Summary: \u00a0When Adam returns from California, where his father still remains, he finds one brother seriously injured and the other missing. \u00a0While caring for the injured, he races to solve the mystery and find his missing brother before it’s too late.<\/p>\n
Rating: \u00a0K+ \u00a0\u00a0Word count: \u00a020,154<\/p>\n
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To Set the Captives Free<\/strong><\/p>\n As soon as Adam stepped down from the stagecoach, he scanned C Street in both directions, and his expectant smile tightened into a frown.\u00a0 Having telegraphed ahead, he\u2019d been certain that his brothers would meet him here in Virginia City.\u00a0 With both older Cartwrights away, Hoss had been left in charge, so Adam had sent the telegram to him, but he had naturally assumed that fourteen-year-old Joe, with his well-deserved reputation for wrapping Hoss around his little finger, would have wheedled his way into the trip to town, as well.\u00a0 Of course, that youngster also had a well-deserved reputation \u00a0for creating mischief and mayhem.\u00a0 That must be it: the boy must have done something to delay them, and if he\u2019d gotten far enough out of line, even that notable soft touch, Hoss, might have denied their youngest brother the privilege of a trip to town.\u00a0 And the argument that would have ensued over that edict would only delay Hoss more, Adam concluded with a sigh.<\/p>\n \u201cMr. Cartwright?\u201d a gravelly voice behind him called.<\/p>\n Adam turned to see the driver extending his carpetbag.\u00a0 Taking it, he said, \u201cThanks, Charlie.\u201d\u00a0 He set it down on the planked sidewalk, took off his hat and swiped away the sweat with the back of his hand.\u00a0 His muscles ached from hours of jostling around inside the stagecoach, and his black shirt felt clammy against his skin.\u00a0 He wanted nothing more than a long, relaxing soak in a hot tub, but another long ride stood between him and that pleasure, and goodness only knew when he\u2019d get to even start toward home now.\u00a0 Well, blamed if he\u2019d stand here on the street, waiting for those tardy brothers of his under a blistering late August sun.\u00a0 He was hot, tired and his throat, like his clothes, was coated with the dust of the journey.\u00a0 The Silver Dollar held the perfect cure for that, and if his brothers couldn\u2019t manage to find him there, he\u2019d rent a horse at the livery and make it home on his own . . . with ample time to rehearse a few choice words for when he got there.<\/p>\n \u201cHowdy, Sam,\u201d Adam said genially as he stepped up to the bar, setting the carpetbag beside him.\u00a0 \u201cA tall, cool one, if you please, kind sir.\u201d<\/p>\n The bartender\u2019s head cocked quizzically; then he shrugged and drew the beer, setting it before Adam and sweeping the two-bits the rancher had laid on the bar into his other palm.<\/p>\n Adam took a long, satisfying quaff of the drink.\u00a0 Licking the suds from his upper lip and propping an elbow on the bar, he inquired, \u201cWhat do you think, Sam, of a fellow who refuses to pick up his own brother from the stage?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHuh?\u201d\u00a0 The frown furrows faded from Sam\u2019s forehead.\u00a0 \u201cYou just get in on the stage, Adam?\u00a0 Then, I guess you don\u2019t know, do you?\u201d<\/p>\n The beer mug clunked onto the counter.\u00a0 \u201cKnow what?\u201d\u00a0 Adam demanded tersely.<\/p>\n Sam swallowed hard.\u00a0 \u201cSorry to have to tell you, Adam, but your brother\u2019s over to the doc\u2019s.\u00a0 Been knifed, I heard.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam stared at him for only a fraction of a minute before he charged through the batwings of the saloon, leaving the carpetbag behind and racing down the street toward Dr. Martin\u2019s office.\u00a0 His brother . . . knifed . . . by whom?\u00a0 \u00a0Why?\u00a0 Panting, he flung open the door to the office and burst in.\u00a0 \u201cIs my brother here?\u201d he demanded of the girl in the starched white apron.<\/p>\n \u201cOh, Adam, yes, he is,\u201d she murmured, her eyes telling him more clearly than her sympathetic tone that the injury was nothing superficial.\u00a0 She glanced toward the closed door to her right.\u00a0 \u201cThe doctor\u2019s still working on him.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow long?\u201d Adam asked.<\/p>\n \u201cA while,\u201d she whispered.\u00a0 \u201cI-I\u2019m sure it won\u2019t be much longer, Adam.\u00a0 Please sit down, and I\u2019ll let the doctor know you\u2019re here.\u201d<\/p>\n Lips taut, he gave her a crisp nod, but he didn\u2019t sit down.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t.\u00a0 He paced the small room, anxiously asking himself unanswerable questions.\u00a0 Who could have done this?\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 His brother was such an affable person that he rarely formed an enemy.\u00a0 Some chance encounter in the saloon while waiting for the stage to arrive?\u00a0 Adam would never forgive himself if his simple request had led his brother into danger, but life was too unpredictable to trace every effect to its definitive cause.<\/p>\n The doctor\u2019s assistant came out, closing the door quietly.\u00a0 \u201cAlmost done.\u00a0 He\u2019ll be out to talk with you soon, Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n He nodded his thanks, still too disturbed for words, and continued his pacing, although its tempo slowed.\u00a0 At least, he\u2019d soon have the answer to his most serious question: would his brother live?<\/p>\n The door to the treatment room opened, and Dr. Martin slipped out, closing the door behind him.<\/p>\n \u201cHow is he?\u201d Adam immediately demanded.\u00a0 \u201cWill he be all right?\u201d<\/p>\n Dr. Martin sighed.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s serious, Adam.\u00a0 I\u2019ve repaired the damage, but your brother lost an enormous amount of blood, very nearly bled out.\u00a0 If he can make it through the night . . .\u201d\u2014he laid a consoling hand on Adam\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s young and otherwise healthy; it\u2019s no guarantee, but there\u2019s hope in that, son.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam exhaled slowly the breath he\u2019d held for far too long.\u00a0 \u201cMay I see him?\u201d he asked politely, although had the answer been no, he would have stormed into the next room, anyway.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course,\u201d Dr. Martin said, opening the door and stepping aside so Adam could enter ahead of him.<\/p>\n At first sight of the colorless face lying on the pillow in a wreath of rampant chestnut curls, Adam gasped audibly and toppled backward so bonelessly that he would have fallen had not the doctor caught him.\u00a0 \u201cJoe?\u201d he croaked.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s Little Joe who was knifed?\u201d<\/p>\n Dr. Martin steadied him as he said, \u201cI thought you knew.\u201d<\/p>\n Muscles still quivering, Adam shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cSam just said \u2018your brother.\u2019\u00a0 I assumed . . . Hoss.\u201d<\/p>\n The gap between his thick eyebrows narrowing, the doctor stared at him.\u00a0 \u201cDoes it matter?\u201d<\/p>\n Adam started to say no, for he certainly cared equally for both his brothers.\u00a0 Then it hit him with sudden and fierce realization.\u00a0 \u201cOf course, it matters!\u201d\u00a0 he snapped.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s hard to imagine anyone wanting to hurt a man like Hoss, but he is<\/em> a man and things happen between men: a quarrel, a robbery, even a grudge.\u00a0 But Joe\u2019s no man.\u201d\u00a0 He jerked his head toward the immobile figure on the examining table.\u00a0 \u201cAnyone who could do this to a fourteen-year-old boy is no man, either!\u00a0 He\u2019s a fiend, and that matters; that matters a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n The doctor nodded soberly.\u00a0 \u201cLooking at it that way, I\u2019d have to agree.\u201d\u00a0 His hand tightened on the young man\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cBut that\u2019s a matter for the law, son.\u00a0 Your first responsibility is to your brother.\u201d\u00a0 He nodded toward Little Joe as he released his hold on Adam.<\/p>\n Adam moved to his brother\u2019s side and gently stroked the boy\u2019s pale cheek, brushing aside a wisp of hair.\u00a0 \u201cWhere is Hoss?\u201d he asked.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t imagine his younger brother being anywhere other than at this boy\u2019s side at such a time, but he clearly wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know, son,\u201d the doctor said quietly.\u00a0 \u201cI haven\u2019t seen Hoss.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam\u2019s head snapped around to stare at the doctor.\u00a0 \u201cHe hasn\u2019t been here?\u00a0 At all?\u201d<\/p>\n The doctor shook his head, concern etching his brow.\u00a0 \u201cMaybe he wasn\u2019t in town,\u201d he suggested.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course, he was!\u201d Adam shouted.\u00a0 It was inconceivable that Hoss would have sent Little Joe into town alone to meet the stage.\u00a0 Only a ranch catastrophe on the scale of Noah\u2019s Flood could have forced him to a decision like that, and it hadn\u2019t rained in weeks.<\/p>\n Dr. Martin shushed him sharply, but it was the strained wince on Little Joe\u2019s face that silenced Adam immediately.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t you see?\u201d he whispered urgently as he stroked his brother\u2019s arm soothingly.\u00a0 \u201cHoss wouldn\u2019t have sent him into town alone.\u00a0 He had to be here, too, and if I found out almost immediately on stepping off that stage. . . .\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHoss would have, too, even if they were temporarily separated,\u201d the doctor finished weakly.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re right again, Adam.\u00a0 Maybe\u2014maybe he\u2019s with Roy, making a statement?\u201d\u00a0 A poor suggestion, since the statement could certainly have waited until Hoss had seen to his brother\u2019s care, but it was all Paul Martin could come up with.<\/p>\n Adam moistened his lips thoughtfully, he, too, ignoring common sense to grasp at the flimsy filament of hope.\u00a0 \u201cMaybe.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0His head came up, his eyes lighting with another idea.\u00a0 \u201cHas Little Joe been conscious at all, said anything?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, son,\u201d Dr. Martin said softly, \u201cand isn\u2019t likely to for some time.