Summary:   Joe has been shot and needs to find shelter.

Michael Landon Birthday Challenge 2012  Expanded Halloween story from Pinecone Challenge#17  SJS, PJM

Rated: T  WC  2100

 

                                                           Sarah

 

“Of all ghosts, the ghosts of our old loves are the worst.”
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The bitter, cold, wind blew hard against the old, dilapidated house. Many rumors were spread about it being haunted and possessed by a spirit. Most of the time, the house remained quiet eroding with time. This night it would be different.

Joe Cartwright shivered in the cold as he rode closer to home. He had ridden for days from Placerville, where he had made a lucrative deal selling some cattle for his father. He was not ready for the fate that awaited him. He was not far from the Ponderosa, when the shots were fired at him. He felt one of them hit him in his upper arm and another grazed his head. His horse, Cochise, reared and he fell onto the cold ground unconscious.

Regaining consciousness, he felt the warm liquid oozing down his head. As he moved, he winced with pain from the bullet in the arm. Lying on the ground, he waited for some time before rising. Searching for his horse, he was unable to find him. So he figured if he was this close to the ranch, Cochise would go home. He had been in predicaments before, but this one was not going to be easy. Not only was he injured, he also had to endure the cold wind blowing on him. The heavy wool coat would not be enough to protect him in this cold. He had to find some refuge to stay until his family could find him.

Struggling against the cold and the wave of dizziness overcoming him, he moved slowly, hoping to find somewhere to rest. Thankful for the full moon, he was able to see where he was heading, but he did not know where. After almost giving in to the pain and cold, he saw the house looming in the distance. Sighing with relief, he regained some fortitude to move on.

The excruciating pain in his upper arm became more severe as he dragged himself to the porch of the old house. It took all of his strength to pull himself up the stairs to the floor of the porch and drag himself across the floor to the door. After managing to push it open, he fell unconscious to the floor.

Joe awoke thinking he was alone, but was he? Feeling a presence next to him, he turned to discern the person sitting next to him. He tried to speak, but his voice was hoarse. “Pa—Pa.”

“My sweet, it is alright…I’m not your father, I’m Sarah,” the lady replied touching him with her hand.

Joe felt her cold hand on his forehead. “Sarah, where am I?” Joe tried to move.

“You are at my house,” she answered. “Darling, you have been injured and you must not move. You need to rest.”
“Yes,” he said faintly, as he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Worried about Joe, Ben was unable to eat his evening meal. Rising from his chair, he walked into the living room and stood by the fire. Adam and Hoss remained at the table finishing their meal. “Joe should have returned home by now,” Ben said.

“Pa, you know Joe—he could have got sidetracked on his way home.”

“Hoss is right—Joe doesn’t always have a good sense of timing.”

“You’re right, Adam—he can be late sometimes,” Ben said with a faint smile. “I think I heard something, it might be him.”

Opening the door, they were blasted by the frigid wind. They only saw Joe’s horse coming into the yard. Ben turned to his sons with a dejected look on his face.

“We know what to do, Pa,” Adam replied.

‘I’ll saddle my horse and go with you.”

“No, Pa, you stay here, in case, Joe manages to return home,” Adam said.

Pa, we know you’re going to worry about us—we’ll find him,” Hoss assured his father.

“I hate to send you two out in such inclement weather, but Joe has to be found.”

“Bad weather or not, we’ll going look for him,” Hoss replied.

Ben stood between his two sons and placed a hand on each of their shoulders. “Be careful, both of you.” Ben shivered in the cold as he watched his two sons walk to the barn. He waited until Adam and Hoss rode away from his sight. Sitting by the fire, he stared at the flames wondering if Joe was safe and warm. Not only did he have to worry about Joe, but also his other two sons.

Joe shivered and his teeth chattered from the chilling cold. He could not determine what was amiss with Sarah. Not only was there was no blankets covering him, but also there was no heat in the room. He sensed, though racked with delirium and fever, something was not right, but what?

Delirious from the fever, Joe thrashed about in the bed. Startled by the icy hand upon his forehead, he looked over to see Sarah smiling at him. Her touch calmed him once more. Feeling confused form the high fever and pain in his arm. He wondered if he would live through the night.

“Sarah, I’m going to die.”

Oh, no, my love, you’ll be alright in a few days when the fever breaks,” she assured him.
Joe pleaded with her. “You have to find my father.”

“Your father is not here.”

“Please—Sarah—please,” Joe urged quite agitated.

“Darling, don’t get excited. You have to be still or you will hurt yourself even more.”

“I can’t die without my father being here with me.”

“I will be with you until the end.”

“Sarah—Sarah,” he said with a whisper and passed out once more.

Adam and Hoss rode for some distance trying to follow the trail Joe would follow. They noticed a familiar site, shining in the bright moonlight, the Hartman House. The two brothers reined their horses to a stop before going any further to the structure.

