hoss had thoughts of his own and grappled manfully to wards the door, getting well scratched as he went.

 

Candy could not put into words how much he felt now as he stood there looking at the building. Joe was climbing down the ladder, looking as though he had accomplished a marathon task, and Adam was standing, hands on hips, observing Hoss who was sweating profusely and mumbling curses beneath his breath.

 

“You arn’t going to let a little old rose bush beat you, are you Hoss?” Candy chuckled, and walked towards Adam, standing there side by side, watching the poor man put the pot and its contents into what he decided was its final resting place.

 

“Heck, who got this thing dug into this here pot in the first place,” Hoss grumbled and wiped a smear of sweat from his brow.

 

“Can’t recall, Hoss. Probably me year back…it has kind of moved from place to place with us, and, like the children, grown…”

 

“Should have been cut down ..” Hoss rubbed his hands, checked them over for thorns and scratches “I’m famished, and thirsty, I could drink that well dry.”

 

Adam nodded agreement, while Joe removed his hat and wiped around the inside band with his bandanna…”Well, “ he smiled at Candy “What do you think? “

 

“More to the point, what do you think Ann will think of it…” Adam added, folding his arms across his chest and narrowing his eyes as though he wanted to see the building in its full glory and could only do so by squinting

 

“I think ..I know ..that Ann will be delighted with it.” Candy said in his solemnest voice. “I can’t thank you enough..”

 

“You don’t have to thank us, Candy. You have quite a challenge to face up to right now..” Joe said as he lowered a bucket into the well, he glanced over his shoulder “This is a new enterprise remember, and Pa will be on all our backs to check that it will succeed. He’s reminding us all the time about how much it’s already cost him.”

 

“Yeah, that mess with the Malahides did not help none, wasting time, effort and money.” Hoss grabbed the bucket of water from Joe and hauled it onto the wall of the well, he slipped the dipped into it and sluiced the cool water over his head before filling it again and drinking deep.

 

“Not to say lives…” Adam murmured and sighed, shook his head and looked again at the house, “Well, I reckon we should check on how effective the stove is…and cook ourselves something to eat.”

 

“Yep, last thing you want is Ann to light up the stove and the chimney not work …”

Joe took the dipper from Hoss and swallowed down the cool water, he nodded “This is a good well, water’s sweet and cool..”

 

Candy was not listening though, he was just standing and staring at the house. The cattle station, Built at last. His home and Ann’s for the foreseeable future, and to the left were the bunk houses for the men that would be coming to work with the cattle.

 

“No regrets?” Adam asked in a slight undertone and he followed Candy’s gaze and the other man shrugged, shook his head

 

“No, none as yet…guess we wont’ know until the first year is over, then we can see if it will work out or not.”

 

“I was thinking more about this being your home, yours and Ann’s…it’s quite a move from where you are now. Do you think Ann will be happy with coming this far out…”

 

“Talked about it a lot, Adam…you have to remember we were always being moved on when we were kids, from Fort to Fort…as and when the army said to shift…and that time moved to town, when I was sheriff, well, the only one who enjoyed that was Rosie.

 

“And how does she feel now about this move?” Adam removed his hat and wafted it too and fro in front of his face, the heat was heavy, they were all perspiring through their shirts…

 

“Reckon Sofia could tell you more about how my girl feels about this move, Adam. She won’t talk to us about it.” he frowned and his lips thinned “Thing is, children have to recognise the fact that sometimes adults do know best, and we don’t take to being subservient to their whims. She’ll get over it. There’s a lot going for this place, and Carson City is closer than Virginia City is to our previous home…and the school is good, she’ll settle, she’ll be happier than she expects to be…..”

 

“Mmm,” Adam nodded as he looked at the building and the surroundings …trees close by, Ann’s plants set in and watered, even the rose plant seemed to be basking in the sun, all the signs were good, he nodded again “When we were kids trying to find Pa’s Eden, we would stop at various settlements and Hoss would beg to stay put, he hated the travelling. He made friends easy, settled in, got comfortable I guess…I just wanted to know when we were heading out again. “ he shrugged “Guess we’re all different.”

 

“I want them to be happy, all of them…and if all goes well, this venture will be a great success for the Ponderosa, Adam…”

 

“Pa’s counting on that…” Adam smiled, his eyes twinkled and he placed a friendly hand on Candy’s back “and you know we’re always there..anytime you need us…”

 

Again Candy grinned, and his blue eyes twinkled as he approached the building, stepped into the coolness of the interior and nodded…he felt in his bones that this was going to be a success, he just knew it.

 

The sweet smell of new Ponderosa pine that had been used throughout the house drifted throughout, and all four men took time to look around them and admire the hard work that had been given to bring about the Canadys new home and the Ponderosa’s latest venture, the cattle station.

 

Hoss would never remember much about the building of the first ranch on the Ponderosa, but he could recall Adam and Joe’s homes, and the smells that he was enjoying now brought back good and bad memories. He noticed the way Joe glanced down at the beautifully smooth wood floor and recalled the dramatic time when the younger man had feared losing his wife when a window had blown in ..peppering the floor and Mary Ann with glass shards. Perhaps, Hoss mused, Adam no longer thought about the day he had over reached fixing a joist on his house and nearly killed himself..well, that had ended his plans to marry and no mistake.

 

He gently caressed the balustrade on the stairs that led to the upper rooms. He knew that Adam had enlarged each one once it had been confirmed that Candy was going to move in…. it always made him smile when he thought of the many little ways Adam, old Granite Head, showed his sensitive heart to the need of others Of course Ann and the children would not have wanted to move into poky little bedrooms when they had been so used to the larger ones in their previous home…so what if a little more work was involved in extending this room or that room, sure, why now take out the whole back of the house and rebuild the walls. Why not? They owned the wood didn’t they?

 

“Hoss, can you quit day dreaming and get that stove going…” Joe yelled, working the sluice over the sink to get the cool water to wash over his hands, “I’d like something inside my stomach before we leave here today….I’m so hungry ..”

“Sure,sure…” Hoss nodded, and ambled over to the stove, jiggled this and jiggled that, lit a match to set fire to the kindling “Whar’s the food any hows?”

 

Candy was going up the stairs, opening one door and then the other…in two days time they would be bringing all their worldly goods here and putting up the beds and the units, all the things that women needed to make a home. Not that he was averse to any of it, except he could live without it too. But he wanted Ann to be happy ..and the children too

 

Looking out of the bedroom window he overlooked the meadow where in the cattle grazed. These were the young ones that would go to market next year, they had a whole 9 months to fatten up, and if the winter were not too severe then the fewer the losses the better the market profit. He watched the cattle now, watched how they roved slowly to enjoy what they were eating….sure they were a good distance away, a safe distance away, from the window view they looked like toys manipulated by a giant child’s hand..to the south he could see the trees of the woodland that had so captured all of their imaginations when Adam and Olivia had first made the cabin in the woods a place to retreat to…seemed a long time ago now, a lot had happened in the mean time. He loved looking down at the tops of the trees…it would be a wonderful place to walk, to stroll ..

 

He heaved in a deep breath of contentment…and for a moment took the time to thank Someone whom he believed had patiently and kindly manoeuvred them to this safe place.

 

An hour later they were all four seated outside and balancing plates on their knees as they ate al fresco … as they had been doing for a few days now, although this was the first to be cooked inside the house, on a proper stove.

 

“Nothing wrong with that chimney” stated Hoss as he stabbed more food onto the tines of his fork,

 

“Should hope not, I installed it…” Adam muttered

 

“Nothing wrong with the stove…” Joe grinned

 

“Should hope not..” Adam said and came the chorus “Because you installed it..”

 

 

Time to leave, the fire dampened down, evidence of the meal removed. Everything left in its right place….

 

The four horsemen mounted up and the cattle station, the Canady’s new home, basking in sunlight. In a few days they would return and begin to ‘move’ the family in … three of them hoping Ann would love the place, and one of them knowing for sure that she would

Chapter 3

 

Hester Cartwright stood in the middle of the room and hugged some bed linen close to her body. Not just any bed linen…it was freshly laundered and smelling sweetly and about to be packed away in the big wicker basket Ann had designated for such use.

 

It was just that Hester had a wave of nostalgia, deja vu, sweep over her as she recalled to mind being in the exact spot several years ago and taking the bed lined out of the wicker basket for it to be used on a bed, in what had been the Canadays new home. She bowed her head now and inhaled the smell and closed her eyes…Ann had commented on new house and new baby…and now here she was about to move on with no babies, but three healthy sturdy children and Hester felt close to tears, children she would not see so much of any more.

 

Hannah would so miss Rosie. Rosie the first new born on the Ponsderosa … a constant presence in Hannah’s world. And David had become such a tough little guy, despite not liking school, he was so much like his father whereas little Samuel had become Erik’s shadow, or perhaps, vice versa.

 

She heaved another sigh and sniffled.

 

“If you’re going to soak my bed linen again, Hester, you may as well just stop and make us some coffee…” Ann’s voice sounded light, touched with humour, and Hester wanted to shake her and say – say what?

 

Well, she wanted to beg Ann not to go, yet she knew the family were more than pleased that the Canadays were going, that they were taking up the challenge to move on and establish a new branch of the Cartwright empire. Ann was more than pleased to go, for some reason her own restless spirit had seized the chance, especially as Candy was so like minded.

 

Carson City, she had told Hester, was Nevada’s capital. It would always be there, stolid and steady . It represented their State. Consequently therefore it would have better teachers, better education, less crime….it promised so much for families young and old. And then, t typical of her cousin, Ann had said, “Anyway, it’s time for a change, we’re not getting any younger.”……..

 

Hester stroked the bed linen in the same manner she would have stroked an old dog that had seen its last days, and then she laid it all down upon other bed linen which was waiting to be placed on the beds in that brand new sweet smelling never been used before bed room.

 

Ann watched her cousin and smiled at the sight of the down cast head, the small pout of the lips. She walked over and gently put her arm around her dear cousins waist and hugged her close

 

“Dear Hester, don’t be sad….we’ve had partings before and this one, well, it isn’t so very bad really…now that we have trains that can take us back and forth at any time, we may well see each other even more frequently. You know that you and the children are always welcome to come and stay over…”

 

“And Hoss…” Hester sniffed loudly but not looking up

 

“Well, of course ..” Ann laughed and squeezed Hester close,”Any time.. we could even make it a regular visit…”

 

“Oh Ann, it just won’t be the same without you here. What about our quilting afternoons? And .. and besides which … just knowing you are here, and the children, so close by. “

 

“You have Mary-Ann and Olivia, and their children even closer, dear.” Ann said quietly and let her arm drop while she walked to the stove and set down the kettle for coffee.

 

Hester said nothing to that but wondered if that may have been a contributing factor to Ann’s decision to go away. The fact that the three Cartwright women were within close proximity to one another whereas she was some distance away, out of the triangle so to speak…perhaps she had never felt she was part of the ensemble, so being a ‘train journey away’ made little difference to her.

 

The sun shone through the window, and beamed down upon the room that was slowly becoming emptier and more desolate . Hester turned to look around her, to look at the walls where the pictures had been removed exposing the depth of colour behind them, she could only sigh and wander over to the stove and prepare their drinks. Two cups, two saucers, spoons..where were they..not packed away already? Was Ann really so impatient to go…

 

“It’s still the Ponderosa, Hester.”

 

“Yes, I know ..” Hester frowned, and shook her head. So much land, she wondered whereabouts another meadow existed on it, or orchards, or streams with fat trout in them…one thousand square miles of land, who was to know every inch of it?

 

“What are you thinking about?” Ann whispered in her ear, and it tickled so Hester shook her head.

 

“It seems strange that meadow laying there for so long, unused, ignored, unknown and now suddenly it’s the centre of attention, cattle grazing there, the equivalent of another ranch house built there… “

 

“Well, that’s what happens where Cartwrights are involved, dear. “ Ann raised her eyes to heaven and shook her head, “Who knows somewhere else in their empire may well be another meadow, just as bountiful and just as beautiful…” she glanced over at Hester and smiled “ Perhaps somewhere for your children to live one day…Erik ruling over his corner of the Ponderosa, and the girls over their patch…then there will be Olivia’s children and Joe’s…” she paused, spoon in hand (where did that come from, Hester wondered) and smiled dreamily “when you think about it, Ben was really clever, buying so much land … and future generations can parcel it out between them,”

 

Hester said nothing, there was a certain something in Ann’s tone of voice that made her think her cousin did not really agree with it being clever at all, maybe .. maybe some thing less agreeable. She shook her head, not wanting to think more negatives than she felt she was drowning in already.

 

The sound of wheels drawing up, the snort of a horse and the laughter of women. Ann pulled out more cups, more plates and set them down on the old table while Hester made the coffee and turned just in time to see Olivia and Mary Ann open the door and step inside

“I’ve made a cake…” Mary Ann declared holding up a large box in front of her as though an offering to the gods.

 

“Hop Sing has made up a hamper of food for you all, to take to your new home .. so you have something ready to eat when you get there.” Olivia explained, “I’ve left it in the other room”

 

“I can’t believe your moving out day is tomorrow, Ann” Mary Ann murmured as she looked around the room to see what else was to be done, what she could do, what needed still to be packed away.

 

“You can’t stop time.” Ann said resolutely and opened the box to look down on the cake her friend had brought her “Did you drop it?”

 

“Only once…” Mary Ann said blithely, “Is it very badly damaged.” she shrugged “It hardly matters really, the crumbs taste as good as a slice would”

 

Olivia reappeared with another box, which she placed on the table “Sandwiches from Chen Ho Li He thinks we will be hungry after all our hard work here…but…” she looked around her “there doesn’t really look like much to do “

 

“I’ve been packing and sorting things out since we decided to go.” Ann said picking up a crumb from the cake and nodding her approval as she ate it, “But there is more to do upstairs.”

 

“Coffee’s made” Hester declared “ Shall we eat first and then tackle the bedrooms?”

 

Chairs were pulled out from around the table and they sat down, looked around them and tried not to think about past times when they had shared meals here, and Hester blinked back a tear and Olivia stared out of the window to keep her feelings under control. Mary Ann sighed

 

“Last time you left this house you were moving into town…” she selected a sandwich and stared at it, “and then you moved back here, perfectly happy…”

 

“Yes, we were..well, except Rose. She loved being a town girl, and made quite a fuss about coming back here.”

 

“So how does she feel about moving further away..from town, from here, to somewhere more remote..” Mary Ann frowned, a little horse shoe shape appeared between her eyebrows “Is she settled about it ? About leaving …”

 

Ann’s mouth tightened into a little button of annoyance, she shook her head “Typically, Rose is not happy. She now declares that she loves this place, never wants to leave it.” she ladled sugar into her cup and stirred vigorously, “She is the most obstinate child.”

 

No one offered any sympathy, nor any suggestion. They all, in their own way, felt the same tug of the heart at the thought of the Canadays leaving this house, moving away from all that was familiar.

 

Mary Ann cleared her throat “She’ll settle down once she has made new friends at the school there.”

 

No one said anything to that either.

………………

 

The new manager of the Sazarac saloon had interviewed his staff, checked out all the premises, decided on the changes he was going to make. Solomon had been pleased to learn he was getting an increase in his salary, his new employer saying with peculiar emphasis how he knew Sol had worked there for many years and deserved an increase as a kind of retainer for services rendered past and, hopefully, present.

 

Now this enigmatic man strolled over to the window and looked down at the people strolling back and forth. People may be different but the view was much the same from the window of any building when looking down at the road..the traffic, the women with their children or not, cowboys riding in looking for a cool drink, miners looking much the same. Although he had noticed there were fewer miners than in previous years.

 

His eyes wandered a little and then paused…he looked closer, shook his head and told himself it was not possible. A tall man, broad shouldered, darkly clothed and with dark hair was walking alongside a young woman, a black young woman, they were deep in conversation.. The man threw back his head at one stage and laughed, leaning his head down to the woman afterwards as though to whisper something in her ear.

 

There was no doubt about she was very pretty, and very self assured. She swung her basket back and forth as she walked, nodding occasionally to something he was saying to her. Then they parted and for a moment the dark haired man just stood to survey the street. As though he sensed be was being watched he glanced up and frowned at the windows of the Sazarac…and the man behind one of those windows frowned also, because there was a resemblance to Adam Cartwright that had made him think, wonder, but it was just a resemblance nothing else.

 

Deputy Ethan Burns lowered his hat and shrugged slightly as he stepped into the road and made his way to the Sheriff’s office. As he stepped to the door and pushed it open he glanced over his shoulder, the feeling that he was being watched growing. He shook his head, and stepped inside and snapped the door shut behind him.

 

There was, the on looker felt, a story behind this young man, a story connected to Adam Cartwright for sure and just for an instant his mind chased a thought, neither kindly nor decent, but it amused him and he chuckled a little to himself before turning away and returning to his desk.

 

He wondered what other stories he would discover had taken place since he left the Ponderosa. Ann Canaday would have been rather bemused had she known that a piece of the Ponderosa had once been gifted to him, and that he had returned it with the ease of a man removing his coat.

 

He shrugged and sat down. That had been just one of the many mistakes he had made in his life.

 

Chapter 4

It had been a long week for one little girl and yet when she looked back on it, the time seemed to have simply flown by. She wished she could stop time, just long enough to stay where she was, long enough to feel safe and secure.

Rose Canaday stood by the stairs and watched as friends, neighbours and family chatted, and laughed, and looked happy and slapped her Pa on the back , and hugged her Ma. She wondered why they were so happy. Were they glad to see the Canaday family leave the area because they did not really like them very much? Were they just pretending, masking their true feelings and wishing the Canadays would stay?

She could not understand adults. She did not understand her own parents. Surely they had been happy in the house that had been their home for so long? How could they just ‘up and leave’ just like that…how could Ma laugh, hug these people and not break down and cry.

Rose turned away and looked for some place to hide away. David and Samuel ran by, shrieking and yelling with Daniel and Erik behind them …they seemed happy enough, but then David was like his father, he just did not feel things the same way…and…of course, as others had reminded her..she was a girl!

All the Cartwright were here of course, people were spilling out into the yard, chatting and laughing. They were everywhere. Rose felt as though she was shut in and there was no way out and she wanted to scream.. she turned to the stairs and was about to scamper up to where she was going to spend her last night on the Ponderosa, when several people came strolling down towards her. She stepped aside to let them pass her by and tried again, but this time prevented by a gentle hand on her arm.

“It’s alright, Rose.” a quiet voice that seemed louder than all the noise that surrounded them, “You’ll be alright.”

She turned with a mixture of emotions waging war within her. She wanted to yell and shout, she wanted to sit down and bury her head in her arms and cry. She just stood there, and stared at the girl standing in front of her.

Lilith Martin smiled. Her eyes were gentle and her smile was generous, warm, and sincere. She still had her hand on Rose’s arm and now released her, she nodded

“I know how you must be feeling…or at least, I imagine I do. My Ma and I did not want to leave Albany either.. ..” she paused and sighed “I mean, when we had to leave to come back here, it was just about the hardest thing to do in the world. I was scared to come back, and leave my friends…”

Rose still stared, she had thousands of words mixing and mingling in her head that she needed to sort out but somehow seemed trapped there. She finally shook her head,

“You came back though, you came back to old friends and..”

“Yes, I know.” Lilith took the girl by the hand and together they settled down on the bottom step of the stairs. “That’s why I said you would be alright. You see, when we left here, we went away not knowing anyone at all..miles and miles away….that was …well, I was sick with worry, and fear…it was horrible and everyone so far away. But then …after a little while things settled down and we had friends, people who cared…and then suddenly we had to leave them behind and come back here. You see, nothing lasts forever. All the horrible things you feel now, will go away soon and you will have new friends and …”

“But I’ve never been anywhere else, I’ve ever only known the folk here…and we..we..are going to be living a long way ..away.”

She was not crying yet, but her breathing was hard, difficult. She blinked rapidly, looked away. Tried to pretend she was not sitting here on the stairs with Lilith Martin.

“It is not that far away. My Pa said that it is just an hour train ride from here, and the school is very good. You just have to trust your Ma and Pa, Rose…they would not do anything or go anywhere it they thought it would hurt you.”

“But it is…” Rose moaned, and bowed her head. She was ashamed to feel a tear drop from her eyes, she watched the wet mark stain her dress and shook her head to banish away any more.

She could feel the empty space around her now, Lilith had gone, no doubt feeling a failure because she had not made Rose happy.

“Rose?”

she glanced up and blinked, as her Aunt Hester leaned down towards her, her bright blue eyes staring down into her face.

“Rose…do you want to come outside with me for a little walk?” she smiled, and reached out her hand which Rose took without a sound, without hesitation.

Hester steered their way through the crowd with the determination of a little tug boat
hauling precious cargo behind her until they were outside and she was leading Rose towards the little garden that Hop Sing tended so carefully each day. There was a rose arbour nearby with a bench and here it was t hat Hester stopped and sat down patting the space beside her for Rose to take her place.

The sounds of the people were muted here, and Rose drew in her breath to inhale the sweet smell of the roses, and the other plants that long ago Marie Cartwright had brought with her all the way from New Orleans and planted to make her very own garden here.

They didn’t speak. Hester just put her arm around the child’s shoulders and drew her close to her so that Rose’s head rested upon her shoulder. Rose closed her eyes and allowed a little shiver run through her body…just Hester’s warmth and smell, such familiar things that she had known since a baby for Hester had been there at her birth and at every important moment of her life. Dear Aunt Hester…

“Aunt Hester..”

“Yes,Rose?

“Can I stay here, with you? Can I stay and live here with you and Uncle Hoss and Hannah..” her voice was very soft, tremulous as she hoped to hear the reply she wanted but knew in her heart of hearts that it would never be possible.

Hester did not speak for a while but hugged her niece closer to her, she stroked the dark hair and just stared ahead until Rose whispered her name as though to remind her that she was still there, still waiting for some answer

“Rose..you know that is not possible, don’t you? Think of how your Mother and Father would feel, how hurt… they love you so much…”

“Then why do we have to go away from here..”

“It is not so very far away, my dear. We will visit often to see you all, and you can come here every so often to stay..would you like that?”

Rose did into answer, she felt to do so would betray what she really wanted, a compromise too far…she frowned and sat upright, just a little way away from Hester.

“But why can’t I stay with you now and join them later…”

“Because there are things your Mother and Father need your help with..and you will be starting a new school, with David..and…and Rose, you will love your new home, you will I just know it.”

“But why do we need to leave here at all, Aunt Hester…Pa likes working with everyone here, now he will be all on his own and Ma wont know anyone and..it is so far from town.”

“It’s much closer to town than your present house…” Hester frowned, trying to find some more positives “You won’t have to take that long trip on the wagon every day like you all do here..your Pa said he will get you taken in by a buggy ..there and back. And ..also…sweetheart, it isn’t easy for them to leave everyone behind either, which is why they need you to help them, show them your love by being helpful to them…”

“You don’t want them to go, do you, Aunt Hester, you don’t want me to leave you all…do you?”

Hester looked down at the child, so much Candy’s daughter but with Ann’s determined look on her face. She sighed and shook her head “Darling Rose, of course I don’t, but – shush now, let me finish – its not for me to decide what they do, and your Ma and Pa want to go. You have to remember they were brought up as children being shunted from one fort to another, they like challenges in their lives, and they want you to be brave and able to face up to things in the future too…”

“By taking me away from you all?” Rose’s voice rose a little, and Hester put her finger to her niece’s lips

“By helping you face things now you will grow up into a very strong resourceful young woman, Rose. This is not a really difficult challenge at all, an hours train journey from here, means you are not so far from us all…old friends will remain friends, but you will make new ones… we will visit often, remember we have that cabin in the woods? Please help me by being kind to your folks, and then I won’t worry so much, because I love your Ma,she has been like a sister to me since the time we were children, so I have to tell myself the same thing I am telling you..she is not so far away, I can see her whenever I can..or wish to do so…”

“But…”

“And you will love your new house. Hoss has planted your mothers favourite rose by the door, and Adam added little things to every room that would remind you of your old house, and Joe painted the rooms the colours your Ma said were your favourite.”
she hugged Rose impulsively to her then, hugged her tight and whispered “I shall miss you, Rose…so will Hannah…but we will see you soon…I promise…”

Rose said nothing more, she wrapped her arms around her Aunt and held her tightly, sobbed a few tears and then, when Hester began to pull away, she let go her hold and watched as her Aunt stood up and extended her hand to her.

She was only a little girl after all, she was born in 1873. that was not so very long ago..but now she felt as though her child hood had ended, she had to grow up, she had to face challenges. She stood up and took her Aunt’s hand and allowed herself to be led out of the garden and back into the throng of people chattering and laughing …and all here to say good bye.

Daniel deQuille refilled his glass from the punch bowl and sipped it. He told himself that Ben’s punch was not so alcoholic that it meant he had fallen off the wagon…he could drink one, perhaps two and then leave it at that before going in search of coffee.

Adam lingered close by and glanced from the glass to Dan’s face, but stopped himself from making any comment. He had long ago realised that some matters were purely up to the individual concerned, their decisions to be respected until they fell apart and needed to be picked up and put together again.

And friends were there to do just that, pick a man up and put him together again, although he had never considered himself to be a friend of Daniel deQuille’s

Daniel sipped more of the punch and frowned, then walked to Adam’s side

“You have not been in town for a while , have you?”

“No…been busy with the cattle station. We were on a tight time limit.”

“Well.” Daniel smiled and looked over at Candy who was talking animatedly with Luke Dent and Abel Greigson. “I’m, sure they will appreciate it..”

“As we will appreciate them too, it won’t be easy for them, lots of hard work, and lonely days.”

“How long do you think they’ll last there ? Any doubts at all?”

“None whatsoever,” Adam filled his glass and sipped it, then looked at Daniel “Anything happen in town I should know about ….”

“Not really. Oh, Sazarac has a new manager.”

“Yeah I recall the advertisement..you met him yet?”

For some reason Daniel suddenly seemed unable to meet Adams eyes, but looked away, stared at the door, stepped forward as though to move on but Adam put his hand to the man’s chest

“Something I should know about, Daniel?”

The journalist opened his mouth, closed it and frowned the released a long sigh.
“Not really.”

“That doesn’t sound very convincing…you’ve met him so what’s wrong with him?”

“I didn’t say there was anything wrong with him…I’ve just met him, briefly ,that’s all.”

“And?”

“And what?” Daniel passed nervous fingers over his beard, sipped from his glass, scowled at Adam

“You’ve met him, you know who he is..what’s his name..?”

“What?”

“His name? For Pete’s sake, Daniel, I know this may be your first taste of alcohol in some while but surely it has not frozen your brain that much..”

“What’s going on…?” it was Hoss who had noticed the two men at the table obviously at odds with one another and had come over to join them. His blue eyes switched from one to the other but it gave Daniel a breathing space as he shook his head, muttered that it was nothing and walked off muttering something under his breath.

“What did he say?” Adam snapped at Hoss who was closest to Daniel as he passed and Hoss shrugged

“Just said you’ll find out soon enough…” he shrugged “Whatever that means…” he turned to look at his brother who was looking, narrow eyed, at deQuille, “What exactly did he mean by that..”

“It means,” Adam muttered, “that he knows something that he knows we won’t like…something he wants us to know but can’t bring himself to tell us.”

“Sounds like bad news…”

“Yeah..my thoughts exactly.”

“D’you want me to go shake it outa him?”

“No, we’ll find out soon enough…” he drank a little of the punch and smiled to himself “I’ll ask Ezra…later…”

Hoss nodded and both men watched as Daniel bade his farewells to Candy and Ann, shook their hands, left the room. Hoss muttered out of the corner of his mouth “I could still catch him and..”

“No…we’ll find out…no point in spoiling the evening.”

 

Chapter 5

Solomon had worked for the Sazarac for years. He had seen new managers come and go, some were carried out in a pine box, some, like the previous incumbent, arrested and jailed. He had learned to keep a still mouth and a watchful eye on how things developed, expecting to be thrown out of the job every time there was a change in ownership.

 

He still was not sure who actually owned the Sazarac. He had lost track since the long time ago days when a stranger could walk up to the bar, nudge the man next door, spill his beer and end up being carried out and taken to the undertaker.

 

He glanced now over to the door as it opened and the latest Manager stepped into the main body of the saloon. Solomon sighed, and frowned as he watched the man stand in the centre of the room and look around him. The man, Solomon thought, was either very good humoured, with a face wreathed in smiles and every word charming and pleasing. Or he was in a foul mood, scowling and snapping at everyone like a bad tempered guard dog ready to take a bite out of someone.

 

The Sazarac had been closed for a week now with a big banner out the front declaring a grand opening on the 26th of the month. To be sure there had been a lot of work done to the building, both inside and out. Even the piano had been replaced. But it had not put the Manager in a good mood at all, even though everything looked so much better. A higher class drinking hole, Solomon described it now to his wife, smells good, looks good. The beer was always good.

 

He slowly polished a glass and poured a measure of whiskey into it, placed it on the counter and waited for his employer to come and take it, hold it in his hand while he paced around the room then drink it ..it was how the glass was placed back on the counter that Solomon could judge the man’s mood.

 

“What do you think, Solomon? Is the place looking good enough?” he was leaning on the counter now, toying with the glass, amber liquid swilling back and forth

 

Solomon made a pretence of looking around the room as though he had never seen it before although he had been there behind the counter throughout the ‘alterations’ being carried out. He nodded

 

“Looks better than I’ve seen it in a very long time …”

 

“But?” hazel eyes fixed on the bar keeps face, and Solomon sighed

 

“Well, most folk who come here don’t really care about the trappings of a place, “ he shrugged and picked up a cloth and another glass, wanting to keep his hands busy during this conversation “they just care about how good the beer is, and if there’s a good game of poker and ..and the .. general way a place makes ’em feel…I guess.”

 

“You guess?” the eyes narrowed, still fixed on Solomon’s’ face as though the answer was the most important thing he would hear all day.

 

“Well, standing here behind this counter for so many years . Jest my opinion of course.”.

 

“After so many years, Solomon, your experience counts as does your opinion.” the whiskey was swallowed down and the glass placed gently on the table.

 

He turned away now and walked out of the building. For a moment Solomon wondered if the man would ever walk back inside again…

 

The sun beat down upon the town and people moved about their business taking no notice of the man standing outside the saloon doors. He watched them come and go for a while and then made his way to a large building just off the centre of town. He had gone several times since his arrival, as though it fascinated him by some strange magnetic force about which only he was aware.

 

It was always a hive of activity, mostly women. He had seen such places before, in all the places he had travelled. Places where free meals could be eaten and sometimes a bed for the night no questions asked. Mostly these places were in underground cellars or basements as thought the wealthier inhabitants were too ashamed to acknowledge that they had the poor and homeless to consider at all. But here, in Virginia City, the building stood out as though proclaiming “Come all you who suffer ..come and eat your fill…all welcome…”

 

“Can I help you?” a friendly Irish accent and when he turned he saw a friendly pair of blue eyes twinkling up at him from a pleasant face. “You don’t look the sort that is in need of a square meal but you are more than welcome.”

 

“No..thank you anyway. I was just …I suppose I was just admiring the work that goes into this ..enterprise. You must make quite a loss .. I mean..no disrespect but there can’t be much profit in it.”

 

Bridie shrugged her shoulders and looked away from him, back to where came the sound of chattering women, a little laughter, slipping through the open doors, kept open so that no one felt the place was closed and they could not gain entry.

 

“We never expected to make a profit…some times we do, most times its a struggle and we just about break even.”

 

“Then why bother?”

 

She frowned and looked at him in a way that would have Olivia wondering what she had said wrong. She shook her head “This gives women with too much time on their hands and little money something to do..they give to the community..they gain from it too. It is not about money, it’s about helping folk who temporarily can’t help themselves.”

 

They stopped talking when a voice called out a greeting to them and Hester Cartwright hurried towards them…as usual her hair was awry, even as she approached them a pin fell out and a curl of red gold hair fell across her face. She swept it aside impatiently

 

“Sorry I’m late, I had to wave them all off and …and it was just a bit harder than I expected.” she sighed and shook her head slowly from side to side “I shall miss Ann so much.”

 

“They got away alright then?” Bridie asked, nodding at the younger woman with a sympathetic look on her face

 

“Yes, Adam and Hoss and Joe went along with them. Not sure why as most of the work is done now, and it is just a case of moving them into the place…” she paused, glanced at the man standing there staring at her, she blinked and then looked again at Bridie, “Thank goodness for the train. It is reassuring to know they are only an hours distance away…” then she turned to the stranger “Good morning, I’m Hester Cartwright. Are you new to town?”

 

“I’m the new Manager of the Sazarac but I lived here once ..a long time ago.”

 

“Oh, I see..” she frowned, a slight crinkle above her eyebrows, he noticed just how blue her eyes were, and he wondered who would be her husband, she was not beautiful , not unattractive, not slender and trim, and he decided that she would not be married to Joseph.

 

The conversation lulled, they all three nodded at one another as though in synchronisation, and he lifted his hat politely and then turned away. It was not until Bridie and Hester had entered the refuge that they realised the man had not given them his name.

……………

 

Ben Cartwright was not too sure why his sons had decided to go along with the Canadays . The party had been a great success, they had enjoyed their farewells and goodbyes and the Canadays seemed quite happy to go to town, catch the train and go on from there on their own. Adam had said he wanted to make sure the house met with Ann’s approval. Being on the spot he could work on anything that needed to be tweaked, or changed. As he reminded his father, it was not just the Canadays home, it was a business enterprise.

 

Ben had nodded sagely at that point, although he was more under the impression that the whole thing was more for the Canadays benefit than the Ponderosa’s. But it was hard to bid them good bye, the Canadays had played a large part in their lives for years now, and even though the cattle station still meant there was a bond with them, it was still..well..it was early days.

 

Hannah had been upset that Rose was not going into school with her any more. The two girls had hugged and wept when it was time for the little girl to board the buggy and go off to town with her mother who was taking her into school and then meeting the Canadays at the railway station for her final goodbyes. Hannah wanted to go to the station as well, but Hester had said her school teacher would not be impressed with her being late. Hannah was well aware of how sad her mother was at Ann’s leaving and like the good little girl that she was she made no more fuss. But inside her heart was melting away in misery.

 

It was good to be going into town with her mother. Better than the wagon with Ezra or Hank both of whom had taken wagon loads of furniture and personal items to the cattle station for the family a few days back so that every thing would be there for them when they arrived at the property today. No wonder Adam and Hoss could not locate them for the big cross examination….Hannah tried to imagine going to a strange building and finding all one’s furniture waiting there as though by magic.

 

Sofia was at the school gates waiting for her and Hannah could tell from the other childs face that she was equally upset by Rose’s absence. Poor Sofia, red eyed, swollen eye lids and blotchy faced. Sadly at the sight of one another they both burst into tears anew, and hugged each other as though, if they were not careful, one of them would disappear too.

 

Hester had pushed handkerchiefs into their hands, wiped their faces and told them not to be silly little girls, to toughen up and enjoy the day. They would see each other again soon. Then she had clambered back into the buggy and headed for the train station, ran to where Ann and Candy were standing, hugged her cousin and burst into tears.

 

Now, as she entered the refuge she wondered if her face had been blotchy and that was why the stranger had stared at her. She took a quick glance in a mirror and was relieved to see not a single blotch in sight. She patted her hair into place, inserted several pins to secure the curls and took her seat behind the desk. She pulled the ledgers towards her with the determination to get down to work, distraction would help her to stop thinking about her dear cousin Ann.

Chapter 6

He stood for some moments without moving, until someone passed by and jostled against him, making him realise he was blocking the way to other pedestrians. A quick glance over his shoulder at the building into which Hester and Bridie had entered, and then he began to move forward again.

 

He realised he had been not only arrogant but totally insensitive to the work being carried out at the hospice. As he thought over his words he knew for sure that he had made a big mistake in speaking as he had, not just a mistake but it had created a false impression of the kind of person he was and it mattered a lot to him what people thought.

 

With a sigh he made his way to the livery stable and hired a mount for the day. A steady looking animal who had been looking bored as it had nodded over to him from his stall. He mounted into the saddle and walked the horse into the traffic on C Street, and made his way to the first stop before he would continue his journey. A florists where he dismounted and went inside, returning to the horse some moments later with a bunch of fresh flowers tied together with green ribbon.

……….

 

Ben Cartwright moved away from the desk, and the ledgers, and made his way to wards the hearth. Momentarily he stood in the centre of the main sitting area and looked around him. Memories slipped into his thoughts like rain drops dripping upon the tender petals of the most sensitive flower.

 

Some while ago he had nearly lost his life, and his memories, at the little cabin in the woods near Carson City. Even the fear of forgetting anything still gripped him, still caused him to break out in beads of sweat until whatever had been forgotten returned to him. Of course he was getting older, as Hester said the more you have to remember the more likely it was to forget certain things.

 

True enough, but he did not want some things to slip away and never return to their familiar niche in his mind. He wandered over to the bureau that Hester had covered with photographs .. memory aids really. He picked one up and looked down at the smiling faces frozen in time in the picture frame. He loved each and every one of them, Hoss and Hester, and their children. Briefly he wondered how they would have managed Hester’s grief had the Connolly’s taken Erik from them. How would any of them have handled their own grief?

 

His eyes drifted from one picture to another and then he sighed…the faces he wanted to remember and never forget were not there. For a moment he stood there, head bowed in thought , and when the old clock hoc-coughed the noon hour he gave himself a mental shake and headed for the door.

 

“You not have something to eat? Time you have food now..not go off with no food in belly”

 

Ben paused, his hand resting on his hat, he shook his head “I won’t be long, Hop Sing, I just have to go somewhere.”

 

Hop Sing opened his mouth to protest but sometimes he knew when it was wiser to shut it, which he did, promptly. He nodded and turned back into the kitchen, muttering beneath his breath as he did so.

 

It did not take long to get Cinnamon saddled up, and within minutes he was taking the track away from the house and out towards the river and woodland.

 

Sunlight dappled through the branches of the trees, and the soft breeze caused them to sway and sigh as he rode past. He did not ride too fast, he was content to let Cinnamon lope along while he pondered on his own thoughts …

 

It had been in 1840 .. and he had travelled to New Orleans to fulfil a promise to a dying man. A man saddened by his lack, miserable and heart sore, but dying and wanting his newly found friend to let his widow know about his death. And so Ben had gone, all the way to New Orleans to fulfil a promise. When he returned home to his two young sons he brought with him his wife, a beautiful woman called Marie.

 

Even now he could feel emotional at the memory of his first sight of her…wild, vivacious and beautiful. What a strange episode of his life that had been, and of hers of course, for she had gained a husband, two children and a life in the wilderness. Even now Ben could applaud her for her courage to come so far and to take up such a challenge. From her background of privilege with everything at her fingertips, the things lovely ladies enjoy, shops, concert halls, theatres, restaurants and balls and friends….to travel so far from all that, and neither one of them really knowing each other, they had barely had the time to know each others foibles, but the love.. ah, the love…nothing else mattered but that and the foibles…were of no consequence at all.

 

He was so deep in thought that he had almost arrived at his designation without realising. With a twist of his wrist he turned Cinnamon’s head to follow the narrow track towards what would be the family burial plot. … one day he would be buried there, beside his dear wife, then his sons and their wives…he shook his head as though to shake away the thought. Horrible …

 

………….

 

Leaving town behind made the traveller aware that it had been years since he had travelled this route across the Ponderosa. As he jogged along, not in any particular hurry, he noticed how little change there was but then the Ponderosa was a big place, one could not expect much in the way of change along what was the main route from or to town.

 

Once he had reached the woodland the landscape softened. Sunlight dappled over him and the horse as they rode beneath the trees, and the leaves shimmered in the slightest of breezes. He had only been here two, maybe, three times in his life but it was imprinted in his memory like a brand upon the hide of a cow.

 

The horse picked its way through the duff of years of fallen leaves that had grown soft manure upon the ground. He could hear the river flowing, not too fast, just a pleasant soft burble of noise as the water passed over the pebbles beneath it. It was soothing, just as much now as it had been the first time he ever came to the place.

 

Through the trees and into the open space where the grave had been made for Marie Cartwrights final resting place. He had it on good authority that it had been one of her favourite places on the Ponderosa, although she had quite a few of them, but this

her husband had assured him, was her very favourite.

 

He dismounted and picked up the flowers and then slowly carried them over to the headstone….the ground had sunk now, no little mound to indicate what lay below its surface. He sighed, removed his hat, and paused, looked around him..at the sunlight dancing on the ripples in the river, the way the trees bowed down as though in reverence to the dearly departed.

 

He knelt down and placed the flowers at the foot of the headstone, and caressed it gently with his fingers. It was well cared for, no moss, no ivy grew over the words engraved upon the marble. He was pleased about that at least.

 

He got to his feet, and bowed his head …

………….

 

Ben drew in the horse at the sight of the man standing by his wife’s grave, just for a moment he felt the heat of anger in his chest, someone daring to trespass on this especial place…now…today…then the man turned towards him, as though just aware of his presence.

 

“Hello, Ben..” he said and Ben nodded, dismounted and stood a slight distance away before he cleared his throat and said

 

“Hello, Clay…”

Chapter 7

 

For some seconds they just stood facing each other like duellists waiting for the first move to come from their opponent. Ben glanced at the flowers at the head of Marie’s grave and nodded,

 

“That’s a kind thought, Clay.” his voice was gruff, but gave nothing away as to his true feelings, how he felt about seeing this first born son of Marie’s standing there at her graveside.

 

Clay said nothing just nodded and continued to hold his hat loosely in his hand by his side. Finally he pursed his lips, and shrugged

 

“Thought it about time…” he paused, and his brow furrowed, with the sun slanting down upon his face it made the silver hair in his beard glint, making Ben realise that the man standing before him was now middle aged, as old as his own first born son.

 

Ben nodded slowly, his mind still taking in the sight of this new version of the half brother of Joseph. He looked for similarities that had been so obvious when they were younger, but apart from the hazel eyes he could see none. The beard obscured his lower features of course, that made a difference, and unlike Joe who had an abundance of hair, his brother was losing his own.

 

“It’s been a long time, Clay….perhaps…too long.”

 

Clay firmed his lips at that, as though this was a rebuke not a regret. But Ben had meant it kindly, he had liked Clay, that first time they had got to know him, he was a likeable young man, and even after he had left that second time…well, he had kept a part of his heart open to the man. Clay worked his mouth, obviously wanting to speak, he cleared his throat

 

“Well, it’s good to see you too, Ben.” he did not move but Ben stepped forward now with his hand outstretched and this Clay accepted. They shook hands, more like business partners confirming a merger than friends, or some kind of relative. Clay turned back to the grave and glanced down at the headstone,

 

“Does Joe come here often?”

 

“I wouldn’t know, he doesn’t tell me … I know Hoss comes along regularly, once a month. Adam too…occasionally.”

 

Clays mouth twisted into a grimace and he shrugged “Never did take to her, did he?”

 

“You’re wrong in that respect, Clay.” Ben sighed, he wanted to say how Clay was wrong in a lot of things, but as he had raised the subject Ben was not going to let it go so very easily without some defence for his son “ Adam was a twelve year old boy when I brought Marie home here… and with the life he had had before we had settled here, he was older than his years. He never loved Marie like Hoss did, but he respected her, cared about her.”

 

“Sure, I guess you’re right, you’d know…” Clay shrugged “All water under the bridge now, anyway.”

 

Ben frowned, “I reckon we have a lot to talk about, why not come back to the house with me. We can talk awhile, unless your business in town means you can’t spare the time.”

 

Clay looked slightly uncomfortable, then he shrugged “Sure, why not.”

 

Ben stepped aside for the younger man to approach his horse, and together they mounted up and made their way towards the house. Both men were silent for a while and then Clay mentioned how he had passed a house before the original ranch, and asked who lived there.

 

“Adam and his wife, Olivia. Joe lives further along from the Ponderosa ranch house. Behind the hill.”

 

“I hear he’s married too…”

 

“He is…Mary Ann. She was school teacher here for a while…althoug..”

 

He was interrupted by a shout of laughter from Clay, who shook his head as he chuckled for a while “My my, Joe married to a school teacher…I recall the tales he told me about his school days. Well, well, fancy that….” he drew in his breath and sat in the saddle, jogging along with a slight smile on his bearded face “I met Hoss’ wife outside the hospice place they run in town. I may have upset – er – offended her somewhat with my opinion about such places. She looked a mite put out…” and he frowned as he recalled the red eyes and blotchy face of the red headed woman he had spoken to.

 

“Virginia City’s not the town you once knew, Clay. Mines have closed and …”

 

“Yeah, yeah, I know all about that… I did my research before coming here.”

 

“Research?” Ben glanced at the other man with a frown, “What do you mean?”

 

“Just that…I wanted to make sure there was some profit in the business I was taking on, especially when most of what this town was built on is drying up.”

 

Ben swallowed, cleared his throat “And what business are you involved in here, Clay?”

 

“Oh, I’m the new manager of the Sazarac… I would have thought you’d have known by now. Dequille not annoucing things to all and sundry as he usually does?”

 

“We’ve been busy with work of our own..away from town. We heard t here was a new manager but who… we did not know that otherwise we would have ridden in to give you a warm welcome home.”

 

Home! Clay sighed and bowed his head, and thought about that word. Home .. he could not recall ever having had a real home, and even now, coming back to the town it was not exactly a home coming. His visits here had been brief, short, not always ending on a high note so to speak. He firmed his mouth again and resolved to say nothing more until they reached the ranch house.

…………….

 

Rose had not spoken much on the journey although it amused her to see how excited her brothers were to be on the train again. Still, she thought, they were just kids, could not expect much more from them. Then they had boarded the buggy that had been hired and waiting for them. The Cartwright brothers had led their horses out of the wagon where folk would leave them, a stable on wheels. She did not think it fair on the horses.

 

But they had ridden through Carson City, seen the stores with more interest than the last time they had come. She noticed the school, not as grand as the one

in VC but it looked solid enough and she could hear the kids yelling and shouting just like back home.

 

The ride to the house was long, but not as long as the previous house which meant that the trip to school would be less arduous. She had hated those journeys on the wagon, with the bench seats biting into the back of her legs. Ann had leaned over and smiled at her when they passed the school as though she was wanting her daughter to react and look happy at the new institution for education. David took no notice he was too busy watching the stores on the other side of the road.

 

Then they had reached the house and she had seen the look that had passed between her mother and father. Ann looking up into her husbands face and smiling, that look of trust and love, open and honest, and happy. And Candy had looked down at his wife and smiled, that big open smile that said “I want you to be happy.” and Rose knew that from seeing the house her mother had been happy, had been pleased with what she could see. Then at the doorway Candy had swung Ann up into his arms and stepped into their new home and Hoss and Joe had cheered and clapped. Rose sighed, as if this had been the first house they had ever moved into, she thought, and scowled.

Then she realised Adam was standing there looking at her, smiling but his eyes were not, they were watching her, anxious, caring. He nodded and raised a hand

 

“Want to see inside your new home, Rosie?”

 

She could sense that he wanted her to be excited for her parents’ sake, she knew the way he thought, deeper than most, noticing things others missed. She may have been a kid in their eyes but sometimes she felt like an old woman. Someone had to look after her parents, they seemed to walk hand in hand blithely from one dilemma to another..

.

Look at how gladly they went to town and Pa was sheriff there, and then suddenly he was not, and he was back to the rurals again working for the Ponderosa.

 

Adam took her hand and helped her from the buggy, then he let her go, walking with her brothers into the new house. He sighed, shook his head, and wondered when the storm would break .. knowing Rose Canaday it was sure to happen eventually.

 

They all worked together getting things that were awaiting them in the wagon, moving furniture and keep sakes into the building. The stove worked wonderfully well and coffee was made steaming hot as they worked. It was all coming together well, the house was slowly taking on the visage of home. And surprisingly Rose had been pleased with the room designated as hers, for the first time her face showed genuine pleasure and Adam wondered if, perhaps, the storm would not erupt after all.

 

Towards the end of the day they sat at the table and ate the food that Hop Sing and Ann had prepared the previous day. It was noisy with laughter, plans for the future, a happy hour before the Cartwrights were to ride into town and catch the last train into Virginia City.

 

Joe was first to leave the house and make his way to his horse, and for a moment he lingered there, looking around at the view, at the house, at the woodland just yonder and of course at the meadow. He sighed and bowed his head, deep in thought, the reins of the bridle flicking back and forth between his fingers

 

“Whats on your mind?”

 

He jumped, startled …trust Adam to sneak up on a guy…he shook his head

 

“I was just thinking that this would be a great place for a stud farm…” he shrugged as though it were nothing important.. “That’s all..”

 

“Not the first time you mentioned it, Joe.”

 

“Perhaps, but you know how I ..well I love those horses and ..just a fancy of mine. Reckon if this cattle station idea does not pay off…and don’t look like that. after all, it could still fail, it’s just an experiment is all…”

 

“I don’t think Pa would agree with you on that..”

 

“You mean that you and Hoss don’t agree on that..fact is, Adam. There’s no guarantee on things turning out as you hope. “

 

“Candys thinking it ‘ll work, you going to kick him out when you have this stud farm of yours?”

 

“He can still be manager, he loves horse…used to look after the army horses when he was enlisted. “

 

“So where will you live then? You and Mary Ann and the children? You want for me to design you another home?” he grinned, his teeth white against his skin but his eyes did not smile, and Joe knew that his brother had snuck into his deeper thoughts and knew exactly where this conversation was heading.

 

“No, guess Mary Ann and I will live in town… you could build a fancy house for us there. If you would want to…” and he turned his back on his brother and swung himself into the saddle, nudged Navejo in the flanks and jogged off

 

“What’s got into him,” Hoss muttered as he watched their younger brother ride away, without them.

 

“You know Joe… making plans as ever…”

 

“I don’t like it when his brains start turning, makes me uncomfortable. Was he prattling on about his stud farm?”

 

“He was”

 

“Huh, nothing new then….” and with a snicker of mirth Hoss turned and mounted his horse. “Nothing new..” he repeated as he led the way behind Joe, and obviously eager to catch up with him.

Chapter 8

All in all the day had gone well.   Clay stretched himself out in the bed, hands clasped behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling of his state room at the Whitney.

 

Of course it had been a risk riding out to the Ponderosa.  There had been every chance he would meet one of the Cartwrights, or at the very least someone who would recognise him.   It had just been ironic that the person he met had been Ben

 

Thinking about it he had been the best person to meet up with, and maybe being at Marie’s grave had tempered any bad feelings between them.   Clay had sensed there had been anger in the old man, that had been too obvious, too real.  That ride to the Ponderosa had been mostly in silence, but it had quietened the mood between them so that when they had arrived at the house they were actually quite amicable…at least it seemed so, on the surface.

 

The house …Clay frowned now as he thought back to his first sight of it…it was the same but different.  He could not pin point what made it so but that had been his first impression and he had followed Ben inside wondering what was going to be said, what changes had been made during the years since last they had met.

 

Hop Sing had made an entrance, always ready to welcome guests and make refreshments.  Clay had smiled and stretched out his hand to the old man but Hop Sing had just bowed in his oriental way and murmured Clays name, but Clay could tell that the man had seen him and drawn but one conclusion…here comes trouble. Still, when he had returned with refreshments the coffee had been perfect as always

 

Clay smiled now as he recalled the changes he had noticed in the big room. The overly dominant masculine room with the heavy furniture, the ghastly striped settee, had a far more feminine touch.   Signs of a woman in the house were everywhere and the furniture was light and comfortable.   He had sat down and with a smile had said “I heard Hoss was married…living with you ..”

 

“They are ..Hoss was the first to marry, and has three children.”

 

“Very quiet children…” he had smiled and stopped himself from saying “keep them locked up during the day, do you?”

 

Hop Sing had come with a tray of coffee pot and cups…Marie’s pink chinaware still in use, he had felt a wave of nostalgia upon seeing it. Coffee poured, cups filled …and then the interrogation had began.

 

Clay closed his eyes now and inhaled deeply as he recalled the questions, one after the after and had sensed the anger mounting in the older man again.   Where had he been all these years, why no indication if he was dead or alive, why had he not replied to any letters?  Had he had no  thought for the feelings of his brother?  Or of himself, Ben Cartwright, who had assumed responsibility for.him, as he had known Marie had wanted…question after question, sometimes not even waiting for an answer before asking another.

 

Then finally he had stopped, leaned back in his chair and waited for Clay to speak…so Clay had told him what he felt he needed to know, just the main points, details would be filled in later no doubt.

 

After the war had ended he had returned to New Orleans, which had proven to be a pointless exercise.  He had no money to speak of  so what he had he used to pay  for passage to Australia.   He had lived by his wits ..and yes, of course, gambling, and bought some land.  He was digging the foundations of his house and .. struck gold, literally, a good rich seam.  Gold was being discovered everywhere in the state.   He became a wealthy man, he was still a wealthy man.

 

Last year he had decided to return to America.   He was unsure about meeting them again, but when he saw the advertisement regarding the Sazarac he took it as a sign..he was a gambler after all.

 

Now as he stretched out on the bed and reviewed what he had told Ben he had wondered whether he should  not have said  as much as he had at the initial meeting.  Perhaps left some details later to share with Joe ..

 

At the thought of his brother Clay opened his eyes and sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and planting his feet firmly on the carpeted floor.

 

Joe!

 

What was he to explain or say to his brother.  He had received one letter from Joe shortly after leaving the Ponderosa and it had been written in anger and read by him with a deepening sense of shame.  He was quite convinced that he could have calmed the situation by a reply, couched in patient terms, understanding and explaining but he had felt the claims against him were unfounded and unfair and every time he read the letter he became bitter, angry.

 

Obviously he and Joe were cut from the same cloth.   Marie was a fiery tempered woman, passionate in her feelings and not afraid to let others know what she felt about a matter, or a principle.  And they were her sons after all.   sometimes a lot of water has to flow under the bridge before things can be calmly put back together.

 

Unable to slip back into sleep now he walked over to the window and pulled back a curtain,   Perhaps it was what they called serendipity that at that moment three horsemen were making their way down the Main Street of town.

Three horsemen who immediately resonated with Clay…the Cartwright brothers

On the way home from whatever had taken them to Carson City.

 

He followed them with his eyes, mainly fixed on the rider of the black and white horse, Joe.   His heart leapt in his chest, boom boom boom in his ear drums…his brother within hailing distance and yet he was frozen where he stood, his hand holding back the curtain.    He heard laughter, Joe’s chortle and Hoss’ guffaw. Then the darkness swallowed them up out of his view.

 

It seemed the sound of that laughter drifted in the air for a very long time …

Chapter 8

 

Ben was not sure if he had done the right thing or not, but the deed was done and he had o sit tight until it all came together..amicably, he hoped. Hop Sing and he had had an in-depth conversation about Clays return once the man had  gone.  Both had agreed that they were uncomfortable with it all but they could not ignore the inevitable. He was back and they had to deal with it as best they could, in the meantime, they had decided to keep quiet about it until …well, a more convenient time.

 

In order for Hoss and Hester to enjoy an evening alone,upon his return from Carson City, Ben had taken himself off to his room telling Hester she deserved the time with her husband, after all it had been a busy few days, they deserved what time they could.. without him in the way.

 

They were both grateful which was obvious to Ben from the chuckles and giggles he had overheard.

 

Now it was morning and time for the first meal of the day and the old man felt he had the sword of Damocles hanging over his neck.   Hester several times asked him if he were feeling alright and so he forced himself to act normally except when a person is forced to act then it becomes strangely difficult to just be themselves.   One does not think about what one says, or does normally, one just does it.  Thinking about it all in order to act  normally creates unexpected problems and several times he caught Hoss slanting his eyes at him as though concerned for his well being.

 

Hannah left for school when Ezra came with the wagon.  As she left the house Adam stepped into it, removed his hat and smiled at them all.  Hester poured out coffee and he. Kissed her on the cheek as usual.

 

“Is Nathaniel cumin today.” Hope beamed a smile at her Uncle as she asked and beside her Erik grinned and looked at Adam expectantly.

 

“I think he is,” Adam replied with a smile of his own at the two children “At least he seems to think he is ..”.  Which was fine enough explanation for the children but actually meant nothing at all because whatever Nathaniel thought he was doing or about to do depended very much on Olivia.

 

“What plans have you for us today?” Adam turned his attention to Ben who was looking towards the door with a strained look on his face “Are you alright?  Don’t worry your youngest son did get home safely last evening and he did say he would be here on time ..” he grinned but glanced quickly over Hoss to check in his brother, whether or not he had noticed anything.

 

Ben relaxed a little at the sound of Joes footsteps on the verandah, the door being pushed open and Joe’s “Anyone home..?’  Which always made Hope giggle.

 

“Coffee, Joe?”

 

“That’s alright, Hester, thanks anyway.” he slipped his hat onto Erik’s head, which made Hope giggle more while her brother tried to remove it,  “Pa, did you want us to check with Mac this morning?   We’ve neglected the timber yard for a while what with getting things done for Candy.”

 

Adam nodded as he placed his empty cup back on the table “We were talking about it on the train yesterday …there were some orders that needed checking up on, we probably need to make sure Mac has all the paperwork and everything up to date..” he paused and glanced at Ben, Hoss muttered “A biyt early for visitors isn’t it.?”

 

The sound of footsteps approaching, a hesitancy before knocking and pushing the door open ..Hoss stood up,with his mouth open “As I live and breathe” he muttered as his blue eyes widened at the sight of the man who walked towards them.

 

Ben stood up, casting a wary glance around the table, Hester looked from one to the other, from Ben to Hoss to the stranger whom she vaguely recalled meeting the previous day but was at a loss to understand why he was standing before them now.

 

Adam sighed, raised his eyebrows and looked at Joe who was staring at the newcomer with the colour draining from his face.  Then it rushed back, suffusing him in red, veins standing out and throbbing at his temples “What are you doing here?”  his voice sounded strangled as though every word had struggled to get through his wind pipe. “we thought you were dead!”

 

Clay shrugged, forced a smile as he kept his eyes in his brother. , he was about to speak when Joe turned to face his father “Did you know he was here, back in town”. then he stepped backwards a pace, knocking into Adam as he did so “Of course you did, this little welcome home scenario was all set up wasn’t it?  How long did you know he was here..How long since you knew he was alive and well,,,.”

 

Without waiting for a reply he grabbed his hat and walked, almost ran, from the room.The door slammed behind him, tender hearted Hope burst into tears, and Hester went to comfort her, casting a reproachful glance at Clay as she did so. Adam stepped forward “I’ll go and talk to him..”

 

“No, “. Clay placed a hand on Adam’s chest “If you don’t mind, I’d rather I went..”

 

Adam said nothing but did not move either leaving the other man to hurry from the room in order to catch up with his brother,  expecting him to be halfway home by the time he had left the house but Joe had not gone far, just stood by his horse, breathing hard, trying to cool down and think things through…but when he saw Clay running towards him, he put his foot in the stirrup and prepared to mount into the saddle.

 

“Joe..Joe ..let me explain?  Dont go  half cock like this, let me ..”

 

“Do you know what it was like here after you left?   You went off to fight your glorious war and never even sent a word to let us know if you were injured or safe..nothing,   We wrote letters to you…I wrote letters..we checked casualty lists when we could in case yiu were involved in the fighting…I even wrote to your so called friends in New Orleans…but nothing, nothing while you were out there being a hero ..  at least Adam kept in contact while he was playing sailor man on the seas..but you..no, not you..what was it? Too busy ? Too broke?”

 

“Shut up, Joe…” Clay stepped right close up to his brother so that both could smell the others breath, “Just shut up and let me explain.”

 

“Go ahead, say what you have to say then get back to wherever you came from..”

 

“I didn’t contact you during those war years because I was ashamed of you..my brother, Marie’s son, didn’t have the guts and come and fight by my side.  You didn’t come because you were too comfortable here on your wretched Ponderosa..I saw men and boys fighting , they died heroes all, but you? Where were you?  Not by my side defending our mother’s honour, oh no, you..”

 

Joe raised the flat of his hand and  pushed his brother aside, pushed Clay back so that he had  no choice but to step back several paces “Don’t talk about my mother’s honour.  What did you ever do to defend her honour?  She hated her life in New Orleans, the only time she  was truly happy was when she came here, she was loved, safe… don’t make her an excuse for your lying all these years…and while you were out there fighting a lost cause we were here fighting for  survival .We ..”

 

Clay shook his head, raised both hands palm outwards as though suing for peace. “I didn’t come here to fight you, Joe…I came to make my peace with you…to explain..” he hauled in a deep breath in order to calm himself down “I’ve not come here.for a hand out or a share in the Ponderosa.I don’t want or need either ..I’m enough money  of my own, I don’t need any Cartwright help.”

 

Joe narrowed his eyes and shook his head, his breathing was still ragged and his head full of more words he wanted to shout at Clay. but he forced himself to calm down before asking in a calmer voice

 

“So where’ve you been?  Why didn’t you write…”

 

“I was too angry with you and your family to come back, too proud I guess.  After some years travelling around living on what I won at the tables..I decided to cut my losses, get a new start..so I emigrated to;Australia…”

 

Joe blinked, shook his head “Australia?   Why’d you go there? What’s there anyway?”

 

Clay smiled slowly, lowering his hands now as he did so “Gold, brother, that’s what’s out there”.   his eyes twinkled and he nodded ”And I hit pay dirt almost as soon as I got there..”

 

“You did?”   Joe frowned, realised he as lowering his guard,  “So what brings you here?”

 

Clay grinned, shrugged  “I bought the Sazarac….I’m the new owner cum manager…wanted to invite you all to the Grand Opening on Saturday…if you ain’t got other plans of course…”

 

Joe hesitated…Clay Stafford owner of the Sazarac?  In town?  Somehow …somewhat …permanent.   He narrowed his eyes, was he about to be suckered in again?   He didn’t trust him…but ..he cleared his throat “Really” was all he could think to say.

 

“Really,” Clay replied and gave his brother a hug, and if he sensed some stiffness, some rigidity there, he didn’t let it bother him.   He knew Joe well enough, it would just take a little time ..that was all.

Chapter 9

 

Adam had always said timing was key to every situation and when he and Hoss stepped out from the house and began their stroll towards the horses Joe felt an immense sense of relief.  He did not want to continue this conversation with Clay, his head throbbed and his stomach was griping, and getting away as quickly as possible was the only thing he could think about right there and then.

 

“I’ll see you sometime”  he muttered and spun round on his heels so fast he nearly tripped himself over his own feet

 

“Don’t forget about tomorrow…” Clay said more loudly than usual in order for his voice to carry over to the other two men who were mounting their horses.

 

Adan and Hoss acknowledged with a nod, a wave of the hand as they turned the horses towards the track.   Joe was now closely behind them but was conscious, as he glanced over his shoulder, of Clay’s grin, smug and somehow, gloating.

 

Clay watched them leave and disappear from view.  He had not expected any of them to turn back or shout a cheery farewell, but some semblance of friendliness would have been welcome.  He shook his head and then made his way back to the house, perhaps he would be given a warmer welcome there.

 

Ben glanced up as the man stepped into view and nodded “How was he?”

 

“Joe?  Oh angrier than a hornet but he calmed down some when I explained a little.”  He put his hand on the back of a chair as though seeking permission to sit down.

 

Hester came up from behind him and asked if he would like some fresh coffee, and taking that as a welcome sign he nodded, thanked her and pulled out a chair, sat down.

 

“Er..Ma’am, Miss Hester, I reckon that I have an apology to make to you…when I saw you yesterday by the hospice place, I made some rather uncharitable comments about how pointless I found such um – enterprises…” he frowned, “I was just voicing a personal opinion of mine… I’m sure that your community surely appreciates all that you are doing for them”

 

Hester smiled, not exactly with mirth, her eyes did not twinkle and she shrugged along with pouring out the steaming brew.   She handed him the cup and saucer and then turned to fill Ben’s cup, “We felt it was a need that was essential to the well being of the town. It provides employment of sorts to the women and a chance for them to have some independence.”

 

“I appreciate what you say, Ma’am, just hope you don’t judge me on my opinions…”

 

“Everyone’s entitled to their opinion, Mr Stafford.”  She replied as she passed the cup and saucer to Ben.

 

She stepped away from the table now and was about to make her way to the kitchen when he said “I sure hope you get to calling me Clay sometime, after all, we are kinda related”

 

She glanced at Ben who was looking at her with an amused expression on his face, a smile on his lips as though he was finding it all most entertaining.  So she nodded and extended her hand to shake Clay’s, a formal introduction “then you must call me Hester”

 

“Thank you. Hester, . I’m obliged to you.”

 

He watched her leave the room, which she did aware that her cheeks had gone a little pink.   She caught Hop Sing looking at her and shook her head “Don’t say a word” she muttered so the old man bowed his head and continued with his task, turning his back from her as he did so.

…….

 

Joe calmed considerably once he was riding through the trees towards the timber camp.  It had been some time since they had been to see Mac and check on how things were getting along there.   The establishment and work on the cattle station had taken up a considerable amount more time than had been expected due to the trouble with the Moncrieffs, and although they knew they could rely totally on McManus to deal with any trouble with that area of the Ponderosa’s enterprises  the Cartwrights preferred to be involved to the full extent possible in running things.   Experienced as Mac was the old mantra ‘the buck stops here’ always loomed large in the Cartwrights minds

 

Hoss shot a concerned look over at his older brother who he gave him a nod of the head

 

“what’s on your mind, Hoss?”

 

“Jest that this is mighty dry around here.”  The note of concern in the big man’s voice  did not go unheeded and Adam nodded, while Joe took a look around to check out the comment for himself.

 

“It’s been a dry season so far” Adams said almost to himself, he slowed his horse down a little and stood in the stirrups to get a better view. “We need rain because if it continues to stay dry we could have problems”

 

“Rain would be good but no storms.   One streak of lightning hitting these trees and there could be big trouble,” Hoss pushed his hat further to the back of his head, sweats marks stained around the hat band.

 

“Let’s see what Mac has to say about this … been some while since we had a major fire break out.  I think you were just a young kid at the time, Joe”

 

Joe nodded and shrugged “We’ve had dry seasons before this but I can’t see it being worse than what it is.… a few good downpours of rain would see the problem solved.”

 

“Indeed it would,” Adam agreed, but he looked a little anxiously at Joe before turning to Hoss “what do you say, Hoss?

 

“I ain’t saying’ nuthin’ “. Hoss muttered and looked around him as if he could smell the flames already licking at his horse’s hooves.

 

Joe frowned, wondered if he had said the wrong thing, but then shrugged it off. He bit down on his bottom lip and cleared his throat.

 

“ So what do you think about Clay turning up out of the blue like that?  Or did you both know he was here already?”

 

His brothers both shook their heads. “Had no idea…” Adam muttered and lowered his hat over his eyes

 

“Well, you were mighty quiet in there, “ Joe scowled and slanted his eyes at his brother as though he wanted to accuse him of something but was not sure how to go about saying it.

 

“Didn’t have anything to say…” Adam replied with a shrug.  An inquisition about Clay was not foremost on his list of priorities! Just now there were more important matters with which to deal.

 

“Wal I was glad he stepped in, Hester and me were  plumb worried about Pa.  Thought he was going to have a heart attack he were acting so strange…”

 

“Huh, I nearly had a heart attack when I saw him…” Joe scowled, his lips pinched into a thin line “Why do you think he’s here?”

 

“He owns the Sazarac now, guess he has to be where the work is.” Hoss muttered.

 

“Yeah but why here? He could have got a place anywhere in the world the amount if money he claims to have now…”

 

Adam sighed and shrugged again “Why does it bother you so much Joe?  He’s alive, he was bound to turn up here sooner or later.”

 

“Yeah and being boss of a saloon is the best kind of job he could get seeing as how he has such an attachment to ‘em”   Hoss guffawed, but no one else thought it funny so he shut his mouth.

 

“Pa told us he had struck gold shortly after he emigrated to Australia.   A place called Ballarat.    So he has not come back for money, or land, perhaps he came to see his little brother and hope bygones would be bygones.  Family may matter more to him than we thought.”

 

“Huh” was the only response Joe gave to that suggestion.  He squared his shoulders and determined to say nothing more.   Hoss scratched his head “You ever been to Australia, Adam?”

 

“Only for a few days stop over. It’s big, hot, full of flies…never heard of Ballarat.  How long was Clay in Australia Joe?”

 

“Long enough to strike gold and get rich.   According to him, very rich.” He shook his head “Don’t know anything else.  Maybe he has a wife tucked away somewhere…heading our way..”

 

“And a passel of kids. “ Hoss grinned as though the idea amused him but again neither of his brothers seemed particularly concerned so he pulled his hat lower and focused on riding in silence to the camp.

 

McManus was a big man and a very experienced woodsman.  He greeted the three brothers with warm hand shakes all  round.  Coffee was poured into four mugs almost as soon as they entered the big building designated as his office and sleeping quarters.

 

He added his concerns to theirs, even mentioned several small fires had already broken out as a result the men were given strict orders not to smoke their cigarettes or pipes unless inside their living quarters and to take care where the stubs were deposited.

 

Mac suggested that folk in town be warned not to come over the timber line, and Adam assured him he would get deQuille to write up a feature regarding the dangers of fire during a dry season.

 

“Don’t want another fire like ‘75,” Mac said “Most of the town burned down then..thankfully the timber stayed safe but it could have been worse.”

 

Joe listened with the cup of coffee growing cold between his fingers.  Voices bounced off the walls around him.   He wished more than anything that he was thousands of miles away…anywhere other than here.

 

Chapter 10

 

Adam stretched out his long legs, folded his arms behind his head and closed his eyes.   The three of them had talked themselves dry with Mac and then checked various vulnerable areas of timberland with him and the foreman.  In all honesty it was a worrying situation but Mac and the fireman assured them  that their men were well trained, proficient in their tasks, and when Adam tentatively suggested organising a regular fire drill the foreman just muttered “Done that !”

 

Nearly the whole day gone and en route they had stopped by the river to dismount, sprawl out on the river bank and snatch some cooler air.   It was not much cooler but the horses were grateful, and the three of them glad of the chance to snatch some moments of rest.

 

The drone of insects added to the ambience of the moment…if the heat had not been so overbearingly hot perhaps they would have better enjoyed the moment.

 

Hoss sat with his back against a rock, hands behind his head and eyes closed,

 

“Y’know, it weren’t this  hot yesterday when we were helping out Candy. not by a long shot it weren’t.”

 

“True enough.” Adam yawned and stretched his arms “This heat won’t be good for the cattle..Candy could have his hands full if they get restless..”

 

“I reckon I’ll take Hester across tomorrow, make sure everything’s alright with them.”

 

“What ..you reckon Hester can stop a herd of stampeding cattle.”  Joe chortled “Think again, brother.”

 

Hoss frowned, beads of sweat collected in the furrows on his brow, he dabbed at them with his shirt sleeve. “Shucks..just thought it would be good for her to see her cousin and I could help Candy check ..”

 

“Look, if there’s going to be any problem with the cattle it would have happened by now…or could happen anytime..that is, if the weather is this hot there.  So going tomorrow is just a lame excuse to take yourself off for a few days with your wife and getting out of any problems we could have here…”. Adam concluded with another yawn.

 

“yeah, sides which Candys a big boy now and he’s paid to look after those cows ..remember?”  Joe swatted away some flying insect and wrinkled his nose

“Anyhow..here’s the thing…”

 

Adam raised his head slightly and half opened his eyes to look in Joes direction

 

“What thing?”

 

“The big opening of the Sazarac of course.   We did all get an invite from the Manager..remember?”

 

No one spoke for a moment.  Adam considered what to say as he realised this was Joe’s ploy in getting to rile at his brothers return and Hoss was wondering how to get back on track with the idea of taking Hester and the children to Carson city.  He knew Hester would hate this grand opening, especially for a saloon.

 

He eventually voiced his opinion on the matter, and added that it was too hot to even think about mixing and mingling with ‘crowds’ of folk, it made him itch even to think about it.

 

“You just don’t want to go ..” Joe snapped, sitting upright now and scowling over at his brother who merely shrugged and agreed by saying “No, I don’t….”

 

Seeing where this was leading Adam pushed himself to his feet, swiped his backside clear of dust and grass and slapped his hat back over his hair

 

“”well, don’t know about you two nit.wits but I ain’t hanging around no longer to waste time when I got a pretty little wife awaiting for me at home …” and putting action to his words he strolled over to his horse, tentatively touched the saddle to check on how hot it had become and mounted up.

 

“What about you, Adam?”   Joe asked as he followed his brothers example and swung himself into the saddle.   “The invitation included you all, you know”

 

“So you said just now..”. Adam stared ahead, avoiding eye contact, “I’ll see how Olivia feels about it.”

 

“Cheap excuse, Adam,” Joe shook his head but kept a smile on his face in an attempt to soften the impact of the words but he had the sense to say nothing else.

 

Hoss watched them ride away, closed his eyes and drifted into thoughts of his own.  He had to admit that he did not understand Clay, never had, and this latest return of his totally baffled him,  Big hearted as he was Hoss always associated Clay with pain.  From the first time Clay appeared at the Ponderosa he had Joe enthralled and for the first time in their lives together, Hoss had experienced rejection by his baby brother .  Suddenly he had become second best, made to feel he mattered as much as a dung beetle, his opinions just a joke.  It had hurt the sensitive man a whole lot! Every time Clay came back on the scene, the healed wounds opened and hurt again

……….

 

Olivia had her hair braided so that it hung down behind her like a flaxen rope.  She wore a light linen frock and still felt as though she wore too much.  Thankfully with doors and windows opened there was a pleasant through breeze wafting through the rooms but upstairs the rooms were thick with the heat and no matter how wide the windows were kept it made no difference to the heat in the room.

 

It had been a difficult morning as the children had been lethargic due to lack of sleep, they had moped and grumbled through breakfast and complained  of sore heads.  Even Reuben had been sluggish  about his chores and gone to school unwillingly . Almost a first for him…

 

Nathaniel had played boats in the water trough which had continued when he had gone to Aunt Hester’s and enjoyed the water trough there with Hope and Erik, then they had fallen asleep from heat and play exhaustion.

 

She turned to wards the door at the sound of footsteps, her husband’s, and was walking towards him as he stepped inside, a smile on her lips, there was always a welcoming smile for him and he rejoiced in seeing it as he kissed her and released her, too hot and aware of his own smells to hold her close

 

“I’ll just freshen up…”

 

“you smell of the pine trees… Hester said you were going to check the timber ..the heat must have really drawn out  the smell…” she leaned forward and sniffed, smiled and nodded “Not as bad as you would think…”

 

“Perhaps, but It’s been an uncomfortable ride home…”  he turned to go, then paused “What else did  Hester tell you?”  and he raised one eyebrow enquiringly

 

“She told me about the visitor there this morning…”

 

“You didn’t see him?”

 

“No..he had gone by the time I got there.   She said he was good looking and charming..in a way.   He had come to pay his respects to his mother’s grave yesterday and Ben was there.  Ben thought it best to arrange for him to join everyone at breakfast so that the initial meeting was over with as soon as possible.”    she put her hand on his shoulder “she said Joe was furious …stormed out of the house with Clay following close behind.” she leaned in and kissed his cheek. “shortly after you all left he went as well.  Busy with a project..for tomorrow.”

 

“Hmmm, he’s the new manager …”

 

“of the Sazarac, yes, so Hester said.  Grand opening tomorrow.  Are we going?”

 

He stared at her for a moment, a moment that seemed to last forever before he gave a shrug “I don’t know…are we?”

 

“Well, I would like to meet him I suppose ..after all, he is .. kind of…family”

………

 

The heat subsided as the evening drew in.  It was Friday evening when the family met together, ate together, enjoyed time together.  Even though it was still hot it was no longer overbearing, a light breeze drifted through the air creating pockets of relief in its wake.

 

This was Mary Ann’s turn to host the evening, and with the help of Lee and Hop Sing a fine meal had been prepared that was suitable for such a hot day.  She stood by the door welcoming them all with a smile, a hug and kiss on the cheek.

Constance ran around from cousin to cousin kissing them and hugging them until she was too dizzy and had to stop.

 

She was about to close the door and usher them all into the big room when a horse was heard making its way into the yard.   She paused, looked around at everyone who had suddenly fallen silent…the children’s voices trickled from the other room, giggles and shrill voices calling one to the other.  She was about to ask what was going on when footsteps crossed the porch..she turned..

 

“Hi…I hope I’m not intruding but ..”.   he knew he was, that was obvious, shadows had fallen over the faces of the men, curiosity over the faces of the women,  Mary Ann’s eyes were so wide it was a wonder they did not pop,out

 

“I’m ..er.. “ of course she had heard about Clays return from Joe, and from Hester, but this was such an unexpected almost arrogant arrival at this time ..she turned to look for Joe who was striding through his family towards them

 

“Mary-Ann, this is my brother, Clay Stafford… seems he’s come for supper”

……..

 

So here they all were, amicable enough.  Clay smiled at each one whenever their eyes met. Of course it had been Ben who had suggested he came along for the evening.  He had been unsure as to the etiquette involved but Ben had laughed “You know that no one is turned away from the Ponderosa…give you a chance to meet everyone together. The evenings can be a bit dull,at times, so you can liven things up, tell us all about your adventures in Australia”.

 

He glanced up and down the table and smiled again…they certainly looked as though they needed livening up, that was for sure.

Chapter 11

The children sensed there was something different about this particular meal. There was not the relaxed feeling they had enjoyed for so long, instead there was a tension rippling through each of the adults there. Sofia lost count of how many times her Pa looked up at the ceiling as though he found something more interesting on the joists and beams than what was on his plate. Hannah could not fail to notice that his father was not cracking jokes and swallowing down his food as usual. Hope had not forgotten that the visitor had caused her Uncle Joe to be upset so kept casting black looks over at him which he would sometimes notice and wink at her, which was rather disarming.

 

Ben lapsed into an uneasy silence, having run out of things to say and casting obvious looks at his sons and daughters in law for help. As far as he was concerned this had been the right thing to do. Clay was Marie’s son and Joe’s brother and had every right to share family time with his ..well, sort of…family. He had felt honour bound to have invited Clay this evening because he wanted the man to feel welcome, part of the ‘family’ and it would have prevented any discord on the man’s big opening occasion at the Sazarac the next day.

 

Clay made no attempt to make anyone feel comfortable. Instead he enjoyed watching them, observing the children. He thought Hoss and Hester had been amazingly clever in bringing forth three children with such different colouring…Erik of course, like Hester herself with the reddish gold hair, and then little Hope with her brown eyes and blonde hair, reminiscent of Hoss’ mother Inger, and Hannah with her black hair and blue eyes..well, Ben had once had a mane of black hair and the blue eyes were the colour of her mothers.

 

He was still trying to work out the three children seated opposite him…Reuben the eldest of the grandchildren, and Sofia…and Nathaniel. It was obvious the youngest child was only interested in getting as much out of the beef steak that he could and did not care one jot about family politics but Reuben and Sofia were very conscious of it and kept giving Clay long staring looks that he responded to with a smile and nod.

 

Something had to give …

 

Ben sighed and was about to cast his napkin down and go into a long speech about how childish everyone was behaving when Reuben piped up with a question

 

“So, is it hot like this in Australia, Mr Stafford?”

 

Adam gave his son a nod of approval, and looked at Sofia who appeared to be composing some devastating comment of her own.

Clay swallowed his food and then nodded, “It gets really hot…days and days of it. Then you get the flies, constantly hovering like a cloud around you.”

 

“We’re studying about Australia in school. Mr Evans was there once, he said it was big..and hot..and he didn’t much like it.” Reuben muttered and stuffed his mouth with a piece of meat that was really too big

 

“Mr Evans” Sofia said with her nose in the air “that everyone there was bad…they were all sent there because they were bad people.”

 

“No, he didn’t say that..” Reuben said crossly, having despatched his meat with an almighty big gulp, “He said that the Government sent lots of criminals to Australia..and lots of places were known as …um…”

 

“Penal colonies.” Clay said quietly, and nodded “Yes, lots of places started up like that, and in some areas still exist. It was a better alternative than being hanged. Fact is, they sent over all manner of folk, even children, but…those children have grown up and are now solid citizens of a new country…and proud of it.”

 

“Are you one of ’em?” Daniel piped up now, looking at his Uncle right in the eye “Are you one of them bad guys”

 

Mary Ann blushed, and gave her son a disapproving look, “For goodness sake, Daniel, what are you thinking? Your Uncle is an American citizen, not British….”

 

Clay smiled, nodded over at her and grateful to have been addressed as Uncle after all, she was right, Daniel and Constance were his blood kin, no getting away from it.

 

“No, Dan, I’m just one of many Americans making our way and taking advantage of all the good things that country has to offer.” he smiled and gave a slight mockery of a shrug “They call Americans Yanks over there, but the British they call Poms.”

 

“Whats a Pom?” Hannah wanted to know looking thoughtfully over at Clay

 

“An Englishman mainly…” Clay laughed, dabbed at his mouth with the napkin and leaned back in his chair, “Did you ever get to Australia, Adam, when you were at sea?” and he turned to give his step brother the full benefit of his hazel eyes, daring him to evade the question.

 

Conversation is all about playing ball, one tosses the ball over to someone else to carry it on and toss it back or to someone else. Adam had no intention of dropping the ball and causing discomfort just as the atmosphere was beginning to warm up, he nodded and gave Clay the ‘benefit’ of a stare of his own…

 

“Once only…our ship needed some running repairs so we sailed in to Sydney.”

 

“Sure, I know Sydney well…” Clay nodded, “You have the ocean and you have what they call the Blue Mountains…it’s a vast country.”

 

Hoss took up the ball now and leaned forward “Is it far from your place?”

 

“What, my place in Ballarat? “ Clay frowned as if giving the answer deep thought before nodding “About 600 miles. Takes some time to get there….”

 

“What took you there…why not stay in Sydney?” Hoss now asked, even though he had never heard of either place and had no idea really what he was talking about, but he was prepared to play catch just as much as Adam and Clay

 

“Gold…” Clay replied. “Thats the main reason anyone went to Ballarat. The gold rush started around 1851 and just like the Comstock and the Yukon gold rush migrants rushed in from all over, thousands of them. I guess I was fortunate because by the time I got there most of the big claims had been taken, but …” he shrugged and smiled “I started digging out the foundations of my house and there it was…not the biggest seam, but plenty big enough.”

 

Hoss nodded and glanced over at his father, then at Adam, “A bit like here, when we were building the Ponderosa, Adam fell into the river and pulled out a huge nugget of gold…”

 

“We didn’t have to do much digging…” Ben smiled at the memory, “The waters from the underground springs washed the gold down to us. Could pull up the weeds in the river bed and gold would be there clinging to their roots.”

 

Clay nodded “Similar tales told back home too…”

 

“You consider Ballarat your home then, Clay?” Olivia asked now, almost the first time she had spoken apart from greeting him when he entered he house.

 

He leaned forward in order to see her more clearly as she was seated on her husbands far side and he nodded “Yes, been there quite enough time to have set down roots there.” he paused and frowned, as though wondering if he had talked himself into an awkward corner and yes, he had, because quick as a flash Joe asked

 

“So why are you here then? You’ve bought the Sazarac now, you just going to up sticks and leave it or sell it on?”

 

Clay shrugged again and looked down at his place, toyed with the food for a moment before he looked up and smiled at his brother

 

“I don’t know, I like to take one day at a time…see how things go.” and to end the conversation there he stuffed food into his mouth and looked only at his plate.

 

Hester sighed and drank some water, she looked around the assembled group and leaned forward to cut some meat for Erik to manage more easily. She decided to pick up the ball and run with it….

 

“I had a cousin once who went to Australia..he did not like banking so decided to be an adventurer instead.” she smiled as though the memory was a fond one, the cousin in question perhaps a favourite of hers “There was already talk of war between the states here and he was a pacifist. Ann’s father despised him for that…” she sighed and shook her head “but off he went to Australia and next thing we heard he had started a banking business there … in Melbourne. Have you ever had dealings with the Buchanan Banking Company, Clay?

 

“No. Miss Hester, I have not. Melbourne a big place though, and not so very far from Ballarat, maybe 70 to a hundred miles.”

 

“Mr Stafford…do you have snakes in your place,” this was from Nathaniel who had decided in for a penny in for a pound as the saying goes…he gave Clay a big smile, his dark eyes twinkled “I found a big snake by the water trough the other day…Hank killed it, said it was a bad one, would have killed me dead if I had let it.”

 

Olivia shook her head and gave her son a ‘keep quiet’ sign, but Nathaniel had enjoyed slipping his experience into he equation and had seen Sofia’s eyes widen in horror as she had stared at him wondering why he had not mentioned it before…

 

“We got snakes, and all sorts there…the oddest looking creatures along with the cutest…” Clay smiled “And spiders too..big ones…they’re poisonous too.”

 

“I think I’ll keep out of Australia in that case…” Mary Ann laughed “Snakes I can handle but not spiders.”

 

Ben sighed, leaned back in his chair and picked up his glass of wine. He looked around the table, and gave himself a small pat on the back. Good to see smiles, relaxed bodies, the tension gone at last…thank goodness for the children, he thought, for he had had an awful feeling at one time that the whole evening would end in blows…

 

Chapter 12

On the ride back to town Clay Stafford had a lot of time to reflect on the evening he had spent at Joe and Mary Ann’s home. Many people think a good gambler relies on luck, but Clay knew that was not the case at all. A successful gambler relied on being able to read people,quick thinking as you sit at the table and weigh up your opponents weaknesses and strengths; then a nimble sharp memory, who put down what card and when, and how it would benefit you throughout the game. There were other ‘tricks’ one could employ, which Clay did, often, and one thing he did not rely on was luck.

He had learned from an early age to make his own ‘luck” and make it work for him.

Every so often he could not help a chuckle as he recalled certain highlights of the evening. The children had been a gift, one he had anticipated and prepared for so when he had asked if anyone had ever seen a boomerang, well, he just produced one from his saddlebags which he had had the foresight (planned of course) to bring in with him.

Later he had shown those who were interested how a boomerang worked, out in the yard, where he successfully used it to knock Hank’s hat off his head and then catch it as it returned to him…amidst gasps of delight from the children, and Mary Ann had clapped her hands and wanted him to do it again.

He told them about kangaroo’s and koala bears, about the vastness of the land, how hot and dry it was at times…it was when he told them about the Aborigines that he got a spark of real interest in Adam and Joe. Another indigenous people who were being elbowed out of their own lands ..well, that would all come in useful some other time.

He thought about the choice of women the Cartwright’s had married. While the men had been mostly quiet during the evening, the women had mostly opened up and chattered. Hester and Mary Ann particularly so. Olivia…he wondered about her, she had laughed and smiled throughout the evening, at tunes shown some interest and other times withdrawn as though other things were more important. But, Joe’s wife, she had clearly enjoyed the evening, and his presence, she had shown an almost childish interest in his stories, leaning forward as though wanting to learn more. Hester had been amiable, pleasant throughout, but more interested in ensuring her children behaved and at times whispering to Hoss as though she had noticed his reticence to get involved in the conversation

All in all Clay was very pleased with how the evening had gone, he knew that Ben was, the warm handshake as they parted for the evening made that quite evident. As he dismounted and prepared to lead the horse into the livery, Clay thought that for an opening game, he was on to a winner!

……………

Nathaniel was having difficulty in working out exactly who Clay was “Who was that man anyhow?” he had wanted to know as soon as they had arrived home and Sofia had rolled her eyes and Reuben had patted him on the head while his mother had ignored him and told him to get to bed

“Yes, but who is he?” Nathaniel demanded to know as Olivia pushed him gently towards the stairs.

“He’s Uncle Joe’s brother…” Sofia replied and looked at Adam “That’s right, isn’t it?”

Adam nodded while at the same time he wrestled to remove his tie. Olivia would no doubt he asking questions later, and he was tired, and was not looking forward to talking about Clay or anything else with his wife once the children were bedded down.

The house was quiet, just as he liked it, he listened to their footsteps padding up the stairs, answered their calls for good night, knowing this was one of those times their father would not be telling them bedtime stories, which did not really matter they were all tired and in their own ways had things going round and round in their minds to fathom out.

By the time Olivia rejoined him downstairs he had poured out a drink for her and set it down on the low table, while he had settled into the cushions of the settee and waited for her to join him.

She picked up the glass and sat down beside him, his free hand now reached out to rest upon her knee. For a while they sat in silence until she said “You didn’t say much this evening?”

“Didn’t have anything to say…” he took a gulp of whiskey and sighed, closed his eyes.

“You don’t like him, do you? Clay? You don’t like him…..”

He did not answer immediately, trying to find the right words, he took another sip of the whiskey and then set the glass down, he reached for her hand and held it loosely within his.

.

“I do not dislike Clay.” he announced as though that was the end of the subject, but he could tell from the way she sat against it that it was not enough so added “I have just learned to be wary of him.” another pause and then as though he felt he needed to qualify that statement he added “He’s a lot like Joe, just that he’s had to live by his wits, which Joe has not…so he ..well.. he is just someone I wish had stayed in Australia.”

“But you care about Joe, don’t you? If Clay is so like him why can’t you care about him also…”

Adam reached for his glass, swallowed its contents and then set the glass down, before looking at his wife, he smiled and his eyes softened as he gently touched her face, then he sighed and withdrew a little from her,

“As I said, Clay is a lot like Joe, which makes him extremely likeable and charming… he has learned to use that to his advantage, and …” he shook his head and then passed his hand over his face as though wanting to wash out the expression that may have lingered there “as I said, it pays to be wary of him. His being here now, worries me, it worries me a lot.”

……………….

Daniel had gone to sleep holding on fast to the gift his new Uncle had given him…a real boomerang . His head was full of the things he had heard his Uncle talk about and he hoped that when he fell asleep he would dream about those animals that looked so strange on the pictures he had been shown. Perhaps one day he would have one of them for his very own, one of those hoppy skippy things…

.

Mary Ann disrobed slowly. She was tired and was glad when their guests had started to leave. She was actually relieved that they left a little earlier than usual, leaving just Clay and Ben to be the last to go.

She heard the sound of her husband getting into bed and glanced over her shoulder at him as he settled down, his head upon the pillow, arms folded behind his head, eyes fixed to the ceiling.

“What are you thinking about, darling?” she asked in a low voice, too tired to make it any louder.

“Oh, just this evening…it went alright, didn’t it?” the slight tinge of doubt in his voice made Mary Ann feel anxious, she had thought it had gone wonderfully well after the first few moments when Clay had just suddenly appeared.

“I thought it went really well, Joe.” she pulled the brush through her hair, thick and lustrous as ever, and she could see through the mirror how he had turned to watch her, his head resting on the cup of his hand, his elbow dug into the pillow

“I’d have preferred if Pa had warned us about Clay being invited…”

“Well, as it was our turn to host it really was not his place to invite him anyway.” and she pursed her lips and frowned, “But then, what does it matter anyway…” she smiled, the frown banished, her clear grey eyes looked back at her, and she smiled at the reflection.

“I don’t think Adam and Hoss were very happy about it…”

“Pssht, they will have to get used to it, I think Clay will be a regular visitor from now on….after all, he is your brother…” she paused “Half.brother.” another few strokes of the brush through her hair “He has as much right to come here as they do…”

“I take it that he has your approval then….” Joe rolled onto his back, stared up at the ceiling, “You like him?”

“Yes, I do…” she put down the brush, and shook her head slightly so that her hair dropped into curls “He’s a lot like you, Joe.”

“Do you think so…?” he frowned, not sure what to say really.

“Yes, and of course, being in Australia all that time…kind of makes him …different.”

“How come? Different?

“Well, he has seen things we have not, been places … had adventures.” she laughed a little, under her breath and cuddled up to him, kissed his cheek

“Adam’s been places, seen things we have not…had adventures…”

“ I know..but that was years ago now…” she yawned delicately, like a cat who had eaten all the cream, “And his adventures…well, they were hardly amusing were they?”