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam sighed as that filament of hope snapped apart.\u00a0 He glanced at Little Joe, and his lips pursed tautly together.\u00a0 He wanted to be here; he needed to be here, but he had another brother, too, and he had no idea where that brother was . . . or in what condition.\u00a0 He wanted to know; he had to know.<\/p>\n Dr. Martin perceived his dilemma.\u00a0 \u201cGo on,\u201d he urged.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll be here with Little Joe.\u00a0 You need to see the sheriff.\u201d<\/p>\n Nodding, Adam bent over his brother and whispered close to the boy\u2019s ear, \u201cI\u2019ll be back soon, Joe.\u00a0 You hang in there, little buddy.\u201d\u00a0 He straightened and with determination walked wordlessly from the doctor\u2019s office and headed toward the sheriff\u2019s office.\u00a0 He forced himself to keep a steady cadence, but his thoughts galloped like a thoroughbred stallion circling a track.\u00a0 Something was wrong; he sensed it . . . something flitting just beyond the blinders he tried not to look past.\u00a0 It shadowed his every step, demanding attention, until he had to take the blinders off and stare directly into its ugly face.\u00a0 There was only one reason Hoss wouldn\u2019t be with Little Joe at that doctor\u2019s office: something had happened to him, too.\u00a0 Something different, perhaps, but something just as disturbing.\u00a0 Was he, too, injured, his bleeding body lying undiscovered in some alley?\u00a0 Or was it worse?\u00a0 Was he not with Little Joe because he was lying, cold and still, at the undertaker\u2019s?\u00a0 The August air felt suddenly icy as Adam drew in a sharp breath.\u00a0 Roy would know; he had to see Roy.<\/p>\n Though he still refused to give in to the rising panic, his stride lengthened, its pace more urgent, and the final few steps to the door of the sheriff\u2019s office might have made him a contender in the annual Founder\u2019s Day footrace.\u00a0 He flung open the door and rushed inside, only to be stopped short by the silence and emptiness that assaulted him.\u00a0 Roy wasn\u2019t there.<\/p>\n He wandered aimlessly outside, coming to a halt at the hitching rail.\u00a0 He stood on one side of it, hands grasping the rough wood, sinking into its support.\u00a0 He sighed.\u00a0 Of course, Roy wasn\u2019t here.\u00a0 A criminal attack had just occurred in his town: he was exactly where he should be, out investigating it.\u00a0 So, presumably, was his deputy.<\/p>\n Adam leaned into the rail, his forearms now resting on it, his thumbs circling absently as he tried to think like a sheriff.\u00a0 Any good lawman would examine the scene of the crime first, of course, but Adam had no idea where Little Joe had been found.\u00a0 It might be common knowledge, gossip generally moving on eagle\u2019s wings in a town like Virginia City, but its flight might not have been so swift that just anyone on the street could answer his questions.\u00a0 Who could he ask and be certain of an answer?<\/p>\n He nodded slowly and straightened up.\u00a0 He could think of no place likelier to hold the answer than where it had started\u2014for him, at least\u2014at the bar of the Silver Dollar.\u00a0 Sam had known about the attack, and there was a good chance that he knew where it had taken place.\u00a0 The wooden boards clacked beneath his heels as he walked toward the saloon.\u00a0 He turned in and went to the bar, ending up within inches of his original position there.<\/p>\n \u201cHey, Adam,\u201d Sam said.\u00a0 \u201cCome back for your carpetbag, did you?\u00a0 I figured you would, so I put it here behind the bar, for safekeeping.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam looked at him blankly for a moment, and then realization returned.\u00a0 Good lands, he had run out of here, leaving his luggage behind.\u00a0 \u201cThanks.\u00a0 Truth is, Sam, I forgot all about it,\u201d he admitted.<\/p>\n Compassion etched on his round face, Sam nodded.\u00a0 \u201cYou had cause.\u00a0 How is the boy?\u201d<\/p>\n Now, why didn\u2019t he say \u201cboy\u201d before<\/em>? Adam wondered; then he realized it wouldn\u2019t have made any difference.\u00a0 Hoss was big enough that few men would be foolish enough to challenge his manhood, but at twenty, still young enough that a man Sam\u2019s age might continue to call him a boy, and Adam would still have assumed that it was Hoss Sam had meant.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s in pretty bad shape,\u201d Adam responded to the bartender\u2019s question, \u201cbut right now I\u2019m trying to locate Hoss.\u00a0 Have you seen him?\u201d<\/p>\n The bartender\u2019s brow wrinkled in thought.\u00a0 \u201cNot since all the excitement, now you mention it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat about the sheriff?\u201d<\/p>\n Sam shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cNo.\u00a0 Sorry, Adam, but I been working here the whole afternoon.\u00a0 Only know what I do \u2018cause folks talk, you know?\u201d<\/p>\n Adam exhaled heavily.\u00a0 \u201cAnyone say where it happened?\u201d<\/p>\n Sam\u2019s face scrunched in thought; then he again shook his head, mumbling another apology.<\/p>\n Adam drummed frustrated fingers on the bar.\u00a0 This hadn\u2019t helped at all.\u00a0 Now what?\u00a0 Something niggled inside his head, and he looked up quickly when he realized what it was.\u00a0 \u201cYou said you hadn\u2019t seen Hoss since all the excitement. \u00a0Did you see him before?\u201d<\/p>\n Glad that he could finally give Adam some piece of information he wanted, Sam\u2019s face brightened.\u00a0 \u201cCaught a glimpse of him earlier, but only at a distance.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOver on Union,\u201d Sam replied, \u201cheading up the hill.\u00a0 Bein\u2019 as it was around noon, I figure he was headed to one of the eateries up on B Street.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam nodded acceptance of the logic.\u00a0 \u201cWas Joe with him?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSure was,\u201d Sam said.<\/p>\n That told Adam something.\u00a0 If Hoss had been alone, he would most likely have opted for the hefty fare of Chapman\u2019s Chop House, but having Little Joe along almost guaranteed a different choice\u2014the Young American or, possibly, Winn\u2019s Restaurant.\u00a0 He\u2019d try those first, see if he couldn\u2019t somehow trace his brothers\u2019 steps through town and, hopefully, run across Roy Coffee somewhere along the way.\u00a0 \u201cThanks,\u201d he said, heading for the door.\u00a0 Just before exiting, he remembered and turned back.\u00a0 \u201cKeep the bag here for me?\u201d \u00a0He added with a wry smile, \u201cI promise not to forget this time.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019ll be here,\u201d Sam promised, \u201cand if you ain\u2019t back by the time I go off shift, I could drop it by\u2014well, wherever you\u2019re stayin\u2019.\u201d\u00a0 With his brother severely wounded, it was a safe bet Adam would be staying somewhere in town.<\/p>\n \u201cDoc Martin\u2019s, then.\u00a0 Appreciate it.\u201d Adam saw little point in renting a hotel room, when he\u2019d be spending every moment he could at Little Joe\u2019s side.\u00a0 He touched his hand to his hat as he walked out of the saloon.\u00a0 He paused just outside the bat wings and looked down the street to his left, hoping against hope to spot Roy Coffee.\u00a0 When he didn\u2019t, he turned and headed the opposite way, toward Union.\u00a0 Reaching the corner, he began the hike up to B Street.\u00a0 It seemed steeper than usual today, maybe because he was just plain tired to begin with, after that long stage ride, and maybe because his anxious heart was already pumping harder than it should.<\/p>\n He paused at the top, not just to catch his breath, but to make a decision.\u00a0 A number of restaurants clustered here, near the post office that everyone in town was likely to visit regularly: Winn\u2019s, the Young American, the New World, and the Virginia Bakery, in addition to the chop house he\u2019d already ruled out.\u00a0 He racked his brain, trying to recall if any one of them was a particular favorite of his little brother.\u00a0 Oddly enough, it was an obscure detail from a letter he\u2019d received while in college that tipped the scale.\u00a0 In one of the classic arguments between Hoss and Joe, Pa had reported, five-year-old Little Joe had argued for eating at \u201cYoung, like me.\u201d\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t sure that Joe, with his newly acquired delusions of near-manhood would still lean that direction, but it was as good a starting point as any.<\/p>\n The brass bell above the door jangled discordantly as he entered the Young American, and the aroma of sizzling meat and yeast rolls immediately assaulted his nostrils.\u00a0 Having foregone the unappetizing fare at the noon stage stop, he hadn\u2019t eaten since breakfast, and his stomach was reminding him sharply of its emptiness.\u00a0 He supposed it would be wise to eat something, but he had no appetite and didn\u2019t feel he could spare the time for a meal until he found out something about Hoss.\u00a0 A cup of coffee and, maybe, a roll or two might stave off starvation for the time being.\u00a0 Taking a table by the window, so he could keep a hopeful eye on the street, he ordered that and asked the waitress if she\u2019d happened to see his brothers earlier.<\/p>\n \u201cThey ate lunch here, as a matter of fact,\u201d she told him.<\/p>\n Adam\u2019s slumped body straightened.\u00a0 \u201cDid you happen to wait on them?\u201d<\/p>\n She shook her head, her lips pursing in consideration.\u00a0 \u201cI think Louisa did.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCould I speak with her?\u201d Adam asked.<\/p>\n \u201cSure.\u00a0 I\u2019ll tell her and get this order turned in.\u201d\u00a0 She smiled encouragingly at him.\u00a0 \u201cSure that\u2019s all you want?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFor now.\u201d\u00a0 Coffee, rolls and Louisa, if she had any pertinent information, felt like a full meal to Adam.<\/p>\n A young girl, her honey blonde hair tied back with a brown ribbon, hesitantly approached his table a few minutes later.\u00a0 \u201cYou wanted to see me, sir?\u201d she asked, her voice quavering in the presence of one of the powerful Cartwrights.<\/p>\n Adam smiled congenially in a determined attempt to calm her down.\u00a0 \u201cIf you\u2019re Louisa.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, sir,\u201d she said, lower lip quivering.