Vengeance Is Mine (by MonicaSJ)

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Adam moved to the back of the raft, hiding next to the boat Kane had used to come and go. Moving the boat away slowly without Kane noticing was a long shot, but at the moment, it was the only chance Adam had of getting out of the water.  Whenever Kane turned away, Adam reached up and worked on one of the knots in the ropes Kane had used to tie the boat to the raft.

Adam stopped when he heard a familiar sound; a soft bleat.  The goat was awake and had stumbled out of the box, drawing Kane’s attention.  Taking advantage of Kane’s momentary distraction, Adam hauled himself onto the raft, took several quick steps toward Kane, and when Kane turned back around, Adam hurled a rock, striking Kane hard on the chest.

Falling backward off the box, Kane landed prone on the raft. The goat rose up on his hind legs and came down hard on Kane’s back with his front hooves, then set his sights on Adam, who was peering around the front corner of the box.

Kane rolled to his back, and just as he raised his rifle, Adam dove back into the water, coming up at the side of the raft.  Leveling his rifle at the goat, Kane stopped, looking out past the box over the water.

Risking a look, Adam pushed up on the side of the raft to see what had caught Kane’s attention.  Canoes were swiftly moving toward them.  He lowered himself back into the water, content to wait until they were close, but Kane brought the rifle up and aimed at the Indians coming toward him.

Adam pushed up again and threw another rock, hitting Kane’s hand on the rifle just as he fired, sending the shot up into the air.

The Paiute braves quietly slipped over the sides of their canoes into the icy water and were soon surrounding the raft.   Adam threw the rest of his rocks, distracting Kane long enough for several of the warriors to board and wrestle him for the gun.

When they had pried it out of his hands, Kane let out a strange, guttural shout, and then fled to the box, hiding behind the wall Adam had built, throwing rocks out the door and angrily yelling obscenities mixed with what sounded like terrified cries.

Ben, Hoss and Joe boarded the raft as the Paiutes pulled Adam out of the water.  Shaking uncontrollably from his lengthy exposure to the cold water, Adam dropped to his knees. Before he hit the floor of the raft, Ben was standing over him, pulling Adam’s wet shirt off.

“Joseph, your jacket!” Ben ordered.  As Hoss and Joe laid the jacket over Adam and rubbed his arms, Ben checked his hands and feet, and then lowered him down onto the sun-warmed wood of the raft, observing his lips and ears.  “Son, do you understand what I’m saying?”

“S-s-sure, P-Pa,” Adam stuttered through his shivers.

“You were in the water quite a while.  You’re blue.”

“I’m g-g-getting warmer.  I’ll be f-fine, Pa,” Adam stammered quietly, looking up at his father with a crooked smile.

Several of the Paiute watched the door of the box from where rocks were flying while others recovered the canoes, tying some to the back of the raft, and four to the front where they were making way to pull the raft back to shore.

The goat, still groggy from the amount of chloral hydrate in him, was content to stay away from the sudden crowd on the raft.  He lay down at the back of the raft and stayed.

Growing tired of watching the crazy man in the box, the Paiute moved to close the door.

“Don’t…c-close the…door,” Adam said, sitting up.  “He’ll…eventually r-run out of rocks, and then…you can p-p-put that on him,” he finished, pointing a shaking finger to the straitjacket lying on the top of the box.

Ben looked doubtfully down as Adam moved Joe’s jacket across his shoulders.  “Adam, do we really need to go that far?”

Still stuttering, Adam replied, “At this p-p-point, Pa, I th-think he’ll b-be…unpredictable.  I d-don’t want to t-t-take the chance he’ll get away…and c-come b-back after me.  This n-needs to end here and n-now.”

“Well, we have to take him into town and turn him over to Roy.  After that, it’s out of our hands.”

“No, it’s n-not.  I’ll be…t-t-traveling back to St-stockton with him.”

Hoss and Joe, who had been standing behind Adam, listening, looked worriedly at each other.   “Why would you wanna do a thing like that, Adam?” asked Hoss.