He did not say anything to that, she was right after all, Adam always seemed to return home battered and bruised and sometimes worse, whereas Clay .. well, he had found a gold mine in a country thousands of miles away. Lived a life that, in a strange way, paralleled his own family discovered of the Ponderosa.

And, of course, tomorrow the grand opening of the Sazarac! He was dreading it…

………..

Ben sat in his room and stared out of the window. Shadows stretched out long and purple across the yard, he could hear the snickering of the horses, and with no breeze about the heat was like a heavy blanket causing everything to slow down..even sounds.

Slowly now he made his way to his bed, then paused a moment to stop by the dressing table upon which were placed the three pictures of his wives. He sat down, heavily, and looked at each of them. How the years had flown by …all that time, years and months…he shook his head and stroked his chin thoughtfully, able to pin point a particular memory when his eyes settled upon Elizabeth, or Inger or ..Marie.

His memory with Marie was of her telling him about her first born son. The tears on her cheeks as she told him how she missed him, longed for him, wondered about him…she had been holding Joe then, just a few hours old …and the memories of her Clayton had burst out with the tears.

Then years later Clay had arrived. Too late to fill her arms now, to kiss away tears…but he had made his mark, established himself, he was after all…Joe’s half brother as much as Adam or Hoss ever were.

He lingered a little over her portrait, touched her face as though he could really feel warm flesh beneath his fingers…”He seems to have done well for himself, Marie…down there in Australia…what would you have made of that, huh? Maybe you would have wanted to pack your bags and go join him..” he sighed and put the portrait back alongside those of Inger and Elizabeth.

As he got to his bed, about to slip between the covers a sudden thought struck him…what if Joe decided to go, with his family, all that way to Australia with Clay. A shiver like ice ran down his back and he realised it was going to be a fear now, probably one that would grow bigger every day …

 

Chapter 13

True to his word Hoss had the buggy in the yard by sun up, and after breakfast was finished he whisked his wife and children away, out of the yard and onto the track. Ben was totally discombobulated. He had earmarked the day for Clays grand opening of the Sazarac, for no other reason that Clay was Marie’s son, and he felt what he would do for Joe, he should also do for Clay.

“But Hoss, what about the Grand Opening …Clay’s special event…” he protested, throwing down his napkin with more force than was really necessary.

“He won’t miss us…” Hoss replied blithely, looking positively serene “Anyhows I promised Hester to take her to see Ann and the family…”

“Yes, but you promised..”

“No, Pa, I made no promises to Clay. Sides which Adam wants me to check on the conditions there at the meadow…if the cattle are handling this heat …” for a moment his face registered some concern, “be a real pity if the meadow has dried up just when we get started on this project.”

Ben sat and glowered but it was not dampening the mood for Hester whose smile was almost ear to ear, and the children were excited at the thought of seeing their cousins…well, perhaps Erik was more excited about the train journey but he would soon be enthralled when he saw Samuel again, they were firm buddies.

They left the ranch with cries of see you soon, and bye Gran’pa echoing behind them, drifting along with the dust the horses and buggy had thrown up in their passing.

Ben watched them go and shook his head, “The Canadays have only been gone a few days….” he mumbled to Hop Sing who was standing beside him, watching the vehicle crest the top of the yard onto the track

“Hmm..” was the only response Hop Sing made and turned to make his way to the kitchen.

He had packed all their favourites into the hamper now firmly secured to the trunk of the buggy, even things that he knew Candy enjoyed and the children too.. he smiled, it seemed that Ben had not noticed it, or if he had he did not mention it. Hop Sing sighed, far better for Mr Hoss to enjoy time with his family and their friends, far better….

Hoss drove the vehicle down into the yard of Adam’s property and halted the horses in a cloud of more dust…he shook his head, they sure needed some rain soon. Hester wafted it away and twitched at her bonnet, brushed it from her skirts.

“Hey, where you all off to.” Adam’s deep voice came from the direction of the stables “Early for the main event of the day arn’t you?”

“What main event is that?” Hoss grinned and raised a hand to greet Olivia who had stepped onto the porch to see who had arrived.

“

You know the event I mean…” Adam narrowed his eyes and then glanced over the way Hester was whispering to Olivia, the way the children were bouncing about in the back seat “I reckon you are planning …” he snapped his fingers “Ah of course, the Canadays.”

“S’right..thought this would be the perfect weekend seeing how hot it is ..I can better check on conditions there for the cattle with this weather being as it it . I did tell ya I was going to go…” he frowned and his blue eyes shot a look of concern over at his brother who nodded

“Sure, but somehow I didn’t think you would actually risk the wrath of little brother Joe by going this weekend and missing out on Clay’s big occasion…” and Adam grinned at that, his eyes crinkling as though he were about to laugh out loud “So..why the stop over…”

“Jest wanted you to know for sure I ..we ..were not going to be there, and that I’ll see you Monday…” and Hoss gave his brother a slap on the back that rocked Adam on his heels, then he board the buggy and with cries of goodbye from everyone he sent the vehicle speeding up onto the track leaving an almighty dust cloud behind him.

Adam wafted the dust aside with one hand and watched the buggy disappear among the trees. He looked at his wife who was standing there, hand still raised in farewell with a slight smile on her face. Reuben sighed

“Guess they’ll be staying at the cabin…”

“Guess so…it’ll be a good few days for them.” Adam nodded, and looked down at the bridle in his hands that he had been in the act of cleaning before being disturbed.

“Guess they’ll go swimming in the river and Uncle Hoss will go fishing…” Reuben sighed again.

“Guess so, and they’ll be able to see Candy and Ann, the children..”

“Yeah..” Again a long sigh and Reuben trailed his way back to the stables where he had been busy mucking out the stalls, not the most pleasant way to start a morning when the sun was blistering down again.

Olivia came and smiled at him, slipped her arms around her husband’s waist, and hugged him close. She settled her head upon his shoulder and sighed, just like her son had earlier.

“Darling, I was just thinking….” she said softly, glancing up at him with her bright eyes looking teasing and twinkling

“I thought perhaps you would be….”

“It’s just that it has been such a long time since we have been to see Marcy and Luke, and the twins….”

“Hmm..true enough.” he tossed the bridle from one hand to the other, while she hugged onto him tighter than ever, “You know Pa will expect us to go to town for Clay’s big opening….”

Now she released her hold and her arms dropped to her sides, she glanced over her shoulder where the dust cloud was slowly settling, as though seeing it reminded her of their visitors. She looked at the trees and then turned back to him

“It’s just a saloon, Adam…”

“A saloon?” he raised his eyebrows, widened his eyes in mock horror as though he had just

heard blasphemy “Not just any saloon, beloved, it’s Clay’s saloon.”

“It’s still just a saloon.

He shrugged, he glanced over his shoulder now and saw Reuben standing there, watching, his eyes darting from one parent to the other. He rubbed his nose and shook his head,

“Pa will be very disappointed if we arn’t there…”

Reuben sighed loudly enough to be heard and Olivia shrugged as though for once in her life she did not care what Ben would feel if they did not do what he wanted….Adam turned to the stables, and walked slowly back to the building, Olivia stood where she was and Reuben turned to go into the building ahead of his father.

“Y’know,” Adam said, stopping in mid stride, “It would be good to go swimming today, and fishing…”

Reuben perked up , and nodded, he looked over at Olivia who winked at him, Adam nodded

“I think…” Adam frowned as though this was taking an huge amount of thinking on his part,

“It would be a good idea if Ma and the children went to see Marcy and Luke, they could check along the way to see how things are there, with this drought an’all.”

Reuben frowned, he was fond of Marcy and yet he felt he was too old to play around with the twins, he pushed out his bottom lip and scowled slightly. Adam tossed the bridle in the air with one hand and caught it in the other, he shrugged “How about if you take Sofia and Spike to see Marcy and Luke and …” he smiled at Olivia in the way that almost made her giggle like a little girl again, “Reuben and I can go …and check out the west pasture, make sure the cattle are still there and the grass is not just brown stubble.”

Reubens shoulders sloped down,he sighed ..again… and looked plaintively at his mother for help, but Olivia just spun round on her heels and hurried to the house, “I’ll get some things organised to take with us….” she called over her shoulder as she skipped up to the porch,

Adam smiled and watched her, then turned to Reuben “And after we have checked the cattle we can go on down to the river and do some swimmin’ and fishin’ of our own…how about that, Reuben, you good about that?”

“Too right I am, Pa.” Reuben whooped.

Adam nodded, and together they strolled into the stable, to get the buggy ready for Olivia and the younger children. As they harnessed the horses Adam looked over at Reuben with a slight frown “Look, I’m going to have to trust you this evening…when we get back …and after supper, I will have to go into town, join my Pa and Joe for a drink at the Sazaarac, so I will have to leave you home with Cheng…can I trust you with that?”

Reuben looked a trifle hurt, then nodded and smiled, “Sure you can, Pa. That is, if you really feel you have to go.”

Adam sighed, shrugged “I don’t want to disappoint my Pa, as the eldest son I should at least make an appearance….well, enough said, we’ll think about it and see what we can come up with…I’m sure that together we can come up with something…”

…………….

Nate Carney and Ethan Barnes listened carefully as Virginia City’s Fire Chief detailed the dangers of life in a tinder box…..the man swung his arms wide to encompass the whole of the town, flung his arms in the air to emphasise the size of flames and the dangers involved if the least spark, the smallest match, could create a conflagration. Heads nodded in unison, all three men sighed, and glanced over at the Sazarac

“You going to tell him or shall we?” Nate asked, chewing on his bottom lip and rubbing his chin.

“I think the three of us should go..” Cliff Porter stated with an emphatic nod of the head/ He didn’t mention the fact that he would be delighted because he bore a grudge against the current owner that went back a long long way and this, to him, was a late little piece of revenge.

Clay was standing by the counter looking at the interior of the saloon…the changes he had brought about, which were not really many because just how much change can one saloon take over the years, but a few tweaks here and there, a fresh lick of paint, new gaming tables and furniture helped the pretence. He turned as the three men entered and was about to tell them the saloon was not open just yet when he saw the badges, recognised the insignia of the Fire Chief

“Anything I can do to help, gentlemen?”

“I would be obliged if you could, Mr Stafford. See, Mr Porter here is our Head Fire Chief, and with the weather being as it is …” Nate began

“I recall Mr Porter..Clifford isn’t it?” Clay grinned although his eyes were steely “It’s been a long time.”

“Long enough.” Clifford replied, and drew himself up taller. His eyes turned from Clay to the two lawmen, then returned to size Clay up and down “Long and short of it is…with the weather as it is I can’t allow you to follow up on your plan to have fireworks this evening. It would just need a spark from a fire or one of them rockets to hit the …”

“That will spoil the evenings entertainment…” Clay muttered, and shook his head

“It was not so long ago, Mr Stafford, when half this town burned down due to a fire that cost millions to put right…I don’t want to be responsible for that to reoccur just because I turned a blind eye to your plans for entertainment this evening. “ he paused, took a step forward, closer to Clay, “You will have to find something else to entertain folk….but without any fires, you hear me?”

“I hear you.” Clay said quietly, “Would have been helpful had you told me this a few days ago.”

Cliff shrugged “well, you know how it is….had hoped there would be rain before now…just one of those things, had to leave it to the last minute.”

“Yeah, I’m sure your real sorry about that…” Clay drawled and nodded, looked at Ethan and Nate and thanked them for coming and turned his back on them, walked away towards his office.

Once outside the building Nate turned to Porter and shrugged “None of my business, but seems to me you quite enjoyed telling me that…”

“Yeah, I did…

“You have some bad history with the guy?” Ethan asked

“You could say that, “ Clifford smiled slowly, but his eyes were cold, his lips thinned. “Thing is I don’t like him, I don’t trust him..” and with that he turned and strode off, brushing dust from his shoulders as though being inside the building had contaminated his clothing.

Daniel deQuille passed them with a sheaf of posters over his arm, one by one he handed them out to people as he walked by them, paused when he came to Nate and Ethan “You got one of these yet?”

“Sure, earlier on…” Nate said, but took another anyway. “Best give them one too…”

“Is he going ahead with his firework display?”

“No..but if he gets a poster it may take the sting out of being told…it won’t feel so personal.”

Daniel nodded, frowned and wished he could dig for the details about that particular statement, then pushed open the bat wings and stepped inside. He slapped one poster on the counter and then handed another to Solomon “Best give this to your boss…”

Solomon nodded, looked down and began to read the public warning about care to avoid fire due to the current weather conditions..there were a list of things, dangers to look out for, and all signed at the bottom by the Town Council . He nodded again even though the bat wings were swinging shut and Daniel was back out on the streets

 

Chapter 14

Ezra met Joe as the younger man was making his way to the corral He nodded over to Joe and pulled out a few letters as he did so, obliging Joe to stop in what he was intending to do in order to talk to the old man.

“Anything interesting going on in town this early, Ezra?” he asked as he glanced down at the letters now in his hand, “Everyone getting excited about the big opening of the Sazarac later?”

Ezra shook his bald head “Nah, doubt if there will be now the Council has cancelled the firework display.”

“What do you mean?”

“Wal, with the ground so dry they reckon on it being too dangerous….” Ezra nodded, “Rightly

so too, grass is as dry as can be…”

This at least elicited a nod of the head in agreement although Joe maintained his scowl, but Ezra had not yet finished with the bad news..”Saw Hoss and his missus and the family in town. They were on the way to the station, going to Carson City to spend time with Candy and his family.”

“What? When was this?”

“This morning..early.” Ezra maintained a blank face and raised his eyes to the sky, then passed his hand along his jaw “And Miss Olivia, she and the kids have gone to see Luke Dent and his family…saw ’em as I was on the way to the Ponderosa to give Ben the mail.”

“Really?”

“Yussah…it wuz jest Miss Olivia though…with the little ones.”

Joe said nothing for a moment, then after gulping a big swallow of spit he asked if he had seen Adam at all, to which Ezra shook his head. Having made Joe thoroughly miserable the old man continued on his way to the stables to get on with his job there, leaving Joe standing in the middle of the track to the house looking dumbstruck.

A moment passed and then Joe turned and made his way to the house, pushed open the door and flung his hat onto the bureau, then stomped into the kitchen where Mary Ann was peeling apples for the evening pie. She smiled up at him

“I didn’t expect you back so soon….” she smiled at him and picked up a strand of apple peel which she began to nibble, then she noticed the look on his face “Whats happened?”

“Hoss and Hester have taken the children to Carson City…” he drew in his breath, “He knew that today was important…why’d he choose to go today of all days?”

“Well, it’s up to him and Hester surely? And you know how Hester loves Ann and those children.” she started nonchalantly nibbling the apple peel again.

“But today of all days…” he flopped down onto one of the chairs tossing the letters onto the table as he did so. He looked so forlorn and sounded so miserable that Mary Ann nearly laughed, “And on top of that….Olivia has taken the kids to see Luke and Marcy.”

“About time they did, she has not seem them in weeks…” Mary Ann frowned, and picked up her knife to continue paring the apples

“But they know what today is ..”

“Sure, Saturday..” she said and then she giggled “You are funny, Joe…why is it so important to you …what does it matter ? They have every right to go and visit their friends surely?”

“But today’s Clay’s big open day, for the saloon……” and he spread out his hands as though appealing to her to understand exactly how momentous this occasion was, even as he sensed that he was not getting the interest from her that he expected.

“Yes, I know…but …” she shrugged and looked at him a second before carefully putting the knife down “Joe, why is it so important to you? I mean, I know he is your brother and you want to give him your support but you can’t expect others to feel the same way.”

“I don’t quite understand what you mean?” he paused seeing the blank look on her face, and shook his head “You said the other day you wanted to meet Clay, didn’t you?”

“Yes, and I have met him…he was here last evening if you recall rightly. We all met him, and had the chance to get to know more about him and what he has done these past who knows how many years since you last saw him…we don’t need to see him again today, surely?”

Joe half rose from the chair and then sunk back down again, he stared at her then shook his head

“You’re joshing me right?”

“No” she shook her head and looked surprised at his comment “Look, Joe …”

“No, no, you look…” he rubbed his forehead as though by doing so he could get the words right, and then things would be much clearer because sure as anything it seemed a real mess at the present “Look, Clay is family…he’s been away a long time and now he is back…and this is our chance to give him our support, as a family, to his new enterprise…and that is what I

expected, family support.”

“Yes…I see…” she nodded and sat down on the chair opposite him

“But …instead of family support …Hoss has taken Hester off to Carson City, and Olivia has gone off to see the Dents and Adam…probably gone to talk to the trees for all I know…”

She smiled and reached out to place her hand upon his , giving them a gentle squeeze

“I should imagine Adam will be there to support you and Ben at the opening, he knows how much this means to you, because of Clay being your brother and because Ben has made such efforts to bring Clay back into the family fold….”

Joe nodded, placated slightly, feeling slightly better . Of course Adam would go along with them later, his sense of loyalty along with his natural curiosity would compel him to go.

He thought about what she had said, something did not quite sound right…he looked at her and she looked away from him, half rose from her chair before he pulled at her hand to make her sit back down

“What did you mean? Adam would go along with Pa and me….you made it sound as though I

would be going alone…I mean…without you…”

“Joe.” she wrapped up his name in a sigh, as though she were a school teacher explaining yet again the solution to a problem to an errant school boy “It’s a saloon..”

“I know that….”

“Are you seriously expecting me..along with Hester and Olivia…to go to a saloon…even if it is your brothers, even if it is one of the swankiest in the state…but really? “

He opened his mouth, shut it again…looked at her and nodded “Yeah, why not/”

She shook her head at him, withdrew her hand and stood up, now she looked like a school teacher about to hand out detention “Joe Cartwright…you really really expected us to go into

that place ? Women and children … “

“There will be other women there who would..will…”

“We..I…” she cleared her throat “Ladies do not go into such establishments, Joe. Surely you

know that….when ever did you see the likes of the Mayors wife for example go into the saloon , any saloon…”

“Well, I hear she drinks like a fish back at home…” he raised his eyebrows at her but she only

shook her head at him

“What she does at home is her affair, but she does not do it in public…in a saloon…”

“Well, today is different. He even had a fireworks display set up for folk to enjoy the

occasion.”

“In this weather? Is he mad?”

“Well…” he sighed “It’s been cancelled anyway, the Town Council …stopped it going ahead.”

They sat there together for a moment, from the other room came the sound of the children laughing, playing.

“So you wont be coming with us ….” Joe said quietly, too disappointed to lose his temper, just

plain struck dumb.

“Joe, say another word about it, and I’ll go into town with you just so as to sign up with Mrs Garstons temperance Movement…” and with that final salvo she rose to her feet and flounced out of the room.

……

Clay was nervous. Since seeing Clifford and the deputies his nerves had got the better of him and were jangling. He paced the floor, paused to tweak something straight, sat down at one of the card tables and then decided it was in the wrong position so shifted it around. He leaned against the counter and stared at the doors …slowly several men trailed inside, were given free beer, whiskey, whatever they desired…then several more came..hands shaken and more alcohol handed out.

The Mayor arrived with several other of the towns dignitaries , not their wives though…there was chatter and laughter, much shaking of hands. Clays nerves began to settle.

The doors swung open with a bang and all heads turned…it was just five minutes before the Mayor was to make a speech applauding Clay on reopening the grand old place…Daniel deQuille was there notebook out and pen ready…Clay smiled in welcome as a group of women entered….he had hoped some women would attend, would realise this was just not a man’s watering hole..everyone welcome.

Mrs Garston stomped inside, behind her at least ten women, some with banners, some with sashes over their ample bosoms, all of them looking grim. Mrs Garston waved a furled

umbrella above her head (somewhat incongruous considering the weather)

“You should be ashamed of yourselves..all of you…drinking that filthy liquor…filling your heads with alcohol…where will that lead you to? I’ll tell you where…hellfire and damnation…that’s where….” she slammed the umbrella down upon the newly and expensively lacquered counter “And you…”

The umbrella stabbed at Clay who had the wisdom to step back a pace or two “You should just go back to where you came from…coming here…making pretence that this is for the good of the town…places like this should be condemned…struck down with lightning…struck down with fire and brimstone…”

“Mrs Garston…” the Mayors rich plummy voice rolled towards her “Mrs Garston…”

“Horace..not another word from you….” a shrill voice came from behind Mrs Garston, not as some supposed, that of his wife but someone more authoritative…his mother in law.

Daniel deQuille (and a few others) had a hard time suppressing their laughter, but the Mayor shrunk back , Clay looked like a ship that had lost its moorings, and Mrs Garston gave a hoot of laugh, slammed the umbrella back on the counter and swept it in a wide curve so that several glass of whiskey were sent flying across the room, spilling liquor as they passed before landing against the far wall. She gave a toss of the head, and shouted “Come Ladies…” whereupon they one and all marched through the room, singing the hymn common to the Temperance Movement, before they finally threaded their way out of the building, leaving the bat wings swinging as they passed into the street.

Chapter 15

Clay was somewhat mollified by the laughter that came from his clientele once the women had gone, Daniel deQuille slapped him on the back and said something like “The only bad news is no news….” which indicated that Mrs Garstons little foray would be mentioned in the Enterprise with Daniel’s usual cynical twist to it.

Having spent some time watching for the arrival of the Cartwrights, Clay was also relieved at the fact that they were not present when the Temperance Ladies made their entrance and although the Mayor had been somewhat embarrassed by his Mother in Law’s admonition he eventually took his stand and made a grand speech. How sincere it was Clay did not care, the man was there, the speech made and his establishment and ownership heartily endorsed and approved.

During the course of the afternoon a few women did come, some with children, but they left quite quickly as the overwhelmingly male presence left them daunted and feeling they had no place there…which, of course, they did not. Some had come with their husbands who quickly shooed them away, others came because the invitation had been inclusive of them, and they wanted to see for themselves what the place looked like now…but they soon scampered away their curiosity sated, and wondering what all the fuss was about and why would men want to spend so much time and money in a ‘place like that’

The Cartwrights arrived in due course, Ben with a wide grin,and looking pleased to be there, while Joe looked slightly abashed because his wife had not come with him. He did a quick look around when he stepped inside and the only women he saw were the girls whom one expected to be, swishing their skirts as they made their way from one table to another.

He felt slightly embarrassed at the memory of the hard time he had given Adam for letting his wife ‘slink off’ to visit Marcy and for Hoss giving in to his wife and going to see Candy ..but stepping into a male dominated saloon reminded him of what his wife had told him, that no ‘decent’ woman or lady would be seen dead in such a place. He glanced over at his brother and tried to send him an apologetic grin but Adam was too busy talking to Daniel deQuille and hearing all about the Garston invasion. His laugh at the information calmed Joe down, and he “put his apology in his pocket to bring out later”.

Clay was all beaming smiles, shaking their hands heartily. He did not enquire after Hoss nor the ladies, having been told by several of the men there not to expect them (ladies) and as for Hoss, he neither cared enough to bother worrying about him. He had got the message quite clearly from his step brother at the meal that Hoss was not the least bit bothered by him or his

new role as the owner and Manager of the Sazarac.

But he was pleased that Adam had come. He would have taken it as a personal slight had the man not bothered, may be due to their similarity in age, or because he always felt that Adam carried some weight about him, that his presence ‘mattered’ as a sign of his acceptance into the family Others would notice, comment, and it all meant that Clay’s presence back in town would appear approved and endorsed more meaningfully than the Mayors speech had done.

As the evening wore on Nate and Ethan Burns came by on their evening patrol, and once again Clay was struck by some of the ways the younger man resembled Adam. What had gone on there? His eyes followed Ethan around the room, searched out his step brother, and pondered on a mystery …his mind travelling an obvious road and had he but known it led himself into a cul de sac.

“Whats with the Deputy, Joe?” he was sitting at a table beside Joe, his younger brother, and wondering if people saw as much resemblance between them as he saw between Adam and Ethan.

“How do you mean?” Joe scowled, stared into his beer and then took a deep gulp.

“Wal, I mean…” Clay pursed his lips and shrugged “Is there some kind of – er – Cartwright connection there…”

“Whaat?” Joe leaned back, away from Clay as though he had to view him from a different angle “Don’t know what you mean. Ethan came oh about 18 months ago now…he’s pleasant enough, keeps himself to himself. Does his job. Nate thinks highly of him…” he swallowed more beer.

There was loud laughter in the back ground. Clay decided it was not a conversation he could pursue if he had to raise his voice over the noise. Both of them turned in their seats to see the cause of the laughter but it was nothing that really concerned either of them. They both glanced around the room, Ben was talking to the Mayor who was by now red faced and sweating profusely, James Colby was drinking what looked like lemonade …that gave Clay pause for thought … and chatting amicably to several young men over the card table. From where he sat Clay could see the Doctor had a good hand and hoped he would have the courage

to lead with it.

He noticed Adam was talking to a young man he had not met, and upon asking Joe who he happened to be, was informed that was Derwent Jessop, the other two men with him were Abel Greigson and Mr Baldacci the town’s vet. Joe pointed out Ebenezer Burgoyne to Clay just as the man strolled over to talk to Ben and the Mayor.

“He’s a wealthy man, is Eb, likes to come and gamble every so often. Used to be an old friend of my Pa’s…when they were both younger and at sea..”

“Used to be? Ain’t they friends now?” Clay watched the way the two ‘old friends’ shook hands, the affable smiles exchanged between them

“Sure they are..Eb’s wife, Joyce…” Joe paused and looked down at his beer, perhaps he had been drinking too much, he was beginning to sound like an old woman gossiping about the neighbours. He put his elbows on the table and his hands flat, then looked at Clay “Anyhow, brother,” he smiled as he stressed the word brother…. “you told us a lot about Australia last evening…but not much about yourself. Is there a Mrs Clay Stafford on board ship en route to Virginia City…perhaps with a batch of kids tied to her skirts…”

Just for a moment Clay was quiet and then it became his tnrn to push his glass a little away from himself, he shook his head “Nope, no Mrs Clay Stafford….”

“So you didn’t get to capture the hearts of any Senorita when you were in Mexico, huh?”

Clay laughed “Those days are long gone…sure I captured a few hearts back then but ..” he shrugged “there was a war on, not worth getting serious about.”

Joe nodded as though he perfectly understood, then leaned back, turning his glass round and

round on the table with his fingers “So why Australia, Clay…why not just come back here ….”

Clay shook his head “Thought I’d explained that clear enough…anyhow, it was a challenge, something new…I had no money to speak of, worked my passage, swore never to do that again, and so when I came back I booked myself the best cabin on the ship…yes, sir, was not going to do that again. How your brother could bear being on a ship for so long I don’t know.”

“Salt water in his veins..” Joe grinned and tentatively picked up his glass, drank a little more before placing it back on the table “Hey, I thought you were going to bring out the champagne”

Clay grinned, shrugged “You should have come earlier….the champagne came out when the

Mayor made his speech.”

“Had to wait for Adam to show….he spent the day with Reuben, fishing and swimming..all that kind of thing…”

“Nice kids…all of you have nice kids…” Clay nodded, his head was getting messed up, he wondered if his words were slurring, he was definitely feeling on the verge of being drunk. He rose to his feet “Guess I had better go mix and mingle as they say, seeing how I’m host…”

Joe said nothing, merely nodded and leaned back in his chair to wait his newly returned half brother mix and mingle…he wondered just how long Clay would be staying this time. With that thought in mind, he decided not to expect it to be for too long.

……………

Hoss and Hester had not given Clay nor the Sazarac a single thought, even as the buggy had rolled pass the building they had not turned their heads to look at it, but just trundled on by.

It had been a perfect day.

Carson City was not baking in the hot sun, it was hot, certainly, but with a cool breeze, and green grass and flowers growing were evidence that there had been some recent rainfall. Erik had squealed in delight as they had driven through the river from one bank to the other, and then enjoyed the journey through the woodland to where Candy and Ann lived. It was a long drive, even though the cattle station was closer to the town when originally designed and a road had been put in for easier travelling to and from where the school was located, making it easier for them.

But the pleasure of their arrival far outweighed the inconvenience of the journey. Rose was feeling more settled even during such a short time there, and seeing Hannah and Hope made her feel a little bit superior to them, as though she were once again a town girl, which, of course she was not.

But it had been a day of laughter, of pleasure, and when Candy and Ann insisted they stayed overnight, and not take the long trek back to the cabin …then that was what they did, making as Ann declared a proper home warming party of it all.

During the night there was a light shower of rain, and when Hoss made his way down the stairs for the first meal of the day, he hoped, and prayed that some rain had fallen on the Ponderosa as well.

Ann slipped her arm around her cousin’s waist and hugged her, together they watched as Erik and Samuel played chase in the yard, Hope, Hannah and Rose played cat cradle together on the porch and David was helping Hoss and Candy in the stable….

“The only regret I have is that you are not nearby, and the children can’t play like this as often …”

“I was thinking the same…” Hester said, “But other than that, you are happy with the move/”

“Very much…”

“I was thinking, Ann, it is still a long trek to town for the children’s schooling…”

“Yes, but I have an idea about that… just have to discuss it more with Candy and see what

happens.” Ann smiled, “I will write and let you know all about it IF it works out…”

“Can’t you tell me now?”

“Not yet…I want to discuss it with Candy in more detail first….” Ann squeezed her cousin’s hand now and hugged her close “We are not too far away really, are we?”

“Thanks to the railway…thanks to progress.” and Hester laughed, just a gentle warm laugh that elicited a smile from her cousin and an enquiring look from Ann’s bright eyes

Chapter 16

“

Laughter amid the shouting, cursing, conversations bellowed across the smoke filled room, the clink of chips echoed the clink of coins dropping onto the gambling tables, men hunkered closer over the tables to lay down their cards…and their money.

Young women sauntered among the tables, stopping to lean upon the shoulder of some card player and comment on the game…sharp eyes noting who had the highest pile of coins and the best card hand, whispering in their ears and smiling…their perfume failing now to mask the smell of perspiration that lingered from too many bodies packed into a room already sweltering from the heat outside.

It was not yet dark but the sky was purpling and Adam whispered his goodbyes in his father’s ear and turned to leave. He collected his hat and gun belt and was in the process of buckling the latter round his waist when Clay appeared and put a hand on his arm

“Going already?” he smiled, teeth white in the midst of his beard, his eyes glinted from the

lights flickering around them. The grip on Adams arm tightened, he obviously wanted he man to stay.

“Have to go, Clay.” Adam returned the smile, close lipped, no teeth gleaming back at the new Manager of the Sazarac

“Home to your lovely wife…and I must say, Adam, your wife is indeed very lovely”

“She is…glad you think so too…” Adam paused, if he agreed that he was going home because his wife was there and would be expecting him back Clay would think he was weak, beside which he was sure the man already knew that Olivia was away from home and would then know that Adam had lied to him…he forced the buckle into the final notch on he belt. “I promised my son I would be home early, I don’t like breaking promises or leaving him alone…”

“Not entirely alone surely? Don’t you have a servant living in, who could care for him…I mean..he boy is old enough to be left on his own anyway, surely. Why not stay a while longer…” Clay glanced over his shoulder, perhaps he could catch Joe’s eye and get him to come over and persuade his brother to stay longer.

“Well, I would trust the Ponderosa and all my children to Chen, he’s a good friend..but I promised Reuben I would get back As I just said, I don’t like breaking promises…especially to my children.”

Clay shrugged and dropped his hand but followed Adam outside where the heat of the evening was at least cooler than the saloon interior…the sounds from within trickled out behind them.

“You know, I never imagined you as a father…three children huh? Now, I could see you pacing the deck on board ship, with your fancy uniform…but having children…domesticated as it were…”

“Goodnight, Clay..” Adam said with a sigh in his voice, he slid his hat over his head and nodded, turned and walked towards the livery where his horse awaited him.

He was irritated beyond reason, so he told himself  Clay meant well, but even so …even so…

He lowered his head and strode onwards, almost colliding with young Davy Riley who was out with his dog..   He muttered good evening and strode on, annoyed with himself now, being so absorbed in his thoughts like that…one time that could have cost him his life!

Another thing that annoyed him was Clay’s assumption that Chen was a servant. He swung himself into the saddle and Sport trotted out of the stable obligingly, still chewing on some hay. It was a conundrum…he did not like his friend being considered a servant…nor Hop Sing nor Li. What was a servant anyway?

Everyone had work to do…clearing out water holes, chasing cows, trying to avoid cow dung, flies… the stink…was that better than preparing meals, clearing house…? Everyone had a salary, got paid, so why consider a man who is employed to cook and clean  – a servant?

He hated the system or perhaps the way society laid down rules…eating food was essential, was it not? A clean house a requirement for healthy living! Was it because the three men ..Hop Sing, Chen and Li were Chinese and considered inferior by the white race anyway?

He shook his head ..he must have drunk too much to be considering this subject. He looked over his shoulder as the lights of town began to fade away…then he looked up at the stars and the moon that had suddenly made an appearance while he was trying to solve an unsolvable..once home he would have a glass of Bourbon, in private, in peace. He shook his head as though to shake away any disturbing thought and urged Sport to move on just a little faster.

……………….

Reuben knew he should have been in bed as the clock struck 9 …but he was fascinated by the story Chen was telling him. He had not meant to delay Chen from his work but when the man was about to go into his own room Reuben could not resist asking him “How did you and Pa become friends?”

It had only been ticking up to 8 p.m when he asked that question, but he had sat enthralled as Chen told him the story of the man Jiang Peng, he had showed the boy the tattoo all members of Jiang Peng’s men had to bear…along with privation, hunger, the fighting and killing.

“Why though?” the boy had asked

“The Empress commanded it and Jiang Peng was her nephew…he held a very high and honourable role in society. Chinese do not disobey their masters …” he had pursed his lips then and frowned, “Sometimes the heart wants to do so, but the brain constantly says ‘Take care’”

“Then Pa came along…” Reuben sipped his milk, looked thoughtfully at Chen and leaned his elbows on the table, his chin cupped in his hands “Did he fight Jiang Peng?”

“No…the Empress wanted all the white devils swept away from the seas, we fought them hard, but the American and other countries sent big ships to fight back. Your father was on one ship…very big. The Empress told Jiang Peng to take this ship, it was very special.”

“So – Pa did fight Jiang Peng” a pensive frown…”And you….”

Chen paused, his eyes took on a far away look, his mind travelling back in time to when the

big chips came. For a few minutes there was silence…then he sighed and shook his head

“One ship turned away, the American Officer decided to do things his own way, he was captured by Jiang Peng, many of his men killed…your father and a group of men came to rescue him …and then your father was captured ….”

Reuben gasped, his eyes widened and he shook his head as though to deny the impossible, his Pa captured”

“Did you rescue him?”

“No. His men rescued him… he was injured, they took him to a ship, in the harbour, Jiang

Pengs own ship…”

“And Jiang Peng…….”

“Dead”

Reuben picked up his glass of milk while Chen drank his tea, both were silent as though by speaking about such an evil man something dark had crept into the house. Reuben wondered if he would sleep that night, but he still had to know what happened…obviously his Pa and Chen survived..but how?

So Chen told him about the big Chinese junk heaving out of the harbour, while everyone in camp was going round and round in panic stricken circles. How there was much gold found and they stuffed their pockets with it, unpaid wages they told themselves and the ship burned down because Adam had turned her into a fireship, sending her into the pursing ones…

Reuben listened as though spell bound, the way the small group of men, some of Adams crew and some of Jiang Pengs finally reached safety. Chen said that was where they parted, and he returned home only to find that the Empress had razed the village, killed his family…he had nothing

“So you came here..” Reuben sighed, trying to ignore how gritty his eyes were becoming

“Yes, many Chinese were coming here…and I had money, more than I had ever had..so I came, met some others who had been prisoners to Jiang Peng…and I found your father..he remembered me..I came home, I had a family…” he reached out his hand and gently caressed the boys head, he murmured something in his own language and smiled

“I am glad, Chen..I am glad you are here with us. Not out there with those awful people…”

Chen smiled and nodded, it would be hard to explain the code of obedience and discipline that was woven into the very fabric of a child in China…he nodded again and the clock struck the hour and they both knew what that meant…no more story telling, time to sleep

Chapter 17

Reuben found sleep difficult as his mind picked over the information Chen had shared with him about Adam’s experience in the China Seas. At the back of his mind memories of the time Adam had been brought, injured, to the Double D…and taken up to his mother’s room..somehow it got mixed up with other memories so that he was thoroughly confused and his head was in turmoil.

He went to the window and pulled aside the heavy drapes that seemed to trap the heat there..the window was open but the air was still heat laden, and there seemed to be no breeze whatsoever. He leaned upon the sill and stared out into the darkness…lights in the blackness of night indicated the stars, the constellations..the wonders of the night sky…his eyes roved from the Big Dipper that looks like a big ladle in the sky and easy to pick out…then he moved on the other shapes that he had become familiar with in the northern cross asterism. Adam had told him how Ben would teach him the stats when they were crossing the untamed territories years ago when he had been a child himself. It had stood him in good stead when he applied to go to sea, navigation often being a weak point on many Officers agenda.

His eyes were growing heavy and he yawned. Downstairs the clock struck another hour and he wondered just how long he would have to wait for his father to return home. He wondered if Adam would have objected to Chen telling the story about Jiang Peng, after all, he had never mentioned the mans name to him, nor given him an explanation for the scars he bore on his leg. He had not wanted to ask, in some ways, he had been too afraid to do so.

His head was drooping when the heard the steady thump of hooves coming into the yard…and from behind the trees he could just catch sight of his father and Sport emerging into the moonlight that now shed its soft silver glow upon them.

He watched as Adam slowed the big horse to a halt and then dismounted. Whistling softly under his breath Adam led the horse to the stables, and disappeared beyond the heavy doors. Reuben sighed, and stepped away from the window, allowing the curtain to fall back into place.

Chen had also heard the sound of the horse entering the yard, and hurried to make Adam something to drink, some light refreshment. By the time it was set out on the low table foot steps on the porch indicated that Adam was home.

“Everything alright, Chen?” Adam smiled at his friend as he removed his hat and bent down to untie the holster and then unbuckle the gun belt. “Reuben asleep?”

“May be not asleep yet, he want to see father when come home…” Chen’s handsome face creased into a smile, dark eyes twinkling “It has been a good evening.”

“I guess he took the opportunity to talk ten to the dozen..” Adam chuckled as he made his way to the stairs “I won’t be long, get the chess board set up, time’s early yet.

Chen nodded,and hurried to locate the chess set and get it prepared for a game or three…usually when they had this opportunity they would play the best of three. Being evenly matched it could be a long evening.

Reuben pulled the blankets high as he heard the footsteps on the stairs, and waited for his father to step into the room. Adam was pulling at the string tie he had worn as he came through he door and flipped it off as he approached the bed

“Still awake, son?”

He peered down at the boy and smiled. Reuben nodded, blinked a little and asked Adam if the party had gone well. Adam shrugged “Hardly a party, but at least I was there so that should -” he paused and cleared his throat, probably not a good idea to let his son get the impression that there was bad feeling between himself and the newly arrived Uncle “Anyway, how did you get on, have a pleasant evening with Chen? Did he teach you how to play Mah-jong?”

“Sure, he tried to but I kept getting the rules muddled up with chess.”

Adam nodded and smiled, reached oy a hand to straighten a sheet, “I never liked the game to be honest with you…Hop Sing tried to teach me and he was not as patient as Chen, believe me” a chuckle and wink “Well, best you settle down now, get some sleep. After chores in the morning we will be going to Luke and Marc’s and meet up with your Ma there.”

Reuben nodded, the pillow behind his head ruffled his hair and he watched as Adam turned to leave the room . He wanted to talk to him about Jiang Peng, about what happened but his eyes were really heavy now. Adam stood at the door, turned and smiled “Goodnight son, sleep well.”

Oh he could not keep his eyes open and he could just about muster up a mumbled “Night Pa.” and by the time the door closed he was asleep.

.. …

The crowds were thinning out now as men remembered they had other obligations, or their enjoyment of the evening had been sated along with their taste for alcohol. Ben was playing poker with the various other men, and from the look on his face was not winning. Joe knew that it would not be too long before Ben would leave the table and announce his intention of getting to the hotel.

He hooked his elbows over the counter, leaning his back against it so that he could watch his father and be prompt about leaving. EB Burgoyne stretched his arms out, yawned, making obvious signs that he was about to abandon the game and leave,, Joe wondered if his wife, Joyce, was at the hotel waiting for him or whether the man would risk riding home. There was a bright moon, but it would be early morning before he got to the Bar B, maybe even later if he fell off his horse into a ditch.

He was aware of someone standing close to him and was not surprised to see Clay mirroring his stance, elbows hooked over the counter, leaning his back against it, watching everything that was going on.

“I think you had a successful opening night, Clay” Joe grinned, he knew he had drunk too much, his head was foggy and he could hear his voice sounding muffled like the words were wrapped in flannel.

“Can’t complain..” Clay grinned and released a sigh “I’m sorry I made an error of social judgement ..inviting the women along..but I thought the fireworks display would ..”

Joe waved a hand to silence him “Pshew, no need to worry about that…I s’pose ladies in Australia don’t mind going to the saloons huh?”

“To be honest back there there aint so many ladies…” Clay laughed, and shook his head, he jabbed Joe in the ribs with his elbow “Glad to see Adam here though…”

“‘Course..why’d you think he’d miss your grand opening? “ Joe shrugged, grinned and looked over at the card table, Ebenezer was on his feet now, swaying slightly and giving them all a farewell speech “p’raps you should not have been so free with the champagne….”

“Nah, Mr Burgoyne was on beer and whiskey …refused to touch the champagne.” Clay’s grin widened, “Probably make the hotel just in time before he passes out.”

“Good thing his wife ain’t here to see it.” Joe straightened himself up, flexed his shoulders and raised a hand in salute to Eb as the man weaved his way past him

“Pity Adam had to go back …his wife keep him on a short leash huh?”

“Who? Olivia?” Joe barked a laugh, and shook his head, “You got that all wrong, Adam and Olivia are ..well.. “ he paused and stared over at a picture on the wall opposite, a rather lurid depiction of a nude woman staring at her reflection in a mirror “Nah, guess you’d say they’re a match made in heaven…” he giggled and shook his head “Guess I’ve had too much to drink.”

Clay laughed now, and again jabbed Joe in the ribs “Remember that time we got drunk on pulque?”

Joe’s face went blank and then he nodded, “Sure do…that headache reached right down to my toes, never been so drunk in my life since…you know they make that stuff out of fermented agave sap?”

“Really? Shucks, no wonder it tastes like….” he paused and looked over his shoulder and signalled to Solomon for another whiskey “You want another…”

“No thanks, I reckon I had best get Pa home before he passes out and disgraces himself.” Joe braced his shoulders and nodded, “I’ll see you soon, Clay…you know your way to our place, don’t you?”

“Sure do…” Clay smiled and then turned to look in the direction of the door which had opened and through which Nate and Ethan had entered the room, “Uh huh, looks like curfew time.”

He took his glass and raised it in salute to the two lawmen who stood without saying a word, as clientele began to shuffle cards and coins away, swallow down the dregs of their drinks, the ladies kissing their ‘escorts’ or rather the men who had paid for their drinks through the evening and slinking away up the stairs to their rooms.

Nate turned to Clay “Everything go alright, Mr Stafford? No trouble at all…?

“None at all..been a good evening. Can I invite you boys to a drink..?”

“Perhaps another time, Mr Stafford.” Nate put a hand under some mans arm to help haul him to his feet “Up you come, old timer, you sure you can make it to the door on your own?”

Clay watched at the two lawmen left the building, old Jud Montague held up by them and almost dragging him along. A night in the cells for him…

“That deputy…” Clay narrowed his eyes as he raised the glass of whiskey to his lips “He sure has a familiar look about him..don’t you think?”

Joe shrugged, nodded over to Ben who was on his feet now and shaking hands with the others he had shared the game with.”Ethan? Yeah, folks often comment on it but he ain’t no Cartwright. Didn’t we talk about this before?” he wrinkled his nose and looked uneasily at his brother, who just shrugged and looked as innocent as he could while taking a deep gulp of his drink.

“Ready, son?” Ben’s voice boomed in Joe’s ear, before he turned to Clay “Seems to have been a successful evening, Clay..come on, Joe, haven’t got all night.”

Now it was quiet and empty..the tables and chairs all at odd angles needing to be set right, spillages on the floor, along with cast off or lost items, some coins scattered here and there…tables that would get sticky overnight from what had been spilled on them, an occasional discarded card…

Clay emptied his glass and set it down amid the others there on the counter. He closed and bolted the doors and looked around him…he glanced over at Solomon and nodded

“See you in the morning, Sol.”

Chapter 18

Chores had to be carried out no matter where any of them were located during that early morning. Hoss and Hester worked along with Candy and Ann, and Olivia prepared breakfast for Luke and Marcy, the children playing amicably in the sun kissed yard.

Ben and Joe had no such worries as they sauntered down to breakfast at the Whitney Hotel and enjoyed the meal together, discussing as they ate the little things of interest they had picked up during Clay’s big open evening.

They laughed at some little incidents, pondered over others. When Joe ventured to say they had missed the real big event of the day, with The Temperance Ladies having invaded the premised before their arrival Ben just threw his head back and guffawed so loudly other clientele paused to look over at him, mostly with scowls.

“That woman is a real hypocrite” Ben said finally, dabbing at his mouth with his napkin “She drinks plenty at home and at the Orphanage, she should be careful what she does and says in future.”

“I don’t think she will ever do that, it’s why Lucy decided to up sticks and leave town….”

“She was a pleasant enough girl, never thought she would have the courage to leave her mother’s apron strings though…” Ben picked up his cup of coffee “Odd that Clay thought it was acceptable for ladies and children to attend a saloons open day though…perhaps they do things differently in Australia.

”

Joe shrugged, and leaned back in his seat, his mind drifted over to the previous evening, made a few more comments about nothing in particular before saying how he wished Adam had stayed longer, that Clay had noticed his early departure.

“He told you why he was not going to stay too long, he had Reuben at home..” Ben frowned and took another gulp of his coffee “Reuben’s at a disadvantage with the other children, being that much older….it probably did him more good having a day alone with Adam than going with Olivia to the Dents…much as I like them the poor kid would have been bored.”

Joe said nothing it was obvious his father was not going to be drawn on the subject so he concentrated on finishing his meal.

“Looks like it’s going to be another hot day” he glanced around the room, windows were already opened wide to catch some breeze and the smell of the food mingled with other smells which seemed to hang heavy on the thick cloying hot air.

“I’m glad Clay did not go ahead with the firework display…” Ben scowled, and shook his head “The man should have had more sense than to even think it possible.”

Joe opened his mouth, then decided to say nothing. Ben poured out more coffee, and ladled in some sugar “Clifford had to tell him to cancel, you know. Can you imagine what would have happened had a spark ..”

“I know, Pa, I know….” Joe put down his napkin and glanced over at the clock on he wall, “I need to get home I promised Mary Ann I would not be to late back….are you riding back with me or riding in later?”

“I thought I would go see Roy, he has not been so well lately.” he sighed deeply and stared down at his plate, at the egg congealing with the ham…he shook his head “Getting older is not any good but being old…and Roy’s old…” he sighed again as though he carried the load for all old folk in the county “I’ll go and spend some time with him and ride home later…”

“Why not come on by this evening, Pa, spend a few hours with us..” Joe smiled down at Ben as he rose from the table, “I’ll get Mary Ann to make that peach cobbler you’re so partial to.”

“Sure, son, you do that…”

Joe gave his father an anxious glance, then bit his lip and said nothing more. Old age, ageing, it was all a subject that he and his brothers preferred to avoid. It was one thing to mention it in connection to others, but to their own father…no, a fact they preferred to ignore for as long as possible.

As he made his way to the livery to collect his horse he chased a few points from the conversation with his father and it seemed to him that Ben had been rather curt when talking about Clay, not that he was wrong, but then, perhaps, to Joe’s way of thinking, he had been, not so much wrong, as unfair.

As he rode past Roy’s house he slowed the horse down. Was Roy really so ill? Should he go and see the old man? He dithered but a moment before prodding Navejo with his heels, he would leave such a visit to his Pa. Maybe he and Mary Ann could call on their old friend another day, together…

………….

“Pa?”

Adam turned his dark eyes towards his son, and nodded. His mouth was full and his mind already spinning on various topics that had to be dealt with before they left for the Dents house soon if they were to get there in time for the mid day meal.

“Pa, you know when you went to China…” Reuben had rehearsed his opening gambit ever since he had woken up that morning, even during their chores, now, seated comfortably at the table and enjoying the first meal of the day together he launched into the subject

Adam swallowed, frowned and wondered why of all things his son was talking about China. He cleared his throat and raised his eyebrows “What about it?”

“What was it like?”

“In what way do you mean?” he shrugged and looked back down at the food on his plate “If you want to know about China, you can always ask Chen, or Li, or Hop Sing even”

“Oh” Reuben frowned, that had not been the answer he had been expecting but then again, knowing his father, it was the logical one.

Adam glanced at the boy, then resumed eating. It occurred to him that Chen and Reuben had spent time together while he was out in town the previous evening, it was only logical that conversation would have turned to Chen’s home country. Perhaps Reuben had asked …questions…he glanced at Reuben again and could see from the concentration on the boys face that he had not finished discussing the subject just yet.

“Pa…when you went to China did you go on the Shenandoah?” an innocent question as the boys eyes were fixed on the beautiful model of the ship that adorned the tall display cabinet opposite them

“No, I went on the Baltimore. Do you remember seeing the Baltimore that time we were in Frisco?”

“Sure do, Pa…it’s huge…” he paused and frowned “Not as pretty as Shenandoah though”

“True enough, but she is fast, and one of the best battleships of its kind in the fleet.” Adam smiled “We nearly lost her once, not long after she had been launched, it got stolen …” he nodded at the memory and then sighed, too many memories were stored up there in his head, battened down as securely as he could manage it…he bit down on his bottom lip, and shook his head “Hurry up, son, we need to leave soon.”

“Sure, Pa”

He obediently set to, forking food into his mouth while his brain ticked over what his father had said…when his mouth was empty and he had swallowed a glass of water he tried again

“Pa?”

Adam had just poured himself a cup of coffee, hot, steam rising …he half closed his eyes, and looked down, then flicked his eyes over to his son’s face “Yes Reuben…”

“If the Baltimore was lost, did you go and find it? “

Did he go and find it? Adam raised his cup to his lips, inhaled the bitter sweet smell, then set the cup down …his mind conjured up O’Brien’s face, and Laurence’s also…as he stared at the far wall he could see Cassandra Pelman taking shape before his eyes, such a beautiful woman, and he winced at the memory of the bullet she had fired into him…

“Pa? Are you alright?”

He blinked and then looked over at Reuben , at the anxious face, so he nodded “Sure, son, just that was a difficult time…but we did get the ship back ..” his voice was subdued he pursed his lips in his familiar way, and then began to drink the coffee

“Did they give you a medal for that? They should have done…” Reuben declared stoutly, and pursed his lips too, his brow beetled into a frown which made Adam smile and reach out to ruffle the boys hair.

“Oh I don’t know, maybe they did..every man there on board ship deserved one…” he tossed his napkin down, “Now then, you finished ? We need to leave or we will be late….”

Reuben nodded. He had not got the information he wanted, but he now had a tantalising new adventure to follow up on…how many more he wondered…how many more…..

The horses were already saddled and ready for the trip to the Double D. They were slurping up water from the trough as though they anticipated a long hot dusty trek ahead of them and did the best imitation of a camel that they could. Adam looked up at the sky and frowned, tilted his hat lower to shade his eyes . Not a single cloud marred the blue surface above them. He sighed and shook his head, behind him Reuben noticed and looked up as well.

The sun was burning hot. It scorched through his thin linen shirt and he thought how awful it would be to sit at the desk in the class room at school. “Do you think it will be hot like this tomorrow, Pa?”

“Seems like it, although I hope not..”

“So do I. That class room is like an oven…my hands get sticky and my pen slips and slides all over the paper and then I get told off for handing in bad work…”

“Guess you ain’t the only one, son.” Adam smiled down at him, realised as he had the previous day when they were fishing, that the boy was growing tall. Before too long he would be as tall as his Uncle Joe! That thought made Adam smile, he put his foot in the stirrup and carefully lowered himself into the saddle…nothing worse than hot leather meeting one’s backside.

Within a short while they were riding through the woodlands that led to the Dent’s home, sunlight dappled the way they were going, branches and leaves shaded them from the worse of the heat, but still there was no breeze to cool them other than the the trees shadows…..they stopped every so often to drink a little water, Adam would pour some over his handkerchief and wipe the cool wet stuff around his neck and face.

“I wish we were going swimming again, Pa….”

“Yeah, so do I, son, so do I.”

 

Chapter 19

Monday dragged itself around with no lessening of the heat..the sun continued to beat down, the roads were hard packed and dust arose in clouds enveloping travellers so that they arrived in town looking like pale ghosts of themselves.

 

Reuben and Sofia led their horses to the livery and trailed their way to the school, brushing down the dust as best they could from their clothing. They did not speak, their throats too dry. There was not the usual sound of children laughing and playing in the school yard. Even that early in the morning there was an air of exhaustion overlaying them, an air of listlessness where after weeks of heat they were worn down by the sheer weight of their own bodies.

 

Davy Riley approached them, thin lipped, red rimmed eyes…he blinked rapidly and stood for a moment before hauling in a deep breath and saying “Reuben, I need your help….”

 

“Sure..” Reuben coughed “What about?”

 

Davy fidgeted, his feet shuffled in the dust of the ground and he shook his head, looked around and then up at Reuben “My dog….it’s gone…missing…” his chest heaved as though he was struggling to get his breath

 

“Well, um, shall we go looking during break time? “

 

“No..could be too late then…it could be anywhere…could be hurt…” Davy’s fingers tugged at the buttons of his jacket, his eyes were wet and although he shook his head as though to stoptears falling or Reuben noticing, it was obvious that he was sorely distressed.

 

“Can’t go now, Davy, we’re about to go into class and…”

 

“Suit yourself…knew you wouldn’t bother…just a dog to you isn’t she?” and swallowing emotion down in a big gulp the boy turned and hurried away, pushing his body through the children that seemed to be hemming him in.

 

The bell tolled, time to get inside to the class rooms where the windows were already wide open to allow some flow of air. Reuben watched his friend and glanced over his shoulderto where others were already threading their way up the stairs into the building. He looked again at the entrance way, watched Davy pause, look back over at him and then turn the corner into the town.

 

Sofia had found Hannah now, and was making her way up the steps oblivious to her brothers’ quandary. For a moment Reuben watched them, let the children drift by and then turned away, hurrying towards where Davy had been moments earlier. He was not surprised to find to Jimmy C Edwards standing hesitantly there, and upon both of them noticing the other they simply nodded, and joined forces.

 

“I’m really thirsty, Jim…throats as dry as a desert..”

 

“You had a long ride into town, Reuben, no surprise there..” he glanced around him “Could get some water at Dave’s house….”

 

“Where do you think the dog will have gone?”

“No idea…don’t know much about dogs..”

 

“Nor me…”

 

Jimmy sighed and shook his head “Mr Riley doesn’t like dogs…”

 

“I know…Davy said…”

 

“And it barks a lot, with this heat…”

 

“You don’t think..I mean..he wouldn’t hurt it would he?”

 

The undertakers building loomed before them..it consisted of two lots, storehouse for the coffins and workshop, and then the so called Chapel of rest. Next door was the Riley’s house.

Davy was just pushing the door open to step inside when he heard his name being called and turned to see his two friends coming through the gate.

 

There was no denying how relieved he felt upon seeing them. It was written all over his face that was almost split in two by the big smile he gave them and then Reuben asked if he could have just one glass of water before they proceeded to look for the dog.

 

Mrs Riley looked as pleased to see them as Davy, thanking them profusely and telling them that Bella, the dog, had just disappeared during the night “It’s this heat, it’s got to her as much as its got to us…poor critter…and dogs can’t tell us, can they? They can’t tell us how they feel…” she handed a large glass of water to Reuben “Now, drink that slow, Reuben, other wise you’ll be that sick…”

 

“Where do you think she would have gone, Mrs Riley?” Jimmy asked politely

 

“Well she ain’t anywhere around here….my husband looked for her in case she were in the outhouse or his work shop but no sign of her.”

 

Reuben emptied the glass and set it down carefully on the table, then he looked at the other two boys “If it were me I would go where it was cooler,”

 

“Where would that be?” Davy scowled, “Every where’s burning up …”

 

“Dogs would know where to go, they have different senses to us…perhaps down by the river…” Reuben suggested and looked at Mrs Riley who was dabbing her face with the corner of her apron to stop the sweat trickling down to her chin.

 

“Reckon you would be right there…” she nodded, and worked the sluice in order to get some water to drink “Don’t you three boys go swimming though, coz no way will them teachers believe you were looking for a lost dog if they find you out there enjoying yourselves.”

………….

It was hard to trawl through town, looking down alleyways, under the pavement boardings and calling out for the dog….but they slowly made their way to the river and although it was marginally cooler it was not by much. Their voices echoed across the water, which was brown and languid instead of its usual crystal clear vibrant self. Finally Davy sunk down on a rock and wiped his brow with the tail of his shirt

 

“I don’t reckon we’ll ever find her, I reckon she’s gone …for good.”

Jimmy followed his example, “She’s only a small dog…she could have got down some rabbit or gopher hole and got stuck…or just hiding some place..any place…we just got to go back and keep looking.”

 

“Just keep looking around here for a while..” Reuben suggested, he raised a hand to shield his eyes “Plenty of gopher holes for her to fall into…”

 

“Maybe she fell into the water…got swept downstream..” Jimmy suggested but Davy shook his head at that saying that no way was his dog that stupid.

 

“Anyway there’s hardly any current, nothing would be swept down river here, “

 

Half an hour ticked by so slowly that the three of them were sure that lunch break had come and gone. Jimmy tentatively suggested returning to school, perhaps he added, they had not noticed they were missing….yet.

 

Davy protested at that, insisting they had hardly done looking at all for Bella, that they would be in trouble anyway so why not keep looking. Reuben agreed, so Jimmy was out voted and hoped that when explanations came later his step father, Mr Edwards, would accept the explanation.

 

So they trawled their way back to town, stopping at various locations that may have appealed to a runaway dog, calling her name and receiving only an echo back.

 

No sight, no sound..not a whimper, no excited bark, nothing Davy’s feet dragged more slowly than ever as they turned towards town.

 

Ethan Burns noticed them as he was going on his rounds, a pile of Wanted posters draped over his arm. He called out to them “Why arn’t you at school….”

 

“Bella’s missing, Mr Burns.” Davy cried, and hurried over to him for he had a friendship with the young deputy and was sure that Ethan would accept his explanation as valid. “She went missing during the night…” he gulped. Swiped a hand over his face to brush away a tear, “She must have got out and we can’t find her now, we kept on calling and went down to the river too but she ain’t no where…”

 

“How would she get out during the night…” Ethan asked, thinking immediately of Riley Snr who loathed the animal and made no secret about it.

 

“Windows kept open…and Pa said to keep ’em that way because there aint no ice to keep the ..” he paused “ well, he said it helped keep the smell down…”

 

Jimmy and Reuben glanced at one another, their minds going in all directions, but Ethan nodded as if he understood what Davy meant. The ice in the ice stores was rapidly diminishing and with Riley’s line of business there was a great need for ice otherwise the ;departed dead’ began to get a little ‘ripe’. Keeping some air flow would help a little, but with the heat as it was, it would be just that… a little.

 

“I’ve these posters to deal with, David, and then I’ll help you find your dog.”

 

“Will you, thank you ..thank you, Mr Burns….””

 

“Perhaps it would be best if you three went back to school now…be a shame for you all to get a tanning because of Bella…and staying away any longer will be a guarantee that you;ll get that at least.”

 

All four stopped at that point…everything seemed to explode into a cacophony of noise and chaos…a dog barking, Davy yelled “Bella Bella” more barking and then screams and shouts, the cry of ”Mad dog…Mad dog” and “It’s got rabies’” the dog barking louder, a snarl in its voice, Davy moving, running toward the sound followed by Ethan, Reuben and Jimmy..”Bella, Bella.” and then a gun shot..one…two…a yelp, a whine. Another shot..silence.

………….

 

“Alright now, move aside…make way…” Ethan yelled, elbowing some people to one side, and followed by the three boys each one trying, struggling, to keep tight control of their emotions as they feared the worse, hoped for the better….

 

“It’s not Bella..” Davy whispered repeatedly as they followed Ethan and the crowd parted.

 

“It had rabies..” a woman yelled, clutching hold of a small child in her arms, “It attacked my little girl.”

 

“It was wild…” a man shouted, his rifle still emitting smoke from its barrel “Foaming…rabid”

 

Voices all around…yes, yes, it was rabid, attacked a little girl, they saw it all happen, snarling nasty creature, well done, Fred you did a great job, protecting the people……

 

The three boys stood still, still as could be, Reuben thought he was going to be sick, Jimmy felt his stomach turning over and over, while Davy just stood .stood so still….watched as Ethan stepped forward and knelt down beside the little dog. The crowd began to disperse, Ethan stroked Bella, looked at Davy and shook his head and then Davy knew…knew that what his eyes had told him and his brain refused to accept was true…Bella, his Bella, was gone now…gone.

 

He shivered, turned to look at the retreating group of people and screamed

 

“I HATE YOU….I HATE YOU…I’LL KILL YOU… ALL OF YOU…I WILL I WILL…” and then he threw himself into Ethan’s body clung tightly to him and buried his face into the young mans shirt while he sobbed, sobbed….

Chapter 20

A small group had begun to gather now, hearing the distressed cries of the boy they were drawn to the area where Reuben and Jimmy stood stoically beside their weeping friend who still clung tightly to the Deputy. Among the small crowd was Paul Martin and Miss Tyndale who now took it upon themselves to usher away the onlookers and approach Ethan and Davy

 

Paul looked down at the little body, fur matted now with blood from the gun shots. He nodded over to Ethan and gently lifted Bella into his arms “I’ll take care of her” he said quietly, and patted Davy on the back as though to strengthen the boy. Ethan nodded and looked down at Davy, then turned to Reuben and Jimmy

 

“You two boy had better get back to school, before you get into more trouble with the teachers..” he glanced then at Jimmy, recognising him as the son of one of the teachers and was about to say something when Miss Tyndale put her arms around Davy and gently drew him away from the Deputy “Come along now, Davy my boy, come with me. The Deputy has work to do now…”

 

Surprisingly Davy turned into her arms and let her lead him away into the library, her arm around his shoulders as though supporting him as they walked towards the building. Reuben and Jimmy looked at Ethan, who again told them to get to school so that they turned slowly, melancholy now, and toiled their way back to the building

 

It was time for recess and the children were filing down the stairs. Sofia saw them and ran over to them “Where have you been? Someone said you had left the school with Davy….”

 

Reuben sighed, looked at Jimmy who shrugged his shoulders and was about to speak when Tommy Conway came running up, flushed of face and sweating “You two are in big trouble.

Mr Thompson said you were to report to the Principals office right away …”

 

The boys did not say a word…they were hot, dishevelled, sweating uncomfortably, they felt sticky and uncomfortable and although they expected to get into trouble they had hoped to be able to sneak and appear as though they had not really been missing from class. As though that were to happen with eagle eyed Mr Thompson who seemed to have a personal grudge against Mr Evans which venom trickled down to his son.

 

“Best get it over with soonest…” Tommy urged, standing looking rather woebegone in front of them, fully of sympathy but also curious as to what had happened “Anyway, where’s Davy?”

 

Reuben and Jimmy refrained from answering, just turned their feet to the stairs leading up to the school and entered the building with out a look back at the confused faces of their friends watching them entering as it were, the lions den.

 

Mr Evans, Jimmy’s step father, was on his way down the stairs when he saw them and stepped up to them immediately, a gentle hand on each boys shoulder “Where have you been?”

 

It was Jimmy who related the story about Davy and Bella, while Reuben stood by nodding occasionally and looking earnestly at Mr Edwards hoping that the man who show some leniency towards them, perhaps even put in a please to the principal on their behalf

 

It was obvious the man understood their plight, his face softened and he squeezed their shoulders in a kindly gesture but his lips remained firm, flat lined, and his eyes, gentle though they were did not bode any good. He eventually sighed, nodded and looked at them both thoughtfully, as though weighing up a decision he was going to make and not sure whether to follow through on it. They stood there staring up at him hopefully but in the end he just said

 

“Go and tell the truth..” he paused “You broke the rules, caused your teachers undue concern, even though you were trying to help Davy, the dog was his responsibility, not yours.”

 

“But Davy is our friend, and…” Jimmy stuttered, obviously disappointed at this turn of events, having been quite confident that his step father would act the teacher rather than parent.

 

“Even so…” came the stern response “If I allow you to side step the rules because .because of our ..because you are my son, others will follow suit expecting favour…” he paused and shook his head, the more he blustered on the more difficult the matter. “The rules are for your protection, you do know that, don’t you?”

 

They both nodded dutifully, but there was a look of reproach in Jimmy’s eyes as he looked at Edward, and the school teacher felt it, knew that it would take time to build up the boys trust in him again. But then, as he had told the boys, rules were rules, and if he, the teacher, side lined them then what kind of student, or son, would he mould?

 

The Principal Mr D, A Ewing* was in discussion with Miss Buckley* when the boys reached his office, and tentatively waited in his secretary’s adjoining office. When Miss Buckley left, giving them both a scathing glance as she passed, they waited to be summoned. Mr Ewing as a great lover of the ‘spare the rod, spoil the child’ ethos, so both expected to get at least 6 of the best , or worse as the case may be. Miss Buckley was the teacher whose class they had missed that morning for science….and strict, a reputation of being overly strict.

 

Their hearts were beating fast and both boys felt sick, Neither of them had been in trouble before, certainly not hauled up before the Principal at all. They stood, side by side, waiting when the door opened and Mr Evans stepped into the office.

 

“Is Mr Ewing available?” he did not look at the boys by walked pass them as he approached the Principals office and then knocked on the door, stepping inside when the voice bade him to do so.

 

Ten minutes ticked by, fifteen…and then they were summoned in to the big room that was Mr Ewing’s inner sanctum…

……………….

 

The timber yard Overseer stepped back from the fallen tree, wiped his brow and nodded over to his men. They had done a good job in bringing the tree down and wiping out the fire before it had caught on the dry duff around it….years of dead leaves and plant growth that had grown around the big trees roots had ignited but thanks to their efforts damped down before greater harm could have been done.

 

The three Cartwrights stood among the group of men their shirt sticking to their bodies with sweat, faces streaked with the black reminders of smoke and flame…Hoss was wielding an axe to chop off some of the still smouldering lower branches of the tree, which were being gathered up by the other men into a pile that was being carefully doused with water

 

“Good thing you came by…we would have been short of men to get this dealt with…” Mac said and wiped his face with a very limp wet bandanna.

 

“It was alight before we even realised…so fast…” one of the men cried, new to the team, young and inexperienced. He still looked in some stage of panic, scared…Joe wondered if he would still be working for them the next day, and anticipated his signing off that evening.

 

Mac nodded and said that they were doing regular checks, digging out fire breaks in the locality of possible fire, hoping to catch any thing that could risk the timber land before it caught. “The boys did well…they are a well trained crew…” his voice trailed off in a fit of coughing and he gratefully accepted the canteen of water that was handed to him.

 

“Well, that’s all you can do in weather conditions like this.” Adam said, glancing anxiously around him.

“It worries me that we’re not doing enough, that a fire can break out before we know it and the whole lot could become an inferno within minutes…” Mac eased his shoulders, it had been hard fighting the fire and that was just one tree, with only some branches alight…he shook his head “This is the worse it’s been in years…”

 

“The fire chief in town, Clifford Porter, has men paroling the perimeters of the woodland bordering the town…” Joe said, he hawked up some soot and spat it out, “they live in fear of another fire like the one in ’76”

 

“No one wants another like that…” Mac said slowly, his eyes red rimmed now, he shook his head “Well, guess we can only do what we can as best we can…”

 

“Keep doing it, Mac..there will be bonus for you all ..” Adam said quietly, “Well deserved…”

 

Mac mumbled his thanks, paused a moment “Was there anything in particular you came today,?”

 

“No particular reason,” Adam said, although there was no smile on his face, “Hoss was concerned .. wanted to make sure ..”

 

“Yeah…I’ve been over Carson City way, on the cattle station there..weather conditions are fair, even had some rain, just wanted to check it out here today because…because it’s so different”

 

“Yep, don’t have to go far to note the difference.” one of the men said, “Lived in that area some years myself…”

 

Joe nodded and drank some more water, he glanced around “Well, we had best go, but …if we notice anything ..one of us will get right back to you.”

 

“Yeah, Joe’s just volunteered himself for the job…” Hoss grinned, but did not laugh, no real smile, fire in the woods now would be disastrous as they all were all too aware.

 

They left the timber men dealing with the big tree, and began to walk their horses through the thickly packed trees. For a while they were silent, deep in thought, remembering times past when there had been fires , and the consequences of them. Adam had been away at sea when the conflagration had burned down so much of Virginia City, and although no one told him much of the detail, he was more than aware of how horrific it had been.

 

“Whats it like with the water situation at the Jessops?” Joe asked suddenly, as their horses made their way across where at one time a small stream would have been waded through a few days earlier.

 

“So far it’s running clear, not as full as we would like, but Derwent and Luke check it out every day, and clear any thing that could block it …I checked our section of the stream and so far, all’s well.” he paused “Not sure for how much longer though, if this continues…” he eased himself in the saddle and leaned forward, his eyes scanning through the dense shadows around him, trees that had been mere saplings a few years back now sturdy and strong, but older trees already indicating their own thirst for water.

 

“If – “ Joe paused for a moment to search for the right words “If there is a fire…will they be safe? The Double D is close to woodland and a water source …that stream..” he shook his head “Not sure it would be sufficient …”

 

“I discussed that eventuality with them…but they both assured me they had plans should any thing put them in any danger… “ Adam frowned, chewed on his bottom lip

 

“But you arn’t sure about them?” Hoss said quietly

 

“No…but only because fire is so unpredictable, wind direction..velocity, how fast it is moving.

I don’t think, if everything combines together to make it a fast moving fire, that they will be safe… no, I don’t think whatever plans they have they will be able to ..prevent the worse happening”

 

They were silent for some time, riding along with eyes alert for anything to cause any alarm,

Joe finally said with a sense of foreboding in his voice “The same thing could be said for us…all those factors combined and … well .. “

 

“We need to make plans for any eventuality…the sooner the better.” Adam replied with something like dread in his voice which made both men look over at him and feel a shiver run down their spines…

Chapter 21

David T Riley had never been in the library before…not voluntarily that is, twice with the class when the then teacher insisted on taking them, hoping the sight of so many books, so many words, would inspire their pupils to have greater inclination to reading. It worked on some but not on the majority.

 

But now here he was, books or not books, crying like a baby, with tears and snot running down his face and his chest heaving and burning from the sobs that tightened his throat and made him gasp for air.

 

He was propelled into a room, was aware of a door closing and being pushed into a chair. He was blinded by his tears, tried to stop them, but the sobs still came, dry and harsh. Someone pushed a cup of something hot in his hands and told him to drink it up and mechanically he did so…it was sweet, pleasant and for an instant he was able to control his tears and sobs, and enjoy the sensation of something pleasant pouring down his throat.

 

“Now then, blow your nose and wipe your eyes..” Miss Tyndale commanded, pushing a clean handkerchief into his hands “Come along now, we have not got all day….”

 

Davy blew his nose, good and hard, wiped his face and tears away, kept his eyes closed, He could not for the life of him get the lids to function, they seemed fused in place, He could hear Miss Tyndale moving about, a chair being pushed across the floor, the handkerchief taken from his hand and another pushed into it.

 

He could not cry any more. He had gone beyond tears. His chest heaved and he gulped sobs, but nothing audible. His head pounded, he would have liked to have had another drink of that sweet whatever it was, but now his teeth started chattering and he could not get them to stop.

 

Amelia Tyndale reached out and took hold of the boys hand and held it loosely within her own. She was not very good with children, she did not really know how to handle them. She did not coo and aaah over babies, what was the point? Older infants were a nightmare toddling about and pulling at the books, drooling over them…now here she was holding the sweaty hand of a child, a boy renowned for mischief, who had thrown snowballs a the windows of the library, called her names at times, an insolent, smelly, horrible boy.

 

She did not know what to say…real life, family life, just passed Amelia by in a blur. She rose at the same time each day, went to the library, worked there, sometimes longer than the necessary hours, took a book home to read, made a meal and then went to bed. Now she felt at a loss, and wondered why on earth she had taken the boy, wrapped her arms around him, held him close and let him sob into her shoulder as he had..and now sitting here together in her office.

 

The door opened and her assistant peeked inside and asked if there was anything she could do, but Amelia shook her head so the door closed. Davy forced open his eyes, mere slits now, and looked around him

 

“She was not sick…Bella was not sick.” he managed to say through a very dry throat, now he was shivering, he could not stop the shivers any more than he could stop his teeth chattering.

 

Miss Tyndale did not know much about children but she knew shock when she saw it, and promptly got up, poured more out more tea and added sugar into a cup and returned to push it into his hand, telling him to drink it ..slowly this time.

 

Davy sipped it, closed his eyes and tried to stop the images of Bella coming through his mind Blood stained fur, glazed eyes….he sipped some more his teeth stopped chattering, shivers slowly subsided

 

“She was not sick, Miss Tyndale, she was not…why did they shoot her like that…” he looked at her, blinked hard, trying to focus on the face of the woman seated next to him, the woman who gently held his other other, and who looked as sad as he felt.

 

“I think they were afraid…people act without thinking when they are afraid, Davy. And everyone is more nervy because of this heat…”

 

“But they did not have to shoot her, did they?” and then the tears came again…”She was my dog. I loved her. She was the only …only friend I had…and …”

 

“Now then, young Davy, that’s not true now, is it?” she dipped her head a little so that he could see her more clearly, smiled slightly “You had two friends came with you to look for Bella, they came despite knowing they were breaking school rules…I think you had two very good friends there, don’t forget them….”

 

He bowed his head, he had not given Jimmy and Reuben a thought, his head too full of the dog lying there, someone scooped her up and away…Ethan Burns had held him tight..he shook his head to clear away the memories

 

“Where’s Bella now?” he whispered and passed her the cup, empty now, which she took from him and set down on her desk

 

“Dr Martin took her…”

 

He bowed his head and nodded, somehow that made sense..”My Pa will be glad she’s gone….he did not like Bella.” he whispered.

……………………

 

Jimmy C Evans and Reuben Cartwright were ushered into the Principal’s office by the stern faced secretary. Mr Evans had disappeared, having left the office by another door. Mr Ewing sat behind his desk, leaning slightly forward with his hands clasped. Hanging from a hook on the side of the desk was a thick strap. This was a man who did not go in for the ‘as thick as your thumb’ rule, he obviously realised that thumb widths varied and chose a leather strap as his weapon of choice. It was always the first thing delinquent boys would notice when they stepped into his office and would feel instant fear upon doing so.

 

He rather liked that…instant gratification!

 

His eyes travelled from one boy to another and he released a sigh – inwardly of course, he would not want the boys to see any sign of weakness on his part. The son of Adam Cartwright, and the son of one of the school’s most popular teachers who had just been in to explain what had happened. So, knowing the gist of what had occurred he gave both boys a cold glare, his eyes like pebbles washed up on a beach, cold and bleak.

 

“Right… explain yourselves…” his eyes swivelled from one by to the other, and he pointed to Jimmy, “You first….”

 

Jimmy licked dry lips and cleared his throat. Like Reuben he had never been in this situation before, facing Mr Ewing who was a shadowy figure lurking behind the corridors of the school ready to pounce on any misdeed that reached his ears. Of course Davy was a regular and dismissed such visits with a toss of the head, although he always walked very oddly for an hour or two after such a while with Ewing. Jimmy glanced at the strap, then at the man glaring at him across the highly polished table,

 

“Well, sir, Mr Ewing…” so he began stuttering his way through the whys and wherefores of their misdemeanour, his voice strengthening as his explanation trundled on and on.

 

Reuben was beginning to think his friend was spinning it out far too long and could see from Ewings face that half way through the man had lost interest. He lowered his eyes and thought of what Jimmy was saying, and yes, they had broken the rules but…and before he could finish the thought Ewing had stopped Jimmy’s tale of woe and now swung his attention to Reuben who felt his stomach clench …

 

“Well, Cartwright, anything to add to your friends narrative? Any good reason why you felt impelled to break the school rules?”

 

Reuben opened his mouth, nothing came out.. he cleared his throat and inhaled deeply

 

“Sorry, Sir.”

 

“Sorry Sir? Is that all you have to say…”

 

“Jimmy just explained everything really…I .. I can’t think of anything more to add to that…”

 

He could tell from the man’s face that he had given the wrong answer. Ewing leaned back against his big leather chair and seemed to expand, perhaps thinking of and relishing the thought of using that leather strap on both of them…then the man leaned forward much like a judge would when in court looking down at those awaiting his judgement, to hang or not to hang that is the question!

 

“Well, Mr Cartwright, speak up….” he half rose from his chair, hands on the desk, fingers splayed out against the highly polished surface

 

“Just that..” Reuben swallowed, “Just that doing what is right, is sometimes more important than keeping to a rule. Jimmy and I went to help a friend … he needed our help….”

 

“And where is he now…this friend of yours? Not here facing up to his punishment ..is he?”

 

Both Jimmy and Reuben clapped their mouths shut, clamped their teeth together … they kept their eyes straight ahead and watched as the Principal stood up, seeming to grow taller, bigger and wider every second …

…………………

 

Ben Cartwright was not in a conciliatory mood. When his three sons walked into the house he glared at them in much the same way Ewing had glared at the two boys. The fact that each man standing there looked exhausted, grime streaked from their endeavours at the timber yard, clothes sticking to them and stained by smoke did not seem to register to him. It did with Hester who gave a little cry of despair at the sight of them and said something about getting them a drink and generally fussing which was reassuring to her husband but seemed to irritate Ben even more.

 

The three men flopped into the chairs and said nothing. They had expected a better reception from their father than the one he was giving them and were prepared to sit it out until Ben came to his senses and treated them with some consideration. Preventing a fire, riding home, in the searing heat, worrying about when and if there was a forest fire had not exactly made them feel prepared for Ben’s mood now.

 

In silence they accepted the glasses of cool lemonade that Hester gave them. Hoss glared down at his free hand at the blister that had formed there, Joe flicked sweat from his forehead with a swipe of his forefinger, wiping it down his shirt, while Adam gulped down the cool drink with his eyes staring fixedly at Ben.

 

“What happened?” Ben finally asked, sitting down on his chair behind the desk and trying hard to soften his features, fearing that he had already created a problem by his appearance as soon as they had stepped inside the house. He had been wrong, explanations would come later, at the same time whatever had happened to rock his boat still lingered and he could not help but maintain a less than sympathetic look on his face.

 

No one spoke at first, letting the man stew…typical boys letting their father know they had not appreciated the lack of welcome they had received. Hester had sat down and taken up some sewing her eyes cast over to her husband, willing him to speak and not make things worse by silence.

 

“Wal,” Hoss finished his drink and licked his lips , “We went to see Mac, noticed smoke and thought we should investigate, make sure the Ponderosa weren’t about to burn down…”

 

“Don’t make a joke of it…” Ben said testily although his heart had nearly stopped at the thought of fire ..smoke…he mentally prayed, not that, Lord, please….

 

“Mac’s got a good team there…they built a kind of watchtower … several located in various areas …men posted there..” he paused and looked at Hester, holding out his glass “Any chance of a refill, honey?”

 

“One of the men noticed smoke …they went to check it out right away.” Joe continued, “ They had formed a fire break before we got there, got it mostly under control, just needed a bit of further attention …”

 

Ben nodded, his dark eyes flicking from one to the other, he leaned back into his chair “There’s no further danger from that…?”

 

“Mac will make sure of that..” Adam said and smiled at Hester who had refilled his glass and Joe’s along with her husbands, nothing better to cut the dryness …he wiped sweat from his neck with a very limp handkerchief.

 

“Yeah, was a long hot ride from there..” Hoss muttered, “Trees grown so close in places, if there was a fire….” he paused and drew in his breath “No doubt about it, we need rain…”

 

“Does Mac need more men out there?” Ben asked quietly, “Would they be able to handle a fire should one break out?”

 

“Fact is…” Adam said slowly “there’s a lot of land out there, a whole lot of trees packed in together, they could look in one area…and a fire break out somewhere else. Mac’s had these Watchtowers built where he feels the timber more vulnerable, he has men at each station..” he gulped down some more lemonade, stared at the glass in his hand for a moment “Do we have enough men should there be a fire…simple answer, no we don’t…”

 

“Then we need to do something to remedy that right now…” Ben said after a moments silence had fallen upon them, and Hester had stabbed herself with a needle…”Any ideas..”

 

The three of them swivelled eyes at one another, then looked at Ben. Hoss nodded and Joe pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his face. The room was stifling hot despite the door and windows being open…

 

“Well, I thought we should go talk to Clifford, he’s the fire Chief in town, ask him for his help..perhaps some of his men could be drafted in to patrol the timber.”

 

Ben nodded “His men are mostly volunteers…””

 

“Even so each one makes up his own mind ..gets paid well for doing the job.” Joe added.

 

“We could get some of our men out there,” Hoss added, “Now the cattle station is up and running we got more men around here doing little ..”

 

“There is work to be done here, Hoss….” Ben said testily but Hoss nodded agreement before simply adding that if fire broke out then there could well be no jobs for anyone..a sobering thought, it did not ease the situation and Ben stood up and rubbed his hands together, then looked at Adam “You got anything to add?”

 

Adam just shrugged “I reckon each of us should decide on a section of the timber, and patrol it regularly…no point in sending out men if we ain’t prepared to do it ourselves.” he stood up and put the glass down on the table “Anyhow, I’m going home to clean up…I reckon we smell like a skunk at a tea party…”

 

Joe cackled at that and Hoss grinned, looked at his wife who smiled faintly…Joe stood up and then paused, looked at his father

 

“Anyhow, you gonna tell us what put you in such a foul mood? Wasn’t out of worry for us by any chance, was it….?” and he grinned again, in that way he had to disarming Ben when the older man was about to explode

 

Ben opened then closed his mouth…he shook his head “No, I’ll discuss it with you all another time…it can wait.”

 

Chapter 22

Adam dipped his handkerchief into the trough and did not bother wringing out the excess water, just wiped it around his face and neck and looked thoughtfully over at the house while Sport slurped up the water, Navejo doing the same beside him.

 

“What’s on your mind/” Joe asked as he dipped his hands into the trough and the water he scooped up he splashed over his face sighing as he did so…the heat was just getting too much

 

“Just wondering what was on Pa’s mind…he looked ..well..rather fierce.”

 

“Fiercer than normal you mean?” Joe shrugged, “ Maybe the heats got to him, or perhaps he remembered something we should have done but didn’t.”.. he gave Adam a playful punch in the shoulder “Don’t worry, he’ll let us know in time…”

 

“Probably wants us to check those water holes…”

 

“Yeah, well, that’s not going to happen. Not today it isn’t” Joe led his horse away from the trough and mounted into the saddle, “Do you think this is going to last much longer?”

 

“This heat? I don’t know ….”

 

“Thought seamen knew how to read the weather…”

 

“Yeah, well, it’s different at sea. “ Adam frowned, shook his head “When this weather does break, have to hope it’s a good steady downpour, not an electric storm or anything like that….”

 

Joe nodded, watched as Adam mounted Sport and turned the big horse in the direction of the track that would lead to their respective homes. As they walked the animals out of the Ponderosa yard Joe looked back over his shoulder

 

“I can remember once when there was a storm…timber blazed …could see the flames from my bedroom and thought we would be burned up….I think you were at college at the time but it was the first fire in the timber we had ever had. Lasted several days…we didn’t have the men nor the resources back then, can’t tell you how glad we were when the rains came.”

 

Adam nodded, but said nothing. At the top of the track they parted, Joe to his own house while Adam headed to his own. Grateful for the shade the trees provided, but sad to see how the leaves drooped, already falling, exhausted from the heat.

Olivia greeted him with her usual smile, but the heat was sapping her energy and Nathaniel was listless and moping. It was strange how much one enjoyed warmth and then just a degree or so more than normal and for an extended period of time it just became too much.

 

When Adam leaned in to kiss her he could feel how hot her body was, despite just wearing a light summer dress. He took her hand in his and raised it to his lips, “I’ll just go and clean up.”

 

“Shall we walk down to the river later, have our meal by the water…it may be cooler there…” she smiled as she spoke, and when he said it sounded a good idea looked grateful. “The children will be home soon…I’ll make sure that everything is ready so we can walk right on down when they arrive”

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

Reuben was not sure how Adam would respond to the letter that was handed to him. He stood in front of his father and waited, his mouth dry and eyes anxious. Olivia hovered in the back ground before helping Sofia to carry a wicker basket to the wagon out in the yard where Nathaniel was leaning over the trough flicking water with his fingers.

 

“What’s this about?” Adam asked as he looked first at the envelope in his hands and then at his son, “Trouble?”

–

“We -e ll” Reuben drawled, and sighed, shrugged and waited while the envelope was ripped open and the letter carefully smoothed out ..his eyes stayed fixed on his father’s face, and he sighed just at the same time Adam did.

 

“Hmm.”

 

“Sorry, Pa.”

 

“Well, so…detention tomorrow.?”

 

“Jimmy had to stay in detention today, because he lives in town but Mr Ewing thought it only fair to give you advance warning, he reckoned you would both be concerned if I did not get back on time today…”

 

“Very considerate of him…” Adam folded the letter back and slipped it into the envelope. “Well, care to tell me what happened and why you have detention?”

“Jimmy and I went to help Davy find Bella…that’s his dog…was his dog I mean ‘cos she got shot ..” he frowned “Davy needed help so we went to help him, but that meant we broke the school rules …leaving without permission… “

“And Mr Ewing gave you detention for that?”

“Yes,, sir….he said he would have given us 6 of the best, but he didn’t have the energy in this weather…but rules are there to be obeyed …well, we know that, but Davy was desperate and …and it was just unfair not to help him.”

“Well, true enough, can’t have children breaking rules and wandering around town whenever they wish…” he frowned slightly “And the dog got shot, did you say?”

 

“Someone said she had rabies, and shot her, but she was not sick, she was not…Davy…” he shook his head and his eyes moistened, so he tried to blink it away, “Davy was sure upset and Miss Tyndale took him away, to the library…and Dr Martin took Bella home ..to his house I mean..”

 

“Are you two coming>” Olivia stepped back into the room, looked at her husband and son and sighed “We’re waiting…”

 

“Just coming…” Adam replied and looked over at her, nodded…and then put the envelope on the table, looked at Reuben with dark eyes, and nodded again. He put his hand on Reuben’s shoulder and looked down at the boy “Well, you know, sometimes circumstances come along when rules have to be broken…no doubt about it.”

 

“Yes sir…much like I said to Mr Ewing…kinda…”

 

Adam’s eyes twinkled at that…he nodded over to the door “Come on, let’s get going, your Ma has arranged for a little picnic by the river….”

 

“You aint angry with me?” anxious eyes looked up at the man who just widened his smile

 

“No, son..I was never very good at keeping to the rules myself…as you say, there are times, circumstances when they just have to be broken….or maybe just bent a little..”

……

Davy did not know really what to do…his head ached so much his eyes were crossed, and his jaw ached along with every tooth in his head because he had clenched his teeth so hard to stop from blubbing. He felt so many emotions running through him that he was at a loss at what to say or do next.

 

He was home now, sitting in his own room on the edge of his bed and staring down at the blanket upon which Bella would have been curled up. His Ma had been kind, had even shed a tear for Bella but his Pa..had shrugged and mumbled something under his breath and walked out to his work shop.

 

He felt a vast emptiness inside of him, his heart felt like a weight trapped within his ribs. He wanted to cry some more but could not..he just stared at the little blanket and thought of the dog, of his friend George who had given her to him as a gift…what would he think when he came by next and found the animal .. gone.

 

There was a knock on the door and a murmur of voices. His Ma called his name and so, with a weariness so profound it was a wonder he was able to move at all, Davy got up from the bed and made his way to the room where the caller had been taken…what his Ma called the best parlour.

 

Ethan was there with Paul Martin. Both men were balancing their hats in their hands and looking rather sombre. Davy’s heart sunk, what other bad news was there? What else would they have to say..Ethan cleared his throat

 

“Just came to see you, see how you were faring, young man”

Davy’s lips twitched as though he wanted to reply but somehow his throat was too dry, so he bowed his head and just shrugged, Ethan nodded as though he understood and would not force the issue. He licked his own lips though and squared his shoulders as though he had bad news to share..

 

“The couple involved ..I mean..the lady genuinely thought your dog was going to attack her little girl, she panicked, screamed and her husband just shot ..instinct to protect his own…he wanted to apologise, sorry for the dog…everything..he just did what he thought was best at the time…”

 

Davy shot a look at the deputy and frowned, wanted to say a whole lot of things, shout and protest and could see from Ethan’s face that the man was as sorry to repeat the message as no doubt the man who asked for it to be delivered had been…he turned his head and looked at Paul who gave him a friendly warm smile

 

“Davy..I was able to tell them that Bella did not have rabies. She was probably just dozing in the shadow of the alley, got alarmed out of her sleep by the child finding her…” he paused “Do you want to come and see her?”

 

Davy shook his head…no, he could not bear to see Bella …not now, not how she was now.

 

“I think….” Paul said quietly, slowly “ I think she would like to see you …” he leaned forward a little, so that he was not towering over Davy but more at his eye level…”How about it?”

 

Davy still shook his head…and when Ethan put his hand on his shoulder he looked up at the deputy who was smiling gently down at him “I’ll come with you if you would prefer?”

 

Bowing his head Davy nodded…one last look, that would not hurt , would it?

Chapter 23

The sun was sliding behind the clouds, the warmth still all pervading. Davy kept his eyes down so that all he saw were the boards they were walking on, their feet as they made their way in silence to who knew where, Davy did not know, he did not care either

 

He noticed the dark stains on the boards where over countless days men had spat out tobacco juice, and the sun had dried the stains to form their own patchwork pattern on the dusty dry planks upon which people passed. He found himself looking out for the dark patterns as though somehow they relieved his mind of the anxiety that roiled in his stomach.

 

Every so often Ethan put his hand on the boys shoulder as though to express his sympathy and to encourage him to keep walking. In a way Davy was not surprised when they stopped at Paul’s gate, it creaked as they entered into the yard and now made their way to the house that had been built on the edge of town years ago but was now closer to its centre, the town growing and seeming to embrace the building along with its occupant.

 

“Here we are,” Paul said as though they had accomplished great things by walking from the Rileys’ house to his own.

 

Davy sniffed, squared his shoulders and raised his head to watch the door open and he was gently pushed inside. The house smelled warm, food was cooking, its meaty smell floating towards them, reminding the boy that he had not eaten all day. He resisted the tightening in his stomach and firmed his mouth.

 

There were pictures on the walls as they passed along, edging past the hallstand where coats and hats and boots cast dark shadows and seemed about to launch forward to entrap the unwary. He swallowed bile. This was agony. Why did he have to come…what did they want from him?

 

Paul paused at a door and turned to Davy, who was forced to look up at the old man. He saw the kindness in Paul’s face and his heart plummeted. He was being prepared for bad news, he anticipated it, and squared his shoulders, held up his head, blinked away tears. Why drag this out…couldn’t they have just told him what was going on?

 

“Now, Davy, just to put your mind at rest….Bella did not have rabies…” the old Doctors’ voice was kindly, but it annoyed Davy so that he scowled

 

“I know that already…” and he shrugged off the Deputy’s hand from his shoulder.