<\/p>\n \u201cI was told that you waited on my brothers at noon.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAround then, yes, sir.\u201d\u00a0 Her slight figure was almost visibly shaking.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m so sorry\u2014a-about the little one, I mean.\u00a0 I heard that he\u2019d been hurt bad.\u201d\u00a0 Fear flickered in her brimming blue eyes.\u00a0 \u201cNot that I eavesdrop on my customers, of course.\u00a0 It\u2019s just that\u2014that\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPeople talk over their meals,\u201d Adam supplied gently.\u00a0 \u201cOf course, you overhear them, without intending to.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, sir.\u201d\u00a0 Her face flooded with relief.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m real sorry about your brother, Mr. Cartwright.\u00a0 He\u2019s such a little cutie.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, yes, he is,\u201d Adam said quietly.\u00a0 Clearly, this girl, no more than two or three years older than Joe himself, had been taken with his brother, but perhaps that had made her all the more attentive to him and Hoss.\u00a0 He hoped so.\u00a0 \u201cActually, Louisa, I\u2019m hoping you did overhear something . . . when you were serving my brothers, that is.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNothing important,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cThey were laughing, having a good time.\u00a0 Well, they said something about meeting the stage.\u201d\u00a0 She blushed as she gave him a faint smile.\u00a0 \u201cI guess that was you, sir.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, that was me,\u201d he said, a tinge of regret in his voice.\u00a0 The other waitress arrived with his order, and as he buttered a roll, he asked, \u201cAre you sure there was nothing else?\u00a0 Nothing about where they planned to go after they left here, for instance?\u201d<\/p>\n Her eyes brightened.\u00a0 \u201cOh, of course.\u00a0 They were going to the barber\u2019s.\u00a0 Hoss said\u201d\u2014she flushed crimson again\u2014\u201cI guess I shouldn\u2019t be so familiar.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOf course, you should,\u201d Adam said and to further reassure her, he laughed softly.\u00a0 \u201cThere are too many Cartwrights to refer to all of us as mister.\u00a0 Hoss is fine, as is Adam, for that matter.\u201d<\/p>\n He could see her teeth this time when she smiled.\u00a0 \u201cWell, then, Mr. Adam,\u201d she said, still feeling the oldest brother merited extra respect, \u201cHoss said that Little Joe needed a haircut, and they argued a bit about that, but I\u2019m pretty sure Hoss won, because Little Joe looked put out when they left.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam\u2019s lips were graced by their first genuine smile of the afternoon.\u00a0 How many times had he watched that scene played on the stage of some Virginia City street?\u00a0 The only thing out of place, in fact, was Hoss in a role normally played by Pa or Adam himself.\u00a0 Endearing memories, but he had little time for them now.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m trying to locate Hoss,\u201d he explained.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t suppose you saw him later.\u201d<\/p>\n With obvious regret, she shook her head.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, you\u2019ve been very helpful,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cI won\u2019t take any more of your time.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI wish I could\u2019ve helped more,\u201d Louisa said sincerely, \u201cand you tell that little cutie I hope he gets better real soon.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam nodded as he bit into the roll.\u00a0 How he prayed, for more reasons than one, that Little Joe would soon be alert enough for him to deliver that message.\u00a0 Message!\u00a0 He choked, mid-swallow, as he realized another message that he needed to deliver\u2014and soon.\u00a0 Pa had planned to stay in Placerville another week, but those plans would change the minute he learned what had happened to his youngest son.\u00a0 Adam needed to send a wire as soon as he could, but he wanted to learn what he could about Hoss first, so he could send an accurate report.\u00a0 He\u2019d, at least, check with the barber and with Roy, if he could find him.\u00a0 The sheriff might even have sent a telegram already.\u00a0 The need to find Roy grew more urgent, though he wouldn\u2019t have considered that possible when he\u2019d entered the Young American.<\/p>\n Slipping his remaining roll into his pocket, he left the price of his order on the table and hurried out.\u00a0 The barber was only two buildings down, so he was soon opening the door to the tune of another jangling bell.<\/p>\n \u201cHey, Adam,\u201d called the man standing behind the barber chair.\u00a0 \u201cHeard you was coming in today.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFrom my brothers?\u201d Adam asked.<\/p>\n The barber deftly coiled a hot towel over the face of the man in the chair.\u00a0 \u201cYup, Hoss said that was why they needed to get slicked up.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam smiled wryly, suspecting that the need \u201cto get slicked up\u201d had less to do with his arrival than the one to follow a week later.\u00a0 Then his brow wrinkled.\u00a0 The mane of hair he\u2019d seen spread on the doctor\u2019s table hadn\u2019t looked freshly shorn.\u00a0 \u201cYou cut their hair, Tom?\u201d he queried.<\/p>\n \u201cI cut Hoss\u2019s,\u201d Tom replied.\u00a0 Seeing Adam\u2019s puzzled frown, he hurried to explain.\u00a0 \u201cIt was like this, Adam.\u00a0 They both come in, and I took Hoss first.\u00a0 Then he sent Joe over to the post office to pick up the mail.\u00a0 Well, the boy must have lollygagged his way there and back, \u2018cause it took about twice as long as you\u2019d expect, and in the meantime two other fellows come in.\u00a0 I told \u2018em the boy was next in line, havin\u2019 come in earlier, but Hoss spoke up and said to let \u2018em go first.\u00a0 He had business in town, he said, and he\u2019d come back and pick up Joe later.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam\u2019s eyebrow arched up.\u00a0 \u201cAnd how did Joe take that?\u201d<\/p>\n Tom gave him a lopsided grin.\u00a0 \u201cAbout the way he takes any mention of a haircut.\u201d\u00a0 He\u2019d cut the youngest Cartwright\u2019s hair for years, so he knew whereof he spoke.\u00a0 So, evidently, did a couple of other customers awaiting their turn in the chair, for they chuckled.<\/p>\n \u201cHe didn\u2019t get that haircut, though,\u201d Adam pointed out, looking steadily at the barber.<\/p>\n Tom\u2019s face lost all trace of humor.\u00a0 \u201cNo, and I\u2019m real sorry about that, Adam, but when the fire bell rang, everybody in here, even the man in the chair, ran out, and . . . well . . . young Joe bolted right with \u2018em.\u00a0 By the time I got my cover sheet back from the fellow I was shavin\u2019 at the time and looked up, the boy was clean gone.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFire bell?\u201d Adam asked, his head cocking quizzically.\u00a0 It was the first he\u2019d heard of any fire in town that afternoon.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the Belcher, I heard,\u201d Tom said.<\/p>\n Adam nodded soberly.\u00a0 Any fire in town would draw every man within sound of the news, either to help or gawk at the conflagration, but fire inside a mine was especially dangerous, because of all the wooden timbering in its shafts and slopes.\u00a0 A boy Joe\u2019s age could not possibly have resisted the lure of that much excitement, and Adam instantly realized that his other brother, wherever he might have been when he heard that bell, would also have headed directly toward the Belcher mine.\u00a0 None of the Cartwrights were official members of any of the volunteer fire companies, but all of them\u2014 except Joe, of course, unless there were no one around to restrain him\u2014automatically pitched in if they were on hand.\u00a0 A big man like Hoss was particularly useful if nearby buildings had to be torn down to prevent a fire\u2019s spread or to move charred timbers to rescue survivors.<\/p>\n Adam now knew his next destination, but he hoped to pull one more piece of evidence from the barber.\u00a0 \u201cI guess you heard what happened to Joe,\u201d he began.\u00a0 Men in a barber shop had nothing to do but talk while they waited their turn, so Tom was more likely than even Sam at the Silver Dollar to have heard any news in town, like an attack on a young boy.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s why I said I was sorry,\u201d Tom said with a sad shake of his head.\u00a0 \u201cIf only I\u2019d looked up a second sooner, maybe I could have grabbed hold of him, kept him here . . . safe.\u00a0 Been thinkin\u2019 that all afternoon.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam placed a reassuring hand on the man\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cNot your fault, Tom.\u00a0 I was just wondering if you could tell me where it happened.\u201d<\/p>\n Tom blew out a slow gust of air as he pondered.\u00a0 \u201cNot exactly,\u201d he said finally.\u00a0 \u201cHeard he was found in an alley down the hill, but don\u2019t know which one.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam nodded.\u00a0 It was what he had expected, but it gave him one more clue.\u00a0 Trouble was, there were a lot of alleys \u201cdown the hill;\u201d finding the right one might be like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack.\u00a0 If he could just narrow it down.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t suppose you noticed which way Joe ran, when he left here?\u201d<\/p>\n Tom perked up.\u00a0 \u201cYeah, I can help you there, Adam.\u00a0 Most of the men ran down Union, but when I went to the door and called after him, I saw Joe had gone the other way, toward Sutton.\u00a0 Turned there and headed down toward the mines.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam stretched his hand toward the barber.\u00a0 \u201cTom, you\u2019ve been a big help.\u00a0 I\u2019m trying to track Joe\u2019s movements . . . and Hoss\u2019s, and you\u2019ve shown me where I need to look next.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cProud I could help, Adam,\u201d Tom said, shaking the other man\u2019s hand.\u00a0 \u201cWish you well and sure hope young Joe gets better right quick.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThanks.\u201d\u00a0 Adam gave Tom and the other men in the shop a farewell wave and walked out the door.