“B-because, Hoss, there are s-s-some things the asylum n-needs to know.”

“Can’t you just send a letter?” asked Joe.  “You need take it easy for awhile.”

“Joe, I’m f-fine.  And no, I can’t j-just send a…letter.”   Struggling to his feet, Adam turned his chest toward the sunlight, intent on walking around the raft to warm up. “They need…to p-pay attention to what I have to s-s-say.  They might ignore a l-l-letter, but they can’t…ignore me.”

Ben noticed Adam’s tone of voice had a bite to it, and wondered if he was going to speak on Kane’s behalf.   His first run-in with one of them almost left him dead, and though he seemed better off this go-around, Ben wouldn’t count on it until Adam saw a doctor.

Adam went to the back of the raft, quietly soaking up the warmth of the sun.  He knelt down next to the goat, and when he saw no movement, he put his hand over the goat’s snout and his other hand on his chest between his front legs.  As Ben walked up behind him, Adam dropped his head.  “I k-killed Hop Sing’s goat.”

“Adam, he was alive when we got here.  How did you kill him?”

Adam’s demeanor and voice seemed remorseful.  “I g-gave him…drugged w-water that was meant for me.  It m-must have had a lot…of the d-drug in it.”

“Drugged water!”

“It’s alright, P-Pa.  I’ve been…pouring it out and d-drinking lake water.  I used it to k-keep the goat c-calm after…Kane put him in the b-box with me.”

“You were in the box with the goat?” asked Ben, even more alarmed.

Chuckling, Adam stood and put his hand on his father’s shoulder. “I’ll t-tell you all about it when we get home.”  He smiled at the concern on his father’s face.  “Pa, s-stop worrying.  I realize…you’re afraid that I m-might relapse into the s-state I was in…after c-coming out of the desert from P-Peter.  But I was p-prepared for Paul.  I’m alright.  In f-fact, I’m better off b-because of my time with Paul.”

By the time they arrived on shore, Adam’s voice had lost the stutter, and he was no longer shivering.  Even so, Ben was insistent that he continue to wear Joe’s jacket over his shoulders on the ride into town.

“Winnemucca,” Ben said, raising one hand.  “Thank you for your help. We would not have been able to rescue my son without you and your braves.”

Looking into Ben’s eyes, Winnemucca nodded.  “Help is good way to show the whites that the Paiute wishes peace between our people.  You tell the other whites how the Paiute have helped, so they may know.”

“I’ll do just that.  Goodbye for now,” Ben answered, taking Winnemucca’s hands in his before he turned to join his sons on the trip into town.

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Author: MonicaSJ

I'm an Primary Software Engineer who writes technical manuals and was talked into writing fan fiction. I love all things outdoors, including my horses. I also love that I live in the mythical Cartwright stomping grounds and roam all the way from Virginia City to San Francisco looking for old roads, ghost towns and stagecoach stops. My favorite pastime is taking a 'no technology' weekend on horseback with a pack horse into the area around Lake Tahoe and the Desolation Wilderness. I do, however, take a GPS with me, so I don't get lost.

4 thoughts on “Vengeance Is Mine (by MonicaSJ)

    1. Thank you, Hope. There have been a lot of WHN stories for The Crucible. When I wrote this I wanted to write something equally as uncomfortable, and I think this one is, but here you do get closure. Thanks so much for reading and review it.

  1. This is an incredible and excellent piece of writing. It pulls you along with its energy and good storyline and presents both sides of the story with empathy and understanding. By the end of the story, you have had a really good time. I felt like I was out on the lake with friends.

    1. I thought about writing a WHN for The Crucible, my favorite Bonanza episode. There are so many WHNs for The Crucible, I wanted one that was unique. Thank you so much for your kind words. Lake Tahoe plays a big role in my writing. I live only 2 hours away, so I go often to see the areas I’m writing about. I’m so happy you had a good time through the story. Thank you again. Monica

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