 

“Well, you were right, now then…” Paul pushed open the door and led Davy and Ethan into the room where the smell of food was now mingled with that of antiseptic and ether and smells Davy recognised from being at the surgery, smells familiar to him from his fathers ‘workshop’

He gave an impatient shake of the head and then saw a familiar shape lying on the table.

 

Some of her shaggy coat was still tinted pink where there had been blood, now cleaned as much as possible. He blinked, gulped again, and bowed his head, he had not wanted to see her again not like this…limp, lifeless, he sniffed back tears too proud to cry in front of them, anyway he had cried enough through the day, hadn’t he?

 

“Bella…” her name slipped involuntarily through his lips as he shook his head as though in denial of what he was looking at, “Oh Bella….”

 

He was lowering his head when he noticed it….the slightest movement of her tail, and when he exclaimed “Bella” with hope, joy, disbelief mingled in his voice the tail wagged faster, stronger and the slightest whimpering sound drifted over to him…and then he was there beside her, crying tears that dripped into her fur, and when he looked over at Paul his throat was too tight with joy and tears that he could not speak, but all he wanted to say was there, on his face and in his eyes.

 

Ethan nodded and smiled, then quietly stepped outside and left the room, left the house. He stood at the front door and inhaled a deep breath…he had always wanted a dog of his own, envied the kids at school who had one..He shook away the memory and thought of the boy and the dog he had left with Paul, exhaled and stepped out to return to his office.

 

Paul stepped up to the table and put his hand gently on Davy’s shoulder, just as Bella had lifted her head and looked at her friend before lowering her head again upon the table

 

“The bullets missed her vital organs, Davy” his voice was soft and kindly, Davy nodded although he could barely hear the man, the words seemed to come from a long way off “She is very weak, so she will have to stay here for a while, until she is strong enough…to go home with you. Do you know what I am saying?”

 

Davy nodded, “She is going to be alright though, isn’t she?”

 

“She just needs to regain her strength. Her heart is strong, I’m sure she will be just fine given a few days rest.”

 

“Can I come and see her …I mean…” he cast his head down, the days stretched ahead, long, boring, school.

 

“Come whenever you can..but don’t skip school, you need your education, David. You’re a bright lad, you could go far, look at Michael Michaelson and how well he did?”

 

Davy had no idea who the man was and he did not care, he just nodded…”Can I stay here, just a while?”

 

“I’ll let you know when supper is ready, you can eat with us and then come back to see her..before you leave for home.”

 

Davy’s heart sunk…home…back to where his father would have to be told about Bella. The wretched man had been more than pleased at the news about the animals death, but now…but Davy just nodded and mumbled a thank you .. thank you….

……………….

 

Hose Cartwright slipped his hand into that of his wifes and squeezed it gently which earned him a smile before she released her fingers and returned to her task of setting out the table. He leaned in and put his arms around her waist, resting his head upon her shoulder he whispered softly

 

“Any idea what’s wrong with Pa? He’s like an old bear that’s swallowed a whole mess of hornets.”

 

If Hester had been expecting some sweet endearments from her husband she did not show any disappointment in not receiving any. She could understand why well enough, after all they shared the house with Ben and his moods affected them all…even the children were quieter than usual. She had asked Ben several times if she could help with whatever the problem was, but Ben had just shaken his head, growled something beneath his breath and stumped out of the house.

 

At least wherever he had taken himself it meant the house was more settled, the children could play as usual, as much as they would want to in the stifling heat.

 

“I don’t know, Hoss, and with this heat it has made the day seem longer than ever.” she placed a wine glass upon the table beside the plate, the so familiar pink and white patterned chinaware Marie had cherished. She ran a finger around the edges and sighed “We will have to replace this set soon, I’m afraid this is all showing the wear and tear of years of use….I doubt if that will go down well with Ben either…”

 

Hoss nodded and looked at the clock, wondered why they were whispering when Ben was not there anyway.

 

“Anything happen that could have changed his mood? I mean, he was fine when we left here this morning….seemed so to me, anyhow.”

 

“No, he was alright ..” she paused, a knife in one hand, its blade pointing to the ceiling, her brow crinkled and slowly, almost in slow motion she put the knife down “He was alright,” she repeated “It was after Ezra brought in the mail…there was a package. I remember now, it had a lot of stamps on it and looked rather battered , as though it had travelled some distance for some time…”

 

“oh…doesn’t sound good….what did he do with it? I mean…did you see where it came from? The stamps?”

 

“Goodness me, Hoss, no I didn’t…he had it and took it to his study and I never saw it again.” she frowned “But thinking on it, his mood changed after that…..”

 

“Dang, we gotta find where it came from…if we know what the problem was perhaps we can get him back to his usual old self…”

 

“Whatever that’s supposed to be…” Hester said with a sigh and glanced over her shoulder as Hoss hurried towards Bens study “Whatever it is you’re looking for, it isn’t there…..I looked already…” and with that she placed the last of the silverware on the table and walked off to the kitchen.

 

She heard her husband as she left him….a lot of Dangs…and some other of Hoss’ favourite expressions drifted her way. It seemed to her she was going to spend the evening with two downright miserable Cartwrights….

……………

 

Ben dismounted outside the Sazarac saloon and tied the reins of his horse over the hitching rail. From the sounds coming from the building it was obvious that they were busy, really busy, doing what would be termed a roaring trade. Not so far off the Bucket of Blood was doing the same. At night Virginia City took on a quite different appearance to the peaceful bustling township it appeared to be during the day.

 

He stood on the pavement for a moment and glanced from left to right before he turned to his saddle, and began to unbuckle his pannier, taking from it a brown package. He stared down at it again, and then turned and strode over to the bat wings of the Sazarac

 

How many times had he and his sons pushed their way through them into the interior of the most lavish saloon in Virginia City. There had never been any expense spared on the décor and appearance of these places of entertainment, when gold had flowed so high and so abundantly that door knobs were made of the stuff. Thoughts of Sodom and Gomorrah flashed through his mind as he made his way to the counter where big Jake Solomon stood, hands splayed upon the counter as he conversed with one of their customers.

 

Ben ignored him and headed towards the Manager’s Office, but paused when Sol called out to him and told him that his ‘Boss’ was not there, he had gone out, early afternoon, said he may be late back.

 

“Where is he?” Ben said, his voice rumbling from the depths of his chest.

 

“At the Ponderosa” came the immediate reply and Sol nodded, turned away and continued his conversation as though, so far as he was concerned, he had nothing else to say.

 

And Ben took the hint, he firmed his mouth into a straight rigid line and did an about turn.

Out on the street he stood once more on the pavement and this time stared straight ahead of him…well, a wasted journey then…so be it.  

Chapter 24

The Town Hall clock chimed the hour prompting Ben to pull out his silver hunter to check the time. . As the last chimes faded his stomach rumbled and reminded him that he had missed his meal.

 

What had he been thinking of? He had had all day to deal with this particular matter but had left it until this late hour…stewing over it, and stoking up his temper ..storming out of the house with no explanation to Hester, and now here he was hungry and angry and feeling ..well, feeling aggrieved. He glanced over to the view of Sun Mountain that glowered in the distance and shook his head, he cursed himself under his breath, carefully placed the package back into his saddlebags and then marched over to Del Monico’s for something to eat. At least, while he was here, he was not going to go hungry.

 

Paul Martin walked by on the opposite side of the road with his hand resting on the shoulder of the boy, David Riley. He and Ben raised a hand, nodded at each other and continued on with their journey, leaving Ben to speculate on what mischief Davy had been up to this time.

 

Without Ben even noticing how it happened, Daniel deQuille was suddenly close behind him, almost tripping on his heels. As usual the newspaper man looked like a wolf seeking to devour some innocent lamb, so Ben scowled in his direction in the hope that the wretched man did not view him as his next potential victim.

 

The restaurant was not overly full so he was able to find himself an empty table, pulled out the chair and sat down. He knew what he would order, one of his favourite dishes washed down with his preferred Chablis…by the time he had decided on what he was going to eat the waiter was standing beside him, and Daniel deQuille was smiling as he pulled out the chair opposite and sat himself down.

 

The day was rapidly worsening…

 

…….

 

The children had been constantly casting their eyes at the empty seat at the table and had even asked their parents if they knew where Grampa had gone. Hester just said that Grampa would not be long, no doubt just delayed but the meal came to a conclusion and still no sign of the man.

 

“He is allowed to go out, you know.” Hester had said with a forced smile at Hoss who had ventured to mention several causes for concern which had made Erik’s eyes go round with alarm and Hope looked on the verge of tears. “He is a grown man ..”

 

“But he is …older now..Hester. What if..”

 

“No, Hoss, stop it. You are alarming the children. Your father is quite capable to looking after himself and he does not really have to ask our permission to leave the house. Anyone would think he’d only survive the day if we tied him to a chair…”

 

Hop Sing had been cross examined when he had the temerity to come in and clear away the table before Ben had returned home, almost as though he knew his old friend would be absent some time yet…he had shaken his venerable head and shrugged, muttered how he knew nothing and wandered back to the kitchen.

The children went to bed still wondering where Grand father Ben was, he had broken the habit of some years and they had never really realised how much they had taken it for granted that he would be there, presiding over the table as ever.

 

True, since his injuries that caused him to lose his memory some years ago, he had not ventured out so far nor so often ..on his own. His excursions anywhere had been in the company of his sons, or daughters in law.. it had been an event in his life that had scared him enough to stick close to home rather than take unnecessary risks a whole list of which Hoss was mentally ticking off as the hours passed.

………………..

 

Daniel deQuille knew that he was not exactly welcome but he was hard nosed enough not to be too concerned about that…he ordered the same meal as Ben and enjoyed it every bit, perhaps even more, than the rancher as he talked a load of nonsense = in Ben’s opinion= about town matters that could be of interest to the old management

 

“Good thing about the dog…” Daniel said as he forked a large piece of steak into his mouth.

 

“Dog ..what dog?”

 

“The boy Riley’s dog….” Daniel swallowed and sipped down a generous gulp of Chablis to wash it down and prevent himself from choking. He then described what had happened, mentally noting as he did so what he had said so that it could be in he Enterprise the next day.

 

“So it’s alive then?”

 

“Defnitely, for now anyway.”

 

“What do you mean by that…is it still …”

 

“Oh according to Paul Martin the creature is going to be fine, just that old man Riley hates the mutt and will no doubt .. well, he won’t be happy about its survival.”

 

“Not much he can do about it now…”

 

Daniel shrugged and continued to slice his steak and put it in his mouth hidden away as it was by his hideous beard. Ben kept his eyes down, rather than watch the mans chomping away as he did…he, along with his family, could not stand the man and being in this close proximity was putting Ben off his meal.

 

“Clay seems to have settled in well..Australia seems to have suited him well.” Daniel finally said as he pushed aside his plate.

 

Ben nodded, recognising this as the opener to whatever it was that deQuille was wanting to find out. He continued to eat his meal, taking his time to chew and swallow, eking the minutes out for as long as possible. Daniel beckoned to the waiter, and asked for a large glass of water. He leaned forward rather conspiratorially to Ben

 

“I allow myself a glass of fine wine every so often…a small indulgence, you understand.”

 

“I did wonder…” Ben muttered knowing Daniel for many years and having lost count of the number of times the man had fallen off the wagon…

The journalist lips gave the appearance of a smile, he thanked the waiter and sipped the cool water. He waited a fraction of a moment, complained about the heat, far too hot even though it was early summer what would it be like in a months time..scorched earth..no doubt bad for the cattle…

 

Ben pushed away his empty plate and looked around the room, more and more people were drifting in and taking their seats… he leaned forward and narrowed his eyes,

 

“So, Daniel, what is it that you are busting your britches to know?” he raised his eyebrows “You may as well ask now, and get it over with…”

 

Totally unabashed Daniel grinned and leaned forward also, so that their heads were almost touching, anyone glancing over would think them the best of friends sharing confidences..

 

“Well, how is the cattle station getting along? Any further trouble with the Malahides? Found any more bodies stashed away thereabouts?”

 

“Everything is getting along just fine, Malahides are fine, non existence of bodies..is fine.” Ben sighed and leaned back “And what else do you want to know?”

 

“Well, as you ask, I wondered what yo knew about Ballarat.”

 

“Ballarat?” Ben frowned, caught by surprise although he realised he should not have been, “Its in Australia.”

 

“Thank you, that is a fact I already knew….” Daniel sighed and glanced around him before looking again at Ben “Your step-son…that is what Clay Stafford is to you, isn’t he, Ben? Your step son…” he smiled slightly as he noted the colour slowly mounting Ben’s cheeks, “He was living in Ballarat, wasn’t he?”

 

“Why ask me…everyone knows that…Clay has not hidden the fact from anyone..”

 

“No?” Daniel’s eyes widened, then narrowed and he nodded “I was just wondering what was in that big package you took into the Sazarach earlier, I noticed the stamps and so forth on it, the way you were hugging it close to yourself ..must be important what there is inside….”

 

Ben sighed and stood up, looked thoughtfully at Daniel “You know, it is moments like this that reminds me what a rat you really are, Daniel.”

 

Daniel only shrugged, “News is what the world turns on, Ben…good news is fine, bad news is better..you should know that by now…”

 

“And you should remember the last time you went prying into my family’s business, nearly cost you your life…remember? The best news for that week would have been reading your Obituary…”

………..

 

Joe Cartwright leaned forward and refilled the three glasses…then he settled back into the cushions in order to enjoy the whiskey, and to continue enjoying the company of his wife, and his brother.

 

He had been rather annoyed at returning home earlier, sweating profusely, dirty with the grime of soot and dust, aching and in all ways bad tempered, to find Clay laughing and chatting to Mary Ann who was obviously delighted to have the man’s company.

 

It was company she had enjoyed since before lunch, when Clay had arrived at the house, clutching a bouquet of flowers, and wearing a big smile on his face while his eyes had twinkled at her as though to say ‘I know you won’t turn me away on a hot day like this one…’

 

As if she would…she was more than pleased to get better acquainted with her brother in law. The children were also delighted at his arrival, it was a distraction for them every bit as much as it was for their mother. They had chatted over coffee and then strolled down to the river with food for a picnic. By this time Constance was happy enough to want her Uncle to carry her down to the waters edge, arms uplifted and wide smiles to beguile him.

 

While Joe had been labouring under the hot sun chopping away smouldering tree branches his wife and step brother were laughing and enjoying the cool air by the river, with the children happily paddling by the scanty beach that existed there. Any one passing by would have thought it a delightful scene of a family enjoying time together…

 

But Joe, cleaned up and refreshed after a good meal with everyone.was also enjoying this time with his newly found brother. They relaxed even more when the children had been taken up to bed, despite their protests.

 

When shadows began to lengthen and Clay made ready to leave Joe insisted that he stayed for the night in the spare room. It was a long ride back to town, and the nights were darker than ever despite it being summer time. Clay laughed at their worries, assured them he would be fine, he had a good steady horse but if they insisted…so they did …and so he stayed…

Chapter 25

There was a full moon, so bright that the road from town was as clear to the traveller as though it were day. There was silence too, a calm peace that settled like a gossamer thin shroud over everything. Just occasionally there was the rustle of some small animal in the undergrowth, the flutter of wings drifting overhead.

 

All Ben could hear was the sound of his horses hooves upon the hard baked ground, and his heart beat steadily pulsing in his ears. It was still overly warm, the air dry, occasionally he had to stop to drink from his canteen of water during which times he would pause to look around him.

 

This was Ponderosa land. His! The fruitage of his hands, the result of back breaking work and brain absorbing plans and deals. One never got anything for free in this world and he was not too sure about the next world either..but years and years of toil, and labour, everything he had being poured into this land. And his sons, of course.

 

He could see the ridge of mountains and the fringe of trees which were the cause of so much concern because of the heat. He kept them in his view as he jogged along, not caring now about the time, just jogging along.

 

He expected a lot from his sons, he was aware of that, but he had always expected his sons to come up to the mark…his mark. And they always had..well, apart from the time Adam went his own way, but the standards Ben had instilled in him had helped in his career …hadn’t it?

 

But things were changing. He was more than aware of that fact… .. his grand children were growing up fast, his sons were becoming and showing more independence from him..he saw the looks they passed to one another when he gave them the orders for the day. Well, that was always present, wasn’t it? The sullen looks, the ‘lets humour him’ shadows that crossed their faces…that was to be expected after all, but they wanted the Ponderosa to be a continuing success, for their children…just as he had done, just as he wanted it to be even now.

 

As he passed Adam’s house he could see a window glowing bright downstairs, Adam’s study.. for a fleeting moment he thought of going down to see his eldest son, but then realised the lateness of the hour, and as he thought that the light was extinguished and appeared upstairs in the bedroom.

 

Further along, and before he took the track to his own ranch, he turned his head to look for the glimpse of Joe’s property just cresting the hill to the left. The moon obliged by gilding the chimney with silver. The corner of the roof glistened with moonbeams..and with a sigh Ben turned Cinnamon homewards.

 

He was unsaddling his horse in the stable when the door creaked open and Hester appeared, lamp in hand, a shawl over her shoulders, modestly covering her night dress.

 

“Ben, are you alright…we were worried?” her voice quavered, evidence of her anxiety. Her hair was tousled as though she had just got out of bed and perhaps she had when she had heard the sound of his horse, the creak and groan of the stable door.

 

“I’m fine, no need for you to have worried …” he grabbed the saddle blanket and draped it over the stall boards, and frowned “I lost track of time is all….”

 

Heavier footsteps from behind her and Hoss appeared, blinking like an owl….and Ben felt a niggle of irritation that his son should act as though he, Ben Cartwright, had no right to be out at night..

 

“Pa, we were dang worried …whar’ve you bin?”

 

“I went into town…some business I had there…”

 

“At this time of night?” Hoss shook his head “You ain’t bin gambling have you?” his voice had the echo of his own father from days gone by when it would be the first thing Ben would accuse them off if they arrived home late from town…and Ben felt annoyed rather than amused at that…he shook his head and muttered beneath his breath.

 

“Look, Pa,” Hoss took the saddle and swung it over the railing, as easy as winking, and annoying Ben even more…when was it that he became such a weakling of a man that he could not deal with his own saddle…”You worried about anything? Anything, I mean, that we should know about?”

 

Ben shook his head and thought of the brown packet in his saddle bags, which he was about to pick up and which Hoss took up- instead, leaving Ben with the insane desire to grab them and wrestle them back from him. He firmed his lips and trudged his way to the house, followed by his son and daughter in law who were exchanging anxious looks behind his back.

 

“Are you hungry? Do you want some thing to eat or drink, Pa?” Hester asked as though his temper had leaked into the air and made her rather wary.

“I ate in town. I’m alright, no need to fuss…” Ben snapped back and slung his hat onto the peg, scowled at them both and muttered that he would go and get some water then go to bed.

Hoss and Hester stepped closer together, Hoss put his arm around his wife’s shoulder and shook his head

 

“Something’s wrong…” he muttered with all the knowledge of living with the man for so long,

 

“Well, guess he will tell us what it is in his own good time.” Hester replied with a slight shrug, having lived with Ben for long enough to know the man and his moods. “At least we know he’s safe…”

 

From the kitchen Ben yelled “I can hear you, you know……”

……………………..

 

The bedroom was overly warm, even with the windows open the heat seemed to hang over the room like an over warm blanket. Joe tossed about, then tried to pretend he was a log and lay as still as possible..then he tossed about a bit more. Mary Ann sighed in her sleep and turned over, her back to him, and he turned over to look at her recumbent body … not with desire but with annoyance…how could she sleep when he could not?

 

And he was tired! It had been a long day and working at the timber in the heat, that long slow ride home, made every bone in his body ache. He was – he thought – pleased to see Clay, of course he was…but why had he felt compelled to visit now!

 

Joe closed his eyes and thought of the scene he had come upon when he had arrived home. He saw himself, dirty, streaked with soot and sweat, clothes sticking to him and smelling ..his own body smell had made him feel immediately at a disadvantage when compared to Clay, looking cool, smartly dressed in a cream coloured suit, open necked shirt, not a bead of sweat on his face. Perhaps that was what living in Australia did for a man, so hot that it sucked up all the sweat a man was ever likely to secrete in his lifetime.

 

Joe had not thought about it at first, just glad to see him there, and Mary Ann looking so pleased to be playing hostess. But now, tossing and turning, unable to sleep, still sweating…Joe began to wonder why exactly his brother had come, during the day, when he would know he, Joe, would be away from the house and at work.

 

He glanced again at his wife and frowned. Thought about it for a while..well, Hoss and Adam would come at times when Joe was absent from home, didn’t they? They were family after all…that was what families did all the time, didn’t they?

 

Even so…the worm of doubt had trickled into Joe’s head. He tried to cast it out but he knew his brother ..or did he?

 

He got up and stumbled over to collect his dressing gown, the moon shone brightly across the room, leading a silvery path to the door through which he passed and made his way downstairs. He didn’t want to think about what had just crept into his mind, it made him feel sick …

 

He reached out and poured himself a glass of whiskey, and settled down into the big chair by the hearth. He hugged the glass against his chest and glared at the chair opposite..Clay…he sipped the whiskey and sighed …he should not feel this way, nor think such a way that could fracture his relationship with his brother, and worse still, with his wife.

 

He rubbed his face with his free hand, and then drank more whiskey…closed his eyes, he was tired that was the problem, he was so tired. The heat, the worry about the timber and fires, the memory of Virginia City burning not really so very long ago…and it could all happen again!

 

After the glass had been emptied he went back to his bed. Mary Ann was still sleeping, as pretty as she ever was with her hair braided so that her neck was free of its weight…he murmured her name softly in her ear and she smiled, eyelids fluttered open and then closed again..she whispered it was hot “So hot!” she sighed.

 

Joe rolled onto his back and punched the pillows, turned them over hoping they would be cooler, tried to sleep. Tomorrow was nearly upon them and he prayed that they would not have to worry about timber, trees, fires, heat …finally he fell asleep.

………………….

 

The undertaker had returned home drunk. Davy was asleep when his father burst through the door shouting and cursing that he did not want any more dogs in the house and if that hound were to drag its carcase back then he would shoot it himself.

 

Davy woke up and stayed as still as he could…he dared not breathe in the hope that his father would forget that he was there…in the house. He could hear his mothers pleading voice, because she loved Bella, and she loved Davy .. but Mr Riley soon quietened her down, or rather, gave her something else to plead about until she was quiet.

 

Then he made his way upstairs, bouncing from one side of the wall to the other, feet stumbling, voice rasping curses and yells as he reached his son’s bedroom door….he caught Davy just as the boy was half way out of the window, perched perilously on the ledge from which he was hauled and thrown back into the room when Mr Riley grabbed him by the collar of his night shirt….

Chapter 26

Olivia opened her eyes, blinked and closed them again. It was still dark, too early to get up to start the morning and yet her husbands side of the bed was empty. Eyes closed she reached out an arm and stretched it over the empty space…

It had taken sometime for Adam to break the habit of leaving his bed at 2 a.m, the time when he would leave his cabin and check the state of the men, the ship, the sea when he had been in the navy. She wondered when he had started doing it again and felt guilty that she had not noticed.

She left the bed and tip toed over to the window, carefully pulled aside the drapes and looked down into the yard but there was no sign of her husband there. She was still so tired, everyone was, the heat drained them of energy during the day and robbed them of sleep during the night…despite the longing to close one’s eyes and enjoy a few hours of respite. But there had been no respite for weeks now…

She made her way to her bed, fell back into it and closed her eyes. She would ask him in the morning why he had got up, she was just too tired to do so now. She closed her eyes and sighed, if only it were not so hot.

Adam stood on the verandah of the house, leaning heavily upon the railing that girded it just as years ago he would have leaned upon the taffrail that wound its way around the open deck area of the ship, towards its stern. His eyes were fixed to the sky, looking beyond the stars and the moon, searching for the something that had awoken him from sleep earlier.

There it was again…a low rumble far off to the north. He waited and looked into the distance but saw nothing. He sighed, sometimes that happened, a rumble of thunder to let one know that something was going on ‘up there’ and that there was a hope of the heat ending, sometime. He sighed again and shook his head .. the weather was a potential danger whether the signs were for good or bad.

Lightning without rain was feared among the timber men, not just them but rancher, farmer, homesteader…when lightning struck it was pure electricity and zapped down with such energy and power it could set the world ablaze. But then if it rained it would have to be the right kind of rain after all these weeks of drought. A torrential downpour would be disastrous, hitting the hard packed earth and sluicing off it,forming rivulets and streams and flooding the area, usually followed by more heat which would dry whatever good it did and create more problems.

What was needed was Gentle rain, soft and refreshing, slowly penetrating the rock hard soil and replenishing the parched undergrowth, refreshing the grass, the trees, every living thing. Water holes would fill and the streams would slow free, the cattle would have their fill and then eventually the grass would be green and lush again.

He ran a finger across his brow, wiping away a film of sweat .. then he left the railing and pulled out a chair, sat down and waited….something was bound to happen within the next hour or so, he was determined to see what it was, for good or evil.

 

Hoss Cartwright could be a light sleeper at times, and during the weeks of drought he had not slept so well. Now he woke up and wondered what it had been that had woken him. He looked down at the shape of his wife who slept soundly, even snorting every so often to prove how deep a sleep she was having compared to himself.

He sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed, his feet hit the floor with a thud. He rubbed his face with his hands and blinked…dang, what was it that woke him up now? Whatever it was, he was awake now and would make best use of the time by going downstairs and having something to eat, and drink. His mouth was dry, he itched all over…

He thumped his way down the stairs and into the kitchen. He peered into cupboards and found some ham, but he did not relish any ham at that moment so closed the door to go and get some water. He worked the handle of the sluice and watched as the water streamed out into the glass…it took an extra few pumps because over the past few days the water had been sluggish in reaching the pipework, which meant the stream was drying up.

He itched ..looked down at his arms as he gulped down the water and noticed the hairs on his arms were standing up on end. Odd …but he knew what that meant, drank down the last drop of water and hurried out of the house, and stood out in the yard to observe the sky.

Electricity in the air. A storm brewing…but what kind of storm? He did not know whether to be relieved or anxious. His blue eyes roved around the night sky…looked beyond the stars, and hoped that he would be able to discern the shape of clouds forming for the moon was bright enough to reveal their presence…. in the corral the horses shifted, moving restlessly, as though they were also waiting .. anxious … and as Hoss stood there scanning the sky he was aware of something else, the movement in the air, a disturbance that could only come from the freshening breeze that blew now from the north.

The heat around his legs shifted, swirled…he raised his face and sniffed hard, and inhaled a change of air around him. No doubt about it, but surely .. it was going to rain.

 

In the morning when the three households on the Ponderosa were preparing to break fast, it still had not rained. The breeze had strengthened though, and the hot air swirled around them as they made their way to their morning chores. It seemed instinctive for them all to look up at the sky to see if there was a small cloud gathering, but there was nothing.

Clay came down to join them with a smile on his face, looking well rested and charming as ever. Joe felt like a wrung out rag, and was not looking forward to the day ahead. He ate his meal slowly, and carefully watched his wife and brother as they chatted together, with the result that he did not enjoy the food, and felt his head aching and his pulse rate racing …no matter how he tried to force himself to be part of the conversation. The children were fretful, the heat and humidity were already affecting them .

When it was time to leave Joe was only too grateful to be going…he kissed Mary Ann tenderly, hoping she would realise how much he loved her, after all, did she really need to be reminded? But so far as he was concerned, she did, so he kissed her and hugged her as though he would never see her again…he was grateful that Clay did not follow his example, just thanked Mary Ann for tolerating his company

The two brothers left together, mounting the horses and threading their way out of the yard

“Another hot one, “ Clay observed as he glanced up at the sky

“Reckon so…”

“What will you be doing today? “

“Guess we will have to check the water holes…and the cattle…this has been a hard time for them. Just glad we have the main herd closer to Carson City now, lessens the load of work for us here.”

“Not the best of jobs on a day like this…”

“No, but it has to be done.” Joe glanced up at the sky, was that a cloud? A small white puffy thing …looked like a cow …well, it wouldn’t last, no doubt be burned up like others before the day was over.

“Why not move into town, Joe? Come and work with me…”

Joe laughed at that, he turned to look at Clay who was staring at him, poker faced. He shook his head

“No thanks, Clay, I can’t see me being a saloon keeper.”

“No shame in it, Joe….folk have to drink …and it’s a lucrative business. You could do worse…”

“And leave the Ponderosa? No, I don’t think so….” he shook his head, pouted out his lips and shrugged.

Ever discussed it with Mary Ann?” Clay asked, riding so close to Joe now that his knee actually brushed again Joe’s knee

“At times…why? Has she said something to you?” he bit his lip as soon as he had said the words…

“Well, I did ask her how she felt being here…heck, Joe, it’s quite a ways out of town, aint it?”

“So? What is that compared to being here? She’s happy enough .. “

“Well. I was just thinking, that…”

“Then don’t…stop thinking about things that don’t concern you, Clay. Keep your nose out of our business..d’you hear?”

“I was just going to say ..”

“Then don’t say it…I don’t want to hear…” he nudged Navejo with his heels, and the horse sprinted forwards, heading towards the Ponderosa main house, and Clay watched as his brother made his way down the track to the yard, dismounted and marched into the house.

 

Clay sat there in silence for some moments until he was disturbed by the sound of a horse approaching and with a sigh he moved the horse forward, meeting Adam on the track, nodding his good morning and making it clear he was not in the mood for talking. Adam was obviously in the same frame of mind he nodded too, then they parted to go their separate ways as though they were total strangers.

 

 

Mr Evans waited for the class to settle down and then read out the register. The children responded and most of them sounded awake and ready to start the day. Those who had had to travel into town were still weary, and finding it hard to throw off the cobwebs of heat and sleepiness. It was understandable after all, some lived some distance away, and some found the journey impossible during winter months when there was snow, and at times when there was too much work to do and their labour was needed at home

So he understood why some were absent and noted their names ..he looked up and surveyed the class thoughtfully“Anyone know why David Riley is not here?”

“No sir.” mumbled and muttered responses from various sections of the room.

“I heard his dog survived…”

“Yes sir…”

A ripple of restlessness trickled through them, it seemed to move the air a little and Edward frowned and quietly told them to settle down.

Jimmy looked at Reuben and raised his eyebrows, but Reuben just shrugged, after all he lived out of town, how would he know the goings on locally. He frowned and looked down at his book, and decided that if this was another ruse by Davy to get them recruited for another excursion out of school then he had another think coming!!

……………….

Ben sat at his desk and looked at the package with all the stamps emblazoned upon it. He was about to call his sons to join him when he heard Joe mentioning Clay by name…he stopped to listen, his hands resting on the top of the package, and as he listened to Joe telling them about Clay coming over the previous day, and Adam affirming that they had met on the track ..Ben picked the package up and slid it into a drawer.

Perhaps this was not the time or place…he felt caught in some kind of ambush…and he was not sure of the way out!

Chapter 27

It was just as Joe expected and he groaned inwardly. Checking the water holes, overseeing the cattle all of which meant a long tedious ride out to the pastures and then onto the where the cattle were strung out near by the river. Miles and hours of riding in the heat ..he sighed audibly and looked down at the floor

 

“Something wrong, Joseph?”

 

Ben’s voice broke the silence that had followed after he had given his orders for them, now Joe looked up and shrugged “You coming with us?”

 

Adam almost sucked in his lips over his teeth and Hoss rolled his eyes and stared up at the ceiling. Ben said nothing, but leaned back in his chair and stared at the far wall for an instant.

 

“I have something else to do…” he finally said and looked at them, nodded to himself “I want to check on the timber, see how Mac is getting on and if he has been able to keep up with the orders…”

 

“We did that yesterday, Pa.” Adam said quickly “If you recall rightly we…”

 

“I know what you said and what happened yesterday. I want to talk things over with Mac myself.” his hand rested on some package on his desk and his thumb idly flicked the corner of it, he sighed, “Adam, I want you to go into town and send off a cable to Candy, see how things are there ..” he paused “and wait for the reply.”

 

“Can’t one of the men do that ? “ Adam replied immediately, sensing his brother’s irritation that one of them was being released from the work involved with the cattle.

 

Ben frowned as though he had not thought of that before and was thinking it over now, he then nodded over at Joe and Hoss “Soonest you start the job the sooner its finished. I know it is not the best of jobs, but if you can get a few men to ride out with you then that will end it more quickly”

 

Joe and Hoss glanced at one another, shot an angry glance over at Adam as though he had engineered the whole thing to his advantage and then stomped out of the house. The door closed with a soft thud.

 

“Sit down.” Ben said quietly, and pointed to the chair “Look, I’ll get one of the men to do that errand …” he paused and picked up the brown package “I received this yesterday.” he frowned, his brow creasing into deep corrugations as a result. “spent most of the day reading everything in it.”

 

“That what caused you to be in such a foul mood…” Adam paused, no point in pushing the point, Ben was obviously not in a conciliatory mood now either …

 

“I guess so…” Ben said in that same quiet voice, he sighed and then upended the package so that its contents fell onto the desk “I went into town to see Clay….”

 

“This is all about Clay?” Adam frowned now, gestured to the litter on he desk and then looked up at Ben

 

“Mostly, yes. As I just said, I went into town to see Clay last evening…”

 

“He was here, he spent most of the day with Mary Ann, and stayed overnight…met him on the track as he was heading back to town.”

 

Ben nodded “Sol told me Clay was on the Ponoderosa, I figured he would either be at …at his mother’s grave…or at Joe’s place.” he sighed “Getting better acquainted with Mary Ann, eh?”

 

“Well, he is Joe’s brother -” Adam shrugged as though as far as he was concerned it was no big deal, he licked his lips, “Better than sitting in a stuffy office all day in this heat. “

 

Hester knocked and opened the door, a tray of refreshments in her hands, she placed the glasses and jug of cool lemonade on the desk, then after a quick smile at them both she bustled her way out. Both men had murmured their thanks as the door closed.

 

“This heat can’t last much longer…” Adam said as he filled the glasses, “I heard thunder last night…had hoped for some rain but ..nothing..” he sipped the lemonade, it brought back fleeting memories of when he had been younger and Hop Sing would make it, bring them some ..he sighed and looked at Ben who was chewing on his bottom lip. “Well, what is this all about then?”

 

Ben nodded, and began to separate the papers into small piles. There were newspaper cuttings, letters, posters ..he glanced up at Adam ..then back down at the piles on his desk.

 

“Well, it is not good news. I suppose, with Clay, that’s no surprise…for some reason bad news seems to follow him like a dark cloud.” he leaned back in his old chair and cleared his throat, “It seems some one has been collecting all the information they could on Clay…and then thought to send it on to me. Someone who has reason to ..perhaps want revenge on him for some thing, The only indication I have of that is a letter written to me…here…read it yourself.” and he passed the letter that was on top of the pile of papers over to his son.

 

For a moment Adam hesitated in taking it, his fingers twitched one against the other before he leaned forward to take it and then, to read it.

Dear Mr Cartwright, I believe that the person to whom these papers concern is en route to join you again. From my understanding he is the son of your wife, Marie and therefore the half brother to your son Joseph.

 

I have spent some years researching, seeking to find as much as I can about Clayton Stafford. For personal reasons that is as far as I can go now, I have amassed as much as I can, what you do with this information, with this person, I leave in your hands.

 

This is not revenge, or hate…no, perhaps it is but basically all I am seeking is justice…it seems to me that justice is something that Stafford has succeeded in avoiding all his life long. But then, with sufficient money, one can achieve that quite easily can’t they? His grandmother achieved that all her life long, she was a wicked woman, no doubt about it. It’s in the blood, and and some, charming as they may appear, inherit bad blood.

 

As I said I am in no position to follow this search through to the conclusion, but have to trust in you, strangers all, to achieve that, justice, in this world or the next, must come some time, surely? “

 

Adam read it through, inhaled, then gulped down the last of the lemonade before re-reading it through. He cleared his throat and then looked at his father as he set the paper down.

 

“No signature.”

 

“Obviously…” Ben cricked his neck, as though attempting to lessen the tension building up and causing his body to ache “What do you think about it though? “

 

“Well, I think….” he looked down at the paper, the dark ink darker than blood on the white paper “I think it was written by a woman. Educated.”

 

“So I thought too…I suppose the fact that a woman is involved should be no surprise but this woman has taken a lot of time to get this information…” he paused and pulled out a poster which he flicked down so that it was on top of everything else, “This was issued by some law office in Kansas just before the war….Clayton Stafford…$500 reward ..wanted for murder….and this…” he pulled out another poster “Issued by some place in Australia…just a few years ago Clay Stafford ..he didn’t even bother to change his name…wanted on charges of fraud, embezzlement …”

 

They both paused, as though by tacit agreement, no words, nothing. Just looking down at the posters, the pile of papers….as though they could not summon up the words to express how they felt, or what they wanted to do about it …then Adam raised his eyes to meet those of his father

 

“Whoever this person is…shemust have known Marie’s mother in law, knows some of Clay’s family history…this goes back a long time, someone who held a grudge about something for years…” he cleared his throat, shook his head “I had better read through all this and see what sense I can make of it….” he frowned and began to gather the papers towards him, then carefully bundled them into the envelope “What were you going to do, or say, if you had seen Clay last evening?”

 

“I was just going to demand an explanation…and hope he would be honest and tell me the truth.”

 

Adam nodded, then shrugged “How would you have known if he were telling you the truth? He’s not Joe…we can all tell if Joe is spinning a lie, but Clay…even if he were it would only be the amount of truth he would want you to know.”

 

Ben nodded “I was kinda glad he was not available last evening, that I didn’t have to listen to him, have that confrontation..” he frowned and pushed the packed closer towards Adam “Read it through, and when you have we will decide what to do….”

 

“What about Joe? Are you going to share this information with him?”

 

“Not yet.”

 

“Don’t you think you should? He was pretty riled up when we did those back searches on Clay years ago, remember?”

 

“I know.. but this is much bigger than that, much bigger…I don’t want to involve Joe yet…in time, when the time is right…” he paused “And no word of this to Hoss, either. It may seem unfair but I think that it would be best to keep it away from Hoss…”

 

Adam frowned and stood up, picking up the package as he did so, he looked at his father and wanted to tell him that he thought Hoss a least should be told, but he released a sigh and nodded “Alright, if you’re sure….”

 

He had reached the door before he stopped and turned, looked over at Ben “Oh, what did you want me to do ? Catch up with Joe and Hoss..”

 

“No, I think I would prefer for you to go home and read through all that ..soon as you start, the sooner we can put an end to it all…whatever that may mean…”

 

Adam nodded, and closed the study door behind him, the package under his arm. Hester came and asked him if everything was alright and he gave her a nod of the head and leaned in to kiss her cheek. He still thought Ben was wrong in not telling Hoss or even Joe come to that…but perhaps he would understand better his fathers decision once he had read through everything.

 

Hester watched her brother in law leave the house, watched as he put the package,that she had seen on Ben’s desk the previous day, carefully into his saddle bags….then she waved him goodbye, and turned thoughtfully back into the house.

 

Adam rode back to his house and unsaddled his horse, led her to the water trough to drink her fill. Even a mile in this heat sapped one’s energies and the horse had been waiting for an hour already while he had been inside with Ben.

 

He did not feel right at all. Emotionally he was torn between loyalties, to Ben, to his brothers. To Clay he felt no such loyalty, just curiosity. He had never felt the man’s charm, instead he had always distrusted it. At one time he wondered if it were because he was jealous of Clays situation as Joe’s half brother, claiming the same kinship as he and Hoss enjoyed …but over the years he knew that was not the case.

 

And he was curious now, about a lot of things. Whoever had written the letter, had obviously spent a lot of money hiring investigators for years..and when thinking of whom…one thought of the question…why?

 

He felt sick at heart, at a time like this a problem or problems that this situation with Clay could bring ..he shook his head, bad timing, sheer bad timing. Drought could kill off their cattle, lightning or mischance could cause the woodland to burn down, the Ponderosa could be ruined…or worse. And now he had to deal with this….

 

Olivia was not home, it was her day to work in the hospice and she had taken Nathaniel with her. The house was quiet although he could hear Chen working in the kitchen. He slowly removed his gun belt, and hat. He called out to Chen that he would be working at home, in his office….the package he now placed on his desk and began to clear everything else away in order to have enough space to work in.

 

He opened the window wider and a mere breath of a breeze floated into the room….

Chapter 28

 

“Hey Reuben ..where are you going? What are you doing?”

 

Tommy Conway’s sweaty hand reached out and seized hold of Reuben’s arm, pulling him back a few paces. He had been running and his podgy face was slick with sweat and his hair was damp, a mass of damp curls on his forehead .. Reuben turned to look at his friend with a sigh of exasperation

 

“What?”

 

“You can’t go out there, Reuben…you already got a detention you can’t risk getting worse…” Tommy exclaimed his voice squeaking slightly from having to catch his breath. He was not fit for running anywhere, especially in the noon day sun “What are you thinking of???”

 

“I was just – just wondering what was wrong with Davy…”

 

“Nothings wrong with Davy, he’s just fussin’ over that dog of his…he’s alright, Reuben, I saw him last evening going home from the Martins house, he looked fine. Now, come on back in before anyone gets the wrong idea.”

 

“Wrong idea about what? I’m only concerned about my friend..” Reuben screwed up his face, shook his head but stepped back from the gate that would have taken him onto the side walk .

 

“Davy isn’t the best friend anyone can have, Reuben… .. best intentions and all that…forget ’em.” Tommy shook his head and glanced over at the gate where people were strolling about getting on with their daily business. “He’s always been the cause of trouble, you know that…..”

 

“I know he’s my friend and there’s no reason to back off from a friend, Tommy.”

 

“Yeah, some friend he is…look what happened that time when he decided to explore that mountain and we fell down that hole and I broke my leg….”

 

“We found those conquistadores, didn’t we?”

 

Tommy shook his head “Reuben, Davy can take care of himself…just come on back and get on with your lunch before you get talking yourself into more trouble”

 

Reuben closed his mouth. He had opened it to protest some more about Tommy’s attitude when Jimmy joined them, gave both of them a reproving look to which Tommy said, with a jerk of his thumb at Reuben “He was going to go visiting Davy ..”

 

“Not a good idea just now,” Jimmy said with a shrug of the shoulders “You’ll only get into more trouble ..”

 

“So I’ve been told already.” Reuben turned and followed them both back into the crowd of students that were enjoying, if that were possible with such heat, their lunch recess. “What’s wrong with you two anyway, Davy’s our friend…”

 

Tommy rolled his eyes and shook his head, looked at Jimmy “I’ll leave him to you….” he muttered and walked off as though he had just dropped a ton of worry from his shoulders

 

“Something going on I don’t know about…” Reuben asked quietly”Has the dog died after all.”

 

“Not that I know off.” Jimmy kicked a loose stone with his foot and watched it skid away, it hit the foot of some boy who turned at him with a loud exclamation of annoyance so he mouthed his apology and then turned to Reuben “I don’t know for sure but from what I hear Mr Riley does not like that dog..”

 

“He doesn’t like anything…”

 

“Sure, I know that…” Jimmy nodded and stuffed his hands into his pockets, head bowed as they walked around the school yard “He gets drunk you know..”

 

“Yeah, I heard…”

 

“Well, he isn’t very pleasant when he gets drunk ….you know what I’m saying?”

 

“Was he drunk last night?” Reuben asked quietly looking Jimmy right in the eyes

 

“Yeah..some say so…” he reached out and put a hand on Reuben’s arm “Nothing you can do about it if he was, and Davy has lived in that mess for years now, he can handle it…doubt if he would be any too pleased if you ..if we ..waded in on his personal business now, would he?”

 

Reuben sighed, shook his head then said quietly “He wouldn’t hurt the dog though, would he?”

Jimmy shrugged “S’far as I know Bella is still at the Martins house…reckon Davy will be there if not here….”

 

Reuben nodded, that made sense, Davy loved that dog far more than school, he’d risk countless detentions or beatings for her sake of that Reuben was sure.

 

“He can be a bit of an idiot at times,” he said with a grin on his face, and Jimmy nodded and decided now was a good time to change the subject

…………….

 

Adam leaned back in his chair and bowed his head so that his chin rested upon his chest He pinched the bridge of his nose and puffed out his cheeks as he exhaled the sigh he had drawn into his lungs. For a moment he remained still, fingers pinching the bridge of his nose and his eyes closed. He then lowered his hands and placed them on the desk, fingers spread out on either side of the piles of paper .. several piles neatly collated together He was looking down on letters, on lengthy reports, on newspaper cuttings, on legal documents, on several wanted posters, cables and so forth. Some were years old, tatty and yellowed, some were not, they were still reasonably untainted by age.

 

Someone had gone to considerable lengths to find out every detail of Clay Stafford’s life, seemingly from an early age to present day. Who that someone was remained an enigma. No paper bore a name, signature or reference to whoever he or she was, although Adam still felt strongly, perhaps more so now, that the instigator was a woman.

 

He licked his lips, dry now, and shook his head. Still a lot to read through, perhaps more would be revealed as he continued his perusal. He stretched his arms above his head and again closed his eyes.. … no wonder his father had been angry after going through all these documents, especially when coming across details of the transaction that had involved ceding Clay a large amount of the Ponderosa, although there was a big red stamp reading “Revoked” glaringly obvious across it.

 

A polite knock on the door and Chen opened it and peered inside with the suggestion that Adam now ate something. Adam was more than happy to do so, he stood up and stretched again, his spine popped as a result.

 

陈，下会儿棋怎么样？我可以做点什么来清醒一下头脑！(Chen, how about a game of Chess, I could do with something to clear my head?)

 

Chen’s handsome face beamed a smile, he nodded, bowed slightly and left the room. By the time Adam had reached the dining room the meal had been set out, coffee jug and cups awaiting with steam pouring from the spout and the chess board awaiting. Chen setting out the black and white chess pieces while he waited for Adams arrival

 

They ate together in a companionable silence, broken only by the sounds of eating and drinking. At one stage Adam paused long enough to ask Chen if he missed his family in China, in his home province but Chen only shook his head, reminding Adam that the Empress had wiped out all his family, all his village, there was nothing to go back to, except to his own execution for being a traitor to China

 

现在你和你的家人就是我的家人，庞德罗萨就是我的家……我没有其他地方可去……(Now = you and your family are my family, the Ponderosa is my home…there is no where else for me to go.”

There was nothing else to add to that, nor anything else to say. Adam emptied his cup of coffee and nodded, pushed away the empty plate. It seemed so long ago that journey to the South China seas, the misery of Jiang Pengs tyranny over his people, supported and encouraged by the Empress of China. So much misery..and still it raged on, hatred, prejudice, murder.

 

They played two games of chess before Adam felt he could return to his reading all the documents in that package. He took a fresh cup of coffee back into the study with him and sat down, stared at the papers and then picked up the one closest to hand…a newspaper cutting from an Australian news paper THE QUEENSLANDER ….dated May 1872

 

Search for Missing Men continues

 

Two men from Ballarat are still missing despite an intensive search by Brisbane police.

 

The men Harold Jones and Stanley Matthews from the township of Ballarat were last seen in the popular Brisbane Excelsior Hotel * in the company of another resident an American by the name of Clayton Stafford.

 

The three men dined in the hotels prestigious restaurant where witnesses claim they were jovial and at ease with one another. There was no sign of bad feeling among them.

 

Mr Stafford has been interviewed by the Police and confirmed that their meeting was friendly and they had celebrated a partnership deal made earlier that day. According to Mr Stafford he did not see them again . He left the Hotel to go to the gambling rooms elsewhere…his presence there confirmed by numerous witnesses who mentioned he had won a large ‘pot’ of money.

 

The search for the two men continues.”

 

 

“The Queenslander June 1872

 

Police are looking for the whereabouts of Mr Clayton Stafford who was last seen in the vicinity of the Excelsior Hotel when he was interviewed regarding the missing men Harold Jones and Stanley Matthews.

 

The bodies of both men have now been found and their identities confirmed by friends of the deceased. The men were well known business men and had recently signed a partnership deal with Mr Stafford regarding their mine and land in Ballarat.

 

Details regarding the mens deaths have not been released.”

 

 

“The Ballarat Courier April 1875

Mr Clayton Stafford has struck it rich!!

While digging the foundations for his home Mr Stafford hit upon a large vein of gold .Ironically it is some distance from the mine he purchased from its previous owners who met an untimely death in Brisbane some time back. Mr Stafford said he had almost given up on finding anything on the land but had chosen to stay as he needed to settle down . The finding of the gold was by chance only but it looks possible that it will be providing work for a lot of people in the future.

 

Mr Stafford was under suspicion regarding the deaths of the former owners, but the Police feel that the lack of evidence against him and eye witnesses reports of the three men being on good terms when last seen together has negated the accusation.

 

The investigation into their deaths continues. Mr Stafford, in a brief statement to the Courier, did refer to them briefly by saying it was a sad shame that their mine had not yielded much but had it done so, then at the time he would not have been able to afford to buy his way into the partnership.

 

Mr Stafford, a popular man in Ballarat, is currently courting the daughter of Mr Isaac Cole, who is running for Mayor in the upcoming elections this year.”

 

On a piece of paper Adam jotted down some of the details from the newspaper cuttings, particularly noting the fact that Clay had been courting…something he had not mentioned to any of them.

 

*renamed The Orient Hotel

Chapter 29

 

The office was stiflingly hot and although the window was opened as far as it could go, there seemed to be little benefit. No cool breeze, No gusts of wind. Nothing seemed to lessen the heat and for a moment Olivia had to put down her pen, lean against the chair back and close her eyes. Her fingers pinched the top of her blouse away from her body and she wafted too and fro in an effort to cool down her flesh.

 

Perhaps she should go for a walk but then the thought of walking, skirts tangling around her legs, the effort to force one leg before the other. She shook her head and sighed, the weather was ridiculous.

 

She pulled open a drawer and removed a bottle of lavendar water which she sprinkled on a handkerchief and dabbed on her forehead and around her neck . It did not really make her any cooler but she hoped made her smell a little better. For a moment she sat quite still, staring out at the open window, and wondering why the birds were not singing…perhaps even they felt too hot.

 

There was a light tap on the door, which was open anyway, anything to capture some other air than that trapped within the office. She turned towards the door and smiled, thinking it was Mrs Bradbury with her cup of coffee but instead she found herself looking at the pleasantly smiling features of Clay Stafford. He inclined his head, his smile widening

 

“Good day to you, Olivia….”

 

“Um…yes, good day to you too, Clay” she sighed, a fleeting thought flashed across her mind causing her to flush, how long had he been there? Had he watched her ..oh dear…and now she was blushing like a school girl, and at her age too. She cleared her throat “What are you doing here? I mean…um…you are just in time for some of Mrs Bradbury’s coffee if you would like to – step inside and pull up a chair.”

 

The last person she wanted to see. There was so much work to do here, accounts to catch up on. She frowned, and shook her head “I have a lot of things to do, so can’t spare too much time, Clay”

 

He nodded and smiled again, then pushed himself away from the door frame and stepped into the office, turned as though to close the door but glanced at her and saw the flicker of dismay on her face so he just nodded and left it open. One had to observe the priorities of course, and closing the door, well, single man, married woman, small room and beyond the door lots of eyes, and loose tongues.

 

“I came bearing gifts..” he announced holding aloft a basket “Full of the best luncheon the Whitney Hotel’s Chef could make up for us…”

 

“Oh…” she opened her mouth to protest and put out a hand to protect her ledgers which were now pinned to the desk by the basket which she could see contained some very tasty items plus a bottle of wine and two glasses.

 

“I hope you don’t think it presumptuous of me..” he paused and smiled again, his hazel eyes, so like Joe’s, twinkled, “But I spent a lovely day with Mary Ann and the children yesterday and she told me you would be here today, and how hard you worked. She said you were the brains behind it all, in charge of the accounts and so on…” all the time he chattered on, pulled up the chair to sit down, began to lift out the bottle of wine “It’s a white wine, very sweet, I thought you would prefer sweet although perhaps a dry wine may have been better in this weather…now do try the sandwiches, Olivia, and do not look so worried, this is just a very informal way of getting to know you, my sister in law, a little better.”

 

Now he poured out the wine and handed her a glass, which she took and set down on the desk close to her elbow. Mrs Bradbury came with cups of coffee having noticed the visitor, but she paused holding the cups in her hands and staring at the scene open mouthed.

 

“Mrs Bradbury, this is Joe’s brother, Clay Stafford….” Olivia murmured as if the woman did not know that already, “Thank you for the coffee…that was very thoughtful of you.”

 

She stood up now and took the cups from the other woman and carried them over to the desk…where to put them? Clay lifted the basket away and closed the ledgers so that they were carried over to the filing cabinet leaving a clear space for the cups, for the food, for the wine. She felt embarrassed and awkward and watched as he resumed his seat.

 

“It’s a pity we have to meet like this, in this office, under the glare of a thousand eyes…” he laughed, a casual care free laugh, and raised his glass to her, “Yesterday Mary Ann and I went down to the river, much cooler there, and the children enjoyed it.”

“I’m sure they did…” she sipped the wine, somehow it still retained a chill which made it taste more refreshing than ever. She looked up at him “This is very thoughtful of you, Clay, but you know you are welcome at the house anytime…and I do have work to do…”

 

“I know. Selfish of me to intrude on your time but on a day like this, so hot, and this office,” he shook his head, smiled “..you deserved the chance to relax a little. All work and no play as they say….” he gulped down some of the wine and then bit into a sandwich. “I suppose Adam has told you all about me.”

 

“Only what I needed to know, you’re Joe’s half brother, Ben’s stepson ..Marie’s first born…about the same age as Adam..you … I think…Adam said no one really knew about you until you arrived during the early 60’s then you went to Mexico, fought there, and the next they heard you were in the Confederate army..” she paused, sipped more wine, frowned a little, “No one really knew what happened to you after your last visit here * ..”

 

“Ah, my resume…short and somewhat sweet….”

 

“What else was there to say?” she nibbled on a sandwich, and looked at him thoughtfully.

 

He was a handsome man, there were similarities to Joe but only if you knew they were blood related and looked for them. The eyes probably were the most obvious feature. She continued to nibble on the sandwich, feeling more uncomfortable as the minutes ticked by

 

“I would have thought Adam would have had a lot more to say about me than that…for some reason …please don’t get offended by what I say..but ..for some reason Adam and I never really formed much of a relationship, I don’t think he would even consider us as friends…” he sighed, somewhat exaggeratedly “It was not for lack of trying on my part, I assure you….”

 

She ignored that and kept her eyes fixed on the contents of the basket, the little triangular sandwiches, the pink iced cookies, the lace edged napkins…she sighed and upon realising he had finally finished speaking she glanced up, smiled,

 

“Well, that was then…”

 

“Yes, which is why I am making great efforts to get to know you all …” he nodded, smiled, then looked serious for a moment “I know you were widowed, the eldest two children are from your first marriage..but knowing facts is not like knowing a person is it? I mean, the facts you spilled out earlier about me, does not mean you actually know me..does it?”

 

“Of course not. I would not presume to even think that…”

 

“That’s good, because I would not want you to judge me on the basis of the facts, you understand.”

 

“Not really, I don’t think I have the right to judge you or anyone else come to that..” she frowned wondering if that were the right or wrong answer. She glanced up,”I am sure as time goes by and there is more time spent all together – as family – “ she paused again, and bit into another sandwich, sipped more wine

 

“I want to get to know you and everyone in the family, of course, as my family. The last attempts I made were not very successful, I must admit. I think I felt at a disadvantage and was clumsy in my attempts to – well – be accepted I suppose.” he looked at her with wide eyes , contrite, sad, remorseful. “You do not realise how much family means to a person like myself. I have been somewhat itinerant most of my life, relying on my wits, never wanting to be tied down …and then suddenly one realises ..hey, you’re middle aged, it’s creeping up on you, time to do something about it….build bridges, that kind of thing.”

 

The clock struck the hour, and Olivia finished the last of the sandwich, emptied her glass and then glanced over at her ledgers “Clay, I really must get back to work…”

 

He lowered his eyes, nodded and then looked up at her, smiled “Of course, but I do hope you did not mind my intrusion…”

 

“Of course not, how could I ? It was a rare treat, believe me….” she began to clear away items and place them in the basket, smiled at him as he began to do the same, the bottle of wine, half empty, half full, was placed on top of the filing cabinet by him, with a mischievous grin,

 

“Perhaps another time…” he said, a little laughter in his words and a twinkle in his eyes

 

“Perhaps not…the ladies would not approve, and I would not want them to cause you any problems. Gossip can be cruel, as you know.”

 

“Then I had best drink Mrs Bradbury’s coffee in order to appease her…but I would like to get to know you better, Olivia. And …and your family of course.”

 

She smiled then and stood, picking up the cup of coffee as she did so. For some reason she caught his eye, as he picked up his cup of coffee, he smiled, she fought the urge to giggle, then he chuckled, and so did she…

 

As Clay walked away from the Hospice he smiled to himself. He thought he would never forget the sight of Olivia Cartwright fanning her blouse against her body to get some air, nor the wide long lashed eyes that had looked at him first with such seriousness and then with that spark of mischief in them…

 

So..that was ..he thought..two down and one to go! He knew Hester worked at the Hospice the next day.

……………….

 

Adam replaced all the papers into the package, and placed it in the bottom drawer of his desk which he then locked. For a moment he stood in the room looking thoughtfully at the books on the shelves that lined the wall behind where he sat. Not that he saw them, his mind was elsewhere, back in the big room with Ben, with Hoss as they discussed the situation of Clay’s first visit to the Ponderosa, he could see in his memory the anxiety in Bens face, and he could recall clearly the worry, the fear, in Hoss’ face.

 

He did not really want to see those expressions again.

 

He glanced over at the clock. Olivia was at the Hospice, Sofia was going to walk from school to Lilith’s home, while Reuben was in detention…two hours…then they would ride home together.

 

He looked at the clock again. There were several people he wanted to see before the end of this day, and one of them was not Clay Stafford.

When he reached the horse and was about to put his foot in the stirrup a voice hallooo’d him and he turned to see Hoss walking his horse down the track “Hey, Hoss, how have you got on?”

 

He lowered his head, messed about with the stirrup, hiding a grin, he could tell that Hoss was not a happy man. Well, checking water holes and cattle was not the best job in the world no matter what the weather, today it would be ten times worse.

 

“Shucks, that doggone brother of ours…” Hoss grumbled as he dismounted “Whar you goin?”

 

“Into town. Want to come?” he glanced sideways over to Hoss and saw the tussle of making a decision flicker over his face, Hoss sighed and shook his head

 

“Nah, I’m just about tired out…how come you stayed here and didn’t join us…whar’s Pa?”

 

“Pa went to check out with Mac..yeah, I know, we did that yesterday but Pa wanted to go..and he gave me a job to do here. I’m still kinda working on it…”

 

“So’s I can see, I noted how dusty and smelly you were, must have been some doozzy of a job.” he swatted at some sweat trickling down his face and scowled

 

“Look, I need to talk to you about something..private.” he paused and glanced around, gave his familiar pout. “Come on in, have a drink and we’ll talk.”

 

“How important is it? I can smell my own stink and I don;t like it..I’m telling you I just about had my fill of Joe and his griping, and water holes and this dang heat…”

 

“Right, you get on home then and I’ll come by tomorrow…”

 

“Tomorrow we need to take a look at Millers Creek..I think it’s dried up…” Hoss wiped his face again “I heard thunder during the night, was sure there would be rain…”

 

They mounted simultaneously and at the track parted ways…. Adam wondered what it was that Joe was griping about, and Hoss wondered what it was that was so important that Adam needed to share with him. Neither of them thought of the common denominator in the two situations, namely….Clay Stafford

Chapter 30

 

It took a while for Olivia to settle her nerves after Clay’s unexpected visit. Her concentration on the tasks she needed to do for the afternoon was gone, as her mind constantly searched out a reason for why he had come anyway.

 

Her eyes fixed on the bottle of wine perched on the top of the filing cabinet. It seemed to be mocking her although she could not think why, except that drinking wine mid-day was not her custom. Certainly the food had been pleasant, he had not said nor done anything that was controversial, except that, she felt, the whole visit had been just that.. and it made her uncomfortable.

 

After a while she could not face it any longer, but pushed herself away from the desk and walked over to the filing cabinet and picked up the bottle of wine. There was at least two thirds still there…

Bridie had hold of Nathaniel’s hand as she walked at a leisurely pace to the hospice. Lunch time and perhaps an hour before or after was the time she would take him to her house so that she and Tilly could look after him. He was fed, had stories read to him and then had a little sleep. Once he was awake then Bridie would take him back to the hospice with enough time there before Olivia was to return home.

 

It all worked out very well for everyone, even in that it relieved Bridie from working there all day, it provided her with a well deserved break. She was made to feel like the best Grand mother in the world and was loved as a result.

 

“Mrs Martin…Mrs Martin….”

 

A voice ..no, The Voice…pierced through the noise of traffic pedestrians chattering, children yelling. Bridie felt her stomach curdle. What now? And with a feeling of foreboding she turned to confront her Nemesis ..and not just hers, Mrs Garston was the epitome of Nemesis for most people in town.

 

“Yes, Mrs Garston?” she looked down at Nathaniel whose hand had involuntarily tightened around her fingers “Run ahead, me darlin’ and tell your Ma I will be but a moment.”

 

she watched him run off and then turned back to Mrs Garston who was now only inches away from her …it crossed Bridie’s mind that the woman was more to be pitied that blamed, there was surely some inner conflict that had wounded her so deeply at some time in her life turning her into this bitter frustrated, angry person. She opened her mouth to speak but Mrs Garston had hers open long before and the thin lips were flapping and smacking one against the other as a stream of vitriol streamed from her mouth

 

Bridie tried to concentrate. She always found it hard to concentrate on conversations like this, well, not really a conversation, just a tirade of abuse. She stood looking fixedly at the other woman, her mind travelling elsewhere while flood of words streamed over her

 

She heard something about unseemly behaviour, Clay Stafford visiting a married woman alone….Olivia was mentioned and a basket of something or other he had with him and that basket had contained….alcohol!

 

A pause. Silence. Bridie stared at the other woman and realised Mrs Garston was waiting for a response. Olivia. Clay. Alcohol. She blinked to gather her thoughts and shook her head

 

“Well now, Mrs Garston, wherever did you hear such a preposterous thing?”

 

“Hear? Hear? I did not hear anything, I saw it with my own eyes…blatant it was him going over with that smug smile on his face as if he had every right to take himself there, plying her with wine and …and .who knows what else…”

 

“Mrs Garston, be careful what you are implying. You could be in serious trouble if you proceed further now with your insinuations…”

 

“I’m not insinuating anything…I saw him go there with a full basket and return with an empty one. And you looking after her child, her responsibility mind you, and while alone ..”

 

“Mrs Garston..” Bridie raised a hand, palm facing the woman, a sign for her to stop although she seemed determined to continue “Stop it, Mrs Garston…you are really treading on very dangerous ground now.”

 

“And there were witnesses as well…a witness to them drinking together and laughing ..let me tell you, Mrs Martin, that man is trouble…”

 

“Enough, enough…” Bridie felt her face burning, she shook her head, “Now ..that is quite enough.” and with a long inhalation of breath she pushed pass the woman and hurried to the hospice where, if Mrs Garston were to be believed, Olivia would be so drunk she would be under the desk babbling…

 

Mrs Garston was not going to let go of the matter that easily, and Bridie could hear her footsteps striding along the side walk behind her and the steely voice saying over and over “You’ll see, you’ll see for yourself…”

 

Olivia stooped down to swing Nathaniel into her arms and hug him close she loved the smell of him when he returned from Bridie’s. He always smelled of baking, and apples, and sleepiness. She hugged him close until he wriggled away from her to join with the few other children who were still there awaiting their mothers to take them home.

 

The few women who were still in the building were laughing along with Olivia when Bridie and Mrs Garston arrived, both of them puffing and slightly out of breath.

 

The sight of the four women sipping wine ..obviously wine because the empty bottle was there for all to see on the table….caught both women by surprise. It obviously caught Mrs Bradbury by surprise too as at the sight of Mrs Garston her face reddened and she put her cup down quickly as though to absolve herself from the guilt of having touched alcohol, especially as she had been the one to so gleefully tell Mrs Garston what she had seen in the office, with Clay and Olivia…alone…with the door wide open for all to see them eating sandwiches and drinking wine, with the big desk between them.

 

“Oh Bridie.” Olivia exclaimed with a little laugh in her voice “I am sorry ..we have just emptied the bottle between us”

 

“Oh…yes..” Bridie nodded, then smiled “Were you having a party?”

“Goodness me, no,” Olivia shook her head and then looked at Mrs Garston “I can offer you some coffee though, Mrs Garston, Bridie..”

 

Mrs Garston went a trifle pale, then red, her eyes went wide and then narrowed as she glared at Mrs Bradbury and then turned to walk out, back rigid, head high,

 

“I guess that’s me kicked out of the Temperance Movement..” Mrs Bradbury sighed, “My husband will be pleased about that no doubt…”

 

“Clay brought over some lunch including a bottle of wine…” Olivia explained to Bridie as she linked her arm through that of her companion “and as there was a deal of wine left over I thought the ladies deserved a little treat too, after all, working in here in this heat …” she shook her head as though there were no words adequate to describe how unpleasant working conditions in the never ending heat were for them.

 

“Mrs Garston making a song and dance over it, my dear… almost accusing him of trying to seduce you.”

 

They were in the office now and Olivia looked at Bridie and then laughed, but Bridie did not so that the laughter soon trickled away and she became serious

 

“Well, I doubt that even crossed his mind, Bridie. He spent the day with Mary Ann yesterday, had a very pleasant time with the children…he just wants to know us …I suppose he must feel somewhat at a disadvantage having been away for so long, and ..” she shrugged “and feeling that he is a member of the family.”

 

“I suppose every family has one,” Bridie settled down and smiled, her eyes a little mischievous “A black sheep…and Clay…from what I know of him certainly fits into that category.”

……………

 

Clifford Porter glanced over his shoulder and then turned his whole body to face the man who had stepped into his office. He smiled and nodded a welcome, and beckoned to a chair for the newcomer to sit. Adam removed his hat as he sat down, nodded and eased his long legs out in front of him.

 

“Anything wrong?” Clifford asked as he resumed his own chair and pulled it up closer to his side of the desk

 

“Well, no sign of fires anywhere that I could see on the way here.” Adam smiled although it was rather a tight flash across his teeth, as though he was not too sure whether there was something to smile about or not.

 

“Weathers crazy…I’ve men patrolling the timber line, some have had to cut back on their own jobs to do it you know…” and he frowned, money that would come out of the townsfolk’s pockets to pay them, often begrudgingly.

 

“The Ponderosa will pay any dues owing to them. Cliff. We know it’s asking a lot. Heard thunder last night…had hoped for rain…” he leaned back a little, and observed Clifford thoughtfully.

 

At times like these Clifford Porter carried a lot of responsibility. He had taken over the job as Fire Chief after the big fire that had wiped out so much of the town not so very long ago. He knew a lot of weight was on his shoulders ..and if there were to be a fire on the Ponderosa, no doubt about it, he and his men would have to swing into action to prevent such a co-occurrence. Loyalty to the town first, the Ponderosa…well..of course help would be available but it would always be Virginia City first and foremost.

 

“Didn’t hear anything last night…but it felt like something was brewing this morning. Lot of electricity in the air first thing. My kids hair was standing on end…made me sure nervous I can tell ya.”

 

Adam nodded, the last thing they needed was an electrical storm…the whole thing made him feel tight in the chest. He cleared his throat “I just wanted to make sure everything was – well – under control.”

 

“As much control as it can be…these storms are unpredictable, you know that…”

 

“I do…” Adam nodded and again flashed the tight smile before he leaned forward slightly “Look, I want to ask you something on a more personal level..”

 

“Sure, go ahead. But don’t expect any answers from me if I don’t like some of the questions..”

 

“Fair enough.” Adam nodded and turned his hat around between his fingers for a second or two “Clay Stafford…what’s the story?”

 

Clifford gave a shout of a laugh “What’s going on, you turned newspaper reporter now?”

 

“No. Just wanting to have some facts…” he glanced up and stared into the mans blue eyes.

 

He liked Clifford, always had done, he man had gone to school with Joe and for a while the two had been good friends until Clifford had shown Joe that he was of a more serious nature so was ‘dropped’ although respected. Now Joe’s brother was involved in something.

 

Adam had read all about what the sender of the package had written or enclosed about it , but it was good to know how Clifford felt, what personal points he would bring to the table.

 

“My brother…he was a good man, a good husband and father to his kids…but he had his weaknesses. Gambling was one of them. When Clay Stafford came to town one time..well, Clay cleaned him out, my brother ..did not stand a chance winning against a man like Clay.”

 

“His choice though, Cliff.”

 

“Sure…we know that…we kept telling him to stay clear , don’t go back but he did, always confident that he next time he would win it all back..of course he did not. Yeah, he lost everything…then he decided that if Clay Stafford were really a Cartwright he would show some mercy towards him…because that’s what you Cartwright’s are known for, ain’t it? Being soft hearted…”

 

There was a brief silence, both men sighed at the same time. Clifford shook his head, “So the dumb fool went to Clay and begged him to help him out…even as a loan…so he could pay the mortgage, keep the roof over his head and food for the kids. But Clay said he could not do that… he said it was all about honour and respect and if folk knew he had gone soft on one poor sap who came begging for help, then he would lose the edge he had in a game.”

 

“What happened?”

 

“My brother got drunk .. tried to shoot Stafford one night, but that did not work..so he went and shot himself.” Clifford paused, swallowed on the emotion that had welled up in his throat, “His wife took the kids back to her family in Minnesota.”

 

Another silence, before Adam got to his feet and nodded over to Clifford,

“At the end of the day, Cliff it was your brother’s choice…all of it.”

 

“Doesn’t help though…had Stafford shown a morsel of pity..when I spoke to him about it he just shrugged, he told me that he knew a lot of men like my brother, give them some help and the next night they come back to gamble that away again…”

 

“Well, that’s true enough.” Adam said with a sigh in his voice and he shook his head “So – you going to blame Stafford and keep the fire burning? “

 

“Sorry, Adam..can’t help it, jest the sight of him makes my blood boil…that smug look on his face every time we meet …I could..” he shook his head, tried to stop his fingers curling into fists “Anyway…anything else you want to know?”

 

“What was your sister in laws name?”

 

“Susanna Porter….kids names Peter and Joshua. Why? You going to write her a consolation card?”

 

“No..too late for that, although she has my sympathies ..” Adam frowned, “Do you have a sample of her hand writing?”

 

“What is this,Adam? Some sort of legal nosiness?”

 

“It’s just something that would be helpful in some enquiries I make making just now..”

 

“About Stafford?” Clifford’s face split into to grin, not a very pleasant one, he nodded “Sure, I’ll find a letter or two she wrote to my wife after she left here…take a day or two if you can wait that long.”

 

Adam nodded “Thanks Cliff…that will be fine.”

 

He slipped his hat on as he left the office, and once on the side walk he paused a moment to go over in his mind what he had been told. Then he made his way over to the Enterprise for a few words with Daniel deQuille.

 

The wretched man was no where to be found…….

Chapter 31

For a moment Adam stood on the side walk, his eyes roving up and down the main street. It was quiet, the school day had ended, except for those needed to stay back. Stores were beginning to bring down their shutters and take their wares back inside. There were a few younger children running between pedestrians or clinging tightly to their mother’s hands.

 

A glance over at the hospice confirmed his thoughts about the place being shut up now and his wife well on the way home with Nathaniel in the buggy. Had he taken the main track into town he would no doubt have passed them on the way, but he had taken the short cut so missed them.

 

At this time of day as evening was slowly beginning to make its presence felt, the town became a place of loungers. Men came out of saloons, stores, liveries to lean against the posts supporting the many buildings upper balconies. It seemed like a natural cycle of the day for a man to step outside of a lace and lean…Adam was no adverse to leaning so did so outside the Enterprise offices.

 

He noticed Clay Stafford step out of the Sacra, talking to some man who after a moment strolled away Clay pulled a cheroot from his jackets upper pocket and placed it between his lips, struck a match and put the flame to the cheroot. Once that job was done he extinguished the match, and leaned against the post , contentedly puffing at the cheroot. Adam followed the man’s line of vision, wondering what he was looking at so intently.

 

Except that it was not a what, but a whom. Mrs Garston was in deep conversation with some woman, the feathers in her hat bobbing to the sway of her body, and her mouth flapping as it ever did. What ever she was talking about had the attention of the other woman, Mrs Sales no less, wife of Endeavour Sales who owned the Mercantile. Adam’s eyes moved from her, back to Clay who was studying the women with a blank absorption on his face.

 

Adam pushed himself away from the post and walked towards the school. Time was passing and he was aware that Reuben would be ending his detention. It would be good to have his company on the way home. Maybe call into the Enterprise on the way back and catch Daniel at his desk.

 

The town hall clock struck the hour as Adam stopped by the school gates. An impressive building and he wondered how many students really appreciated the work and skill that had gone into building such an edifice to education. He saw Reuben running down the steps from the main door, and smiled. Young and care free. Had he ever felt that way in his life? He could not recall being so, life was so different for today’s youngsters.

 

“Hey, Pa…didn’t expect to see you here.” Reuben was still young enough to throw his arms in an impromptu hug around his fathers waist and received one in return.

 

“How’d you get on? All finished ?”

 

“Yeah, all done. It was not so bad, better than a tanning any day.” Reuben grinned up at his father, and although he did not take hold of the man hand he strolled alongside him as close as he possibly could.

 

“I just want to call in and see if deQuille is back…do you want to go ahead and collect Max?”

 

“Sure thing, Pa.”

 

“Do we have to collect Sofia along the way at all….”

 

“Nah, she went home with Ma.”

 

Adam nodded, and they split company there outside the Enterprise Offices. Daniel was at his desk, pen stuck behind his ear, ink staining his fingers…he glanced up in annoyance when he saw Adam, then sighed

 

“What can I do for you, Captain?”

 

“I wanted some information from you, is all….”

 

“About?”

 

Well ..firstly about the death of Cliff Porters brother…and if you knew where his wife ..widow would be now..”

 

“Mm, going back a while that..” deQuille jotted something on a notepad and then looked up frowned “you don’t expect me o have the facts at my finger tips do you? If you do then you’re in for a long wait…”

 

“Just when you can.. .. I know he committed suicide…”

 

“Yeah and so does every one else in this place…”

 

“But I want to know the circumstances, the why and wherefores…you understand…”

 

“It’ll cost…”

 

“Usual rate?”

 

“Sure…”

 

Adam frowned, and perched himself on the corner of the desk, “The next thing is a little more difficult. I’d prefer it kept as confidential as possible..”

 

“Intriguing…go ahead”

 

“I’m presuming you have contacts in Australia..you know..people..”

 

“I know..cut to the chase, Adam, who do you want checked out?”

 

Adam licked his lips, nodded “A man called Cole. Isaac Cole. He has a daughter called Melissa. I believe he was Mayor of Ballarat.”

 

“Ballarat. Sounds familiar.” The narrowed eyes of the newspaper proved to Adam that Dan’s nimble brain was already tying pieces together and that they would no doubt, lead to Clay.

 

“No doubt it does…” He replied calmly and moved from the desk to stand up and nod over to Daniel, “As soon as possible if you can, Daniel.”

 

Daniel stood up so that he was standing close to the rancher now, he looked at him thoughtfully “You never did quite cotton on to your step- brother, Clay, did you?”

 

“That is not the matter under investigation, Daniel…”

 

“Yeah, but it is the matter that spurs you on, ain’t it? Look, I’ll see what I can dig out for you…if you’re sure you want to go down that road.”

 

“I would not ask if I was not sure, Dan “

 

“Well, look,” Daniel paused and narrowed his eyes, scrutinised Adams face, “There’s someone in town making a big thing out of your half brothers lunch time visit to your wife in the hospice today..”

 

“Speak clear, Daniel…just what are you insinuating here?”

 

“Clay Stafford paid your wife a visit today, complete with picnic basket, bottle of wine, for all the world to see…and Mrs Garson is making …shall we say…a real meal of it.”

 

Adams lips twitched a little, Daniel was not sure whether it was a smile or grimace, but he stepped back to avoid any swinging fists. Adam nodded

 

“Well, I’m sure Olivia will tell me about that ..but if I see anything in print from you, Daniel…” he leaned in closer to the older man, “you know full well what to expect.”

 

He stepped outside into the searing heat and glanced around for a sight of his son, then smiled as the boy was seen mounting the saddle of his horse. He walked over to his own horse and mounted into the saddle and waited for the boy to join him.

 

“Pa? Can I ask you something.”

 

“Go ahead…”

 

“Can we just stop by Davy’s place only he never came to school today…sure would like to know if he is alright.”

 

Within a few minutes they were dismounting outside Riley’s house, and striding down the dirt path to the front door. Reuben knocked with some enthusiasm, clearly expecting his friend to come bounding down to open the door and welcome him with his usual grin but instead there was nothing. He knocked again, louder.

 

“sure hope he’s alright, “ Reuben muttered beneath his breath.

 

A sound from close by stopped Adam commenting. Mr Riley stepped out from the side alley which led to the entrance of his work shop, he was wiping his hands on a rag, and smelled of wood shavings and linseed oil. The wary look that was forever on his face seemed etched in deeper as he stared at the boy and his father

 

“What do you want?”

 

“Sorry to disturb you, Mr Riley, you being so busy and all…but Davy was not at school today”

 

“I know that, tell me something new?”

 

“Well, I don’t know anything new.” Reuben stammered “I just came by to see if he were alright.” Reuben glanced around him as though Davy would pop up anytime to join the conversation but there was only his Pa and Mr Riley

 

“Why wouldn’t he be alright?” Riley said defensively which made Adam narrow his eyes and look at the other man with some doubt on his face “He’s been fussing over that dog of his….made himself have a bad stomach is all…he’ll be alright in a few days.”

 

“A few days? But we got a big test coming up on Friday..will he be alright for that/”

 

“Don’t see why not. Now, if you don’t mind…” he half turned but paused when he heard Adam clear his throat and ask how Mrs Riley was “She’s busy, cooking my meal if she knows what’s good for her.”

 

He left them standing there, man and boy, watching as he scampered away. Adam shrugged, ruffled Reuben’s hair and turned to go, followed by his son. Both of them looked up at the windows, both of them noticed a curtain move at the window of an upstairs room. But although they lingered long enough for the person to reveal themselves at the door, no one did so.

………….

 

In his room Davy let the curtain fall back into place. He stood very still for a moment or two, listening to the sound of the horses as they made their way into the main thoroughfare of C Street. He could see in his imagination the two of them riding away, the man Davy would have loved more than anything to have had as a father, and a friend whom he loved as a brother…had he ever known a brothers love.

 

They were gone. Still he stood there. A tear trickled down his face, tracked its way to his chin and dripped onto his shirt. He scuffed another one away with the sleeve of his shirt

 

“Ain’t no point in blubbing like a baby…it is as it is…ain’t nothing going to change it…”

 

He moved away and sat down on the edge of the bed, his hands covered his face, elbows on his knees…”Nothings gonna change..unless I change it.” and with a painful grimace he turned and lay down on the bed, drawing his knees up to his chest and hugging them close.

 

Chapter 32

 

They rode slowly through the main thoroughfare. It was not an enjoyable ride, not for anyone, not in the heat of the early evening sun. The smell of human habitation on a hot day was singularly unpleasant….too many unwashed bodies, smoke from the necessary ovens hung low like a cloud, the stink of horse dung that piled up in the road and was a haven to flies and anything else that thrived on filth.

 

Adam puffed out his cheeks and exhaled, waved a hand in front of his face…times like these he longed for the open seas, fresh salty air, a breeze snapping the sails. He glanced over at Reuben who was staring stoically ahead, obviously deep in thought.

 

“Worried about Davy, are you, son?”

 

“I am, kinda. I know he’s a bit of a..well..idiot at times, but he is my friend. I don’t like how Mr Riley treats him, sometimes ..” he paused and released a sigh of his own “sometimes he has bruises and cuts on him, always says its because he’s clumsy and bumps into things but I know it isn’t that..and Mr Riley hates Bella…”

 

Adam nodded, and scratched his nose thoughtfully “Not much one can do, son. Sadly you may find Davy is not the only one who goes to school with bruises and such…lots of clumsy kids…” he glanced down at the boy who nodded but still looked crest fallen.

 

It was then that Adam noticed Clay Stafford walking very purposefully along the side walk. Ahead of him by a few yards was Mrs Garston who seemed unaware of being pursued by the man striding determinedly behind her. Adam slowed his horse so that he was walking the animal alongside Clay and tipped his hat to him,

 

“Evening Clay..” he nodded but slanted his eyes in the direction of Mrs Garston who had slowed her steps. He could almost sense her ears stretching out from beneath her bonnet to hear what was about to be said…

 

“Adam!” Clay said rather curtly, his eyes still on Mrs Garston’s back.

 

“I hear tell you paid a visit to my wife today, brought her lunch so I hear…” again loud enough for Mrs Garston to hear

 

“Word gets around quick …” Clay scowled, “It was the least I could do, thinking of her toiling over those ledgers on a day like today, made my own head ache….”

 

“And wine too…..”

 

“House speciality…not the best vintage…” Clay muttered, and although his eyes continued to glare into Mrs Garston back, he now relaxed a little, and even allowed a slight smile to drift over his face.

 

“I’m sure she appreciated it, and I thank you on her behalf.” he nodded, tipped his hat and then lowered his voice and leaned lower in the saddle so that he was almost face to face with the other man “Just don’t do it again…hear me?”

 

Clay narrowed his eyes, firmed his lips the smile gone…but he nodded, and shrugged. Adam straightened his back and nodded also, then turned his horse back to ride alongside Reuben, upon reaching Mrs Garston’s side however, he once again slowed the horse, tipped his hat

 

“Evening, Mrs Garston”

 

“Oh..Adam…um…Yes, good evening.”

 

“Sure was a kindly thing of Mr Stafford to check on my wife today, wasn’t it?” he smiled although his eyes had a rather dangerous glint in them

 

“Oh..did he… I mean…yes, of course.”

 

“Well, naturally sometimes people don’t take kindly to things like that, wine at mid-day..mm. .. but I’m sure you agree it was a kindly thought.”

 

She nodded, her cheeks reddening and her neck as red as a turkeys. Adam now leaned closer to wards her and with a most charming smile said in an undertone

 

“I sure would not like to hear mention of it being anything other than that, a thoughtful gesture … towards a family member…you understand me, Mrs Garston?”

 

Mrs Garston nodded vigorously, the feather in her hat bouncing equally so. Adam straightened his back and nodded, then left her to stride , rather self consciously, towards home.

 

“She is not a very nice lady, is she, Pa?” Reuben said quietly as they recommenced their journey out of the towns precincts.

 

“No, but she is an unhappy lady, even though most of it she has caused for herself.”

 

“People are strange, aren’t they, Pa?” Reuben frowned, his smooth tanned skin furrowing into little wrinkles as he did so.

 

“Get stranger all the time,” Adam said and smiled, nodded to a passing pedestrian who had greeted him, raised his hat to the wife stepping out by the man’s side.

 

“Do you still wish you were at sea, Pa?” Reuben slanted his eyes in his fathers direction, almost fearful of the response.

 

“I was just thinking how good it would be to be on board ship right now…” Adam said slowly, “Clean fresh air, even on the hottest day, frustrating when a ship’s becalmed, but never anything that stinks as bad as this town…” he sighed and then smiled down at his son, “But there’s a lot more to life at sea than that, and no, better by far to be here ..what would life be like without you, huh? And your Ma and Sofia and Nathaniel…”

 

“You could smuggle us all on board…” Reuben said with an enthusiasm in his voice that made Adam laugh.

 

They took the short cut back home stopping every so often to drink water from the canteens. Often they looked up at the sky and willed the clouds to appear but nothing happened, just blue blue sky, everywhere.

 

And everywhere looking parched and brown. Leaves hung listless on the branches as though exhausted from existing, and the birds fluffed out their plumage as though to catch whatever breeze they could possibly gain by batting their wings too and fro.

……

 

Nathaniel was playing sailing boats with the water trough, creating waves by plunging his arms up to the elbows and exclaiming ‘Whoosh’ when they emerged dripping wet and causing the little boats to bounce and at times captize. The horses watched with disdain, while he played they waited to drink, edging closer to the corral fence, eyes fixed on the wretched child who seemed determined to play the game until Mother called him indoors.

 

It was Adam’s arrival, with Reuben, that ended the game as they both led their horses to the trough for them to drink their fill after the long ride from town. Nathaniel scowled and protested, his boats were getting wrecked but Adam just shrugged and swung him up on his shoulders and led him indoors.

 

Olivia was placing a bowl of flowers in the centre of the table, already set out for their meal. She gave her husband a smile before joining him at the door to kiss his cheek, and then tousle Reuben’s hair. “Did everything go well today?”

 

She slipped her arm through his and took his hand, smiled up at him while Reuben ran off to clean himself up.

 

“Different to what I expected…” Adam said slowly as he removed his hat and leaned down to untie the leather thongs on the holster. He then unbuckled his belt, explaining as he did so what had happened with Ben, and how his day had been spent mostly in his office reading stuff relative to Clay’s past.

 

“How very odd. Someone must be bearing a grudge for all those complaints to go back so far…would cost money .. time…” she shook his head, “He’s a strange one, he came over at lunch time with a picnic basket, complete with wine….”

 

“Well, that was thoughtful of him…” Adam smiled, and leaned in to kiss her cheek.

 

“One never knows with Clay…” she frowned, “It was thoughtful, but…somehow there is always the impression that Clay never does anything, without some ulterior motive.”

 

Adam opened his eyes wide and shook his head “My dear, what are you suggesting?” and his eyes twinkled with fun and some relief too for she had volunteered the information and he had not had to work it out of her.

 

“Nothing really…he told me he had spent time with Mary Ann and the children yesterday. It may be – just – just his way of getting to know us better. After all you were all confirmed bachelors last time he breezed by….”

 

“Mm, trying to work out what it was that compelled each of you to marry one of us…I often wonder that myself..” Adam put his arms around her waist “I know I smell like Hoss’ feet, but give me a kiss before I go and clean up….”

Chapter 33

 

The sound of gunfire echoed and re-echoed over the valley. Constant, repetitive. Rifle and revolver which ever was closest to hand, and ready loaded.

 

One by one the victims fell. Blood stained the ground, hard and cracked though it was, the most moisture that had seeped into the soil for weeks.

 

It had all started a few days earlier when Hoss had returned home and told Ben that the cattle were suffering from the extreme heat, water holes were drying up and those that were still reasonably full seemed to be unattainable to many of the animals, who were becoming too weak to carry their bulk the distance to them

 

They had been taking the winter feed to them as the grass died, precious stuff that should have been available to winter but now had to suffice to feed the herd now. The river was sluggish too, although some cattle were standing in it and many crowded around the banks to ensure availability.

 

But now many lay in their blood on the ground. They had died without protest, many did not have the strength to run, many were already on the ground dying … too weak and ill to move.

The bullet was a relief to them, misery was shut off, hunger gone.

 

The four Cartwrights sat immobile in their saddles as they walked their horses through the pile of bodies, their men did likewise…all of them silent. They had bandana’s to cover their mouths and noses, to prevent the smell sickening them, although that did not really matter, the sight was sickening enough.

 

Adam passed a hand across his eyes, and down his face, wiping sweat along with tears from his flesh, close by him Hoss blew his nose loudly, then dabbed at his face, while Ben sat like wood staring at the bodies, counting them .. and Joe leaned upon the pommel of his saddle and bowed his head and stared at his hands.

 

From the corner of his eye he saw Adam replace his rifle into the sheath, then Hoss did like wise. Joe wondered if their hands were shaking as much as his were….and he clenched them into fists so that no one would notice. Ben shook his head, spat out dust and wiped his mouth.

 

“That’s done then, not the most pleasant of jobs but hopefully the remaining cattle will be safer.” he blinked away moisture that would betray his own emotion, Hoss was wiping his face again “We had best get to work to dispose of the bodies now…..”

 

Adam glanced up at the sky. In this heat to dig out pits large enough to take the bodies of so many carcases, and weary enough already. If only there was the least promise of rain, some respite.

 

“At least the main herd is still safe. Candy says its hotter than usual but nothing as bad as this…no cattle lost there and water holes are full” he heard his voice saying the words, not much consolation for the dead here, but somehow, perhaps it removed the sting of loss a little.

 

“Can’t believe they arn’t suffering this here heat ..” Hoss muttered and exhaled a long sigh which came right from the heart “I shoulda culled them earlier… kept a closer eye on ’em, jest so worried abut the timber that I neglected the pore critturs…..”

 

“Not just you..” Adam said quietly, his eyes staring over at the bodies !I hate this…” he said with such sudden vehemence that Ben felt a shock wave hit through his whole body, as though the three words were a prelude to Adam turning his horse round and heading home and sailing off somewhere on board a ship ….”I hate seeing animals suffering like this, and there isn’t anything we can do to help them other than what we do …and then end up killing them..”

 

“Not all of them.. only those already dying and well past recovery,” Ben said, with an edge to his voice as though he took the words personally.

 

“How are things with Greigson? Has his so called magic seed saved his herd?” Joe asked too anxious to let the slighten hint of sarcasm creep into his voice

 

“He’s suffered some loss, not as much as some…” Adam responded, while he hand signalled to the men to start digging.

 

“Burgoyne?” Ben asked and Hoss shook his head

 

“Anyone know how Luke and Jessop have got on with all this?” Joe now asked as he wiped his face once again on his neckerchief

 

“If it’s as bad as this…” Adam murmured and bowed his head and shook it “Could well wipe ’em out.”

 

They said nothing more, there was nothing more that could be said.

 

The whole place smelled like a battle field, cordite and blood, sweat and misery. The men looked as miserable as any men could, Moffatt spoke up suggesting hopefully that they could get it all cleared away by nightfull.

 

Every man there dismounted, saddle stiff and already soaked with perspiration…Hoss shook his head, and again wiped his face on his sleeve, sniffed loudly and straightened his back. They could not possibly leave the bodies to rot in the sun, fear of disease was already running rife in town, the responsibility of causing an epidemic was not worth thinking about….

…………………

 

Clay Stafford poured himself a glass of beer and sighed heavily as he raised it to his lips. He glanced around the large room and sighed again, most of the tables were empty, the heat was soaking up motivation, energy, even the desire to come into the saloons for a drink, to talk, to gamble.

 

“How are we for ice?” he kept his voice low, no point in broadcasting his concerns.

 

“Alright for now, perhaps enough to last another week if we are really careful” Solomon replied, the implication as Clay knew, being if the ice is used only for themselves they could manage the week.

 

“You ever known it this hot before?”

 

“Once or twice, but never for this long.” Solomon put down the cloth which he had been using to polish up the glasses, and leaned upon the counter, interlacing his fingers as he did so. “But I heard tell Australia was hot, had deserts hotter than any we have, even hotter than Death Valley…is that right?”

 

“Yep. That’s right.” Clay drank the beer slowly, relishing how it trickled down his throat, “Its huge, really vast…you go wandering off lost in the out back and that’s it, chances are no one will find you, except for bones maybe a century later. It’s a pretty terrifying place …if you ain’t careful, all manner of ways to end up dead.” he shrugged “The Aborigines ..some people call them Smoke people cause they can just up and vanish just like smoke..but they know how to survive in those places..”

 

“Injuns hereabouts could do at one time, but killed most of ’em off or run them onto reservations…”

 

“Well, the Aborigines – they never fought for their land like the Indians, not sure why not, but they are a strange folk, spiritual you could say.” he emptied the glass, “They got more sheep than people there.”