\u00a0 His boots had no more than hit the dust of the street when the door behind him opened and he heard Tom call his name.\u00a0 \u201cYeah?\u201d he said, turning back to face the barber.<\/p>\n \u201cJust thought of something,\u201d Tom said.\u00a0 \u201cMight mean something, might not.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMight\u2019s good enough for me,\u201d Adam assured him.\u00a0 \u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/p>\n Tom stepped down to join Adam in the street.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s just this,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cI know Hoss said he had business down the hill, but I\u2019m thinkin\u2019 it might be a special sort of business.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam\u2019s hand gesture invited him to continue.<\/p>\n \u201cWell,\u201d Tom went on, \u201cjust seems to me that Hoss was gettin\u2019 hisself a mite too slickered up, just to meet his brother.\u00a0 \u2018Cause he had both a haircut and a shave and paid extra for some bay rum, too.\u201d\u00a0 He leaned close to Adam and half-whispered, \u201cI think it might\u2019ve been female business he had down the hill.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a thought,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0 \u201cThanks for telling me, Tom.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSure thing.\u00a0 Well, I got to get back to my customers.\u201d\u00a0 With that, Tom quickly moved back inside.<\/p>\n Having more to mull over now, Adam pulled the roll from his pocket and tore off a piece.\u00a0 As he chewed the bread, he also chewed on the fascinating new piece of information.\u00a0 Tom was right: both the store-bought shave and the bay rum were out of the ordinary for Hoss, and they dead sure weren\u2019t for the benefit of his older brother.\u00a0 Hoss was so shy around girls that it was hard to imagine him working up the courage to go calling, but it was the only thing that made sense.\u00a0 It also provided a reason for his apparent eagerness to leave Little Joe at the barber shop for an extended period of time, for he certainly wouldn\u2019t want to spark a girl with that boy in tow.\u00a0 Everyone in town would hear the high-pitched cackle with which the youngest Cartwright would greet that spectacle.<\/p>\n For a moment Adam was torn, trying to decide which brother\u2019s spoor to track.\u00a0 Joe\u2019s was more specific, easier to follow, but he knew where that trail led: to his brother lying in a pool of blood in some nearby alley.\u00a0 Maybe there was something to be learned there, maybe not, but Roy Coffee could probably fill in those details, anyway, once he ran across the lawman.\u00a0 Hoss\u2019s trail, on the other hand, was less precise, but possibly more urgent.\u00a0 Adam racked his brain, searching for names of girls that his younger brother might have expressed some interest in.\u00a0 It was a short list, but long enough that he wasn\u2019t sure where to start.<\/p>\n Then it hit him.\u00a0 It didn\u2019t matter which girl Hoss had set out to visit; that new piece of information had only distracted him from the truth he\u2019d seen so plainly before.\u00a0 Once the fire bell clanged, no girl could have kept Hoss from answering its call.\u00a0 He might have spared time to give her a farewell kiss, but with lives at stake, he\u2019d have rushed down the hill like every other able-bodied man.\u00a0 So, even if he\u2019d followed a different route, his destination had been the same as Little Joe\u2019s, and while Joe had never gotten there, Hoss might have.\u00a0 Maybe he was still there, working, and hadn\u2019t even heard about what had happened to their youngest brother.\u00a0 That would explain everything in the most optimistic way possible.\u00a0 For the first time hope surged in his heart, and since one route to the mines was as good as another, he turned down Sutton with a grin to follow Joe\u2019s trail toward the Belcher.<\/p>\n As he walked down the hill, however, he scanned each side street he passed in both directions.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t really expect to see anything useful.\u00a0 After all, reports placed Little Joe\u2019s attack in an alley, and he couldn\u2019t see those smaller passageways from Sutton.\u00a0 Nonetheless, as he passed a street about two blocks below C Street, he caught sight of a familiar figure and turned that direction.\u00a0 \u201cRoy!\u201d he called as the other man disappeared into an alley.<\/p>\n Roy Coffee came back.\u00a0 \u201cAdam!\u201d he called.\u00a0 Cocking his head, he asked as Adam walked toward him, \u201cYou\u2019ve heard?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSoon as I got off the stage,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0 \u201cIs this where Little Joe was attacked?\u201d<\/p>\n The sheriff nodded gravely.\u00a0 \u201cI think so.\u00a0 Reports I got wasn\u2019t too specific about where he was found, so I\u2019ve had the devil\u2019s own time finding the right spot, but this looks to be it.\u201d\u00a0 With his head he gestured toward the alley, but waited until Adam had caught up with him before entering it.<\/p>\n As he followed the sheriff into the alley, Adam blanched at sight of the pool of blood coagulated in the dust\u2014his brother\u2019s blood.\u00a0 No wonder Doc. Martin had said that Little Joe had nearly bled out!\u00a0 The only thing Adam had ever seen that compared was the kill site at pig-butchering time.\u00a0 \u201cWhy?\u201d he whispered, not even aware than he\u2019d spoken aloud.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll find out who first,\u201d the sheriff vowed, \u201cand we\u2019ll get why out of him, Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam gathered himself.\u00a0 \u201cWhat about Hoss?\u00a0 Have you seen him?\u201d<\/p>\n Roy Coffee\u2019s face compressed in wrinkles of concern.\u00a0 \u201cNot since this morning.\u00a0 Mentioned he was expectin\u2019 you in on the stage.\u00a0 He ain\u2019t with Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, and hasn\u2019t been there, according to Doc.\u00a0 I\u2019m hoping he\u2019s down at the fire,\u201d Adam said, \u201cand just hasn\u2019t heard about this.\u201d<\/p>\n Lips grimly pursed, Roy shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cHe ain\u2019t there, son.\u00a0 I\u2019d\u2019ve seen him, if\u2019n he was.\u00a0 Ain\u2019t much of nobody there now.\u00a0 Truth is, it wasn\u2019t much of a fire . . . just enough to pull men that direction, keep \u2018em distracted, maybe.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam\u2019s breath caught in his throat.\u00a0 \u201cDistracted from this?\u201d he asked, his hand sweeping toward the pool of blood.\u00a0 \u201cYou think someone planned this attack on Little Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think someone planned something,\u201d the sheriff said carefully.\u00a0 \u201cMy first thought was a robbery, but none\u2019s been reported.\u00a0 Then I heard about young Joe and started investigatin\u2019 that, not thinkin\u2019 to connect the two things, and I ain\u2019t sure we should.\u00a0 There\u2019s signs of a struggle here, though, more than a tussle with a fourteen-year-old boy accounts for.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShow me,\u201d Adam demanded.<\/p>\n \u201cOver here.\u201d\u00a0 The sheriff took a few steps down the alley and pointed at the boot prints overlaying one another in the dirt.\u00a0 \u201cAs you can see, these were made by grown men, not a boy Joe\u2019s size, though there\u2019s some that could be his back by that pool of blood.\u201d\u00a0 He bent down to touch a couple of parallel gouges.\u00a0 \u201cAnd I\u2019m guessin\u2019 boot heels made these . . . someone bein\u2019 dragged . . . someone heavy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHoss,\u201d Adam murmured flatly.<\/p>\n \u201cCould be,\u201d the sheriff admitted, \u201cespecially if he was with Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n Removing his hat, Adam raked frustrated fingers through his dark hair.\u00a0 \u201cHe wasn\u2019t.\u00a0 At least, not from what I\u2019ve heard, but I suppose they could have run into each other, if they were both headed toward the fire.\u201d\u00a0 He followed the path of the gouges.\u00a0 \u201cThey end here, where these wagon ruts begin.\u201d\u00a0 He straightened up.\u00a0 \u201cSomeone took him, Roy.\u201d<\/p>\n Roy nodded reluctantly.\u00a0 \u201cDefinite signs someone was took, all right, and in the absence of anyone else bein\u2019 reported missin\u2019, I have to assume it to be Hoss, less\u2019n he turns up right quick.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to find him, Roy,\u201d Adam said urgently.\u00a0 He hand swept toward the blood in the street.\u00a0 \u201cThese men are killers.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEasy, son,\u201d Roy said, laying a hand on the other man\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cNo reason to think the worst.\u00a0 The fact that Hoss is missing is a good sign he\u2019s still alive.\u00a0 If they wanted him dead, they\u2019d\u2019ve just killed him here and left his body, like they did Joe\u2019s.\u201d\u00a0 He continued to look around the alley and suddenly jogged over to one side to pick up something lying against the back of a rough-boarded building.\u00a0 \u201cCome here, Adam,\u201d he called.<\/p>\n With wide strides Adam crossed the alley and took the wooden rod Roy handed him.\u00a0 One end was covered with blood.\u00a0 \u201cJoe was stabbed,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cThis wasn\u2019t used on him.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, didn\u2019t think it was,\u201d Roy said.\u00a0 He pointed at some strands of light hair matted in the blood.\u00a0 \u201cThat look like Hoss\u2019s shade to you?\u201d<\/p>\n Adam swallowed hard.\u00a0 \u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\n Roy nodded.\u00a0 \u201cYeah.\u00a0 Me, too, but I trust a brother\u2019s eyes more than my own.\u00a0 Well, that settles it, far as I\u2019m concerned.\u00a0 We got us an assault and a kidnapping, and both of \u2018em happened here.\u00a0 You know any reason someone might take your brother, son?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRansom?\u201d Adam ventured.<\/p>\n \u201cMake more sense to take Joe, in that case,\u201d the sheriff argued.\u00a0 \u201cEasier to subdue, easier to handle.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam quirked an uneasy smile.\u00a0 \u201cApparently, you don\u2019t know my little brother as well as you think, sheriff.