“Hoss, do you think Joe would go into that house?”

“I don’t know if I want to go into that house,” Hoss answered sarcastically. “We do need to check it out, in case, he might be there.”

“If Joe was injured, he would go somewhere to get out of this cold weather. I know the house would not be warm but safer than being out here.”

“Would it, Adam?” Hoss asked. “That moon is shining really bright tonight.”

“I know what people say about this house when the moon is full, but we cannot let superstition get in the way of finding our brother.”

“Dadburnit Adam, I hope Joe is in that house or we’ll be riding all night.”

Joe’s high fever along with the dizziness and confusion was clouding his thoughts. He managed to open his eyes, though it was hard to focus. Every time, he opened his eyes, Sarah remained sitting next to him. He wondered why she never moved.

“Sarah—Sarah—who are you?” Joe said as he tried to stay awake.

“My love, don’t you remember? We are to be married in a few days.”

“No—Sarah—what are you saying?”

“It’s true, darling—you proposed to me. And we’ll have beautiful wedding as soon as you recover.”

“No—no—this can’t be true.”

“Your fever is causing you not to remember. Once the fever breaks, you will be able to remember. I love you with all my heart.” She rose from the chair starting to walk away.

“Sarah—Sarah—where are you going?”

“I have to leave, but I will return.”

Joe felt her icy lips upon his. “Sarah—Sarah—please—don’t leave me,” he cried trying to move from the bed. Exhausted from the exertion in trying to stop Sarah, he fell back on the bed and lost consciousness.

Paul Martin sighed as he pulled the blankets over Joe. “Ben, I’ll be honest. If Adam and Hoss had not found Joe when they did, he would have been dead. He has a very severe infection from the bullet wound in his arm. It should have been removed before it got this bad. It remained in his arm too long and produced this infection.”

“You don’t think his arm will have to be amputated?”

“Oh no Ben, nothing that severe—Joe is going to be in a great deal of pain. I gave him some laudanum to help him sleep. It’s going to be a very long night.”

“I know, Paul.”

“Joe keeps calling for someone named Sarah.”

“Adam and Hoss found Joe at the Hartman House.”

“Oh, that Sarah,” Paul said to Ben knowing the tales about the young lady.

“Yes— that Sarah,” Ben replied.

“Ben, I could use a cup of coffee right now and maybe something a bit stronger to get through this night.”

“Yes, I think we both need this,” Ben said as he walked out of the room, turning briefly, to see if Joe was still sleeping.

Ben and Paul stood vigil over the injured Joe through the long hours of the night. The laudanum had done the job in keeping Joe quiet and as he rested. Early in the hours of the next morning, Joe stirred and called for Sarah again. He fell into a deep sleep once more.

After a long battle with the infection, the fever subsided. He tried to discern his surroundings as his father placed a loving hand on his son’s head.

“Joseph, you have been very sick from the infection caused by the bullet in your arm,” Ben said in his fatherly voice.

“Pa, I don’t remember being shot,” Joe said as he tried to move, but he stopped as he felt the pain in his arm. “How did you find me?”

“Cochise returned home without you. I was worried, so I sent Adam and Hoss searching for you. They found you at the Hartman House.”

“I can’t remember how I got there—Sarah took care of me.”

“Joseph there is no Sarah in that house.”

“Sarah Hartman,” Joe replied looking at his father.

“There was no Sarah—she died thirty years ago to the day.”

“Pa, I saw her—I talked to her. How can this be?”

“Son, I don’t have any idea but some things are unexplainable.”

“How did she die?” Joe asked with tears in his eyes.

“Sarah fell in love with a very handsome, young man. Before they could be wed, he had a serious accident. His horse was spooked and they both fell with the horse landing on him and crushing him. Somehow the young man lingered for days. Sarah remained at his side until he died. After the funeral, she grieved for him. She could not bear to live without him, so she took her own life. It is said, that when the moon is full she haunts the house by sitting next to the bed and saying the same words she spoke to her beloved before he died. Other times, she has been reported at the upstairs window. If a person is severely hurt she will give him a kiss. If he is not found in a few days, then it is too late for him.”

“Pa, she touched me with her cold hands. I wanted to grab them and try to hold them in mine to keep them warm, but I never felt them. She kissed me with her icy lips—the kiss of death. Then she left me to die.”

“We won’t dwell on this tonight.”

“Pa, she was so real. I must have imagined this due to the infection.”

“Son, sometimes the mind plays cruel tricks on you when you are sick. You had a rough time with the infection. Get some rest and we’ll speak of this later.” Ben smiled at his son and left the room. Joe stared at the ceiling for some time then fell asleep.

No one spoke of the incident ever again.

Some times when the moon is full and shining brightly in the sky, Joe rides by the Hartman House. Shivering, he glances at the upstairs window to see Sarah smiling at him as he passes the house.
THE END

September 10, 2012

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