 

Solomon nodded and was about to say more when several men strolled in, beating dust from their clothes with their hats and requesting cold beers…Clay moved away and went to his office, grateful to close the door.

 

He had intended to ride over to the Ponderosa that day with the hope of seeing Hester, but had woken with a headache that blurred his vision, and a distinct lack of motivation to do anything other than find a cold bath and lie in it for as long as his body needed . He looked out of the window and watched the pedestrians there, a few horsemen, buggies, a wagon..far less traffic than usual.

 

He did notice that some had taken to wearing handkerchiefs around their faces in an effort to quell the stench that was like a cloud over the town, permeating the clothes and skin. The risk of disease was whispered about now, and not for the first time he wondered why he was still in the rotten place when he could have ridden out and found somewhere much, much better.

………………..

 

The boys grouped together at the corner of the school building as usual. Phil was the last one to get there, dragging his heels as usual. There was a lacklustre attempt to play, but most of the children just walked around the yard chatting, or sitting on the steps trying to ignore the heat and the smell. Neither attempt being very successful.

 

Lilith and Sofia sat together, their conversation in the sign language that Lilith was painstakingly teaching the younger girl. But it was harder work than usual, their minds were on other things, and eventually they allowed their fingers to still, while they sat listless and weary side by side.

 

Davy Riley had not been to school all week. No sign of him and no news of him either. Now Reuben, Tommy and Jimmy waited for Philip to disclose how he had got on with the mission he had been assigned the previous day. To penetrate Mr Riley’s defences and get to see Davy.

 

He looked at the boys and shrugged “Ain’t got nuthin’ for you, boys. “

 

“How’d you mean? You must have seen someone..did Mr Riley cuss at you and tell you to get away? Anything at all?” Tommy blustered, his ruddy cheeks clammy with perspiration.

 

“No…he didn’t. Fact is, he didn’t even come to the door.”

 

“Did anyone…I mean…did you see anyone else?” Jimmy now prodded and was dismayed when Philip shook his head

 

“I did think of throwing some stones at Davy’s window but nothing happened.”

 

“Did you knock loud enough…if they’re at the back of the house or in the workshop..they would not have heard..” Reuben looked at the other boys, all three knew the layout of the Rileys house and nodded agreement

 

“Wal, I figgured that would be the case” Philip nodded and hitched his thumbs into his belt “so I went to the work shop and knocked there too. The door was locked up.” he shrugged “So then I went to the front of the house agin and knocked louder, called out as well…but no one came to the door.”

 

“Did you hear anything…anything at all!” Jimmy pressed the point harder, he shook his head “Anything suspicious…”

 

“Suspicious?” Philip looked at Jimmy and rolled his eyes, shook his head “What could be suspicious about a house where folks don;t answer the door?”

 

“Exactly…” Jimmy nodded, “If there was nothing wrong, then why not answer the door? Or do they just sit there like stuffed mummies waiting for whoever it is to go away…..”

 

“Perhaps they ain’t well” Tommy said quietly “Folks are getting kinda sick just now, with this heat…”

 

“My Pa says if this heat continues over the weekend he wants us kept home.” Reuben said quietly

 

“Huh, yeah…that’s just fine for you over on the Ponderosa…you don’t have to breathe in this funk.” Tommy scowled and stuffed his hands into his pockets

 

Jimmy shrugged, “Lots of the out of towners are staying out of school…Mr Townsend bought a months supply of staples so’s they can get through having the kids at home. Pity …” he paused and then shrugged, and glanced over his shoulder

 

“What can we do about Davy, though?” Reuben persisted, and looked at each one of them in turn, “What if we all go after school, all of us together…how about we do that?”

 

Each boy nodded, Tommy looked as though facing Mr Riley was like facing the hangman, but the others were firm, they agreed the time to meet up and as the bell tolled for lessons to resume they made their way back to the building.

Chapter 34

 

All the doors and all the windows were wide open but still there was no cool breeze wafting through into the rooms of the Ponderosa’s main house. The three women had not even bothered to pick up their materials for the quilt they were working on. Needles slipped out of their fingers, the material was too heavy on their laps, uncomfortable and causing them to perspire.

 

Hester ran her fingers through her hair , making it more of a bird’s nest affair than ever. She shook her head and then tilted it as far back as she could so that there was some gap between her throat and chest

 

“I hate this weather…” she sighed with her eyes closed, and a little trickle of sweat making its way down her hair line to her ears

 

“Six months ago we were saying the same thing about the snow we had…” Olivia replied and rubbed the back of her neck “I wish we could cut off all our hair …it’s so heavy all t he time.”

 

No one answered that thought…perhaps they were all thinking the same, that it would be wonderful to be free of such a cumbersome mass of hair but what would their husbands say? Would what they say matter anyway? No one ventured an opinion on that…but it did prompt Mary Ann to tell them about her day with Clay Stafford and the children.

 

“That man needs a wife, and children…” she concluded “He was so good with Daniel and Constance, they just loved having him there…” she sighed and picked up some material to wave in front of her face.

 

“He came to the hospice the other day,” Olivia said quietly, “Brought me some food and wine from the Whitney, he insisted we ate it there and then in the office. So, dear Hester, if you find crumbs all over the desk you know who to blame…”

 

“The mice will probably have cleared away any crumbs by now.” Hester grumbled. “So, why did he come to see you?” she frowned “I can understand him visiting Mary Ann, after all he may have thought he would see Joe…”

 

“He did, Joe came home while Clay was there, he stayed overnight….” Mary Ann smiled, her large eyes as innocent as the day

 

“Oh yes, of course, I remember now, Adam mentioned having seen him on his way to town…which begs the question, why the attention on you Olivia?”

 

The other woman shrugged and then laughed “Actually it was quite funny, although not his intention I’m sure…” and she proceeded to relate the incident with the wine and the visit from Mrs Garston which caused Hester to boom out with laughter while Mary Ann sighed and shook her head

 

“That woman is a trouble maker…..”

 

“Well, most of the town know it, so anything she says will not be taken seriously…anyway, Adam more or less told her to keep her mouth shut…” she paused there, no need to mention anything more about Clay.

 

“It will be your turn next, Hester.” Mary Ann smiled over at the older woman “I think he is trying to befriend us, he’s lonely, you can tell …stuck in that awful saloon all day…”

 

“There are about 20 women who can keep him company right there,” Hester said in a snappish voice, “I had thought he wold have closed that section of business down…”

 

Olivia sighed and shrugged “It’s a business, Hester, whether we like it or not it brings in money, and I don’t think Clay is adverse to making as much money as he can get.”

 

“True enough.” Mary Ann nodded in agreement, and looked around her thoughtfully, “I suppose he will be coming calling on you when you are next at the hospice, Hester..wine and so forth at the ready”

 

“I doubt it…” Hester said with a shrug of her shoulders now, she smiled then and stood up “Time for something cool to drink ….” she paused then “Oh, before I forget, remind me to tell you about Ann’s latest letter…..”

……………

 

“Go on then…”

 

Tommy Conway nudged Reuben arm and the other two boys grouped around him, slightly edging him forward closer to the door. Due to the weather the windows of the house were open, but the door firmly shut. Reuben nodded and led the way forwards, and then, swallowing and clearing his throat, he knocked, loudly.

 

All four boys craned their heads forward to catch any sound that would proceed from the interior of the building but when there seemed to be nothing but silence, Reuben knocked again They looked up at the window to Davy’s room, it was open, curtains swayed, but no sound.

 

“Reckon they’re out…perhaps he’s gone to see Bella.” Reuben ventured but the other three shook their heads,

 

“Doubtful, “ Tommy said glumly and pushed the dust on the path into a little pile as he spoke, hands in his pockets and his eyes cast down as though building the dust pile was far more interesting

 

“Why d you say that?” Reuben frowned and then squared his shoulders and put his hands on his hips just like Pa would have done “What are you guys not telling me?”

 

“Well…” Jimmy heaved in a deep breath “From what we hear…”

 

But that was as far as he got as the door inched open and Davy himself peered out at them, his eyes narrowed into a squint against the blaze of the sun, he blinked rapidly and then nodded

 

“What are you doing here? I thought you’d have got the message by now to leave me alone!”

 

His voice was husky, and looking at him now they could see he was wearing a loose unbuttoned shirt and his pants seemed over large, he was bare foot and his hair was greasy and lank. His eyes shifted back and forth, and his face was pale, sweating…he looked ill.

 

“Davy, we were concerned for you, is all.” Reuben said kindly “We just wanted to make sure you were … alright…”

 

“Well, now you’ve seen me, now you know so go away …I don’t want to see you guys again…” he stood there however, making no effort to close the door on themselves

 

“But ..we’re your friends, Davy, we care about what happens to you ..and want to help..” it was Jimmy who spoke this time, looking for all the world as though he had witnessed the worse thing in his life.

 

Davy did not reply at first then shook his head, cast down his eyes and shrugged “Thank you for that, but …I’d rather you just went away and left me alone. Please.”

 

“How can we, Davy?” Reuben said anxiously, “Friends stick together, right? You need your friends now..” he paused “ and we need you. We can’t be a proper gang without you.”

 

For a moment they really thought they had won him over as fleeting shadows of how he felt flickered across his face, then he shook his head

 

“Just go away…leave me alone….” and the door began to close

 

“Davy, please….” Reuben put his hand to the door to stop it closing further “My Pa wants us to stay home from today, says the towns too much of a health risk….I won’t be able to come and see you again until things change…and…”

 

“Yeah, well, that’s what comes from being a Cartwright and having the whole of the Ponderosa to hole up in when the going gets tough here in town…some friend you are, Reuben..”

 

All four boys stepped back a pace at the hostility in Davy’s voice, but when he glanced up at them before the door closed on them, they could all see the moisture in his eyes, the tear tracks down his face…

 

Reuben firmed his lips, straightened his back and then stepped forward to rap on the door again but the only sound was Davy’s voice “I said….go away….what don’t you understand about that….go away…..don’t come back.”

 

They stood there a moment, confused, worried for their friend, Reuben felt his heart weighed a ton within his chest. They were about to knock again went here was a sound from the side of the house and Mr Riley stood there, his head to one side, his eyes cold, narrowed as he looked from one to the other

 

“You heard from the boy said. Now clear off and don’t come back …d’you hear?”

 

“We only came to see if …” Reuben started to say but Riley stepped forward, his face cold and the aura of menace about him too obvious to ignore “We are his friends…”

 

“He ain’t got no friends…now…git!

 

They did not exactly run from the place but they moved fast…and once they were some distance Philip shook his head “Well,” he muttered “That went well……”

 

Jimmy nodded “We got an answer, just not the answer we wanted.”

 

Reuben could not find words to say but sighed so heavily that Jimmy patted him sympathetically on the back as though to acknowledge he understood the feeling ..

 

Tommy blew his nose, loudly “I thought he was a friend but he doesn’t even seem to like us, does he?”

 

Reuben was still at a loss for words. By the time they reached the livery and he had to collect Max he thanked them, said he hoped to see them soon, and then stood alone as they drifted away to return to homes of their own.

…………………

 

It was dark now. The heat of the day had turned into the heat of the evening. No one had spoken a word for a long time although there were plenty of grunts, groans and sighs, sounds of shovels on dirt, the dirt falling upon the bodies below them.

 

Each man wore their bandana’s across their faces, masking their mouths and noses , catching the sweat that tricked down their faces….dirt was smeared into their skin as they brought their arms across over to wipe the sweat away, dabbing at times with their shirt tails…

 

Ben was exhausted and had been forced to sit out the last hour or so. Now all the men there felt the same, and when the last mound of soil had been thrown down, it was followed by the tools … and every man there sunk down onto the ground in relief.

 

It took ten minutes for any one of them to move, which prompted the others…murmured thanks to the men who had worked alongside them, hands shaken, promise of a bonus in the pay packet. Then they were gone leaving the four Cartwrights alone together.

 

Joe looked up at the moon and frowned, it was bright, shone silver light down on them . He removed his hat and beat it against his thigh, then said quietly “I’m not fit to step inside the house in this state….”

 

“Nor me…” Hoss yawned,”Shucks I’m doggone tired.”

 

Ben could say nothing, the moon light seemed to beam down on the mound that seemed to stretch too long, and he shook his head before turning to mount his horse

 

“Let’s get home…”

 

They mounted their horses and slowly walked them away from the scene of the mass burial. Each man there thinking their own thoughts and all of them morbid. The moon stretched out a pure white path ahead of them, on any other occasion they would have delighted in such a ride home…but not this time.

 

The river was not its usual burblng self, but it was still a river, dribbling over the rocks and boulders…in the light it looked like a silver ribbon, sparkling, rippling…and it was Joe who led his horse over to drink from it, followed by his brothers and Ben. The horses relished taking deep gulps of the water and the four of them dismounted with canteens in their hands…

It was Joe who said “How about we …..” he was slowly unbuttoning the filthy sweat stained remnants of his shirt…

 

“That, brother, is the best idea you have had since I don’t recall when…” Adam replied with a grin as he pulled off his shirt

 

“Shucks I ain’t hanging around for you guys….. “ Hoss boomed and just jumped in fully clothed…

 

The water may have been warm but it was wet…it was everything they needed right there and then

Chapter 35

Sometimes things, events, words, open up a whole new world of thoughts or feelings, in a person that had not been so tangible before then. As Reuben sat in the saddle and looked at his friends making their way home he felt a terrible deep sense of loss, of guilt. Something was so very wrong with Davy and yes, he was not the best friend in the world, he was not the one person to turn to in a tight spot, but …even so..he was a friend. As he remained seated with the sun baking him, Reuben realised that of all his friends Davy was the one he was most fond of….and yet he would never be able to explain the reason why.

 

He watched as Jimmy took the turning to his home, and then Tommy and Philip playfully jostling each other as they made their way to where they lived, quite close to one another. He felt the isolation of being an out of towner, someone who came and went and yet , so he felt, was no real friend to anyone. He was part of a gang but …not always part of a gang.

 

And then there was Davy…..and with a lump in his throat Reuben felt that he had, in some ways, not been the best of friends to him either, and yet had expected Davy to be there for him. Like so many his age he was trapped in a box and could not see beyond it, the bigger picture as one would say…all he could see was that he did not really amount to much in the general scheme of things.

 

He wondered if Sofia felt like that too…having friends in town but always saying good bye and see you next time she was in town. He did not even know who Sofia’s friends were, apart from Lilith.

 

He heard some one call out to him and realised Deputy Ethan Burns was standing right beside him, looking up at him with a confused look on his face

 

“You alright up there, young un?”

 

Reuben blinked, several times before being able to see Ethan clearly, he shook his head to dispel the cobwebs of deep thought and then nodded

 

“Yes, sir, thank you.”

 

“You looked like you had a whole heap of worries on your mind. Anything I can help with?”

 

Ethan was a pleasant young man, and Reuben felt a liking and respect for him that he did not feel for the other deputies, apart from Nate Carney of course. He looked down at the deputy and after a second or so nodded again

 

“I guess I was worried about Davy…he has not been to school all week…jest been to see him and he told us to clear off.” he blinked, and looked away would not do to let the Deputy see tears in his eyes.

 

The young man nodded, and crossed his arms over his chest, frowned slightly

 

“I keep a check on things as best I can, but in family matters there is only so far the law can go. Being no friend of Mr Riley’s makes it hard as well…” he glanced up and looked at Reuben closely “How did the boy look?”

 

Reuben did not have to ask what the Deputy meant by that, it was pretty obvious but he did think deeply about his friends appearance at the door, he shrugged slightly “No bruises or anything like that, Mr Burns, he just kind looked sick..well..you know.. “ he shrugged again.

 

“Everyone seems to be looking sick just now, Reuben.” he placed a hand on the horses neck and stroked it gently, “Fine looking horse, Reuben…”

 

Reuben frowned and wondered why the change of subject, Ethan was an adult, he wanted the Deputy to give him an adult’s solution to the problem instead he was talking about horses?

He leaned down a little to get more face to face with the man

 

“Do you think I should go back and try and speak to him again…on my own kinda?”

 

“He just told you all to go away, didnt he?”

 

“Yeah, I know but he’s my friend …maybe if I went on my own…what do you think?”

 

Ethan tilted his hat to the back of his head and scratched his nose as though it was the biggest problem in the universe, he sighed

 

“Guess you need to try and imagine walking in his shoes…what would you want him to do if the roles were reversed? Remember….you don’t know all that has been going on….”

 

“Yeah, but ..I do know how he feels about his dog…” Reuben frowned, “I didn’t hear any dog barking when I knocked…”

 

“Must still be with the Martins then, recovering, the poor thing was badly shot up….” he paused “Lost a lot of blood.”

 

He sighed, smiled a good bye and tapped Reuben on the knee then stepped away and continued on the track he was going. Reuben watched him for a second and then with a nod of his head, as though he had made a decision for himself, he nudged Max to start walking.

 

As he navigated his way through the vehicles, the heaps of horse dung, the smoky fires (carefully supervised by the Fire Department) intended to deter the flies, Reuben thought over what he would do…by the time he had reached Paul and Bridie’s house he had made up his mind.

 

Tillie opened the door and smiled a welcome, greeted him warmly as she always did anyone visiting from the Cartwrights family. A door opened to the left and Bridie peeked out to see who it was and gave an exclamation of delight as seeing Reuben

 

“On your own, mo bhuachaill?”

 

“Only for a minute, Aunt Bridie…” he said quickly as he pulled off his hat, “I came to see how Bella was…if she has recovered and able to go back to Davy yet.”

 

“You’re not wanting to stop for lemonade and cake then…” she smiled and stepped out into the hall “Mrs Riley took her home earlier this morning. She’s a lovely little dog, and came through the ordeal well. Paul thought it best she went back as she was pining for Davy.”

 

Reuben nodded, of course she would have and perhaps that was what was wrong with Davy he had been pining for his dog and ..and yet that did not make sense, surely Davy would have been happy, thrilled, excited…and also, there had been no sound of a dog barking from inside the house

 

“I’d best go, Aunt Bridie…thank you.” he nodded at her, trying not to cause her concern, hoping his face did not show his own concerns.

 

 

The Riley’s front door always looked as though it needed a fresh coat of paint, but the summer heat this season had blistered even what had been clinging to the wood. Reuben licked his lips, swallowed the lump in his throat and knocked.

 

He knocked again. Silence. He edged really close to the door and put his ear to it, knocked loudly. Not a sound.

 

So he stood there for a moment just waiting, his heart beating wondering what to do next. He stepped back a few paces and looked up at the window “Davy…..Davy …”

 

Nothing.

 

He picked up a pebble and tossed it, heard it clnk against the glass…no movement but Davy’s voice seeped into the silence

 

“I thought I told you to go away…”

 

“It’s just me, Davy…I’m on my own…if you want to talk..”

 

“I said GO AWAY…what don’t you understand…leave me alone.”

 

“But, Davy … I’m your friend, aren’t I? Friends should be there for one another, shouldn’t they?”

 

The window slammed shut so hard that it was a wonder the glass did not fall out of its rather dubious fixing. Reuben stood there for a moment more…waited…no dog barked, no boy yelled or shouted, just ..silence.

 

Reuben felt something heavy move in his stomach, he kept staring up at the window, he wondered whether ot throw up another stone. He stepped back as far as the gate and then saw Mr Riely standing by the door to his work shop, staring at him. He did not say anthing, he just stared, and his eyes did not blink. Just once he glanced up at the window and then back to Reuben. The message was clear and with a feeling of desperate anxiety for his friend, Reuben closed the garden gate behind him and walked away.

Chapter 36

 

“Hi Davy

 

I hope you are feeling alright …and better than last time I came to see you. Were you sick with the heat? Pa and Ma won’t let us come into school or town now, because they think we could get sick.

 

Have you seen Jimmy and Tommy or Phil at all? I miss seeing them, and having my lessons, and being there with everyone.. I miss seeing you Davy….and hope that you can write to me and let me know how you are.

 

Your friend Reuben “

 

For a moment or two the boy stared down at the letter and then carefully folded it into the envelope. Then he hurried down stairs and into the yard in order to catch Ezra before he headed to town. The sun was as bright as ever and he had to shield his eyes with his had to look around for sight of the man.

 

Seeing him leading out the horse for the wagon was reassuring. Somehow the past few days had seemed ..well…different. The heat was still there, the yard was dry like dust, no wind to cause dust devils to skitter about….the horses were listless and skittish, bad tempered too, as they showed their discomfort by kicking out at any horse that got too close to them.

 

Ezra took the letter and nodded, patted his pocket where he put the missive away safely and then got back to seeing to the horse and wagon. He had insisted on going about his usual routine, and getting to town to collect the mail was one of them….it also gave him the chance to catch up on gossip when he stopped at the Bucket of Blood for some beer. He did not like the Sazarach, never had done, and as he did not like Clay Stafford he felt no disloyalty in ignoring the place.

 

Reuben watched as the wagon turned in the yard and made its way up to the track He felt sorry for the horse, and after watching until there was no sight of them any more he went inside. Olivia was busy, snatching up clothes and putting them into the valise but in a dreamy way, not her usual bustle and Reuben had a sudden fear that his mother were ill. What would happen to them if that were the case?

 

“Ma, you are alright, arn’t you?”

 

He was standing right up by her side and put out a hand to touch her arm, the way Pa would have done had he been there. Olivia paused in folding one of Nathaniel shirts and smiled down at the boy, nodded

 

“I’m fine, son. Just trying to organise my thoughts…are you sure you don’t want to come with us?” she smiled and Reuben smiled back because no one could resist one of her smiles, her eyes lit up and darkened, the dimple by her mouth deepened, and Reuben thought if he ever got married he would want a lady just like his mother..if that were possible, of course

 

“I’d rather stay home, Ma. I can get on with chores here, and my school work. It isn’t easy to do any study with the twins running around plus Nathaniel …”

 

“ I wish I could stay home…” Sofia’s voice drifted from the stairs and she shook her head and all the curls shivered about her shoulders, “I’m too old for those twins now…can’t you just take Nathaniel?”

 

“Sofia,we have already had this discussion…now, pass me that dress…it should just about fit into the valise….” she smiled and smoothed the garment into place, then stood up, straightened herself and nodded “Right, now then…” she paused and turned to Reuben “Did Ezra harness up the buggy for me, Reuben?”

 

“Sure, Ma.. just before he left with the wagon. I could have gone in with him, you know…”

 

“I know.” she looked at the boy and frowned, “Pa wants you to stay here, so do I. Is it such a big thing to ask? “

 

“I guess not.” Reuben replied, trying not to sound as irritated as he felt, he glanced over at Sofia “You;ll be better off at Aunt Marc’s, it’ll be cooler there with the trees and everything.”

 

Sofia shrugged and slumped down on the settee “I don’t see why we have to go…” she folded her arms across her chest, scowled and stared at the rug as though she hated the thing, “Why couldn’t we go to the cabin and go see Aunt Ann and Rosie….”

 

“Because Hose wants Hester and the children to go there…. “ Olivia glanced at the clock and sighed “They’re probably on their way to town to get the train now.”

 

“If it rained we could stay here, couldn’t we?” Sofia said slowly, frowned a little more, and sighed, “If it rained ..it would be much better ..we could get back to school….”

 

“Goodness me, Sofia, you have only been away from school a few days…and..anyway..” Olivia fastened the valise with a determination that indicated she had had enough of Sofia’s moans, “I heard that the schools have been closed…until the weather breaks.”

 

“I didn’t know that…” Reuben declared and straightened his shoulders and opened his eyes wide “Does that mean I could go into town and see ..”

 

“No, it doesn’t.” Olivia turned to look at him sternly “We are trusting you, Reuben..this is the first time you will have been left on your own, and …in all honesty I wish you were coming with us ..not because I don;t trust you, but because things can happen with this weather and …and it worries me that ..well, it worries me that you are going to be alone..”

 

“Chen Ho Li is still here, he’s staying with me…and I can go see Aunt Mary Ann any time if I need to and anyway, Pa will be here…” and he looked at her as if to say Pa trusts me even if you don’t.

 

Olivia opened her mouth to speak when Nathaniel ran in, his eyes wide and hair sticking up in curls “Mommy Mommy…” he puffed and then said in a squeak “Smoke…”

 

It was no doubt inevitable that with the weather as it was, at some point in time the woodland, the vast region of timber, would be affected by fire . Olivia and the children ran outside into the yard and stared in the direction of Nathaniel’s pointed finger to see the thin spiral of smoke rising above the tall trees and making its way into the blue, blue sky.

 

It was miles away from the houses, miles away, but Olivia knew that fire can outrun a galloping horse, and even though there was no a breath of a breeze there in the yard of their home, the fire could whip up a wind storm all too fast.

 

She felt her chest tighten, panic was beginning to set in, not because she had to make a decision about staying or going away, but because Adam had said he would go with Joe to check out the timber. That was always the plan, Hoss would have gone but he was taking Hester to the train station in town, but would he have gone if he had seen the smoke? Or would he have turned round and gone back to check the fire…perhaps not a fire, perhaps just …smoke, from a camp fire perhaps…her mind was scrabbling, and she heaved in a deep breath.

 

“Very well, now..” she looked at the buggy and horses, waiting for her, already one bag in the trunk, only the valise, the children and herself to join it.

 

“It’s along way off, Ma.” Reuben said matter of factly, “Pa will see to it, and Uncle Joe…then Uncle Hoss too…”

 

“Yes, I know…I know but I was thinking that perhaps we should stay ..in case …” and she shook her head, wishing someone would help her make a decision

 

She thought of the conversation with Adam the previous evening over an invitation from Marcy and Luke to join them at the Double D. Adam had been relieved at the thought of his family being further away from the timber land, from the risk..and the children having company, Olivia having Marcy to talk to…and of course, Reuben came up in discussion, and it was Adam who said he felt the boy old enough to handle responsibility, at least for a few days…

 

“It’s alright, Ma, Pa would want you to go, he’d feel better knowing you were safe with Aunt Marcy.”

 

She nodded, her eyes fixed on the column of smoke “Yes, perhaps you are right. I think you should come too, Reuben…”

 

“No Ma, Pa said I could stay …” he put his hands in the pockets of his pants and shook his head, “I’ll go see Grandpa, make sure he and Hop Sing are alright.”

 

………

 

They had tied their bandana’s around their mouths and noses, some barrier to inhaling the smoke. As they rode closer they could see shapes moving the smoke, in the burning undergrowth, men doing their utmost to prevent the flames from spreading further. Men with shovels were digging a trough, a fire break some distance from where the trees burned.

 

Noticing the fire earlier the two brothers had felt their hearts plummet to their boots. They were still dismayed at the loss of so many cattle, and now this…the main fear they had had for all the weeks of the drought and intense heat. It had been a relief to see that it was not as large as feared, but the problem was there…it could get larger, it could get worse.

 

A tree exploded just a few yards from them and both the horses reared up, Joe kept his saddle but Adam was tossed rather swiftly onto the ground as his horse lost its grip on the soft wood and leaf moult under its feet, it had slithered ..fallen…leaving Adam flat on his back, gasping for air.

 

Joe dismounted immediately and ran to his brothers side, another man came to help and together they hauled Adam back onto his feet. Smoke caused their eyes to water up, the man who had come to help had his face blackened by the fire, red from the heat and track marks where the tears had fallen…he was blinking now, trying to get his vision clear as he told Adam and Joe the damage and what they were doing.

 

“So far it’s contained, we’ve got it under control hereabouts…just trying to keep it that ways..” he paused now as another man approached, McManus pushing his way through the smoke and flames, he nodded to both Cartwrights, then jerked his thumb as an indication for them to follow him.

 

They were not too far from a water source, and some men were hand working the pumps to get water through the hoses, aiming the jet of water high to stop leaping sparks from igniting trees close by and spreading the conflagration. Some men were patrolling round the area and stamping out fires that seemed to appear from the undergrowth, and then beating them out further with wet sheets.

 

The noise, the roar of the flames whipped up by the wind they created, was intense but Mac was able to explain that they had used the ‘grenades’ * kept in ready supply, and that they had been effective in controlling the fire to the one area. “It started during the night…” he rasped, his voice husky from smoke inhalation and shouting instructions, “thankfully the watchmen noticed and we got to work on it right away.”

 

Joe and Adam nodded, eyes watchful…. a blazing branch fell, sending sparks and flames skywards and landing just feet from where they stood. Grabbing at the buckets by Joe threw the water over while Adam had doused a sheet in the water and began to beat out any flames that were beginning to nibble in the undergrowth.

 

It was controlled. It was beatable. It was just going to take time to ensure that the fire was really out, that there were no little bonfires about to explode into action when they had felt safe. Two hours into fighting the flames Clifford Porter and several men from town arrived, adding their efforts to those men who had been fighting the flames for hours.

 

Someone was pushing a canteen of water into Adams hands, it was all he could do to nod his thanks and drink it down, it was luke warm but it was wet…his eyes were blurred from smoke and tears, he could not see Joe. He saw hazy figures moving about, the stench of burned wood and wet soot made him sneeze several times over…he realised he was breathing heavily and that his body ached in every limb. He gulped down some more water and then found himself

face to face with Clifford. The mans face was streaked and his clothes filthy, well, no one was going to walk away from this pristine. He removed his hat and ran gnarled fingers through his hair, shook his head

 

“came as soon as we could. Knew we would never get the fire engine up here…too many trees, just too dangerous…at least we can help with the clearing up.” he wiped his face again, spat a black sooty gob onto the ground, “We’ll stay awhile and make sure its safe …”

 

Adam shook Cliffords hand and then started to make his way through the shadowy figures of men, weary, blackened figures, still warily looking for small flames to indicate further danger…he found Joe talking to Mac, drinking from a canteen, and looking, like all the other men, black and weary and his shirt burned…Adam point to it but did not have a voice left to ask what happened, little brother had obviously got in the way of some flames.

 

“I’m alright, backed into a burning tree trunk ..only just managed to get flames out before it set fire to my hair.” he grinned as though it were no big deal, shrugged and raised the canteen to his lips

 

It took a while longer to find their horses, having Cliffords guarantee that they would stay over to make sure no new fires broke out… Mac and the timber men were finding places to sit, exhausted men, heads handing low, hands limp dangling between their legs…a few had been burned, had been rushed to the camp for treatment, but all minor burns. Joe teasingly said that the worse injury was to Adam, when he fell off his horse…but big Brother did not get riled, as once he would have done, he was just grateful, so grateful, that there had been no deaths, no major injuries and the fire was now contained.

 

All in all it was a horrible event. But now, for the moment, it was over.

 If it would only rain.

 

Chapter 37

 

“Well, anyway, I reckon that big ox of a brother of ours hopped on the train with Hester and decided to go to Carson City. Betcha he thought he would go check out the cattle at the station and see how fat and sleek they are compared to those we buried…” Joe paused in his chatter, and sighed, his shoulders slumped slightly “Do you reckon we did the right thing, burying them all like we did. It probably would have been better to have burned them up..but then, dang, this drought..still, we could have made sure no sparks flew to cause fire problems…what do you think, Adam?”

 

He half turned in the saddle to where Adam had been riding close by not a few minutes ago, but there was no sign of him now…Joe half turned to the left to check on that side but Adam was not there either.

 

“Hey old man, you fallen off that horse again?” he yelled, half a chuckle in his voice, along with some anxiety now..”Adam? You hear me, brother?”

 

He turned Navejo back in the direction they had been travelling and looked about him…after a moment he recognised Adams black hat tumbled among some undergrowth. He yelled his brothers name again and heard what he thought was a faint hallooo coming from off the track. He rode Navejo slowly towards the sound and found where there was a gap just off the track leading to a dip in the ground, not quite a gulch, not that deep..but he could see his brother plainly enough and dismounted immediately, grabbing at his canteen of water as he did so.

 

Adam was kneeling on the ground beside his horse. The animal was on its side, breathing heavily, a rattle in its throat, Adam had his hands on his thighs staring down at the animal as though he could not believe what he was looking at, could not accept what he was going to have to do.

 

“What happened?” Joe whispered as he scrambled his way through years of dry duff and new saplings to reach Adam’s side

 

“Just dropped straight down…toppled down the dip…” Adam replied and put out a hand to stroke the animals neck, gently, and Joe watched as though mesmerised by his brother’s hand running the length of that long glossy neck . He gulped and pushed the canteen into his brothers shoulder as though to draw his attention to the fact that there was some water available but Adam ignored him, just kept his eyes on the horse.

 

“Reckon he broke his leg or something?” Joe now asked, pulling out the stopper from the canteen and drinking from it himself.

 

“He may have strained his foreleg when we came down earlier, caught his foot in those roots, but ….” Adam sighed and pointed to the horses nostrils “I think he inhaled smoke, see…the black mucus, and his breathing…rattling…” he shook his head, a look of dire frustration on his face “I should have made sure they were well away from the fire, from the smoke..”

 

“Smoke gets everywhere in these kind of conditions…nothing anyone can do …” he now squatted down beside his brother, his shoulder rubbing against his brother’s ..he looked down at the horse and removed his hat, wiped his brow “Whatcha going to do?”

 

“Just wanted him to know he was not alone…” Adam murmured in the saddest tones Joe had heard his brother use for a long time.

 

“Best be quick to do it, Adam, it’s not fair to him otherwise…”

 

“I know…he’s been a loyal old friend though, hasn’t he?”

 

“Sure has…” Joe frowned “Do you want me to do it?”

 

Adam got to his feet, stood up and gave Joe a scathing look, “What do you think I am, Joe…some wet behind the ears kid?”

 

“No…”

 

“Then stop saying such rubbish…” and leaning down Adam pulled the rifle from its sheath, took aim and fired.

………………

 

Hoss had seen the smoke but only when he was half way back to the Ponderosa having kissed his wife and children farewell at the station and waved them off . He mulled over the should he / shouldn’t he conundrum and decided to get home. He was certain sure that Porter would be there with some men and he was not sure whether or not to turn back and join them.

 

He kept the column of smoke in view though, scanned the horizon constantly checking that new smoke was not curling heavenwards apart from that one. He thought of his brothers for sure they would be there, with Mac and some of the men…he scowled to himself, seemed whatever he thought to do would be the wrong thing.

 

He finally decided to get home, check on his brothers and make sure they and Pa were safe and then he would fall in line with whatever they felt he should do…but even thinking that made him feel uncomfortable. He paused his horse and twisted in the saddle to look back at the smoke…was it his imagination or wishful thinking, but it looked less frightening?

 

He removed his hat and scratched his head. He had total confidence in the towns fire men, volunteers all, brave men, Cliff had proven himself quite a hero during the big fire when half of the town had burned down. He also knew that Mac and the men had fought many a forest fire in the past..he could count on them on dealing with it. He replaced his hat, and nodded, yep that was just a little bitty fire, not a huge conflagration. And it was a long long way from the houses and the meadows where the remaining cattle grazed.

 

Ben was standing in the yard looking over at the now thin line of smoke coming from the trees, and when Hoss walked his horse into the yard he raised a hand in greeting and smiled,

 

“Everything alright Hoss?” he glanced over at the trees where the smoke hovered, “See that..the worse one yet this year.”

 

“I saw it..”

 

“Adam and Joe went out first thing… “ the dark eyes looked thoughtful, “No doubt about it we surely do need rain, and lots of it”

 

Hoss felt a niggle of anxiety in his stomach, Ben did not say as much but Hoss had the feeling that somehow his Pa had expected him to be with his brothers, and the men, fighting the fire. He licked his lips, dismounted and pulled out the mail from his saddle bag “Here y’are, Pa..”

 

Ben nodded, glanced down at the letters and nodded again. He turned then and walked into the house, with Hoss looking at his father’s back and feeling that somehow or other, he had done the wrong thing. He looked at his horse, who looked back at him, both sighed.

……………….

 

Mary Ann’s eyes were turning constantly to the clock, and then to the smoke hovering over the tree line. She had a great fear of fire, as did most folk who lived out in the dry season of the west, and this had been her first experience of fire on the Ponderosa.

 

Having lived through the time of the great fire of Virginia City she now recalled to mind the terrible night mare of living through it..thanking God constantly that it was at a distance, safe on the Ponderosa, but it had touched the borders, had trickled in some areas …made her feel vulnerable again.

 

Afterwards, when Ben had suggested taking aid to the townsfolk they had loaded wagons with food, water, blankets and necessities…and upon seeing for herself, driving into the blackened aftermath of the fire, seen the exhausted fire men, the weeping women..it had reduced them all to tears.

 

Ben had organised the ranch hands to help where they could, she and Hester and Olivia had gone to the aid of the women and children…and her fear of fire had multiplied, so that at times she had had to go behind some place where she could hide herself and get control of her fears, the nausea ..

 

Where was Joe now? Was he safe? Was he going to be alright? What if something had happened to him? Why did he have to go just because Adam had gone…why had he not stayed home to make sure they were safe here?

 

She heard the sound of wheels approaching the house and her heart began to pound…someone had come to tell her bad news, about Joe, someone from town may be or …

 

“Mary Ann? Mary Ann?”

Olivia’s voice…Olivia…but was she not going to Marcy’s today? Why was she here? Bad news for a certainty…

 

She picked up her skirts and hurried down the stairs where Olivia was pushing open the door, Sofia and Nathaniel behind her, The smile on her face as she saw Mary Ann somehow soothed the younger womans nerves so that she was able to offer up a tremulous smile of her own.

 

“Is Adam back home?” she said clasping hold of Olivia’s hands, “I thought you were going to Marcy’s..”

 

“I could not go..not with Adam out there…” Olivia removed her bonnet and looked around her “Where are the children?”

 

“Upstairs ..” Mary Ann smiled at Sofia and Nathaniel. “You can go up and join them …I’ll make something to drink…”

 

Nathaniel ran up the stairs, but Sofia clung to her mother’s side, determined to let them know she was not a child and did not want to be treated like one.

 

“I saw Ezra on the way here…he said Cliff and some firemen have gone to help with the fire but the opinion is that it will soon be put out. I left quickly before he got into telling me some of the more garish details of previous forest fires. In his opinion this just amounted to a picnic” Olivia smiled as she spoke and followed Mary Ann into the other room.

 

“Well, that may be his opinion but it is still worrying…admit it, Olivia you’re worried too, or you would be at Marcys..” she smiled at the other woman, at Sofia who managed a smile back.

 

“I didn’t feel it was right of me to go …I wanted to make sure Adam came home to a wife and not …”

 

“Reuben was going to be home…on his own…” Sofia blurted out, and scowled a little “I wanted to stay too but Pa and Ma said I was to go …”

 

“Reuben wants to be the man of the house whenever Adam is away…or when I am ..supposed to be away.” Olivia laughed and looked thoughtfully at Mary Ann, and squeezed her fingers gently within her own “Don’t worry, Mary-Ann, Joe will be alright…”

……………..

 

They had removed the saddle and harness from the horse and Adam had swung it up over his shoulder, then trudged along behind Joe who had mounted up onto his horse. Joe looked down at his brother and shook his head

 

“Why not leave it all here, we can come back for it some other time, why not double up with me, Navejo can take the weight….” he chuckled “It’s not as if you’re built like Hoss.”

 

“Hey, who’s thar taking my name in vain…” a familiar voice bellowed through the shadows of the trees and Hoss appeared a genial smile on his face “Thought I would come on by and check out you was alright…” he looked at them both “You are alright ain’t’cha?”

 

“Horse died under me…” Adam muttered and dropped the saddle on the track “You might have thought of bringing a wagon along.”

 

“Yeah, I guess I should have done, and a spare horse too…anything else you can think of that I forgot?” Hoss leaned on the pommel of his saddle, and grinned “How bad was it?”

 

“Not too bad, but bad enough. “ Joe replied “Cliff came with some men, Mac and the boys were there..”

 

Hoss nodded and glanced over his shoulder “Ezra was determined to come along…he brung the wagon. ‘cept it got wedged between a couple of trees down the track thar…I’ll go help him free it up…you two be able to make your way down without getting into any further trouble?”

 

Chapter 38

 

It was dark by the time they reached the houses. Lights gleamed in the windows of Adams home and he was reminded that Reuben was home alone. He sighed and passed a hand over his face, as though removing a mask and replacing it with another. Ezra pulled the horses reins and took the turning, Adam raised a hand to bid his brothers farewell, their voices drifting into the darkness and the sound of the horses forming their own music to the night.

 

As the wagon made its way down to the house both men remained in silence…Ezra was never comfortable with any form of ‘chit chat’ and in some ways was glad to be riding beside Adam who never demanded a constant stream of conversation. At the same time he had to admit being concerned about the younger man who had been more than usually silent from the moment they had met in the Timberland and observed the dead horse.

 

“Wal, g’night to you, Mr Adam.” he said as he drew the vehicle to a halt, “I’ll see to the tackle, don’t you fret none about that…”

 

“Thanks, Ezra.”

 

Adam clambered down from the wagon and raised a hand in thanks and farewell to the old man. He stood very still for a moment or two, just standing and thinking .. thinking about how tired he felt, how his leg ached, how stiff his bones were and how the fire had brought back too many memories. He bowed his head now, and ran his fingers across his brow as though in an attempt to remove some of them…those he had suppressed for years now, locked them up in a box and thrown away a key and now..he shook his head in exasperation and closed his eyes.

 

The world seemed to tilt just for a moment.. and he opened his eyes quickly to get his bearings again, to make sure he was on Ponderosa soil, in his yard, and not on the quayside of the harbour watching his ship burning and nine good men being brought to shore, dead, burned, gone and laid out like so many sardines upon the hard ground.

 

He shook his head again…what on earth had brought that memory back to life? Why now? He could see their faces now ..remember their names.. so long ago now, but still unforgotten.

 

He heard the door open, and turned in expectation of seeing Reuben there, but instead Olivia with her bright smile, and now seeing him, running towards him with arms open wide to embrace him. So he turned towards her, watched as she approached him and wrapped his arms around her as she clasped him into her embrace

“Oh Adam, thank goodness you are home, and safe. Is everything alright there…you look exhausted, you must be hungry…Hop Sing has something hot for you to eat, come, darling, come.”

 

He went with her willingly, of course he did, and her smile, her twinkling eyes banished away the faces he had seen so clearly only seconds earlier. He felt her lips kiss his cheek, and turned his face towards hers to kiss hers.

 

“I thought you were going to Marcy’s….” he said all in a rush, grasping at words “Is everything alright?”

 

“Of course they are…no, how could you think I could go from home with you out there…”

 

“But the whole point was to keep you safe..just in case…”

 

“And the whole point, darling, is that I knew you were safe at the end of the day…” she stepped back a pace and looked at him, “You are alright, arn’t you?”

 

They mounted the steps to the porch, hand in hand as lovers do, and lingered a moment so that they could share a brief kiss. And then she stepped back “You smell of the fire…was it a bad one.”

 

“Not compared to some…it’s …controlled…” he paused and heaved in a deep breath as though not wanting to discuss it, “My horse died…”

 

They were in the house now, and he was untying his gun belt, curling it around the holster and placing it safely away. She did not speak, but looked at him the light of the lamps, and saw the smoke streaked face, the blackened clothes and his hands, soot stained …

 

“I thought…I mean…how did that happen…were you alright, Adam..what happened.”

 

“Smoke got to him, he just dropped…just dropped…” he paused, frowned, and leaned against the bureau, “Faithful old horse, just so glad it was not Sport…” he cleared his throat, “I heard the rattle in his throat and dismounted before he fell…” he shrugged “Where are the children?”

 

“In bed…hopefully asleep…Adam, are you alright? You have not been hurt at all have you? “

 

He released his breath and nodded, “I’ll go and clean up.. “ he paused and turned to her, smiled, and leaned in to kiss her again “Reuben was alright, did not mind losing his chance to be the boss.”

 

She just laughed at that, and then watched him as he walked to the bath room. “I’ll bring you a coffee…”

 

But he did not answer, and she heard the door close behind him.

……………….

 

Reuben was half asleep and the sounds of the voices seeping thought the floorboards were a backdrop of comforting sounds, that slowly drew him into the darker confines of drowsiness.

It was good to hear the deep sounds of Adams voice, and he wiggled his way into the little nest he had made in the bed

He had watched the smoke from the doorway of the house, watched it as it thinned and then diminished … and felt the relief of knowing ..without knowing…that his father was safe.

 

In her room Sofia stirred, feeling hot and uncomfortable. Every night the same, too hot, too uncomfortable, sore throat, head ache. She got up and stumbled her way to the window which was wide open, and she leaned forward to try and catch some cooler air. She folded her arms upon the cill and leaned her head down, trying to keep awake, trying to feel cooler.

 

If only there was some rain, every breath seemed a struggle to draw in clean air. She looked out into the darkness and searched the sky for stars. Her eyelids were heavy, she just wanted to sleep, and to feel cooler.

 

…………….

 

Hoss sluiced his face and hands clean. Having seen the state of his brothers he was more than glad that he had decided not to get involved with the smoke, in the timberland, it was hard work at the best of times, but fighting that fire…he closed the door behind him and ambled into the room, heard the sound of the clock chiming the hour and was about to call out for Hop Sing when Ben’s voice drifted over to him

 

“Everything alright, son?”

 

“Yeah, yeah, sure …” he turned towards the kitchen area and frowned, hopeful that there was still something edible available.

 

“How did they get on with the fire? Was it bad…”

 

“Not so bad, Cliff Porter came out with some volunteers …saw the smoke from town, wanted to make sure it was properly contained, but Mac had it sorted out real good…Adam’s horse died. Dropped dead on the way from the fire.”

 

Ben paused in the act of reaching for his pipe and shook his head “Not Sport?”

 

“No, he didn’t take Sport.” Hoss frowned “Odd though…”

 

“What was?”

 

“Wal ..the pore critter obviously got smoke down its lungs, just dropped dead…”

 

“Adam alright?”

 

“Yeah, apparently so…just was real quiet and kinda …” he shrugged “ Joe said that he didn’t see what happened, so could be that Adam was banged up a bit when the horse came down….anyhows, he didn’t speak a word all the way back home.” he paused and then shrugged again “shucks, sure hope Hop Sing left some food out there for me…I’m famished.”

……………….

Mary Ann threw open the door as soon as she heard the sound of the horse . Once Olivia had left the house and she had been left with the children, and the never ending heat, and nothing going right, watching the column of smoke that seemed, to her, to get bigger and more threatening by the minute..she had prayed for Joe to come back home.

 

She picked up her skirts and made her way to the stable where she knew Joe would be taking his horse…and then, at t he doorway, she paused, stood there to watch him as he unsaddled Navejo, threw the saddle over the stall bar, and then led the animal in to be wiped clean…

 

Mary Ann could smell the smoke coming from the animals body and from Joe, and he coughed, several times, even spat onto the floor to clear his ‘tubes’ , but continued to concentrate on wiping the horse down with a rag, stroking his nose, and muttering words to him …

 

she could see the clothes were soot streaked, when he turned she noticed some of his shirt was burned, which caused her to panic and call our “Joe!”

 

He turned immediately and grinned, his big wide grin, and nodded over to her “Sorry to be so late, sweetheart, but took a while to get that dang fire out, and then Adams horse dropped dead and we had that to deal with as well…good thing Ezra brought a wagon along.” he paused “I’m afraid I stink like Saturday night at the Sazarac…best not come close. I’ll go have a wash and clean up before giving you a hug…” he grinned again, smile white against the blacked out face.

 

“Oh Joe…” she sighed and shook her head, “I’ve been so worried about you”

 

“No need to have been…..it was not a major fire, and Cliff Porter came and helped with several other volunteers from town.”

 

She stood there a while, watching him, smiling when he looked at her, while all the time she thought of the fear she had felt of his not returning safely, of something terrible happening, of losing her husband for good. Eventually she shook her head, to dispel the morbid thoughts and said that she would prepare him something to drink and eat…to which he nodded, grinned again.

 

Daniel was coming down the stairs, sleepy eyed, rubbing his face with a dimpled hand, and looking anxiously around him

 

“Pa home now?”

 

“He is, now get back up those stairs and into bed…”

 

“I wanna see Pa…”

 

“Well, you can’t…may be later when he’s had something to drink and eat..he’s very tired, Daniel…”

 

“So’m I, and hungry too…”

 

He yawned, blinked and then turned around and slowly made his way back to his room. A handsome boy, and the thought of her son going off to school in Virginia City shortly, made poor Mary Ann’s heart skip a beat.

 

Always something to worry about….fires, dead and dying cattle, distances…such long distances to get from A to B….

Chapter 39

 

Olivia stretched out an arm across the bed and felt nothing…or rather, her fingers did not come into contact with her husband’s slumbering body. She withdrew her arm and let it drop across her chest while she stared up at the ceiling, clothed in shadow though it was, and thought about the previous evening and whether Adam was possibly in the bathroom, or …maybe outside in the yard watching the stars and mulling over something or other.

 

No doubt about it he was very introspective upon his return home. Weary, yes, certainly that, but weary in the sense that he seemed to be carrying the world upon his shoulders and found the weight too much. It was not unusual for him to fall into melancholy, but the occasions were rare and did not last long. Conversation had been forced last evening, she recalled that….and he hardly smiled, just looked anxious and his dark eyes would look at her as though he could not understand why she was looking so concerned…he had said that to her, reaching out for her hand and saying “What’s wrong, Livvy? What’s worrying you?” and she did not like to say that she was worried about him…

 

He told her his horse had died and thankfully he had heard the rattle in his animals throat and freed his feet from the stirrups before it fell, but he did not elaborate on how he had felt about that, how he had knelt beside the animal and memories had flooded in and drowned him out. He had mentioned the fire, of course, but just that it had been controllable and posed no danger elsewhere, but he did not tell her how one flaming branch had come down so close as to badly burn Jake Harwood who had lain screaming in pain and how he himself had put out the flames and the smell of it all brought back ….more memories.

 

She waited some moments before feeling the heat of the room swamp over her, so that she had to go to the window and and lean against the cill in order to try and capture the night air, but there was no respite from the heat and she wandered back to the bed, waited a while longer, before deciding she could not sleep without knowing where he was, if there was anything at all that she could do to help with whatever it was that so concerned him at that moment

 

A lamp gleamed in the study and she noticed papers set out on the desk, the coffee pot was there as though standing guard and awaiting to be refilled. It was warm to the touch so she presumed he had brewed himself something to drink.. she turned from the room and made her way to the kitchen but then paused, the front door was open, and she could hear, faintly, the rustle of papers.

 

Adam was seated quite comfortably with one leg crossed over the other, and some papers in one hand, a cup of coffee in the other. On a low table were more papers, a pencil…and now as she stepped onto the porch he leaned forward, straightened his legs and put the cup of coffee down, placed a sheet of what looked like newspaper on the table and picked up another.. A single lamp and the moonlight were sufficient for him to read and write..and with an intense expression on his face he now scribbled some notation on the side of the paper he held in his hand.

 

“Did I disturb you…” he asked, looking over at her now and smiling, “I’m sorry, I tried to be as quiet as possible.”

 

“No…you didn’t disturb me…have you been here long? “

 

“About an hour I should think….” he was still smiling and extended a hand to her which she took as she approached the table and chair, “Sit down, sweet heart, shall I get you some coffee?”

 

She shook her head and smiled, dropped a kiss on his cheek as she passed him to reach her chair, and then with a sigh settled down beside him. She smiled at him and then looked at the papers and nodded over at them

 

“What are you doing? Can I help at all?”

 

He paused for a moment, then smiled slowly and thought back to the days when he would have to hide away papers, secret drawers in desks, locked away …strange days … he leaned back in his chair and stretched, then nodded

 

“Well, perhaps you could, after all you’re a woman…”

 

“Thank you..” she dimpled a smile at him “I’m glad you noticed…”

 

“I always do…glad of it… but …” he frowned now and picked up a sheet of paper, looked at it then passed it over to her “Read this and tell me what you think … it would be interesting to get a woman’s perspective on what it says…”

 

She looked rather hesitant at that comment and yet took the paper from him and noticed it was actually a newspaper account. While she read through it Adam watched her, and was reminded yet again of what a lovely woman he had married, blessed indeed for beauty and intelligence. He thought again of the days when secret papers were his responsibility and how he would share their contents with O’Brien, there in a snug cabin, glasses of whiskey close at hand, the ship heaving as the sea churned beneath them. Ah, he shook his head, why all these thoughts again now…

 

“This is about Clay..” she said quietly,

 

“Yes.”

 

“All of those papers…”

 

“All of them, letters, newspaper articles, statements from various people…” he tapped his mouth with the pencil and stared at the page he was reading for, he would have had to admit, the fourth time.

 

“You’ve been collecting…”

 

“No, no, not me…some anonymous somebody who sent it all to Pa and now Pa wants me to sort it all out. I got the impression from this letter that the ‘somebody’ is female.” and he passed the letter to which he was referring to her.

 

She read it and nodded “Oh yes, definitely a woman…someone with a lot of hate … and patience.”

 

“And money….she has been paying out a lot for the information she had…” he rubbed his forehead with his long fingers, and sighed “What’s your opinion about Clay? I mean, he seems to be making a lot of effort to get to know you, Mary Ann and Hester…which is natural, after all, he is …kind of…family, and last time he was involved with us none of us were married…”

“Yes -” she nodded in agreement, and for a moment she was silent as she thought over her impressions of Clay Stafford and gave a slight smile as she did so. “I don’t really know how to explain how or rather what I think about Clay..I can understand him wanting to get to know us, the women in the family, but at the same time I don’t think he really feels he belongs to the family. Perhaps he wants to belong, but -” she sighed and shook her head “Mary Ann thinks he is charming, handsome, witty, and a more mature Joe, she is already very fond of him, and Hester, she is a bit edgy about him, as am I”

 

“And why is that?” he leaned forward now, intent to hear what she had to say, rolling the pencil between his fingers as he did so

 

“Mary Ann told me a bit of his history, and for a child .. I mean it was not a loving family upbringing was it? Then he left to make his way in life, tried to find his mother, his father….he must have felt abandoned…”

 

“We tried not to let him feel that way, when he first came here…” Adam drawled slowly.

 

“I can well imagine, and I know how Ben gave him land of his own, which he gave back…” she frowned and steepled her fingers together, “He is at odds with himself, and because of that he makes a person feel uneasy. I did not feel comfortable with him when he came that day at the hospice…charming though he is, I felt it was all a facade, hiding someone that perhaps he does not even like…” she paused, frowned over at him “Does that make sense?”

 

He nodded, and leaned back, looked down at the papers and then with a sigh began to gather them all up to return to the envelope “I’m not sure what Pa wants me to do about this ….”

 

“Does Joe or Hoss know ….”

 

“No…I wanted to discuss it with Hoss but have not had time to do so yet. With Joe…perhaps not, anyway, not yet…” he turned to her and reached out to take hold of her hand “Thank you”

 

“Why not come to bed now, Adam…after yesterday you really should be getting a good nights sleep….not going through all this…”

 

“Well, actually it helped doing this….yesterday was not a good day for various reasons, and I needed to set my mind on a task to … get back on an even keel.”

 

“Could you not have just talked to me about it…” she leaned towards him, touched his face gently with her fingers which he took hold of and kissed, then shook his head

 

“Too many memories, Livvy…sometimes something happens and the flood gates open and swamp me…. and this heat…reminds me of the time we were in the China seas…and the fire, brought back Jiang Peng, and being trapped in that Yurt…” he heaved a sigh and stood up, raising her up as he did so, holding her hand still in his own, “Go to bed, sweet heart, I’ll get this cleared away …”

 

“What are you going to do about it…about Clay?”

 

They were walking into the house now, and paused a moment, he looked down at her and smiled, leaned down to kiss her lips “I’ll be up in a moment….”

 

He watched as she made her way up stairs and then turned to the study, where he gathered up the other papers and placed them in the envelope. For a moment he stood there by the desk, his fingers spread out upon the surface of the brown package and stared down at it…what to do about Clay Stafford…what to do about this strange mix of information..just at that point of time, he had no idea what to do, what he was supposed to do…and what was the whole point of the matter all about anyway.

 

But Olivia was right, it involved a woman, and a vengeful one at that….

Chapter 40

 

“Ezra…”

 

Reubens voice drifted over to the old man who was harnessing up the wagon for the morning trip into town. Even though the children were not attending school there were still tasks to do, one of which was collecting the mail, and propping up the bar in the Bucket of Blood while picking up the local news and gossip.

 

“Ezra, did you take my note to Davy?”

 

“I did…well, I knocked on the door and handed it to Mrs Riley.”

 

“Did she say anything?”

 

Ezra paused to think about that then shook his head, “No, just looked at me as though I was something on the bottom of her shoe…”

 

Reuben frowned, thought about that for a moment and sighed. Just as Ezra turned to continue his task he heard his name called again and so turned, to find the boy holding out yet another envelope with “David Riley” written in dark ink on its surface

 

“And let me know if there is any reply as soon as you get back, won’t you?”

 

“Of course I will” Ezra smiled good humouredly, and patted the horse on the neck, “They ain’t opening the school again until the heat drops, git some rain”

 

Reuben nodded as though wise about all things and stepped back so that the old man could mount onto the wagon, “Thanks Ezra.”

 

The dust from the wagons wheels drifted up and the boy darted back away to avoid getting covered in it,. He wondered if Davy were really sick, what had happened to Bella…he wondered if he would get a reply and most of all he wondered if it would ever rain again

………………

 

The library door swung open as Davy Riley stepped into the building. It was his first venture out of the house since the incident with Bella, and it had taken some nerve to sneak out, and get away from his father who seemed to be constantly on the watch for any movement his son made.

 

Davy pushed back the thick strands of hair that had fallen across his brow as he had peered around the library door. He gulped, nervous. No reason to be, he told himself, anyone can go visit a library..he just did not want anyone to see him there, any one from school for example. He was a thin boy, tall for his age, at the stage of being all arms, elbows and legs. Had his friends been there to see him they would have been amazed. Davy Riley in a library….hardly likely. But then they would have thought or wondered why the boy was there, and why so furtive, and why so pale, unhealthy looking, and what had caused the bruising on his face, and why the bandage covering his wrist.

 

Miss Tyndale was stepping out of her office when she saw him, and almost dropped the books she had been carrying. As it was she gave a squeak of surprise which she would have made had it been anybody, for business had been slow and she never expected to see anyone in the hall way. She stopped now and gathered herself together

 

“Davy? Davy Riley,what are you doing here?”

 

Again Davy nervously pushed back the lock of hair that had fallen across his face, he nodded and licked his lips

 

“Sorry, Miss, did not mean to scare you none..”

 

“Apology accepted, now what is it?” she closed the door behind her and continued on her way to the vast room where there were books on shelves, rows upon rows of them “You can come along with me, and talk to me as we go…well, come on, what is it?” she paused then right in from of the shelf that had the label “Adventures at Sea” blazoned across the top and faced him.

 

“You know George, don’t you? You give him books to read..he comes here sometimes, to town I mean, in an old wagon, and he always brings a book ..and gets another one to take away…which means he will be coming back..”

 

“Yes, I think I know the man you mean….” she turned now and slipped two books onto the shelf, patting them gently into place like two good children doing as they are told. Then she turned to face him, indicated that they were to turn left and he was to follow her.

 

They stopped by the shelves A_D ..History of Europe…she put in two more books on the shelf there, and said “Well, come along, what about him?”

 

“Well, do you know when he is coming again?”

 

“No…why do you want to know”

 

“I just do ..”

 

She paused and turned to look at him, now she noticed how unhealthy he looked, the bruise

and the bandage. She shook her head “Are you sick , boy?”

 

“No, don’t think so.”

 

“Hmm….come along with me.”

 

He shrugged, why did he bother, he thought to himself, he should get home before he was missed which would mean ..well, another bruise or two. But he found his arm gripped by her bony fingers and being led along to her office. She released him then, closed the door and nodded to the chair “Sit down.”

 

So he did, and relaxed into the chair, suddenly feeling that someone was in control and cared about him, he watched as she went to wards the window and opened the doors to a cupboard, produced cups, a box containing cookies…she bustled about making a deal of noise in the meantime during which he actually fell asleep.

 

He woke up when her bony finger prodded him in the arm, and then he was handed a large cup of milky chocolate, and on the desk, close by a plate of cookies..she sat down in the chair opposite him, and folded her hands in the lap of her skirts. Her eyes watched him as he looked up at her, then down at the cup, at the cookies, and he swallowed the lump in his throat and bowed his head so she would not see the moisture in his eyes

 

“Now, David Riley…tell me what has been going on?”

 

He did not want to talk just then, he wanted to drink the chocolate and eat the biscuits…he wanted to relax and just stay there and oh, just stop worrying and being scared all the time.

 

“I’m waiting” she said and rather primly picked up a cup of her own, which she sipped rather noisily.

 

“I think my Pa …he’s been drinking a lot…he hates Bella…he was glad when she got hurt, said she was not going to live and if she did then she needn’t ever come back to live with me…he would shoot her, better still he would put her in a sack and throw her in the river….and when he’s drunk he goes a bit crazy, you know…he hit Ma, bruised her face too….and then when he’s sober he’s always angry…”

 

“You’re frightened of him?” she said it as it was, just a statement, no accusation of him being a coward for not standing up to the man, after all how could he, he was only 11, thin and scrawny..

 

“Yes. A bit. And sometimes ..” he paused and dipped his head so that he could drink some of the sweet chocolate drink she had made him. “This is nice, Miss Tyndale…thank you.”

 

“Well, at least you got some manners….” she smiled then, it softened her face and her eyes were large and twinkling. “Now what did you want to know about George?”

 

“I – I just wondered if – if you knew where he lived.” he frowned “Well, I know he travels a lot, he doesn’t like living in a house or town, he told me that himself, you know….” he paused then, drank some more and nibbled at a cookie… “But perhaps you would know how to get in touch with him..you know, an address where he gets letters.”

 

“What makes you think I have that kind of connection with him….he just brings in a book now and again that’s all.”

 

“Oh, I just thought…”

 

“I have known George solely on that basis, but for a long time… he is an intelligent man, he loves to read, he has travelled a lot, knows a lot, but …” she shrugged then, a delicate rise and fall of the shoulders “That’s all I know.”

 

There was the opening and closing of a door and Miss Tyndale frowned, looked at Davy and then stood up, “I have a customer, so I had better go and see what they need. I am sorry I can’t give you more information about George, Davy….but I am sure he will come by again some day.”

 

Davy nodded and picked up another cookie, while she got up and looked at him thoughtfully and was about to speak when someone, Mrs Garston by the sound of it, called her name, demanding to know where she was….

 

When she returned to the office it was empty, the boy and the rest of the cookies were gone.

…………….

 

Ben looked down at the brown envelope and then up at his son who was standing by the desk with one hand tapping his thigh and the other rubbing along his jaw line,

 

“Well, what do you make of it?” he finally asked pushing the package away as though it were contaminated by some disease.

 

“Reading through all the paperwork….” Adam puffed out his cheeks and shook his head “Clay comes over as a scoundrel, and possibly guilty of crimes that should see him in prison, perhaps even hanged..”

 

“Yes, so what do we do about it?” Ben leaned back in his chair and passed a hand over his head,

 

“I’m waiting for some information back from Australia..and trying to locate the writer of the letter…I did wonder if Clifford Porters sister in law …”

 

“Mrs Porter? The one whose husband committed suicide. .mm.” Ben frowned,and shook his head “A very pleasant woman..she never blamed anyone for her husbands death..she accepted life as it was, left town…”

 

“Pleasant women can still harbour resentment…” Adam shrugged “But, it’s all about waiting to see what happens next…sometimes when things are as unclear as they are just now, we have to sit it out, wait for something to happen….”

 

“Such as…”

 

“The woman knows we have this information and if it appears to her we are doing nothing, she will get impatient, and somewhere, sometime , she’ll do something that makes the whole thing clearer…”

 

“I see.. so that’s how you got to solve all those problems for Mr Grant is it, just sitting, waiting..”

 

“What else do you expect me to do, Pa?” there was a slight edge to his voice now, and his eyes went dark, his lips thinned “I’m not sure what you expect of me….”

 

“True enough…we’ll put this away safely until something comes to light…”

 

Adam shook his head, scowled and turned to pick up his hat, he paused an instant “Of course, we could hand it over to Clay and get him to sort his own mess out …”

 

“Perhaps it may come to that…” Ben said softly, standing up and picking the envelope up, then he shook his head “Maybe some time, later..”

 

Adam nodded, smiled slightly “When the time comes we’ll give the tree a good shake, who knows what will fall out…” he nodded after that comment, slammed his hat down on his head, and grinned as he left the room.

 

Just for a while he can forget about Clay Stafford…well, that aspect of him anyway.

Chapter 41

 

Adam and Joe dismounted from their horses and then stood for a second to look around the town. The effect of the heat upon the people was obvious..the lethargy, the slow movements of the pedestrians were all indicative of how too much heat can sap the strength from their bones.

 

Dust covered as a thin layer over everything. Endeavour Sales only put out hardware on the side walk rather than risk his fresh produce being contaminated by the dust which, despite there being little breeze still managed to settle, creating an opaque covering over every thing

 

The two brothers looked at one another and then looked away…seeing on the others face the reflection of their own thoughts, Joe sighed “Reckon we need a rain maker….”

 

Adam shrugged and said nothing. If there was a wind it only caused more problems by burning the foliage of trees, grass, and drying out the soil as effectively as scorching sun ever did. He licked his lips, and then spat the dryness of dust into the ground, reached for his canteen and swallowed a few gulps of water. He heard Joe laugh and say that a cold beer would surely be better especially as they were standing right outside the Bucket of Blood.

 

Adam only allowed a fleeting grin, then a shrug to answer his brother’s comment before nodding in the direction they were going, not the most pleasant of journeys but one they felt a responsibility to fulfil.

 

The hospital known as St Marys was not overlarge, but it catered for the necessary injuries and illnesses that the General Practitioners were unable to handle. Their boots echoing on the wooden floors the two brothers made their way to the ward where Jake Harwood had been taken .

 

Jake was a young man, recently wed, and had been more than proud to have been employed at the Ponderosa Timber Yard. He had been eager and enthusiastic, and during the fire,which may have been considered minor by some, it had had catastrophic results for him. He had also saved Adam from injury by his swift action and sadly suffered the consequences.

 

They removed their hats as they entered the ward, and saw the young woman seated beside the bed of the injured man. Adam felt a pang of misery for them both…also a large dose of guilt at the fact that the man had saved him at the cost of his own health and well being. The woman stood up, the red rimmed eyes and damp handkerchief crumpled in her hand clear evidence of her emotional anguish.

 

“Mrs Harwood …” Joe started to say, then slanted his eyes over to Adam who nodded and continued to speak

“Mrs Harwood …” Adam paused and glanced over at the bed where Jake lay, eyes closed and injuries well bandaged. “Mrs Harwood, we came to see how Jake is now…and if there is anything at all that we can do to help in any way.”

 

The words sounded trite even to his ears, but he looked at her and noticed the relief in her face as she looked from one to the other of them, She nodded and dabbed at her cheeks, took in a deep breath

 

“It looked worse than it is…that Dr Chan came, he said he had experience with burns and would treat Jake. It’s just that..”

 

“If you are worried about the bills, please do not…we’ll cover all charges. Dr Jimmy is a wonderful doctor. If it had not been for him, I would be minus a leg now…” Adam allowed a brief smile to drift over his face, not just at the memory but as a hope extended to her, “And Jake saved me from getting injured, Mrs Harwood, I owe him a lot.”

 

She looked now at her husband and placed a hand gently upon his chest, then looked at the two men

 

“He’s been like this all the time…doesn’t even know I’m here…” she dabbed at her face again.

 

“It’s the drugs,” Adam said quietly, “Helps him ..” he paused “But he does know you are here, believe me, having gone through all this, the presence of those we love penetrates through all the barriers.”

 

She nodded and after a few more words of comfort and reassurances on their part, they turned to leave.

 

Seeing Jake had been a relief for them both, no one wants to see a friend, an employee, a decent man, burned so badly as to be disabled for life. But it was obvious that the young man had sustained injuries that would heal, would not affect his future life or employment, and that his looks had not been affected at all..something that would matter to a young newly wed woman if her love for the man were not strong.

 

“Well, after that, I think I shall go get that cool drink of beer…” Joe grinned and placed his hat on his head, “If its possible to find any in this furnace..”

 

“Ha-ha, “ Adam nodded and squinted as he glanced over to his next destination, “Ill see you later…”

 

“I’ll be in the Sazarac…”

 

“Of course…” Adam sighed and walked on.

 

The newspaper office was not only stuffy, and hot, it reeked of ink, oil, the smell of the printing presses and the sweat of the men who were operating them…for a moment he dithered in the doorway, then took a deep breath and stepped inside and headed towards the office of Daniel deQuille

 

The man was seated at his desk, his brow furrowed as though deep in thought as he wrote down words for the next editorial, black ink dashing across the white paper.

 

“Be with you in a moment…” he muttered without looking up from his task, and pushing his spectacles further up the bridge of his nose.

 

Adam closed the door quietly behind him and then took a chair opposite Daniel, and watched for a few seconds as the man continued to scribble words down as though his life depended on it.

 

“Writing your memoirs Dan?” he murmured, being a man of limited patience and being expected to wait for whoever knew how long was not in his nature

 

“Not yet…” deQuille frowned.

 

“How’s Caroline? And the family? You going back to Iowa any time soon?”

 

“Live in hopes, Adam, it aint going to happen any time soon.” Dan put the pen down and leaned back, observed Adam and frowned “And my wife is in fine fettle, thank you.”

 

“Writing another novel then?” Adam nodded towards the paper Dan had been writing on and raised his eyebrows

 

“No.. You read my book yet”

 

“No…which one?”

 

“History of the Big Bonanza..thought for sure that Ben had purchased one.”

 

“Pa likes the classics…”

 

“That will become a classic one day.. Sam* worked hard to help me there, he even wrote a foreword…got me the contacts for getting it printed…”

 

“That’s sure to turn it into a classic then, Dan. having a foreword written in your book by the great Mark Twain.”

 

They shared a smile, at one time such a comment would have made Dan bristle, but he took things more in his stride now, he was making a lucrative living on his articles that were written on the East and West coast and selling well…not as well as Mark Twains but good enough to keep his wife, Caroline Coleman and five children in good style.

 

“Well, what can I do for you….”

 

“Just came to see if you had any success with any of your contacts in Australia…..” Adam frowned “Any news at all?”

 

“None. Not yet anyway. I have contacted the editors of various publications and shall see what I get from them…Ballarat was the main interest wasn’t it?” he nodded at the expression that flickered across Adams face “As soon as I hear anything I’ll let you know.”

 

“Thanks .” he paused and reached for his hat “Things going alright over there at the Sazarac?”

 

“Booming so Sol tells me….your brother…sorry..um..half..no ..step brother is doing very well for himself.”

 

Adam nodded “Dan, remember back in the day when Amanda Ridley was here and used to go to the big gambling sessions in town…”

 

“Not just in town..yeah, sure I remember them..they didn’t stop when she left town you know. Your…um…Clay Stafford is a regular to them..not a popular regular I must agree but he goes”

 

“Why not popular?” Adam stood up, turned his hat round and round between his fingers and shrugged “I can guess but just tell me and prove me wrong..”

 

Dan laughed and stroked his beard “Well, no one likes to play with a man who never loses, he’s like a machine..never fails to win. They use new packs of cards, just about anything to try and prove he may be cheating…seeing how he has that kind of reputation…but …” he shrugged “Other than that, he’s turning out to be real popular in town, especially with the ladies.”

 

Adam shrugged, nodded and bade the journalist a good day…paused at the door “Know any rain makers?”

 

“Nope…ain’t got none hereabouts…the Mayor did think of putting in an advertisement for one.”

 

 

The next stop for Adam was the home of Clifford Porter who opened the door with an alacrity that caught Adam by surprise. “Everything alright, Cliff?”

 

“Fire reported just south of town…” Cliff slammed the door behind him and turned in the direction of the fire station, Adam strode along beside him, matching his steps to that of the fire chief.

 

“I just saw Jake…”

 

“Who?”

 

“The lad who was injured in the fire ..”

 

“Oh yeah.. he alright?”

 

“He will be…”

 

Cliff nodded, his mind already on his work, on getting the men assembled, getting another threat to the town vanquished. Finding Adam still close to him when he reached his office he paused “I ain’t got nothing for you, Adam. Could not find any thing that would link my sister in law to anything you were enquiring about..

 

Adam nodded “What about their children..you said she took the children away with her, but how old would they be now?”

 

“What?” Cliff pushed the door open, left it open so that the hot air could drift out to meet the hot air outside the building “You on some kind of crusade or something.”

 

“Just trying to find some answers that’s all…”

 

“Yeah…well…the boy would be a young man now, reckon about 22 and the girl about 20.” he turned at the sound of mens voice, his crew turning up for duty, “Have to go now…”

 

Adam could only nod and accept that he had drawn a short straw that morning…he stepped aside to let the group of men enter the building and get to their work.

 

He stood there for some minutes waiting. Not sure for what, but when nothing happened he made his way to the home of an old friend, Roy Coffee.

Chapter 42

Clay’s face had creased into smile when he saw his little brother enter the saloon. He cast down his cards and got to his feet to welcome Joe with an outstretched arm and his eyes twinkling with pleasure.

 

He was, no doubt about it, a handsome man, even now as a middle aged man he had seemed to hold age at bay. Still slim, as was Joe, and the lines, what he had of them, indicated good humour, a man who did not resign himself to the negatives in life but looked beyond the perimeters to better things. Now, as Joe walked into the saloon, he felt a surge of fraternal pride well up in his heart, and approached the younger man to give him a firm shake of the hand while he tossed the stub of a cigar into the nearest spittoon

 

“Good to see you here, Joe…you on your own…”

 

“As you see..” Joe grinned and clasped his brothers hand firmly within his own.

 

“What are you drinking? Beer? Whiskey?” he laughed “Champagne if you so wish…”

 

“Nah, just beer will be fine, so long as its cold.”

 

“A rare find nowadays, brother…he glanced over at Sol who nodded and disappeared for a few moments. “I’m in the middle of a game just now, Joe….wanna sit in?”

 

“No thanks …”

 

“Ben still …”

 

“Nothing to do with my Pa…” Joe said and realised his voice had an edge to it, he coughed and looked at the other men at the table, nodded over to them “I just came in to see you, Clay, but as you’re busy I’ll have my drink and go…”

 

“No, no don’t be like that…why not just pull up a chair and enjoy your drink while we carry on with the game…”

 

“That’s alright, Stafford, I’ll deal out, things are getting a mite too rich for me….” and a tall older man got to his feet and threw his cards down. He nodded over to Joe “How’s your Pa?”

 

“Just fine thanks, Mr Gallagher. How’s your wife?”

 

“Not so good, gall bladder problems…” He shrugged and looked at Clay “See you next week, same time.”

 

“I’ll be here.”

 

“P’raps it will have rained by then…” Gallagher sighed and picked up his jacket which he slung over his arm before leaving the building.

 

“There you go, Joe…seat already warmed up for ya…” Clay grinned and pulled out his own chair, he glanced over at the other men “Gentlemen, you know my brother, Joe Cartwright, I believe?”

 

All three men nodded a greeting and Joe found himself sitting opposite them, nursing a cold beer and watching them play while listening to their comments about the weather, the price of grain, and Clay’s eyes constantly watching, cards slapping down, money being tossed into the pot. Thirty minutes later the game ended, and Clay was scooping up the winnings with a smile, and a fresh cigar clenched between his teeth. The three men left the building, none of them seemed to be too bothered at losing their money to someone as slick as Clay.

 

Clay chuckled and rolled up several dollar bills and tucked them into Joe’s pocket telling him to go treat the kids to something from their Uncle Clay. Then he leaned back and relaxed, stretched out his legs by resting his feet on the rungs of a chair

 

“So..any reason for the visit, Joe or is this just a brotherly call.”

 

“You mean did I have a particular reason to be here…well, no I didn’t, just was in town and thought to see you, and get a cold beer too….” be raised the glass high and yelled out a thanks to Sol, obviously some were favoured and some were not…he lowered the glass, which was empty anyway, and looked at Clay “So…this happen every day…your gambling I mean?”

 

“My profession, Joe, or had you forgotten?”

 

“Nope, had not forgotten…” Joe sighed and nodded thanks to Sol when another ice cold beer was placed in front of him.

 

“You used to play too, Joe, if I recall rightly…”

 

“Yeah, true enough but after that time I nearly lost Cochise I decided not to ..’sides I’m a married man now..”

 

Clay shrugged and leaned forward to gather up the cards and shuffle them “Can’t see how that has anything to do with it, most men who come in here to drink and gamble are married men. Gallagher, as you know, has five kids…” he shrugged and looked at Joe thoughtfully, “What’s the difference…Mary Ann turned you religious or something?”

 

“Leave Mary Ann out of it, Clay…it’s my decision whether I gamble or not…at present, I don’t want ….my choice”

 

“If you say so.” Clay shrugged and the cards rippled through his hands to settle neatly into a pack as tidy as you would like in one palm. He set the cards down on the table….tossed out two and picked them up, grimaced and set them back down again “So? What’s going on in your fine upstanding world, Joe? Hoss’ bunions causing enough problems for us to forecast when it will rain.”

 

Joe looked at his brother thoughtfully, not sure if Clay were being sarcastic or not. He ignored the comment however and drank more of the beer. Clay frowned and pulled out two more cards, and seeing how Joe was not going to answer his question he tossed them down and shrugged “So? Everything going ok?”

 

Joe shrugged now, “Had a fire in the timber…came into town to see how one of our men was, he got quite badly burned..”

 

“Any risk to the rest of the timber? The town?” Clay asked without looking up from the cards he had picked out of the pack.

 

“Wouldn’t be here now if there were…” Joe frowned, “Cliff Porter came and helped deal with it all. He’s a good man, is Cliff.”

 

“Yeah, so I’m told…”

 

Joe frowned and leaned forward, his fingers holding his glass while he stared into Clay’s face “So…what’s the problem with you and Cliff?”

 

“Who said I had a problem with the guy?”

 

“You just did..”

 

Clay leaned back and put the cards neatly in a pile in front of him on the table, “Aint no problem between me and Cliff, just one between Cliff and me…there’s a difference..”

 

“Why? How?” Joe swallowed more beer and relished the cool trickle of it down his throat. He glanced over at his brother who seemed undecided about what to say “Is it to do with that incident with Cliff’s brother?”

 

“Ain’t no other reason I can think of..” Clay stood up, and stretched “Look, let’s go get ourselves a meal at the Internationale…just relax and talk over the good old times, huh?”

 

Joe nodded and stood up, finished his beer, and then realised that all the good old times had been tainted by some bad as well…shaking his head slightly he followed Clay out of the saloon and into the burning heat of the day. Clay grinned and slapped his brother on the back “I’ll tell you about Australia…the great outback…try and tempt you to come back with me.”

 

“You don’t intend on staying here then?” and Joe tried to keep the disappointment out of his voice,

 

“Not sure yet…” Clay replied as he stepped into the road, paused to let a wagon trundle by ..he nodded over to where Joe and Adams horses were nodding over the trough outside the Bucket of Blood “Adam with you?”

 

“Yeah, he had some folk he wanted to check in on…”

 

“Right..” Clay drawled out the word and his eyes went from the horse to the doors of the other saloon as though he could see right through them and would see a man in black draped over the counter there enjoying a glass of beer…warm of course.

………………….

 

Adam could recall the time when Roy Coffee’s house was on the outskirts of town but as the place had grown it had seemed to have embraced the sheriff’s house so that just as in the same way that Paul Martins had been, it was now occupying a prime location on C Street, in the towns centre. He removed his hat as he approached the door, and rapped on it loudly remembering that Roy had become a little hard of hearing of late.

 

The door opened more quickly than he had anticipated and yet was ready with a smile as Roy stood there to welcome him inside. “Saw you coming..” the old man said and led the way to the large room where he beckoned to Adam to take a chair.

 

“Mrs Boyd trusting you to behave yourself today, Roy?” Adam grinned as he glanced around and saw no evidence of the housekeeper, nor could he smell evidence of her home baking.

 

“She’s not well. Has not been for a few days. Paul says a lot down with it…the heat… it’s too much, and it’s gone on for too long.”

 

Adam nodded and stood there twirling his hat around between his fingers, then he smiled and looked over at the older man “Look, you sit down while I go make us some coffee…”

 

“Coffee…on a day like this?”

 

“Nothing wrong with a cup of coffee, Roy….” Adam replied thinking that was a true statement when Roy was not going to be the one making it. “Now , you just sit there while I go and make it…think up some reason why I’m here, apart from seeing whether the rumours are true or not”

 

He grinned as he put his hat on the table and made his way to the kitchen, he heard Roy’s yell “What rumours?”

 

“That you were about to die from a heart condition….”

 

“Shucks and hells bells, I heard that rumour too….you reckon on it being true?”

 

“Dunno, thought you would know..has not Paul mentioned it to you?”

 

“Heck as all got out, Paul ain’t sure he’ll even last out as long as me…he’s getting old you know.”

 

It took no time to make the coffee and they were both soon sitting opposite one another actually enjoying it when Adam asked if Roy had finished his memoirs yet. Roy leaned back in his chair, nursing the cup against his chest and frowned, “Fact is, Adam, I got too many of ’em and a lot of ’em not too happy either…”

 

“So you stopped…”

 

“Yeah, got so it made me depressed…we talk about the good old days …” he shook his head “But I don’t know…too many dead for no good reason…law and order did not exist really, even when I thought I’d got the man ..” he stopped, stared down at the dregs of his cup and sighed before putting it down on the table beside him “Adam, your Pa and me..we had quite a life back in the day… saw history unfold before our eyes, and a bloody one at that…heavens to Betsy, it’s a wonder you three boys survived….”

 

Silence that did not last overly long, for Adam put the cup down and leaned back, clasped his fingers together across his chest and narrowed his eyes “Your remember that time Clay came here and Cliff Porters brother got into some trouble with him….”

 

Roy paused, scratched his face through stubble, and Adam was reminded of the fact that the man before him now really was old, he had always seemed old, but now…he actually was…his face was haggard, the lids of his eyes seemed barely able to keep from closing over the watery blue eyes, and he was thin, much thinner than Adam had expected him to be….it made Adam realise he had not been to see the ex sheriff for some weeks and he felt ashamed to admit it.

 

“Clay Stafford…” Roy said in a drawl, and leaned back to stare up at the ceiling

 

The clock ticked away minutes before he spoke again with a nod of the head “Seems whenever he came back to Virginia City there was always some trouble with him…now, grant you, Joe was always trouble, but the kind one would expect somehow, never any malice, just the kind that happened …well, you know, he’s your brother……” they shared a smile and a nod of the head “But Clay was different…good looking man, still is…but…he attracts the wrong kind of trouble.”

 

Another pause. Adam was well enough aware of the way Roy was not to be rushed, he knew it would all come out eventually. He poured them both more coffee while he waited and then Roy started speaking.

 

“Cliffs brother..Maurice his name was and he married a girl called Susanna. Nice couple. Had children, boys. “ he frowned, and shook his head “Wal, Clay came to town that time and Maurice needed some money to pay his debts like most men get debts ..he thought he could win some playing cards ..thought Clay was an easy target because Clay gave that impression, you know..easy going, charming, lose a few no problem, and then he starts winning..and winning…well, Adam you know how it goes…lose enough to lure some fool into thinking he could win a hand or two, and perhaps he does, but then …things get tough”

 

“And Maurice lost a bundle, huh?”

 

“Kept on losing..Clay was like a magnet for him, he kept going back for more despite what his wife and Clifford said…then he lost everything. I know for a fact he begged Clay for help, to let him have some money just to pay the mortgage..Clay downright refused.”

 

“Tell me, Roy, is that what gamblers do..just stop caring about the victims …”

 

“Well,no point moralising the point, guess it all comes down to the man himself…does he see the victim or does he see a fool who just keeps going back to lose more. I know Clay told him more than once that he was losing too much, should stop…Maurice just got angry at that, felt humiliated ..so he told his brother anyway.”

 

“And then he tried to kill Clay…”

 

“Yep, and when he realised he had failed and he would be facing jail..he couldn’t handle it , just killed himself …right there in the middle of the street. Clay was unharmed, just stood there, then turned and walked away as if it had happened to someone else. He rode back to the Ponderosa and then we heard he left a few days later…” Roy frowned “Folks get used to it though, Adam…the shooting, the killing, for no reason…. like they get to be numb to the whole thing ,they’re jest glad it weren’t them..”

 

“Do you think Clay was at fault at all?” Adam leaned forward, elbows on his knees, hands still clasped around his now empty cup.

 

“Dadgum, how’d I know… .. he was doing his job, if you can call gambling a job…was not his fault Maurice was stupid enough to keep on going back and losing more… “ Roy sat still for a while, and tweaked at his moustache “Fact is, in my opinion, despite him trying to stop Maurice twice…he didn’t try hard enough…morally…” he frowned “Doubt even now if I’ve a right to say this, but …he could have helped the man out, he had the money, he could have shown some kind of generosity….but he kind of talked about the Gamblers Code …pshew…rubbish…” he shook his balding head and rubbed his chin “Gambling …more misery caused by that than a lot of things…”

 

“And…Roy … how do you think Clay is getting on here?”

 

Roy looked at his younger companion and frowned, noticed the intensity in the expression on Adam’s face and the dark eyes…

 

“He’s doing well. Prospering I hear…folk seem to like him …most of them anyway, those who don’t have long memories and dead brothers to think about….”

 

Adam’s eyes met those of the old man, he nodded and then rose to his feet. “I best be going, have another errand to run….” he picked up his hat “Why not come over some time, you know the whole family would be more than pleased to see you again…”

 

“Sorry, Adam, my days for long rides out to the Ponderosa are well and truly over..much as I would love to come.” he frowned, “I’ll dig around and see what more I can find out about that situation …let you know …”

 

“Thanks Roy…”

 

They shook hands then, and parted at the door way. As the door closed, Adam stretched out his back, to remove the kinks caused by sitting in one of the most uncomfortable chairs ever created.

 

He left the old man’s home and made his way towards his horse, noting that Navejo was still there nodding over the trough. As he passed the Library the door opened and Miss Tyndale stepped out, raised a hand and called his name…

 

Chapter 43

Amelia Tyndale was more than relieved to see Adam Cartwright at that moment. The visit from Davy had unsettled her and she was rather at a loss as to whom she could approach about the matter. Being a spinster she had often wished for a companion, whether husband or good friend, with whom she could share her anxieties and concerns. True, she had friends, but very few who really knew her, or, she felt, understood her.

 

Adam Cartwright … from the time she first moved to Virginia City she had longed for the day he would really, really notice her…as a woman, not the librarian. She had spent years of her life wondering if her dreams of his becoming the husband for whom she longed so much..would one day be fulfilled. But of course they were not, and she became more convinced than ever that she was unlovable, and the sheer pleasures of marriage would never come her way

 

But her deep affection for Adam never waned, although she no longer fooled herself into thinking it could be love now. Over the years they had formed some kind of relationship, a mutual love of books, particular authors, had formed some basis for friendship and respect. It had warmed her heart when he started calling her Amelia rather than Miss Tyndale, and certain things he had said, and done, convinced her that he had affection for her. But she was wise never to think it went or could go beyond that feeling.

 

Now she stood in the doorway and waited for him to come towards her, looking anxious and thoughtful as he approached her “Amelia..? Something wrong?”

 

He had removed his hat and paused at the doorway, his head to one side to observe her and she nodded and stepped aside, once he was in the building she closed the door and put the Closed notice in place so that they would not be disturbed

 

He smiled at seeing her do that, his eyes twinkled “Are you kidnapping me, Amelia?”

 

Well, she would have liked to have said yes, but instead she just smiled as though it were their private joke and led him into the office, then she paused and looked at him

 

“You looked worried about something …”

 

“Someone,” he replied “I’ve just been to see Roy, and …” he frowned and shrugged one of his slight rolling of the shoulders, “and it worried me a lot. He looks ill…”

 

“He is ill.” she replied somewhat sharply and indicated the chair in which he could sit “He has been ill for some while, just lately it has shown and been more obvious” she took a seat opposite him and looked at him thoughtfully “You and Roy go back a long way don’t you?”

 

“We do…” he sighed and leaned back into the chair “But…unless you called me over to discuss Roy …”

 

“No, I did not. I ..I had a visitor today… and, to be honest, I don’t know what to do about him.”

 

Adam raised his eyebrows, silent question marks, she nodded and sighed “Davy Riley”

 

“Oh…” he nodded, sighed and slowly turned his hat round and round between his fingers, “Davy”

 

“Yes.” she smiled, not that it was a smile that would touch her eyes, but a smile nonetheless.

 

“Reuben has been trying to contact him..sends him a letter every day …”

 

“Adam, he’s a lost soul. I’m worried that he may do something rash…something that may harm him. I can’t explain it very well but he was asking about George, the itinerant man who comes by every so often…”

“The man who helped Davy last year when he ran away, and also the man who gave him the dog over which Davy ..” he shrugged again “is till suffering her loss..”

 

“He is suffering, definitely suffering.”

 

“Well, Amelia, what do you think I can do? I called by once with Reuben but he did not want to have anything to do with us…and Mr Riley seems determined to keep us away from the boy.” he stared down at the floor, then pursed his lips, before sighing “Do you think ..”

 

“Yes, I do..I think Mr Riley does beat the boy and maybe even Mrs Riley, I’ve seen her with bruises at times…she is a good kindly woman, brusque but that’s more her shield than anything else, she can’t afford to get too friendly with folk he won’t let her.”

 

“Sadly too many men like to have total control over their families…” he murmured while his thoughts wandered into how she expected him to help them

 

“I know… “ she said nothing more than that, but sat very still, her hands in her lap, and staring at him as though to convey to him that the two words were more significant, that they were …more personal.

 

“It seems that the dog…”

 

“Yes, the dog. It’s disappeared. Dr Martin …” she paused and sighed “Well, he has not got the dog now, she has recovered well enough not to need his attention …”

 

“But Davy does not have the dog, it’s not in the house and if it were, surely he would be far happier. From what Ive been told the dog is – well – the sun and moon to him.” he paused “Unless Mr Riley has carried out his threats to kill it.”

 

“I don’t think Bella ever got to the Riley house…”

 

“So? You want me to find the dog?”

 

She sighed, shrugged and stood up “Was Roy’s housekeeper there? At Roy’s house?”

 

“No, she’s ill with this heat…”

 

She nodded and leaned forward, brushed something from his sleeve, which she kept between her fingers and looked at thoughtfully “I don’t know much about Mrs Boyd, but I do know she is allergic to dogs….” she held out her hand and in her palm were several hairs, very obviously non-human

 

He sighed, frowned and then looked at her “Roy’s’ got the dog?”

 

“Knowing that does not solve the problem about Davy though does it?” and she looked down at the hairs in her hand “I thought Roy had the dog, but was not sure until just now, seeing those hairs on your sleeve…” she smiled “Actually it would be perfect for him to have Bella there, company you see?”

 

“Yes..”

“Loneliness … “ she sighed again, “He so loved his job, well, you would know that seeing how you were his ‘assistant’ for a while.”

 

They shared a smile, and for a moment were silent then Adam nodded “Still doesn’t solve the problem with the Rileys.”

 

“I know..I just hoped that something would come to mind. Remember how you helped that poor boy, Billy Webb?”

 

“Different situation, Amelia…” his face softened and he nodded “The boys doing well, still writes to Reuben.”

 

“I’m glad about that…just wish that there was some solution for Davy…”

 

“I know. Amelia, you have a big heart…the fact that Davy came to see you today…shows he recognises that fact too..”

 

“Oh I think it was more to find out about George” she looked at him thoughtfully, “No one knows this, Adam…but George is my brother…half brother I mean..we only found out recently. But the fact remains ..”

 

“Leave it with me…I will do what I can..” he frowned again as together they walked to the door “I’m sorry I’ve not been of much help.”

 

“I know you will do what you can…I’m sorry I can’t help you with the worry you had ..”