\u201d<\/p>\n Roy snorted.\u00a0 \u201cI take your meanin\u2019, but I stand by what I said.\u00a0 Compared to Hoss, Little Joe\u2019s the easier target, and if\u2019n it was ransom they wanted, they\u2019d probably figure Ben would pay quicker for his baby boy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI suppose,\u201d Adam agreed absently.\u00a0 \u201cBut if not ransom, then what?\u00a0 None of this makes sense!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll make sense of it,\u201d Roy promised, \u201cbut I don\u2019t think there\u2019s anything more to be learned here.\u00a0 I ain\u2019t had a chance to get down to the doc\u2019s yet, so I\u2019m gonna head down there, see how Joe\u2019s doin\u2019 and if the doc can tell me anything.\u00a0 You headed back there?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0 \u201cBeen away too long as it is.\u00a0 Did you by any chance wire my father?\u201d<\/p>\n Roy shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cNo.\u00a0 Sorry, son.\u00a0 Didn\u2019t know where to reach him\u2014or you.\u00a0 Just knew you was both over in California on business, but not exactly where you was.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll need to do that first, then,\u201d Adam said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s on the way,\u201d Roy said.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll walk with you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0**********<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Except for emergencies, Adam had always preferred writing letters to telegraph messages.\u00a0 A man who loved words as much as he found the ten-word limit for the basic rate restricting, but though he could afford to pay for extra words, he normally felt stimulated by the challenge to state his business succinctly.\u00a0 Today, he would have paid any amount, but he didn\u2019t even need those ten words to accomplish his goal.\u00a0 The few he had chosen would send Ben Cartwright racing for the next stage out of Placerville:<\/p>\n JOE ATTACKED<\/p>\n STOP<\/p>\n SEVERELY INJURED<\/p>\n STOP<\/p>\n HOSS MISSING<\/p>\n STOP<\/p>\n STAYING DOC\u2019S<\/p>\n STOP<\/p>\n ADAM<\/p>\n FULL STOP<\/p>\n He wished now, as he sat by the bedside of his strangely still youngest brother, that he had asked when that stage was due to arrive.\u00a0 Thankfully, the Pioneer Line ran twice a day into Virginia City now, and if Adam knew his father, he would be on the first stage into town.\u00a0 Adam himself had taken the 2 p.m. accommodation stage from Placerville yesterday and spent the night at Strawberry, but Pa would come straight through, he was sure.\u00a0 That should put him in about nine tomorrow night, Adam decided.\u00a0 He leaned forward and gently took his brother\u2019s hand.\u00a0 \u201cHold on, little buddy,\u201d he whispered.\u00a0 \u201cPa\u2019s coming.\u201d\u00a0 There was no discernible response, and perhaps it was wishful thinking, but Adam was almost certain that his younger brother had taken strength from the words.<\/p>\n \u00a0**********<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Adam roused slowly, his stiff body stirring uneasily in the chair in which he\u2019d alternately dozed and kept vigil throughout the night.\u00a0 Dawn\u2019s rosy light filtered through the lacy curtains that ruffled softly in the slight breeze, but none of that had wakened him.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t sure what had until he felt the faintest brush against the palm of his hand, which still cradled his brother\u2019s smaller one.\u00a0 \u201cJoe?\u201d he whispered.\u00a0 Seeing a brief flutter of his brother\u2019s eyelids, he leaned forward and called the boy\u2019s name again, a little louder and more urgently.\u00a0 The eyes didn\u2019t open, but Adam saw movement beneath the lowered lids.\u00a0 Chafing the boy\u2019s hand between his palms, he urged, \u201cCome on, Joe.\u00a0 Wake up, boy.\u201d<\/p>\n The eyelids rose only a fraction, and Adam\u2019s breath caught in his throat as his brother weakly murmured his name.\u00a0 \u201cRight here, buddy,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cEverything\u2019s gonna be all right.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe\u2019s eyes slowly opened.\u00a0 \u201cNo, no,\u201d he gasped.\u00a0 \u201cHoss.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam squeezed the boy\u2019s hand.\u00a0 \u201cWhat about Hoss?\u201d he asked eagerly.\u00a0 \u201cWhat can you tell me about Hoss, Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHurt . . . took,\u201d the breathless boy sputtered.<\/p>\n Adam squeezed his hand again.\u00a0 \u201cYes, I know,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cSomeone hurt Hoss and took him away.\u00a0 Did you see them, buddy?\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe answered with the barest dip of his chin.\u00a0 \u201cTook . . . help,\u201d he pleaded.<\/p>\n \u201cI will,\u201d Adam said.<\/p>\n \u201cPro . . . pro,\u201d the boy panted.<\/p>\n With his free hand Adam stroked soothing fingertips down his brother\u2019s cheek.\u00a0 \u201cI promise.\u201d\u00a0 He knew he dared not press his brother much harder, but if he were to keep that vow, he needed as much information as the boy could give him.\u00a0 \u201cHow many men?\u00a0 Did you recognize any of them?\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe\u2019s head moved weakly from side to side.\u00a0 \u201cThree,\u201d he whispered and then through a strangled throat, \u201cSor . . . ry.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam tenderly cupped his brother\u2019s fevered cheek.\u00a0 \u201cYou don\u2019t have anything to be sorry for, little buddy.\u00a0 Rest now.\u201d \u00a0But he needn\u2019t have said anything; the pale eyelids had already closed.<\/p>\n About half an hour later, by Adam\u2019s estimate, Dr. Martin came in to check on his patient, as he had periodically throughout the night.\u00a0 \u201cAny change?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n \u201cYes,\u201d Adam said with a noticeable lift to his voice.\u00a0 \u201cHe was awake briefly, talked to me a little.\u201d<\/p>\n The doctor\u2019s brows knit with concern.\u00a0 \u201cOnly a little, I trust,\u201d he said as he placed his stethoscope against the boy\u2019s chest.<\/p>\n \u201cOnly a little,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0 \u201cI asked a few questions, but didn\u2019t press him.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI would have advised against the few,\u201d the doctor said plainly, \u201cbut I understand why you did it.\u00a0 Was he able to tell you anything about Hoss?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot much more than I already knew,\u201d Adam admitted.\u00a0 \u201cHe confirmed that he\u2019d seen Hoss taken, and I know now that we\u2019re looking for three men.\u00a0 Nothing more.\u00a0 I really didn\u2019t push him.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGood,\u201d Dr. Martin said, rising and taking the earpieces from his ears.\u00a0 \u201cHis heartbeat\u2019s slightly stronger.\u201d\u00a0 He smiled.\u00a0 \u201cNot out of danger, but it\u2019s a good sign, Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI know it\u2019s not much, but I should probably let Roy know what Joe said.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll stay with Joe,\u201d the doctor said.\u00a0 \u201cGive Roy your report\u2014and make sure he understands that your brother is still too weak for any significant questioning.\u00a0 Then I\u2019d suggest you get yourself some breakfast.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know when you last ate, but I\u2019m certain it\u2019s been too long.\u00a0 You\u2019re no use to him if you collapse in a dead faint.\u201d\u00a0 With his head he gestured toward Little Joe.<\/p>\n Knowing he was in no such danger, Adam smiled slightly, but accepted the wisdom of the doctor\u2019s words.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll have breakfast,\u201d he promised.<\/p>\n \u00a0**********<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Sheriff Coffee followed Adam out of his office.\u00a0 \u201cYou be sure to let me know when Little Joe\u2019s strong enough to be questioned,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cI know you said he didn\u2019t recognize the men, but if he can give me a good description, that\u2019ll be a help in tracking \u2018em down.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot sure when that\u2019ll be,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0 \u201cDr. Martin wasn\u2019t happy with the little questioning I did, but I\u2019ll let you know when he feels Joe is strong enough.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGlad to hear he\u2019s doin\u2019 some better,\u201d Roy said.\u00a0 \u201cYou heard back from Ben yet?\u201d<\/p>\n Adam shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cI doubt he took time to send a wire.\u00a0 I figure he\u2019ll be in on tonight\u2019s stage.\u201d<\/p>\n Roy chuckled.\u00a0 \u201cKnowing Ben, I reckon he\u2019ll do just that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m headed up to the Young American for breakfast,\u201d Adam told the sheriff, \u201cin case you hear anything.\u201d<\/p>\n Roy nodded perfunctorily.\u00a0 He knew there was next-to-no chance of any news turning up that quickly.<\/p>\n As Adam walked down C Street, toward Union, he didn\u2019t notice the swarthy man with the slouch hat covering his face slip from his post at the corner of the jail and head down the hill.<\/p>\n \u00a0**********<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u201cFool!\u201d sneered the portly man in the richly brocaded vest.\u00a0 \u201cWhy didn\u2019t you finish the boy off to begin with?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThought I had,\u201d the swarthy, grizzle-faced man snarled back.\u00a0 \u201cBesides, we had our hands full, gettin\u2019 the big un out of sight \u2018fore anyone came runnin\u2019 to see what the commotion was about.\u201d<\/p>\n Shaking his head in disgust, the other man paced the luxuriously appointed room.\u00a0 \u201cAnother bone of contention, Saunders!\u00a0 A town full of ne\u2019er-do-wells to choose from, and you have to take a Cartwright!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow was I supposed to know his name?\u201d Saunders growled.\u00a0 \u201cI ain\u2019t from around these parts.\u00a0 Cartwright or Smith, what\u2019s it matter, so long as the merchandise fits the contract?\u00a0 And this one was everything you asked for, Franklin.