The sun rose above the horizon, sending streaks of palest pink across the sky. The birds waking and calling to their mates filled the air with sound. Adam Cartwright jerked awake and found that he was sitting with his back to the trunk of a tree. He wiped a shaky hand across his eyes, and shook his head slightly. He had slipped into a doze sometime during the long night of watching the shack where his brother was being held prisoner. Adam cursed, and unwound his long frame from the crouch he had been in. He stretched like a cat, and worked the kinks out of his sore muscles. He hoped that Barnes and Little Joe were still in the shack, and that they hadn’t slipped by him in the night. He silently berated himself for his weakness, and his inability to stay awake. If he had endangered Little Joe further because of his lack of self-control…Adam swiftly buried the thought before it had time to form fully in his mind. He convinced himself that Barnes and Joe were still in the shack. He knew that if they had tried to leave in the night he would have woken.

Adam quietly moved over to the little shack, trying to keep his footsteps quiet. He peered in the little window. The sight that met his eyes brought a wave of anger coursing through him. Barnes was asleep on the little cot, huddled under a thin blanket. The fire in the hearth had gone out, and Little Joe was lying on the floor in front of the cold ashes, as if he had tried to soak in whatever warmth he could. His arms were still bound tightly behind his back, and now his feet were tied together as well. Although the window was almost opaque because of an accumulation of grime, Adam could tell that Joe was in bad shape. Violent shivers racked his body periodically, and the pain he was feeling was reflected in the lines etched into his face.

Adam’s first instinct was to rush into the room, grab his brother, and kill Barnes, but he stopped himself. “You’ve got to plan,” he told himself, his teeth clenched. “Damn it, make a plan!” he muttered. Adam’s thoughts seemed chaotic, and unfocused. He cursed again, and made an effort to pull himself together.

He peered back into the room and was dismayed to see Barnes stir on the cot, stretch, and then move to get up. Quickly Adam darted back for the shelter of the trees. He didn’t want to lose the element of surprise. As he crouched low and waited, Adam heard the sounds of movement within the shack.

Barnes voice rang out in the early morning stillness. “I said, wake up, Kid!” followed by the distinct sound of a slap.

Adam’s rage overtook him, and he lunged to his feet, and was halfway across the clearing before he could stop himself. He plowed through the door of the Way Station, and barreled into Barnes, who was trying to pull Little Joe’s prone body from the floor.

Barnes was taken completely by surprise, and looked at the intruder with baffled eyes. “Wha…Cartwright! Where did you come from?” he burst out. A life spent on the edge of the law stood him in good stead, and in an instinctive reaction he yanked his gun from its holster.

Adam saw the movement, and lunged for the gun, grabbing hold of the outlaw’s arm, and trying to force his hand to let go of the weapon. The two men grappled together, rolling around the small room, and knocking into the walls. Adam’s rage giving him a strength he wasn’t sure he had left in him, but Barnes was fighting back with desperation.

As the men struggled over the gun, Little Joe stirred, and opened his eyes. Confusion clouded his mind, his body racked with pain. He tried to focus on the scene before him. In a burst of clarity he realized that his beloved older brother was fighting for his life. Joe tried to rise, but found his movements hampered not only by his physical restraints, but by the illness that plagued his body. “Adam!” he cried out, but the sound was weak, and went unheard by the two combatants.

Meanwhile, Adam found himself being forced backwards by Barnes, both men still clutching at the gun. As Adam’s feet carried him backwards, he tripped over his brother’s body, and fell to the floor at his side. The ominous click of the gun told him that he and his brother were in serious trouble.

Joe also heard the gun being cocked and in a supreme effort he managed to bring himself to his knees, forcing himself in front of his brother just as he heard the roar of the gun. A burning pain seared into Joe’s shoulder, and he fell back in agony. Blackness swept in a tidal wave of oblivion, and Joe lay unmoving on the ground. His last conscious thought was of Adam.

***********************************

Adam watched in horror as his brother fell to the ground, blood running freely from a bullet wound in his shoulder. He turned his attention back to the remaining outlaw, and in a frenzy of rage he launched himself at the man, crushing him back against the wall with the fury of his attack. The gun flew from Barnes’ hand, and skittered across the floor, ending up beneath the rickety cot. Adam’s fists flew in a flurry of punches, and Barnes cried out in pain. It took only a few moments, but Barnes finally slumped to the ground, unconsciousness claiming him.

Adam flew to the side of his injured brother. He gently rolled Joe over, and ripped his shirt away from the wound. He winced as he saw the jagged hole in his brother’s shoulder. Quickly Adam ripped the sleeve from his own shirt, and fashioned a rough bandage, which he pressed onto the bullet wound. He searched Barnes’ pockets and came up with a knife, which he used to cut the ropes that bound his brother’s hands and feet. It seemed only fitting to Adam to use the same ropes to bind the man who had shot Joe. He quickly tied the outlaw’s hands and feet and then turned his attention back to Little Joe.

As Adam labored over his brother he heard the distinct sound of a large number of horses outside the small shack. Coming quickly to his feet, wary of a new threat to their safety, he looked out the window. A large group of men on horseback was riding into the clearing. A tall, rangy man with a sheriff’s badge pinned to his chest lead the way. Adam smiled wearily, and stepped out to greet the men.