 

“Worry?” he frowned, puzzled

 

“About Roy…you looked… you were concerned about Roy”

 

“Ah yes, it was about something he said, when I mentioned about him coming to the Ponderosa sometime, but he said ..he could not do that any longer…it really made me realise then that …well, made me realise how ill he really is…”

 

“Ill..old…lonely..a combination put together that can lead to severe consequences. But -” she opened the door and smiled at him as he stepped over the threshold and back into the street “You know what they say…if Mohamed can’t get to the mountain, then the mountain needs to get to Mohamed….”

 

He paused then, stared at the building opposite them, narrowed his eyes and then smiled

 

“Amelia..thank you.” and before he replaced his hat he used it to shield them from any onlookers as he leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek.

 

She watched him stride away, back to Roy’s home, and then touched her cheek and sighed…all these long years …and she knew from the heat to her face that she was blushing.

 

Adam walked away from the Library wondering what to do next. It seemed that the errands he had given himself had not accomplished much and when he looked for any sign of his brother…well, there was Navejo still nodding over the horse trough. He paused to consider his next move and noticed Nate Carney on the other side of the road, who nodded and raised a hand in acknowledgement .

Having decided on a course of action Adam did a mid-turn and made his way towards the Riley house. He was going over and over in his mind how he would approach Mr Riley and get access to Davy when he recognised the weasel of a man scurrying over to the Silver Dollar Saloon.

 

Watching the Undertaker go through the wing bats and ensuring the man was going to be there for a while as no man enters a saloon and minutes later steps back out, he hurried towards the Riley home.

 

The door opened almost immediately after his first knock and he found himself looking down at Mrs Riley who was staring up at him and then glancing up and down to see if her husband was anywhere near by. Adam removed his hat and composed his features into those of a well meaning neighbours “Mrs Riley, I’m Adam Cartwright..”

 

“I know who you are…my husband would not want you here…please go away…” the door was beginning to close but Adam rather swiftly inserted his foot to prevent it doing so.

 

“I really need to see Davy.”

 

“He’s not here..”

 

“I think he is..”

 

“Well, I know he isn’t…” and again that swift glance around to make sure her husband was no where in sight.

 

Adam had seen other women who had been abused by their husband, no matter how much they tried to disguise it from friends and neighbours there were signs they could not hide and Mrs Riley bore them all. He put a hand to prevent the door closing and looked down at her, the gentle look on his face so often to be seen when with women or children came naturally to him, and it made her swallow a lump in her throat

 

When the door opened and she stepped aside for him, Adam did not waste time, he stepped inside, and glanced around him, and then up the stairs..there was a flicker of a shadow on the landing

 

“Davy..”

 

“Go away. Tell Reuben to stop writing those letters ‘cos I’m not writing back…”

 

“Davy. I don’t have any letters for you, but I do need you to come with me…”

 

The boy appeared on the landing, staring down at the man who was looking up at him from the hall twisting his hat round and round in his hands. Adam nodded and Davy scowled

 

“I aint going no where with you…” the boy said in a strangely harsh voice for a child of his years, and he half turned to return to his room

 

Adam placed a foot on a stair, mounted several and kept his eyes on the boy who had hesitated now, “Davy…you want to know where Bella is, don’t you?”

 

Silence. The boy froze on the spot as though he had been caught committing some heinous crime. He stared down at Adam, his face still, frozen as though he were afraid to allow any emotion to appear there in case ..in case he had misheard what had been said

 

“You know where Bella is?”

 

“Will you come with me to find out?” he extended a hand as though encouraging Davy to put his trust in him and the boy nodded and began to descend the stairs

 

Halfway down Mrs Riley suddenly seemed to realise something had happened and she grabbed at Adams arm

 

“Mr Cartwright…if my husband ..”

 

“This has nothing to do with your husband, Mrs Riley ..” he paused and nodded “Well, perhaps it has, he is the boys father after all, but ..” he ran his fingers through his hair and shook his head “the boy needs to know ..doesn’t mean his father has to know as well…”

 

She placed a hand on her chest, and drew in a deep breath and then stepped aside to let them past the door.

 

“Where we going? You sure you know where Bella is? Does that mean she is alive? She is alright?”

 

“I believe she is…”

 

“My Pa said he would kill her if …if I took her back home. I thought she was dead…” he chewed his bottom lip, suppressing tears as he tried to keep up with Adams long strides “I thought he had got her and killed her and folk were too skeered to tell me.”

 

Adam said nothing to that but continued to head in the direction of Roys house. Pushing the boy ahead of him they stepped through the gate, and then to the door. Roy opened it after some serious knocking had taken place and glared at Adam and then looked down at Davy

 

“What is this? A deputation?”

 

Adam said nothing but pushed Davy ahead of him, and then closed the door behind him to look at Roy. The old man shrugged

 

“Least you can do after barging into my home is tell me as to why?”

 

“Roy, something I’ve noticed about you…is how much you resemble my Pa. The pair of you are a couple of old pirates, d’you that?”

 

Davy said nothing but stepped back against the wall and looked from one man to the other,

Roy straightened his shoulders and shook his head

 

“That may apply to your father ..”

 

“Roy, I was here a while ago, not more than an hour ago..and you never gave me a hint that you were harbouring this lad’s dog..”

 

“Dog? What dog?”

 

“Roy…this is me, Adam…and you have been ..”

 

whatever he was about to say was lost as somewhere in the back of the house came the sound of a dog barking, shrill, excited and if one were an expert in dog language, purely delighted.

 

Adam looked at Roy and raised his eyebrows, and Roy looked at him with a stony look of defiance on his face and Davy was running towards the sound calling out “Bella Bella..”

 

“It’s too late, Roy… Davy knows now,,, “

 

“Yeah, so what are you going to do about it? Dang it, Adam, what was I supposed to do when that poor woman came here with that dog in her arms, crying and carrying on something awful, I couldn’t turn her away, could I?”

 

He sighed and led Adam into the other room and sat down in his chair, “The dog was still weak, Paul said it needed rest and fussing so I thought I could do that alright, except Mrs Boyd was allergic …anyway, how did you know the dog gone dog was here?”

 

“I didn’t Roy, but someone else noticed dog hairs on my sleeve from where I was sitting here….and …so…here we are.”

 

“The boys father has threatened to kill the animal if he lays eyes on her…he’s a not so very pleasant person you know?”

 

“I know.”

 

“So what’s the boy to do…live here? Reckon I could do with some company seeing how I don’t get so much nowadays….” he glanced sideways at Adam and twisted his mouth into a smile “But I don’t think I would be that great a company for the lad…”

 

“Well, he’d probably not notice with the dog being here…” Adam smiled and turned to look at Davy who stood in the doorway with Bella in his arms and the animal licking at her masters face, licking away tears …”Look, why not just arrange for Davy to come here each day..at a time suits you….”

 

“Shucks, Adam…that means I gain a dog but lose my housekeeper.”

 

“Please…” Davys voice trickled into the room, high pitched, wobbling with emotion, “Please Mr Roy…please keep her safe for me.”

 

Roy removed his spectacles and let them dangle from his fingers while he gave it some thinking over, then he nodded “Tell you what I’ll do, I’ll keep her here until I can find someone who will look after her for you….or until your Pa says you can take her home.”

 

“He won’t never do that…” Davy whispered

 

“Well, she can stay here until she’s fully recovered then we’ll discuss what to do next…..” Roy nodded, satisfied with the compromise. “That alright with you?”

 

Davy nodded, eyes welling up again as he buried his face into the dogs silky coat, and the dog wagged her tail and whined as though happy for everyone concerned including herself.

 

“That alright with you, Adam?” Roy asked with the words laced with sarcasm and Adam rose to his feet and nodded

 

“Fine by me….” he looked over at Davy “You owe Reuben a letter , young man.”

 

“Sure, I know….”

 

Adam nodded and looked at Roy, they understood each other , no need for words. Roy sat back and watched as the tall rancher left the room, he and Davy heard the door close ..

 

Navjeo was still nodding over the water trough

Chapter 44

 

There were not many pedestrians wending their various way to their particular destinations. As Adam stood outside Roy’s property and looked over at the two horses he felt an old familiar tingle down his back and involuntarily glanced upwards at the sky.

 

It was still blue but without its lustre of the morning, and the sun shone within a haze of its own. He turned 360* and shook his head knowing that if he were on board ship now he would be ordering the men to prepare for a storm at sea, to get to their stations and to make sure that all they needed was close at hand…and then they would wait, watch and the tension would mount as they kept a close eye on the sky and the sea.

 

He walked quickly to where Sport and Navejo were and noticed that they were getting restless, and when they saw him stopped their attempts to pull free from their reins secured to the hitching rail. He untied them and with the reins in his hands he walked them the length of the street to Ridley’s Livery. Anderson came and nodded, an affable smile on his face

 

“Come to give them a proper meal for the day, have you, Adam?” he grinned as he took the reins from the other man, and nodded “How long you want them here for?”

 

“I don’t know for sure…” Adam frowned, “Maybe just the day…”

 

“Don’t know what’s got into them today..” Anderson jerked his thumb at the horses in the stalls, “Suddenly started to get skittish …” he led the two horses to the stalls further down to the back of the building, Sport tossed his head and nearly jerked the reins from the the man hand but Adam grabbed at his bridle and got the big horse into the stall without any further problem. “Guess the weathers getting on their nerves too..”

 

Anderson wiped his face and the back of his neck with a large polka dot handkerchief and nodded over to Adam “Be glad when we have some rain…”

 

“Well…” Adam frowned and shook his head “You know what they say, be careful what you wish for….” but he mirrored Andersons actions by pulling out a handkerchief and wiping around his neck as well, then he tied it at his throat and left the building.

 

So it seemed to him that Joe and Clay were still inside the Sazarac and it was there he directed his steps. The heat was building and felt like a blanket over the town, smothering and suffocating. Adam noticed several looking anxiously at others, and quickening their pace to return to their homes. Instinctively they were aware of something different, even though they had had to live with the unbearable heat for weeks now.

 

He pushed open the bat wings and glanced around the near empty saloon, caught Solomon’s eyes and raised his eyebrows “Not many here today, Sol”

 

“It’s the heat, “ Solomon said and wiped a trickle of perspiration from his face before it dripped from his chin, “Folk want cold beer on a day like this and …”

 

“No ice huh?”

 

“Wal…” Solomon smiled and winked “Lets say it’s melting away faster than Management would like…can I get you something other than a cold beer Adam?”

 

Adam leaned with his elbows on the counter and pursed his lips “Was looking forward to a cold beer….” he drawled slowly

 

Sol nodded, raised one finger to indicate that he would be back within a minute and disappeared through the door behind him

 

Adam took the time to look around him..several men were playing cards, jackets removed or not worn at all, patches of sweat evident on their shirts, sleeves rolled up. One man noticed Adam observing them and said in a resigned voice “Could do with some rain.”

 

“Don’t worry, it’s coming…” Adam muttered but turned back to Solomon who was back at the counter with a glass of beer in his hand which he placed in front of Adam with a grin.

 

They shared a glance at each other as though what stood on the counter was nectar of the gods, Adam nodded, raised the glass to his lips..his fingers could feel the cool glass and the condensation..he sighed contentedly and drank half of the cold content without pausing. It was cold, it caused an icy channel to worm its way down to his stomach. He even burped!

 

“Ooooh that was good..” he said and stared at the glass again before picking it up and swallowing down the other half.

 

Solomon leaned on the counter and nodded “Well, as you’re family…and a long time customer.” he winked and suggested another to which Adam nodded but added that perhaps Sol would join him this time…and he nodded over to a corner table

 

Solomon rubbed his hands together and hurried out to get the drinks which he carried over to the table where Adam was already seated, after putting the glasses of beer down on the table he pulled out a chair and raised one to his lips. Adam watched as Solomon seemed to inhale the liquid down and placed the glass back onto the table with a thud..empty.

 

“You know, Jake…” Adam nodded over at the man who had been called Sol or Solomon for so long Adam was not sure the man would recall his first name “if I recall rightly, you were the owner to this here saloon .at one time”

 

“Yeah, I was…I bought it off’n Miss Dorothea Armstrong after she had to leave town in kind of a hurry ..” he frowned “ You weren’t here then, were you?

 

“No, I heard about it though…” Adam picked up his glass and drank some, more slowly this time.

 

“Yeah, so I owned if for some while, but…” he glanced over his shoulder and then back to Adam, shook his head “I’m not so good at sitting in an office and all that paperwork. Sometimes I got so bored I’d take myself off to do bar keeping at the Bucket of Blood. Fact is, I just didn’t know how to manage the place.”

 

“How do you find the new Manager?” Adam smiled, buried his face in the glass for some more to drink.

 

“Clay..he’s a good boss, knows what he’s doing, efficient, which is more than I was…” Solomon sighed and nodded “I like the guy, even if he is a relative of you Cartwrights..” and he chuckled as though that were a fine joke

 

“He ever mention the relationship?”

 

“Does he what ..” Solomon shook his head “Nah, not really… folk know anyway. He’s good, got the touch if you know what I mean…”

 

“What about the gambling.? Have many high stake games?” the glass was almost empty now and he turned it round and round between his fingers

 

“No, he’s set a limit…I mean ..that’s odd in a way, after all he’s a professional gambler, knows what its all about, always wins too…but if he reckons anyone is gaming above their means he just quits the game. Seen him do it several times now…”

 

Shouts from the table where a game was in progress, followed by good natured laughter, the batwings swung open and several men stepped inside…Solomon stood up, nodded apologetically at Adam and left him alone at the table . Adam heard him greet the new comers and ask them what they wanted….as for him he pushed the empty glass aside and leaned back, tilting the chair onto its back legs while he observed the ceiling and wondered where his brother could be…

 

Derwent Jessop came into the saloon and after looking about him ordered his beer…not being ‘family’ he had to be content with it coming warmer than he would have liked…then seeing Adam he strolled over and sat down on the chair Solomon had vacated

 

“Glad to see you today, Adam..” he started by way of conversation and Adam nodded, and said how it was always a pleasure to see him..they shared a grin and Derwent took a gulp of the beer, grimaced, and sighed before drinking some more.

 

“Everything going well with you and Jessie?”

 

“Fine just fine…bit worried about this weather though, that stream..” he sighed and drank a little more beer “That stream looks like its drying up with this heat…will cause problems if we don’t have rain soon.”

 

Adam sighed and leaned down upon the table, “We had to shoot quite a few head recently….near broke Hoss’ heart…”

 

“Wal, I would not want to have to do that…our herd is not exactly Ponderosa size but we can’t afford to lose too many head.” he frowned “We’re not the only ones facing this problem either..”

 

“Is Luke alright?”

 

“Same as me, holding his own just now…need rain real bad…”

 

“I’ll ride over soon as I can and take a look ..see if I can think up anything to help…” Adam said quietly, “Never know, it may rain yet…perhaps any time now…even.”

 

Derwent laughed and stood up “Never took you as the comedian in the family, Adam…”

 

Adam just smiled and twinkled his eyes as Derwent left the saloon. Adam continued to smile, to himself, and look up at the ceiling. He imagined being on board the Shenandoah now, and the men getting restless, fidgety..may be wandering away from their designated posts, and he sighed, and waited.

 

“HEY…”

 

The yell came from the doorway and Adam who was really dozing due to the heat and the effect of two beers,nearly fell off his chair . He looked across to see Joe storming into the saloon, with Clay near behind him. It struck Adam then at the similarity between the two men, the build, the colouring, the shape of the face…but whereas Clay looked calm, bemused even, Joe was red faced and blistering with anger

 

“Someone stole my horse…” Joe yelled to anyone who would listen.

 

Adam slowly unwound himself from the chair and when Joe saw him he threw his arms in the air “And they stole Sport too..they’ve both gone…”

 

Adam sighed, nodded over to Clay who stepped back to watch the two brothers as though he expected some kind of floor show…Adam raised a hand, “It’s alright, Joe…”

 

“Alright..alright….how is it alright that someone ..some low skunk can steal our horses and in broad daylight…”

 

“Joe, it’s alright…I took them to the livery so they could be …”

 

“The livery?”

 

“Yeah…the livery…” Adam scowled and shook his head, was Joe really being obtuse on purpose.

 

“You took them to the livery? What on earth for….”

 

Adam could hear Clay ordering three beers..cold..he shrugged “I don’t like sitting on a wet saddle”

 

Joe, and Clay, even Solomon just stared at him…it was Sol who laughed first, a great boom of a laugh rather like one Hoss would give. Clay shook his head and looked at Adam as though he were deluding himself while Joe stared at his older brother in disbelief.

 

“How many beers have you had to drink, brother?” he said in a gentle voice as though commiserating with a sick man needing more medication.

 

“Here,, Adam, have another…on the house this time.” Clay smiled, his hazel eyes twinkled as he indicated the glass on he counter.

 

Adam glanced from the beer to his brother and sighed “Where’ve you been? Did you …”

 

“No…not yet…I came to see Clay and then we went over to have something to eat..and you know..just catch up on things…”

 

Adam sighed and shrugged, realised that he was hungry and the beer was not going to be very helpful on an empty stomach. He looked at Clay who had turned his back and was talking in an undertone to Solomon obviously not wanting to be part of the current conversation between the two brothers.

 

It was just then that two men stepped inside, both brushing what appeared to be raindrops from their clothes. Solomon asked the obvious question “Is it raining?”

 

Chapter 45

 

Rain!

 

At last!

 

Several men and some of the saloon girls hurried over to the doors and seeing the rain falling ran outside to feel the cool drops splashing upon their faces, their clothes..one of the girls giggled. Joe glanced at Adam and shrugged “You knew …?”

 

“Only something any old seaman should know…” Adam said with a grin, then his face dropped, became more solemn, “Wish it had been as obvious before we left otherwise I’d have recommended staying home.”

 

“Well, at least to have grabbed our jackets ..” Joe said and turned to join Clay at the door, but Adam grabbed at his arm “Hey, Adam..”

 

“This isn’t going to be a light shower, Joe…” Adam said quietly and slanted his eyes to where Solomon was standing at the counter, eyes fixed to the view outside.

 

“Yeah, what’s that supposed to mean?”

 

“Just that….”

 

Sol put down a cloth and the glass he was polishing “You seen this before, Captain?”

 

“I have…”

 

“Out at sea ..?”

 

“I’d advise you get the doors closed, Sol. This isn’t …” his voice was drowned out by a crack of thunder that made the glass in the windows shiver, the girls that had run outside now ran back into the saloon squealing, soaking wet, but before they were able to speak lightning flashed brilliant white so that the girls squealed again, only louder, and some men jumped to their feet, exclaiming loudly, some expletives were shouted out and Clay was yelling to Solomon to get the doors closed as rain water began to stream over the side walk and into the building.

 

“Shucks,” Joe whispered, “This is going to be one heck of a storm.”

 

“Been building up for some time” Adam said quietly recalling the night he had felt a storm brewing and in the morning there had been nothing….now, here it was…crashing and banging about like a pampered child having a tantrum

 

The doors closed, big heavy doors in front of which the bat wings seemed to act like a barrier. The sound of the rain hammered down, so loud that it was impossible to have a normal conversation, some of the girls scampered upstairs to dry off and don dry clothing, but they soon scampered back down again when thunder rumbled and roared, and lightning lit up the building brighter than daylight.

 

“I’m glad the hospice closed down last week…” Joe mumbled just loud enough for Adam to hear and his brother nodded, “They’ll be alright, won’t they?”

 

He didn’t have to mention names, Adam knew exactly what his concerns were, for their wives and children….for Ben and Hoss. He bit down on his bottom lip and frowned, wished they had stayed home, and shook his head at that thought.

 

Clay came and looked at the two brothers, “How long can this last for?”

 

“As long as it takes I guess…” Adam replied and sighed, Joe looked at him as though he had been personally insulted, but then turned away and pulled out a chair to sit down.

 

The air within the saloon grew heavier, more oppressive…Mr Borage got up and declared he was going to go home, he was sweating like a pig in there and yet when he opened the door to make his exit the force of the wind and rain blew him straight back inside. It took Sol and another man to close the door against the fierceness of the storm.

 

Borage pulled out a chair and flopped down, wiping his face as he did so. He glanced over at Cole and Solomon “Any chance of some food in this here fancy establishment, Mr Stafford.”

upon receiving an affirmative answer Borage now turned to Adam who was doodling on the table while Joe had his chin in his cupped hands watching as though hypnotised.

 

“You been on board ship in a storm like this?” Borage asked, loud enough to be heard over the noise of the storm

 

“I have…”

 

“Been shipwrecked?”

 

Joe raised his eyes to look at his brother and wondered what he was thinking, it was so rarely mentioned those days, years, at sea that he wondered if his brother would ignore Borage or talk. He found himself hoping Adam would talk, mention something about his experiences although sometimes when he was asked, Adam would just smile and shrug and comment about files with Classified stamped over them.

 

“No…never shipwrecked. Saw my first ship go under in a storm like this one…but my men and I were on the beach….could only stand there and watch it go down.” he sighed “Lots of brave men lie under the waves, make no mistake about that….”

 

“How come you were on the beach…” Clay now asked, leaning against the window cill and standing just behind Joe.

 

“Well, the day started off well…like this morning..blue skies, no clouds, no sense of a storm brewing…” Adam lowered his head slightly as though by staring at the table top he could recall the time more vividly “We were in the tropics, 16 men and myself on board a skiff rowing to shore…I had a letter to give to the Governor of the Island…” he paused, no one spoke, it seemed the people there drew closer in order to hear more “then just so suddenly the air changed, a keening sound like I’d never heard before, looking up the sky was covered by a black cloud …where that had sprung from …” he shrugged. “Then it was as though a giant hand had scooped us up and thrust us forward with such force it was like ..like when you skim pebbles …oars were lost, the waves heaved over us and the rain fell but the boat just kept onwards, propelled by some force until it stopped on the beach, wedged between the rocks.”

 

There was silence, someone cleared their throat and there was the sound of a glass being thumped down on the table. Joe leaned forward “So ..what happened next? How long did the storm last?”

 

“Long enough…I think it was just over a day but it was hard to tell as it was dark all the time..one of the officers who had been on board the ship said he happened to glance at the barometer and promptly attempted some evasive safety measures…but only about twelve men came through alive…from the ship….”

 

Solomon put a glass of beer in front of Adam and a plate of beef sandwiches, a man muttered that Cartwright could tell a good story, but another man said in a very quiet voice “Twern’t no story, I can assure you of that…”

 

Adam glanced over his shoulder to see who had spoken and then gave a nod of the head, “Ah, it’s you. Bo’sun” and raised his glass in salute. “Joe, you met Mr Jacobs before? He was bo’sun on The Redoubt….”

 

“And glad to have the Captain on board the skiff that’s for sure….” Jacobs said and raised his glass in salute. He never left his seat though, preferring to continue his game of cards with the group of three men who were showing distinct signs of nervousness as the storm raged on.

 

Adam got to his feet and walked over to the window, the rain coming down so heavily that it was impossible to see through the glass. He was about to say something to Joe when the door burst open and Nate and Ethan Burns were propelled into the room from the force of the wind behind them. Solomon hastened to close the door again, water slopping in beneath it.

 

Both the law men were wearing slickers that did not seem to be so very effective, they were drenched through. Nate looked almost wildly around the people there and yelled a name

 

“Marek Kowalski…is he here?”

 

“Here…” one of the card players raised a hand and stood up

 

“You’re needed back home…”

 

“Wha….” he pushed away the chair which tumbled down behind him “My wife…”

 

“Dr Colby’s there…Ethan will escort you back..it’s wild out there…” Nate looked over at them and nodded as he turned to leave but Adam stopped him

 

“Is Miss Tyndale alright?”

 

“Just got her home now…”

 

Joe licked his lips, surprised to find them so dry, “What’s it like out there…”

 

“It’s bad, but it could be worse. Looks like the we just caught the tail end, its only affected the east side of town badly, but if it stays like this we should be alright..”

 

“What does alright mean, Sheriff?” Clay asked in his precise voice and Nate nodded as though he understood their concerns

 

“Well, things will be a mess but should not be any flooding…leastways not so bad as would cause damage to buildings and such.” he frowned “Depends on how long this carries on for…”

 

“Any possibility that we could leave town…” Joe asked, looking from Adam to Nate, the latter of whom shook his head

 

“I don’t know what the open roads will be like, can’t guarantee your safety on them…its more likely to flash flood there in some of them gullies and such…could sweep you right off the road…can’t be responsible for that happening to you, Joe..Adam.”

 

“Has the river flooded….?” Adam asked, recalling to mind the muddy stream they had crossed earlier that morning.

 

“It’s full and raging…”

 

Joe and Adam looked at one another, their eyes met, lowered. Adam cleared his throat now and asked if Roy Coffee was alright and Nate confirmed that so far as he knew the old man was safe and well. Adam frowned, tapped his long fingers against his thigh and shook his head, that was not good enough, he pushed past Clay and picked up his hat, Joe immediately grabbed for his wrist “Where do you think you’re going?”

 

“Check on Roy….” Adam muttered and slammed his hat upon his head, and made for the door.

 

Nate did not stop him, just nodded and stepped in line with him, together they stepped out of the building and into the storm. Behind them the door slammed shut, around them the storm raged, and seemed intent to blow them back into the building.

 

Adam was forced back some paces before he managed to get some idea of how to pace himself, with Nate by his side they pushed forward ..

 

It was impossible to look up the strength of the rain against their faces was too strong, blinding them. They moved by touch, hands brushing against walls, against empty space and then finding a wall again….their feet sloshed through water that was ankle deep, and fierce.

Thunder rumbled again, further to the north, moving away from the town, then the lightning came…and Adam could now discern Roy’s gate hanging off its hinges. Even as they neared it the wind caught it and hurled it skywards, missing the two men by a mere foot.

 

The door was unlocked, opened with no problem and the two men were promptly ‘dropped’ into the old sheriff’s hallway where they immediately set to closing the door behind them.

 

“What the dang tom fool thing are up up to now, Adam Cartwright…” Roy’s voice bellowed

and behind him Davy stood, Bella wrapped in his arms, a huge grin on his face.

 

Adam stood gasping for breath, he and Nate coughed, until they almost retched, then they wiped rain water from their faces, and looked at the old man who was peering at them through his spectacles as though he were afraid for their lives.

 

Nate turned to Adam and looked the man up and down “Didnt you think to bring a coat with you?”

 

Adam shrugged, not sure how to reply…outside another crack of thunder ….Roy nodded and ambled along “You’re dripping all over the rugs…come on in to the other room and dry off…”

Chapter 46

 

Adam lowered himself into the chair and closed his eyes. He leaned back and stretched out his legs beneath the table while he clasped his hands together ..and hauled in his breath, It could have been worse, much worse. He heard movement near by and sensed it was Joe so pushed out the opposite chair with his foot so that his brother could be seated too.

 

He could hear Joe’s breathing, laboured like his own.

 

“Here y’are, Captain, this will warm you up…and you too, Joe…” Bo’sun Jacobs said, and the grin in his voice was obvious to the man seated with his eyes closed.

 

It was dark but not because of the storm, which was now grumbling away in the distance heading towards Genoa. It was evening time, the night, as usual, was drawing in but it had been dark for so long it was a surprise to realise that when the storm passed daylight had not shone forth.

 

Jacobs sat down and stretched his shoulders, looked at the two silent brothers and picked up his own glass.

 

“Well, come out of that pretty well all things considered, “ he muttered and gulped down half a glass of whiskey.

 

“I guess so.” Joe said and picked up his glass, sipped it, nodded with approval and swallowed it down.

 

The saloon girls were lighting lamps now, the saloon began to look its familiar evening best, despite the sodden mess on the floor which Sol was valiantly attempting to brush out of the door only to be met with a resisting amount of water still trying to seep inside. Joe glanced at Adam who remained seated with his eyes closed but now holding on to the glass of whiskey

 

“Hey, old timer, you asleep?” Joe said, nudging his brothers ‘ elbow as he spoke, but Adam merely shook his head and raised the glass to his lips and took a long gulp…then he opened his eyes and nodded at Jacobs,

 

“Thanks for that, Bo’sun, you always were a good officer..” he raised his glass and then looked at Joe “Where’s Clay?”

 

“He was checking out the Hospice last time I saw him…about an hour ago.” Joe muttered and stretched his back, then his arms, then reached for the glass and swallowed the last of the whiskey.

 

“Well,” Adam rose to his feet, and nodded “I’m going to get something to eat…then going to grab a bed at the Internationale.”

 

“Not in those clothes you ain’t” Joe scoffed, “You look like you’ve been rolling in mud…same as the rest of us.”

 

“True, but the fact is I’m hungry and I’ve not eaten since I don’t know how long…” Adam frowned and scowled at his brother “So, if you don’t mind..”

 

Jacobs watched as the tall rancher made his way, albeit a little unsteadily, out of the saloon…Joe watched as well, frowning and then looked at Jacobs “What’s the matter with him?”

 

“He’s hungry…” Jacobs replied, and stood up to leave the table in search of something else to drink.

 

“Hey no, wait…” Joe grabbed at the man’s arm “How far back do you go with my brother? “ he frowned and waited for the man to resume his chair “I never even met you before today…but Adam seemed to know you were here ..”

 

“Sure he did, I came here about six months now…since retiring I thought to chance things here. Knew your brother when he was lieutenant on the Redoubt, when he first enlisted.” he twisted the glass round and round between his fingers “Lost track of him after a while, but heard lots…I was there in the court room that time Pelman tried to get him court marshalled…nasty piece of works was Pelman.”

 

“Yeah, I heard…” Joe frowned and recalled that time, he had been injured during a stampede, ended up in a wheelchair but that did not compare to his brother ..he sighed…and glanced wistfully at the door which had opened and Clay, Nate and several other men stepped inside, bringing mud and water into the saloon.

 

Solomon cast a few expletives at them and tried again to get rid of the mess on his floor…a forlorn chance for it was still raining, but the wind had dropped now, no longer driving the water like a stream into buildings and creating havoc.

 

Clay pulled out a chair, like everyone he was disheveled and mud streaked, his clothes soaked through and looking haggard and weary. It had been a harrowing and long day, and he was more than grateful when one of the girls brought over a bottle and glass of whiskey and placed it in front of him.

 

“Nate?”

 

“Yes, Joe?” the sheriff looked over at Joe, and nodded as he approached the table “Anything wrong?”

 

“When can we leave for the Ponderosa? I want to see my wife…make sure everyone’s safe/”

 

Nate nodded he understood only too well the concerns of out of towners in a situation like this but even so their safety was still his responsibility. He sighed “Can’t let you go yet, Joe. It’s dark now, still raining, who knows what the roads are like…perhaps in the morning things will look better. Where’s Adam?”

 

“I don’t know…he went to find something to eat.” Joe muttered and cast a sharp look at Clay who was pouring whiskey into his glass as well as into Joe’s.

 

“Nate, I know you have …”

 

“No, Joe, just listen to me…two fool cowboys rode out of town an hour ago…they didn’t get beyond the last building when the horses slipped, the water was inches high but the road was so churned up that there was no hold for their feet..and the current was strong enough to keep them sliding along… “ he frowned and shrugged “Sure the water never got too high, never got too fierce but even so it was strong enough to do some damage. Ethan and Adam spent the last hour trying to get them fool cowboys out from under their horses bodies…hearing them screaming and shouting for help…until they stopped..”

 

“Anyone we knew?” Joe asked quietly, and he looked down at the glass and tried to recall who had been in the saloon from the nearby homesteads, friends, familiar faces…men they would have employed themselves at some time.

 

“No one you knew…just two young men who wanted to get home to family ..” Nate sighed.

 

“But …all in all.. there has not been too much damage has there/” Clay asked, looking at the tall man standing in front of him and wondering if the man had any friends being as he was so busy upholding the law.

 

“Not compared to how it could have been if the storm had not moved on …Mr Hogan’s wagon overturned at the junction with C and D street, took some time to get him free from he wreckage, he was swearing blue thunder all the time, but he was alright, just a broken leg. Mr Garston broke his arm, not sure how as he was indoors at the time..Mrs Garston is not speaking about it except to blow out hot air as ever…”

 

Jacobs came up then his face concerned “There were the couple..elderly…trapped in their basement when the flood started…” he frowned…

 

“True, sadly ..” he shook his head and turned away, and looked towards the door “The Internationale did you say>”

 

“What about it?” Clay asked

 

“That’s where you said Adam had gone for something to eat…” Nate muttered and turned away from them to walk in his loping long strides out of the building.

 

“Takes his job seriously, doesn’t he?” Clay murmured to no one in particular.

 

“He’s a good sheriff, Clay.” Joe replied with a slight edge to his voice which he lowered as he added “And a good friend.”

………..

 

Several others were trudging through the slime and mud that now formed the main street, the water being mid calf height. Endeavour Sales met Adam en route to the hotel and bemoaned the fact that most of his ‘display goods’ that had been on the side walk when the storm broke were now scattered all over town, swept away by the wind and waters…

 

“I found several buckets and baskets in the Gents Outfitters ..the window was smashed by the force of the wind…the place is a mess, a total mess.”

 

Adam just nodded but continued on his way. His weak leg was tiring, sometimes he could forget it but not today, too much expected from the wretched limb. He pushed open the door to the Internationale and sloshed his way through to the reception desk.

 

There were several inches of water covering the floor space, and underfoot the carpet squelched. The clerk behind the desk looked at him, and shook his head.

 

“Don’t you dare say no to me, Frank Gittens,” Adam said with that look on his face that would have had his officers shaking in their boots “I’m hungry, tired, cold and wet…I want a room and a meal …”

 

“Adam, you can have the honeymoon suite for all I care just now…here, take the key. What a day!!” he frowned “What about your clothes?”

 

“Frank, I could not care a darn about my clothes right now…just give me a key and let me be.”

 

Frank nodded and pushed the register over to the other man who signed with a flourish, and then frowned “You’re right, of course…perhaps you could send someone over to Bridie Martin’s and ask her to arrange some suitable clothes for me. I’d would hate to shock your customers in the morning by …” he tried to think of something but his brain did not function and he shook his head “Suppose if you supplied large enough towels I could wear a toga…”

 

“A what?” Frank said, looking aghast and then he laughed a forced laugh, “Ah, you and your jokes…” he paused “I’ll get hot water taken to your room right away, Adam.” he frowned and cleared his throat “Mr Cartwright, I mean….”

 

Adam nodded, and clutching the key in his hand like some kind of trophy made his way to the stairs feeling more than confident that with the amount of flood water in the foyer that the hydraulic lift would not be working

 

It was not exactly the honey moon suite but it was a fine room. As of that time an overnight stay at the Internationale cost $2.50 *and whole suites could be rented for $55 per month*. For Adam at that moment he would have been willing to have paid the $55 for the one night just to get a decent sleep.

 

As soon as he had closed the door he went to the window to look out at the scene below him.

The hotel was located on Union Street, between B Street and C Street…facing on to B Street*. It was the second building to have been built on that site, the original Internationale Hotel having been burned down in the fire of 1875. Now the new Hotel boasted 160 first class rooms, and was considered the most luxurious in the State. But Adam had forgotten there were no bathrooms installed. Having one in his own home made him forgetful that others had not the foresight to include such in their buildings…even when it had cost $600,000  to rebuild

 

Now he looked down at a sodden mess of the town…he saw Nate wading through brown slimy water to reach the sheriff’s office building, he saw Joe hovering at the front of the Sazarac saloon, and all the while it was getting darker and the moon, an apologetic lemon coloured object in a haze of grey sky glimmered down on the waters that covered the streets of the town.

 

He nodded to himself, true enough it could have been so much worse…even so, there were tragedies, sorrows, deaths and he bowed his head now in memory of the two men who had tried to reach home and failed.

 

Hot water arrived first…and gratefully he shed his filthy clothing and washed thoroughly, grateful that Bridie had indeed attended to his need and sent along clean clothes via the young hotel staff member. The food had arrived shortly afterwards and he was about to eat when there was a thump on the door and Joe’s voice “Adam, you in there…”

 

He looked at the food and then at the door, another thud, another summons…he rose to his feet and walked to the door, opened it and looked at his brother “Yes?”

 

“What do you mean – yes! Arn’t you going to let me in?” and Joe stepped forward only to have his way blocked by Adam stepping in front of him

 

“I’m about to eat…”

 

“So?”

 

“Well, look at you..you’re a mess…I can’t eat with you looking and smelling ..as you do”

 

Joe’s eyes widened, rolled, he shook his head “You’re joshing….”

 

“Adam sighed “My meals getting cold….go away…”

 

“Adam…you can’t be serious…”

Chapter 47

 

During the night the wind changed direction and veered away towards Genoa and Bodie leaving Virginia City to enjoy soft gentle rain fall which was as much a hindrance as a help.

 

Adam woke first, his mind immediately alert as to what was to be done. Obviously geetting back ot he Ponderosa was paramount of course. He had tried, before going to sleep to work out whether or not the storm had touched the ranches, whether or not they would have been safe but he fell asleep so quickly that he had had little time to work out any logistics. Now he lay there on the bed, listening to the gentle rain fall and tried to get his brain to work

 

He knew that Ben was staying to do some work on a contract with Eb Burgoyne who wanted a new bunkhouse built on the land he had purchased from Greigson. He also knew that Hoss had elected to stay home because he had been working on a new stable door which he wanted to fix up, hopefully without Ben’s interference. Thankfully due to the heat and fear of fires in town, the hospice had been closed for the week. It was going to reopen once the weather settled back to what had been deemed normal a few weeks ago. That meant all the womenfolk and children were home.

 

Would they have noticed a change in the sky? In the static building up in the prelude to the storm? What if they had gone to the river to picnic, to let Reuben fish..to let the children just run and romp? What if they had and the storm had come down ..

 

He had experienced flash floods before, and seen the devastation they caused. The suddenness of them and how they could sweep any and all before them, crushing any in its path.

 

Now that his brain had woken up it was spinning in circles following a familiar pattern of fear and dread…the’ what if that and the other.’.and he should have been there, at home with them, shouldn’t he?

 

He forced himself to move and as he did so a snort from beneath the bed covers reminded him that his brother was still asleep. He was tempted to pull the covers back and throw some water over him, but refrained so that by the time Joe had tumbled his way out of the bed Adam was washed, shaved and dressed. He left Joe sitting among the bed sheets with his eyes still bleary, scratching his head. What Joe did now was up to him, but Adam decided to go out and check with Nate what the situation was in town and to get some decent coffee.

 

Daniel deQuille was striding the side walk with note pad in hand and scribbling frantically as he walked, His eyes taking in the condition of the town now, in the aftermath of what had been a horror story. The stores were open for business, brooms sweeping away the debris from the interior of the buildings, ruined goods stood in sacks on the road, some windows were broken, some were still intact and pristine. Endeavor Sales and his wife were collecting up some of the goods that were ruined, no better than stuff to make fires from now.

 

“Did you see that?” Daniel cried out as he saw Adam approaching “Over there…by that sack of flour..”

 

“No….what did you see?”

 

“I thought I saw a rat….just what we don’t need, rats and rotting food stuff sitting in the roadway..”

 

“So, Daniel..just how bad has it been?” Adam asked in as conciliatory a voice as possible and waited, with his eye on the sheriff’s office,

 

“It’s bad…but not as bad as it could have been. Several lost lives…” he glanced at Adam, who nodded and murmured something which reminded Dan that Adam had tried to rescue two men, but the look in Daniel’s eyes was enough to warn Adam and he quickly made his apologies, he needed to see the sheriff…”Perhaps later I could interview you….”

 

“No time…” Adam hurried away, and then said over his shoulder “Ask Clay Stafford, he was very busy …” he got the door open and closed it before Dan could fire off more questions.

 

“Any coffee?” he asked as he strolled into the office where Nate and Mark stood, papers in their hands which looked like a formidable list of names, items…he paused and looked from one to another “Not a good time?”

 

“No, excellent timing in fact…we need help with …” Nate paused and frowned “You did come in to offer help, didn’t you?”

 

Adam sighed, and removed his hat which he placed on the desk while he accepted a mug of coffee with his free hand, “To be honest, Nate, I came to see if you had any idea of what the road was like out of town towards the Ponderosa. I need to get back to see if everything is OK there…..otherwise…”

 

Of course they needed help, he should have thought of that before coming here ..there would be some casualties, some damage, things that would need moving to make roads clear again, and now he looked down at the coffee and wished he had stayed at the hotel and had one of their breakfasts.

 

Nate nodded, “Of course you do, and as far as I know..” he paused and looked at Mark who just shook his head and shrugged, so Nate sighed and continued “we don’t know the state of the road to the Ponderosa, nor what damage has been done …to be honest, I would rather you stayed here in town before venturing home. I’m not being pig headed in saying this, Adam,but I’d rather your help here than have you risking life and limb to get home.”

 

Adam put down the empty cup and shook his head, he picked up his hat “You’re not short of men, Nate, there will be plenty to help with the clean up here…and if the way is clear and we get home in good time, then I’ll send some men here to help ..even come myself, but I need to know my family are all safe.”

 

Nate nodded and sighed, “Quite understand …but please take no unnecessary risks. Get back here if the journey gets where …well, you know what I mean. Joe with you”

 

“Yeah,”

 

“Make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid…”

 

Adam gave a tight lipped smile to that comment and hurried out of the building before Nate could find a good reason for changing his mind.

 

The next stop was Ridleys to check on Sport and Navejo..and his heart did flutter somewhat when he noticed one of the doors was off its hinges and smashed some feet away from the building having come to rest stuck in the alleyway by the Undertakers. Anderson and his assistant were checking the framework to see how extensive the damage was and momentarily Adam had a fear that the horses had gone the same way as the door…

 

“Ho Mr Cartwright.. come to check on your horses?” Anderson pushed himself upright, and nodded over to the rancher who had slowed down his approach as though wary of what he was going to be told.

 

“seems you have had some trouble, Mr Anderson?”

 

“Horses couldn’t settle with all the goings on..fair drove some of them crazy..” Anderson scowled and shook his head “two of ’em got into a tangle and kicked the door down to get out.” he puffed out his cheeks and wiped his face which was running with sweat and rain “Your animals are fine, no problems with them..” he frowned then and approached Adam who had decided standing inside the building better than staying outside getting rained on.

“You thinking of taking the horses today?”

 

“In about an hours time…”

 

Anderson looked at his assistant who raised his eyebrows and shook his head. Adam looked from one to the other and then repeated he wanted the horses ready in an hours time.

 

“Whatever you say, Mr Cartwright, but I would have advised you to have waited until we know for sure the roads are safe”

 

The assistant nodded “Millers Creek would be running pretty wild when that amount of storm water came down..could be the bridge has gone.”

 

Adam scowled, he shook his head, only a short while ago he and Hoss had been working on that bridge and it was sturdier than the town hall building. He muttered again “See you in an hours time.”

 

He decided to return to the hotel and get breakfast there, once he had managed to haul Joe from the bed. He looked in at the library and tried the door, it had collected some debris at the bottom and had obviously had water drift into the building but not so very badly. It was locked and the closed notice remained in place at the window.

 

“Hey, Adam…” Clay’s voice drifted towards him and he turned to see Clay and Joe standing outside the Sazarac, the big doors removed now the storm was over. Clay grinned and raised a hand “Going to have some breakfast..come join us…”

 

Adam turned round and walked back to the building, saw Joe and caught his grin…wondered if all younger brothers managed to land on their feet so well as Joe did.

 

“Our younger brother feels hungry? How about Del Monico’s for breakfast huh?”

Clay’s grin bore a trace of triumph that made Adam feel uncomfortable. He looked at Joe who shrugged and gave a grin indicating he was more than happy with the idea. Adam nodded and swallowed his pride, and stepped in line with Joe and Clay, their feet sloshing through muddy waters still laying in puddles on the side walk

 

“I told Anderson that we would be leaving in an hour, Joe…” he said quietly, hoping that Joe would get the hint and not order a big breakfast nor indulge in too much talk so that when Adam mentioned about leaving Clay would not think he was coming over the authority figure.

Perhaps he was, but he did not want it to be too blatantly obvious

 

Joe nodded and glanced over at Clay, then back at Adam “That’s fine by me, I want to make sure Mary Ann and the children are safe.” he frowned, “No one has come into town yet, folk from outside I mean…everyone’s been to busy sorting out their own back yards so to speak.”

 

“Well, just so that Clay does not think we are going to be here to help with the clean up. Any other time I’d say yes, but I need to know my wife ..the children are safe…”

 

“I know..I know…best to get something to eat first though…” Joe frowned and looked at his brother thoughtfully as they mounted the stairs to the fancy restaurant .”Are you alright?”

 

Adam nodded, pushed the door open and stepped into the warm environs of the restaurant where the Maitre d’ approached with a smile, a menu, a glint in his eye..Adam glanced at the clock, time was ticking by and Clay was already talking a Hoss sized meal..one that would take the whole morning..Joe seemed oblivious, turned again to Adam with that ain’t my fault kind of smile on his face.

 

It was more than Adam could take, he shook his head, turned round and left the building. Hungry or not he was going to get home, he had to make sure Olivia was safe… how could he know unless he was t here to see for himself.

 

Chapter 48

The rain had stopped and whereas 24 hours earlier it had been a cause for rejoicing that there was rain at last, now, at its cessation there seemed to be a communal sigh of relief.

 

Adam hurried in the direction of Paul and Bridie Martins home…he felt confident that it would have escaped the worse of the flooding, but he needed to make sure for his own peace of mind that the couple were safe. As soon as the door opened and the smell of bacon wafted its way down the hallway his stomach rumbled and he realised he was really hungry.

 

Tillie threw her arms in the air and exclaimed “Lan’sakes, Mr Cartwright…come on in, you look like a starving man…”

 

Bridie and Paul appeared now, cramming into the narrow hallway and exclaiming their delight in seeing him. Bridie grabbed at his arm and physically pulled him into the house, telling Tillie as she did so to cook up a good meal for the man..and then pushing him into the parlour where a fire had been lit to ‘dry out the place’

 

“How long have you been here?” Paul asked as he settled himself into his arm chair “You alone?”

 

“Joe’s here in town, we came in yesterday…just before the storm broke…had I realised it was going to be like this I would not have ventured out…I just came by to check on you ..before going home…I need to know if ..if everyone is safe there…” he paused as Bridie bustled in with a cup of coffee which she shoved into his hands, he nodded his thanks and continued as though he needed to speak in order to justify why he was not back home on the Ponderosa. “Nate would not let us leave ..well, understandable…”

 

“Indeed yes, I saw the two men they brought in who tried to leave town..” Pal frowned and then looked at Adam, a sharp glance “Of course you were there..” his frown deepened “I should have realised, was too concerned about those boys…their families…”

 

Tillie came in and announced breakfast was ready…and before Adam could protest that he had to get back out there, Paul had grabbed his arm and propelled him towards the table

 

“Sit and eat, young man, if you are determined to get out there then you need something in your stomach. An army marches on its stomach you know, and I rather think that getting home today is going to be quite a battle, so you need some ballast, lad.”

 

He smiled, although his eyes did not have their familiar twinkle and Bridie looked concerned. It was a silent meal, rather hurried as Adam kept looking at the clock to check the time making everyone aware of his haste to be gone. When he finally stood to take his leave Bridie grabbed at his hand “Please take care..”

 

“And when possible let us know how everyone is there…” Paul added, his hand resting almost paternally on Adam’s shoulder as they made their way to the front door. “There’s more than enough men in town to get the place back to rights again, it’s more an inconvenience than a catastrophe.”

 

The door opened to reveal a blue sky from which a bright sun shone. The intense heat that had existed prior to the storm had gone, it was just a pleasant sunny summers day. Adam glanced up, nodded as though he liked what he saw and then replaced his hat. After thanking them and Tillie who hovered in the background, he hurried away to Ridleys Livery.

 

Anderson led the two horses out of their stalls as Adam counted out the money they owed him. Both horses looked happy to be out of the building, they were well fed, and watered, and even reasonably rested considering the conditions in the town that night.

 

“Any sign of Joe?” Adam asked with a swift glance over his shoulder just in case Joe popped up behind him

 

“Not as yet…” Anderson replied and handed the reins to the rancher who sighed, nodded and led the horses into the water logged roadway.

 

Adam mounted Sport and led Navejo behind him by the reins, passing the Sazarac and seeing Solomon and two of his assistants attempting to clean out the dirt and water from the saloon he asked the same question “Any sign of Joe?”

 

“Still over at Del’s with Clay…” Solomon replied to which Adam gave a curt nod and bade him good day.

 

As he rode along Adam could not fail to notice how many were out and about, cleaning, sweeping, wading through mud thick water to create more need for cleaning and sweeping…store keepers checking their windows, their merchandise. Some doors were hanging off their hinges, some doors were missing altogether. The amount of industry involved in restoring order to the town was reassuring to Adam, he felt less guilt at riding away from it all.

 

At Del Monico’s he leaned towards the hitching rail and tied Navejo’s reins securely in place. He was exactly 15 minutes past the hour he had given Joe, but now he was not going to hang around any longer.

 

He threaded his way around the throng of people, wreckage, wagons, and other horsemen until he reached the outskirts of town. The roads were churned up mud, water reaching splashing over Sports hooves, at times even deeper. The animal, who knew the way to the Ponderosa instinctively, was clearly anxious at finding the usual clear way ahead, anything but clear and certainly not easy to travel over.

 

Adam paid attention to his horse’s instincts knowing full well that an animal could sense dangers about which he would be unaware. At one time he dismounted and walked along with Sport, sometimes his feet sliding out from under him as he sloshed through knee high water.

 

Boulders and rubble had come down from the steep inclines on either side of the road, bringing down with it shrubs, branches, even an occasional sapling through which he had to navigate his way through

 

At the end of an hour he had to stop to take a drink of water from his canteen, Sport was not too bothered he just snuffled up the water through which they had been wading. Remounting now he urged the big horse forwards and with due care the animal made his way through the debris littered road.

 

And then ..there was no road.

 

…………

 

Clay checked his watch and frowned “Hey, weren’t you supposed to be meeting up with Adam about now?”

 

Joe frowned and put down his cup, checked the time and widened his eyes “Heck ..should have gone an hour since…”

 

“Well, at least he didn’t come in to haul you out by the scruff of your neck…” Clay chuckled and leaned back in the chair, “He’s probably waiting out there kicking his heels and steam coming out of his ears.”

 

Joe frowned and shook his head “Nope, not Adam…if I know him he would have left town right on when he said he would…”

 

“Yeah, guess he would at that.” Clay agreed with a nod and slight frown on his face “Well, I guess I had better get back to the saloon and see how things are going on there. No doubt there will be a lot of work to carry out to get the place right…you coming along to help?”

 

He stood up, confident and smiling. He slipped the watch back into his pocket and signalled the Maitre’d for the check. Joe shook his head as he picked up his hat,

 

“Not this time, Clay. I should get out and join with Adam…Nate warned us that the road may be ..” he paused, and shook his head “Why does he always have to do this, just go off and do everything on his own as if ..”

 

“Well, could be he’s out there waiting on you, Joe. If he’s been warned about how dangerous the road is, he won’t ..”

 

“Yes, he will…” Joe grumbled and slapped his hat on his head and hurried pass Clay, his feet clattering down the stairs to the main door .

 

He could see Navejo standing at the hitching rail, head down. Clay was right behind him, and grabbed his arm “You’re not going on your own, are you?”

 

Joe just shook Clay’s hand away from his arm and made his way to the horse, mounted into the saddle and turned his head in the direction of the Ponderosa. He did not bother to bid his brother goodbye, he just wanted to catch up with Adam so that they could ride into the Ponderosa together…eventually.

………………..

 

Mud slide.

 

Adam dismounted again and for a moment just stared at the mass of mud, rubble and debris that was strewn across what had once been a smooth clear road. He wondered as he stood there just how much of the road had been swallowed up and in order to get some idea he looked over at the hillside and took note of the huge swathe of the hill that had come down…it was like a deep scar cutting a mass of the hill away, all of which was now on what had been the roadside, and some of which even now continued to trickle and roll down the other side.

 

He was effectively cut off from continuing the journey from that direction.

 

He remounted into the saddle and slowly walked Sport alongside the pile of rubble, water was seeping up higher and Sport shook his head, at one time he stopped altogether as though he needed to think about where to go next.

 

Again Adam was forced to stop as he was confronted by not just a pool of water, but a veritable lake.

 

He stopped Sport now and leaned forward on the pommel of his saddle. This was probably going to be a permanent feature which meant the road way to town would have to be re-negotiated altogether. He was about to turn the horse back so that they could attempt some way around the mud slide from a different angle when he noticed the one thing he had not expected to see, the one thing he never would have wanted to see…a body floating in the water

 

Instinctive fear caused him to double over, struggle to catch his breath…for a moment he thought his heart was going to stop. Was it Ben? Hoss? Had they made the journey yesterday to see if he and Joe were safe, or ..or just checking if the road were safe.

 

There was no sign of a horse, may be it had been swallowed up in the mud slide or swept away by the water. And if it were this bad here, what would it be like on the Ponderosa?

 

His mind spun in so many different directions that he felt sick. He knew he had to dismount, he knew he had to go and bring in that body, and he knew that if it were his father, or Hoss…he just knew ..no need to think the words ..no need to even touch on them..he prayed like a man possessed as he dismounted from the saddle and made his way to the edge of the water.

 

He unbuckled his gun belt and hung it from the saddle horn, then he removed his hat and boots and then he made his way into the water…inch by inch..

 

His foot slipped, his knees buckled, he forced himself upright. He pushed himself forwards step by step. The water was getting deeper, up to his waist now and he paused to take in a deep breath. The sun was warm on his back, but the water was freezing. He took in a few more deep breaths and pushed himself forwards.

 

The man was face down. Adam recognised the clothing, It was familiar. Not his fathers…could be Hoss’ ..but ..it was not Hoss, the shape was all wrong, Hoss was a bigger than average man, but this poor soul was no bigger than the average man.

 

The water was up to his chest now and then his foot slipped again and he went under…water covered his head, filled his nose and mouth, for a second he floundered then surfaced…he was just feet away from the body which was gently bobbing up and down.

 

He pushed off with his feet and began to swim, arm over arm, his eyes fixed on the body and the body beginning to crystallise into a memory of a man he had been drinking a beer with the previous day…his breathing was becoming laboured because of the thought that he knew who it was now and he did not want it to be him…misery, misery, weighed up and caught in his throat and for a moment he had to stop swimming, just float there, haul in deep breaths and force himself to be calm.

 

The water was so deep now that he could not touch the bottom…he began to swim again, nearer and nearer until his fingers could touch the man’s shirt…clutch hold of it..drew the body closer and gently turned it so that he could see his face, see who this victim of the storm actually was and if his suspicions, his fears, were correct.

 

He had to turn away his head, and stare away up at the sky…struggle to keep his mind focused on logic and not emotion, struggle not to retch and vomit, just keep control, and bring the man to land, and then think of how to get him home.

Chapter 49

 

Once his feet touched ground again he was able to wade through the water, hauling the body along with him, his hand gripping the man under the arm pits. There was no current in the water, just slight ripples from his efforts to bring the man to shore. The effort in so doing was exhausting and when Adam finally reached land he released the body and then fell upon his knees, heaving in his breath and waiting for his heart to calm down into a natural rhythm

 

For some minutes he knelt there with his hands upon his thighs, his head bowed, feeling the warmth of the sun upon his head, upon his back. He kept his eyes closed, he did not want to see the body of his friend stretched out on the grass only feet away from him.

 

The sky was blue, and a few clouds scudded along due to a soft breeze. The sun was pleasantly warm, not that terrible heat from a few days earlier. He needed to move himself, get his mind working, thinking about what to do next, and his body working, acting in a manner that would end the whole sorry mess.

 

But what could he do? He could not restore life to the dead man who lay as though asleep on the grass, the breeze ruffling his hair, looking so at peace. He shook his head, and raised his hands to his face, he had never felt so impotent.

 

He drew in a deep breath, exhaled and did that several times before he finally forced himself onto his feet. Sport was grazing close by, and raised his head to look at his master for a second before resuming cropping at the grass One horse would not be enough to take the body anywhere. Secured over the saddle ..perhaps. He did not relish the idea, and it would be a long walk back into town. Even longer if he could find the route back to the Ponderosa.

 

He could dig a shallow grave and then return at a better time to reclaim the body and take it home, once the trail was open again. How long would that take?

 

The mud slide covered the main track to the Ponderosa, which also provided the routes to various other homesteads…the Dents. Jessops, Canadays to name but a few. But there had to be alternative routes, he reasoned to himself now, they just used this one because it was the most expedient one…if he could find another route it would suffice surely?

 

He walked over to his horse, soothing him with a few words, then stroking his neck gently. From his saddlebags he took out his faithful old telescope and trained it upon the mudslide, the scarred hill, the way beyond that…but by his reckoning the vast pile of mud, boulders, young trees and shrubs covered at least a mile.

 

He found a boulder and sat upon it. His eyes glanced in the direction of the body and once again he was reminded of how peaceful it looked, even though his death must have been horrific. Perhaps it had happened too swiftly to be even that, perhaps he had heard the sounds, turned in the saddle and got swept away…or perhaps..he shook his head, no, no point in speculating, the deed was done, only the young man would have been able to have told them anything…but he had nothing to say now, just a silent witness to a tragedy.

………………..

 

Joe nudged his horse along and found the track that Adam had made through the mess that the storm had created. He had to slow Navejo, at times dismounted to walk through the mess of rubble dismayed at what he was seeing.

 

“ADAM ADAM”

 

No answering call and Joe felt a thud to the heart as the fear that something terrible had happened to his brother began to solidify in his innermost being. He had reached an area of the trail that left him with no clue as to how to track his brother now. He cupped his hand around his mouth and yelled out again but the only answer than came were the caws of the buzzards that now wheeled in the blueness above him.

……………………

 

“Shucks..would you look at that!” Hoss Cartwright thumbed back his hat and shook his head, leaned upon the pommel of his saddle and stared at the mass of rubble ahead of him.

 

It was the size of another hill, having carved a slice of the surrounding hillside and dumping it over the roadside. Luke Dent turned in his saddle to check back the way they had come..it was rubble strewn of course, the whole area had suffered from the storm in some way or other. But this huge mud slide was something else.

 

“No way we can get through that, Hoss” he murmured and removed his own hat, wafting it too and fro in front of his face in order to create some breeze.

 

It was an unfortunate area to have had the mud slide, catching the curve of the road that led to town, and now creating a quite claustrophobic feel about the place. Hoss dismounted and walked towards the barricade, for that was what it had become now… he stood on level ground and looked upwards, and then stepped back as the effect made him feel dizzy. It was like looking up at a vast wall and how far or how long it went he had no idea, he could not even speculate.

 

He walked back to his horse, slowly, backwards, keeping the sight of the huge wall of debris in front of him, his eyes straining to try and find some way through

 

Luke had dismounted as well, and stood beside his friend with his eyes roving from one point to another until he nudged Hoss and nodded towards the horses

 

“No way we can get through that..and we can’t ride up it, so we need to find a way around it.”

 

Hoss nodded, and walked with Luke to the horses. He stood for a moment shaking his head

 

“I reckon this happened during the storm…right?”

 

“I should think so…” Luke nodded as he put his foot into his stirrup and hauled himself into the saddle

 

“Adam and Joe would not have ridden out during the storm..reckon they would have stayed over until it calmed down some…then rode out and no doubt found the other side of this here mountain…probably on the other side of it even now wondering how the heck to get round it..or over it.. “

 

“Yeah, maybe…” Luke nodded and watched as Hoss took his seat in the saddle. The big horse beneath him stirred restlessly, and tossed his head.

 

“Wal, there’s no way them digging on their side and us digging on our side will make any difference to anything…this is one big .. “ he thought of several words he could have used but gave up, just shook his head and scowled.

 

“We need to let them know..”

 

“Yeah, exactly what I was thinking…they need to know we’re here, they ain’t alone..” Hoss withdrew his rifle and aimed it at the air.

 

It was something they had agreed upon years ago…two shots to let whoever needed to know, become aware that help was on the way. One answering shot meant an acknowledgment, but three shots meant, they needed help. no answering shots meant …well, that they were not able to hear the shots, or unable to answer them. Sometimes the system helped, sometimes it just added to the worry of the situation.

 

But with a silent prayer on his lips, Hoss fired the two shots…one shot, a pause, then the other .After what seemed a long few minutes there came a response..one shot..signifying they had heard him, and ..well, they had to leave it at that and plan out a way to get to them. Hoss pointed in the direction he believed the shot had come from. Closer to town than he had imagined. He nodded…that meant, to be sure, that they were safe.

 

But that thought changed when three shots were fired from a different location…three shots indicating a need for help…and further from town…as though whoever had fired the shot had

ridden away from the mudslide, was further away.

……………………

 

Joe had just sheathed his rifle when the three shots rang out. Some one needed help. Was it Adam? He turned round in his saddle as though he would see his brother riding laconically towards him but there was no one, just the buzzards cawing overhead leaving him with the feeling that they had their beady eyes on him for the main meal later that day.

 

He turned Navejo in the direction of the three shots, surmising correctly that Adam had continued riding along the rubble strewn track..maybe Sport had broke a leg or Adam had ..he shook his head, that was hardly likely.

 

He reached the curve in the track and then came to an abrupt stop. He found himself confronting the very obstacle that Adam had found, the very one that Hoss and Luke were faced with from the other side of the track.

 

He walked his horse to the very edge of what had been the track…he knew it well, the wider track with the scree covered hillside on one side and a sheer drop on the other. But now the sheer drop was half filled with the over spill from the mud slide and he realised that thinking of it as a mud slide was rather simplifying the matter, it was more truthful to refer to it as half the hillside had shifted and collapsed filling the track, spilling over to the chasm below

 

He was hopeful though, the two shots indicated that Hoss was somewhere behind that great barrier, that things on the Ponderosa was not so bad if he was riding out to town this morning to check on him and Adam.

 

But then his hopes plummeted and he remembered that someone had fired three shots…it must have been Adam, who else would have done so? There was nothing for it but to try and find the trail Adam would have made earlier and once they met up think of some way to get round the problem…he sighed, well, it was a big problem…half a hillside to be exact.

………………

 

Adam sheathed his rifle and felt a degree of calm settle upon him. The sun was pleasant and drying his clothes, there was confirmation that help was at hand even though he was not sure in what capacity and he had work to do.

 

Accordingly he set to taking care of the body now. He hauled him higher onto the ground away from the water. He untied his bedroll and used that to cover the face and upper half of the body and tied it down securely. He dealt with it swiftly and efficiently, the only way he knew how to suppress emotion and get the job done.

 

He was about to lift the body into his arms to carry over to Sport when there was the sound of horses hooves and he released a breath of relief,

 

“Joe! About time!” he exclaimed and turned in the direction of the sound only to be dismayed at the sight of …a horse.

 

The animal stopped a few feet from Adam, but close to Sport, and looked at the man who was staring at him in some dismay. There was no rider. There was no sign of Joe or Navejo. This was an unknown animal and yet..familiar.

 

He approached it cautiously, knowing that recent events would have scared the beast, but no doubt the sound of the gun shots would have caused it to throw caution to the winds and just head for where ever the sounds came from; gun shots meant humans, humans meant maybe his master was close by.

 

Adam talked quietly to the animal, soothing him, reaching his side and able to run his hands over the well muscled body, down its withers, checked its hocks, patted his sleek neck. The brand mark on its flank confirmed what Adam suspected … the animal did indeed belong to the dead man.

 

“Well now, you sure had a scare, huh? Where’d you come from though…had enough sense not to run slap back into the mud slide didn’t you?” he ran his hand along the horses muzzle and nodded, “You headed for home, didn’t you ? Clever boy.”

……………….

 

Joe followed what little sign Adam could have left as he skirted the edges of the newly formed barrier to the Ponderosa. He had not gone far when he checked Navejo in dismay, in surprise and in some amazement…the newly formed lake shimmered ahead of him and about to get into the saddle of his horse was his brother, Adam, with the reins of another horse in his hand, a body secured to that horses saddle.

 

“ADAM!”

 

His brother paused in the act of mounting his horse and turned to look over at Joe. The concern on his brothers face was good to see, and when Joe dismounted and hurried over to grab his brother by the arm and look into his face, he felt even better…assured perhaps that his little brother had some affection for him after all.

 

“Whose ..?” Joe nodded to the body, and then noticed the brand mark and sighed “Derwent?”

 

“Found him earlier ..in the water..” Adam jerked his head over to the newly formed lake, “Must have come out of nowhere and ..” he shrugged, turned his head away to look elsewhere in case his face displayed his emotions. “just took him …”

 

“And the horse?”

 

“Just now appeared…from that direction..” he nodded over to where Derwent’s horse had came and frowned at Joe “I reckon he was trying to find his way home.”

 

Joe nodded and glanced around him. He shook his head “Shucks, Adam, this is a mess. I’ve kinda lost my bearings…” he looked over his shoulder and then back at Adam, ventured a smile “At least we know Hoss is close by…”

 

“Yeah, on the other side of the mountain.” Adam murmured and nodded “That means that they came to check on us…things can’t be too bad on the Ponderosa…else they would have been firing the three shots…”

 

“It’s not going to be any easier getting over that mud slide for them though is it?”

 

“No, I reckon they’ll be looking for another route …now, we can either go back into town with -” he glanced at Derwent’s body “ or try and find where this fool horse came from…and follow the track home.”

 

Joe looked rather nervously at Derwent’s body and shook his head “I – I’d rather do best for him…”

 

“same thought crossed my mind…we’ll try and get him home. Least we can do.”

 

He turned then and prepared to mount into Sport’s saddle when Joe put his hand on his arm, preventing him from doing so “What’s wrong?”

 

“Just ..just that I should have been here, to help…” Joe’s eyes turned back to Derwent’s body, “Just that..I …I’m sorry.”

 

Adam shrugged, gave a wry grin and slapped his hand against Joe’s chest “Forget it, kid, we’ve more important things to consider just now.”

 

On the other side of the barrier that nature had thrust up before them, Hoss and Luke were turning their horses in the direction of the track to the Double D. Adam and Joe did not realise it until later but the direction they were taking would lead them to the same destination …..it added miles and hours to their travelling time but as daylight faded the four men met up beneath the trees leading the way to the Double D.

Chapter 50

 

The relief that the three brothers and Luke felt as they rode towards each other was so immense that Hoss struggled to stop blubbing…he pulled out his handkerchief and mopped around his face, pulled off his hat and shook his head in pure joy.

 

“Shucks…you don’t know how glad I am to see you two…” he cried, making no attempt to stop the quiver in his voice “I felt that scared when I saw that thar hill had shifted across the road, felt for sure you were both buried beneath it”

 

“Should have seen him, he was a quivering wreck.” Luke said with a slight grin on his face and he stretched out his hand to shake those of Adam and Joe who had leaned from their saddle to do just that…but then he saw the horse Adam was bringing up on a leading rein..and he saw what was tied to the saddle.

 

Immediately he dropped his hand, his face went white to the lips, “What happened?” he paused, swallowed, “It’s Derwent, isn’t it?”

 

Joe looked to Adam, after all he had not been there, had not seen his brother having to swim to the body, retrieve it…hehad done nothing ..and Adam had not really spoken any more about it to him. He waited, and Adam finally nodded, as though to confirm Luke’s fears.

 

“Found his body this morning. From what I can figure out his horse must have spooked when the thunder started, perhaps when the landslide happened…I reckon Derwent was down, the horse ran off, left him ..”

 

“And?” Luke wiped his eyes, unable to stop the tears from falling.

 

“The rainfall was immense as you know…he was caught when a wall of water crashed down on him…”

 

“You mean, he drowned?” Hoss exclaimed “But where? How? Ain’t no water hereabouts large enough to drown a man.”

 

Joe rolled his eyes and shook his head “Well, there is now…the size of a lake…”

 

“It must have happened yesterday when the worse of the weather hit,…” Adam said quietly and watched Luke who had dismounted and walked over to where the horse stood with Derwent’s body and he placed a hand on the dead man’s back “Far as I can work out the rain fall must have occurred here sooner than it hit town, caused the landslide,” he shrugged “I don’t know…but I’ve seen it happen before …” he paused, and reached for his canteen to drink more water, his mouth and throat were dry and it had been a long ride after the events of the morning.

 

Luke nodded, Hoss had let the tears fall, Joe and Adam sat in the saddles, too weary and too wracked with misery to speak.

 

“He was like a brother to me,” Luke said quietly, “The best of friends. Why did it have to happen to him?” his voice trailed away into a whisper “How am I going to tell Jessie…”

 

“Wrong place, wrong time.” Joe said as though that explained everything,which it did but he realised as soon as he said it that it was the wrong time for him to have opened his mouth. He bowed his head, removed his hat and stared down at the ground

 

Luke walked away, took the leading rein from Adam’s hand and led the horse towards his own, he paused then and looked up at Joe, then at Adam murmured

 

“Thanks ..for bringing him home. I mean.,” he licked dry lips, shook his head “You say, he drowned? But you got him outta there?”

 

“Couldn’t leave him there…” Adam replied sharply, frowned “I was wondering about how to bring him home when I heard the gun shots…the horse came … the only way home was the way we found ..” he paused himself then, stood in the stirrups and stretched his back, his shoulders, something cracked in his spine and he settled back into the saddle the pain temporarily relieved.

 

“I’ll take him home, explain to Jessie…take Marcy with me…” Luke mumbled and then looked at Hoss, nodded as though to thank Hoss for being there, turned and whispered his good byes and mounted his horse

 

“Should we go with him?” Joe said quietly

 

“No,” Hoss said bluntly, “He’ll want this time on his own…and …you have wives who want to know you’re both safe…in case you’d forgotten…”

 

Joe scowled immediately and cast a narrow eyed angry look at his brother “What makes you think we could have done that….”

 

“Lan’sakes you could have come back as soon as it started to rain, couldn’t you?”

 

“No” Adam replied and shook his head “That’s the trouble, we couldn’t. Two men tried and died as a result…you had to be there to realise how impossible that would have been….and if you think for a minute, Hoss Cartwright, that we did not have you all in our thoughts ..and prayers..” he shook his head, and gave his brother a look that made Hoss colour up red from embarrassment

 

They rode on now, silent, each man trapped in his own thoughts until finally Joe asked, in a quiet calm manner how things were at home, was every one safe..

 

“Sure…the rain came down, real heavy. At first I guess we were all excited about it..wal, sort of, I dang well was annoyed because it ruined my chance of getting that door put up, and Pa was delighted said that put an end to any worry about fires and the kids ran out and got soaked, thinking it fun. Then it got kinda serious…”

 

“How come?” Joe asked immediately, his thoughts on his wife and children, after all, Hoss could only relate what had happened at the main house, not at the other properties…and the river was nearer his home, and he felt a niggle of anxiety worm its way through bis stomach.

 

“Mary Ann came with Li and the children…said the river was rising fast, she could see it from the windows and Li said it was rising too fast, even though you’re on a hill, Joe, that danged river just came closer than we ever thought possible, and Li got her and the kids in the buggy and came right on to us…”

 

There was silence again, no one spoke, imagination was running riot. Adam swallowed several times but couldn’t get the words out and Joe was chewing his lips

 

“Once they were inside the house I got in the buggy and drove on over to your place, Adam, just so I could grab Livvy and the kids and bring ’em back …the rain had turned the yard into a mill pond kinda…Reuben was in the stables trying to keep the horses calm, he sure is a plucky lad, Adam, sure is…”

 

“Get on with it, Hoss…” Adam growled “are they alright? Are they safe?”

 

“Sure…had to drag Reuben outa the stables, said you would not want Kami to come to no harm ..so I put her on a leading rein behind the buggy and we drove on home..” he paused again and reached for his canteen and pulled out the stopper to swallow “Chen rode Max ..behind us…water was rising fast though. Seemed we were playing tag with it all the way but then we got there…” he frowned “Odd how water chooses to go any which way it likes, but apart from pounding down on the roof and making them shingles rattle, we came to no harm. The yard was swamped of course, but nothing like your place, Adam…” he paused “Ain’t been near yours, Joe, but everyone’s safe at the Ponderosa.”

 

Joe and Adam exchanged a quick look, reassuring one another, allowing themselves to breathe and relax. Hoss grinned

 

“Yeah, with Chen, Li and Hop Sing in the house we’ve been living high on the hog that’s for sure..”

 

“And Luke…when did he arrive?” Joe asked and watched as Hoss thumped in the stopper of his canteen and rehung it on his saddle horn

 

“He came early this morning to make sure that Livvy and the children were safe. Seems they lost a few trees, some shingles went flying but no real damage done…He had checked with Jessie who was worried that Derwent…aw, shucks…shucks…” he shook his head now and wiped his eyes, sniffed hard and swallowed “We decided to come looking for you. Everyone’s mighty scared about you both…”

 

Again they drifted into silence, urging their horses on to eat up the miles that distanced them from their loved ones. Hoss finally asked about conditions in town and seemed amazed at what Joe told him, but Adam remained silent not wanting to share his thoughts on the days events.

 

“How were Paul and Bridie, they alright? And Roy?” Hoss asked when they seemed to have lost the will to talk any more.

 

“Sure, they’re fine, arn’t they, Adam?”

 

Adam nodded, and remembered when he had last seen Roy and the Martins, he nodded again

 

“Sure they’re fine…safe and well.” he frowned, remembering how Roys gate had blown right off nearly knocking them off their feet

 

“We slept last night at the Internationale, some damage there too, Hoss…but sure was a relief to get a good nights sleep.” Joe said and grinned, as though he remembered how he nearly missed the chance…”Clay kept the Sazarac open for anyone who needed shelter …”

 

“How’d he handle it? Everything alright there?”

 

“Sure, everything’s fine….someone said we only caught the tail end of the storm, Bodie and Genoa will have caught the worst of it.”

 

Hoss nodded, glanced at Adam and frowned. Seemed to him his brother did not look so good, and he wondered just exactly what had gone on during the past few days that Adam would not let on about .not just yet anyway.

…………………….

 

As they rode past Adams house they glanced down from the track to survey the damage the water may have done…and if Adam was relieved to see that all the shingles were still on the roof, and the walls intact he never said. The yard was covered in water, and it covered up to the porch so far as they could see so he estimated some water damage in the house would be superficial . The main thing was that Livvy and the children were all safe.

 

They were weary and bones ached when they finally reached the Ponderosa. The yard was water logged of that there was no doubt, but it was not so bad, they rode direct into the stable and dismounted. Bone weary, stretching, aching…but the needs of the horses had to be seen to, saddles removed, a quick wipe down, and then led to clean water and the hay bags hanging from the walls.

 

Adam paused to stroke Kami’s sleek neck and she nodded and pushed her head against his shoulder and then he was nearly knocked over when a body flung himself into his father’s body and Reubens arms hugged about him as he cried out “Pa. Pa. You’re safe…I was so scared.”

 

Hoss and Joe had hurried out to get to to the house. Joe frantically anxious to get to see his wife, and the children. Hester had the door open, and Olivia was pushing her way through the throng of children to get out and follow Reuben to the stable so she could hug her husband, actually feel him, flesh and bone, in her arms.

 

Adam hugged his son, held him close, his heart thumping so fast with relief, with joy, with immense pride at seeing the boy and having this welcome and knowing from what Hoss had said that Reuben had cared so much for what he knew his father would have considered of prime concern..the horse, Kami

 

Then Olivia was there running towards him. The strain of the past few days showing in the pale face, the wide eyes with the dark shadows beneath them and the tears that now steamed down her cheeks.

 

Mary Ann was hugging onto Joe, who was whispering his own endearments in her ear, while Constance tugged at his pants and Daniel tried to push between them to get noticed to get a hug from Pa…but at that moment all Joe could think about was holding on to the woman who was most dear to him, the woman he loved above everything and anyone else.

 

Ben came, slapped him on the back, then picked up Constance and hugged her before handing her over to his son. “Alright, son?” he said in his gruff voice.

 

“It is now, Pa.” Joe replied taking his little girl into his arms. “It is now.”

 

Nathaniel held onto his father as though afraid to let go of him again, saying over and over again how scared he had been and Sofia had hugged him so tightly he nearly choked …but there were tears and laughter and joy, such joy, at being together again.

 

“The water got into the house Daddy..” Sofia cried “Nathaniel cried.”

 

“Chen was wonderful, got everything organised and then Hoss turned up in the buggy..so we were quite safe…” Olivia hung onto his arm, holding him tightly, worried that if she let go of him he would fall over.

 

“I got Kami, Pa. She was scared…” Reuben volunteered, keeping as close as he possibly could to the man he loved so much

 

“So I heard.” Adam stopped walking, stopped in order to look at the boy, “Thank you, son.”

 

“Thought you would do the same, Pa…” Reuben said proudly, trying not to stick his chest out too far

 

“Well, you did yourself proud, and …” Adam lowered himself to get more to eye level with the boy, “I have some news for you….Davy has found Bella…safe and well.”

 

“Really? Really, Pa?”

 

“Really…and he thanks you for your letters..”

 

“Aw, Pa. Really?”

 

“Really.”

 

Adams smile as he looked at the pleasure on the boys face brought Olivia’s heart close to bursting, all her fears, all her anxieties, were gone now, he was safe..and she thanked God for it as she held onto him and walked back to the house where Ben was standing in the doorway, nodding and smiling at them, pride on his face, moisture in his dark eyes….

 

His sons were safe, and that’s all that mattered to him at that moment of time.

Chapter 51

 

A frenetic week followed on from the storm. The river had not reached Joe’s property, but the wind and rain had broken windows and damaged the porch, some shingles had torn loose. The stables were quite safe although the horses were nervous and restless. The yard itself was under a foot of water but had not affected the building. Mary Ann was so relieved that she wept, standing in the middle of her bedroom which remained in the same pristine condition as she had left it.

 

Joe was quick to reassure her that the work that was needed on the house would not take so very long, and as it was structurally sound there was no need to stay at the main house. He said he would use the time to teach Daniel how to use a hammer…

 

Adams property had suffered minimal damage, although the river had risen alarmingly high as could be seen by the damage done to the few trees and shrubs that had grown along the water line…now they were shattered and looked skeletal and broken. Rain water have seeped into the house for it was high in the yard, had crept over the verandah and into the porch and big room, but again the damage was small.

 

As he and Ben surveyed the property they both agreed that considering the power of the storm and the way the river had risen so quickly, they had all come away far better off than they could have imagined.

 

“I think,” Adam said as he leaned upon his saddle horn and watched as the waters rippled over what was their yard “the storm hit fast, as we know, but it drove the main river waters into a new area…that’s where the lake was formed from…and whether it will ever return to normal ..” he shrugged and sighed, thought of Derwent and choked down a lump in his throat.

 

Ben nodded, agreeing with Adam with a sense of unease stirring in his stomach. He had seen it before, rivers that had changed course, leaving lands they had previously kept well nourished suddenly barren and bare while it had swept away anything in its path, sometimes whole villages, people.

 

“Do you think it possible anyone else was caught out, like young Derwent?”

 

“Only those who had been in town and on the way home, I would imagine. Perhaps we should send out some men to check on our neighbours…” he turned his horse round and walked him through the muddy waters that swirled around its legs “At least our homes are intact …and no one was hurt.” mentally he thanked God for that, but he had been doing that every time he had looked at his wife and the children, known they were safe.

 

“Well, the next thing is to deal with the track…get is cleared…” he slanted his eyes at his son “I think we should ride on over now and check on it…”

 

“I doubt if it will have moved since ..”

 

“I know that, but I want to see for myself….” he paused and shrugged “Could be we find a better way into town…just leave it as it is, but I would like to check on it first.”

………………

 

Mac from the timber yard was waiting for Ben when they returned. Hop Sing had given him a good cup of coffee, and a huge beef sandwich and he was happily chomping away on it, watching the children and chatting to Hester when Ben and Adam returned to the house. He wiped his mouth on the back of his hand and got to his feet immediately although Ben waved a hand at him to resume his seat.

 

“How are things, Mac?” and he removed his hat and gun belt with all the weariness of an old man who had travelled too far but did not want to admit it.

 

Adam had removed his hat and now leaned against the old bureau, arms crossed over his chest and smiling at Hester who had ‘mouthed’ an offer of coffee. Mac sighed and gulped another mouthful of coffee before he began to reply, by which time Ben had take his chair and Erik was clambering up onto his lap.

 

“We lost some trees…big fellers they were too, came down ‘cos the soil was so loose from all that water and of course took some others that were in their way…but no harm done to any of the buildings nor to the men. The watchtowers we had built up in case of fire came through almost intact. Fact is that deluge could not have come at a better time I was getting worried that there would have been a bad outbreak of fire at some time if the weather had continued as it was…”

 

Ben nodded in agreement, stroking Erik’s head as he did so. Mac stood up now and rubbed his hands on the back of his pants

 

“Wal, I came to check on you all, make sure you were all safe. Some men got into town and was told that half the hill came down on the track you use … you’ll need men to clear that away if you aim to reopen it any time soon.”

 

“Did the men bring back any news from town? How are things there now?” Adam asked leaning forwards to ease his back but trying to appear nonchalant about it.

 

Mac nodded “Got told about the hill coming down and the new lake…went out and checked it for themselves. The town itself, well, theyre clearing things up best they can after all ..lots of mess and some damage but it could have been a whole lot worse.”

 

Adam sighed and nodded, he was getting tired of hearing that being said although it was true, it could have been disastrous. Mac leaned forwards to pick up his hat, frowning as he did so.

 

If you need help with clearing that there hillside me an’ the boys will be more than willing to help…but seems to me that will be a long job, could be better if you just found another road to get into town. Anyhows, just let me know and I’ll get a team down to lend a hand.” he nodded and shook Ben’s hand, then Adams, “Oh and Clay Stafford said to tell Joe that the next

breakfast is on him….”

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ben snapped immediately which made Mac look at Adam and roll his eyes and Adam deflected any comment by taking the cup of coffee from Hester and nodding his thanks.

 

“I dunno, sir…” Mac shrugged and looked awkward, looking alternatively at Adam and Ben. “That’s the message as was given to the boys…”

 

Adam continued sipping his coffee, he always enjoyed Hop Sings coffee, but knowing that once Mac left the house he would have to face questions from Ben made him linger a while longer.

 

As soon as the door closed on the big woodsman Ben put Erik from his lap and then stood up, looked at Adam and nodded, then turned towards the study. Adam sighed, finished his cup of coffee and followed in Ben’s wake…seemed he had another storm to face.

 

“What did Mac mean by that…so called message from Clay to Joe….”

 

“Just what he said, Pa.”

 

“I know what he said, but what did he mean….”

 

Adam gave his father the look of a parent having to find patience from somewhere to explain something simple to one of his children. He pulled out a chair and sat down, stretched out his legs and gave a slight pout

 

“Just that Joe had breakfast with Clay…is all…”he shrugged, and looked up at the ceiling.

 

“And you didn’t?”

 

“I had..er…breakfast with Bridie and Paul.” he smiled and hoped the storm had passed.

 

Ben leaned back against his chair and observed his son thoughtfully, then shook his head

 

“Adam, tell me exactly what happened the day of the storm…in town.. tell me …” he sighed and shook his head seeing the stubborn blank look fall over his first borns face, “Something happened and I want to know what it is…”

 

“A lot happened, Pa, and not much of it was good…some people died, homes were damaged .and it was ..”

 

Ben raised a hand and narrowed his eyes, “Adam, I know when you are prevaricating…and I know when Joe is trying to cover over something he would rather not talk about…”

 

“Well, in that case, Pa, you need to talk to Joe about it …don’t you?” he quirked an eyebrow and started to get out of the chair but Ben raised a hand and indicated that he settled his ‘seat’ back down

 

For a moment there was silence between the two men, Hope ran in and tried to clamber up on Adams lap but then was intuitive enough to realise that this was a bad time to do so. She kissed his cheek and then ran off back to the safety of her siblings.

 

“You know how I feel about Clay…” Ben began, keeping his voice level and he glanced over at Adam who wore his best poker face “In many ways he is very like Joe…” he cleared his throat “But I worry that his influence on your brother is not always for the good. Joe …. when he admires someone …can be easily led. And….” he stressed the word and looked at Adam “he really does admire Clay. Am I right?”

 

His son coughed, cleared his throat and nodded. He felt like a kid being lectured by the school Principal

 

Again silence, and Adam tried again to inch his way out of his chair but then Ben pinned him back in it by a dark glare,

 

“So…Joe had breakfast at shall we say Del Monico’s…” he nodded “and knowing Clay it would have taken time…now, don’t look at me like that, I am just trying to put pieces together in my own mind, trying to get the timing right ..”

 

“Timing? What timing?” Adam replied rather abruptly and shook his head “What is this all about ,Pa? You angling for something about Clay? So what? He enjoys a good meal when he has a chance…”

 

“Wait wait..” Ben raised a hand again “I don’t begrudge Clay a good meal whenever he likes to have one, but not when the town has been through that storm, that chaos…and Joe should have been with you..riding out of town with you…”

 

Adam opened his mouth and then shut it again, he would cover for Joe as he always had done in the past, but he would not lie for him. He looked at his father, eye to eye and then shrugged

 

“What’s your point , Pa?”

 

“I had a word with Hoss ..he told me how when he fired off those shots to let anyone of you know that help was on the way he got confused…there was one shot…and just seconds later three more shots…from slightly different directions…his opinion ..”

 

Adam stood up and shook his head “It doesn’t matter what Hoss’ opinion is, Pa. Joe and Clay worked hard during that storm, worked along side others who went out of their way to help folk in need. So what if they felt they deserved a good breakfast ..they earned it…”

 

“So why did you not join them…”

 

“I preferred to eat elsewhere…” he leaned forward “What is this all about , Pa? “

 

Ben shook his head and sighed, then looked up at this son’s dark eyes and saw anger there, and concern ..

 

“I don’t like the picture that’s forming in my mind, Adam.. That you were alone when you found that ..Derwents body…that you had to deal with that alone when your brother should have been there with you…if it had not been for Clay …”

 

“Pa.. give up on this thing about Clay…he’s Joe’s half brother, he has the same claim on him as Hoss and I…and if Joe chose…”

 

“Yes, Joe chose to stay in town with Clay rather than ride home to see if his wife and family were safe, to help you when…”

 

“I didn’t need his help..” Adam cried, his voice a little louder than normal and for a moment both men froze. He shook his head, lowered his voice “Joe would have caught me up much sooner had there not been so much debris in his path…he was as exhausted with the work as anyone of us…” he hauled in his breath and shook his head “Now, that’s enough, no more discussion on this subject…”

 

Ben shook his head, prepared to say more but Adam squared his shoulders, gave his father a dark glare and strode out of the room. Moments later the door closed with a thud. When he raised his head it was to see Hester coming in with a cup of coffee, and an anxious look on her face “That went well…” she said…and placed the cup and saucer carefully on the desk just in case Ben erupted again, but he did not, he just nodded and then shook his head

 

“I’m just worried, Hester..” was all he said.

Chapter 52

 

Nate Carney dismounted from his horse and paused a moment to look around him. The building looked solid and unharmed, the yard was muddy and still had numerous puddles, and the evidence of muddy footprints by the door showed he was not the first to visit the house that morning.

 

The door opened as he took his first step forwards, and he was greeted by the sight of Hester smiling her wide welcoming smile while at the same time preventing her son from escaping from the house by barring him with her arm

 

“Good morning, Nate…” she smiled and turned aside to admit him, while Erik fled indoors at the sight of this tall gangly man, taller even than his Pa.

 

“Good morning, ma’am, Mis Hester. Is it too early for a visit?” he removed his hat and smiled his rather shy disarming smile, and followed her into the room

 

“Never too early for visitors, Nate. You are the first since the storm…did you manage to find a way without any problems?” she took his hat as she talked and placed it safely on the bureau

 

“There are always some track leading to the Ponderosa, “ he replied, “It’s too big a place to rely on just the one …”

 

“Morning, Nate..” Ben’s voice preceded the man as he stepped from the study area a genial smile on his face, hand outstretched to shake that of the Sheriffs.

 

“Thought I would come by and see how everyone was…I rode by Adam’s place, seems to be in one piece.”

 

“Sit down, Nate..” Ben nodded to the couch and then sat down on his favoured chair, “It’s good to see you…how are things in town?”

 

“Coming along, Ben.” he paused “I was sorry to hear about young Derwent Jessop. That was a tragic ending ..he was a fine man.”

 

“Yes, he was….” Ben frowned “’Time and unforeseen occurrence’ as the good book tells us…Adam found him, you know?”

 

“Yes, I heard” he paused and for a moment his thoughts turned to the other two young men who had died, trying to get home, just like Derwent, except that they had ignored the warnings not to do so. He glanced around him and cleared his throat “The Town Board have arranged for the track to the Ponderosa into town to be cleared…they’ve employed every ex-miner available to do the job, reckoned they’d be the best men to use as they would know a pick from a shovel…” he smiled in an attempt to make it sound like a joke but Ben nodded as though it were not, so he left it at that…”I was wondering …the Town Board were wondering ..if work could be carried out this side of the obstruction…get the job done quicker.”

 

Hester emerged from the kitchen with a tray and set it down, smiled at the two men and then quickly left to round up the children and quieten them down. Nate heard a door close the sound of the childrens chatter fade. Ben poured out the coffee, and the Sheriff smiled as he remembered Roy telling him the best cup of coffee was the one Hop Sing made on the Ponderosa. He waited for the cup to be passed to him before speaking again

 

“I think they were hoping that Adam, with his engineering skills, would be able to advise men from this side on how to move the rubble…well,, more than rubble..safely. There are a number of ways to reach the Ponderosa or town depending on which way one is travelling. But there ain’t a one that’s wide enough for a buggy or wagon..”

 

“True enough… at present. Adam and Hoss have been looking for an alternative route and found several, we have the men from the timber yard helping clear the area as we speak…”

 

“Yes but the Town Board particularly want the previous track cleared…”

 

“I appreciate that, it’s been used as the main route to and from town ever since we came here..before there was a town in fact..but there are other routes that Adam and I thought more practical, less time consuming, and we’re working on them.”

 

They raised their cups to their lips, and drank while looking over the rim at the other man. Ben finally put his cup down and smiled,

 

“We also have men working on the problem of that landslide..Joe is in charge there…been working on it for a few days now.”

 

Nate nodded and finished drinking, thinking as he did so that Roy was right as usual, that coffee was good, and he was more than grateful when Ben poured out another refreshing cup

 

“I’ll ride down and see him on the way back. Hopefully get it cleared as soon as possible, a week or so…” he sighed “That’s the hope anyway.”

 

“What about the new lake…the one Derwent ..well, that one….”

 

“Had some men go check it out, seems to be receding. It’s thought not to be a permanent feature”

 

Ben nodded and smiled “Adam thought so too, said the river levels are rising daily which indicates the water returning to its source.”

 

Nate nodded, drank his second cup of coffee and then stood up, nodded and looked around him again, “You sure have a real nice place here, Mr Cartwright.”

 

“Thank you, Nate.. .. and call me Ben will you? “

 

Nate grinned and nodded, and walked slowly to the bureau to pick up his hat, then he paused and his hand dived into his pocket to withdraw some letters which he handed to Ben, explaining that they had arrived before the storm but in the upheaval …Ben nodded, took them and bade the tall man good day, watched him stroll over to his horse and then slowly walk the animal out of the muddy yard and up to the track leading past Adams house, and to the road leading to the landslide.

 

He stood a moment watching for no other reason that he had the time to do so, to catch the warmth of the sun on his face, the soft glow glimmering on the shingles of the stable and barn. Then with a sigh he stepped back into the house and glanced down at the letters as he walked back to his study and the work he had in mind…tracing out a track into town through the Ponderosa that would be quicker than removing a mountain from the original track.

 

He put the letters to one side and picked up a pencil, his brow furrowed in concentration.