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cExcept obscure,\u201d Franklin grunted.\u00a0 \u201cMaybe you don\u2019t know what the name Cartwright connotes in this town, but I do!\u00a0 Best friends with the sheriff, and that\u2019s just where the man\u2019s influence starts!\u00a0 Old man Cartwright will tear this town apart to find whoever hurt his boys.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis wasn\u2019t no old man,\u201d Saunders said.\u00a0 \u201cWas a young fellow I saw talkin\u2019 to the sheriff.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAdam, then, Ben\u2019s oldest.\u201d\u00a0 Franklin stroked his fleshy jowl.\u00a0 \u201cNot sure that makes it any better.\u00a0 Got a reputation for being sharp, that one.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the little un I got to worry about,\u201d Saunders said.\u00a0 \u201cIf he can identify me, like the sheriff\u2019s hopin\u2019 . . .\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSee to it he doesn\u2019t get the chance!\u201d Franklin ordered.\u00a0 \u201cThen get out of town before anyone connects you with me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0**********<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Adam finished the sandwich he\u2019d brought from the Young American that morning for his lunch and laid a hand across his brother\u2019s forehead.\u00a0 Bringing his hand away, he rubbed his thumb against his moist fingertips.\u00a0 Sweat.\u00a0 Was the boy\u2019s fever beginning to break?\u00a0 If so, that would be good news with which to greet his father when the stage arrived in a few hours.\u00a0 He stood and walked to the window, more to work the kinks out of his back than to look out.\u00a0 There wasn\u2019t much to see, after all, since Dr. Martin had given Little Joe a bedroom at the back of his house, to guard him from the noise of the street.\u00a0 Whether it was the quiet or simple weakness, Joe had been resting, almost motionless, ever since Adam had returned from breakfast, and that was just as well.\u00a0 Adam instinctively knew that if his brother wakened, he would immediately ask the one question for which he had no answer.\u00a0 He\u2019d promised to help Hoss, but he still had no idea how he could.\u00a0 No clue whatsoever to who had taken his hefty brother or where or why.\u00a0 Whatever slim clues there were resided inside a boy who really shouldn\u2019t be troubled, but who would be nothing but troubled if he heard that Hoss had not yet been found.<\/p>\n Pacing the room softly, Adam again pondered why anyone would take his middle brother.\u00a0 Not for money.\u00a0 Sheriff Coffee had pegged that correctly.\u00a0 Not for malice, either.\u00a0 Hoss had few, if any, enemies, and while the Cartwrights as a family had garnered a few over the years, anyone wanting to hurt the family would surely not have left its youngest, most vulnerable member behind.\u00a0 No, whoever had taken Hoss clearly wanted Hoss and Hoss alone.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Adam shook his head, his thoughts as confined as the room he paced.\u00a0 What made Hoss special?\u00a0 To most of the world, he was only a big, strong, strapping hulk of a man.\u00a0 To Adam, of course, he was much more.\u00a0 Except for Pa, Hoss was the finest man he knew, a man stronger of heart than of body, which in Hoss\u2019s case was saying much: tender, compassionate, kind to a fault.\u00a0 But<\/em> you don\u2019t kidnap a man in hopes he\u2019ll be kind to you<\/em>, Adam mused.\u00a0 Anyone who knew that those qualities resided in big-hearted Hoss would also know that all he had to do to get his brother\u2019s help was ask.\u00a0 No, whoever had taken Hoss probably wanted nothing more than brute strength, and since they hadn\u2019t simply asked, it also followed that they wanted it for no good or reputable purpose.\u00a0 That much was easy enough to reason out, but it brought him no closer to finding his brother.<\/p>\n Adam was still pacing the space at the foot of the bed when Dr. Martin walked in.\u00a0 \u201cI can\u2019t afford a new carpet,\u201d the doctor said with a wry smile.<\/p>\n \u201cSorry,\u201d Adam said, grasping one of the four posters as if only such an anchor could halt his incessant steps.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not really concerned about the carpet,\u201d Dr. Martin said, \u201cbut I\u2019ve seen all my patients for the day and, frankly, am not in the mood to add another Cartwright to the list.\u00a0 Not the easiest of patients, any of you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m all right,\u201d Adam insisted.\u00a0 \u201cJust edgy and\u2014face it\u2014my little brother\u2019s not providing much entertainment.\u00a0 Leaves me nothing to do but think\u2014in concentric circles, I\u2019m afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s see how he\u2019s doing,\u201d the doctor suggested, walking to the side of the bed.<\/p>\n \u201cI think his fever\u2019s breaking,\u201d Adam reported, coming up behind the doctor.<\/p>\n Dr. Martin rested the back of his hand against the boy\u2019s forehead and then his cheek.\u00a0 \u201cI believe you\u2019re right.\u00a0 Has he been awake?\u201d<\/p>\n Adam shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cNo, not at all.\u00a0 Should I be concerned?\u201d<\/p>\n The doctor chuckled.\u00a0 \u201cNo.\u00a0 It only suggests that the sedative I administered is working.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh.\u00a0 I guess I should have realized you had, still as he\u2019s been.\u00a0 Good to hear.\u00a0 I was afraid he was just too weak to stir,\u201d Adam admitted.<\/p>\n \u201cHe is still very weak, son; that\u2019s why I want him resting,\u201d Dr. Martin said.\u00a0 His eyes narrowed in appraisal of the young man before him.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019d like to see you get some rest, too, Adam.\u00a0 I know you didn\u2019t sleep last night, and, frankly, you appear dead on your feet.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam offered him a chagrined smile.\u00a0 \u201cGuilty as charged, I\u2019m afraid, but I don\u2019t see what I can do about it.\u00a0 I\u2019ll sleep once Pa gets here.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTonight?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, I\u2019m sure he\u2019ll be on the night stage.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGood.\u201d\u00a0 The doctor gave the young man\u2019s shoulder an encouraging pat.\u00a0 \u201cAnd be sure to get yourself a hot meal, you hear me?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI hear,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0 \u201cIn the meantime, you wouldn\u2019t have a good book I could borrow, would you?\u201d<\/p>\n The doctor chuckled.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re welcome to anything I\u2019ve got, Adam, but I would imagine you\u2019ve already read anything I have, old as they are.\u00a0 Why don\u2019t you take your supper break a little early, see if you can\u2019t find something more to your taste?\u201d<\/p>\n For the first time in twenty-four hours a genuine sparkle lighted Adam\u2019s hazel eyes.\u00a0 \u201cI think I will.\u00a0 You\u2019ll stay with Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0**********<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Adam placed a marker in his new copy of The Woman in White<\/em> by Wilkie Collins and laid it on the small round table beside his chair.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t sure why the intricately plotted novel had caught his eye, since it wasn\u2019t his typical sort of reading material.\u00a0 Perhaps because the bookseller had described it as a mystery and he hoped it might teach him to think like a detective or, at least, distract him from the real life conundrum that, thus far, had proved impossible to solve.\u00a0 He stood, stretched his back this way and that and went to stand at the foot of the bed.<\/p>\n Little Joe was sleeping, as he had been almost the entire evening.\u00a0 He\u2019d only roused once, and Adam hadn\u2019t had a chance to speak to him then because Dr. Martin had been checking on his patient when the boy\u2019s eyes had opened and had quickly shushed Joe\u2019s sole attempt to communicate . . .<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHoss?\u201d Little Joe asked weakly.<\/p>\n \u201cHoss is fine,\u201d the doctor quickly told him.<\/p>\n Life sparked in the expressive green eyes.\u00a0 \u201cFound?\u201d he whispered.<\/p>\n \u201cEverything\u2019s all right,\u201d Dr. Martin said.\u00a0 \u201cJust rest, son.\u201d\u00a0 He immediately spooned a dose of laudanum into Joe\u2019s mouth, and soon the boy was beyond asking any further questions.<\/p>\n Adam gave the family physician a dour look.\u00a0 \u201cWhat happens when he finds out you lied to him?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHopefully, by the time he asks again, it will be the truth,\u201d the doctor said.\u00a0 \u201cAnd, if not, at least he should be stronger, more able to handle the stress.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam kneaded his aching temple.\u00a0 \u201cI hoped he could describe his attackers.\u00a0 If I just had some idea what they looked like, maybe I could . . .\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNothing,\u201d Dr. Martin insisted.\u00a0 \u201cYou could do nothing, Adam, because not even you can be in two places at one time . . . and here is where you\u2019re needed.\u201d<\/p>\n With a glance at his brother, Adam nodded.\u00a0 \u201cUntil Pa comes.\u00a0 Then I intend to find my other brother, if I have to tear this entire town apart to do it!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n . . . Until Pa comes\u2014Adam checked his watch.\u00a0 The stage should be in any time now.\u00a0 Though his instinct was to meet the stage, he didn\u2019t want to leave Little Joe that long, especially since Dr. Martin had turned in for the night.\u00a0 Still, Joe was sleeping deeply, and a breath of fresh air would be bracing.\u00a0 The back window was raised so slightly that the breeze barely rippled the lacy curtains, and suddenly Adam felt stifled. \u00a0Just a few minutes, just enough to breathe freely again; thanks to the laudanum, Joe wasn\u2019t likely to even move in those few minutes.<\/p>\n Adam walked to the front door and stepped out onto the porch.\u00a0 Hot as it had been during the day, the temperature had dropped, as it always did once the sun went down, and the gentle wind that brushed wisps of black hair across his forehead was pleasantly cool.