…………

 

It took Nate longer to reach the site of the huge pile of rock, rubble, dirt and uprooted shrubs than he had first thought. That was rather satisfying as it meant the main obstacle was on the side of town. Pursuing that thought he realised it did not much matter in the long run, it was still an obstacle, still prevented people from going to and from town. He could hear the sound of work,men before he actually saw them, but there they were, a string of men, with Joe, labouring hard with pick, axe, shovel and who knew what else

 

“How about a stick of dynamite, Joe?” he yelled to be heard about the noise, he was dismounting and the horse bucked back a little.

 

Joe turned, grinned and waved “Don’t think I have not thought of it, Nate. Seems no matter how much we clear away still seems to be the same amount ahead of us…”

 

“There’s a lot of it…” Nate said as he stared at the obstacle in front of him and Joe nodded, slapped him on the shoulder and grinned

 

“Half a hillside…” he said in a voice that sounded almost proud to be the possessor of such a fine specimen of a landslide. “You coming to give us a hand…there’s plenty of picks and shovels…”

 

“Where are you moving it to…” Nate asked, rolling up his sleeves as he spoke and looking around him

 

“Well, this here area was a wide sweep of a curve, and if you were stupid enough to ride too fast, or drunk enough not to have noticed, there was every possibility of taking the curve too wide and going over into the cavern below….”

 

“Aah I see…”

 

“Yep, it’s just a case of moving all this…” he swept his hand in a grand sweep to encompass what lay ahead of them “ into that…” and he pointed to the empty space where many an unwary traveller had met their demise. “If all goes well and it fills the space adequately the curve will no longer exist, the track will be that much wider too…”

 

Nate nodded….he looked at the huge task ahead and spat into his hands, rubbed them together and picked up a shovel. He still thought a stick of dynamite would make a better job of it all.

……………………

 

“Pa?” Hester’s voice floated above him and Ben was embarrassed by the realisation he had fallen asleep.

 

“Sorry, Hester..” he rubbed his face and shook his head “Just nodded off there for a moment or two.”

 

“Just came to say lunch is ready if you want to eat now….” she glanced pointedly at the clock which stood like a sentinel of time itself, ticking away their lives, and now looking accusingly at him for wasting..time!

 

“Thank you..er…yes, of course…” he sighed and shook his head, then glanced at the letters he had left on the desk. Ah well, they would not be going anywhere, eat first and come back to it later.

……………..

 

Old Sam had brought along the chuck wagon and had provided some food and coffee for the lunch time break. All the men gathered there just as they would have done had they been on a cattle drive. Hank Myers pushed his way forwards and nodded over at Nate before addressing Joe

 

“How long do you think this is going to take, Joe?”

 

“I guess as long as it takes, Hank. Why ..you want to quit?”

 

“Huh?” Hank stepped back, quit..what? This job? Or ..quit! Full stop!

 

“Look, is this really too hard for you? If you want to go check out the few cattle that we still have and check out the water holes, then go ahead. Jake and Ezra are doing that being too old and such to do the work here.”

 

Nate nodded, grabbed a tin mug full of coffee which he knew by instinct would not be as good as the one he had had at the house, “You’re doing a service for the community, Hank..all of you are… the Town Board will no doubt be having a special parade and presentation when this track gets opened up, due to all your efforts.”

 

Someone in the crowd laughed, another cheered…and Hank shrugged and looked at his hands, muttered something about blisters and then picked up his mug of coffee and plate of bacon and bread…

 

“Will we be getting a medal too?” another voice yelled followed by guffaws of laughter from some of the men, but it was good humoured.

 

“Cheer up, Hank…” “Give us a song, Hank…” “No, please don’t……”

 

Good humoured, Joe grinned and laughed along with them, bit into his bacon and bread and nodded at Nate who winked, smiled and thought … well, just one small stick of dynamite!

 

“How’s Clay getting along, Nate?” Joe asked, looking up at the Sheriff as he spoke, a twinkle in his eye and a smile on his lips even as his jaws chomped on the food

 

“Busy…the place is crowded as you can imagine, a lot of unemployed now earning money and eager to spend it, so it seems. Ethan, Matt and I are arresting more men every evening so they can cool their heels and be fit for the next days work….Yeah, I reckon your brother’s sitting on a gold mine there.”

 

“I guess so….” Joe nodded and wiped his mouth boyishly on the back of his hand

 

“Reckon we could find out if its true..digging out this lot…will we find out that rumour the Cartwrights are sitting on a mountain of gold and silver is really true…”

 

“Not this one..” Joe leaned down and picked up his spade, “what you see here is what you get…..”

………….

 

Ben spent a while over the meal, it was always good to spend time with Hester and the children, it brought back memories…fond loving memories..of a time before when he would share the table with a lovely woman and their children.

 

Hannah wanted to know when they would be going back to school, she missed her friends, and actually loved learning. Mary Ann came down every afternoon to spend time with her and Sofia and Reuben, to keep a check on their studies so that they would not be too far behind upon their return. Soon it would be Daniel’s turn to start school so he was benefiting from the studies as well.

 

But now was time to push himself away and get back to work. He took his time, ignoring the clock and taking his seat at the desk. He picked up the letters. One for Joe, two for Adam and Olivia, one for Reuben and one for Sofia, and there, at the bottom, one for himself. The writing looked familiar but he could not place where he had seen it before. .. the post mark was Chicago.

 

He slit the envelope open and removed the paper within

 

Mr Cartwright,

 

I am very disappointed at the lack of seriousness you are giving to my previous letter and the documents it contained. I had hoped that by now you will have attended to my request and seen justice carried out.

 

Why have you allowed this man to prosper so much? Are you still so bound up with Marie that you close your eyes to the kind of man her son has become…and no matter what excuses may be offered up for his upbringing they are just excuses.

 

Should nothing happen within the next week or so…I shall have to take action elsewhere, as you can see I am in Chicago now…not so very far away from you all

 

Sincerely and wishing you God speed…..

Chapter 53

 

Blue skies graced the heavens and the sun shone down upon the towns folk as they continued to go about restoring the damage caused when a less benign weather had attempted to wreck it. Windows replaced the shattered ones, new doors were being installed where previous ones had been ripped off their hinges. Mud caked floorboards were at last a thing of yesterday, having being swept and mopped until the original colour of the wood shone through for the first time in years

 

But there was still other damage to be put right…which took more patience and time . And thankfully the townspeople continued to work to restore their neighbours fences, their verandahs, and their gardens…plants received gentle care to locate them in the mud and then attempt to replant so they could recover their former glory.

 

No one seemed to notice that ex-sheriff Roy Coffee’s home was becoming a Mecca for small boys who would appear at exactly 10 o’clock in the morning bearing big smiles and eyes gleaming with anticipation. Roy seemed to have lost ten years although he never stepped outside the door for anyone to notice but his young visitors were certainly an energizing force.

 

Tommy Conway always brought cake…because his mother always believed her son should have a supply of cake whenever he was out of her sight. He would tell her each morning that he would be out to ‘help’ or ‘to have an adventure’ but he never said where or with whom.

 

Jimmy C Edwards would come with apples because Mary Edwards thought it much better for her son to have fresh fruit and as the tree provided well enough he was encouraged to pick them to take with him…always with the reminder that school would be starting in a few days time.

 

Philip Bellshaw always came with scraps …not for anyone other than Bella of course. His hard working parents had little time for baking cakes, and the forge had been hit quite badly in the storm so their time and energies were going to getting that put into good repair. They never asked where the boy was going each day, just told him to enjoy the day and keep safe.

 

So Roy would open the door and in they would troop, and then file upstairs to where Davy was waiting for them with Bella. Mrs Riley had been more than pleased to see her morose son smiling and happy again, of course she knew why but said nothing. Mr Riley remained in blissful ignorance, glad to see the back of the lad but complaining constantly that the boy would never learn a trade .. that is, the undertakers trade..if he kept disappearing all the time. Then he would grumble “Not that he was much use even when he was hanging around the house all the time.”

 

But for Davy it was a wonderful time. He had Bella, he had friends, and he had Roy to ‘keep his back’ by providing him with some retreat for a few hours each day. As soon as they had discussed ‘important matters’ they would leave the house by the side door, slip down the alley and then head for wherever adventure beckoned, with Bella in some boys arms, seeing as she was still too weak to run along with them

 

“So, what’s the plan?” Jimmy asked as he flopped down on the ground and set Bella down so she could sniff around and do her business before coming to snuggle into Davy’s lap.

 

“Well, I was wondering if any of you feel up to heading out to the Ponderosa….” Davy grinned, looked at each one of them, saw their faces crease in smiles, nods of the head and raised eyebrows.

 

“The roads closed, they’re working to clear it…” Tommy mumbled, mouth full of cake already.

 

“Sure, we all know that…” Jimmy said and then looked at Davy “What’s your plan?”

 

“Well, I don’t want Reuben to miss out on our adventures …we’re a gang ain’t we? We need him to be part of the gang don’t we?” Davy looked at them all and all of them nodded vigorously.

 

“How can we get to see him though…it’s a long walk to his place and I can’t afford to hire a horse.” Phil sighed, a frown furrowed his brow as though it was the hardest problem he had ever faced in his life

 

“I saw Ezra this morning, real early…” Davy grinned, “Yeah, see, a horse can get us to the Ponderosa easy…yeah, shut up Phil, I heard ya, and none of us can afford a horse anyhow..but Reuben has a horse. See, the road is for folk to travel in their wagons, or coaches ..but going on foot..”

 

“Yeah? I ain’t walking the whole way to the Ponderosa.” Tommy groaned

 

“I ain’t saying anything about us walking to the Ponderosa, Tommy…” Davy shook his head, frowned

 

“Than what are you saying?” Phil asked and glanced over at Tommy who was stuffing more cake into his mouth and not offering to share which Phil, understandably considering how much he liked cake, thought was unfair

 

“Ezra came on his horse … right? So…I gave him a note to give to Reuben …” Davy grinned, and polished the apple Jimmy handed him on the front of his shirt. “I told Reuben to meet us tomorrow at the old shack where we used to meet …”

 

“The one by the big house where the man shot himself…” Tommy frowned and passed over some cake to Phil and Jimmy.

 

“That’s the place, thanks for the reminder of where it is, Tommy…” and Davy rolled his eyes

and shook his head – as if his friends needed to have clarification of the location…

 

“They reckon the place is haunted…” Tommy said quietly, shrugged “Jest so’s you know…”

 

The other boys nudged one another, giggled, laughed at Tommy’s timidity and grabbed at more cake, or apples

 

“Why not today? Why couldn’t you have suggested he came today?” Jimmy asked, spraying apple pips everywhere

 

“Cause Ezra has things to do in town and would not be back to the Ponderosa to let Reuben know…..in time that is…” Davy glanced at the other boys “Whaddya say? “

 

“Yeah great idea. “ Jimmy said and brushed off several apple pips while at the same time tossing the core into the undergrowth.

 

“It’ll be good to be back as a gang again…” Phil said and stood up “So, what do we do now huh?”

……………….

 

Mac cleared his throat and spat into the dust, wiped his face and then nodded slowly as he looked up and down the section of road they were clearing Not that it was much of a road at that moment but in a few days time it would be good enough for a wagon to trundle down without any obstacles in its way.

 

He had not seen any reason why he and his work force were asked to help Adam and Hoss clear out a new road when they could have been working on clearing the pile of rubble strewn across the original and upon which Joe and the Ponderosa men were working so hard to clear and the townsfolk likewise from the other end.

 

To his mind anyone who knew where to locate any of the Ponderosa houses could just thread their way along from wherever they were and arrive quite safely …on foot, well, yes, would take time, but on a horse much quicker. But he had listened to Adams explanation and agreed, they had relied too long on the one thoroughfare to town, and this particular road, would cut down on time.

 

“Fact is, Mac, we got too used to the old road, never even realised the advantages of opening up any other, but Bill Enders proved that there was a shorter and better way…” Adam had said, tapping on the map he had opened up in front of them

 

“Yeah, proved it to his advantage…” someone had laughed

 

“But it makes sense to use it now, to our advantage. Georgio…where are you from …Italy isn’t it?”

 

“Si, Roma…”

 

“And what were your ancestors famous for?” Adam had looked around him, found Georgio picking at his teeth

 

“Ah, grand father he was famous chef…” he make the sign beloved by all Italians to indicate just how famous

 

“No no, I mean way back when the Romans were taking over the world …way back.”

 

“Ah is….the Caesars…”

 

“And …” Adam sighed, this was getting complicated and would miss the point, when Georgio began to shrug and wave his hands about Adam gave up, shrugged as well “They were famous for their roads…they weren’t just roads…they were straight…they went through hills, mountains, forests…dead straight ..” he raised his arm to point ahead of them, dead straight

 

Hoss scratched his head and shrugged “You want a dead straight road from the Ponderosa to town….”

 

“Well, from the Ponderosa to where it will meet up…” he marked on the map “here…”

 

“Avoiding rocks and trees…” Mac muttered, scowling down at the map.

 

“No, removing rocks and trees….it will take less time, and leave us with a good straight road.” Adam nodded and tapped the map with his pen “That will mean less time travelling to town .which we know anyway because as said earlier Bill Enders used it, and we have at times. when in an emergency. except now…we will make it even better.”

 

“That’s a heck of a lot of rocks and stuff to move out of the way…” Hoss had muttered scratching under his arm pit and speculating on just who would be doing most of the heaving and pushing said obstacles

 

“Less than that landslide has…and we don’t have to clear the road to the town itself, just to where it will meet with the old road …”

 

“Ah…” Mac had nodded, grinned “I see what you mean…a direct A to B missing out the curve where the landslide fell anyway…shucks that will cut off a good few miles, Adam.”

 

So they had set to work, starting the day before Joe and his men had begun clearing the

landslide. Hoss had a good team helping him clear rocks and scree, men worked to level the ground, cut through the soil, and Adam had rigged up a contraption that fitted to the back of a harness on a horse which was often used by farmers wanting to clear land. It was very effective in removing the smaller stones and debris from the surface of the new road so when Mac Looked back on where they had been working, he could see a smooth wide new track.

 

“How much longer do you reckon this will take…” Hoss asked his brother as he wiped his face and the back of his neck. His shirt was sticking to him like a second skin only wetter…

 

“If we keep to this speed, perhaps two days. Ezra tells me school will be opening on Monday, so the children will be able to take this road and get there earlier..or …leave later and get there at the usual time.” he grinned, and Hoss nodded

 

“Hester will be able to get to the hospice in good time…it’s her time to go in on Monday. She was fussing some about it yesterday.”

 

Adam nodded and then chuckled “Bill Enders…fancy huh? He ended up doing us a good turn.”

 

“Yeah,probably turning in his grave at the thought…” Hoss slapped Adam on the back and then sighed, picked up his shovel and returned to work.

………………..

 

The horseman on the black horse had seen Mary Ann dismount from the buggy and greeted into the house by Hester. He knew from what Ezra had told him that she went there every afternoon with her children to teach the others their lessons, to make sure they did not fall behind with what they were missing back at school.

 

He leaned back in the saddle and shook his head. Bad timing. He should have left earlier, but he had taken longer wending his way through the trees and goodness knew what along the way. Pleasant though it had been with the sun dappling through the leaves and creating shadows here and there along the way, he had been impatient to get to see how the family had managed with the flood. Ezra had not been very communicative, even rather unwilling to talk much about it. His dislike for Clay Stafford obvious by his desire to avoid the man at all costs and only saying the bare minimum when he had to…

 

Clay turned the horse around, and made his way back from the main house, towards where Adam and his family lived. He was thirsty and this was a good opportunity to see Olivia and maybe even Adam…unless of course the man was busy on that road..

 

The horse loped along and he turned its head towards Adams property, through the trees, down the track and into the yard. The door to the house was open so he dismounted and made his way towards it, stopped when he heard her voice, coming from another building and there she was, removing a long white apron and walking towards him

Chapter 54

 

He removed his hat immediately, and gave a slight bow as he turned towards her, a smile on his face. She smiled and nodded while continuing to walk towards him, carefully folding the apron into a roll as she did so,

 

“I wanted to see how you all were…” he said, waiting for her to step up onto the verandah, “When I saw that Ezra had got through I decided to make the journey through the trees back yonder as the road is still blocked.”

 

“A nuisance really,” she said as though that was all it was “Joe is working with the men from this side to cut through, and Adam is working with Mac and his gang to clear an alternative route …” she laughed then and slanted her eyes at him as if he would see the joke too “I think they are now treating the whole thing as a competition to see who gets through to town first.”

 

She stepped ahead of him and pushed open the door, turned and nodded “Coffee? Lemonade?”

 

“I would not say no to either…” he said with a chuckle in his voice and almost tripped over his own feet to follow her inside.

 

Chen came as soon as he heard her voice, and glanced from her to Clay and waited, she smiled at him and nodded

 

“Chen, this is Clay Stafford, the new manager of the Sazarac and Joe’s half brother…” she paused as Chen gave Clay a slight bow, she turned to Clay “Chen Ho Li..a dear friend ..” and she nodded as though to emphasise that point.

 

Clay looked now from one to the other, then nodded and awkwardly put out his hand to be shaken by this ‘dear friend’ who did not look so very friendly towards him. Chen bowed again and Olivia stepped forward in order to spare Clay any awkwardness,

 

“I checked the dairy, Chen…I think the butter has been saved and the tiles on the roof look secure now. I think they should last for a while longer yet.”

 

Chen nodded and said something as they both disappeared into the other room and Clay was left standing there, holding his hat.

 

It gave him time to look around the room, to notice the likenesses to the big house, and the differences. It was similar in some ways to Joe’s home, being lighter and airier than the original Ponderosa ranch. Light and shade played a big part in this room, and he liked that, the bigger windows, the white plastered walls. A piano stood in one corner, and a guitar had been placed upon the stool. By the hearth some toys, some books, and various items indicative to there being children in the house.

 

He began to wander around, looking at this, at that…admiring a painting and then another by the same artist, books filled a fine book case and of course, the rifle rack which every home out west seemed to find essential. He thought it looked out of place in such a fine room so turned and found himself confronted by a door to another room

 

As the door was open he stepped inside and realised immediately this was Adams study, office or whatever he would like to call it. Clay looked around it and liked its simplicity, admired the books lined up on shelves against the far wall, and it was then his eyes had settled upon the framed medals that Olivia appeared beside him.

 

Clay was not a man to be easily embarrassed but for some reason he did feel awkward, the way she stood so quietly beside him and her eyes followed the direction of his own. Then she sighed and nodded, “I don’t think Adam really likes them being on display like that…I rather forced his hand by getting them mounted and framed for our wedding anniversary one time..”

 

“I’d be proud to have them ..” Clay immediately said, and stepped forward to look at them more closely, nodded “Two medals of Honour. Don’t know many who have had two….”

 

“I don’t even know anyone who has one.” she said lightly, and turned to leave the room, indicating as she did so that he should do likewise. “Adam said that Thomas Custer had two …”

 

“Don’t you mean George Custer?” he made a big show of closing the door as though to indicate his respect for Adam’s privacy

 

“No…George never won any medals…Thomas did..Adam said of the two of them it was obvious who of them deserved them, and it was not George.” she sat down now and Clay sat opposite her, watching as she poured out the coffee and smiling at her when she handed him his cup. “Chen makes excellent coffee…I think better even than Hop Sings…”

 

Clay said nothing but looked down at the swirling brew in his cup, watched the steam rise.

 

“Why doesn’t Adam like his medals on display?” he asked as he raised the cup to his lips

 

“Well, he just says too many men died on those particular assignments, they deserved the medals …”

 

“But they were obeying orders, they would know what to expect…you either survived or you did not.” he raised his chin, after all he had served in the military, he knew what he was talking about…didn’t he?

 

She nodded and sighed, then picked up her cup and saucer, stirred in the sugar “Adam said he was the one giving the orders..those men died as a result.”

 

Clay frowned. He had not given Adams time at sea much thought, had not really heard that much about it, apart from the fact that he was absent from home for long periods at a time and was under orders from Grant whom he, Clay Stafford, loathed.

 

“He was an officer then?”

 

“Yes.” she nodded and sipped her coffee, “Clay, do help yourself to some cookies…or do you call them something else in Australia?”

 

“I call a cookie a cookie, but they stick to the English meaning so its a biscuit..I guess I get muddled between the two at times…” he laughed a little then, hoping to regain some ground having, (he felt) lost some due to his ignorance about Adams past

 

“Well, I hope you enjoy them…” she smiled then, her eyes darkened a little and the long lashes cast shadows upon her cheeks, a dimple flashed near her mouth “How is everything in town? Ezra brings in news now but he is not very forthcoming.”

 

“Oh well, it’s as it is…windows being repaired, doors replaced, floors swept clean …we came out of it lightly compared to Bodie and Genoa.”

 

They spoke a little about the events of the storm. She told him of how frightened the children were, how she had lost several tiles from the dairy roof, and the basement flooded although not by much. Joe’s house suffered the worse damage, being closer to the river, but even that was not as bad as they had feared it would have been had the river not decided to change course and dump its excess elsewhere.

 

“I did hear that a friend of yours had been drowned in that….”

 

“Yes, Derwent Jessop…” her voice lowered, drooped, and she sighed and then buried her face in her cup, as a sign she did not want to talk any further about that subject.

 

“Adam found him ..his body I mean…so I heard that is…” and he looked at her so that she nodded and still remained silent, “Adams quite a heroic figure around these parts isn’t he?”

 

Her brow creased and her pretty mouth…and he had to admit to himself she did have a pretty mouth…pouted “There are a lot of heroic figures in these parts, Clay.”

 

“If you say so, I guess anyone who survives living here is a bit of a hero anyway…” he emptied his cup and set it down on the saucer, paused “May I have another?”

 

“Of course” she nodded but her smile seemed more forced than previously and he was thinking that normally he would take that as a cue to go, but instead he leaned down and poured out the coffee into his cup and then smiled at her “You are right, Chen is a better coffee maker…but I won’t tell Hop Sing I thought so.”

 

For a while there was silence, a trifle awkward until she asked him about Australia and what it was that he liked about it, and for some while he told her about that vast land, the aborigines that lived there, their customs, rituals and tenacity to live and survive in such a brutal landscape

 

“And is Ballarat a pleasant place to live? Is it like here…or more like the big cities like Chicago, New York.” she watched him, as though what he was saying was really interesting to her and he nodded in appreciation of that interest.

 

“Well, it started off like here I guess…a gold rush settlement of tents and shacks, although I never saw it as such, I got there after it had become a city, industrialised, stone built buildings, at the last census there were over 50000 population…and the railway has been there since 1870 so that’s helped with its growth…guess it can’t be dismissed as just any old gold boom town now.”

 

“You like it there?”

 

“As much as I like anywhere I’m settled…” and his voice became, from eagerly extolling the country to wary, needing to watch his words.

 

“So you will be going back….some time I guess…” she looked at him over the rim of her cup, her green eyes watching his face, his eyes so that he even became wary of blinking..but he nodded anyway

 

“Maybe ..in time…”

 

She just nodded then and after finishing her coffee she put the cup and saucer back on the tray. She watched him as he did the same, her hands folded in her lap, her face quiet, like a child awaiting a story, waiting for him to say something..

 

“Well, anyway..” he paused, brushed aside a crumb from his vest, “I guess I had better go. I had intended to see Mary Ann of course, but she had just arrived at the Ponderosa for ..I take it…school.” he smiled, as though it was amusing, and she smiled and rose to her feet

 

“Yes she looks after the childrens education when they can’t get in to school. She was a school teacher before she married Joe.”

 

He laughed then, a good natured relaxed laugh “Something little brother and I had in common…dislike of teachers…”

 

“No wonder he holds you in such high esteem, Clay…you always have been his hero, you know” and she smiled in a way that was kindly, gentle…

 

“I’ve never been anyone’s hero, Miss Olivia.”

 

“Well, you know, heroes come in all different shapes and sizes …” she walked with him to the door and took his hat, held it out to him, “Not all of them are larger than life, but they all need some form of recognition..” she opened the door for him to step out “Don’t you agree?”

 

He didn’t answer to that, not sure exactly what answer to give but then he nodded, smiled and bade her farewell.

 

He was aware of her watching him as he walked across the puddled yard to his horse, when he was in the saddle and had swung the horse round to walk away from the buildings he glanced at the door …it was closed. She was not there waving him farewell.

Chapter 55 The sun shone warmly that day….it caressed those working on the road, clearing away the rubble and the boulders. It seemed a never ending task to the men working so hard on making the track accessible to and from town again.
The sun also bathed those working on the old track that Adam and the men were forming into a safe passage that would take those from the Ponderosa to the main track into town. Each man there sweated profusely at their tasks but glad that they were seeing results from their labours and grateful indeed that the sun was benevolent rather than being the scorching heat from a few days earlier Ezra had picked his way through the trees and the areas where no trees existed. He knew the way like the back of his hand having travelled it for many years when on his trips into town. There were myriads of ways one could go from the Ponderosa to the other settlements, to the town, to the road leading to Lake Tahoe and to Carson City. He rode into the yard of Adams home only a short time after Clay had left . By checking the time by the sun he knew that it would not be long before Reuben would be back from the main house. He liked the boy. Years back along Ezra had had two sons, but both had been killed in an Indian raid ..he had found their remains, it had broken him. It was the Cartwright’s that had found him, wandering drunkenly around the embryonic town and brought him to the Ponderosa to work .. and to heal. He had healed to some extent, but some parts of him were still locked away, a dark room where his memories lurked . So yes, he liked Reuben…he knew in time he would like Nathaniel as well, and the other young uns, but for now it was Reuben for whom he felt affection so when the boy finally rode into view Ezra was there, a big smile on his face, nodding a greeting and holding a slip of white paper between his fingers. “I got somethin’ fer ya…” he said as he stepped over the puddles to where Reuben was dismounting from Max. “A letter? Really?” the boys eyes widened, and he hurried over to Ezra so that they met half way and he put out his hand “From Davy?” Ezra nodded and placed the paper in the boys hand “Came right on up to me, he did…big smile on his face… said to give this to you soon as I got back to the Ponderosa.” he nodded at almost every word as though to emphasise what had happened in town just hours previous. “Smiling did you say?” Reuben asked glancing up at the old man and then back down at the letter “He’s alright then? “ “He was a-grinning from ear to ear…said to tell your Pa thanks again, said he would know what fer…” Reuben laughed and nodded, “Thanks Ezra,” He stepped back now, turned to walk back to his task in the stable, pleased at the boys reaction. Boys should be happy, and they should have friends who made them happy too. He nodded to himself, the boy had not been happy when there had been no reply to his letters to that Davy in town, there had been no spring in his step either not like now..and he smiled, pleased that he had been able to play his part in making Reuben happy again.
Reuben did not mind going to have the lessons at the house. He liked his Aunt Mary Ann, she was a good teacher, patient not like some at school. His Aunt had explained that it was easy to be patient with so few students, a whole class room of maybe 20 children made it much harder and far more tiring. He understood that, of course he did, he was not stupid, but even so it would have made school days far pleasanter if some teachers were as patient as her. Olivia was arranging flowers in a vase when he stepped into the main room and gave him a quick smile. Her mind was still on the visit from Clay, trying to work out the reason for the visit, suspicious of his motives. At the same time she was a little ashamed of herself for thinking he had bad motives, of examining and picking through their conversation. But now that Reuben was home it broke the mood, and seeing the smile on his face banished it completely “What have you there? A letter?” she set the vase down in its place on the table, and walked slowly towards him, wiping her hands on her apron and the smile on her face reaching her eyes making them twinkle at him “Ezra just brought it …from Davy,” and he raised it like a trophy, high in the air and waved it about for good measure. She nodded and said she would get him some lemonade and some cookies, and left him to calm down, and read his long awaited letter. 

Chapter 55 The sun shone warmly that day….it caressed those working on the road, clearing away the rubble and the boulders. It seemed a never ending task to the men working so hard on making the track accessible to and from town again.
The sun also bathed those working on the old track that Adam and the men were forming into a safe passage that would take those from the Ponderosa to the main track into town. Each man there sweated profusely at their tasks but glad that they were seeing results from their labours and grateful indeed that the sun was benevolent rather than being the scorching heat from a few days earlier Ezra had picked his way through the trees and the areas where no trees existed. He knew the way like the back of his hand having travelled it for many years when on his trips into town. There were myriads of ways one could go from the Ponderosa to the other settlements, to the town, to the road leading to Lake Tahoe and to Carson City. He rode into the yard of Adams home only a short time after Clay had left . By checking the time by the sun he knew that it would not be long before Reuben would be back from the main house. He liked the boy. Years back along Ezra had had two sons, but both had been killed in an Indian raid ..he had found their remains, it had broken him. It was the Cartwright’s that had found him, wandering drunkenly around the embryonic town and brought him to the Ponderosa to work .. and to heal. He had healed to some extent, but some parts of him were still locked away, a dark room where his memories lurked . So yes, he liked Reuben…he knew in time he would like Nathaniel as well, and the other young uns, but for now it was Reuben for whom he felt affection so when the boy finally rode into view Ezra was there, a big smile on his face, nodding a greeting and holding a slip of white paper between his fingers. “I got somethin’ fer ya…” he said as he stepped over the puddles to where Reuben was dismounting from Max. “A letter? Really?” the boys eyes widened, and he hurried over to Ezra so that they met half way and he put out his hand “From Davy?” Ezra nodded and placed the paper in the boys hand “Came right on up to me, he did…big smile on his face… said to give this to you soon as I got back to the Ponderosa.” he nodded at almost every word as though to emphasise what had happened in town just hours previous. “Smiling did you say?” Reuben asked glancing up at the old man and then back down at the letter “He’s alright then? “ “He was a-grinning from ear to ear…said to tell your Pa thanks again, said he would know what fer…” Reuben laughed and nodded, “Thanks Ezra,” He stepped back now, turned to walk back to his task in the stable, pleased at the boys reaction. Boys should be happy, and they should have friends who made them happy too. He nodded to himself, the boy had not been happy when there had been no reply to his letters to that Davy in town, there had been no spring in his step either not like now..and he smiled, pleased that he had been able to play his part in making Reuben happy again.
Reuben did not mind going to have the lessons at the house. He liked his Aunt Mary Ann, she was a good teacher, patient not like some at school. His Aunt had explained that it was easy to be patient with so few students, a whole class room of maybe 20 children made it much harder and far more tiring. He understood that, of course he did, he was not stupid, but even so it would have made school days far pleasanter if some teachers were as patient as her. Olivia was arranging flowers in a vase when he stepped into the main room and gave him a quick smile. Her mind was still on the visit from Clay, trying to work out the reason for the visit, suspicious of his motives. At the same time she was a little ashamed of herself for thinking he had bad motives, of examining and picking through their conversation. But now that Reuben was home it broke the mood, and seeing the smile on his face banished it completely “What have you there? A letter?” she set the vase down in its place on the table, and walked slowly towards him, wiping her hands on her apron and the smile on her face reaching her eyes making them twinkle at him “Ezra just brought it …from Davy,” and he raised it like a trophy, high in the air and waved it about for good measure. She nodded and said she would get him some lemonade and some cookies, and left him to calm down, and read his long awaited letter. He sat down and opened it, slowly, as though anything bad in it could fall out and leave only the best bits behind….and there it was, in Davy’s spiky hurried writing that Mr Evans said was like a 5 year old childs..perhaps so, but who cared, Reuben certainly did not. Hi Reuben .. did your Pa tell you…I got Bella back. Well, kind of back because she is living with Roy Coffee. Can’t bring her home my Pa might shoot her or worse, put her in a sack and throw her in the river. Thank you for your letters. I kept them all you know…read them over and over. I ain;t never written a letter before so hope this will be alright
Any way I spend time with Bella, and Roy…he’s alright is Roy… even if he did use to say he would lock me up in a cell and throw away the key…that was when he was a sheriff. Any way…the gang and Me… how about meeting up at the old shack by the big house like we used to? Tomorrow? Anytime after noon……. Davy Riley………………. Adam had not long been home when the sound of a horse trotting into the yard disturbed his conversation with his wife. They were standing in the kitchen, hand in hand, while she told him about the visit from Clay and how it had left her feeling confused as to what his motives could have been in visiting. Adam listened as he always did, that attentive look in his eyes, his fingers warm as they held hers prisoner within them. From the other room came the sounds of the children, Nathaniel’s high pitched voice, laughter and Sofia’s girlish giggle. Reubens voice was beginning that transition from squeak to deep, something about which he was feeling embarrassed. He would find out the following day, of course, that he was not the only one suffering the same But the knock on the door and then it opening and the cries of “Gran’pa” ending the conversation, and the laughter, as Ben closed the door behind him and despite Nathaniel and Sofia wrapping themselves around him he called out “Anyone home…” which made the children laugh as he had anticipated. He removed his hat and along with Nathaniel whom he swung up in the air ..not too high, the boy was getting heavier and Ben’s back was not as strong as it once was…Sofia announced in her lilt of a voice that Ma and Pa were in the kitchen But Ben only had time to nod and then smile in the direction of his son and daughter in law as they came into the main room to meet him..enquiries about the road, how was it going? Hoss came home earlier looking exhausted, what exactly was Adam getting him to do…? That comment got a chuckle from his eldest son who asked how Joe was and Ben had just shrugged and said he would not know but Mary Ann had assured them all that afternoon that Joe’s team would have the track cleared town before the week ended. “You’ll beat that won’t you, Pa?” Reuben declared loyally and Sofia nodded emphatically as though the very thought of her Pa not getting his roadway cleared by the weeks end was ‘ridiculous.’…her latest favourite word. “It will take as long as it takes..” Adam replied and looked at his father thoughtfully, “You alright Pa?” “I wanted to have a few minutes of your time, Adam…” and his eyes slanted towards the door to the office which was his way of indicating he wanted private time and Adam’s heart sunk as he recalled the last time he had a private chat with Ben, and the subject of course, currently still in his mind…Clay Stafford! “I’ll see if the coffee is ready…” Olivia said immediately and returned to the kitchen where she looked over at Chen and rolled her eyes Adam closed the study door and sat down in the chair behind the desk, while Ben selected the well padded chair he preferred to use when visiting Adam ..he slowly withdrew the letter he had received and handed it over, or rather, placed it upon the desk for Adam to pick up. Adam glanced at the envelope and raised his eyebrows “Chicago?” and then he sniffed the paper before reading it. “Perfumed. Definitely a woman.” he sighed and read through each word, then re-folded the letter and put it back in the envelope. “Well, Pa…seems she is getting impatient and we can’t kid ourselves that she is far away in Australia any more.” Ben nodded and his brow creased into the familiar corrugations that Adam had seen so often in his life time….now that Ben had slightly less hair it seemed the furrows were more plentiful. “I take it your enquiries in town have not been particularly fruitful…” Ben said in his deep voice, a touch of irritation in each word “No…I don’t think Porter will be much help to be honest, Pa. He wants the matter between himself and Clay kept strictly within the family and all the details …well, more or less none of our business. Dan is still searching for information from Ballater….he’ll do what he can, he always does because he’s intrigued. Other than that …” he shrugged and looked at his father “What’s on your mind?” Ben leaned forward, almost conspiratorially “Who do we know in Chicago?” and he raised his eyebrows, still surprisingly black. Adam frowned and shook his head “No vengeful old ladies that’s for sure….” Ben shook his head and brought his hand down on he desk with a slap “’We Never Sleep’..the Pinkertons….” he smiled and leaned back, “I thought we should contact them , get them to work on this case..” “Pa, it isn’t a case…” Adam said quietly and trying to quell the rise of adrenalin he was getting from his fathers words…”This is a family matter and to take it to the Pinkertons will make it a messy situation all round.” “You forgotten what those newspaper cuttings said? It’s already a messy situation…” the furrows in his brow deepened “Joe and Hoss don’t know anything about it yet…they should be given the chance to know the details…get their point of view on it…” “If I recall rightly you and Hoss were quick enough to go outside the family perimeters when Clay first appeared here….” “True..and it was unfair of us to have done so…but this is different, Pa. Pinkertons involvement could be like lighting a fuse to a powder keg.” “And what would you suggest we do…sit here and wait…” “Wait for what? Some dire disclosure from some vengeful woman ? “ “We’ve already got disclosures a-plenty from her, Adam…don’t you see…” he paused at the knock on the door and it opened for Olivia to bring in coffee on a tray which she set down on the desk. She could see both men were tense, perhaps more than tense…Ben was obviously angry, their was a vein throbbing in his temple and his fingers were clenched into fists…fighting mode. She glanced at Adam who sat there tense, but a look of bemusement on his face. She cleared her throat “Did Adam tell you I had a visit from Clay today, Pa?” she smiled, the dimple by her mouth flashed, her eyes twinkled. Ben glanced at Adam, reproach and anger on his face “No, he didn’t…” “Hadn’t a chance to mention it..” Adam muttered and picked up his cup, inhaled the aroma and smiled at his wife “Thank you, Livvy.” and whether it was thanks for the coffee or the information she had dropped into Ben’s lap she was not sure. “Why did he come here then?” Ben frowned, eyes darting from one to the other of them “Just to see how we had survived the flood…he had intended to go to see Mary Ann but realised it was school time ..so came here instead.” Neither man said a word, Ben scowled and Adam sighed…both drank their coffee and Olivia left the room. Adam broke the silence by leaning forward and looking at his father with a softening look on his face, he smiled “Pinkertons is the wrong direction, Pa. It could damage our relationship with Clay ..and with Joe…beyond repair whether they find something or not that may be considered important regarding Clay’s past.” Ben frowned, his face went a little pink but finally he nodded and asked Adam for any further suggestions…Adam nodded, and tapped the letter on his desk..the letter some woman in Chicago had penned some time ago in her quest for revenge.. “I think all this should go to where it belongs…” “What do you mean?” “I think we – you or I – should take all this to Clay and dump it on him. It’s his responsibility, he should deal with it himself.”

Chapter 56

The clock ticked away the seconds as the two men sat on opposite sides of the desk, drinking their coffee, waiting for the other to speak. Ben finally shook his head in disagreement

“No, I think Pinkerton’s should look into the matter, find this woman and get to the bottom of this whole sorry mess.”

“Well, that’s one way of looking at the problem, but it won’t solve it. May make things more difficult ..”

“What do you mean by that?” Ben retorted, just loud enough for Adam to accept that his father was building up his anger, and could erupt at the next wrong word. A vein in Ben’s temple was throbbing ..another warning sign.

“I’m meaning that if this is not handled right, it could – could – cause problems with Joe..and with Clay also…”

“Thunderation, Adam…” Ben rose to his feet immediately, and leaned forward towards his son, who stared blankly back at him “Don’t you think I have not thought about Joe with all this? I recall the last time we went digging into Clay’s history and ..”

“Time and water under the bridge, Pa. Clay left here of his own accord, and Joe recovered from that..and the next time Clay came …”

“I gave him land if you recall rightly. The least I could do for Marie’s son, the very least…” he frowned, and shook his head, sat down again and glared at the books lined up on the shelves behind Adam, “But it was not good enough, he had to go off and disappear again..now he comes back with all this baggage …”

“That’s exactly the point, Pa, it’s all his baggage, and he should be responsible for bearing the load.” Adam leaned forward slightly, angling his body so that his father could see that he was speaking out of concern, not for any other reason, “Look, maybe you should discuss this with Hoss and Joe…”

Ben snorted and shook his head “Then Clay will think there was a family conspiracy against him..”

“Not necessarily. I doubt if anything Joe read in those papers would change his opinion about his brother and Hoss will be open minded about it as he always is…” he looked earnestly at Ben now, his brown eyes darker and his brow furrowed, “Apart from which, Pa, Clay has every right to know what is happening, and we need to make sure that we can’t be accused of meddling in things about which we have no right to know anything about anyway.”

“As family we have every right…..” Ben muttered, a low growl of defused anger

“If we had any rights at all then Clay would have discussed it with us himself by now…if you give him the documents you give him the opportunity to bring it out into the open, to talk it over with you. Pa, he’s a middle aged man now, not the young man who came here all those years back…he needs to know that someone, somewhere, is looking to take some form of revenge on him…he needs to know that, and he needs to know, that as family, we will do what we can to help, so long as it is lawful…”

Ben exhaled a deep sigh, bowed his head and stared at the letter still on the desk close by Adams hand. He nodded

“I guess you’re right. I prefer to leave Joe and Hoss out of this for now….see if Clay mentions it to them at all..at least, to Joe. Shall you go in and see him about this?” he leaned over and picked up the letter, refolded it and put it in his pocket

“I think it would be better coming from you, Pa. You are his step father after all..and that’s something he’s lacked all his life, a strong caring father.” and if he stressed the word caring it was with the hope that Ben would not end his discussion with Clay in a shouting match.

Another long sigh from Ben as he rose to his feet, he shook his head in silence before turning to leave the room. As he opened the door he turned and asked Adam how he was getting on with the project of the road, which he had initially considered a waste of time and money.

“It’s coming along well…Bill Enders did us a favour using that track, its a good straight road from our land to the main road to town…cuts down on time as you know…” he gave a slight grin, after all that was the whole point behind Bill using the track in the first place. “Leveled out, widened out, the ladies can use the rigs to town and get there much sooner, same with the children going to school, it could help a lot during the winter.”

“Hmm” was the only answer he got from Ben before he bade his son good day by a curt nod of the head.

Adam sighed, he wondered if he had won the battle but lost the war this time…it would not be the first and he doubted if it would be the last time they would lock horns but he felt decidedly uncomfortable about the fact that Clay was involved in this particular tussle.

……………………

Daniel deQuille was feeling decidedly in need of a drink. It often came on him, after all he had been an alcoholic for years and struggled mightily to stay on the wagon. It had been gratifying to have Dr Colby …in a similar position …as a stalwart to back him up when he flagged, but there were times when his need bordered on desperation.

He struggled now with his inner demons, but the struggle was not sufficient for his feet were leading him in the direction of the Sazarac, always his saloon of preference. He had not actually reached the doors when he heard his name being called and turned to find Eddie calling to him from the Mail and Telegraph Depot.

“Jest this minute came for you, Mr deQuille…” and with his customary wide smile Eddie handed over the two envelopes and placed them into Dan’s hand.

Dan looked at them and frowned, sighed, paid Eddie the amount due and watched as the man closed the depot doors behind him. Now he looked at the two envelopes in his hand and wondered whether to return to his office to read through them or open them in the saloon. He swallowed hard, a gulp, and continued on through the doors of the saloon.

As the wing bats swung back and forth behind him Dan looked around to see who was there, perhaps James Colby would be which meant a cup of coffee, or a glass of lemonade. Anyone else then…perhaps a single whiskey followed by a long cool beer.

Sol saw the newspaperman lingering by the entrance way. He knew Dan’s story from of old, and he also remembered that Dan’s employers had warned him to stay on the wagon because if he were to fall off again.. he would lose his job permanently. He nodded over to Dan who nodded back and made a beeline for the bar.

“I’ve got a fresh jug of coffee, Mr deQuille. Just waiting for you…” and Sol grinned widely, although his eyes were kindly. He knew how hard it was to fight against the demon drink, he fought the battle himself every day of his life. He often said seeing so many folk making fools of themselves when drunk helped him stay sober; he knew it would not work for everyone but it worked for him.

Dan leaned against the counter and sighed “How about pouring me an Irish…coffee with a dash of whiskey and a little cream.”

Sol shook his head “Sorry, Mr deQuille, we ran out of cream …here you are though, a good strong coffee..” and he brought out the cup and saucer, the jug of coffee and placed them on the counter.

Then he gave Dan that long look that meant Dan had no other choice but to take the coffee …

After a while of sitting at the corner table he preferred, Dan remembered the envelopes and opened them . A casual look at first. He drank his coffee, took another look. Blinked and coughed to clear his throat….his contacts in Ballarat and Melbourne had come through with some information that was equivalent to a gold mine in scoops….

“‘Evening , Dan….good to see you here.”

Daniel looked up and forced a smile “Evening, Clay…how’s business?” and as casually as possible his fingers curled over the papers and folded them over, slipped them back into his pocket.

Clay pulled out a chair and sat down. He beckoned to Sol and asked for a cup of coffee to be brought to the table. He waited for it to arrive and then smiled at Dan, nodded as though they were great friends

“I found your Obituary for Derwent Jessop very touching, Dan. A fine young man by all I’ve heard, and of course, read in your news article.”

“Yes, he was..the best in the family that’s for sure.”

“That freak storm…caused a lot of harm.” Clay stirred the coffee, round and round went the spoon, causing a little whirlpool in the centre of the cup of steaming liquid.

“We came off lightly compared to Genoa and Bodie…some places were flattened out.” Dan sipped some coffee, dabbed at his mustache and then remembered the news he had just received..he looked up at Clay “You ever have storms like that in ..what was the place..Ballarat?”

Clay did not answer right away, he sipped at the coffee a while with his eyes on the door as though to check on who was coming in, as though that were more important…then he seemed to give himself a mental shake and looked at Dan, put the cup back onto the saucer

“Must admit Ballarat seems ..is …a mighty long way from here. “ he leaned back in his chair “You’d like it there, probably do well too…it’s a big city, lots of news you could pick up to write about…far more interesting than this back water.”

“That what you reckon Virginia City is…just a back water?”

“That’s what it’s becoming … “ Clay sighed as though he took it as a personal disappointment

and brushed off some dust from the front of his jacket. “Nothing like the place I recall when I first came here…”

“Yeah…I remember that time, you and Joe Cartwright were in here a lot of time…”

“As were you, as were you…..” Clay grinned and for an instant Dan really disliked the man and had a strong urge to tell him what he had just found out about him from his contact back in Australia. He lowered his gaze and concentrated on drinking his coffee, refilling the cup from the jug, and grateful for the fact that he had not broken his vow to stay temperate.

He tended to say too much when under the influence…….and he preferred to share this information with Adam Cartwright, rather than Clay Stafford.

“Joe was a young whipper snapper back then…calmed down a lot over the years…” Dan murmured, the rim of the cup close to his lips.

“Yep, he sure was that…calmed down a lot since then.. that’s what marriage does for you, huh?” Clay emptied his cup and glanced over as the doors swung open, and Ben Cartwright stepped into the saloon “Looks like we are being well blessed this evening, Dan…” he raised a hand to get Ben’s attention.

Ben frowned, removed his hat and looked from Dan to Clay. It seemed to him that Dan looked uncomfortable, whereas Clay looked extremely confident, a true bon vivier…he nodded over at Clay and then turned to Sol, and ordered a glass of beer.

He was counting out the coins to pay for the drink when he felt a tug on his sleeve, and turned to see Dan there, nodding at him and a decidedly false smile on his face.

“You alright, Dan?”

“I need to speak to you, Ben…”

“Sure..but later if that’s alright with you…”

“No, no…not later…I’d really appreciate it if you came outside with me now.”

“What’s this about Dan? Is it serious…are you in trouble of some kind?”

Dan heaved in a breath, why did people have to fuss about when immediate action is required. All he wanted was for Ben to leave the saloon with him….now..without Clay Stafford being anywhere near.

 As it happened Clay had been collared by the Sheriff, Nate Carney, and there was some deep conversation taking place between them. Dan could see the look in Ben’s face…he wanted to drink his beer, he wanted to have a chat with whoever, he wanted peace and quiet…but he also knew that Ben needed to have the information Dan possessed in those envelopes.

 

 He really did…….

Chapter 57

The sound of laughter, shouts of some men and the trilling voices of some of the girls…glasses clinking, the piano tinkling..familiar sounds of the saloon seemed to fade and then rush in as though over loud. Dan shook his head, muttered something under his breath and put out a hand to grasp at Ben’s arm when someone leaned in towards him, and he watched as Clay draped an arm across Ben’s shoulders and gave the old man a hug, just as a fond step son would, or so it appeared

“You two look mighty serious..” Clay said a big grin stretched across his face, “C’mon now, no glum faces allowed at the Sazarac. Dan, there’s a big game about to start …would have thought you’d be there right now! Ben… how about a double whiskey, on the house…?”

Such affability. Dan squirmed a little inside, looked at Ben who appeared totally confused, then slanted his eyes towards the corner of the room where several men were already dealing out the cards. He shook his head, tried to catch Ben’s eyes but failed to do so, as the rancher was being led towards the counter and Clay was ordering him a drink.

Well, perhaps it was for the best. Dan concluded as he stepped out of the building and into the fresh warm air, perhaps Ben was not the right Cartwright to share the information with anyway. With a shrug of the shoulders he left the saloon and walked towards the livery where he kept his horse and buggy. It did not take long for Anderson to have it ready for him, and as he rode past the Sazarac and left the noise and the shouts and the laughter behind him he wondered what Adam Cartwrights reaction would be to the information he was about to hand over to him.

Clay led Ben towards a vacant table and nodded towards a chair while he settled into one opposite, then he raised his glass and gave Ben a warm smile

“It’s good to see you here, Ben. How are things with you all over there on the Ponderosa?”

“I thought you knew, Clay. Didn’t you visit Olivia earlier?” Ben eased his shoulders, riding through to town without the benefit of a decent road, threading his way along around boulders, shrubs and who knew what, took its toll on his bones . He would be glad when Adam, or Joe, had a proper road laid out again.

“I did….well, I had intended to see Mary Ann and the children but Ezra told me she taught school in the afternoons. It seemed the right thing to do to make sure my – family – were safe after all that flooding and such.” he leaned back into the chair, one arm lazily draped over it, and the smile still fixed to his face, his eyes were in shadow so Ben could not see if the smile actually reached that high.

“Well, as you saw, we came out of it relatively unharmed….the track into town though. . That’s messed up.”

“The Town Council got men working on that as soon as they could…all credit to them…. and with Joe and his team working at it from the other side, should soon be clear.”

Ben nodded, and took a sip of the whiskey, licked his lips and nodded again, this time in approval of the drink, obviously one of the best Clay had in stock, reserved for special visitors.

Clay watched him carefully, then glanced around him before asking if Ben had come alone, as he saw no sign of Joe or Adam anywhere.

“No, I came alone. I actually needed to talk to you…” Ben paused as one of the girls came to them, draped an arm across Clays shoulder and leaned towards Ben

“Long time since we saw you here, Ben….how is everyone on the Ponderosa?” she smiled, her painted lips a vivid red pout, and her yellow curled hair falling over one shoulder . She had known Ben and his sons since she was at school with Joe, and here she was still working at the saloon, glad of the extra tips some men passed on to her to take home to her boys, while her husband drank his wages away at the Bucket of Blood every evening.

“Everyone’s fine, Tilda…how are your boys?”

“Growing. Taller than me now…” she sighed and smiled, and sensing that her presence was not welcome she trailed away to find someone who would appreciate some female company.

“You were saying?” Clay asked as he pushed his glass back and forth before picking it up again to swallow down more

“Can we go somewhere private, Clay? Your office perhaps?”

Clay raised his eyebrows, glanced around the room and then stood up, nodded and led the way to his office, taking his drink along with him.

Ben followed, and as he did so he thought that had he not known better he could well have thought he was following behind Joe, there was such a similarity in build, the way they walked, the width in the shoulders…he sighed and shook his head, and for a moment wished that Clay Stafford had stayed with them that first time he arrived ..the first time Joe knew he had another half brother. But as soon as he thought that, the thought came that he wished Clay had never existed

Clay pushed open the door to his office and swept his arm out as though to usher Ben into the room. He chose not to sit behind the desk, but took a seat on one of the arm chairs positioned on one side of the fireplace, Ben took the one opposite. Neither man spoke, Clay stared at the floor, then raised his eyes to look at his step father, shrugged

“So what is this all about, Ben…you’re looking a mite too serious for my liking.”

“Yes.. well..it is serious.” Ben frowned, he had rehearsed what to say all the way to town, first he would say this, or that, but now, now that the time had arrived, he found the words got stuck in his throat. He took a sip of the whiskey before setting down the glass on the low table, then he pulled out some papers from his jacket pocket, glanced down at them

“Some while back I received this letter…” he handed the very first letter over to Clay and waited a while for the younger man to read through it, “It came with a package that contained …well, it contained news cuttings, witness statements, all manner of accusation about you and the things you had done …it amounted to quite a pile of paper. Accounts about you from years ago ..until quite recently..in Ballarat.”

Clay re-read the letter, his lips were dry, he ran his tongue over them and then picked up his drink to swallow some down… licked his lips again then he looked over at Ben, a frown on his face,

“When did you say this came?”

“Some time back….I did bring it along to discuss with you at the time but you were not here..and I could not very well leave it on your desk. Then I thought ..we thought to leave it awhile…”

“We? Whose we? Joe?”

“No, – Adam.”

“And does Joe know about these so called allegations?”

“No…only Adam and myself.”

“Why did you tell Adam? Does he know everything that has been sent to you? Do you know who it was – is – who sent it along>”

“We think it’s a woman…and I received this ..” he handed over the letter and watched as Clay read it, “Do you recognise the writing?”

“No.” Clays voice trembled a little and his eyes were fixed to the letter “She’s in Chicago? Where did she write from previously?”

“Australia.”

“And you and Adam have known about this for some weeks now?”

“We’ve read the contents of the package, knowing about what it is all about is another thing altogether…”

“What am I accused of?” he handed both letters over to Ben , his voice firmer now, his eyes darker and lips thin.

“All manner of things..among them murder…”

Clay shot upright, and colour suffused his face, he shook his head

“I never murdered anyone..never..never..” he got to his feet, his body taut now with anger as he turned to Ben “And you…you and Adam..you had no right to keep this from me, you should have consulted with me as soon as you got the first letter…you and your games, huh…takes me back to when I first came, and you had to make your back ground checks on me then..”

“For obvious reasons..” Ben said in what he hoped were conciliatory tones, “You understood and accepted it at the time…if you recall rightly…”

Clay drew in his breath, shook his head, and his fingers curled into fists “And what did you both do? Consult folk, sneak around looking for information to back up this stupid womans fantasies.”

“Newspaper cuttings make it more than fantasies, Clay…she hired detectives, to check into what you did in various locations, even during your war experiences….”

The colour now drained from Clays face, he shivered as though cold, but sweat beaded his brow, and he shook his head while his eyes stared into nothing, at the far off wall…

“So why come to me now?” he said quietly, not quite a whisper but anger still lacing the words.

“To coin a phrase…its your problem its best for you to deal with it.” Ben frowned, stood up and reached out a hand to rest on Clays arm, the other man flinched aside as though Ben’s touch would have burned him “As I said I brought everything here when I first received it, before Adam knew about it…but time slipped by, life is busy and other things ..were more important than accusation by some crazy woman…it was getting the last letter that prompted me to bring the matter to your attention.”

“Do you have the package with you now?” Clay asked, his eyes still staring into space

“No, it’s locked up in the safe at the ranch. I thought it better to come here without it, and if you wanted to, you could ride over and check it out at your convenience.”

“At my convenience?” Clay said slowly, a tinge of sarcasm in his words “From this letter it seems the lady is in a bit of hurry to get this matter sorted out. What exactly did she expect from you?” he turned to face Ben now, his face calm, hazel eye sparking, he raised his eyebrows “Did she suggest you shot me? Got me arrested and put on trial? What exactly?”

“She just wanted justice…in her opinion its been a long time coming.”

Clay sat down, bowed his head and for a moment said nothing, when he did speak his voice was deep, almost monotone “What did you and – Adam – think of me when you read those accusations? The lowest of the low? Wondered why I had come back ….again…?”

“I think we were more concerned about the writer…we think we know you well enough not to judge you, although the tenure of the information leads us to think of someone , well, someone we may not know as well as we thought….there were a lot of questions hanging in the air, so to speak, that only you could answer…” he paused and frowned “I think we wanted to forget all about it, rather childishly, hoped it would go away of its own accord.”

“And yet…yet..you don’t really know me do you? I’ve drifted into your life ..two..three times..how well can you say you know me? I’m Marie’s son, and yet…I’m no one’s son…at the end of the day..you don;t really know me at all, do you?””

Ben swallowed the lump in his throat, nodded “No, we don’t, and sometimes one can’t always rely on instinct, gut feelings…not when so much evidence arrives to raise questions.”

Clay nodded, and turned to look at Ben and nodded again “Yes, I can understand that…” he

squared his shoulders just as Joe would have done, raised his chin “Would it be alright if I came to see you tomorrow morning?”

“I’ll be waiting ..”

“Just you and I, Ben….I don’t want Adam there…”

Ben frowned, then nodded “He’ll be busy working on the road…he won’t be there…”

Clay nodded, heaved in a sigh “Was there any mention of ..Ballarat?”

“Yes.”

“I see….” Clay nodded once more, “I’ll see you tomorrow then….”

Bens turn to nod, he extended his hand towards Clay but it was ignored, Clay turned his back on him, so Ben bade him good day and left the room.

Alone now, Clay slowly sunk back down onto the chair, and buried his face in his hands, he drew in a deep breath, shivered. Then he reached for his glass and swallowed its contents in one gulp, before throwing it against the far wall.. the sound of its smashing against the hearth was almost satisfying.

Chapter 58

Ethan Burns took his duties seriously, especially when the time came for the early evening patrol around town. He now knew which alley ways provided the most danger during the late evening patrols so always made sure to check them out before then…he appreciated the fact that Nate would take on the responsibility of those particular areas and never left his deputies alone to do them.

But at this time of the day when the evening was in the glimmer stages it was quite pleasant to stroll around town, down those alleyways, rattle those doors and peek around corners to ensure the safety of Virginia City citizens. At Rileys workshop he still gave the door an extra loud knocking and would ask if everything was going well..for Davy’s sake really. Ethan never forgot that promise he had made the boy and even if he felt it was not doing much good, Ethan was still determined to follow through on his promise. It put Riley on notice that the Deputy was still ensuring the boys safety, and reassured Davy that there was someone in town who cared… sadly the Deputy could not see through walls, especially during the past few weeks when life had been particularly hard for the boy. However, he could only do what he could do, and that was to keep that promise.

He paused now at the sound of a buggy approaching and turned to see Daniel deQuille in his rig, the horse loping along with a jaunty bounce to its step, the vehicle jouncing over the ruts and pot holes in the road while Daniel stared determinedly ahead of him

“Ho…Mr deQuille..everything alright there?”

Daniel pulled the horse to a stop and looked down at the Deputy, nodded “Yes, Deputy…and yourself?”

“Oh you know…can’t complain. Where you headed?” Ethan stretched out a hand to stroke the horse’s neck, and smiled up at the newspaperman whom he always thought to be a rather innocuous character really; rather like a relic from a bygone age … but then Ethan was young, and had never known what life had really been like when Daniel deQuille had been his age and ridden into the crazy world of gold hungry men and the big bonanza…..

“The Ponderosa…hoping to get there and back before mid-night…”

Ethan shook his head “Not riding that rig you won’t…there ain’t no road ready for vehicles to travel on just yet…Joe and Adam are still working on ’em…”

Daniel’s mouth dropped open, then he snapped it shut …of course, and he the newspaperman who claimed to have his finger on the pulse of what was happening locally…totally forgotten about that wretched road being cut off and whereas it was possible to access the Ponderosa ranch on horseback, there was no possibility of doing so in a vehicle, no matter what size. He shook his head and shrugged, cursed under his breath and then thanked Ethan for stopping him and saving him from wasting his time and energy on a futile journey.

“If its an urgent message I can ride on in and take it for you….” Ethan offered, and smiled, his hand still stroking the horses neck, just under its mane…”Or you could leave the rig back at the livery and ride on in …though it might be a bit risky just now, soon be dark…trying to track a path through the trees at this time of night …” he shook his head and grimaced.

Enough said. Daniel nodded and thanked Ethan again and slowly turned the horse and rig back in the direction of the livery. He chided himself for being so forgetful, but then …there was so much going on in his head, pure speculation a lot of it of course, nothing he could put in print. Not yet anyway.

Ethan stayed where he was for a while watching as the vehicle slowly disappeared into the shadows of the buildings that now stretched long and dark across the main street of town.

Half an hour later, just as he was about to cross the road to the Sheriff’s Office he heard the sound of a horse trotting towards him and it was Ben’s voice that called out greeting as he passed by him. Ethan raised a hand in salute and paused to watch the rancher as he made his way out of town. For some reason he did not consider Ben Cartwright a relic of past times, there was too much energy and strength in the man for anyone to even consider the fact..and he knew that Ben would thread his way through the trees and the boulder strewn empty stretches with no problem.

With a slight smile on his face Ethan pushed open the door of the office and nodded over at Nate who was writing up some report or other in a log book that no one would probably ever see.

Davy Riley had heard the rattle of the door of the workshop…his bedroom was right above it. He stayed awake every night waiting for that sound. Ethan did not know that, had he done so he would have been more than glad that he had kept up the habit…knowing that in some small measure the boy was safe, or at least, he hoped he was …

But the boy was sleeping now. Once he had heard the deputy’s boots stomping down on he planks of the old sidewalk he had turned over onto his side, felt secure, and drifted to sleep. Tonight he would dream of being with the gang, and Bella…and Reuben. He slept with a smile on his face, for the first time in some while.

Interesting how things were …a little boy content at last even if only for fleeting hours of his life. Dan deQuille feeling disgruntled and annoyed with himself as he made his way home having left the rig and horse at Ridleys Livery, and wishing he could have had some of that whiskey Clay had offered Ben…and Ben? Feeling unsettled, anxious, wondering whether to tell Adam of the latest developments with Clay or just ride straight on home..no, he was tired, irritated…bed called…..and Ethan, as he unbuckled his gun belt and set it down on the desk, poured himself some coffee, felt satisfied with life…the day was drawing to a close and he had protected Daniel deQuille from getting himself lost on the Ponderosa….

The door opened just as Ben had dismounted from Cinnamon. He looked over his shoulder and saw the outline of his eldest son framed in the doorway, the light from behind him glowing warm and inviting. He slowly walked over to enter the house, removing his hat as he did so. He was tired, decided to get this out of the way and then head for home

He cleared his throat, glanced around the room and looked questioningly at his son who closed the door to the porch behind him, and led the way into the living room

“It’s late, Pa…” an observation only, but Ben nodded anyway

“And you expected me to call by, I suppose.” Ben sighed and eased himself into a chair . Adan looked at him thoughtfully before he turned to the bureau and selected one of the decanters from to the Tantalus “Thanks…would appreciate something other than coffee..”

“So…” Adam brought over the two glasses, a measure of whiskey in both, “How did you get on? Did you see Clay?” he handed one glass to his father and then resumed his seat, cradling his own glass between his hands

“I did…” Ben sipped some of the whiskey, rolled it around his teeth before swallowing after which he sighed and nodded “Good vintage..” he said and sipped again

“And so?” Adam prompted, looking down at his glass and wondering if he would have preferred the brandy after all..

“It was not a long conversation…” Ben said slowly, sighed and took another sip which actually emptied the glass “He seemed more concerned that you knew about it…”

Adam nodded “Guess I would have felt the same had the roles been reversed…”

“He did not deny anything…nor acknowledge anything…but he is coming to see me in the morning, and -” he drew in a deep breath and set the glass down on the table, “I guess then we will find out more about it …although having said that he does not want you there.”

Adam paused a moment before replying then nodded “Again, I can understand that…” he swallowed some of the whiskey and then looked at his father “What was his reaction though…did he not show any curiousity or remorse or..anything”

“Not really. He’s a poker player Adam, let’s just say he wore his best poker face…but …” he frowned trying to recall just how Clay had reacted “He was initially shocked…yes, I think I could say that, shocked, dismayed…then he kind of buttoned up some…”

Adam nodded, and for a moment only the ticking of the clock broke the silence between them. Then Ben stood up, nodded at his son “Will you be working on the road again tomorrow?”

“Yes. Hope to get it finished by the end of the day.” he stood up and followed Ben to the door, Ben picked up his hat and as he put it on he sighed and shook his head

“This situation is a mess…I wish we had never seen that package…”

“Not much you could do about it, Pa, it was addressed to you..” Adam replied,a slight grin on his face, “Still, you may find it will resolve itself tomorrow.”

As Ben opened the front door, he shook his head “I don’t know, Adam…somehow I doubt it. “

he paused a while, standing there beside his son, shrugged “Nothing is ever straightforward with Clay, is it?”

“True…always more questions than answers it seems…”

Ben nodded in agreement to that, and stepped down into the yard, his son close behind him,

“He didn’t want Hoss and Joe…particularly Joe..to know anything about it..but somehow I think they are going to have to be told something…” he murmured and now shook his head, bade Adam good night and remounted into the saddle. A wave of the hand and then he was trotting his horse out of the yard, through the trees onto the track to his own home.. all the while Adam watched him until his father became just another shadow among the shadows and only the sound of the horses hooves gave any indication of his existence.

Finally he went back inside and closed the door. Thoughts of Joe and Hoss and their reactions to what ever Clay would disclose churning over and over in his mind…

He barred the door, extinguished the lamps, made his way up the stairs ..the day was finally drawing to a close …

Chapter 59

Clay had never really appreciated the beauty of riding through woodland when the sun was rising and the sky was laced with silver and gold. As the sun rose it sent shafts of light shimmering through the branches, gilding leaves and boughs with gold and silver light.

This morning so much weighed upon his mind. He struggled to see ahead as to how this discussion with Ben would evolve, and what information he was going to be shown. Obviously it was all negative. That, at least, he had been able to garner from the conversation he had had with his stepfather.

Clay recognized Ben as an honest man, and a man who still loved the memory of his third wife, Marie. As a poker player Clay knew he had to play with the cards he was dealt with, and going into this confrontation with Ben made him think he had been dealt a dud hand..except for the one Ace in his possession…and he decided to play on it to the full. Ben’s emotional attachment to Marie was like a violin that could still play a good tune.

The sun shone a bright shaft of light down upon the track Clay was taking onto the path to the Ponderosa. He drew in a deep breath and just for a second allowed the sun to shine upon him, to warm him, and make him feel that he could still come out the winner, no matter what Ben, or Adam, thought about it .

He could hear voices now and paused a while to locate where the sounds were coming from, some distance away as yet. Slowly walking the horse and threading the way through the undergrowth he looked down to where he could now see movement and again stopped the horse to watch and listen to what was going on.

“Right now, Hoss, do you think you can do this?” Adam’s voice, deep tones that carried with it the slightest hint of a chuckle

“Shucks, Adam, what’s the fussin’ fer…” words followed by a snort of derision.

“I’m betting on you to do it.” a mans’ voice, someone Clay did not know so he peered down from the incline to see more clearly what was happening.

He was overlooking the track upon which Adam and his ‘gang’ had been working on for days now. There were quite a number of men and Clay could see that there was a lot of chatter going on among them, also a lot of money being exchanged. He surmised that whatever Hoss was going to do was something of a challenge and the men were taking bets on whether or not he could do it. A man in a red plaid shirt raised a hand “Bet you can’t shift in in five minutes.”

“Make it four…” another yelled, waving some money above his head

“You gotta be kidding….he won’t shift that rock in ten minutes let alone 5..” another yelled.

Hoss spat into his hands and rubbed them together. He drew himself up to his full height and straightened his shoulders. Looking down from the cover of the trees and undergrowth Clay could really appreciate the size of the man, and his girth. He glanced along the track and then noticed the size of the rock that was clearly in the way and needed to be moved…that was huge too. Being a gambling man Clay immediately began to weigh up the odds and decided that it would indeed take at least ten minutes. He could see Adam’s face slightly, cast in shadow, but with an obvious smirk on his face as though he knew something no one else did…like the rock was just an illusion and would disappear in a puff of smoke, or perhaps made from papier mache and would crumple as soon as Hoss touched it.

The men were yelling now, urging Hoss to do it..get on with the job…odds were shouted out and Hoss nodded, spat again and rubbed his hands together, and then strode over to the rock.

Clay watched as he paced around it, touched it, pushed it, paced some more and then he leaned into the rock, arms embraced it and the contest was on…..the seconds ticked by. Adam had his watch in his hands and was obviously watching the minutes tick by, the men were silent as though all of them were holding their breaths and willing Hoss on ..pushing, shoving, rocking…

“Three minutes….” someone yelled and Adam looked up and shook his head, raised a finger to indicate the need for silence

Veins stood out on the big mans neck, his face was scarlet, sweat beaded and trickled down his face and splashed wet drops on the rock. His biceps bulged, veins in them as taut as cords. Everyone there was leaning forwards willing him on

The rock shifted, rocked, moved. The tension mounted…and then the rock shifted from the place it had been comfortably resting for who knew how many years and was rolled off and into the mass of rocks and boulders already strewn by the edge of the soon to be road to town.

A cheer mingled with groans…Clay watched the victors take the money from the losers…Hoss wiped his face with a red spotted handkerchief and Adam slapped him on the back and handed him a canteen of water. He must have congratulated his brother because Hoss grinned and nodded, shrugged. No big deal after all!

Clay resumed his journey and occasionally looked down the incline to observe the track that had been created by the men…it was wide and built up well. On future journeys he would no doubt be traveling on it and he wondered, with a wry smile, how well Joe was getting on with his gang on clearing the mess created by the landslide during the storm.

Thinking of the storm made Clay recall that he was about to head right into one…with a sigh he urged the horse onwards. Even though he dreaded what it was all about, he was ready for the challenge. He was a gambling man after all…he smiled just slightly, remembering his ace which was in actual fact..the Queen.

…………………

Daniel deQuille was frustrated which was often the case with him when deadlines were due, or he had a particularly good story he wanted to go to press but was restricted by other duties. He did have other responsibilities, he knew that, there were other things to write about, report upon,, find out for the presses to go to work on and his employers required from him.

Joseph Goodman* and Denis McCarthy owned the Territorial Enterprise, buying out the original owner in 1861. During that time William Wright and Samuel Clemens were employed becoming known as Daniel deQuille and Mark Twain. deQuille remained when Mark Twain left and continued under the watchful eye of Goodman who was Editor in Chief. Both he and McCarthy had decided that deQuille was a thundering nuisance when under the influence and it was they who had levied the order for him to ‘stay on the wagon’

But this story…the story of Clay Stafford..was burning his brain cells. He knew the contents of those envelopes, he knew there was something going on from Adam’s request for help in getting information, he knew Clay’s past history from his previous visits…but he did not know enough to made a first class editorial on him. But his employers had their rules and their standards and Dan knew he had to tuck Clays story into a ‘holding tray’ until later.

…………………

“Hester!” Olivia, more than pleased to see her sister in law, was also surprised at the early hour in which Hester and the children had appeared on her door step. Her smile of welcome was dampened by the scowl she was awarded and although the children scampered into the house full of excitement to see their cousins at such an hour. it was obvious Hester was not of the same mind.

“What’s happened?” Olivia promptly asked as Hester strode inside behind her brood, “Has ..is..”

“Ben told me to disappear for a few hours.” Hester replied, falling into the big arm chair and flopping her arms over the sides “He said it very nicely of course, but never the less..”

“Why?” Olivia asked now, and sat down in the chair opposite the other woman who was looking more than a little annoyed, with her hair more unkempt than usual “Is Ben ill?”

“Don’t get me started, Olivia..this is not a good day! Ben …” she drew in her breath “Ben has a visitor today, and they have confidential things to discuss.”

“Do you know who?” Olivia glanced over her shoulder to make sure the children were where they should be, Reuben she knew was busy getting Max groomed for his trip into town. She had a sneaking feeling she knew exactly who this guest would be… but she kept her eyes now fixed on Hester’s face

“Clay Stafford.” Hester snapped and looked so disgruntled that Olivia nearly laughed.

“Do you know what its all about?” she asked the irate woman

“No” she shook her head and then sat up straighter, as though realising she must have looked like a frazzled lump by slouching as she did in the chair, she sighed “If Ben is thinking of giving Clay more land…like he did last time…”

“Well if he does, there won’t be anything you or I could do about it. It’s Ben’s right of gift..so I’m told.”

“Do you know what it’s about then? Am I right? Is it about the land?” Hester drew in her breath and shook her head, several coils of red hair loosened from their pins and fell down her back, “I know Ben has the right to give away what he likes but he seems to forget – when its convenient – that his sons already have been promised land of their own…and by giving Clay some then Ben is cutting into the land already promised to Joe, Hoss and Adam..”

Olivia did not say anything. Hester sighed and shook her head again “That makes me sound like a greedy avaricious woman..with so much land I should not, nor have I the right, to complain about what Ben gives away…” she chewed on her bottom lip for a moment and stared at the far wall as though it would provide all the answers “It’s just ..that he would be giving it to Clay…again..and Clay has never done a thing towards deserving that land….” she once again shook her head, “Ben just sees Clay as Marie’s son, the hard done by first son….but mostly in Ben’s mind..Marie’s first born”

“He probably thinks its fair to give Clay something…” Olivia stammered, never really having thought about it before, she was content with what she had, her house and some acres around it. All the rest, all that vast beyond …it was just Ponderosa and on a scale of importance in her life, did not rate so highly as with some others.

“Yes, but Clay is not Ben’s son…is he?”

Olivia nodded, but said nothing. After some seconds had elapsed she stood up, and placed a gentle hand on Hesters shoulder “It’ll be alright. Hester. I’m sure Ben has what happened last time firmly in mind. It may not even have anything to do with that… “

………………..

Davy woke early. A bubble of excitement floated in the pit of his stomach as he thought of the day ahead. He decided that to keep his father in a good mood, if he was in one of course, he would go about some chores to help in the house before he went off to see Roy. The sun shone through the thin curtains of his room and scattered sunbeams over his bed, over him and he blinked, rubbed his eyes and stopped to think about his plans for that day…

For the first time in what seemed weeks he was going to resume his life…of course there was no school until Monday, but once he had done some chores, he had time with Roy and then he would take Bella out to meet the boys, and Reuben of course. He knew he could rely on Reuben being there.

He rolled out of bed and hurriedly dressed after splashing water over his face from the jug on the dresser. Then down the stairs to where his mother was preparing the food for breakfast. She looked at him anxiously and leaned in towards him as she passed him some bread and butter with a slab of cheese

“Your Pa’s in an odd mood, son. Take care on how you are around him…”

Davy nodded. Glanced over at the door as though expecting Riley to make some kind of grand entrance, then sat down at the table. A glass of buttermilk by his plate. He drank it all and began to eat the cheese and bread.

He finished his meal and stood up by the table, and was about to ask his mother what he could do to help her before he went out when the door opened and Riley stepped inside. He had been working on some poor dead soul, he smelled of his work..embalming fluid for one and it made Davy’s stomach turn. Riley stepped forward with a scowl etched on his face, a mean mouth closed tight across his yellowing teeth. His arm reached out and grabbed Davy by the collar, and when Davy wriggled to get away, to get free of him, he gripped tight hold of the boys ear causing the boy to give a yelp of pain

“So what do you plan to day then, Davy? You’ve been looking quite cheery these past few days, aint’cha? Wouldn’t have anything to do with visiting that old ex Sheriff of ours would it? “ he gave Davy a shake which caused more pain as the grip on his ear became tighter “Couldn’t be because the old fool has your dog there with him…” another shake and Davy gave a sobbing howl of pain and raised his hand to his ear in an attempt to dislodge his fathers fingers.

“What? Raise your hand to me would you? You ungrateful little …” and a string of words that he often used poured out of his trap of a mouth, while Davy clung to his fathers arm in an attempt to loosen the mans grip on his ear

Mrs Riley began to plead for him to stop, to let the boy go only to get a back hander from her husband that sent her reeling, causing the table to skid across the floor. Now a hand slapped Davy across the face, and then again…and again….

When he left the room Mrs Riley crawled across the floor to reach her son. She lifted his shoulders up and drew her into her arms, his head lolled upon her chest and for minutes she held him close, stroking back his hair, sobbing as she did so…then between sobs she began to sing the song she would sing to him when he was a baby. Rocking him back and forth as she sang

“Good evening, good night

Guarded by angels

Who show you in your dreams

The Christ child’s tree.

Sleep blissfully now and sweetly

See dreams of Paradise.” *

Cradle Song by Johannes Brahms

Chapter 60

Clocks chimed, tolled, the minutes that made up the hours of ones life with a constant warning that those minutes, those seconds, could never be recovered, never be relived, never be different to when an action was taken or a word was spoken. Whether one looked to the sun or the ‘ face on the wall’ its remorseless march continued onwards and few seemed to take time to think any more about it than it was as it was….tempus fugit!

Routines were the pathways made in the disciplines of a persons life. And disciplines enabled a person to direct his step in some way to his advantage but whether that was so or not, there would always be an accounting, in some manner, for some action, some word. Young or old time required that of a person…otherwise it would be just a waste ..of time!

Ethan Burns smiled as he stepped in the sunshine from the boarding house where he had spent breakfast with his landlady ..oh and a few other of her guests. Paula Lee Whitmore was becoming more of a friend than a landlady to him, he realised that and had the sense to also admit that the friendship was becoming very precious to him.

He had only gone a few paces down towards the Sheriff’s office when he heard shouting close by, and as he turned there was a gunshot, and then another. Someone screamed. He turned towards the sounds and saw Riley the Undertaker clutching at his shoulder, slowly falling to his knees, then sprawling face down in the path that led to Roy Coffee’s front door. Roy was standing there, at the doorway, a gun in his hand, a gun that still smoked.

A quick glance down at the man on the ground, who also held a gun in one hand, although it had fallen from his fingers as he fell. A furry four legged creature darted from the door and ran past Ethan and out into the side walk heading for the Undertakers house, and Roy was shouting, and as he was shouting he pushed past Ethan, and out of the yard and was chasing after the dog, gun still in hand.

A woman screamed, no doubt the same woman who had screamed earlier, so Ethan turned to her, as he was passing out of the gate “Get a doctor…”

He should have checked the victim of the shoot out, of course he should have done, but it would not have made much difference had he done so for it was obvious the man was dead. All Ethan could think of was the reason for it, for the gun fire, from Roy of all people.

He followed Roy, who followed the dog ..darting through the gateway to the Rileys property, and on through to the door which swung open. First the dog, then the old ex-sheriff, and then the deputy …hurrying through the house with one thought in mind…where was Davy, was he safe.

The dog was yapping as it disappeared into one room, and then it was quiet, emitting a low whine as it stood to look upon the scene before him. Roy followed, and Ethan so close behind the old man that he nearly knocked him off his feet.

Mrs Riley looked around and stared at them, red faced, her cheeks streaked with tears, her eyes so swollen she could not see clearly through the slits the crying had created. In her arms lay the boy, and he appeared to be fast asleep….Bella whined softly, and padded her way to wards the boy and settled down beside him, her head resting on his chest.

“Do you want to tell me what happened, Roy?” Ethan asked quietly and he placed a kindly hand on the old mans shoulder.

Roy said nothing, just nodded over at the weeping mother, the silent child and the dog. He sighed and looked down at the gun in his hand, shook his head “Do I have to say anything….” he asked the Deputy.

……………………………..

The old grandfather clock gave its customary hick-cough and then chimed the hour. Ben gave it a cursory glance and then turned to Hop Sing who was hovering near by, watching his friend with dark eyes, an anxious look on his face.

“Sounds like my visitor has arrived, Hop Sing. Perhaps you could prepare some coffee….” his voice was low, monotone and Hop Sing knew that this particular visitor was not truly welcome in the house, and the coming conversation was going to be may be short, may be long but no doubt, unpleasant.

Clay Stafford dismounted and led the horse to the water trough, and tied the reins to the corral bars for the animal to enjoy the cool water. He looked around him and paused, heaved in a deep breath. There were memories hovering in the back of his mind..the first time he came, riding in with Joe, an excited exuberant Little Joe, bursting to tell his father he had found his brother, the one no one mentioned…Clay heaved in a sigh, and forced himself to walk forwards, remembering how many emotions had been churning over and over inside himself that first time…

How was he going to handle this situation? He had been thinking of it all the way through from town, and yes, he knew he could play a few aces…but now, standing by the door, he recalled another man Frederic Kyle who had thought he had aces up his sleeve once upon a time. He drew in his breath again and forced himself to keep calm, to slow his heart beat…this was no worse than facing several professional card sharps back in Baton Rouge,or any other place he had been…he could beat Ben down, again. He had done it before…..

He knocked loudly and waited. He licked his lips surprised to find them dry. He remembered the last time he came, the whole mess with Kyle..and he knew that so far as Ben was concerned Marie’s first born was a liar, a cheat, a man with no scruples.

Ben opened the door and nodded, stepped aside for Clay to enter the room and as he stood there, turning his hat round and round in his hands, he remembered how he would at one time have tossed it on a peg along with the others there, part of the family. He realised Ben was talking and had to turn off his thoughts and pay attention

“I said would you like some coffee, Clay?”

“Yes,” Clay nodded and finally settled the hat on the bureau “Thank you.” he heard Ben call out to Hop Sing and looked around the room. “Hester not here?”

“No. I didn’t want her overhearing anything or the children being noisy and disturbing us.”

Clay nodded, drew in his breath. He looked over at the study area but Ben shook his head, and indicated a chair by the low table upon which was placed a large brown envelope.

“I thought it would be more comfortable here…” Ben had not smiled at all, but this time he did so, although his eyes were still like black rocks “More relaxed.”

Clay nodded and settled back into the chair while Ben took the chair opposite him. Clays eyes flicked around the room, without the distractions that had been present on his previous visits he could now see there were some differences to the look of the house. It seemed newer, lighter, of course a woman’s touch was evident…he leaned back and mentally flexed his fingers, ready for Ben to deal out the ‘cards’

Ben emptied the package onto the table, and tossed the empty envelope aside. Then he began to separate the contents into four piles, some deeper than others, some larger than others…Clay mentally labelled them…Hearts, Clubs, Spades and Diamonds.

“It may be best for you to just select whichever pile you prefer…read through and give me your opinion, or impression…even perhaps, an explanation…”

Clay frowned, and picked up the first pile…Hop Sing came and put down the coffee cup near his elbow, and received thanks by a curt nod of head. Ben murmured his thanks to his old friend and picked up the cup while Hop Sing left the room. He had potatoes to peel and had set them down by his old chair, which was placed very conveniently close to the other room, from his vantage point he would not miss a single word…and if there were any threat made by Clay towards Ben, then he would find himself facing a ‘roaring dragon’

The old clock stood proud and tall. It ticked away precious minutes…during which Clays long fingers picked up one witness statement, then another, he picked up and discarded posters that declared him to be a wanted man.. he read each word, his mouth getting drier as the minutes passed. He set the first pile down, and pushed them towards Ben

“Someone has gone to a lot of trouble and expense to track all this down…do you know who?”

“No. We surmised it was a woman, wealthy, and someone who hated you…vindictive… “ Ben glanced over at Clay who was nodding in agreement “Any idea who?”

Clay said nothing, shook his head. Then he pointed to the posters

“All these posters are so old…the charges on them have been dismissed. I have an explanation for each and every one of those ‘crimes’ I have been accused of and I have proof of that, of each of them. Some I was innocent of, like these three…and no matter what the witnesses state, the lawyer I hired got them to refute every word. Truly, Ben, I never committed those crimes. Why did she or he send them to you anyway?”

“Probably in an attempt to build up as big a pile of dirt on you as she could….”

“Whoever he or she is, there’s a lot of dirt here alright. Looks like she wanted to bury me up to my neck in it…”

He picked up the next pile, read each word thoroughly, emptied his cup of coffee so that Ben got to his feet and poured them both some more.

Clay put down the last sheet from that second pile, it dealt with his army record during the war between states, his enlistment under Frederic Kyle and later under a Captain Rowlands. He drank his coffee in silence now, and stared at the papers then nodded

“In war things happen..a man is given orders and carries them out, perhaps gets promoted so he gets to give the orders..and watches others carry them out. Some of these reports are exaggerated, but I have to admit to being guilty of some…I was never charged by any man, by any other officer from Yankee to Confederate …it was war…and I carry the guilt within myself for some of the actions of which I am accused here.” he bowed his head, he knew humility meant a lot to Ben, contrition even more so.

“You were never charged officially ..”

“No…these charges are made by witnesses …some even under my command blaming me for their own foul deeds…as if I possibly could carry out the foul things ..” he shook his head, his lips trembled and he rubbed his jaw as though it would help to control his emotions.

“Well, seems someone went to a lot of trouble finding those witnesses….” Ben said quietly.

“Ben, you know how it is during war…I know you did not fight during the war but you fought Indians and land grabbers…”

“Say what you have to say…” Ben murmured levelly

“You know how hot the blood flows at such times? So many emotions, to kill or be killed…fear .and then when it is over victory, euphoria…things can happen at that moment that are bloodier than during the fighting…” he shook his head “I can’t explain it…”

Ben nodded and then put his finger on the next pile which Clay read through as carefully as he had everything else.

“These go a long way back, into my youth…with my grandmother…grandfather…” he paused, swallowed in a dry throut. The de Maligneys…. rich, powerful, hateful. “Some of these accounts of when I was at school, at college..”

“You always said you ran away from them, to get away from your grand parents, especially your grandmother…but in actual fact you were running away because you could not face telling her about your expulsion…”

Clay shrugged “Looking back that hardly seems such a big thing…although facing her always was of course…”

“The reason you were expelled from that school was because you drove a young man to suicide…

“No, he chose to kill himself, it was his choice…..”

“…because you gambled …the lad lost all he had and more besides…he stole to try and pay you back…was caught and branded a thief and faced expulsion himself…he chose to die rather than face his family whom he felt he had disgraced.”

“Yes..true enough, but I can’t be blamed for every bad choice others make….”

Ben just harrumphed at that and shook his head, then he pushed the next pile over to him…

“Ballarat. There’s a lot that happened in Ballarat. . And not all of it here ..just I think the tip of the ice berg”

Chapter 61

Ben leaned into his chair and surveyed his step son thoughtfully. The past hour or so had not really provided him with much information, Clay had hedged around issues as Ben had expected him to do. As he sat there waiting for Clay to read through the newspaper accounts he tried to see, once again, any resemblance to Marie or to Joe.

True enough Clay remained a handsome man but the similarities that had once been obvious to Joe in earlier days was now diminished. Maturity had been kind to Clay but it had fudged the contours of his face, softened as time does, the lines of the cheek bones, the fullness of the lips. The beard hid , perhaps, the emergence of jowls which indicated vanity on Clay’s part…but then Ben was always aware of that fault in the man, it was present in Joe too but in Joe’s case it was an attempt to protect himself against the competition of two older brothers.

Ben sighed and shook his head slightly. It was unfair of him to be so critical of the man, but at present he found it hard to find anything positive in him. He watched as Clay turned over the page of one newspaper to continue his reading and for an instant of time Ben was reminded, not of Marie but of Jean de Marigny, Clay’s father.

Another sigh, and Ben thought back to his meeting with Jean, how he had liked the man, drawn by the warmth and kindness in him. He had been shocked when finding that Jean had left a wife behind and also a baby son. The lies of the old woman, Jean’s mother, had destroyed more than two lives, the child had been a victim too. Abuse and cruelty to children was something Ben abhorred, but he knew that it was not just the physical blows that could maim a child, but the constant drip of poison in the words a loved one poured into one’s ears…the old woman had been effective in the harm she had done Clay.

How does a child react to being told his father did not love him but had abandoned him as soon as he was born…or that his mother was a slut and had wanted nothing to do with him. Despite all the kindnesses, generosity, the schooling, the gifts, the horses and the social contacts the child made during his formative years that foundation had been laid..and every question he raised would have been met with more lies, more poison maybe accompanied by a slap around the head or some other punishment.

But then…Ben gave his brain a slight shake up…but then there comes a time when a child grows and begins to think for himself. And Clay did that, he was not slow in realising that his grandmother was lying through her teeth, and even though he had apparently found that fault very effective in his own life, where it touched on his own, he wanted to find out the truth.

And then he became a man by which time the good qualities he possessed rode in parallel to the faults in his foundation, laid by Madame de Marigny. If only he had had the chance to meet with Jean, to know what a kindly gentle man he was and how he had fought against his mother…until he had lost his wife, lost his child and lost hope.

Clay picked up another news paper, and started reading. Jean had regained hope when he had found the Cartwrights and the Ponderosa. He had loved Adam and Hoss, had told them of his little boy, how he would go back and reclaim him and tell him about his beautiful mother. All the best qualities Clay possessed came not just from Marie but from Jean also…buried though they were under layers of malice and deceit

But then…Ben lowered his head to pick up a previous thought…Clay became a man and had choices to make, and he had not chosen wisely. The documents spread out before them proved that…Ben tried to think of the words that fit the occasion without being too harsh…that perhaps Clay lacked a fundamental moral fibre, an inability to see beyond his own desires, his own wants. Perhaps the abandonment of his parents had made him want to protect himself from any future entanglements that would create that same feeling…Ben shook his head, the bottom line was that it all made Clay to be downright selfish, an opportunist, and if there was any good in him it only shone through when it suited him.

Clay looked up and pushed the papers aside. He shrugged and then shook his head

“What do you want me to say? The papers explain everything …I knew the men, they died, I was a suspect but for a short time only. There was no case brought against me, Ben. Or are you trying to build up a case now?” he tapped the letter still spread out on the table “Or does this nameless coward of a letter writer want me hanged for murders I did not commit.”

“I’m just presenting you with the accounts as I received them, Clay. Obviously one’s imagination can twist facts to present a certain picture…several pictures… “ he straightened his back and leaned forward “How well did you know them?”

“Well enough. We were friends in a fashion, had a lot in common. I liked them.” he fingered the corner of one newspaper nervously, his mind recalling the two men now….he swallowed and Ben asked him if he would like something more to drink, it had been some time since they had had coffee but Clay shook his head

With his brow furrowed in concentration Clay continued to speak “I liked Harold Jones more than Stanley, he was a pleasant happy man, always with a joke, terrible poker player. He was married to a woman called Julia, she was the sister of Jennifer Cole.” he paused and his eyes flicked up to look at Ben who nodded for him to proceed. “It was through them ..Julia and Harold, that I met the Coles. Mr Cole was Mayor of Ballarat at the time and he had a daughter..” he heaved in a deep breath and slowly exhaled “Melissa.”

“Who meant a lot to you?” Ben asked in a more gentle tone than previously

“Yes. She did. She was a lovely girl..and I mean, not just looks you know? Deep down lovely…she reminded me a lot of my mother…”

“You never knew your mother…” Bens voice sharp again, and Clay drew in his breath like a small child would caught out in a lie and expecting to be shouted out as a liar

“That was hardly my fault.” he hissed, leaning forward and glaring into Ben’s face with eyes that did now resemble Joe’s, the flash of green in the hazel, the dark pupils..then he sat back down again and sighed deeply, as though deflated “I had my mother’s picture and I knew from what Joe and – well, what they told me about her…and Melissa had Mother’s colouring, resemblance and I just imagined the rest I suppose…but I did care for her….”

“CLAY!”

The sound of Joe’s voice broke into the room and both Clay and Ben jumped visibly, startled by the sudden emergence of Joseph Cartwright, bounding into the room, full of smiles, pulling off his gloves and grinning like a man who had found treasure in a dung heap.

Clay and Ben both rose to their feet and Ben moved from the table in an effort to hide what was scattered about there…Clay stepped forward, the relief he felt almost tangible. Ben could sense it as the man changed from a nervous coil of a man to one who was all smiles, relaxed, and arms outspread to give his brother a hug.

“Say what’s going on, why are you here this morning?” Joe chuckled responding to Clays hug with his own, and then smiling over at Ben “Why the serious faces? You planning on cutting up the Ponderosa and giving Clay a slice again, Pa?” he laughed and turned again to Clay “So? What brings you here, business that slack at the Sazarac now?”

“No,no, nothing like that…” Clay said giving his brother a friendly squeeze of the arm as though to provide further reassurance that everything was fine “What are you doing here? Got the track cleared already?”

“No, not long though before it is…we can actually hear the men working from the towns section of it, and what we have cleared looks good…everyone has worked darn hard to make it so. I thought Hoss would be here, he reckoned he and|Adam would be finished by now and he would be here having coffee and cake with Pa and Hester?”

Clay shrugged and gave a light chuckle “I think he was being overly optimistic. When I rode by I could see them working on the track though. Might even go back to town that way and see how well they have done…want to come along with me.”

“Clay…” Ben said and raised his chin, his eyes hardening but Clay just smiled and ignored him taking Joe by the arm

“How about it, little brother, want to ride along and see how well the opposition are doing?”

“Sure, why not…I’ve not bothered before in case ..well, in case it showed we were too far behind ’em, but now we are in spitting distance of getting cleared I reckon it would be worth it.”

“C’mon then, Joe, before your father grabs me to discuss more business with him…” and this time Clay’s laugh had the brittle tone of defiance in it which made Ben’s blood begin to boil.

But Joe was laughing along with his brother, and the two of them left the house arm in arm, walking towards their mounts, and Ben overheard Clay saying “Good timing, Joe…you just saved me from a roasting from your Pa”

……………

Reuben was in the saddle and in a sack hanging from the pommel were the doughnuts that the Gang enjoyed so much, plus some other cookies that Chen now knew to make whenever Reuben was going to meet the Gang.

“Ma, I’m going to go by the new track like Pa said I could…” he smiled down at Olivia, his face beaming with smiles, his eyes lit up with pleasure and excitement

“Just be careful, son.” she smiled back up at him, and nodded before she stepped back and waved him farewell.

He was a competent rider, and she had no fears for his safety on that score. She loved to watch him on the horse, a natural born rider. She was joined by Hester who came and stood beside her, two women who watched him ride away and both feeling some pride

“I wonder how they are getting on…” Hester said quietly “Hoss reckoned the track would be finished today.”

“I know Adam comes home exhausted…” Olivia replied and slipped her arm through that of her sister in laws, “But he is really pleased at how hard the men have worked. It will be good to have an hour shaved off of the journey to town by taking that track.”

Reuben had not gone far when he heard horses behind him and turned to see his Uncle Joe and Clay Stafford heading towards him so he paused the horse to a stop so that they could catch up with him.

“Where are you off to, young man?” Joe laughed, full of good spirits and glad to see such a warm welcoming greeting from his nephew

“Off to see the Gang. Chen made me some doughnuts and cookies for them….” he tapped the sack containing the goodies. “Pa said I could try getting to town this way and then tell him later how long it took me.”

“Has he finished it then?” Joe asked, his smile losing some of its jollity

“He said he reckoned it would be finished today” Reuben nodded “And when it is finished he and Uncle Hoss were going to go into town and treat the men to drinks on the house.” he frowned and shrugged “Whatever that means….”

It must have been the right answer for both men laughed at that comment and then all together the three of them continued to lope their way along onto the new track…..wide and spacious…hard packed and level…Joe grimaced, this all looked too good for his liking….and then the track ended where it was planned to be, just at the section where it joined with the main track into town. The wagon was loaded neatly with tools. There was not a horse nor a man to be seen.

“Hopefully propping up the counter at the Sazarac” Clay laughed, “Still if you ride back along, Joe, you will be able to see just how well the men are doing clearing this end of the landslide…” he laughed again and looked at Reuben “Come on, young man, I’ll ride into town with you. See you again soon, Joe.”

A merry wave of the hand and he was riding away, Reuben jogging along on Max beside him, and for a moment Joe had a fierce longing for a cool pint of beer….

Chapter 62

Nate Carney always felt apologetic when Roy sat on the opposite side of the desk to the side he had occuptied for years as Sheriff . The big chair never felt as comfortable when Roy sat looking at him with those blue eyes looking thoughtfully through the lenses of his glasses, as though he were rebuking Nate for taking his place …

But now there was the question of relevancy to be addressed..of the death of a man whose body was even now being carried away to the morgue of one of his competitors, Mr Jenkins no less.

Nate nodded and waved his fancies away and looked seriously at Roy, before pushing the statement paper and pen over to him

“You know what to do, Roy…”

Roy nodded. He had already surrendered his pistol to Ethan who now sat close by to the desk, as though prepared to jump up and grab him should he make any attempt to make a ‘run for it.’ He picked up the pen and began to write his statement in his usual precise neat handwriting,

“This is the statement of myself Roy Clement Coffee dated 3^rd July 1880 time 10.50 a.m.

I heard the dog, Bella, barking and a thumping on the door and a lot of cursing going on behind it. I knew it was Riley the undertaker, always had a foul mouth on him even when he was sober, worse when drunk.. His coming in that manner meant he knew the dog was here and as he had said he would blast it to bits if he ever saw it agin I grabbed my pistol.

The law as it stands is that I have the right to defend my property and myself and any and all who are in it so I prepared myself to do just that…if need be.

Mr Riley had a gun in his hand, waved it about and said with many expletives that he had come to git rid of the dog once and fer all. He was sweating profusely and I thought if I did not shoot him and jest waited a moment or so he would probably drop dead from a heart attack. Then he said he had killed the boy…ranted on about him being as much a runt as the dog…two birds with one stone he said.. I asked him what he meant by that statement…where was the boy? Where was Davy and what had he done with him? I told him if he had harmed a hair on the boys head I would kill him right there and then…

He told me to step back or he would kill me…called me a variety of names….none pleasant. Then he aimed the gun and pulled the trigger…I did the same…for some reason his gun did not fire..mine did.

I ran off to the Rileys house then, the dog and the deputy right behind me..and that’s when we found the boy…and his Ma. If Riley were still alive and I was still Sheriff I would have shot him all over again. “

He signed the statement and underlined it for good measure….then pushed it back towards Nate who picked it up and read it through slowly. He nodded, then asked Ethan to pour out a cup of coffee for everyone..then he re-read the statement, his eyes glancing over to Roy every so often and his long fingers of one hand covering his mouth.

………………….

Dan deQuille saw Adam, Hoss and the group of men dismount outside the Bucket of Blood about the same time as Eddie did so when Adam heard his name being called he was not sure which of the two men had been responsible for summoning him. It was further complicated by the fact that both were waving envelopes at him.

“Looks like you’re needed…” Hoss grinned and gave Adam a gentle shove with his shoulder, “I’ll get the drinks ordered…” he turned to where Mac and the men were gathering around the saloon door “Hey, how come you’re dragging your heels here, git inside …” and without more ado he began to shoulder them aside in order to ‘get inside’ ahead of them.

Adam took the letter from Eddie with a nod of thanks and then turned towards Daniel who was hurrying down the side walk towards him with a scowl on his bearded face as he did so.

“I tried to give these to your father…they came some days back..” he exclaimed and pushed the two envelopes into Adams hand. “They were addressed to me, my contacts in Australia..so obviously I read them..” he stared at Adam then, a hard cold glare from a man frustrated at having a scoop in his hands and not being able to use it, and still finding his hands tied now as Adam stared at the envelopes “It’s about Clay Stafford if you’re wondering..”

“Uh,no….I thought they would be…” he glanced down at the other envelope just delivered, and then shook his head “Seems an odd thing to say but I’m almost afraid to open these….”

“Yeah, I sympathise…” Daniel said in tones of voice that indicated no sympathy whatsoever.

“Well, thank you for these…ummm…look Daniel, do me a favour… “

“You want me to carry on sitting on this?” Daniel tapped the envelopes and he shook his head “Usual rate, Adam….and …if there is a story…and I know for a fact that there is one…let me know…”

Adam nodded and slipped the envelopes into the pocket of his vest, then he pulled out his wallet and peeled off several ‘greenbacks’ and pushed them into Dan’s hand who, slightly embarrassed, slid them into the pocket of his expensive jacket

“I presume the tracks cleared..” he said in a normal tone of voice so that any passersby would not be suspicious of the deal being made in the middle of the street

“It is…done and dusted” Adam grinned as he pushed the wallet back into his pocket “Go check it out, saves an hour at least ..Joe’s still sweating blood on clearing the other track.”

“The men here leave early to get to work on it from this side…reckon it will be clear by the end of the week.”

“Good, you can go check that out today as well…” and Adam laughed at that and turned back to the Bucket of Blood.

He may have laughed but inwardly he felt anything but laughing…the letter or cable that Eddie had delivered seemed more ominous that the two that Daniel had handed him. He was about to enter the saloon when he noticed the silence of the pedestrians ..the stillness and then saw Jenkins the undertaker hauling a body to his premises. As soon as Jenkins had passed the chatter and the movement recommenced.

Widow Hawkins approached him and nodded, the feathers in her bonnet synchronised in motion..her old face looked troubled “Who was it?” Adam asked her as he watched Jenkins and the body disappear through the Undertakers door

“Riley…he would die of embarrassment if he knew he’d be hauled off to Jenkins’ like that…”

“Who shot him…”

Another sigh, the ample bosoms heaved up and sunk down, “Our Roy…he’s been arrested…”

…………………..

Clay and Reuben had parted to go their separate ways upon entering the town, and Clay’s mood darkened when he recognised Hoss and Adams horses, with a string of others, outside the Bucket of Blood.

He had felt so relieved when Joe had come into the house, what timing! And riding into town with Joe and Reuben had kept the good mood buoyant because he didn’t have to think about the morning with Ben. As he dismounted and walked into the saloon, demanded whiskey from Sol, and headed to his office, a dark cloud of despondency hovered and then fell upon him.

Seeing all those accusations, those articles in the news tabloids…the awareness of someone hating him so much …his heart beat a trifle faster..he could refute anything written, anything printed..but knowing that someone had taken so much time, spent so much money, on finding out every dirty detail of his life ..he must be so hated.

By whom?

Sol brought in the whiskey and set it down carefully..asked if Clay needed anything else, but just got a shake of the head in response. When the door snapped shut behind him, Clay still remained standing, staring out at the far wall and seeing nothing, just a long dark tunnel of memories, the past, the people..alive, dead, what did it matter…somewhere among them was someone who hated him

Could he add Ben and Adam to the list? He shook his head..whatever they felt for him now was new, fresh from the revelations of someone else.

He slowly pulled himself together and walked over to the desk, sat down and picked up the glass of whiskey. He held it against his chest, waiting for his heart beat to settle down…thump thump thumpitty thump…

The only person he could think of who would be this evil, this vindictive would be his grand mother…but she was dead, thankfully. Was she though? He had not seen her for years and years…he thought she was dead…

He sipped his whiskey and let the spirit trickle down and warm him because he felt very cold now. He wished Joe would bounce into this room, reassure him by his smiles and laughter that he was …admired? Cared about?

But for how much longer? Who else knew about all this? Who else had Ben or Adam told?

He stared down at the now empty glass and wondered why he had come to Nevada, to Virginia City…why on earth had he been so stupid . Coming here was like scratching at the scab of a wound, letting it heal, then scratching at the scab again..and again..and yet, how had the writer of that correspondence known to send it all to Ben? What was the point of it all except to destroy him… Clay Stafford,which in turn meant that wherever he had gone somehow that writer would continue to haunt him

Why?

………………….

“Why did you do it, Roy?”

Roy raised his eyebrows and shook his head as he looked at Adam Cartwright, at Hoss Cartwright..and then down at the pint of beer waiting for him to drink and enjoy.

“Look, Adam, I’ll be danged if I’ll let anyone threaten me and anyone else in my own house…he was going to kill the dog and then kill me…” he shook his head as though he still found it inconceivable that anyone would think to do such a thing, shoot Roy Coffee on his own door step!!

“He could have killed you, you know?” Adam said which was probably the most stupid thing he could have said given that that was the very reason Roy had given him for shooting the man.

“What did Nate decide to do? Are you on bail or something?” Hoss asked, concern written all over his genial face.

“Or something..” Roy replied and grinned, picked up the glass of beer and sighed, then said quietly in an undertone..”What a wretch of a man…”

There were a number of men nodding their heads as they picked up their glasses and downed their beers..whiskies..sarsaparilla…Adam got to his feet and walked to the counter, beckoned Sam over and once again pulled out his wallet, pulled out some greenbacks and slapped them down on the counter, then he returned to Roy..to Hoss…and told them he was riding on home, he needed to see Ben about something…something that had just come up.

“Want me to come along with ya?”

“No that’s alright, Hoss…relax for a while, you deserve it….” he squeezed Hoss’ shoulder gently and then nodded over to Roy “See you later, Roy.”

He left Roy and Hoss chatting like two old women, enjoying each others company. He saw Amelia at the door of the library and nodded over at her. He felt that he should have gone over to see her, she would be distressed about the boy, about Roy, but he had to get back to see Ben.

…………………..

Reuben had dismounted from Max and was now sprawled out upon the grass. His arms and legs spread out and the sun making his skin prickle even now even after the ride into town. He looked up at the sky, at the sun and worked out the time…he was a little earlier than arranged. Usually though Davy was always first, eager to start the fun. He closed his eyes and saw a red blotch among the blackness behind his closed eyelids.

A rustling in the grass and he sat up straight…a big grin on his face. When the boys crowded through the shrubs in one clump of arms and legs he nearly laughed until he saw their faces…and realised Davy was not there with them.

He realised that Phil had tears tickling down his black cheeks, Tommys face was red and he was sweating, Jimmy just looked wild eyed, scared…and Davy was not there with them.

“Hey…what’s the matter? What’s wrong? Somethings wrong isn’t there? Where’s Davy ..where’s Bella? What’s wrong?”

The boys huddled closer together, looked at one another..who was going to tell him? Jimmy stepped forward and put out a hand as though it would catch Reuben if he fell down from shock “Old Man Riley…he’s dead…”

“Dead? Why? How?”

“Roy Coffee shot him..” Jimmy replied then he glanced over at the other two boys and drew in a deep breath “Riley’s hurt Davy….real bad…”

“How bad?” Reuben heard himself ask, looking at each of them in turn “How bad? Is he dead too?”

Jimmy shook his head “No, but he’s in a bad way….they took him to the hospital. His Ma went with him…..”

“And Bella?”

“She’s with Roy Coffee….” Tommy squeaked and pulled out a very dirty handkerchief and blew his nose. “Davy nearly died…”

“They thought he was dead..” Phil said and wiped his eyes,

“I think we should go and see him…” Reuben squared his shoulders and the other boys nodded, grouped together ..Reuben felt a weight heavy in his stomach..he felt tears prick at his eyes…the only consolation was that Davy was not dead…not yet anyway.

Chapter 63

Adam swung himself into the saddle and turned his horse in the direction that would take him out of town. He raised a hand as he passed Roy, and with his mind on the letters tucked safely in his jacket pocket, he failed to see Clay as the man stepped out of the saloon.

Clay paused mid stride to watch the man who was loping his way out of town . Momentarily he was drenched with sweat. His legs would not function to propel himself forward. Sweat beaded his brow and spiked his hair. His mouth was dry and his throat tight. He had to force himself to breathe, to inhale, exhale, relax.

“Are you all right?” the deep voice of Ethan Burns intruded upon his thoughts and he turned to look at this young man who looked so disturbingly like Adam Cartwright that Clay felt as though he were trapped in a nightmare.

“Yes, yes…I’m alright” he managed to stammer and shook his head, forced a smile “I ‘m aright.”

“You don’t look alright.” Ethan said now, looking at the man with his head to one side as though he was having to observe him more closely to make sure just how ‘alright’ Clay actually was “Perhaps you should go and check yourself out with the Doc. There’s been a lot of sickness since we had that flood….”

Clay nodded, and muttered a thanks and turned back into the shelter of the saloon with its dark smoky ambience, the familiar smells and sights…one of the girls sashayed up to him and put a hand on his shoulder “Clay, you look really unwell…”

He nodded, tried to collect his thoughts and then looked over at Sol, muttered “Whiskey” and strode into his office. He almost fell into the chair and dropped his face into his hands, pushed his fingers through his hair, surprised at how damp his hair was…horrified at the effect at seeing Adam Cartwright ride out of town, asking himself time and time again why, why, he felt like that..

The door opened and Sol stepped inside, placed a bottle of whiskey on the desk and a clean glass. He looked at Clay thoughtfully, pursed his lips and shook his head “What’s wrong?”

“What d’you mean?”

“Something’s wrong with you? You sickening for something ?”

“No.. “ Clay shook his head, then looked at Sol who was standing there by the desk, looking genuinely concerned “Thanks, Sol. I’ve had a bit of a shock…”

“Anything I can do to help?”

Momentarily Clay was tempted to ask Sol how good he was at using a rifle, long range…but he checked himself and shook his head. He poured out some whiskey and as Sol turned to leave the room he stopped him “Sol….a moment ….”

“Yeah ..?”

“Look, that Deputy….Ethan Burns…what’s the story? “

Sol frowned, looked at Clay and nodded. He was more than aware of the reason Clay would have asked, many had shown the same curiosity, so he settled himself to perch on the corner of the desk and nodded again…

“What do you want to know about him?” he folded his arms across his chest, lowered his head and waited for the question, it was inevitable of course, but he could only tell Clay what little he knew. Ethan kept things close, did not divulge much and Adam Cartwright divulged nothing at all.

“An odd story all round.” Sol said “Seems his father was arrested for murder, escaped jail and made good use of his likeness to Adam Cartwright…until he was killed.”

“Who killed him?”

“His wife…well, she arranged the killing…turns out she and her ‘lover’ were the ones who killed the man Burns was arrested for. .. .. mind you, no one would have known that had it not been for Adam Cartwright getting involved…didn’t like someone making use of his likeness and his money. “

“And the deputy? Where’s he from?”

“No connection with Adam Cartwright if that’s what you’re thinking. He was just a kid when his father was arrested, seems his mother foisted him onto some saloon gal her husband had got friendly with during the time he was free….she raised him. Simple as that….”

“He never knew his folks?” Clay nursed the glass of whiskey between his fingers, swirled it round and round, stared into it..

“Not really.”

“And – no connection with Adam or the Cartwrights…”

“Not until he came here.” Sol inched his butt from the desk, and stood up “Anything else?”

Clay shook his head and gulped down whiskey, then leaned back into his chair, and stared out into the room…the thought struck him then that he should never have come here, he could not even explain now as to why he had thought he would be safe here.

Why had he come?

Because he was lonely….he had always been lonely.

A memory flashed into his mind taking him back to the time he was a boy, perhaps ten years of age. He had asked his grandmother about his father ..again..probably for the one hundredth time that year…she had paced the floor, hands clasped as though that would give her strength to answer, even as she refused to look at him…and then he had made the mistake of asking about his mother. And she had had him beaten and then thrown outside into the yard with the dogs, and it was raining and he remembered he felt wet, and the rain had cleaned away the blood from his beating and had helped heal something so that when the rain bow cast itself wide in the sky and a bird began to sing again he felt as though he were different now, he would not cry over the loss of his father, or his mother, ever again

And now here was someone else who had lost parents, never known a mothers true love, nor fathers paternal arm across his shoulder…

He drank down the whiskey and stood up. The morning had been one of disclosures and misery. But he was different from Ethan Burns. He knew that, just as he was different from his half brother, Joe, who had had a mothers love, and was always guaranteed an arm upon which to lean from a doting father.

Somewhere, out there, someone hated him. Hated him enough to spend money and time to gather up all the dirt they could find about him. He gave himself a mental shake down…he would find out who it was. Find out …and put an end to it all.

……………

Adam had stopped his horse. Seated in the saddle with the warm sun gentle upon his back, he looked back towards the town. He had three envelopes, one addressed to himself, two to Daniel..despite lessening the trip home by going on the new track, it was still some distance to travel. Whatever had taken place between Ben and Clay that morning …could all change with the information contained in those envelopes.

He opened the one addressed to himself. The logo “Never Sleeps” headed the paper…the message was brief

“INFORMATION RECEIVED RE ONE CLAY STAFFORD NOW IN VIRGINIA CITY …..WARNING … A SHOOTIST HAS BEEN HIRED TO TAKE OUT C.S …FURTHER INFORMATION WILL BE SENT WHEN IT IS OBTAINED….NO KNOWLEDGE YET AS TO WHO HAS DONE THE HIRING .. “

There was no further detail, no name, but the slogan spoke for itself and Adam was more than aware just how vigilant Pinkerton were, and once caught in their beam, as they had been several times already, it should not have surprised him that they had picked up some tremble of information about Clay…and of course, there had been the several statements in the

documents relating to Clay that had hinted at the writers contact with the Agency.

He sighed, once again looked over his shoulder towards town…should he turn back? Without knowing what was contained in the other two envelopes.. he glanced down at the cable he held in his hands and then carefully folded it and tucked it back into the envelope, into his pocket .

He inhaled his breath, slowly exhaled.

A man should be told that somewhere at some time there was a human being ready to kill him.

He turned the horse’s head back towards town, several steps forward, then halted …he withdrew the letters to deQuille, best find out exactly what they had to say before he proceeded any further.

Some birds sang, deliriously happy as they basked in the sunlight, leaves touched their feathers like a caress but uncaring about such things they trilled out their song entranced with

the day. Adam heard nothing as he read the letters…and the enclosures.

He read them both…word by word…he learned about the body of a young woman, missing some months, found in a house in Ballarat. Melissa Cole. Her assumed fiance had also disappeared. Speculation was rife, perhaps he was dead too? A search had been made for his body and nothing had yet been located…his name…Clayton Stafford.

The next letter referred to the young woman’s body, and how an intensive search had been carried out to find her fiance, Witnesses came forward and in their statements revealed that Clayton Stafford had left Australia altogether and was bound for America “where he was known to have family”

Adam’s dark eyes gleamed amber sparks….his lips tightened over his teeth. The last sentence was the damning one “Mayor Cole has offered a reward for the disclosure of Clayton Stafford ..£1000sterling.”

Adam inhaled his breath, exhaled slowly. For that amount of money it was a wonder there were not badmen, shooters, murderers coming out of the woodwork.

He stayed in the saddle for a moment as though he had to collect his thoughts, had to work out what was the best and wisest thing to do now. The he nudged his horse to get it to move, back into town.

…………….

Reuben told Phil and Tommy to get up into the saddle while he and Jimmy would walk alongside. It was quite a trek into town from the old house where they liked to meet and usually it was no problem but they were all upset and Tommy had even refused the doughnuts saying in a wobbly voice “Perhaps later …after we’ve seen Davy”

They actually reached town just as Adam was riding out of it, which would have lightened Reuben’s heart so much. He was already feeling relieved at the news of Davy being alive, but the anxiety that that carried along with it weighed him down.

It weighted them all down so it was a quiet little troupe that made their way to the hospital. Perhaps they were not surprised to see Roy already lingering near the entrance hall, and he nodded over at them as he walked towards them, not exactly smiling.

“Wal, boys….” he glanced at each one of them, noted the ones with the reddest eyes, and snotty noses, and nodded some more “They won’t let me take Bella in …but I’ve bin in and seen Davy. Told him you were all on your way to see him…”

“Really?” “How is he?” “What did he say?”

He raised his hand for silence and quietly told them that Davy was a very sick boy. Not so sick that he would die however, he would get better. He had not actually been conscious when Roy say him but Roy had chatted to him any how, knowing from his own experiences in the past that some one who looks half dead can still hear what’s going on.

“Can we go in and see him though, Mr Coffee?” Reuben asked feeling the thump thump of his heart beating against his shirt, and wishing it would slow down.

“Sure can..I told them to expect you. His Ma’s there, she would be more than pleased to see you. “ he opened his mouth as though to say something else but closed it again… they can find out for themselves the state Mrs Riley was in.

The four boys looked at one another, Reuben nodded and that was the signal for them all to bunch together and troop towards the stairs. Roy watched them go and sighed, he could vaguely recall being that yonng, but it seemed a long time ago…he had to be honest here, it was a long time ago

.

Chapter 64

The four friends, children still, entered the ward quietly although their boots did scuff upon the tiles of the floor a little more noisily than the nurse would have liked. They approached Davy’s bed and looked upon the boy seemingly asleep with the white sheets drawn up to his chin and an unruly mop of hair startlingly dark upon the pillow

Mrs Riley was sitting beside the bed, her face bruised but also red and blotched from the constant tears that seemed to stream from her swollen eyes. She could not speak, her throat too dry and sore to allow a word to slip from her mouth. But she nodded at them, and then looked at Davy, her hand reached out to touch his arm.

Davy flinched and Mrs Riley swallowed the lump in her throat and looked again at the boys who stepped closer to the bed

“Hi Davy…it’s us..Tommy and Phil, Jimmy and me..Reuben…we came to see how you were”

If he expected a response he received nothing, the boy merely remained still…and yet..in some slight way the stillness had changed, a less restless peace, as though deep within himself he knew he was among his friends, he was safe.

The boys drew closer together, stepped nearer to the bed…. Davy was certainly alive, battered…but alive!

…………………..

Ethan Burns turned away from the door and stepped into the interior of the office.

“That’s odd..” he murmured as he closed the door, shutting out the sound of the people from outside, the shrill laughter from some woman, a child wailing, a man singing loudly as he passed by

“What is?” Nate looked over at his deputy for a moment before turning back to a letter he was reading.

“Adam Cartwright….” Ethan sat down in front of the desk. He preferred to sit if Nate was standing, even though he was 6ft in height, Nate was a good few inches taller, and broader, the kind of man who absorbed all the space and air in the room when he was standing…and a man could talk to him eye to eye when he was seated on the other side of the desk.

“What about him?” Nate put the letter away and took his seat opposite the other younger man, leaned back and picked up a pen.

“Well, he rode out of town an hour ago and now he’s ridden back in again…”

“So? Maybe he forgot something….”

Ethan shook his head and tapped his chin with his finger, “No, I don’t think Adam Cartwright forgets things…” he sighed and cleared his throat, Nate had looked at him as though wondering if Ethan were morphing into some old busy body gossip. Who really cared what Adam Cartwright was doing riding back to town after having left it… folk do, don’t they?

Now Nate frowned and rolled the pen between his fingers. He answered his own question.. no folk made a point of not forgetting when they had a long journey to and from town. And Ethan was right, Adam Cartwright was not one to forget.

“Perhaps his horse lost a shoe..”

“In which case he would take it along to the blacksmiths, not dismount out side the Sararac.”

Nate glanced at t he clock and nodded “Give him fifteen minutes…” he frowned more deeply,and looked over at Ethan who had now strolled over to the window to observe what was going on beyond the glass.

Hoss came out of the Bucket of Blood along with McManus and several of the men who had accompanied him inside. There was a lot of laughter, slapping of backs and if Hoss noticed Adam’s horse further along the street, he gave no indication of having done so. They mounted their own horses and turned in the direction of the Ponderosa. They had their own work to do now, and Hoss had a hankering for some of Hop Sing’s apple pie which he had seen the old man preparing before he had left home.

Solomon looked up as Adam stepped up to the counter and asked, rather abruptly, if Clay were in his office. The bar tender nodded, then leaned forward in order to speak without being heard by anyone else

“He may be drunk…took in a bottle of whiskey…”

Adam nodded, “Bring in some coffee then…he’ll need it…”

Adam did not knock on the office door, he just pushed it open and stepped inside.

“Clay?”

His voice seemed to bounce in the silence. Certainly there were shadows within shadows but nothing moving, nothing to indicate human life in the room. He stepped further inside, his eyes now adjusted to the gloom, but there was no one that he could see, no one sprawled on the long sofa, nor lounging back in the big chair ..he made his way to the window and pulled back the drapes, sending shafts of light like daggers piercing the gloom … but there was no sign of Clayton.

The door opened and Sol made his entrance with a steaming jug of coffee and cups on a tray. He looked at Adam, looked around the room, and then looked at Adam again

“He’s gone…”

Adam merely flattened his lips over his teeth and said nothing but walked slowly around the furniture as though somehow he had missed the man body… perhaps he had fallen in a drunken stupor onto the floor, under the table..he looked at Sol

“He’s been in here all the time?”

“Yeah…I never saw him leave..”

“You were at the counter…”

“Sure, all the time…”

“And he definitely came in here?”

Sol nodded, and added that he had taken a bottle of the best whiskey along with him, and then he pointed at the low table where the near empty bottle stood beside an overturned glass. Just for a moment both men just stared at one another, then Sol put down the tray with the coffee, up righted the glass and set it down beside the cups.

For a moment his eyes just roved around the room before stopping to stare at the far wall where a heavy curtain was hanging ..he nodded towards it…”’Course, he could have left the room through there…”

“Where?” Adam asked and followed the direction of Sols eyes, strode over and pulled the curtain to reveal another door.

“For obvious reasons the previous manager had this door cut out in the room…I never thought ..well..anyway, he’s obviously .. er … gone.”

Adam put his hand to the door, pushed slightly and as he had anticipated it swung slowly open. He stepped out into the side alley, and looked round from left to right, and then stepped back inside and closed the door. The heavy curtain immediately fell back into place..

He nodded at Sol and began to leave, moving quickly in the hope that wherever Clay had gone he could pick up some trace and follow him, and with that in mind he hurried through the saloon reaching the wingbeats just as Nate and Ethan pushed them to enter the building.

“Everything alright, Cartwright?” Nate’s voice penetrated the thoughts that were whirling though Adams head, and for a moment he was not sure whether to just continue onwards or stop to answer the question.

“Have you seen Stafford at all?” he asked, trying to be as civil as he could while he was trying to work out where Clay would have gone, why he would have left at that moment…

“Saw him just a moment ago…” Nate replied, looking Adam up and down to see if he could fathom out what was going on with him. And he pointed southwards “Just mounting his horse…want to tell me what’s going on?”

Adam cast a quick glance over his shoulder and was about to speak when a cheery voice said

“Hey, Adam…been looking all over for you!”

Chapter 65

The sun shone down and in some strange way made Joe’s hair gleam, catching the high lights in his tousled mane and bringing to Adam’s memory days gone by when Joe was just a little boy who would suddenly appear in his plaid shirt and dungarees..that same big grin spreading out over his face, his beam as bright as the sun playing shadows over him right now.

“Arn’t you..” Adam swallowed what he was going to say and opened his mouth to resume when Joe shrugged

“Reckon we’ve done all we can our side. The men want to get back to work ..there’s things to do and things being neglected which means things pile up ..I saw Hoss he’s going to check on how things are getting on this end. Should be doing well as most of the diggers are men with experience, being ex-miners and such” he paused, his eyes slanting from one to the other and a frown replacing the grin “Something wrong? You being arrested, Adam> What’ve you been doing..huh?”

Nate cleared his throat more noisily than usual and then glanced at Adam who shook his head and shrugged. Ethan just stared out at the road ahead, the road through town that Clay had just taken. Adam heaved in a deep breath and reached out a hand to place it upon Joe’s arm

“Fact is, I need to see Clay and …”

“Why? What do you want to see him about now?” Joe was immediately on the defensive, now his eyes narrowed and sparked, green sparks of anger, he glared at the three of them and with some haste Nate and Ethan excused themselves and departed. If Adam needed them he would know where they were. Joe’s scowl deepened and he raised his eyebrows “Well?”

“Well..the fact is..”

“The fact is that you ..”

“No..listen to me..”

“Yeah, say something sensible and I will…”

Both men glared at one another, faces tense, lips drawn over teeth and eyes dilated, but Adam took in a deep breath, again, and nodded

“The fact is that I have just received news from Pinkerton warning that Clay is in danger..”

“Danger, what kind of danger..what are you talking about.” and promptly Joe stepped forward pushing past Adam, brushing against his shoulder so that the older man had to step back a pace or two in order to stay upright.

“Joe, are you going to listen to me or not? Clay is in danger and he’s left town.. he’s probably drunk as well come to that..” he frowned and shook his head, “Joe?”

Joe stopped and turned, stepped forward and looked Adam up and down in a manner that would once have caused his brother to at least remonstrate with him, at most, punch him in the jaw. “Say what you have to say….”

“Are you going to listen…” Adam snapped and stepped aside to allow a woman to scuttle on her way, wanting nothing more than to get on with her shopping and avoid being caught in the middle of a dispute between the Cartwright brothers.

“Oh sure…I’m all ears…” Joe said with a sneer on his lips and a shrug to his shoulders. He then composed his face in an attentive manner, exaggerated to prove to his brother that yes, he was listening… then he raised his eyebrows

“Well, he may not be in immediate danger, I don’t know for sure, all I know is that someone in Australia has a price on Clay’s head ..a lot of money…and it seems to have attracted some attention. I need to get hold of Clay and at least warn him that there’s a problem either on the way or already here…”

Joe’s posture changed, from defensive he became protective, not of Adam of course, but of his other brother..he immediately glanced back to where he had left his horse “What direction did he take?”

“According to Nate he was riding out of town…I’m assuming he went south as he didn’t pass us and Nate said they just saw him mounting his horse. We might catch him up .. he could not have gone far.”

Joe nodded agreement and then turned to get his horse while Adam headed in the opposite direction to get his.

“Adam?” Joe’s voice cut through Adam’s thoughts and brought him to a stand still, he turned to face Joe “Adam, why would there be a price on Clay’s head? What’s he being accused of?”

Adam passed his hand across his mouth, shook his head “Let’s find him first and then we can find out from him…”

Joe frowned, then slowly nodded and returned to getting his horse. His mind was full, buzzing with thoughts, all random, none based on fact, grasping at things he had noticed, looks passing from one person to another, building up a picture as inaccurate as it was probable.

Adam was already mounted by the time Joe was in the saddle, its hooves thudding impatiently on the road to set off and Adam just as impatient, looking over his shoulder to check on where his brother was now. Within minutes they were riding out of town, so close that their knees touched as they rounded the corner ..

From the door of the Sheriff’s office Nate and Ethan watched them go, looked at one another

“Reckon there’s trouble brewing…” Nate said slowly, and pursed his lips, head to one side as he watched the dust from the horses settle back onto the road

“Yep, my thoughts too….” Ethan tipped his hat a little lower over his eyes and shrugged. “Should we do something about it?”

………………….

“What’s going on Adam?” Joe yelled as they loped onwards, the thud of their horses hooves finding an echo in the beat of his heart. “Why is Clay in danger? Australia’s a long way from here why would he in in danger?”

Adam shook his head, exasperated at having Joe making demands on him now, but knowing that Joe would not stop barking questions at him he put his hand in his pocket and withdrew the telegram which fluttered in the breeze as he passed it over to his brother but said nothing.

Joe slowed his horse to read it and then crunched it up in a ball in his hand, stuffed it into his pocket and pushed his horse on a little faster to catch up with Adam ..

“How serious do you think it is?”

“That’s what I want to find out…”

“But don’t you know?”

Adam threw a dark look over at his brother and shook his head, not that he didn’t know, but that this was not the time or place to be yelling all the facts he did have … he glanced down at the road, down and then ahead, saw the fresh tracks of the horse Clay was on. He nodded

“He is not that far ahead of us… he can tell us more when we find him.”

“You said he was drunk?”

“Probably drunk. Most are if they’ve consumed a bottle of whiskey in less than an hour…..”

“He must know something then…”

“Of course he does…why do you think he’s bolted.”

Joe frowned, shook his head and was about to speak when he decided to think about a few things…for example Clay had been gone a long time, he had been in Australia a long time, and during that ‘long time’ he could have been in trouble..and trouble, had followed him here. He would not accept that Clay could have done anything wrong…his mind would not accept that, and he looked over at Adam and knew that even though Adam was worried about the man, even for the man, he knew more than he was saying.

They had entered into a small copse of trees now, dodging in and out to avoid being struck by low branches or snagged by undergrowth. Once Adam slowed down just to check that the horse ahead of them was still leaving clear tracks. They had just neared the end of the timber line when Joe exclaimed “That’s Clay ..just ahead..”

Sure enough Clay was ahead of them, and the horse was not going particularly fast. It seemed to the brothers that whatever had impelled Clay to ride out of town at full pelt, no longer seemed so imperative. Perhaps having been drunk he was chasing or running from demons of his own making, and now, had calmed down, certainly slowed down.

And then there was the crack of a rifle shot…Clay pulled his horse up and looked around as though he was not sure that he had heard it, certainly did not think it was aimed at him. Then there were two more shots in quick succession and the horse was down, Clay thrown clear, rose to his feet, more shots, he doubled over, legs went from under him, and Joe screamed his name “CLAY”

He leaned forward, intent to get his horse moving…but Adam reached out a hand and shook his head, put a finger to his lips signalling that he kept quiet. Joe struggled to free his arm from Adams grip, shook his head, looked with disgust at Adam and then turned in dismay to wards where Clay lay on the ground. Adam shook his head now, and pointed to the rocks behind which the shooter had been concealed. He pointed and looked at Joe and raised 3 fingers.. 3 men behind the rocks. ..He made a circle with his finger now and pointed to the rocks….he and Joe could circle around, head them off, catch them

Again Joe shook his hand free and with a scowl he urged his horse forward, out through the safe cover of the trees, and headed towards where Clay was now struggling to get to his feet, a pistol in his hands and a bewildered look on his face

“Clay…Clay..” Joe yelled as his horse pounded its way towards him, “It’s Joe…”

Clay heard Joe’s voice, grinned and turned towards him, a nod of the head, the sun glinting down on his hair, casting shadows on his face..”Joe..hey…”

Bullets hailed down…Clay was knocked back, fell, rolled, dropped his pistol and could not move. He tried to raise a hand to reach for the gun

Joe’s horse crashed down, squealed, lashed out with his legs and lay still, while Joe was catapulted over its head. Bullets spat into the ground around him, one passed through the sleeve of his shirt, burning across the flesh of his arm, he could feel the blood as it trickled down his flesh…he shook his head to throw off the clouds that would snatch thought from him. He had only one thought in mind now, to reach Clay, to save his brother….

Chapter 66

The same thoughts were racing through Adam’s mind…not to save Clay but to reach his brother and to protect him. Throughout his life, since Joe’s birth, there had been countless times when this same situation would arise…when his stomach would lurch and nausea would crowd his throat and his brain would feel like it was exploding.

Momentarily he leaned forward as though to urge the horse to leap through the trees and join Joe, but a fresh barrage of shots from the shooters made him pause and …as so often with him..apply logic to what was happening.

He could see that Joe had hunkered down behind his horse, and using his gun to good effect, he had also managed to pull out his rifle from its sheath and Adam knew how effective Joe was with that weapon. He was returning fire now, steady, methodically..

Adam turned the horse to walk it through the trees and thick undergrowth that would shield him. He could see clearly where the shooters were and knew exactly how he could reach them and how long it would take…if he were careful they would be none the wiser until it was too late for them.

Their shooting was not so random now, they were taking their time, trying to stop their antagonist from being too successful .. trying to stop him so they could finish off Clay Stafford.

Adam slid the rifle from its sheath, dismounted and then made his way up towards them. He kept low to the ground even though he was moving as fast as he could over the scree, not even caring too much when some loosened and trickled away making sounds that could alert them to his approach.

Now he could see them…three men, one of whom was wounded, his arm loose down his side, blood trickling to the ground from his fingers. The other two men were intent on the business

of stopping Joe from shooting at them

“This weren’t meant to happen…” one of them growled in an accent that was clipped, voice deep “Who is that geezer anyway?”

“How’d I know. Coggie, you alright?” the second man with violent red hair turned toward the injured man who was now sitting down on a rock, looking sick, “Once we get rid of that idiot we’ll get you seen too…cheer up, mate, we’ll soon get …”

He stopped, straightened up as he now saw Adam walking towards him, gun in one hand, rifle in the other. He swung his body round immediately so that he was confronting Adam full on, his own rifle levelled at the him. “No one invited you to this party, mate…I’d advise you to clear out if you know what’s good for you…”

Adam shrugged, his gun pointed at the injured man who was now looking as though he were about to pass out, his rifle pointed at the spokesman “I’d advise you to put the guns down, slowly. Now.”

The injured man moved, swung his gun in Adams direction but he was weak, his hand was trembling, he fired but the bullet went wild. Then he dropped the weapon on the ground, quickly following it with a thud.

Adam saw movement from the shooter who had been quietly getting to his feet, stepping closer to the spokesman, gun levelled “I think you’re out gunned, mate, don’t be a ‘drongo’ just put your guns down…this aint got nothing to do with you..”

Adam nodded, “You’re right, it does look like I’m outgunned…but I only need two bullets ..one for each of you…” he nodded over to the man on he ground “I don’t think we need worry too much about him…but to be honest, at this range, I don’t miss.”

“Strewth, mate, are you stupid…” the spokesman hissed, and shook his head “I could ‘ave taken your head off by now…”

“Then why haven’t you…” Adam replied and smiled slowly, he knew why…he had heard the crunch, soft though it was, from the footsteps behind him. He released his breath, “Guns down..”

“Are you the law…?” the quieter one asked as he tossed the rifle to the ground, and there was the sound of the other mans weapons dropping and both of them looking over Adams shoulder

“He isn’t” Nate’s voice said quietly, “But we are…”

Ethan gave a thin lipped grin at Adam as he passed him to handcuff the men, “Reckoned there would be something going on…”

“I have to see if Joe is alright…”

“Of course you do…” Ethan nodded “We’ll join you in a moment…”

But Adam was already hurrying away, now his mind was fixed on the safety of his brother, the hope that Joe was going to be alright. He was in such a hurry to get down that his foot slipped on some shale, but he righted himself without falling, and continued onwards. How could he ever forgive himself if Joe was seriously injured? How could he explain to Ben, to Mary Ann..”I left him there on his own…had to deal with the stupid men …should have waited for Nate and Ethan …but I didn’t, I didn’t.”

Joe was easing himself up on to his feet, looking around as though wondering why the shooting had stopped, expecting more to come, wondering whether it was safe to get to Clay now. He swung around, rifle levelled and ready to be used when he heard footsteps rushing towards him…his breathing was fast, he felt his head swimming but he bit down on his bottom lip and was about to put his finger to the trigger when he heard Adams voice shouting to him..then saw his brother hurrying towards him

“Adam? You here?” he swayed a little now, the rifle dropped from his fingers, and he grinned slightly as he somehow managed to fall into Adams arms, felt his brother’s strength, the warmth of his body, the beat of his heart as Adam carefully lowered himself and his ‘little brother’ to the ground.

“It’s alright Joe…you’re going to be alright…” Adam said quietly, that deep voice like smooth honey trickling into Joe’s hearing as he was helped down, and he felt himself relaxing, drifting and heard again “It’s all alright now…”

He was unconscious as Adams hands moved over his body…Adams fingers tore the sleeve of Joe’s shirt to check the wound to his arm, a straightforward in and out, messy but not life threatening. There was blood trickling from Joe’s hair line, a bullet must have creased his skull, and so far as he could see there were no other indication of injuries from bullets. He could feel something was not right…maybe some broken ribs…and he nodded as though agreeing with himself…when the horse threw him, he must have landed awkwardly, perhaps he had a concussion as well.

He stood up as he heard the sound of horses now, and turned to see Nate, Ethan and the three men approaching him, his own horse trotting along with them. Ethan held out the reins to him, which he took and then looked back down at Joe

“My brother needs a Doctor..could you take him into town? Use my horse…”

“What about you?” Nate said, and then glanced at the other body lying further along and nodded “I’ll get some help to you soon as we get to town..” he leaned down towards the other man, and said softly “These three are Australian…I don’t understand half of what they’re talking about but they don’t seem very professional to me…”

“They arn’t …” Adam said as he helped Ethan get Joe on his feet, and walked him over to the horse. “If they had been we’d all be dead by now…but wave a lot of money under anyone’s nose ..”

“Ah. That’s it is it..” again Nate glanced over at Clay “We’ll talk later, I should have something to tell you when I see you next.”

Adam nodded, said nothing as he concentrated on getting Joe up into the saddle. Joe’s head lolled a little then he shook his head, looked down at Adam

“Where’s Clay?”

“Don’t worry about Clay….I’ll be staying here with him …” Adam said and knew he was uttering a partial lie, true he would stay with Clay but just how accurate he was in telling Joe not to worry about the man .. he did not even know if Clay were alive or dead.

“No..I should..”

“You need to get to a Doctor, and Nate needs to find out what’s going on with those three jackasses..now just get out of here…”

Joe said nothing, his lips thinned, and he stared into Adam’s face, shook his head but then Ethan took hold of the reins and pulled the horse forward, leaving Joe no option but to follow along. He sagged in the saddle, looked over at Adam ..before allowing himself to be led away.

Adam bit down on his bottom lip..he knew Joe, knew him so well …he could read exactly what Joe would have said aloud had he dared to do so…he knew his brother was saying “You don’t even like Clay…he might even be dead for all you know..and if he isn’t..just how safe is he with you?”

Adam watched them go..Joe and the injured man, Coggie, both wobbling slightly in their saddles. He looked over his shoulder now at the man sprawled out on the ground and felt a shiver of shame at the realisation that none of them had paid him any heed. That was shameful , and he knew that Joe would have taken that as evidence of just how much Clay was disliked…

Clay felt an extraordinary weakness shift through his body, and he shivered, tried to move but felt only a numb throb beating through his skull, trickling down, down, until his limbs were jerking, twitching and he had no control over them..An incredible thirst burned his throat and his tongue felt overlarge in his mouth. The metal taste of blood …the smell of it.. was everywhere.

He could hear footsteps approaching and he tried to turn his head to where he remembered his gun had fallen but it was impossible for him to reach it. He could not move. He closed his eyes, swallowed what felt like dust in his mouth, and then when a shadow seemed to be standing between him and the sun he opened his eyes again

“Adam?” the word drifted from his mouth as a grunt and the thought occurred to him…why Adam? Why not Joe?

Adam knelt down beside the wounded man and slipped his arm behind his shoulders, carefully lifting him into a position where he could pour some water into Clay’s mouth. He slopped some down his chin, over his clothes, but Clay gulped what he could with an eagerness that spoke of some strength still in him.

There was a deal of blood..Adam was aware of the fact that he was actually kneeling in it, and that some had transferred onto his shirt…but he could not waste time on such matters, the important thing was to find out just where Clay was wounded and what he could do to stop the bleeding before the man bled out entirely

As he worked deftly, carefully, Adam wondered why Clay had come to this particular destination where three would be killers would be waiting for him. He located a wound, padded it with torn strips from Clays shirt, from a clean handkerchief, a bandana…it was stopping the flow of blood, but Clay desperately needed a Doctor …mentally Adam calculated that if Clay were not getting surgery within two hours he would be dead.

Clay drifted from consciousness to unconsciousness. His head lolled one moment and then he would be reaching for the canteen of water..then he would be mumbling words that made no sense..then he would pass out again. Sometimes he would whimper with pain, groan aloud if Adams ministrations had not been gentle enough..

Finally Adam had done all that he could..he sat back a little, took a swig from the canteen himself, and stared down at Clay, wondering what it was about this man that attracted so much tragedy, violence…he was deep in though when Clays fingers suddenly gripped him by the wrist, gripped him hard. He looked down and saw Clays eyes on him, watchful, a little fearful. He sighed and put a reassuring hand on Clay’s shoulder

“Doctors on the way, Clay.”

“Joe?”

“He’s safe..”

“Safe?” Clay looked puzzled and then shook his head “I thought I was coming here to meet Mary Ann…she sent me a message to meet her here…is she alright?

Chapter 67

Adam put down the canteen slowly, he could hear the water sloshing within it, a bird sang close by but sounded far away..far away. He felt panic so intense that his stomach cramped and he heaved in a deep breath to gain back control…Mary Ann! What was the man talking about – or rather – who?

He leaned back ,closer to Clay again,away from the shelter of the cliff wall..”What do you mean? You were to meet Mary Ann here/”

Clay’s eyes narrowed, slanted ..he heaved in a breath and when he spoke a mist of red droplets passed his lips, dripped onto his beard…”On my desk …”

So softly spoken..Adam had to lean in closer, and on doing so noticed that blood was again pumping faster from the wound below Clays ribs… he heard Clay something else but his main focus now was on stopping the blood. Keeping pressure on the wound slowed the bleeding, and in some small way eased the pain the main was undergoing now. He was losing colour, his skin was clammy and sweat rolled down his face and into his hair and beard. He groaned, ground his teeth, arched his back as though to throw the pain away from him..

Now all Adam could think about was what was delaying the Doctor. If he did not come soon, if he did not come and help Adam then Clay Stafford would be a dead man. He grabbed at the canteen and gulped down some water, then poured some into Clay’s mouth, over his face to cool the fever..

How much longer could he keep this up? Clay was becoming delirious, mumbling incoherently. He breathing was one moment too fast and another too slow, and when Adam checked his pulse it seemed to have stopped..

“Come on, Clay…don’t die on me now…” Adam groaned, and was about to grab the man by the remains of his blood soaked shirt and give him a good shake when Clay coughed, spitting blood, but breathing. His eyes flickered open and stared up at Adam, looked confused and then said in a grunt of a voice “Always one of the good guys, aren’t you, Adam?”

Then his eyes rolled up and he was unconscious again but his pulse was stronger. And now Adam could hear the roll of a wagon, horses…and coming towards him was Paul Martin, looking grim faced, but his eyes alert as he directed the wagon towards the two men.

The ambulance wagon had been utilised in Virginia City since the late 1860’s and never was a sight more welcome to a wounded or sick miner, prospector or settler than when one of them would roll into sight. Certainly Adam felt a surge of relief sweep over him as the wagon stopped, and Paul stepped down, his old medical bag swinging from his hand as he hurried over to them.

“How bad is it?” he asked as he approached,

“As bad as it gets, Paul. I was afraid he was going to die on me just now…”

“He’s lost a lot of blood by the looks of it.. can you keep compressing the worse wound while we get him to the hospital? I can’t risk anything out here in the open…”

Adam just nodded. He tried to think of something to say but words would not come to mind now. The main consideration was to get Clay to where he could get the help he needed.

It took a while to get the unconscious man into the wagon and onto the mattress laid on the boards to soften the journey. As Adam resumed his task of compressing the main wound he asked Paul if he had seen Joe, to which question Paul gave a curt nod, and said that Jimmy Chan and James had taken care of him. He was going to be alright…with patience and time.

“You got any water on you, Paul?”

“In that canteen there….”Paul jerked his head to where a canteen hung, and then glanced at Adam “Be a good idea if you could at least wash your hands before we get to the hospital, you look like you’ve been in a slaughter house.”

Adam said nothing to that…at one time the retort would have come out sharp and fast but not now, he was just aware of intense weariness, a fatigue beyond anything he had felt in a long time.

The trip into town seemed to take four times longer than it had taken to ride out of it. The ambulance pulled up outside the hospital, where two orderlies came running down toward them to carry the injured man inside. Paul stepped down to join them, then looked quickly at Adam who was now hurriedly pouring water over his hands to remove the blood….as for his clothes, well, the citizens of Virginia City had seen worse …

Adam remained standing until Paul had disappeared with Clay on the stretcher carried carefully into the hospital by the orderlies. The headache that had been threatening for the past hour now erupted behind his eyes and with a shake of the head he turned away, down to the main street

Solomon did a hasty double look at Adam as he pushed the bat wings open and stepped inside. He took one look at the mans face and decided to say nothing, just busied himself getting out a glass and pouring out two fingers of whiskey and pushing it across the counter .

Bo’sun hurried over and stood close to his old Commanding Officer. He had seen that look on his face times before .. he knew Adam would either tell what bothered him or…not.

Adam placed both hands on the counter and leaned against it, stared at the glass, sighed heavily. He glanced up at Sol

“You know where Joe is?”

“At the surgery..James Colby and Jim Chan are working on him.”

Adam nodded and picked up the glass.

“Do you know how he is?”

“I heard he was going to be alright…pity about the horse”

“The horse?” Adam frowned, he nodded “Oh yes, the horse.”

“How’s Clay?” Sol asked now, looking as discreetly as he could at the state of Adam’s clothes, his nostrils flaring a bit at the acrid smell coming from them…

Adam shook his head and looked intently at the whiskey in the glass “Alive.” then he turned, nodded at Bo’sun “Find me some clean clothes will you, Bo’sun?”

The other man nodded, stepped to one side as Adam picked up the glass and carried it across the room to the Managers office, Clay’s private domain..no one stopped him, just stood and watched him stride over, push open the door and then close it behind him.

“Know him well, do ya?” Sol said quietly leaning on the counter and staring over at that closed door

“Some years….gone through some hard times together let me tell ya…’ceptin’ I won’t of course.”

In the office Adam Cartwright walked to the desk…there was no note there, no neat little billet doux coyly tucked amongst other papers, or an untidy scrap wedged somewhere obvious…but with his head clanging and feeling wretchedly exhausted he retraced his footsteps back to the comfortable sofa, and sprawled himself down..legs splayed out, eyes closed, the glass of whiskey still clutched between the fingers of his left hand where evidence of Clays blood could still be seen around his finger nails .

Mary Ann…he had wanted to find out about Melissa Cole and got Mary Ann thrown into the mix. He flexed one shoulder and then the other…the week had been long and arduous, hard work clearing the ground, levelling it, making it a useable track …finished this afternoon. He gulped down some whiskey, rolled some round his mouth before swallowing that as well.

The section of road that Joe had been working on still was not clear…..his own section was cleared just after noon time…no one had taken the path into town except Reuben on Max Mary Ann only used a buggy. She could not navigate a buggy through a tangle of trees and undergrowth.

Could Ezra have taken a note to Clay from Mary Ann? Possibly. But she had not travelled the route to town to reach the destination ..where he had nearly been murdered.

He closed his eyes. If he finished this glass of whiskey he could just drift into sleep before going home.. he would tell Olivia’ all his worries and she would laugh at him, poor Mary Ann she would say…

A light tapping on the door and before he could say anything it opened and Dan deQuille stepped into the room. He almost tip toed across the rug to where Adam was not so much seated as sprawled. For a moment he stood there, looking down at the blood stained figure, and wishing he had brought along one of his camera men.

“I can hear you breathing you know…..” Adam hissed…”And smell that disgusting stuff you put on your hair.”

“So? It smells better than you do just now….” Daniel snapped back and stepped over to sit down on the sofa opposite the one Adam was on. “So? Do I have a scoop?”

Adam sighed and opened his eyes, narrowed them to get Daniel in focus…Daniel and his wretched notebook and little pencil..he shook his head “What do you know already?”

“More than most..I got those letters remember?”

Adam struggled to sit up, swallowed the last of the whiskey and set the glass down on the table, passed his tongue over his lips, “Clay could be dead now for all I know…”

“True.”

“Joe’s been hurt….”

“He’s going t be alright though…just saw Dr Colby, Joe has a broken leg, two fractured ribs, and a gunshot wound in the forearm…nothing too serious. It was the concussion they were worried about because of what happened before..if you remember when he..”

“Yeah I remember, “ Adam raised a hand, palm upwards as though to ward Daniel away “Isn’t that enough to write about for now?”

Daniel nodded, stood up and smiled “What about …”

A loud clearing of the throat came from the doorway, and he turned to see Solomon standing almost filling the gap he was so broad. “Mr deQuille, I reckon it was time you took your leave, sir.”

Daniel looked at Adam, then at Solomon, put the notebook and pencil away “Another time, then, Adam.”

The rancher said nothing, he had his eyes closed, his head reclining on the soft cushioned back of the sofa, the gentle rise and fall of his chest indicative of a man who had fallen asleep….

Dan nodded, sighed “Sure, another time, Adam.”

Chapter 68

They were dangling their legs over the banks edge, flipping water with their toes and sending sprays of spangles and sparkles twinkling in the sun before falling with light splattering into the river. Their shadows were beginning to lengthen now, and they knew that soon they would have to return to their respective homes.

Tommy licked the last of the sugar from his fingers and sighed, then leaned back into the grass. Bella thought it was all part of the game, she had loved playing along with them, enjoying the scraps thrown to her, and now, of course, this little podge of a human wanted her to lick all the sugar traces from his face..she set to with gusto which Tommy did his utmost to fend off.

The others laughed at seeing him wriggle about tussling with the little dog and Phil made the comment that seeing how Tommy shared out the least then Bella was making sure she got something …

“Guess we should be getting home now..” Jimmy pushed himself up onto his feet, and immediately Bella ran over to him, tail wagging, tongue lolling “Shall we go and see Davy now? Will we have time do you think?”

“I won’t be able to, my folks will want me to be back any time now…” Phil brushed away grass and remnants of the do.nuts and other goodies they had brought along with them.

“Yeah, me too….my Pa wants me to do some practise on the trumpet, he reckons I still ain’t good enough to take part in the July4th parade.”

“You should have chosen the violin instead…” Phil muttered “I would have done..I like the violin.”

Jimmy and Reuben looked at each other, smiled and nodded. It went without saying that they would be going to see their friend, even if he was not aware of it.

The four of them pulled on socks and shoes, and began the walk home, back to town. They were quiet for a while before Phil asked them if they had heard gunshots some time back..

the other three shook their heads so Phil just shrugged and when Reuben asked when abouts he had heard gunshots when no one else had Phil shook his head and said it didn’t matter, he must have imagined it.

They parted at Phil’s house, with Tommy taking Bella along with him to take over to Roy’s house. A wave of the hand and then Jimmy and Reuben were left to trudge up the track to the hospital.

“Do you think Davy will be awake when we get there. Jim?”

“I don’t know, he seemed ..well, he seemed far gone to me.” Jimmy replied with a deep scowl to his face “I had not really expected to see him looking like that..”

They had all speculated on how they had expected Davy to look, to react, when they had gone to see him. Disappointed, not understanding, so Reuben was surprised that Jimmy would bring the matter up again now as they made their way through the big doors. The smell of the hospital wrapped around them, and they both looked over at one another and wrinkled their noses in distaste before making their way to the stairs, up to Davy/s ward.

Halfway up they were surprised to see Nate Carney in deep conversation with one of the Doctors there. They both immediately stopped talking and looked at the boys, gave them a benevolent smile and waited for them to walk on.

“Wonder what thats all about,” Jim muttered as he head for the doors to where their friend was, hopefully, recovering

“Maybe it had something to do with those gunshots Phil said he heard….”

“Huh, well, I didn’t hear nothing…” Jim replied, shrugging the matter away.

They were expecting to see Mrs Riley still sitting beside Davy’s bed, so were caught by surprsied when they saw the librarian, Amelia Tyndale sitting in Mrs Rileys place. She was reading from a book, directing the words to Davy, so did not see them enter. They paused, wondering if they should continue on, wondering what she was doing there..apart from reading of course.

Her voice was very soft, very gentle and neither boy wished to step forward and make a sound to as to disturb her…she held the book with one hand and with the other had placed it upon Davy’s arm. The two boys looked at one another eyebrows raised..wondering what to do..what to say.. how to break this pleasant cameo

She sighed, turned a page and continued to read

Reuben tugged at Jimmy’s sleeve and jerked his head towards the door, then quickly they stepped back and out of the room.

“Didn’t expect to see her here…” Jimmy said, still frowning, still looking confused

“No..wonder what she was reading…”

“Huh, Probably something from the Bible, adults always read from the Bible if anyone’s ..well..really ill…”

“Didn’t look like the Bible to me…my Grandpa has several at home…so has my Pa…” Reuben put his hands in his pockets and sighed “Guess we’ll have to visit tomorrow, or some other time.”

“Will you be able to get in tomorrow?”

“Yeah, sure, Pa won’t mind.”

They came to an abrupt halt when Ethan Burns stepped out of one door and paused, looked at them thoughtfully and nodded

“You two come to see your Uncle Joe, Reuben?” he said, a slight curve of the lips the only indication that he could have been smiling.

“Uncle Joe?” Reuben stammered, and glanced around him, feeling as though something had kicked him in the stomach..those gun shots…no..surely not..

“Well, he isn’t here. He’s in the surgery on C Street.” and then he paused, stepped back “I’m sorry, Reuben, I thought you knew, I – I assumed that was why you were here….”

But he was speaking to empty space, the two boys had turned, and were hurrying down the stairs and out into the open as fast as their legs could carry them.

Hoss Cartwright had just dismounted outside the Sazarac when he saw the two boys running and weaving their way around pedestrians. He blinked, to make sure the two of them were the two he assumed them to be, and then stepped into their way, arms outstretched as though he needed to round them up like two runaway colts

“Hey, hey…”

“Uncle Hoss….” Reuben gasped, breathless, feeling as though his chest was about to explode “Have you seen Uncle Joe?”

“No. Why’d ya ask? What’s happened?”

“He’s been hurt..he’s in the surgery…and I don’t know where my Pa is….”

“Shucks….” Hoss stepped back a pace, then looked down at the boy and wrapped his arms around him “Wal, best we go and find out what’s my little brother been up to…yeah?”

Jimmy looked at Reuben, nodded and stepped away. This was family business…he stood alone on the pavement as Hoss gently led Reuben away, down towards the surgery which had once been Paul Martins domain for so many years.

Jimmy Chan was seated at a desk and writing down some notes when they pushed the door open . He nodded at them both gravely as he got to his feet and then sighed,

“You come to see Mr Joe?”

“Yeah…how is he, Jim?”

Jimmy looked from the big man to the little boy and then back to Hoss, before turning to lead them to the back room where Joe appeared to be asleep. Jimmy approached the bed and then reached for Joe’s pulse, then nodded at them as though they were in on a big secret of some kind, whereas in fact they were totally in the dark about everything.

“Right, well, Jim…what can you tell us? How come Joe’s here and not working on that thar track like he should have been?”

“Best you speak to Sheriff about that…” Jim replied stepping away from the man on the bed “But Mr Joe have bad concussion, bullet wound in arm, broken leg, fractured ribs…not so good just now …we keep him here, so we can observe his progress.”

“He isn’t going to die, is he?” Reuben asked, rather shakily

“No. He go home in two days.” Jimmy assured him, smiling and placing a gentle reassuring hand on the boys shoulder

“Do you know where my other brother happens to be, Jim? He was not involved in all this business was he?”

Reuben felt a shiver of fear trickle through him now, he had not even thought about his Pa, his very own Pa. He had just thought ..well, he had not thought about anything really. Joe was injured, no one mentioned Adam..his Pa…so he did not think that anything could have happened to him. What if he were in the other room where they did the surgery and things like that? What if Pa was there..dead…and he didn’t know.

His breath caught in his throat, he felt as though he were choking..and it seemed Jimmy realised the boy was struggling and knelt down in front of him, hands on his arms, and looking intently into his eyes “Your father not here…last seen going into Sazarac…all well.”

“I thought ..I thought … “ his voice wobbled, and a tear dripped onto his cheek which he hurriedly brushed away with the sleeve of his shirt.

Jimmy stood up and nodded down at the boy, as though he perfectly understood …then looked at Hoss who was staring over at Joe who has remained as still as a log, the gentle rise and fall of his chest the only indication that he was alive.

Jimmy followed them from the room and as Reuben headed for the door the Doctor touched Hoss’ arm, and explained very quietly that the incident involved Clay Stafford who had been taken to the hospital ..to be operated upon.

“Is it serious?” Hoss said in as close to a whisper as he could get

“I believe so…”

“And Adam.. where was he when all this was going on?”

“He was there.. he stayed with Mr Stafford until the ambulance could take him to hospital.”

“But Adam is alright?”

Jimmy Chan nodded, but there was no smile on his face as he opened the door to them, so that they could step onto the pavement, to the noise of the traffic and people talking, the hustle and bustle that was every day life for everyone….until it was not!

Hoss looked down at his nephew and sighed “Another fine mess my little brother has got us into…and ..”

“And Mr Stafford as well..” Reuben ventured to add, looking up to his Uncle and wondering what they will do next.

“Guess we had best find Adam and find out what exactly happened….” Hoss ran a hand across his jaw and again looked down at Reuben, then shook his head “Can’t take you with me, Reuben, kids ain’t allowed in the Sazarac”

“Why not?” Reuben instantly demanded.

They were walking down the street now towards the saloon, pass the Bucket of Blood, across from The Silver Dollar. Shouts and laughter, curses and shrieks to be heard from both and Hoss shook his head

“Ain’t no place for a shaver like you….”

“But why not? I won’t cause any trouble..”

“Yeah but you aint likely to buy any beer either are you..” and Hoss chuckled at that as though it were the funniest thing he had said in years.

“I could get some lemonade…and Uncle Hoss, you could just give them that look ..you know..the You Dont Want to Mess With Me look and they won’t throw you out ..or me either..”

Hoss sighed and shook his head “Sorry, Reuben, but it just ain’t that simple…”

They stopped outside the Sazarac and looked at one another, Hoss anxiously and Reuben hopefully..then Hoss shook his head and was about to say something when someone said

“Hello Reuben…did I see you at the hospital earlier?”

Hoss whipped off his hat and nodded politely and took the opportunity to disappear while Reuben blushed a little and nodded as Miss Amelia Tyndale smiled down at him.

“Yes, Ma’am, I and Jim ..we went to see how Davy was and you were reading to him…is he better now? Was he awake?”

Amelia sighed, and then shook her head. “I’m afraid not…”

“But you were reading to him…we saw you…”

“Sometimes it helps to read to someone in Davy’s condition, and it helps the person sitting by them, calms their nerves a little I suppose.” the smile appeared again, briefly, Reuben thought she had a very pleasant smile and her eyes were deep blue. “No, he remained unconscious, he’s a very sick boy.” she paused for a moment looking down at the anxious face gazing up at her, “Look, why not go and see how he is now…”

“Won’t the nurses mind?”

“They’re busy with other things and Davy may be unconscious, but he is aware of things going on..” she frowned and shook her head “I don’t know how that works but one can tell he is ..so may be a visit from a friend is just what he needs right now…what do you think?”

Reuben glanced at the saloon doors through which Hoss had disappeared earlier, well, going to see Davy was better than kicking his heels waiting …he nodded and when Amelia gave him the benefit of a really pretty smile he excused himself and began to run down the road towards the hospital… again.

Chapter 69

“Hey, Adam .. wake up…”

Hoss leaned in closer to his brother and frowned at the sight of him. He had been dismayed when he had first stepped into the room with his arms full of clothing that Bo’sun had thrust at him (“From Mrs Martin, she said not to make a habit of it”) and had realised why some clean pants and a shirt had seemed so necessary, but now…he shook his head and proeeded to shake Adams arm

“Adam,wake up…” he shook his head again and stepped back a pace or two “Ain’t time for napping now, brother…I need to know what’s going on..”

“What’s going on?” Adam mumbled, his voice slurred as he struggled to come to his senses. “Hoss? What you doin’ here?”

“Trying to get some sense outa ya! Bo’sun gave me these here clothes..you look a mess! Is that Joe’s blood? Are you wounded?”

Adam sat upright, narrowed his eyes to get Hoss in focus, rubbed them with the heels of his hands and closed them again. Just for a moment he waited for his head to stop clanging and his senses to settle. He heaved in a deep breath and rubbed his face with his hands, then looked at Hoss again and shook his head

“Joe got wounded…”

“Yah, I seen him…Jimmy Chan said he would be alright, just out cold for a while. Broken leg and ribs ..concussion..” Hoss thrust the clothes at his brother “Best get changed into these and tell me what’s been going on here…”

Adam nodded in acquiesance and got to his feet, stretched and began to unbutton his shirt. As quickly as he could he explained about the ambush, about Joe’s reckless dash to help Clay and bcoming another target for the shooters

“He didn’t think …” he slid off his pants, stiff with blood, and dropped them on the floor taking the clean ones from Hoss’ “Just put himself in a stupidly dangerous position..”

“Yeah, but it was..is..his brother, Adam..”

Adam gave Hossa somewhat scathing look ”Sure, I know…” he buttoned up the pants and then looked for his boots “Thing is there was another way of going about it…”

“Like you did..” Hoss replied sharply and in a tone of voice that indicated that Hoss did not entirely approve of what Adam had done..abandoning little brother like that…for shame!!

“Hoss, I would have been in the same predicament as Clay and Joe…I could see Joe was in a better position than Clay, the horse shielded him and he had got behind some boulders…for Pete’s sake. those shooters were not professionals but they did not need to be, it was like shooting fish in a barrel…and I didn’t intend to be one of them..not when it was more sensible to to get up there and stop them.”

Hoss nodded, “Dang Joe, he never stops to think first..so how come he got to town..”

“So happens Nate and Ethan suspected something and followed along behind.us .Joe went back to town with them on my horse and the shooters…three men were arrested and taken with them.. from their accents I would say they were definitely Australian.”

“Huh?” Hoss’ wrinkled his nose and shook his head then passed Adam his jacket, “Australian?”

“Well, that’s where Clay’s been for the last who knows how long…”

He bowed his head, had to think. Then pulled the papers deQuille had given him and the cable from the Pinkertons “Here read these, they may make more sense to you than anything I can say…”

He rubbed his face again, stiff, aching, and pain behind the eyes. “Look we best get to see Nate, find out what’s been going on with those men..may be they can explain who this Melissa is..and what the connection is between Clay and whoever sent all those papers…”

“What papers? These papers?” Hoss looked up from reading, obviously puzzled, confused and Adam realised with regret that Hoss had not any idea of that package Ben had been sent, those letters, and he put out a hand to clasp his brothers arm

“Pa got a package..full of letters, statements and reports about Clay..they go back years…and whoever it was sent it, wanted revenge. Or wanted something..maybe what they felt was justice, I don’t know..”

“How come Joe and I didn’t get to know about this all?”

“Because Pa was ..well..he wanted to see how it would all play out, I guess…I wanted to tell you but Pa ..well.. you know how Pa can get at times…Darn, I should have told you …” he shook his head and Hoss knew that that was about as close to an apology he was going to get from his brother about the matter at this point in time

They took the door from the office rather than walk through the saloon nnder the gaze of the folk there, Solomon, Bo’sun and the saloon girls…once in the alley they headed rightaway to the Sheriffs office. The sun was beginning to sink now and in a few hours it would be night fall. On the crossing over the road Adam noticed Reuben’s horse, reins tethered to the hitching rail outside of Roys property. He drew the wrong conclusion of course, assuming the boy was with Roy, Hoss did likewise…

At that moment of time Reuben was sitting beside his friend in the ward, with Mrs Riley close by. Davy was still unconscious and Reuben had picked up the book Miss Tyndale had left behind and was quietly reading to his friend the sorry tale of a young orphan called Oliver Twist.

……………

The sound of voices drifted towards them as they pushed open the door to the Sheriff’s office.

Some voices with a distinct Australian accent laced with some very profane expletives. As they closed the door Nate came from the cell area and nodded over at them and walked wearily over to his desk. Ethan was checking his finger nails and looking distracted but he graced the two brothers with a nod of the head and a wary smile.

“How are you getting on? Found out who they are yet? Why they’re here?” Adam demanded as he pulled out a chair and settled himself into it.

“Australian..all three of them” Nate volunteered as he sprawled out in his chair, his legs stretched out in front of him and the fingrs of both hands laced together over his stomach.

“Yeah?” Hoss pulled out a chair and sat down, nodded over at the sheriff “And?”

Nate shrugged and stared over at Ethan who said “That’s all we can tell you…they are Australian…they arrived here two days ago from ‘Frisco.”

“Yeah?” Hoss looked from one to the other of them “what else?”

“That’s all we know..apart from their names and the ship they came over from …” he produced some paper, and with a flourish read out “The Pacific Mail Steamship Company* sailing from Sydney to San Francisco.. steerage priced £17-$20 .. average time 20 to 25 days”*

he passed what amounted to be merely an advertising poster over to Adam

“Is that all you’ve managed to find out?” Adam scowled, the pain behind his eyes throbbing with renewed vigour now and his temper obviously totally frayed!

“One man was wounded …Dr Corby saw to him while Paul Martin was hauled in to go trundling off to find you and Clay.” Nate flipped at the corner of some paper with his thumb, “He put on an act of course, claimed to be dying…but….” he raised his eyes now to look at Adam and Hoss, “I don’t think we will get anything out of them just now.”

“Why not?” Hoss narrowed his eyes, his fingers curling into fists now and the colour mounting above his collar

“Because..” Nate shrugged “Whether it’s fear of disloyalty, being found out to be a snitch, or whatever…and there’s no point in threatening them either or going in and punchng their heads or anthing like that Hoss, it will just make them clam up tighter.” he sighed and shrugged again “Seen it too many times….” his eyes went from one face to the other, “Anyway, looks like you could both do with a cup of coffee…” he looked over at Ethan who nodded and dutifully approached the stove where the coffee pot was spitting on the hot metal surface “We’ll give them a meal, let them sleep the night off, give them a hearty break fast, and before you know it…they’ll be singing like birds”

“They’ve got a bird over there called a Kukkaburra, sounds like its laughing all the time..” Ethan handed the two men a mug of steaming coffee before returning to pour more into two cups for himself and Nate “I remember learning some about the place when I was a kid at school…fancied going their one time.”

The three men gave him a blank ‘what has that to do with what we were talking about look’ before returning to their coffee. Scowls on all their faces, eyes narrowed in concentration.

Nate cleared his throat and looked at Adam “How’s Clay?”

“Hmm” Adam paused and stared down at the murky depths of the coffee, “He’s in a bad way, Paul did not reckon on him lasting the journey to town…but he did…”

“And Joe?”

“He’ll be alright,” Hoss said, staring wistfully over to the entrance to the cells, obvious what was on his mind, knock a few heads together would get some results…and he would be more than happy to do the job “Concussions the main worry…”

Nate nodded and then looked at Adam “I can see the cogs spinning in your brain, Adam…so what are you thinking?”

“I’m wondering why three men would travel all that distance and take all that time to come here …why could not …” he paused and shook his head, “Doesn’t make sense…”

“What doesn’t…speak plain…” Hoss demanded, and gave Adam a long glare of his pale blue eyes which were beginning to get a little blood shot.

“Just something that does not sit right with me…that’s all…” he drank more of the coffee and sighed, shook his head “Can I go and see them?”

“You can.” Nate said solemnly “I’ll be close by…”

Adam nodded and got to his feet, followed by Hoss who was determined to stick close to make sure he did not miss out on anything else, after all, he felt like a man who had wandered into some play only to find it was the final act!

The three Australians watched as the Adam and Hoss approached them, they may or may not have been aware of Nate being close by but even so did not seem too bothered by it. One man stood up, and approached the bars, looked both Cartwrights up and down with narrowed eyes before he gave them a curt nod

“You’re the Cartwright ?” his accent did not seem quite as broad as Adam had expected and he looked, outwardly at least, calm. He was also a quite good looking man, with keen dark eyes that seemed to notice things others would not.

“I’m Adam Cartwright, my brother, Hoss…”

“Hhm, I see … but you ain’t any relation to Clay Stafford are ya, mate?”

“No..not really.”

“Not really.” the Australian grinned as he repeated the two words “Well, guess you want to know why we’re here..don’t’cha?”

“I know why you’re here. To kill Clay Stafford and claim a big fat reward from Mr Cole.”

There was a silence for a moment as both men stared at one another, getting the measure of their antagonist…finally the Australian nodded

“I guess in a nutshell that would be it…’cept there’s more to it than that…”

One of the other men shouted out now, among some expletives was the reminder to shut up, say nothing…and so with a twist of the lips, a shrug of the shoulders, the Australian nodded, and walked back to the bed, and sat down.

For a moment Hoss and Adam said nothing, just took a long hard look at the three men, one of whom was nursing an injured arm in a sling. Then they turned to leave, but Adam paused slightly, turned

“So…which one of you is related to Melissa Cole…”

Chapter 70

Hoss faltered but then rallied, followed Adam out from the cell block even as shouts came from behind them. The Australian to whom they had been talking was yelling for them to return and explain “What do you know about Melissa? What has Stafford told you about her?”

It took an effort of will on Adams part not to take the opportunity to return and get some answers from them, and Nate also wrestled with the problem and gave Adam a sharp look with eye brows raised but continued out into the office. The cell block door was closed firmly behind them, the shouting continued for some moment then subsided.

“What was that about?” Nate asked “Who’s this Melissa Cole?”

For a brief moment Adam said nothing, but kept rubbing his chin as though the answers would tumble out of his mouth as a result. Then he shook his head and shrugged

“I don’t know enough to tell you, Nate. There’s a lot ..a lot…of things that have happened in Australia that only Clay can tell us.” he glanced over at Hoss who was looking confused and troubled, the fact that he was in the dark about so much of what had happened, that package Adam had mentioned, was obviously annoying him

“And what makes you think any of them is related to whoever this Melissa gal is?” Nate now demanded to know, pausing at the stove to pour out more coffee into his cup and settling down in his chair, he narrowed his eyes and shook his head, “You know more than you’re letting on, Adam.”

“No..well..those three men…they aren’t professional shooters..I doubt if they even fired a gun in their lives.” he shrugged at the blank looks he received from them “Look, they were in a prime position …firing down on Clay. So..a professional would have picked him off within the first shot, maybe the second if the wind was against him…but those three, they were just firing off bullets like crazy men…one even managed to get himself shot!!”

Nate swallowed a mouthful of coffee while still staring at Adam, while Ethan poured out more for himself and thought over what Adam had said. He nodded agreement

“Makes sense…but what about the relationship you mentioned…what do you know about that? I mean…what made you assume any of them were related to her…that they weren’t there just for the money?”

Adam rubbed his hands together, looked slightly frustrated at having to spend time explainig something that seemed obvious to him,

“That trip from Australia to San Francisco is nearly a months journey, and not particularly pleasant if they came by steerage…if they were here for bounty then they would have taken half now and half when they returned, get a better berth that way for a start…”

“Make sense to me..but you don’t think they took the money from whoever…” Nate muttered “And do you know who this ‘whoever’ happens to be….”

“Melissa’s father..he’s a big shot in a place called Ballater and he put out a reward for anyone who found Clay…here, Hoss, pass me that cable from Pinkerton…” he glanced down at it and nodded “Those men left Sydney before this offer was made…apart from which..I kinda thought that it was more motivated by revenge ..anger..hate..the kind of emotion that someone would feel if someone they loved had been ..murdered.”

“You reckon Clay murdered this Melissa?” Ethan now said…glaning at Nate with the ‘what have we missed?’ look on his face.

“That’s what we need to find out….” Nate said slowly and again looked at Adam with a question in his eyes, but Adam turned away without answering ..after all, wha t could he say now?

“Do you think they would talk now…” Ethan jerked a thumb in the direction of the cells,

“I think it would be best to let them cool their heels a bit longer…” Nate replied quietly “They may be more willing to talk in the morning, let them worry about what we know…”

Adam nodded agreement and nudged Hoss’ elbow “Come on, let’s go see how Clay is getting on…and Joe…”

“Hey Adam, make sure you let us know what’s going on…” Nate said, and half rose in the chair “May be I should come along with you.”

But the door had already closed and for some reason Nate accepted the fact that even though he was the law, this was something that involved family, and would have to be dealt with by them

Hoss cleared his throat as they stepped onto the board walk, and reached out to grab Adam by the arm “Look here, Adam…what exactly is going on here? What package were you talking about? What or who is Melissa Cole?”

Adam stopped walking, and turned to look at his brother. “Look, Hoss, I don’t really know much more than Ive already told you…!”

“Which isn’t much…..” Hoss scowled jutting out his jaw in the way he always did when feeling aggrieved about anything

“I know..I know..” Adam sighed and put his hands on his hips, and looked at his brother in the way a school Principal looks at an errant student “Someone sent Pa this package full of information about Clay..not good information..”

“Sure I get that…” Hoss nodded and put his hands on his hips.

“Well, whoever sent it obviously hates Clay…”

“I can understand that feeling…” Hoss nodded, and folded his arms across his chest.

“I’m not sure what the person wanted us to do ..the information went back years..and then of course gets to refer to matters in Australia where this Melissa Cole is mentioned…” he tapped Hoss on the arm “You saw the letters to Daniel? You read ’em? That’s about as much as I know about her as well…..we need Clay to fill in the blanks….”

Hoss nodded again, he began to feel like the little nodding China ornament that Hop Sing had in his room…”Alright..and if he can’t…if he happens to be dead…”

Adam stretched his back to loosen the kinks in it.. he shrugged “If he’s dead I think we will find out who sent the package…I think whoever is behind all that … will crawl out of the woodwork .. “

“I see.” Hoss nodded and he slapped his brother on the back “Let’s hope Clay is alive enough to tell us what we need to know.”

Adam gave his brother rather a wry smile, there were times when Hoss’ matter of fact attitude even caught him by surprise…he glanced over to Roy’s home and was about to comment about the time of day to his brother when Reuben actually appeared.. It touched Adams heart to see the smile that lit up the boys face when he saw him, and he stopped, waited for the boy to run to him as he knew that he would…and did.

“Pa..I was wanting to see you ..are you alright?” anxious eyes turned to look up at him, a curl of dark hair fell across his brow and the sprinkle of freckles across his nose seemed to Adam a reminder of the age of the boy.

“I’m alright, son. We were just on our way to see Clay in the hospital…”

“I just came from there, Pa.” Reuben stepped back and heaved in a deep breath “Davy got hurt, did you know? Roy shot Mr Riley…shot him dead…and now Davy is in the hospital and he isn’t …he isn’t …doesn’t even know I’m there and he didn’t know Miss Tyndale was there either. Will it be alright for me to come in and see him again tomorrow , Pa?”

Adam saw emotions flicker across the boys face, fear, anxiety, pleading…he remembered times feeling like that when a boy, emotions so raw, so intense, but over time he learned to hide them away, keep them hidden ..he glanced over at Hoss and then looked back down at his son.

“Well, so long as you get your chores done..” he smiled, his hand stroked back the curl of hair just as years ago his father had done to Hoss, to Joe maybe even to himself…he shook the memories aside and came back to the present “Look, Reuben, you had best get on home now before it gets dark…”

“Can’t I go in with you, Pa?”

“I was going to ask you to do an important errand for us…you see, things are ..well, a little difficult just now and Hoss and I need to stay in town tonight..now I want you to tell Ma that everything is alright, just want to make sure that your Uncle Joe and Clay are going to be well enough to get home tomorrow…so get Ezra to let your Aunts know and ..let Aunt Mary Ann know that Joe is safe, and not to worry over much.”

“Huh, she’ll probably beat me into town tomorrow..” Reuben muttered with a comical twist of the mouth, a parody of a smile. Everyone knew how Mary Ann would fret over her husbands being confined to town “I’ll tell her to take our track into town, Pa…the one you and Uncle Hoss have levelled out.”

“That’s good, she will be able to get here much quicker..”

Adam straightened himself up and stepped back to watch as the boy hurried over to his horse, Max. He could feel Hoss fidgeting behind him and nodded, both men raised a hand in farewell to Reuben as the boy passed by and then began to walk on to the hospital.

“You reckon Joe and Clay will be well enough to get home tomorrow, Adam? Jest that I ain’t so sure myself.”

Adam made no reply to that, just gave a familiar roll of his shoulders and continued to walk on. Hoss just felt that things were running ahead of him too fast…he was both confused and annoyed and now he had been deprived of Hop Sings roast pork that evening. At that thought he stopped, tapped Adam on the shoulder

“Why’d you tell Reuben I would be staying in town…”

“Because you are, arn’t you?” Adam said wrapped in a sigh

“I didn’t know I was…”

Adam shrugged but continued to walk on “Look, if you want to go back now you can do so, won’t take you long to catch up with Reuben. But I thought you would prefer to stay here and see how things play out…with Clay and the Australians… You want some answers, don’t you?”

“I guess so..” Hoss replied with the image of the roast pork drifting away into the ether…

….. ……

The smell of the hospital drifted over them as soon as they had stepped through the doors. Not altogether pleasant but not unpleasant either. Adam asked a passing nurse for directions to Clay Staffords ward and after thanking her, led the way up the stair and to the ward where he expected to see Clay’s body, probably ready for the morgue. Their footsteps sounded over loud on the tiled flooring and received some stern looks from the two nurses on duty, one of whom came over to see what they wanted.

“Is Clay Stafford still here?” Hoss asked as it seemed Adam had forgotten how to speak for once.

“Third bed on the left…are you the Law?” she spoke crisply, scared Hoss to death so he blushed and dithered as he pulled off his hat

“No, Ma’am…”

“In which case I can’t really allow you to see him….”

“We are family..” Hoss now blurted out “Heard tell he was hurt somthin’ orful…he is still alive, ain’t he?”

“He is…” she glanced from one to the other and nodded “Don’t take too long, he’s a very sick man”

“Yes’ma’am” Hoss mumbled while Adam gave her the benefit of a somewhat wry smile.

“And don’t make so much noise..you sounded like a herd of buffalo just now…”

They watched her retreat and then looked at one another, rolled their eyes and then made their way to the bed she had indicated.

Clay did look like he could be dead within hours. Perhaps the beard made his face look paler by contrast. Both Cartwrights looked down at him and then looked at each other, Adam sighed and Hoss shrugged

“Don’t reckon we’ll get many answers from him …” Hoss muttered

“We’ll just have to wait for him to come round. “

“You mean stay here? All night?”

“If necessary…”

“I’m starving Adam…I only came into town in the first place to get something to eat…and that was hours ago.”

“Well, go then…go and eat …I’ll stay here.” he looked around and located some chairs lined up against the wall. He nodded over to them “Clay will either die or wake up and see a friendly face ..he’ll think he’s in heaven and confess all.”

“Huh..think you’re a funny guy do ya? Firstly I doubt if Clay will get to heaven and secondly ..you ain’t no friend of his…”

Adam said nothing to that but walked to the chairs, picked one up and took it over to the bedside… he sat down and glanced over at Hoss “You going places?” he asked, the words laced with sarcasm.

“Yeah…I am.” Hoss frowned “I’ll go check on Joe first though…” he paused “I’ll let you know how he is when I get back..”

…..

In the cells the three Australians had finished their conversation together. The man to whom Adam had been speaking had been the quieter of the three, but all of them were worried. They had hoped for a clean getaway, mission accomplished, no questions asked..and yet everything had been reversed.

Their names were Russell Taylor, ‘Coggie’ Wright the injured man, and Norris Cole.

Chapter 71

After a few moments the sounds of the ward trickled into the background. The coughs, snores and restless movements in the beds were interspersed by the nurses’ footsteps as they went from bed to bed, whispered words between them as they checked a patient and discussed what to do for them. It was all muted and far enough away for Adam to dwell on thoughts of his own.

As he sat there beside Clays bed he remembered the time, not so very long ago, when he sat beside his father’s bed in the hospital at Carson City. Long hours, frightening in many respects as Ben fought for both physical and mental well being. Memories that Adam preferred not to dwell on now.

He was thinking how Ben’s recovery had been nothing short of miraculous, in both aspects of health, when a gentle hand rested upon his shoulder and a voice quietly asked him what he was doing there

John Martin smiled with warm sincerity when Adam turned to look up at him, and then stood up to face him. They shook hands and then John looked over at Clay, and Adam noticed now the weariness in the Doctors face, lines that had not been etched there a while back now quite obvious.

“He’s a very sick man, Adam…”

“I know it…..” Adam pursed his lips, prepared to be stubborn and stick to his decision to stay

“Look, I’m not going to hide anything from you but it’s very doubtful he will come out of this. You could be sitting here a very long time for nothing…”

“I know that too…..” Adam nodded and glanced down at Clay, then looked at the Doctor “You think he’ll die, don’t you?”

“More chance of that than his coming out of this alive…” John approached the bed now and looked down at the sick man, and felt for his pulse, then checked his temperature. He shook his head and turned back to Adam who was watching all this with apprehension “Whatever the reason you have for sitting here all hours…”

“I need some information ..”

“I can’t see you getting it.”

They looked at one another frowning, anxious, until John said with a kindliness that softened the words “You look like you need to get some sleep, some rest, Adam…you won’t get it here. Why not leave it to us to care for Clay and if he does regain consciousness we will send for you right away. Please …as your Doctor and your friend…find a place to get some sleep otherwise it won’t be long before you’ll be in need of my services as a medic”

Adam shook his head, stared at Clay and willed him to open his eyes and speak right there and then but there was no response to a futile wish. He picked up his hat and paused a while before putting it on, unsure, indecisive

“Adam…please.. I promise to let you know if he regains consciousness …I promise.” and for good measure he placed a hand on Adam’s arm, squeezed it gently and was more than grateful when the rancher nodded, put on his hat and turned to leave.

Once outside Adam turned his steps towards where he knew he would find Hoss, and more importantly, Joseph.

…………….

Hoss was more than surprised and certainly delighted when the door opened and Adam stepped into the room where he had been sitting beside Joe for the past hour. Behind Adam came James Colby, smiling benevolently at them, he walked to the foot of the bed and looking down at Joe he told Adam what he had already told Hoss…that Joe was healing well, loss of blood meant shock to the body which leaves it exhausted. His leg was broken but it was a clean break so would heal well if the patient behaved himself . The main problem was with the concussion bearing in mind the situation Joe had been in a few years ago when he had suffered amnesia ..still did about that particular incident.

He expounded a little about the marvels of the brain, and also about its fragility, but when both men began to show signs of irritation he stopped, nodded and assured them that if Joe regained consciousness without giving them any undue concerns .. there would be no need for him to stay and ‘take up room for someone more needy.’

He was about to leave the room when Joe opened his eyes.

Three hazy blobs loomed large towards him, retreated and then slowly morphed into the faces of his brothers and James Colby. He had to blink a little to focus and then gave a weak smile

“Been waiting long?” he managed to ask in a rather hoarse voice

“Yeah…” Hoss said forcing himself not to give Joe a hug, just in case he broke something else.

James stepped up closer, checked Joe’s pulse, his temperature and caused Adam more irritation by doing so, having witnessed the same just moments earlier in the hospital with Clay. He realised he must be tired to be getting irritated about things so easily now but then James nodded and gave that look they had seen his Uncle, Paul, give so often…satisfaction at a patients recovery

“Can you remember what happened to you, Joe?” he asked watching the mans eyes, to check on the dilation of the pupils which could indicate the severity of concussion were there to be any. Joe glanced from James to his brothers, scowled slightly

“Yeah, I remember..my horse got shot from under me…” he frowned more deeply now and looked at Adam “You were there….Clay…” he swallowed “Clay was shot.”

Before either Hoss or Adam could speak James raised a hand to prevent them from saying a word. He leaned forward “Joe, how many fingers can you see?”

“Three…” Joe’s scowl deepened

“And who is President of the United States?”

“I don’t know, whoever it is I didn’t vote for him and it isn’t anyone called Grant…”

“Can you be serious for a moment….”

“I am. Anyway..” Joe elbowed himself into a sitting position, winced as he did so and nodded thanks when Hoss put his arm behind him and helped him, “So? What happened? I remember being shot at from above, thought my last day had come, thought for sure that Clay was dead…he isn’t, is he?” and again he gave Adam a very hard glare as though if Clay were dead it would be all his fault.

“He’s injured, badly, as you saw for yourself…” Adam replied, “But he’s in hospital, I’ve just left there …John Martin said he would be unconscious for a while yet…”

“So – he is alive?”

“So far ..yes, he is.” Adam replied which was probably not the best thing he could have said for Joe blanched and looked at Hoss, hoping he had something more positive to say.

Hoss now cleared his throat and after shooting a rather hostile look at his older brother turned to look down at Joe, and nodded placatingly

“Clays in safe hands, being well looked after…” then he frowned and shook his head “Anyhows, if’n you had jest got on with working on the track and not coming into town you would have been alright…”

“Heck, that darn track…the men wanted to get back to proper work…so we thought we’d leave it to the townsmen, most of them are or were miners anyway.” he settled back into the pillows and closed his eyes

“Are you alright, Joe?” Adam asked immediately seeing how James had opened his mouth to say something anyway

“Just tired”

“Headache?” James now asked reaching down to check Joe’s pulse

“Just a niggle…just wanna sleep for a bit ….”

James nodded, jerked his head at Hoss and Adam as an indication that they could leave the patient now and go about their business while Joe slept. Looking anxiously over at their younger brother Adam and Hoss were ushered out of the room, the door closed behind them . Within minutes they were ushered out into the street and the door of the building shut. Hoss looked at Adam and shrugged

“Reckon on something to eat?” he sighed, his stomach rumbled, he was a starving man.

His brother thought of all the things he needed or wanted to do, but he was tired, he was hungry and as Albierno’s restaurant was close by, nodded agreement. Patience he told himself is a virtue…

“Hoss, I was thinking..” Adam said from his side of the table with a plateful of food in front of him

“What now?”

“Pa decided that the package was really Clay’s problem, right?”

“If you say so….”