\u00a0 In the distance he heard the thunder of horses\u2019 hooves, which at this time of night, could only mean one thing: the stage was in, and surely Pa was on it.\u00a0 For the first time since he\u2019d gotten off the stage himself yesterday, Adam felt his burden of anxiety lift.<\/p>\n He remained on the porch until he saw the familiar figure at the end of the street; then he hurried forward to meet his father.\u00a0 As he passed the first intersecting street, a lanky figure came out from the sheltering shadows to his left, slipped stealthily across the street behind him and slunk down the alley behind the doctor\u2019s house.<\/p>\n \u201cJoseph?\u201d Ben Cartwright asked anxiously as Adam took his carpetbag from him.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s better, Pa.\u00a0 Still weak, but better.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd Hoss?\u201d\u00a0 The older man\u2019s voice was sharp with fear.<\/p>\n Adam shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cNo sign of him yet, but I\u2019ll find him, Pa.\u00a0 I promise I will.\u201d<\/p>\n Laying a hand on his eldest son\u2019s shoulder, Ben squeezed it, both for his son\u2019s support and his own reassurance.\u00a0 \u201cTake me to Joseph,\u201d he whispered, and the two of them walked briskly to Dr. Martin\u2019s house.\u00a0 Mindful of those sleeping within, they entered quietly and made their way soundlessly to the back bedroom, Adam slightly ahead of his father.<\/p>\n As he opened the door, however, both Cartwrights gasped in shock at the scene before them, for the low lamplight revealed a man hulking over the bed, pressing a pillow to the face of the boy they had expected to find in peaceful slumber.\u00a0 Instead, thin arms feebly flailed, legs weakly kicked beneath the covers.\u00a0 For only an instant were they frozen at the door, and then both rushed forward.\u00a0 Adam, being in front, got there first.\u00a0 He grabbed the intruder by both shoulders, pulled him back from the bed, spun him around and drove a fist into the man\u2019s face, while Ben rushed to his youngest son and snatched the pillow away, throwing it against the opposite wall.<\/p>\n Adam\u2019s punch had been inhibited by the cramped space, so the assailant easily kept his footing and returned the blow.\u00a0 Adam evaded the thrust to his jaw and struck again, with full power this time.\u00a0 His opponent fell back, colliding with the table, knocking it over and sending The Woman in White<\/em>, as well as the oil lamp, flying.\u00a0 As Adam again came toward him, the man hooked a long leg behind Adam\u2019s boot heel and toppled him to the floor.\u00a0 The two men wrestled and rolled across the floor, Adam\u2019s heart wrenched by the sound of his father\u2019s frantic pleas of \u201cJoseph?\u00a0 Little Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n Then he heard another, more ominous sound, the crackle of flames, and caught a whiff of smoke.\u00a0 \u201cPa!\u00a0 Fire!\u201d he cried.\u00a0 He had no time to say more, for his adversary took advantage of his momentary distraction to rain blows at his face.\u00a0 Ben heard, however, and hurried to stomp out the flames before they did much more than singe the carpet.<\/p>\n Suddenly, another figure loomed in the doorway, clad in nightshirt and bare feet, bellowing, \u201cWhat in the name of mercy is going on in here?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPaul!\u201d Ben called, stomping out the final sparks.\u00a0 \u201cGet to Joe.\u00a0 Hurry!\u201d<\/p>\n Paul Martin instantly responded to the need of his patient, although getting to him required some artful dodging around the men wrestling on his floor and the broken glass and other debris they\u2019d scattered in his path.\u00a0 As soon as Ben saw that the doctor was with his youngest son, he moved quickly to help his eldest, and the two Cartwrights soon had the man subdued.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have any rope, Doc?\u201d Adam panted.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not in the habit of tying down my patients,\u201d the doctor growled, although his irritation was not with the man toward whom it was presently directed.\u00a0 \u201cUse the curtain ties, and get that scum out of my house!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA little chloroform might work better,\u201d Adam suggested dryly as he stripped the ties from the curtains.<\/p>\n The doctor frowned. \u00a0Needlessly drugging a man, even one as worthless as this, went against his medical ethics.\u00a0 Besides, his services were more urgently needed elsewhere.<\/p>\n Ben Cartwright clearly agreed, for he, too, frowned at what he considered ill-timed levity.\u00a0 He helped Adam tie up the assailant; then he turned to the doctor.\u00a0 \u201cPaul?\u00a0 Is he . . . ?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLet me work, Ben,\u201d the doctor said.\u00a0 \u201cGet that man down to the jail, and by the time you get back, I should be able to tell you something.\u201d<\/p>\n The last thing Ben Cartwright wanted to do was leave his youngest son, but he didn\u2019t trust those fabric bindings any more than Adam did.\u00a0 Furthermore, he couldn\u2019t have agreed more with the doctor\u2019s verdict that this man belonged in jail . . . awaiting the hangman\u2019s noose.\u00a0 Each taking an elbow, the two Cartwrights all but dragged the other man up to C Street and down to the sheriff\u2019s office, where they dropped him at the foot of Roy\u2019s desk.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we got here?\u201d Roy asked, standing.<\/p>\n \u201cGarbage even a pig would turn up his snout at,\u201d Adam snorted.<\/p>\n Roy\u2019s nose curled.\u00a0 \u201cGot the odor for it, I admit, but ain\u2019t no law against smellin\u2019 bad.\u00a0 Howdy, Ben.\u00a0 Glad to see you made it in all right.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben nodded in acknowledgement and then pointed to the man bound on the floor.\u00a0 \u201cI made it in to find this brute trying to smother my youngest son in his bed,\u201d he said tersely.<\/p>\n Roy sobered immediately.\u00a0 \u201cThat a fact.\u00a0 Now, that we do got laws against.\u00a0 Yes, sir, we call that attempted murder.\u201d\u00a0 His face grew even graver.\u00a0 \u201cAttempted murder is the right charge, ain\u2019t it?\u00a0 Joe\u2019s not . . ?\u201d<\/p>\n Ben\u2019s vestige of composure collapsed, and he croaked hoarsely, \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u00a0 Doc\u2019s working on him.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t need me, Roy . . .\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou got any information Adam can\u2019t give me?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThen get back to that boy of yours,\u201d Roy said.\u00a0 Without a word Ben hurried out the door, and Roy turned to Adam.\u00a0 \u201cHelp me get this trash into a cell, son.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy pleasure,\u201d Adam grunted, again grabbing a convenient elbow.\u00a0 Together, he and the sheriff herded the prisoner, whose eyes were wide with fear, into the first cell.<\/p>\n Roy removed the curtain ties and held them out to Adam.\u00a0 \u201cReckon these belong to Doc, and he might want \u2018em back . . . after a decent launderin\u2019, that is.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam took them and stuffed them into his pocket.\u00a0 Then he grabbed the prisoner by his shirt lapels and, standing nose to nose, demanded, \u201cWhere\u2019s my brother?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLet him go, Adam!\u201d the sheriff ordered.<\/p>\n \u201cNot \u2018til he answers me.\u201d\u00a0 He gave the prisoner a teeth-rattling shake.<\/p>\n \u201cAdam!\u201d<\/p>\n Adam forcefully thrust Joe\u2019s attacker away from him.\u00a0 The man fell onto the cell\u2019s cot, where he lay, pointing a bony finger at Adam.\u00a0 \u201cYou keep that madman away from me, sheriff.\u00a0 I ain\u2019t done nothin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNothing!\u201d Adam shouted.\u00a0 \u201cYou call kidnapping and attempted murder nothing?\u201d\u00a0 The word \u201cattempted\u201d almost stuck in his throat, for fear that the actual charge might go beyond that.<\/p>\n \u201cKidnapping?\u201d Sheriff Coffee asked as he pulled Adam from the cell and locked the door.\u00a0 \u201cYou think he\u2019s the one took Hoss?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cStands to reason, doesn\u2019t it?\u201d Adam said.\u00a0 \u201cWhy else would he attack Joe?\u00a0 He knows the boy can identify him!\u201d<\/p>\n Roy nodded slowly.\u00a0 \u201cMakes sense, all right.\u00a0 I\u2019ll look into it, but right now, young fellow, I need to get your statement, so I got cause to hold him.\u201d\u00a0 Seeing Adam\u2019s reluctance, he took the young man\u2019s elbow, although more gently than either of them had handled the prisoner\u2019s, and after locking the cell door, pulled him back into the outer office.<\/p>\n Concisely, but with precise detail, Adam told the sheriff exactly what had happened at the doctor\u2019s house.\u00a0 \u201cThat enough to hold him?\u201d he asked sarcastically.<\/p>\n \u201cMore than enough, especially as I got two witnesses to confirm the charge,\u201d Roy said.<\/p>\n \u201cThree,\u201d Adam corrected.\u00a0 \u201cDoc Martin was there, as well.\u201d<\/p>\n Shaking his head, Roy smiled.\u00a0 \u201cHe can testify to a struggle, but not the attack, from what you just told me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGive me five minutes alone in that cell,\u201d Adam said, \u201cand I\u2019ll get you some more charges to file!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, and they\u2019ll be against you,\u201d Roy snapped, hackles rising.\u00a0 \u201cYou know better\u2019n this, Adam.\u00a0 You best leave the law to the law, boy, and get on back to that little brother of yours.\u201d\u00a0 He swallowed painfully.\u00a0 \u201cAnd if . . . well, I just hope I\u2019m filin\u2019 the right charge.\u00a0 What I mean is . . .\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know what you mean,\u201d Adam said quietly, \u201cand I do want to check on Joe, but . . . I have another brother, too, Roy.\u201d<\/p>\n Roy laid a hand on the young man\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cI know you do, son, and we\u2019re gonna get him back, but we gotta do it right.\u00a0 You know what your pa would say.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam smiled wryly.\u00a0 \u201cI have a feeling he might sound more like me than you right now, Roy.\u201d<\/p>\n Roy shook his head as Adam turned to leave.\u00a0 He had a feeling young Cartwright had pegged it just about right.