“So Pa gave the package to Clay … it should still be in Clays office…”

Hoss frowned, shook his head “You ain’t thinking what I’m thinking you’re thinking….”

“We could go and get it, look through and see if there is anything …” he paused, remembering the times he had scoured through the papers already, then he shrugged “Never mind, it doesn’t matter.”

“Yeah, it does matter…I’d like to see this here package for myself…see if I can make any more sense of it than you and Pa did….may even find out who this Melissa person is …” he cut through his steak and narrowed his eyes before putting the fork down again “You know, I wish that Clay had stayed in Australia…”

“You and me both, brother…” Adam murmured wholeheartedly and pushed his plate away to one side while he picked up his cup of coffee “Soon as you’re ready then…..”

Chapter 72

The ranch house was a welcoming sight after the long journey from town…even though the new track had lessened the time for those wanting a direct route from or to the ranch. Reuben had been a little annoyed when Chen had told him everyone had gone to the main house and Olivia had left a message for him to join them all there.

However, whereas his Uncle was mourning the loss of Hop Sings roast pork supper, Reuben was delighted. It was one meal that Chen had yet to surpass the old mans prowess and when the boy dismounted from Max his stomach rumbled in expectation of the fine meal awaiting him.

The sound of chatter and laughter greeted him as he pushed open the door to the big room, and the sight of his Grand father standing in front of the fire (unlit) and puffing on his pipe made him feel that everything was right in the world, even though he knew it was not and that the news he had to pass on to them would rock their world too.

Olivia’s pleasure at seeing her son was obvious from the way her eyes lit up and the smile on her lips, She stood up to greet him with one arm outstretched to gather him up into an embrace. He still enjoyed that but was just reaching the stage in his life when he wished she would not do it in front of others, even if they were family

“How’s the Gang…?” she smiled at him and he realised then that they had no idea about what had happened, about Mr Riley and his being shot by Roy ..he blinked and coughed to clear his throat. Olivia’s smile faded and the chatter seemed to fade away as well, as it seemed everyone in the room was looking at him and waiting for him to speak up

So he told them and as he related the horror of poor Davy’s injuries he wondered about how time had seemed to play tricks on him..it all seemed so long ago, and so much had happened in all that short time. Before any of them could express their sympathies or concerns for Davy he drew in a deep breath , swallowed, and launched into his meeting with his Uncle Hoss, seeing Uncle Joe…at which he was interrupted by a cry of alarm as Mary Ann jumped to her feet before collapsing back again onto the settee

“He’s alright, Aunt Mary-Ann, honest to goodness he is..” he assured her while thinking ‘yeah as I expected’ …”I saw him and then later on I saw Pa and he told me to tell you that he and Uncle Hoss were staying overnight to make sure Uncle Joe and Mr Stafford were alright ..and Uncle Hoss said that Uncle Joe would be alright to come home tomorrow.”

Bens back straightened at the mention of Clay and Joe’s names being mentioned simultaneously. “Do you know what happened? What did your Pa tell you?”

Reuben shrugged and looked at his mother. He had not expected such an inquisition, and Grandpa looked really angry and upset..he hauled in his breath again “I don’t know about Mr Stafford but Dr Chan said Uncle Joe had a bullet scratch and a broken leg and broken ribs, I think ..” he paused not sure if he had the facts right or not “I think he fell off his horse.”

“Fell off his horse!” Mary Ann cried with some derision in her voice, “What exactly is that supposed to mean?”

“I think that’s how he broke his leg and ribs…” Reuben muttered and turned to Olivia again, “Pa said not to worry …he’s staying in town with Uncle Hoss to make sure everything’s alright.”

Mary Ann rose to her feet immediately shaking her head and saying over and over that she had to get into town while Hester grabbed at her arm and tried to get her to sit down, and then Olivia asked Reuben if he knew what had happened to ‘Mr Stafford’

“No….but he’s in the hospital …and I saw Sheriff Carney there one time when we went to see Davy.”

Ben tapped the pipe against the logs on the fire, watched as the smouldering dottle emptied over them and then he placed the pipe back on the rack with the others…he nodded over at Mary Ann who was white faced and babbling things like “How did he fall off his horse? What was he doing in town? Why wasn’t he working on the track like he said he would..”

While Reuben was facing the inquisition on the Ponderosa his Uncle Hoss was licking another finger in order to turn over another page of the papers from the package…his brother had returned to his position of a few hours earlier, sprawled out on the settee, feet up on the low table with an empty glass of beer on the floor by his hand. To all intents and purposes he was once again asleep but in actuality he was merely hoping that was what Hoss would think in order not to be constantly bombarded with questions as Hoss flipped through one page after another of all the information now laid out about Clay Stafford

“Hey, Adam…who’s this here Julia person…” he boomed and reached for his second glass of beer. Adam had missed out on this provision from Sol who had assumed that when a man looked asleep then he was asleep….”Adam…wake up…”

Adam was about to ‘rouse himself’ when there was a loud rapping on the door which then opened before either of them could say a word. Ethan Burns stood in the entrance and looked from one to the other, then nodded and said in a quiet voice “You had best come on over… those men want to talk, and they won’t talk unless you’re there with us.”

There were only two of the Australians in the sheriffs office, seated on the opposite side of the desk and both looking mutinous and sullen. The wounded man had obviously opted out of being interviewed, preferring the comfort of the thin blanket on the hard bed in the cell.

Nate stood up as soon as Adam and Hoss stepped into the room, Ethan closing the door behind them. He nodded and shook their hands, a surprise move on his part and both brothers looked at one another with a ‘What’s going on?’ question on their faces.

“Take a seat, boys…” Nate indicated two chairs that Ethan had brought up close to the desk “And I would kindly remind you as I’m the Sheriff here I’m the one asking the questions…if you have anything to add you can do so later.”

Adam and Hoss exchanged another glance at one another, rolled their eyes and shook their heads, then took their seats looking guiltier than the two men about to be questioned.

Nate sat down and picked up his pen, dipped it into the ink and started scrawling the date and time on a piece of foolscap paper. He then sighed and pointed over to the two men

“These two men have volunteered to provide some information into the shooting of Clay Stafford which incident took place this afternoon..” he glanced at the two men who nodded their heads in agreement, “Russell Taylor . And Norris Cole. Both men from Ballarat in Australia.”

“Hey, ain’t that the same name as…” Hoss had jumped up, but received a sharp look from Nate so promptly sat down again. Adam sighed, stretched out his legs and crossed his arms over his chest, after giving his brother a gentle tap on the ankle with his foot. “I was jest going to say …”

“Hoss Cartwright…” Nate sighed and looked at Ethan as though to convey the message to either gag the man or stick him in a cell somewhere.

The two Australians smirked and looked at one another as though enjoying the pantomime.

“Norris Cole…”

“Yeah…”

“You can’t deny the charges but an explanation as to why you ..”

“Is he dead yet?” the man called Russell blurted out, he looked the most nervous of the two men, and looked wildly at Nate and then Ethan.

“I can’t tell you, as I don’t know…as of an hour ago he was still hanging on there..you did not do much of a good job there, boys, just shooting wild like you were….” Nate raised his eyebrows and both men slumped in their chairs as though Nate’s comment on their shooting abilities had hurt their feelings

“We ain’t never handled guns before..” Russell now said, his red hair tousled, greasy and hanging down over his shoulders “We .. Norris and me …we’re not part of the huntin’ shootin’ folks, I’m ..I mean.. I was Mayor Cole’s private secretary, had no need to go shooting anybody.”

“Mayor Cole…” Nate looked at Norris, “Your father?” and when the man just nodded, his mouth clamped shut, Nate jotted the information down before asking if he was also related to the girl Melissa Cole.

Norris looked down at the floor, his lips trembled and he appeared momentarily emotional, but he nodded agreement before looking up and staring fiercely in a show of defiance at Nate

“Did you come here on the deliberate purpose to kill Clay Stafford?”

Both men nodded, looked at one another as though expecting the other to speak and explain but then said nothing. Nate frowned…”It would help if you could explain exactly why …”

“Why? What fool question is that to ask…” Norris yelled “What do you expect a man to do when some Yank comes along and murders his little sister…I wish I had known better how to shoot a man, I sure do wish that…”

“I understand that Mayor Cole has offered a substantial reward to anyone who finds Clay Stafford…”

“I don’t know nothing about that…” Norris frowned and then looked at Russell “Did you know?”

“No mate, no idea. Your Dad never said a dickie bird about it to me…” he looked over at Nate “We decided to come over and get him ourselves..once we knew where he was …Melissa…she and me..we were going to get married…” his voice wobbled, his eyes became moist “I didn’t need no body to wave money under my nose to come out here to get him…”

He brushed a hand across his eyes, removing the tears that were threatening to unman him in front of everyone. He hauled in his breath and then looked at Norris before bowing his head and staring down at the floor.

Adam glanced over at Nate, opened his mouth..but Nate threw him a look that compelled him to be quiet. Surely this Russell could not have been planning on marrying the girl if Clay was courting her as the Ballarat Courier had stated. He rolled his shoulders to loosen the knots in them and studied both men more carefully, just as Nate was doing, looking for the tells, the indications of the lies…

“You were going to marry Miss Cole.?”

“Yep, but…” he glanced at Norris and raised his eyebrows, as clear a sign of seeking his approval as ever there was one..

“Go on, “ prompted Nate his eyes slanting from one man to the other as though preparing for a whole string of lies to spout forth.

Mayor Cole happens to be one of the wealthiest men in the state..he had to be ruthless to get there, really ruthless…and he doesn’t actually encourage a man to reach his heights, fact is, he doesn’t encourage anyone to even get their foot on the first rung up the ladder..” again, a quik look over at Norris, before he shrugged “I was not even off the ground….my foot weren’t on the first rung of that ladder…and that’s where he liked me to stay.”

“Enough of the history lesson…” Nate sighed, and glanced over at Adam who was looking quite intrigued “Get on with your statement..keep it short and concise ..”

“Mayor Cole did not approve of a mere secretary courting his daughter so Clay..we were mates at the time, he agreed to act as though he would be courting Mel….bring her to me ..then go on to a card game…he was alright then, weren’t he, Norris?”

Norris nodded and frowned “Look, don’t get the wrong idea about Mel, she was not a flighty girl, she just went along with the charade and Clay didn’t seem to mind.” he cleared his throat “Clay, being that much older, and with is connections, and the mine being so profitable …he was way up the ladder Russ was talking about, my father thought Clay was the best thing possible for the family…he probably had in mind how he could benefit from that gold mine to be honest…”

“So when did things change?” Nate asked, writing the last words carefully on the paper and then looking up at them both “Something did change, didn’t it?”

Both men moved in their chairs as though to get more comfortable..looked at one another and nodded Norris continued..

“Oggie worked for my father..had the same treatment as Russ, servants, not worth spit…but thing is, after a while folk forgot that servants notice and hear everything…and 0ggie heard that my father had found out about Clay and Mel’s pretence and was raging furious. When my father loses his temper I’d rather face four kanga’s in a boxing ring …”

“Keep to the facts, Mr Cole” Nate muttered and scowled at both men

“He called us both in, Me and Mel….he raged at us, demanded to know if what he had heard was true, threatened to disinherit us..both of us…and we denied it..and Russ denied it as well…”

They lapsed into silence then and it was at that point the door opened and Fire Chief Cliff Porter stepped into the room, nodded over at Nate and then looked over at Adam

“Spare a moment, Adam? I need to tell you something”

Chapter 73

Nate gave an audible sigh as Adam got to his feet, ran his fingers through his hair and picked up his hat to leave the room. Hoss was in half a mind to follow him but decided it was better for him to stay where he was so he could tell Adam everything he had missed of the interview.

Norris and Russell watched as the door closed on the rancher and then turned to Nate, gulped a little and licked dry lips. Nate sighed again and looked over at Ethan “Time for some coffee, gentlemen?”

………

Cliff waited until Adam was well away from the sheriff’s office and then fidgeted a little, before looking up into the other man’s face

“I heard tell that Stafford’s been shot?”

Adam inclined his head and Cliff looked nervously over at the building before he began to fumble in his shirt pocket

“My wife told me when I went in earlier, then she gave me this..it’s from her sister, Suzanne…we had not had a letter from her in a while, so I thought, but then she gave me this ..came about four months ago..”

“Four months? Why’d she not tell you..”

“You’ll see when you read the first few paragraphs….” Cliff licked his lips, cleared his throat, “Is he dead?”

“Who? Clay? No, not yet as far as I know…”

Cliff nodded and then waited for Adam to open up the paper and to start reading…

My dear sister,

I trust you are all well…I know I have not written to you for a long while and no doubt you were worried about us. There is no need to be as we are doing well.

Something very strange happened some time ago, but I was unable to tell you or anyone about it I had to sign some legal documents not to tell anyone about this but knowing how worried you would be …well, I shall tell you some..

A while ago a woman came to see me and she wanted to know all about what happened with Clay Stafford and how he caused my dear husbands death…so I told her…I told her everything and probably more besides, because I hate that man so much…I even told her that Ben Cartwright who owned the Ponderosa have given Stafford some land for his own and he had more or less thrown in back in Bens face….

She had me write it all down…names, dates, times…every detail…She did not speak much, but she did say she knew Ben Cartwright. She did not give me her name but promised me a lot of money. I got a bit scared then…wondered what I had done…whether or not I should have mentioned about Ben ..

She was wealthy, could see that from her clothes, , her face was covered by a veil but I could see she was not young…and she was ..well.. yes, she was intimidating.

A man came a few days later with a packet and it contained more money than I have ever seen in my life…and the papers that I had to sign..so now we have a pleasant home in a better area, and the children go to good school.

Whoever this woman is..she surely hates Clay Stafford…even more than I do, and that’s saying something.”

Adam read the letter twice over before looking up to face Clifford Porter who was watching him like he would a snake about to strike. Then he refolded the letter and handed it back to the Fire Chief asking him if he had seen the letter before but the man shook his head,

“Like I told you, Adam, she only just showed it to me…” he put the envelope back into his pocket and shrugged “Anyway thought you should see it..as you wanted to know ..”

“I did…thanks, Cliff.”

A nod of the head and the man turned away, and walked back to his office. Adam watched him for a while, not that he could or was actually watching him, his mind was on that letter, trying to make sense of what he had read…trying to puzzle out who the woman could have been, a woman who claimed to know Ben Cartwright, and who, possibly, could be the writer of the letters, who had obviously been collecting news about Clay over the years…

He shook his head, facts and information were jangling around in his brain and some were floating out of reach, and nothing seemed to be coming together. There was something that Russell had said…something that now seemed nebulous, but at the time had struck Adam as significant.

He had been standing on the pavement without moving for five minutes when Hoss stepped outside of the Sheriff’s office and called him out of his reverie. He looked over at Hoss as though still lost in fog.

“Nate’s sent them back to their cell. Reckons he can’t make sense out of them…from what they’ve said Clay comes over as the best pal they could ever have…still ain’t explained why they were out to kill him.” he cleared his throat “You hear me. Adam?”

“I hear ya. Thing is Nate needs to ask the right questions…and he can’t do that without knowing the facts.”

“Shucks, ain’t that what he’s trying to do…get the facts?” Hoss shook his head and then glanced over his shoulder towards the office where the Fire Chief had gone, “What did Cliff want you for?”

“His wife had a letter from her sister.”

“Ah, yeah, well, that explains a lot….”

“Hoss, we need to get back to reading through those statements and …and try to pick out the relevant facts in them that fit together with what Norris and Russell just told us”

“They didn’t actually tell us anything…’cept that Mr Cole was not the most pleasant character.. didn’t mind his gal courting an older man, so long as he was rich…which Clay was at the time…and “

“And he had the right connections, Hoss…that’s what they said…Clay had the mine .and the right connections….”

They were walking back to the Sazarac now, Hoss trying to remember exactly what was said and Adam struggling to add 2 plus 2 to make the correct answer, so far it kept adding up to 5

……………

The saloon Manager’s office was just as they had left it. All the papers from the package set out on the desk as far as Hoss had got, and the pile that he still had to wade through. But now it was Adam who sat down at the desk, with Hoss seated on a chair opposite him in order to write down any thing that Adam felt was relevant.

“How do you know its relevant or not?” Hoss demanded, licking the tip of the pencil and smoothing out a fresh sheet of paper

“I won’t know for sure until we back check what you’ll have written down…see what the common denominator is…”

“The what? How do you spell that?”

“Just write down what I tell you…there has to be a thread, a reason ..someone or something that ties all these events together.”

“Apart from Clay being a regular thorn in the flesh…”

“Well, that’s one way of putting it..” he spread out the papers on the desk fanning them out like he would a pack of cards ready to deal out.. ”Right…let’s start at the beginning…..”

The shadows in the room were darkening as night had now fallen. Outside in the saloon the sounds became louder, shouts and laughter seeped from under the doorway. At one stage Sol came in with a jug of coffee and cups for them rather bemused at the two men working their way through a pile of newspaper clippings and scribbles on paper…

As the time ticked on he returned with more coffee and sandwiches for them…and when he returned at midnight, all but one of the lights had been extinguished and both men had taken over a settee and appeared to be asleep…there was no sign of all the papers now, just a large brown package.

…………………

Sometime before Hoss and Adam had finished their self appointed task of re-examining the rather lurid history of Clay Stafford, their father rode into town, dismounted outside the surgery and demanded to see his son.

Ben had persuaded Mary Ann that riding in the dark would not have been a good idea, apart from which her children needed her at home with them. He would go in and see how things were, and having calmed her to some extent, he then felt he had to put words into action.

The ride into town on the new road was pleasant enough, The evening succumbed to darkness lit only by a lazy moon that shone only a tawdry light through the clouds, and the breeze had drifted through the trees bringing fresh smells that helped him relax.

The main thing that worried him was why Joe had been with Clay…who had shot them…why had not Hoss or Adam been home to tell them exactly what was happening.

Chapter 74

First there had been the pain… indescribable

Then along with the pain had come the weakness… every bone in his body turned to mush, no strength to protest at the hands that grabbed at him and carried him and dropped him down sending shards of pain through a body that no longer seemed to belong to him….

More pain than he had ever known before, strange sensations, his eyes were not functioning because he had no strength to open them to see what was happening.

There was movement all around him. Voices at times close and at times far away…coming, going, too loud, too faint.

And now he felt as though he were floating … perhaps he was dead and this was heaven? In which case where was the harp. Inside his head he laughed at the thought…he had no aspirations about heaven, no illusions either.

He so wanted to open his eyes and see where he was and what was happening.

…………….

Ben Cartwright looked down at his son and shook his head, then looked up at James Colby who was now at the surgery working ‘his shift’ as he explained to Ben…”I was not here when they brought him in..” he had opened the door to the inner room where Joe lay, “Jimmy looked after him…”

“From what Reuben said his injuries are not serious…?”

“I would not think so…he ate a good supper earlier and we had a coherent conversation .”

“Did he – I mean – do you know what happened? I believe Clay Stafford was involved in this um er – incident?”

James nodded and looked down at the man asleep on the bed, and looking remarkably peaceful and content.

“From what I have been told Clay was attacked , Adam and Joe ..”

“Adam was involved as well?”

James coughed, cleared his throat and looked down once again at Joe who now snored,almost on cue because it brought his father’s attention back to him

“Joe apparently rushed from cover to assist Clay, his horse was shot from under him and that was what caused his leg and ribs …broken… “ he nodded as though that was significant “but clean breaks and will heal depending on how patient he is in recovery. A bullet passed through his forearm, thankfully without causing too much harm, messy though, and could be painful for a while…we were mostly concerned that he had concussion but if he had had one, he has recovered from it now.”

“And that’s all?” Ben said, relieved as always. From being anxious to the point of fear for his youngest, he was now annoyed that he had had to ride into town to find out that Joe was really relatively unharmed.

He looked from Joe to James and smiled, that warm generous smile that showed his relief and his gratitude to the Doctors of course and to the One he believed to be the great protector involved here ..again. James smiled back and turned to leave the room followed by the old man, who looked back at his son, and shook his head as though something struck him as amusing…it was not, of course, there was nothing amusing to see one’s son in this situation, but Joe had certainly used up his share of near death experiences during his life time.

“James, you mentioned that Adam was there… for a moment I was expecting you to tell me that he had been injured and then recalled that Reuben had met him and Hoss …”

“Yes, they came here to see Joe….oh Adam’s fine.” he raised his eyebrows and then gave a wry grin “Adam chose to help the situation in a different way….I believe he decided to stop the shooting by removing the shooters…Australians…”

“Australians???”

“So I’m led to believe… one of the deputies told me that there were three of them, totally inept at shooting… although having said that they did a lot of harm to Clay. He’s pretty badly injured, in the hospital.”

Ben said nothing to that, but stared at the far wall and turned his hat round and round between his hands trying to work out the connection between Clay and the Australians…and then he gave a grunt, and then he saw it..the newspaper accounts from Ballarat, the statements from various witnesses to events..from Australia….he looked at James,

“Thanks for looking after Joe, when can he come home? Mary Ann is in pieces, practically had to tie her to the chair…” he frowned and sighed “Joe going missing, getting himself injured like he has these past years, puts her on edge … “

“He does seem like a magnet for trouble, Ben” James grinned as he followed the rancher out to the door. But then Ben paused a moment and asked the Doctor if it were true that Roy had shot the undertaker, which got a very definite nod of the head

“He did, self defence, Riley was going to shoot him… and the dog”

“The dog?” Bens eyebrows shot up “What dog?”

“Davy’s dog…. Roy had been looking after it for the boy…”

That just got a grunt from Ben who then bade the Doctor good night and made his way on to the street.

Where next? Too many choices…. and he was tired. Where could he get a decent cup of coffee and perhaps something to eat? He found himself heading towards Roy’s house, guarantee’d the worse coffee in town ..

……………..

Were they memories then? Or dreams? This floating feeling was pleasant, and the pain was now just an itch throughout his body. Somehow he had floated straight into a room, a really beautiful room full of antique furniture, ornaments and he knew as he looked around that he had to tread carefully, if he knocked something over, spilled his lemonade even…he would be punished.

Punishment went hand in hand with the luxury in which he lived. This may be a memory or a dream, but that he knew to be a reality.

An old man sat behind a very ornate desk studying a big book, the pages of which he turned and then every so often he would stop, study it, then carefully pick up something on the desk and very gently place it in the page….what was he doing?

He could see himself, a small boy, walking up to the old man who smiled fondly at him, and said something, pointing to the book…explaining that he had just placed down a new stamp for some where far away. Stamps. There was a special word for that, collecting stamps…and the book was thick, full of them, so the old man must have been collecting stamps for years.

When he, or rather the boy he was watching in this strange dream, memory, turned to the other chair, opposite the desk and close to the fire, he saw the old woman…and his heart started to beat faster…he did not see her face. He did not want to see her face. He hated her.

A stable and he was standing by a horse. He was bigger now. He was standing by his horse, and he knew its name was Jasper. There was a man talking to the house keeper, he had a boy of similar age to himself standing beside him…the boy was not interested in the conversation but he liked the horses and kept turning to look at them.

He was in another room now… it was painted blue and gold, with huge windows and heavy drapes that fell in swathes to the floor. Two girls were sitting demurely on a settee and his Grandmother was talking to a handsome man … this man visited often, always with his wife and two daughters. He had been told to be polite to them, to play ‘nicely’ with the girls – whatever that was supposed to mean.

The wife was very beautiful. He thought her almost as lovely as his own mother whom he seldom saw…but wished he did see more often.

Looking down on this memory the boy tried to think who these people were…and where was his mother? He wondered where she was and where was his father?

Where were they? Did they not love him?

The couple came with the two girls often…he knew from looking down at this dream like memory that they were regular visitors at the house. They teased him a lot, because it pleased the old lady. But they were pretty girls and he was a handsome boy so in time they stopped teasing..the scene he was sharing with his other self was pleasant, laughter, family.

They were leaving on a ship, a big ship…he waved to them from the quayside along with the old couple, waved and waved and wondered if he would ever see them again. They were going far far away.

Next scene…they were changing fast, like cards being slapped down onto the table , memories skittering through his mind … he the observer, watching his younger self… and he was standing beside his Grandfather at t he big desk and being shown stamps and the old man was saying that that was where the family were going..the man and his wife and the two girls, they were going far away to a land called Australia.

They had beaten him and the pain trickled through his body …but it had meant nothing really, physical pain was something he had learned to deal with, Grandmother enjoyed it so he tried to lessen her enjoyment by not crying, but the words she had said were horrible horrible words for a little boy…perhaps not so little now..to be told

“Your father’s dead….and that slut of a mother of yours has gone to live with her latest paramour..you’ll never see her again..you will not mention her name in this house do you understand because if you do ..then I will hurt you…”

………………………….

The nurse called for the Doctor who came and took Clay’s pulse and checked that there was no blood on the bandages. Temperature was higher and the man was restless, moving erratically in the bed. Perhaps the pain was getting too much now.

“Give him another dose of morphine…”

“The same dosage?”

“Slightly higher…. yes, increase it to the next level. His heart beat is too fast, something is causing this….” he leaned down over the patient then straightened up “Keep him under observation. No visitors until I say so…I don’t want him further agitated.”

She nodded and hurried to carry out her instructions. Clay took the medication, even without opening his eyes but he had heard them, knew it was for his well being..knew he had to do ‘what he was told.’

And it had its benefits of course because immediately he was floating away again … he was looking down at the big house, the city of New Orleans, he could smell the heat and the food cooking …it was such a real dream he hardly wanted it to stop until …he was back in the stable, with Jasper

“What’s his name?”

The boy who had been with the man…no sign of the man now…just the boy standing there in front of him. Same age as him, black hair, brown eyes in a brown face…rough clothes, well, Grandmother would not approve of that for sure.

“Jasper…he’s my own horse.”

The boy had nodded, and stroked the animals sleek neck. Looking down upon the scene he had felt a surge of possessiveness, the horse is mine,don’t touch, he’s mine …he pulled the horse away so that the other boy could not stroke him any more.

“What’s your name?” he asked feeling somewhat ashamed of himself and not sure why he had acted like that, after all the boy was a stranger, would be gone soon.

“Adam … Adam Cartwright.”

Then he had turned away and then he was gone……it was all gone…the memories …the dreams

Chapter 75

Having had enough bad coffee to float a ship Ben left Roy’s home before he floundered. The town was wearing its night time garb now, noisy, risky, and for a moment he wondered whether or not to stay .

It had been good to talk over things with Roy, to go over old times, to meander over new times….to niggle over the fears for the new generation as no doubt the same fears were concerns in the past. But now he was out and the sky was dark with the stars often times clouded over and not so generous in providing their light for weary travellers.

He felt that he should enquire about Clay so made his way to the hospital where he was told that the man was seriously ill, and was not to be disturbed by visitors. Yes, he was told, perhaps tomorrow.

He remounted his horse and despite the gloom of the night he remembered that he had promised Mary Ann that he would return to let her know how Joe was…and with that thought in mind he headed out of town towards the Ponderosa.

There had been no sign of Adam or Hoss’ nor of their horses, so he assumed they were either home or bedded down somewhere with the animals in the livery. He did wonder about stopping at the Bucket of Blood or the Sazarac for a drink but decided with all the coffee he had already consumed, it would be the course of wisdom to just ride home. At least with the new track the journey would be an hour shorter and as he thought thus, the moon peeked out from the clouds and bathed him in bright moon light.

Nate stepped into his path, hand raised in salute, rifle cradled in his arm ..”Going home, Ben?”

“I am… I came to check on Joe and Clay…”

“How are they?”

“Joe’s doing well, but Clay….” he shook his head and shrugged “No visitors, so must be serious.”

“Mmm “ Nate approached the horse, and nodded “Thought he would be dead by now. We got the 3 men who were shooting at him… Australians.”

“I heard.”

Nate rubbed his chin, shook his head “I don’t make sense of what they are telling me…cut the interview short until tomorrow. Seems like a personal grudge plus the murder of a young woman ,,,”

“Melissa?”

“Yeah…one of them is her brother, and the other claims to be engaged to her…but the way they are talking just now they sound like Clay was a close friend, just don’t make sense why they would come all this way to shoot a friend.”

“Probably find out more tomorrow, Nate.”

Nate nodded and then stepped back out of Ben’s way so that the big horse could continue onto its journey. Nate glanced up at the moon, straightened his back to get the kinks out of his spine and walked on. Half an hour and he would be home…. he was a solitary man, lived a lonely life, but it provided him with opportunity enough to rest, relax and be ready for the new day.

Ben meanwhile jogged along towards home, almost missed the turning off into the new road, too deep in thought about what Nate had told him, too tired to turn back and get an hotel room. ……………

Sol started his mornings early. There was a lot to do to prepare for the new day. However he had not forgotten the men in the Managers office and rustled them up something to eat, plus a jug of hot steaming coffee

Hoss was still snoring, his fingers laced across his stomach, but he instinctively stirred upon the entrance of food. Sol set it all down on the low table and looked around him, then nodded over at Adam who was seated at Clays desk, writing notes down on some paper. There seemed to be as much paper on the floor as there was on the desk!

“Any news about Clay, Sol?” Adam asked, pushing himself away from the desk and getting to his feet.

“Doctor said no visitors…perhaps later.” Sol nodded over to the table “Brought you some food…”

Adam thanked him, Hoss grunted and stood up, scratched under his arm pits, yawned mightily and then shook his head as though that way he could shake away the cobwebs of any sleep in his brain.

“Well, Hoss, thanks to you I think I have worked out who our mystery lady is..” Adam tapped the package and smiled although his eyes were weary and lacked any gleam of victory in them. “Once we’ve eaten we need to see Nate and have a conversation with those Australians…” he frowned and tapped his chin thoughtfully with his fingers “Could be all tied in together if my thinking is correct.”

Hoss only nodded, too busy pouring out coffee and eating. Then he paused and looked at his brother with eyebrows raised “Did you say I did something that helped ?”

“Don’t be surprised, Hoss, you’re a real intelligent man, you just keep your cards close to your chest, is all.” Adam smiled and left the desk to join his brother at the table, and began to eat, the coffee was hot and strong..he nodded to himself and gave a slight smile as though quite satisfied with the work he had done during the time Hoss slept…or perhaps because the coffee was just how he liked it.

……………

Nate was not really surprised when the first visitors of the day were Hoss and Adam Cartwright. He sighed, nodded and lowered himself into his chair before picking up a pen and waiting for one of them to speak. Almost immediately behind the brothers came Ethan, who closed the door and bade each and all a cheery good morning.

“Nate, I need to talk to your prisoners….” Adam raised a hand to ward off any protests as Nate opened his mouth and raised his eyebrows “There is a lot more involved in this matter than you know…”

“But which you do?” Nate leaned back and sighed, shook his head and gestured to the chairs on the other side of the desk. He waited until they had settled into them before asking them exactly what it was he did not know….

“Well…” Adam scratched his nose and looked from one to the other of the deputies then nodded “Perhaps if I could see them first, just to make sure what I think …”

“What you think?” Nate shook his head “Facts, Adam, cases like this need facts not ideas plucked from who knows where…”

“I’ve got the facts, Nate…I just need those men to confirm them…it all goes back a long way, even before they were born…”

Nate narrowed his eyes, shook his head “Sounds …ominous…”

“Perhaps, but…then again..perhaps not…depends on what they know themselves…but it does clear up some things relating to Clay.” the reply was spoken quietly and the dark eyes slanted from the Sheriff to the Deputy as though anticipating rebuttal

“Speaking of whom…how is he? If he’s died then those men are on a murder charge….” the sheriff announced with an air of authority in his voice.

“He’s still alive…” Ethan said quickly, “I just saw the Doctor at the hospital…no visitors yet though”

A few moments later all three men were seated in front of the Sheriff’s desk. The room was not exactly overcrowded but was rather uncomfortable. Nate said nothing for a while, but kept giving Adam the ‘not yet’ glare while the three prisoners sat looking as though they were already facing judge and jury.

Hoss was about to suggest closing the window when a fly buzzed in, distracting him and allowing Nate to start talking.

“Russell Taylor…Charles Wright….Norris Cole…you know the charges brought against you …” he paused and waited for each man to nod in acknowledgement. “Seems Mr Stafford is hanging on to life by a thread and if that thread snaps….the charge will be murder. You do understand that, don’t you.” ]

Charles Oggie Wright blanched, and squirmed in his seat…glancing almost pathetically at the other two men. Russell however jumped up like a jack rabbit, and waved his arms about for a moment protesting that he did not care if the man lived or died, he killed Mel and if justice were fitting then he would be hanging from the end of the rope anyway.

Norris tugged at his shirt sleeve to force him to sit down and whispered over loudly to him to shut up. Nate nodded, and glanced at Adam then looked back at the three men

“You’ve said a lot that indicates Mr Stafford had been a friend of yours at one time, you trusted him in a subterfuge concerning your sister, Mr Cole. I want to know why you are all so sure that Clay Stafford killed your sister.”

His blue eyes roamed from one face to the other until Norris finally nodded and began to speak in a quieter tone that he had previously

“He was older than us… sort of a father figure, if you know what I mean..Mel trusted him ….even father did…”

“We had arranged for him to collect Mel so that I could take her to a party some friends were holding but she never came, nor did Clay..well…he did, about an hour later to say he had waited for her and she had not showed. “ Russell scowled, “He was kinda nervous … there was blood on the sleeve of his jacket which he tried to cover up. He left to go to a card game being held a few miles from where we were…..”

“I followed him,” Oggie now said, the first time any of them had heard him speak, “I never did like him anyway. Miss Jennifer …”

“Who’s Miss Jennifer?” Nate demanded to know and Norris said quietly “My mother…”

“Anyway Miss Jennifer did not trust him either…always told me to keep an eye on Clay even though she did not know about the arrangement he had … about Mel….

“So you followed him….?”

“He didn’t go to the card game, went to his own place. He gave a bundle of money to one of the boys there…he employed a lot of Aborigine folk…said he trusted ’em …then he went indoors.”

“So he went home instead of to the card game…nothing unusual in that?”

“He left the country…was gone within two days after…Mel … we never say her again… alive that is…”

Nate leaned back in his chair and shook his head “Wal, seems more like circumstantial evidence to me…no proof positive.”

Norris nodded and shuffled his feet “Seems so…..although we all three had a bad feeling about it, he never even came to see us to give an explanation as to why he was going…and then Pa said someone had seen Clay with Melissa arguing…could hear ’em too… Melissa screamed …and he hit her…” Norris drew in his breath as though he had held it it for too long “I asked who the witness was, turned out to be one of the boys Clay employed…he said he liked Miss Mel and didn’t like how Clay had treated her.”

Nate shook his head and shrugged “Boys, seems to me you need more than that evidence to go about trying to murder a guy…..”

“When they found Melissa, she had something in her hand, and blood under her nails…I swear it was from Clay where she scratched at him and caused that blood, and the material was from his shirt… he always liked those fancy frilly shirts you know….” he glanced from one face to the other, then at Adam who was looking at them with a blank cold look in his eyes that made Norris shiver

“Well, gents, on the basis of that evidence I would maybe keep him under observation but ain’t enough to prove Clay murdered your sister…I reckon you three got yourselves talking about it so much you whipped yourself into a killing state, wanting revenge no matter what…nothing good ever comes from that…”

“My mother said Mel had told her that Clay frightened her…she did not want to be seen with him..as soon as mother saw Mel she knew Clay had killed her, she said it had happened before, Clay Stafford was a known murderer.”

“How would she know that…” Ethan asked

“Her sister Julia…she was married to Harold Jones…he and his partner died in mysterious circumstances as well…..” Norris licked his lips nervously, gulped.

“Took months before they found their bodies…” Oggie said quickly “By which time Clay was in Ballarat claiming their mine was his….and then he struck gold !!”

Chapter 76

Nate and Ethan exchanged glances and a look passed between them indicating that the case had taken a turn that went beyond their remit. Nate stood up and stretched, being such a tall man sitting too long caused his back to seize up if he did not stand and walk …which he did for a while, before resitting and glancing over at Adam

“You’re very quiet, Adam…thought you had a lot to say but not heard a peep from ya?”

Hoss blinked rapidly, turned his blue eyes to his brother who now leaned forward in his chair as though he had been released from a cage and was about to pounce upon his prey, like some lone wolf. The three men seemed to sense that as well, they involuntarily leaned in together.

“Melissa’s body was not found for some time….” he said this quietly, his eyes fixed on Norris, who nodded, and bit down on his lips so that Adam would not notice they were trembling. “Then you decided to leave Australia? When you knew Mr Cole had offered a reward for any information about her whereabouts?”

“No, we didn’t know anything about that….we told you that already…” Norris cried, and looked anxiously at Russell who nodded, blinked and wiped what appeared to be moisture from his eyes.

“It takes a month to get here …your sister was missing for several weeks…time doesn’t fit…” he frowned, shrugged then looked at Oggie, a look that seemed to pin the poor man to the back of his chair, “And you don’t fit into the picture either…so…what’s your story?”

“I – I’m mates with these two blokes.” Oggie said quietly, cleared his throat, “Been mates for years.”

“And you joined them on this enterprise to murder Clay Stafford on the basis of friendship? Or because of the reward…so that you could report back to the Mayor …”

“No, you got that all wrong….I came because …because I really was fond of Melissa, and these two couldn’t …couldn’t get far without help….they’re green around the gills, mate, ain’t got a clue how to rough it…they needed me along as ..as a guide.”

“To hold their hands?” Adam raised his eyebrows, his face blank, looking from one to the other

“Yes, that about sums it up I guess.” Oggie sighed and shrugged.

“Thanks mate, you’re a bundle of help you are…” Russell muttered under his breath

Ethan pulled up a chair, the legs of which scraped across the floor and for a second or so that was the only sound, apart from the fly which continued to buzz frantically around the room. Nate wanted to yell to Adam to get on with it, stop taking so much time, say what you had to say and be done with it…and at this juncture Adam produced an envelope from his jacket pocket, removed its contents and looked down at the writing on the paper, as though he had to refresh his memory as to what had been set down there

“You may not know this fact, but Clays mother was – in fact – our step-mother.” his eyes went from one to the other “She loved to tell us about New Orleans, which she loved…about her family, no .. not so much..” he shook his head and shrugged, “Guess she did not have that many happy memories to look back upon, did she?”

“We didn’t know much about her…” Norris blurted out and then paused, looked stricken, his eyes widened and his mouth went slack.

“Idiot!” Russell hissed, and slouched back into his chair, his eyes fixed to the floor as though from now on he was not part of the proceedings.

“Mmm…” Adam nodded as though in agreement then shrugged as though it were not so important although in fact it had opened the door to further disclosures.

Hoss fidgeted, looked at each man there. He could see that Nate and Ethan were hanging on every word, caught up in the story of it all, Norris was looking nervous, sweating and Oggie sat with his face stiff, hard and his eyes fixed on Adam’s face, as though challenging him to produce another rabbit out of the hat…or envelope as the case may be.

“Julia and Jennifer, sisters, American in fact…New Orleans born.” Adam announced in a matter of fact voice. “Their grand parents were descendents of a French family that settled in New Orleans, wealthy… founded a company producing weaponry for the military just in time for Washington’s war…and Independence …they did well. So did their partners the de Marigny family. “

He looked down at the paper in his hands and then looked up at them again “Marie ..our step mother did not say much about her family as I said earlier…but she did explain why she and Jean never divorced…because they were Catholics of course. She had grounds for divorce though, although he did not, despite anything her mother in law said to discredit her ..but that was to cover over the indiscretions of her son..Jean de Marigny had numerous affairs…when Clay was born …” he paused and looked at the three men again, each one of them sitting with the glazed look on their faces of men about to hear their death sentence.

“Julia and Jennifer were friends of Clay in their child hood, before leaving for Australia. That was why they sought him out when he went there…although they knew he was en route, their mother Francine always kept a careful eye on what Clay was doing… throughout his life, Francine Colbert had his movements recorded….” he paused and frowned “Your grand parents often returned to America, didn’t they?”

“Yes, “ Norris nodded, “Business .. even after Grand father died she would take the journey.”

Adam glanced down at he paper in his hands and then looked back at Norris, nodded

“She kept close links with the de Marigny family, too. Blood ties that went back in time, I guess. Blood ties none the less. But business ties too…during the war between states, your grand parents came back to New Orleans …they realised the tide was turning against the south, so they turned as well…supported the north, business prospered. Your grand father was shot by a one time friend who accused him of being a traitor….” he glanced up and looked at Norris who heaved a sigh and nodded.

Adam nodded as well, then looked over at Nate and apologised for monopolising the time to just relate what seemed family history…but he explained, if one wanted reasons for why Clay had been the victim of their rather ridiculous plot to kill him, it was due to the past and to greed and one needed to understand the connection

“Clay was welcomed by his old friend Julia and her husband, and his partner…there was no problem between them, they were, as the news journals indicated, they were good friends. The two men owned a mine in Ballarat, not a very successful enterprise compared to some others but it yielded enough and Clay became a partner.

“Shortly afterwards they died…killed in mysterious circumstances according to the news reports. Clay was initially accused but had a solid alibi. He went to Ballarat …renewed his friendship with Jennifer…. and made new friends with these three men and Melissa.”

“We already told you all that…” Russell said impatiently, “What’s with the history lesson? What’s it prove?”

“Who killed Harold Jones and Stanley Matthews?” Adam asked quietly and was met with blank faces.

“It could not have been easy running a business in New Orleans from Australia but Francine had her network of agents…they kept the business running efficiently, they also reported back to her about Clay…you see, Clay was important to Francine….your grand parents, Norris…”

“I don’t see why….she never took much notice of him when he was in Ballarat…” Norris screwed up his face in distaste but then Russell leaned forward, his face showing his renewed interest in the story

“She didn’t like him…made that clear and she tried to stop Mayor Cole having dealing with him.”

“No doubt she did….but Mayor Cole had other things to deal with….but firstly lets’ return to Francine Colbert…..Marie mentioned her several times…mostly because Francine had been Jean’s mistress for some time, she adored Jean apparently…Francine that is…adored him to obsession…and of course Francine hated Marie with a passion, which made her great allies to Marie’s mother in law.” he sighed and lowered the paper so that it rested upon his thigh, he cleared his throat. “Francine never stopped loving Jean, and her hatred of Marie turned to hatred of Clay…obsession..good or bad….is like poison…she could not let go of it, not ever…she collected every single thing she could that could destroy Clay’s reputation… and her son in law Mayor Cole ..wanted that gold mine.”

Nate leaned forward “Cole killed those two men…”

“I suspect so…well, he got someone he could trust to do that, didn’t he, Oggie?”

The man’s mouth dropped open, he looked from one man to the other all the time shaking his head, “Why would I want to do that…I mean…what’s with you, Cartwright, making these accusations, this stupid story…”

“Wait a mo, Oggie…” Russell said quietly, grabbing at the other mans arm, pinning it down by the force he exerted “Mayor Cole sent you to Melbourne one time…you came back to Ballarat with Julia Jones…widow Jones now…and then Clay turned up…and everyone was fussin’ and fawnin’ over him…except for your Grandmother…and then Mrs Cole started getting ..unpleasant, making comments, accusations always about Clay’s character…”

“I had nothing to do with that, and nothing to do with those men getting murdered.” Oggie declared, shaking his head and pulling his arm free from Russell’s grip.

“You forget, Oggie, I was Mayor Cole’s private secretary…I knew all his business dealings. He was near to being bankrupt ..did you know that?”

“Of course I did..I….” Oggie stopped, paused, stared wildly at them and slumped back into his chair

“Of course, you did” Adam said quietly, “As a dutiful son you would do anything for your father, wouldn’t you?”

“Hey now…” Norris jumped up from his seat, “That’s ridiculous…don’t you think I would know my own brother…he’s no brother of mine…I mean..”

Ethan put a hand on Norris’ shoulder and forced him to sit down “You mean he isn’t a white man, like you…..”

“It’s ridiculous….” Norris growled and then he glared at Oggie “Did Father tell you to come along with us? Keep a check on us?”

Russell kept his head down, obviously deep in thought, then he glanced up and nodded “You kept us all mad about what had happened to Mel, every time started to reconsider whether we were doing something stupid and turning back to Oz..you brought another round of drinks, got us drunk, got us riled up again…you never stopped prodding and poking, as if we weren’t hurting enough…” a tear dripped from his eyes, coursed their way down his cheek…which he hastily brushed away “I loved Mel…you used that what was sweet and good between us…you poisoned it… you lied..”

He half rose from his chair fists clenched but Ethan stepped forward now. Placed his own arm between them…then looked at Adam, raised his eyebrows. Adam nodded and picked up the paper.

“In my former career as an officer in the Navy, I got to have a lot of contacts…I don’t often have reason to contact them but I did on this occasion…the United States Consulate* in Melbourne has been keeping a close eye on the situation with Mayor Cole, the murders of those two men and the business dealings of Francine Colbert… “ he paused and cleared his throat “I’m afraid your grand mother has not been very honest in her business dealings, Norris, remember the military are always interested in what goes on with the weaponry they deploy……they looked into her Company and then that trickled into looking into Mayor Coles business…personal as well I’m afraid…”

Nate shook his head “This is a bit out of my league…why couldn’t it have been just a straight forward shooting without all this tagged on….”

“It could have been, Nate…except for some twisted reason of her own Francine had to involve us…and when we’re involved in anything we like to get all the strings tied up and …”

“Yeah yeah…I know what your family is like…heck, Roy warned me often enough…” Nate rubbed the back of his neck and looked at the three men who all looked as though they had been hit by a team of horses.

“So …Mr Wright here …is Cole’s son…and killed off the owners of the mine? But they had already got Clay involved aet up as a partner, so.Mayor Cole sweet talked Clay, maybe hoping to get the mine from him.” Ethan asked, his eyes narrowed as he thought out his conjecture

“Probably…that mine was spewing out gold like a ruptured artery…” Adam said with a slight smirk in his voice. “Just what he needed to save a floundering business…his life style..reputation.!

“But Clay left Australia too soon…” Ethan paused “surely Cole would not have killed his own daughter just to frame Clay for another murder?”

“Well,. You’ll have to get Oggie to tell you what happened there…but it certainly did not involve Clay….” Adam replied with a sigh and his eyes glanced over to the coffee pot.

“And the old witch…the grand mother?” Hoss now asked,

“I don’t know…she would have been on her way over to America I think…she had things to do here, things to check out…” Adam frowned

Russell nodded “She left Australia not long after Clay had…I remember she came in and apologised to the Mayor for having to leave when there was such ….so much…heartbreak..” his voice wobbled and he gulped.

“I should think,” Adam said getting to his feet now, “that Mr Wright..Oggie or whatever he calls himself..will have a lot to tell you….but best keep these men in seperate cells when he gets ready to speak up…could be another murder on your hands…..”

Chapter 77

The three men sat down with such an obvious change in their body language that Hoss felt a pang of sympathy for two of them at least. Russell had moved his chair away from Oggie, as far as he could before Ethan had stopped him …he had his head cast down, eyes fixed to the floor and every so often he brushed against his face as though wiping away tears. Norris looked distraught, staring occasionally at Oggie with disbelief on his face, then anger, and then despair as though he could not believe what he had heard, struggled to see just how big a trap he and Russell had fallen into by putting their confidence in Oggie.

The dark features of their erstwhile friend was contorted by differing emotions, but contrition and guilt were not two of them. Contempt was obvious, but for whom was anyone’s guess. The disclosure of his relationship with Mayor Cole, and therefore with Norris and Melissa, had given him an elevated view of himself as he sat there, straight backed and proud

Adam reached for his hat and nodded over at Nate and then handed the Sheriff the papers he had received from the Consulate.

“You aren’t staying…?” Nate said, half rising from behind the desk to take the papers “I thought you would want to hear what Mr Wright had to say for himself.”

“Thank you but no…Hoss and I need to see how our little brother is…” and he shot a glance over at Norris and Russell as though to remind them that ‘little brothers’ injuries were mainly due to them

“Honestly,” Norris said his accent thickened by the emotion he was feeling “I was not aiming at anyone down there, never had a gun before…if we had …” he paused to wipe moisture from his face, “If we had known the truth…” he paused and glared at Oggie, then rose to his feet “Was it you, was it? Did you kill Mel?”

He lunged forward then and had it not been for Hoss interposing his body between the two men there would have been blows thrown and some injuries incurred, as it was Oggie had sprung to his feet with fists clenched prepared to defend himself. Ethans hand on his shoulder, pushing him back into his chair prevented further aggression on his part at least, but Norris was now very emotional, struggling against Hoss in his attempt to reach Oggie.

Nate shouted at Ethan to get the man into the cells, and then turned to Hoss and nodded his head toward Russell who looked totally shell shocked and incapable of saying or doing a thing

It took a few moments before silence was resumed and Ethan with Hoss re-entered the room. Hoss paused long enough to claim his hat, and looked from Oggie to Nate, shrugged and followed Adam out of the room.

The two brothers were quiet for a while as they made their way to the surgery where Joe had been cared for , Adam deep in thought as was Hoss who decided he needed to get some things off his chest. He nudged Adam and nodded, “So you knew about Clay before he came that first time?”

“No…” Adam shook his head, face blank

“Yeah, but you said about Clay and them gals being play mates and Ma saying..”

“Marie told me about the girls, same time she told me about Jean having a mistress but she never mentioned having a son.” he frowned slightly “It seemed logical to imply that the girls and Clay knew one another as Clay lived in the house the other family visited.”

“Huh…mmm.” Hoss frowned “I didn’t know you got a letter from the Consulate in Australia…”

“Came while you were snoring early this morning…..quite opportune really…” he allowed a slight smile on his face, then sighed “I feel sorry for them, there’s a lot of emotion ..hurt..and they are young, Oggie knew exactly how to manipulate them.”

“Yeah, but they could still have killed Joe…and Clay”

“Hmm.”

“Shucks, I sure wish I could have stayed and heard what Oggie had to say about it all.. .. I guess he was that Mayor Cole’s right hand man, huh?”

“Probably so…Nate may have to extradite him though, send him back to where he came from as there’s quite a list of murders to account for…”

The strode onwards for a while longer as Hoss digested the conversation and thought about the three men, he sighed “Reckon he killed his sister…I mean…Melissa would have been his half sister..right?”

“She would have been…but whether or not he killed her …” he shrugged, and said nothing more except “Looks like Mary Ann got here before us after all…”

……………

Joe was more than delighted when he saw Mary Ann walk into his sick room with a look of relief on her face so sincere and heart warming that he felt buoyed up immediately. She was in his arms and giving him a gentle hug – because of the ribs – and sweet kisses before Jimmy Chan followed in behind her . He looked at his patient and then at Mary Ann, then back at Joe who grinned at him, hazel eyes gleaming despite the dark shadows purpling beneath them.

“Well, Jimmy…here I am, fit to go…” Joe burbled and tightened his grip on Mary Ann’s hand as though frightened she would disappear if he did not hold on tight.

“First I make sure you are well enough…then I discharge you…not before…” Jimmy held up a warning finger and raised his eyebrows, then looked at Mary Ann “If you just wait outside Missy Cartwright.”

“Jim, stop being so officious…just let me get out of here…” Joe protested, holding onto Mary Ann who gave a slightly nervous giggle.

“I am a good Doctor and a good Doctor does not let patients leave before making sure all is well.” Jimmy shook his head and sighed, looked meaningfully at Mary Ann who nodded and tugged her hand free from Joe’s grip.

“I’ll see you in a moment…” she said lightly and blew him a kiss from the doorway.

Adam and Hoss were just entering the surgery as she closed the door behind her, both removed their hats and glanced at the closed door. Adam cleared his throat but it was Hoss who asked how Joe was and if he was going to be ‘released’ any time soon

“Jimmy is just doing his final check up….” Mary Ann replied “But he looks well. Are you both alright? Olivia said you stayed in town overnight…”

“Yeah…things to do.” Hoss continued gruffly, he looked at Adam and raised his eyebrows as though to see whether they were to stay or go, after all, if little brother was about to go then he was all good and dandy…and if he was then perhaps he, they, could go home with him and Mary Ann.

“Well, that’s good, Mary Ann….” Adam said slowly and Hoss felt a sinking feeling in his stomach at the thought that they were staying just where they were, or perhaps, just in town.

The door opened and closed as Jimmy came into the room, nodded at them both and sighed, he was surprised not to see Ben hovering behind them.

“How is he, Jim?” Hoss asked with a big hopeful grin on his face

“He is good…I would prefer that he stay another day here but…” Jim glanced over at Mary Ann who looked as though she were going to fight tooth and nail if he insisted on Joe staying another day in town “Leg badly broken….must take great care, not walking, keep rest and still….keep …careful” he would have rolled his eyes after all he knew Joe from of old, from way back, and patience was not one of the virtues Joe gave consideration to at all.

Hoss nodded “Sure, I’ll sit on him if need be….”

“No no…no sitting on patient…” Jim cried, hands raised in protest, which made Hoss laugh …

Adam stepped forward and asked if they could see Joe for a moment as they had things to do which elicited a sigh from Hoss, who looked sheepishly at Mary Ann and then followed his brother into the other room where Joe was struggling to get out of bed while reaching out for some crutches that seemed just out of reach…..as soon as Joe saw Adam he asked about Clay, memories from the ambush flashing into his mind…and momentarily his face lost its animation and the hazel eyes hardened.

Adam approached the bed and picked up the crutches as he passed them, handing them over to his brother who managed to bungle the pass and dropped one. It was Hoss who picked it up and handed it back to him

“We’re just going to see how he is now, Joe. Got shot up pretty bad and is in the hospital . We saw him yesterday but told to leave … “ he paused and watched as Joe focussed attention on getting the crutches in place rather than reveal to them the feelings that he knew would be showing on his face. Then he paused and looked up at the two men and nodded

“Bad is it?”

“Seems so…but we caught the men who were shooting at you both…Australian.”

“AUSTRALIAN!!!” Joe nearly dropped the crutch again, shook his head “Australian? “

“It’s a long story, Joe. But we’ll tell you all about it when we find out more ourselves. “ Adam looked at Hoss, then back at Joe “Best not keep your wife waiting…can you manage to hop your way out with those things?”

“Yeah, yeah of course I can…” Joe mumbled and hoisted himself up, winced and then sat down again “Forgot the ribs…..” he cleared his throat and drew in his breath several times so that Hoss stepped forward to help him back onto his feet.

“Reckon we’ll need to dust off that wheel chair….” Hoss mumbled and got a black glare from Joe as a result.

With Hoss hovering behind him to catch him if he fell, Joe managed to get out to the office are of the surgery, without toppling over. Now Hoss was joined by Mary Ann who hovered as well, all the time encouraging Joe with “You’re doing so well, Joe~” and “Hoss will help you into the buggy, won’t you, Hoss.” “Oh Joe, we have been so worried about you…”

It seemed to take far longer than anticipated to get the injured man into the buggy, with his splinted leg cushioned to soften any bumps in the road on the way home. Probably the worse pain Joe felt was when he heard his wife thank Adam and Hoss for the new track “It was so smooth, and a whole hour less time …”

Hoss nodded and smiled, holding his hat close to his chest, Adam took her arm and assisted her up on the buggy and stood back, raised his hand in farewell

Together they watched as the vehicle edged into the traffic and then made its way onwards. Hoss sighed and replaced his hat on his head,

“Best go and check on Clay, seeing that’s what you said we’d be doing…..”

Adam nodded, and together they began to make their way to the centre of town and the road to the hospital. If Adam was wondering how Nate was getting on with the Australian he gave no indication. They were both silent,deep in their own thoughts when they heard Daniel deQuille’s voice yelling over to them, and stopped for the man to catch up with them.

“Well, Dan, you look like something set fire to your pants…” Hoss guffawed and nudged the journalist hard enough to push him off the pavement into the road

“Just received this…” Dan gasped, for he had been running to catch up with the two men, “From Ballarat…my contact there.. and Eddie gave me this to give to you….”

Adam nodded, thanked him quietly and took the paper from his hand, he read it, shook his head and re-read it “Well, what do you know….” he said quietly under his breath,

He handed it to Hoss to look at and he also shook his head and passed it back to Adam, who carefully folded it and handed it back to the journalist.

“Dan, you wanta scoop….take this to Nate and tell him I sent you ..you may have got yourself quite a story!”

Daniel went slightly red, being handed over such a prize by Adam Cartwright no less…he nodded and without a word turned around and ran towards the Sheriffs office

“Feel sorry for young Norris…..” Hoss said with a sigh in his voice

“Yeah one shock in the day is bad enough….” and Adam bit down on his bottom lip and shook his head

“Whats your cable say, Adam?”

His brother immediately complied with Hoss’s more than broad hint and pulled the cable from the envelope. Smoothed it out and read it…then shook his head and shrugged

“Just confirming what we just read …”

“Pinkertons… they know about this case?”

“You read their letter among those papers didn’t you?”

Hoss had not, but decided to say nothing but lowered his eyes to read the information set out

“Mayor Isaiah Cole committed suicide. Letter confessing to the murders of his daughter and others. Details being sent. Charles Wright among men sent to kill C.S. Be careful. “

“Bit late telling us to be careful…” Hoss muttered and handed the cable back to Adam “Poor Norris….”

Adam said nothing, just exhaled a long breath as though releasing long trapped air from his lungs.

Chapter 78

The nurse was kindly, she smiled down at the two boys and after reminding them in a soft voice to be quiet she led them along to the ward where Davy had been taken.

“Now, don’t make too much noise with your chatter. Davy is still a very sick boy remember and he has only just come through quite an ordeal” she paused and looked down at them a slight frown on her face “He is still a little confused, the drugs he has been given and some of his injuries …” she paused and the obvious pity she felt for the child showed on her face enough for them to wonder if Davy was going to die there and then. “Just take it gently…and only five minutes..”

They nodded, afraid to say anything in case it was too loud, or the wrong thing to say, but she smiled and then continued walking towards the bed upon which Davy appeared to be sleeping. She touched his shoulder very slightly and immediately the boys eyes opened, a flash of fear across his face, before he saw her and relaxed.

“Some friends to see you, Davy.” she smiled and stepped back for Reuben and Jimmy to approach the bed and look anxiously at the other boy, whose eyes widened along with the smile on his face.

He looked ill, his face still bruised so badly, bandages covered his chest, one arm in a splint, and his nose must have been broken because there was even a bandage there ..but his smile eclipsed all that, the pleasure at seeing them so obvious

“Brought you some stuff…” Reuben said gruffly holding up the paper bag, a little bit greasy but bulging with sweet things that Chen had made for the lad.

“Phil and Tommy are downstairs, they weren’t allowed up to see you….” Jimmy volunteered.

Davy nodded, still smiling, his eyes a little glazed over as though he heard them but did not really understand what they were saying.

“Are you feeling very sick, Davy?” Reuben asked, wondering if the beating his friend had undergone had addled the boys brains,

Davy’s smile drifted, he sighed heavily and leaned back into the pillows, his eyes looked at them, first at Reuben then Jimmy, “I don’t feel so good,” he admitted in a voice that seemed to have developed a wobble, “And I can’t hear so good either….but …” he swallowed and the boys realised then that he was struggling not to cry, “I will be better soon……how is Bella?”

“Fit as a flea.” Jimmy said stoutly “She’s home with your Ma now…” he faltered then,wondering if Davy knew about Mr Riley’s death, he shrugged, what did it matter anyway, so he plunged on “Since your Pa’s gone Bella can stay at home, she’s waiting for you to get back.”

Davy was concentrating so hard to hear everything that there was a pause before he spoke again “I know about him…Deputy came and told me…”

“He was going to kill Bella, and Roy too ….” Jimmy added for good measure

After a pause Davy nodded “I know…” he relaxed then, his face taking on a look of peace, even contentment “Ma will be glad too…” and then he surprised the boys when a tear trickled from the corner of his eye down his face

The other two boys had used the time they were waiting by kicking a stone back and forth between them. Roy Coffee had strolled up and was chatting to them when Reuben and Jimmy joined them, and was able to assure them that Davy was doing well…a bit deaf though

Roy nodded and said something about perforated ear drum which just got him a blank look,. He smiled and asked them what they were going to do now..Reuben put his hand in his pocket and jingled some coins with a big grin on his face

“Ma said that we could go and get some ice cream..she gave me some money to treat you all, that includes you, Uncle Roy.”

“Aw,wal..mm.” Roy stroked his moustache with the back of his hand, his eyes twinkled behind the spectacles and got a little steamed up..”Mighty generous of you…” he paused then “I just saw your Pa and Uncle Hoss going into the hospital, reckon they’ll be seeing your Uncle..”

“He’s not my Uncle…” Reuben said quickly, “Mr Stafford is not my Uncle.”

“No, of course now…forgot…gets complicated all these family connections…” Roy grinned and turned in the direction of the Ice cream parlour “Let’s go boys, perfect day for ice cream.”

James Martin saw Adam and Hoss as they stepped through the door into the ward and with a nod of the head halted their progress into the ward. He hurried over to join them and with a sweep of the arm ushered them back outside.

“Anything wrong? Has he died?” Hoss asked bluntly looking at Paul Martin’s nephew rather fearfully.

“No, he’s still alive, came out of his coma earlier this morning but very vague and tired. He’s sleeping just now and I think it would be best if he could make the most of it, the body’s best defence is sleep…helps with healing.”

“In other words you want us to clear off?” Hoss said but with good humour, he hated hospitals, the smells, the muted sounds, the low whispery voices. He could not wait to get out of there.

“Come back later…I told the other visitor the same…not sure she believed me..”

“She? Who do you mean?” Adam asked sharply and Hoss asked innocently “Not Mrs Garston was it?”

James shrugged and grimaced, “She did not leave a name. Can’t say I recognised her but she claimed to be an old friend of Clays, an old family friend of his….” his eyes narrowed, he looked from one to the other of them and shook his head “No one you know?”

“Not personally, no….” Adam replied, he lowered his head, stared at the floor and then looked up at James “Did you see her?”

“Sure, she came about an hour ago. She’s elderly, could see that through her veil…wore black as though in mourning. Obviously wealthy, from the rings she wore…”

“And American ?”

“Well, my impression was that she had been abroad a long time, her voice …had a slight accent…”

“What time can we come back?”

“This afternoon…about 2 o’clock.” James frowned and looked anxious “Something wrong?”

“I’d rather you did not allow this person to see Clay …move him elsewhere if possible..can he be moved?”

“Moved? In what way…sure we can move the bed to another ward or room, but…”

“Do that…keep her away from him, and …” Adam paused a moment, and ran his thumb along his chin, shook his head slightly and turned to his brother “Hoss, you need to get back to Pa, tell him .. just tell him everything ..”

“Yeah…but I don’t know everything..who is this dame anyway?” Hoss looked perplexed and stared firstly at Adam and then at James as if he could supply the answers he needed

“She’s the ….the woman who wrote and sent the information about Clay to Pa…just tell Pa ..tell him she is in town, perhaps would be a good thing if he paid her a visit… “

That was greeted by silence, blank stares and then Hoss ventured to ask if Adam thought this woman was behind the attempt on Clays’ life to which Adam shrugged

“I don’t know…” he admitted, hands on his hips and he stared over at the far wall before looking back at Hoss “I do think that Pa would be the best person to approach her though…”

“You do? Why?”

“Because Pa was a close friend to Jean de Marigny …and this woman loved Jean…she had been his mistress for years…”

“Yeah…so what’s Pa got to-do with it…” Hoss shook his head “He don’t know her, does he?”

James Martin looked at them both and shook his head, then shrugged “I think I get what you are thinking, Adam…” he then looked at Hoss “Best see your Pa, he’ll know what’s best to be done….”

Hoss now nodded slowly, still bemused, baffled. He looked at Adam and then scratched the back of his neck “I’ll go then….” and after casting a rather reproachful look back at the two men he strode off.

Adam released his breath and then thanked James who walked with him out of the ward

“Was this woman responsible for the shooting…do you think she will try something else..is my patient in danger?”

“I don’t know..I never have believed in co-incidences and it does seem like one that she is here and so are the men who tried to kill Clay…” he pursed his lips, and shrugged “Best take some precautions though…”

“I will do…” James said quietly and stepped back to allow Adam access to the stairs…

Adam was just in time to see Hoss riding out into the centre of C Street heading in the direction of the Ponderosa. For a moment he took time to gather his thoughts, what to do next? Should he this or should he that .. he was considering his options when Daniel deQuille tugged at his sleeve

“A lot on your mind, Adam?”

“You could say so….how did you get on?”

Daniel looked slightly quizzical and then shrugged “Well, I reckon there’s quite a story to be dug out there…goes back years…” he frowned now and tugged at his beard “I didn’t get all the gist of it, but the atmosphere in there was thick, a lot of emotion…Nate looked like he was about to erupt like a volcano, and he was not happy to see me I can assure you. But…I delivered the message and he looked totally … confused.”

“Guess he would be….”

“Said the whole business was too darn complicated. He got the men out of the cells and told them the message…about the Mayor…Isaiah Cole…”

“That was not …easy…” Adam murmured thinking how Norris had just discovered he had a brother and had now told his father had died..a lot to take on board in one morning.

“The man they called Oggie…he went to pieces, screamed and yelled and swore blue blazes…the lad Norris Cole just didn’t believe it…when he read it for himself he just said how he had always hated his father, and so had Melissa…that’s the girl who was murdered…”

“Daniel, when this all comes out, and you put all the pieces together, you will be able to make a great story out of it… .. “

“Rather a macabre one…” Daniel sighed, patted Adam rather absent mindedly on the shoulder and walked away.

Solomon glanced up as the bat wings swung open and nodded over at Adam who walked up to the counter and seemed to fold himself over it…muttering as he did that he would like two glasses of whiskey and a beer.

“Are you sure?” Sol asked in a rather paternal manner which considering they were of the same age irritated Adam somewhat, but he complied with the request and had the three glasses lined up by the time Adam had taken out the money and placed it upon the counter.

“You seen Clay?”

“No, Doctor said he needed his rest …shall go later though.”

“Hmm, so he is on the road to recovery then?”

“I’m presuming so.” he swallowed down one of the whiskies and stood up, straightened his back and flexed his shoulders

Sol wandered down to speak to another customer, then returned to the rancher who had just picked up the second glass of whiskey “Sol, tell me..” Adam held the glass at eye level and turned it this way and that to catch the light reflected in the golden amber liquid “When was the last time you had a holiday?”

“A holiday? Whats a holiday?” Sol hooted and shook his head “Reckon I need a glass of whiskey now ..what kind of tom fool question is that?”

“Alright..would you like a holiday…you know, time away from here, time to do some fishing, and relaxing and just watching time drift by”

“You drunk already?” Sol leaned forward, his fingers locked together as he slouched across the counter

“No…I am not.” Adam drank the second glass of whiskey and then scratched the back of his neck, looked thoughtfully at Sol “You rather like Stafford, don’t you?”

“He’s a good boss…yes, I like him fair enough…”

Adam nodded and gave a half smile, he was about to speak when he heard his name being called and looking into the mirror that was mounted behind Sol he saw Nate approaching him. He nodded, and watched as Nate came up to the counter, looked at the glass of beer that Adam had just reached out for and nodded,

“A beer, Sol…..cold.” he then glanced at Adam “I’ve had a helluva day….”

Chapter 79

The sounds of the saloon eddied around them like the flotsam on the currents of the sea…Adam stared at his glass of beer and thought of the three men in the cells and wondered how each one of them was reacting to the news of Isaiah Cole’s passing…while Nate turned his glass of beer round and round between his fingers. After a moment had elapsed he picked it up and gulped down half of its contents before slamming the glass back down.

“I feel sorry for them…” he muttered and resumed turning the glass round and round, he sighed “Real sorry for them….” he glanced at Adam and frowned “Perhaps now you could explain what you were talking about in there, all those names, those people…what do they have to do with what happened to Clay…” he raised a hand as Adam opened his mouth to speak “Sure, I’m not stupid, it’s to do with family…but what’s the relevance to what’s happened …just tell me in clear language…plain and simple so I can understand it all…”

Adam picked up his glass now and took a long swallow, then put it back onto the table, gently, as though he did not want to spill a drop…he drew in his breath

“Well, I guess it started some time back when Pa received a package ..full of information about Clay….” he paused, put like that it did not seem so very terrible, he drank some more of the beer, he thought Nate would be imagining some sheets of foolscap paper with the information neatly typed or written out, which would not bode any harm, nor seem in any way poisonous or evil…he leaned forward as though he needed to convey to the sheriff just what it looked like, then picked up his glass and stood up “Come with me…see for yourself…”

The Managers office was just as he and Hoss had left it that morning, the paperwork Adam had been scouring through still on the desk. He led Nate into the room and closed the door, then nodded over to the desk “See for yourself…”

Nate looked cautiously at Adam before approaching the desk, wary as though he expected a snake to appear and sink its fangs into his hand…he looked again with a scowl “And this explains everything….”

“No, but it explains most of it…the rest I need to find out ..from Clay if possible..” he gave Nate a slight grin “Sit down, it wont bite!”.

“And Clay’s seen all this…”

“Of course, it’s his mess after all..” Adam paused, frowned “A rather one sided version of the mess I reckon.”

“I see!” Nate replied as he sat down, drew in his breath and looked at the papers still strewn across the desk as Adam had left it. “And this explains everything..”

“Some..” Adam pulled up a chair and sat down opposite to Nate, “All this information has been collected over the years, by someone with the means to employ people to ferret out everything Clay has done …no matter where he has been…”

“You mean ..like a spy…?”

“I guess so…”

“someone must have long pockets….”

“Someone does…..” Adam pursed his lips and shrugged “Someone also has a lot of hate, venom…to spend so much time, so much money on collecting information like this…”

“Hate..for Clay you mean?”

Adam did not answer that immediately but just watched as Nate’s fingers sifted through the papers. Then he said “It probably began with someone who hated Clay’s mother….”

Clay was not exactly sure where he was when he opened his eyes..everything was quiet and he had got used to the bustle and noise relative to the ward, but now it was silent. He lay there for a moment, hoping for some strength to seep into his body, his blood to warm up and pulse through his veins, his heart to resume its normal steady thump thump instead of this feeble thready tick tick tick

A door opened and his heart suddenly jolted, started thudding in his ear drums, adrenalin pulsed through his body and his fingers grasped at the sheets Then he relaxed as the comfortable sight of the Doctor came into view, behind him the nurse.

He did not really understand what the Doctor was saying, words came through a tunnel and rolled around his head making little sense. He just lay there and stared at Dr Martin smiled, nodded, and it was obviously meant to be reassuring. So he lay there and just watched as the Doctor now approached and checked his pulse, looked into his eyes and did the usual things..but when he touched where the wounds were, Clay groaned, and now he could feel sensation and it was not pleasant…

Nate put down a newspaper clipping and leaned back, stroked his chin and shook his head

“All this….” he waved a hand at the papers, “What was the point? Why the talk about getting justice? For what? “ he shook his head “You think a woman did all this? “

“Yes.”

“And that’s the woman you mentioned …Norris Cole’s grand-mother?”

“Yes.”

Nate frowned and looked down at the witness statement he had just finished reading, he glanced over to Adam who was chewing at his thumbnail, “I don’t understand it…all that trouble and money to pick out the meat from long dried out bones…it must have cost a fortune.”

“Well, the most lucrative form of business is in armaments…even during time of peace there are other nations at war, and she has proven herself to be a very astute business woman….”

Nate nodded, resumed reading and paused only when there was a knock on the door, and Solomon stepped in bearing a tray laden with sandwiches and coffee….a welcome pause, both men appreciated it, accepted it as a welcome break.

During the impromptu lunch Adam enquired as to how news of Coles’ death had affected his ‘sons’ and this brought Nate to silence for a moment, he even put his sandwich back down on the plate as though he had lost the strength in his hands to hold it any longer. After he had swallowed, gulped he shook his head

“Sorrowful it was….like you suggested I had separated them, put that Oggie chap in a different cell and when that news came I had to bring Norris and Russell out to join us…Oggie being in the office…if you recall…” He paused and once again passed a hand across his chin, his mouth, “They were all three stunned… ..Norris insisted it could not be true…Russell looked dumb struck..but that Oggie he howled like a lonesome wolf…pulled at his hair, swore and cussed and said his father would never do that …never..he was murdered pure and simple..then he dissolved into sobbing his heart out.

“Then there was the shouting match between him and Norris, who kept saying how Oggie was not his brother, couldn’t be…and Oggie swearing he would kill him first chance he got…and Russell just sat there, like a broken man.”

“What about the cable …from Pinkerton..about Cole having murdered his daughter..among others…”

The bitter smell of the coffee as he poured it out whirled around their heads, Nate stared at it for a moment before picking up his cup and said quite honestly that he had not dared to mention it, not yet.

“I left Ethan to lock them up…Russell kinda sleep walking his way out of the office, and the other two …Oggie was honestly grief stricken but Norris he said he had always hated his father, glad he was gone…” Nate sat quiet for a moment then said quietly “The thing is, with Oggie…his Aborigine people don’t acknowledge him, nor do the whites, and as for family…well, for sure his brother won’t accept him as a member of the family, he was not even accepted before they left Australia, except for Cole to use for his dirty work……”

Adam nodded and stood up “I think it’s time we went to see how Clay is just now…if he is able he may provide some of the missing pieces or at least confirm which pieces are missing.”

The next time Clay opened his eyes he found himself confronted by the tall lean figure of the Sheriff with Adam Cartwright standing beside him. Behind both men the nurse hovered, as though trying to assure her patient that he was not without some form of protection, all he had to do was roll his eyes up and pass out!

His mouth was dry now from nerves and his eyes slid from one man to the next, his heart beat quickened and seemed to race beneath his rib cage. He closed his eyes as though to shut out the apparition but when he opened them again they were still there. The Sheriff was speaking

“Mr Stafford…I came to tell you that we have arrested the men who ambushed you…” he paused as though allowing Clay an opportunity to speak but Clay only opened his eyes wider and swallowed, his mouth did not seem capable of forming words “Three men…Australian…”

“Australian!” the word was such a shock that he involuntarily exclaimed it himself, in fact, he even repeated it as though he could not believe he had heard right “Australian?”

“Norris Cole, Russell Taylor and Charles Wright.” Nate paused for effect, his eyes fixed on Clay’s face “Acquaintances of yours?”

“Yes, but..but..why..?” he could feel beads of perspiration popping through his skin, rolling down his face, the nurse hovered, glanced irritably at the sheriff and dabbed at Clays face with a cloth, her mouth opened to comment but Nate got in first

“This is a murder investigation, Nurse…if you do not mind leaving us..”

She did not want to that much was obvious, but with an apologetic glance at Clay she did turn around and go, they heard the gentle thump of the door closing.

“Murder?” Clay croaked, “What murder?” he coughed, coughed again prompting Adam to ask him it he required some water to which he nodded.

The sound of the water being poured from the carafe into the glass was the only sound now…Clays head was full of thoughts, images, memories and nothing making sense. He gratefully sipped the water while Adam held the glass steady for him, then once the glass was removed he looked at the two men …not fearfully, but totally confused.

“Have you had any news from contacts in Australia?” Nate now asked

“No…they would not know I was here. I have not contacted them…” he glanced at Adam as though he would provide some clue as to what had happened “Norris? Russell? Why are they here? Why would they want to shoot me?”

“Can I ask you if Melissa Cole was still alive when you saw her last?” Nate’s drawl made the question sound ominous, but then, for Clay it was for his face went even paler than it was already.

“Melissa? What are you talking about….?” he tried to sit up straight but weakness prevented him from movement, he gulped, shook his head “I don’t understand what you’re talking about?”

“You were seen arguing with her … “

“I don’t understand…”

“Apparently you acted as a go between for Melissa and Russell and the last time you arranged that you were seen to have an argument with her.. witnesses say they later saw you with blood on your face, shirt torn…but no sign of Melissa…”

“No sign of Melissa…what are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about the last time you saw Melissa…alive?” Nate leaned forward a little, as though he needed to peer deep into Clays eyes to see for himself any hint of a lie…or glimmer of truth.

Clay closed his eyes, this was a nightmare…could not be happening…could not be true. He could feel his heart beating so fast it nearly choked him.

“Do you need a moment to think about it…?” Nate asked in a kindly voice, “I realise this has all come as a shock to you but if you are innocent you have no reason to be anxious…”

He kept his eyes closed. He could remember it now, Melissa coming to the buggy, tears streaming down her face..he recalled asking her if she had quarrelled with Russell, did she want to go some place else. No, she wanted to see Russell….she had to see him …urgently.

Clay sighed and opened his eyes, saw Adam looking thoughtfully at him, and wished it had been anyone but him standing there by the sheriff. Perhaps he could ask him to leave…but then he remembered the package and all the information Adam was already privy to…he looked at the Sheriff who seemed to have taken root to the floorboards

“That night Melissa was upset. I thought she was breaking off with Russell but it turned out that she had found out some information about her family that …well….she could not believe it to be true but then it was…and there had been a huge argument between her father and herself, and Oggie”

“Oggie was there?” Nate asked, voice a little sharper

“Qggie we called him..not sure why.” Clay gave a weak shrug, hampered by the pillows propping him up.

“Did she tell you what the argument was about?”

“She found out Charles Wright was her half brother…she already knew her father was a philanderer but Wright had never given a hint to them about his connection with them. And he was the eldest of them … her father …was furious about her plans to marry Russell, Oggie had told hIM about everything…my help, her romance with Russell, every meeting she had with him…Cole said if she continued with it then he would cut her off without a penny. The old old story, I suppose…” his voice drifted off….

“So what was the argument about?”

“She wanted me to help her elope with Russell. I told her I could not as I was going away, I needed to leave Australia. She went a little hysterical, said everyone was abandoning her..when she needed them most. I’d never seen her like that before…she hit me, fought like a wild cat, dissolved into tears …”

“And then what? She ran off into the night?”

“No…She did leave me though to meet up with Russell, I went on to my poker game.” he paused “That was it really…I left not long after, perhaps two days? “

“You never saw her again…”

“No …I didn’t see anyone again…I just wanted to get away, had a lot to do..”

Adam her’hummed at this point and both men looked at him “Did Cole make overtures to buy the mine from you?”

“The mine? No, but I knew he wanted to come into partnership with me…I knew from what Russell told me that Cole was not doing so well and the mine would probably save him from going under. May I have some more water…”

“were you surprised at the news about Wright being Cole’s illegitimate son?” Nate asked as Clay gulped down more water.

“There were whispers among the Aborigines who worked on the mine ..I gave my foreman enough money to keep things going while I was away…he was the one told me Cole wanted in on the mine..about Wrights suspected parentage.”

All three were quiet now, Nate seemed to have run out of things to say and Adam was not sure whether he had freedom of speech to refer to anything else. It was Clay who asked the question as to why the three Australians, whom he considered his friends, had come all the way over to kill him. When Nate told him he just closed his eyes, shook his head …

Nate glanced at Adam and shrugged, he felt sure that Clay was telling the truth, but then they knew that anyway if the cable they had received from Pinkerton was correct. At least they had covered some of the ‘pieces’ to their satisfaction. He was about to leave the room when Adam stepped closer to the bed

“Clay, what was your relationship like with Francine Colbert…Melissa’s grandmother?”

Clays’ eyes opened as though he had been given an electric shock “That woman…she was like a dose of poison…I avoided her as much as possible. She terrified the Aborigines…Melissa and Norris hated her…just like I had hated my grandmother. They were two of a kind…” his voice trailed off, bitter, hard and cold.

Chapter 80 and conclusion

The town hall clock was chiming the hour and for a moment Adam stood beside his horse wondering what he was missing….then he realised there were no children streaming from the school gates, no shouting and hallooo-ing, no little bodies pushing their way between pedestrians, no older children strolling coyly side by side realising how attractive the opposite sex was after all. It further reminded him of how strange and complex time was…just two weeks since the flood, school had been closed due to flood damage and the road being blocked…and yet it seemed to have been no time at all.

He glanced over to the Rileys house and thought of the changes to that family..to Davy. Then to the sheriff’s office where Nate was going to interview the three Australians again. He shook his head in sympathy and turned to untie the horse’s reins from the hitching rail.

“Adam!”

His father’s voice, almost a bellow in his ear, and he turned to face the old man, who was grinning at him indulgently “Good thing I come in peace….” Ben said, which was supposed to be a joke but Adam felt irritated none the less

“When did you get into town Pa? You must have made good time to get here so soon ..did you kill your horse?” might as well get a joke in to make up for the surprise appearance of his august parent.

“I wanted to see how Clay was…met Hoss on the way home, and, of course, the new track does cut down on time. You seemed lost in thought…anything interesting? Or more interesting than what Hoss has told me already?” and he glanced over to the Internationale Hotel as though that would be sufficient for Adam to understand what was in his mind.

“Clay’s just about holding his own …” Adam murmured and retied the reins, turned to stand beside his father “So?

“So you seem to think you know who our enigmatic package sender is….”

“Yes..do you recall Marie ever mentioning a woman called Francine Colbert?”

“I do. Not often…in fact not often at all. Marie had the ability to cut people out of her life, out of her mind if they had caused her any hurt ..as this woman did. I envied Marie that ability, she just told me why she had been unable to divorce Jean, of the woman ..his mistress..and that was the last time she was mentioned by her. Jean…he told me more about her, probably because he loved her so much…”

“Francine ? Not Marie?”

“He loved Marie ..as his wife and the mother of his son, dutifully and respectfully and he was well aware of the harm he had done to her. But the passion..that kind of love….” he sighed and shook his head, paused a moment to collect his thoughts and then glanced over to the hotel again “I’ve already made enquiries about her…she’s at the Internationale, shall we go and pay her a visit?”

It was Francine Colbert herself who opened the door to them. She looked at them and then stepped aside for them to enter, as though she had expected them to call, had known them for years, which, in an distant manner, she had……

She was a woman close to Ben’s age, perhaps some years younger. It was a sad cliché but one that fitted her well…she looked an attractive woman even for her age. Her silver grey hair was neatly styled, her poise that of a much younger woman. She was tall, slender of build, her eyes clear and bright, like those of a birds….her face was evidence of someone who lived a long time under the Australian sun….but even so, she was undeniably attractive.

“Ben Cartwright?” she said simply as they entered the room,and she closed the door behind them, “I wondered if you would pay me a visit …and this is your son, Adam, is it not/”

They had removed their hats, and when she indicated some chairs they sat down. Adam waited for his father to speak, but Ben remained silent for a while, and it seemed that the woman had now taken…if one could use the phrase…centre stage.

She took a chair, seated as they were, and looked at them both with those sharp piercing eyes.

Then she nodded and smiled, a quite lovely smile really, which made both men realise that in her youth she would have been beautiful.

“So you got my package…all those years of work wrapped up and sent off to you…” she looked from one to the other “I really thought when I posted it off to you that it would lift a weight off my shoulders, so I was surprised when …it had not.”

“What weight do you mean, Mrs Colbert?” Ben asked, “And why did you send it to us anyway?”

She nodded, as though she understood his reasons for asking and folded her hands in her lap, then cleared her throat, her eyes now resting on Adam

“You are about the same age as Clay Stafford aren’t you? I believe you and he …aren’t exactly friends. Rivals perhaps, antagonists maybe…”

“I don’t think that has anything to do with this matter, Ma’am.” Adam shrugged “More to do with you … and Clay.”

“Yes, of course it is…although really, it has to do with more than that..it has to do with Jean, and Marie…” she flashed a look at Ben, “Did Jean talk about me at all? When he lived here on your Ponderosa? They told me he was buried on your land….”

“He is…yes, in answer to your question, he talked about you” Ben’s voice seemed, to his son’s ears, deeper than usual, a slightest quiver of emotion seeping into the words

“I loved Jean with every fibre of my being…now, as an old woman, I still feel …that love. Love can burn, can’t it, Ben? Was that how you felt about Marie?”

“It isn’t about Marie and I, Ma’am…it’s about you, and Clay…this …hatred…” Ben drew in his breath “Why the hatred over all these years? Why burden yourself with hounding a young man..”

“He never knew … until recently…”

“When he met you in Australia…?”

“Yes.” she paused and clasped her hands tightly together, “You asked why? Oh .. there were times I asked myself the same thing…let it go, let it go I would say ..but I couldn’t …hate…can be as strong and as passionate as love, and I hated him every bit as much as I hated Marie.”

She stood up then, tall and straight backed. Neither man spoke, both trying to unravel the thread that she was weaving in this strange narrative of hers. She walked to the window and looked down at the comings and goings of the people, watching as they continued their every day routine of life. Then she turned back to them

“What I would have given to have never met Jean…or known Marie. I had been married a mere few months to his cousin, Philippe, thought I was in love…in love…what does that mean exactly? I actually met him on his wedding day…to Marie. You see, the de Marigny and Colbert families were connected, through history, through blood… they escaped the revolution in France and came to America together when they were waging their own war of Independence…”

“From one affray to another….” Ben muttered dryly but she smiled and shook her head

“In France we were in danger of having our heads lopped off, being aristo’s..here …nothing could have worked out better for us…business wise..the families forged a partnership, a very lucrative one…”

“Armaments…?” Adam said quietly

“Yes….and somewhere there is always a war going on..and look out on your own town..most men wearing guns…” she shrugged and sat down. “Well, Clay was born…he was actually named Louis Philippe de Marigny, that was his given name. Did you know that?”

“Jean referred to him …as Louis” Ben nodded, but he sighed too as though the words brought to mind sad times, sad memories

“He was besotted by the boy. He may not have loved Marie but he respected her, and his love for me seemed to …fade a little.” she lowered her head but not before they could see her lips thin, as though she could barely allow herself to say the words.

“And you hated the child for just ..being born? Hardly his fault…” Ben retorted and shook his head as though disgusted “This is a strange thing, Madam, that you can hate for so long for nothing…what did it achieve exactly? Jean left New Orleans a broken man, ill, he…..”

“He was ill, yes, he was…Madam de Marigny heard rumours about Marie’s conduct, that she was expecting another man’s child, that she was wild…so she took the child from Marie’s custody and he was brought under her care. Jean was delighted, he believed the stories of course, and our love burned hotter and brighter than ever…..”

Adam was feeling uncomfortable, he moved restlessly and wished he could get up and leave them to it. This was not the sort of conversation he expected from an elderly woman… but Ben seemed determined to continue listening for the sordid tale..about Marie …and Adam knew that his father was becoming angry at the suggestion of Marie’s immoral behaviour, a story that had dogged her and damaged her reputation for years.

“My husband … “ the words were uttered with some bitterness that brought both men back to paying attention “He decided to leave America, expand the business … I was expecting a child, Jean’s…” she shrugged “Jean also decided to move away, somewhere he could recover …he promised to write regularly…he never did. The child was born, died..a son.”

“Madam ..this does not explain why you have pursued Clay all these years…are you blaming him for the loss of your son? The loss of Jean?” exasperation was loud in Ben’s voice now, he was far from understanding how such losses could affect a woman’s mind, her heart.

“”You must be curious as to how I was able to keep track of him all these years…quite simple really. Madam de Marigny left her share of the business to her sole remaining relative, Louis. So whenever Clay – or Louis – needed funds he would make a request to our agents acting on his behalf and receive what he wanted….Clay was, is, a wealthy man, always has been…when he applied for money I would know, and I would know where he was and follow the thread..it was not difficult.

“I was surprised that he had refused the land you were prepared to give him though…perhaps the first time he had shown consideration for someone else…But then he came to Australia, well, we knew he was on his way of course, and Julia ..my youngest daughter, met him with her husband…my girls had always been fond of Louis..so it was … it was a rekindling of friendship of their part, you see.”

“So why send us that package..with all that information..”

“Because I thought it was time for me to let go… to pass on the burden. Hate is such a heavy heavy responsibility and I had lived with it so long…I thought you would provide a solution…!”

“But..” Adam frowned and shook his head “But by the time you sent that package Clay was here…he had the mine … and …”

“Yes, he had the mine. And ..” she paused then, looked into Adam’s face and saw the dark eyes staring back at her. “A lot happened…”

“You could not let go of that hate, could you?” Ben now said, and she stared back and bowed her head

“No.”

“You said you wanted justice… punishment on a man whose only crime was to be born…was to ..” Ben paused as she glared at him now, her eyes dark and her lips bloodlessly thin

“He murdered my husband you know…something I did not put in the folder for you to read…because we were supplying the union not the Confederacy to which he belonged…he shot Philip, called him a traitor, then, as usual..disappeared…just as he did in Ballarat after he had killed Melissa…he’s a liar, a thief, a murderer…”

Adam cleared his throat “What makes you think he killed Melissa?”

“There was an eye witness…”

“Charles Wright?”

“What do you know about Charles….?” for the first time her voice faltered…she looked from one to the other of them “I heard that he was here, with Russell and Norris…..but..”

Adam stood up, picked up his hat, Ben did likewise although he wanted to find out much much more..but he took his cue from his son…

“Mrs Colbert, it may be a good idea if you went to the Sheriff’s office and caught up with all that has happened recently here….you have been on a witch hunt for all these years on a child, then on the man, all because he was born…and got on with living…without you or Jean in his life. Charles Wright…I know all about him, Oggie so called, your son in law’s son… and I think….on the basis of this brief discussion with you….that you know far more about Melissa’s death.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about, and..”

“And about your son in law’s suicide….”

“What?”

“Isaiah Cole killed himself…confessed to the murder of his daughter..if you don’t know the details, I’m sure your ..grandson…will provide them.”

He stepped away from her, walked to the door, anxious to get out of the room. Ben however lingered a little longer, he looked at her with such sympathy on his face that Francine could have screamed, or wept…she did not know which ..her mind was travelling in so many different directions that nothing seemed to make sense ..nothing…

“Mrs Colbert…I feel sorry for your losses, I sincerely do…I feel sorry for your waste of a life, because living a life based on hate ..is a waste..and I feel sorry for all those whom you have tainted with your hate…you made victims of them…you talked about the weight you had carried for so long…well, to be honest with you, it was a weight of your own choosing. That, I do not feel sorry about at all.”

Ben was very quiet as they rode home, and Adam said nothing to drag out any words from him. For a while the older man was lost in his memories… of a man ravaged by the illness he bore, ravaged by the guilt he carried by not loving his wife and son as he should have done, a man who loved too deeply a woman who was devious and cruel…manipulative..and only being able to realise it when he was dying, but free and far away from her.

Jean de Marigny was guilty too…he should have shown more love to his wife and son, but he chose not to do so. He had a choice..like all humans do… the right thing, the moral thing, does not present itself as the most exciting, passionate thing…but it is what lasts, it is what grows and flourishes while the heat of passion just burns itself out..unless hate is present to sustain it.

But then …there would have been no opportunity to meet Marie…no marriage.. no Little Joe.

In every situation, as every gambler knows…there has to be a winner….Ben thanked God that the winner in this drama had been himself…

 

Conclusion……Jake Solomon and his wife went on holiday some weeks after these events. They went to a cabin close to Carson City and on Ponderosa land. They took with them a relative by the name Andrew McFadden.

Mr McFadden had been ill for some time..he had a bad limp, had lost the sight in one eye and wore dark tinted glasses. Over the weeks of fishing and hunting and generally relaxing Solomon grew fatter and Mr McFadden grew healthier.

Joe Cartwright visited once during the time he was checking on how Candy was getting on with the annual round up…Mr McFadden did not seem too happy at seeing him and Joe returned home happy to talk about Candy and the cattle but not Mr McFadden.

Some weeks later Mr McFadden was gone..just like that..there one day, gone the next. Who knew where???

Jake returned to Virginia City with his wife and found himself the owner of the Sazarac saloon…again…. courtesy of one Clay Stafford

Mrs Francine Colbert returned to Australia…along with the three young men who had nearly succeeded in killing Clay Stafford (well, perhaps in a way they had ) but no charges were made against them by the victim, and they returned to Ballarat to face charges there …

Who knows what will happen next!!!

 

Finis….

This concludes the Home is the Sailor series

Shetland Islands

February 2026