<\/p>\n Like his father before him, Adam raced down the street to the doctor\u2019s home, but he stopped at the door, took a deep breath and kept his steps soft as he entered.\u00a0 Unsure what he might find, he approached the back bedroom cautiously and paused in the open door frame.\u00a0 \u201cIs he . . . ?\u201d\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t bring himself to finish the question.<\/p>\n Dr. Martin looked up from his post at Little Joe\u2019s side.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s alive,\u201d he said, \u201cbut barely.\u00a0 I wish I hadn\u2019t given him that last dose of laudanum.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe couldn\u2019t have fought off that man, regardless,\u201d Adam said, coming into the room.<\/p>\n The doctor shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cNo, but laudanum depresses respiration, son, not exactly what a person needs to fight off the effects of near-suffocation.\u00a0 His breathing\u2019s very shallow, ragged.\u00a0 It\u2019ll be touch and go tonight, I\u2019m afraid.\u00a0 Hand me that other pillow, Ben.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam collapsed into the chair in which he\u2019d been sitting earlier that evening.\u00a0 \u201cMy fault,\u201d he moaned.\u00a0 \u201cAll my fault.\u201d<\/p>\n Helping the doctor place the pillow to elevate Little Joe\u2019s torso, Ben glanced over at his oldest son.\u00a0 \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI left him,\u201d Adam choked out.\u00a0 \u201cHe was sleeping.\u00a0 I thought . . . air.\u00a0 If I hadn\u2019t . . .\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, for mercy\u2019s sake, Adam,\u201d the doctor scolded.\u00a0 \u201cHow could you possibly have foreseen this?\u00a0 Yes, your leaving gave that man the opportunity, but how could you have known he was out there, waiting for it?\u00a0 You give yourself too much credit, boy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCredit!\u201d Adam sputtered.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, credit . . . for clairvoyance,\u201d the doctor stated firmly.\u00a0 \u201cI certainly never expected anyone to break into my home and attack a patient.\u201d\u00a0 His visage softened.\u00a0 \u201cAdam, this is what I tried to warn you about earlier.\u00a0 How can you hope to think clearly on the amount of food and rest you\u2019ve had?\u00a0 I\u2019ll be here with Little Joe through the night, so you might as well take my bed.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam shook his head, but Ben Cartwright eyed him gravely.\u00a0 \u201cYou will do as the doctor says, young man.\u201d\u00a0 When Adam again shook his head, his concerned gaze fixed on the motionless figure in the bed, Ben walked across the room and, grasping his son\u2019s upper arm, pulled him to his feet.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll let you know if . . . if you\u2019re needed . . . for any reason.\u00a0 Now, do as you\u2019re told.\u00a0 Go to bed.\u00a0 I\u2019ll brook no argument.\u201d<\/p>\n An odd half-smile lifted a corner of Adam\u2019s mouth.\u00a0 How many times had his father dictated bedtime to him, a man fully grown, as if he were only a little boy?\u00a0 It was annoying and endearing at the same time.\u00a0 Sometimes he resisted; others he simply obeyed.\u00a0 The choice was his, always, and this time obedience won, although it was really the doctor\u2019s final question that tipped the scale.\u00a0 How, indeed, could he hope to think clearly with inadequate rest?\u00a0 And if he were to find Hoss, as he had promised his baby brother, he\u2019d need all his wits about him.\u00a0 Thanking the doctor for the offer of his bed, he headed out of the room.<\/p>\n He paused outside the door only long enough to hear Dr. Martin make the same suggestion to his father.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re tired, Ben; you\u2019ve had a long journey.\u00a0 Why don\u2019t you . . .\u201d\u00a0 The doctor didn\u2019t finish his question, and his father never spoke, which was enough to tell Adam that Ben Cartwright had fixed his friend with the look his sons always found unanswerable, as well.\u00a0 There was no way under heaven Pa would be leaving his baby son tonight.<\/p>\n \u00a0**********<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 By the clock on the mantle, it was nearly 5 a.m. when Adam woke from a restless night spent with his eyes open as much as they\u2019d been closed.\u00a0 If that wasn\u2019t literally true, he felt as if it were as he swung his legs over the side of the bed.\u00a0 It was late enough now, though, that Pa wouldn\u2019t be concerned to see him downstairs, and he was anxious to learn how his little brother had passed the night . . . if he had passed the night.\u00a0 The fear that he might not have made Adam wash his face hurriedly and hustle into clean clothes.\u00a0 He was eager, too, to return to Roy\u2019s office, confirm the right charges on which to hold the beast they\u2019d captured last night and squeeze the last drop of information regarding Hoss\u2019s whereabouts from his sorry hide.\u00a0 Oh, for five minutes alone in the cell with that fiend!<\/p>\n He ran a quick comb through his dark hair and took the stairs at a brisk walk.\u00a0 Taking a bolstering breath, he entered the downstairs bedroom, and his anxious eyes immediately sought his brother\u2019s face.\u00a0 \u201cIs he . . .?\u201d\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t bring himself to finish the question.<\/p>\n The doctor smiled.\u00a0 \u201cHe is.\u00a0 Breathing\u2019s more regular, although not as deep as I\u2019d like.\u00a0 Quite a fighter, this little brother of yours.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, he is,\u201d Adam breathed with relief.<\/p>\n \u201cGood morning, Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam turned toward the cello tones, in his concern for Little Joe not having even noticed his father\u2019s presence until now.\u00a0 \u201cGood morning, Pa.\u00a0 You look a bit worse for wear.\u00a0 You should have joined me upstairs.\u201d\u00a0 Whatever sleep Ben Cartwright had gotten that night had obviously been taken in the lightly padded side chair by the small table.<\/p>\n \u201cCartwrights rarely take their doctor\u2019s good advice,\u201d Paul Martin grunted.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m glad you did, boy . . . to some extent.\u201d\u00a0 His trained eye noted the telltale sag of eyelids that had spent too little time shut.<\/p>\n \u201cYou did rest, son?\u201d Ben asked, his brows knitting together in concern.<\/p>\n \u201cQuite a bit,\u201d Adam lied with aplomb.\u00a0 \u201cNow that I know Joe is all right, I think I\u2019ll head back to Roy\u2019s and see if he\u2019s learned anything from the man we apprehended last night.\u201d\u00a0 And help our esteemed sheriff learn a little more if he hasn\u2019t<\/em>, he thought, though he scrupulously schooled his voice to remain calm and reasonable.<\/p>\n Ben\u2019s brow remained furrowed.\u00a0 \u201cNothing outside the law, Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPa, I just said . . .\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know what you said.\u00a0 Nothing outside the law, son.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, of course,\u201d Adam replied, trying not to grit his teeth.<\/p>\n \u201cBefore you do anything else, young man, get some breakfast,\u201d Dr. Martin said.\u00a0 \u201cIn fact, both of you go along and do that.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cNo, I . . .\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes,\u201d the good doctor interrupted insistently.\u00a0 \u201cI can stay with your boy now, Ben, but once office hours begin, I can\u2019t spell you, so take what opportunity you\u2019ve got.\u00a0 Don\u2019t be as stubborn as this boy of yours.\u201d\u00a0 He nodded in Adam\u2019s direction.<\/p>\n Adam sported a saucy grin.\u00a0 \u201cWhere do you think I got it, Doc?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know where you got it!\u201d\u00a0 The doctor chuckled.\u00a0 \u201cJust be grateful your baby brother inherited it, too\u2014in spades!\u201d<\/p>\n Ben stood slowly.\u00a0 \u201cIf you\u2019re sure he\u2019ll be all right . . .\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sure he\u2019s in good hands,\u201d Dr. Martin said with a wry twist of his mouth.<\/p>\n \u201cAll right, then.\u00a0 Give me time to wash my face, son, and I\u2019ll go with you.\u201d<\/p>\n Having his father in attendance was scarcely what Adam had planned, but he nodded as Ben passed him.\u00a0 Then he moved to the side of the bed and lightly rested his hand on the tangled chestnut curls, watching with contentment and relief the soft rise and fall of his brother\u2019s chest.<\/p>\n \u00a0**********<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 After breakfasting together at the International House, Ben Cartwright returned to his youngest son\u2019s bedside, while Adam headed directly to the sheriff\u2019s office.\u00a0 Greeting the lawman as he entered, he immediately asked, \u201cHave you gotten anything out of him?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJust his name,\u201d Roy said.\u00a0 \u201cCalls himself Ike Saunders.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam\u2019s jaw hardened.\u00a0 \u201cFive minutes, Roy; that\u2019s all I\u2019m asking.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNow, you know I can\u2019t do that!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, what can you do?\u201d\u00a0 Adam paced the outer office like a caged panther in a zoological garden back East.\u00a0 \u201cHoss was injured, Roy; we don\u2019t know to what extent or what his condition might be by now.\u00a0 It\u2019s been almost two full days!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI got young Ed Reed in with him now,\u201d the sheriff began.<\/p>\n \u201cEd Reed!\u201d Adam sputtered.\u00a0 \u201cA boy barely older than Little Joe!\u00a0 That\u2019s who you have interrogating that\u2014that . . .\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s got a good five years on your baby brother,\u201d Roy said, \u201cand he ain\u2019t interrogatin\u2019 the prisoner; he\u2019s drawin\u2019 him.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam stopped dead still and swung around to face the sheriff.\u00a0 \u201cDrawing him?\u201d he asked, suddenly thoughtful.\u00a0 \u201cBut he\u2019s already in custody; we don\u2019t need a wanted poster.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy thought was to take this here drawin\u2019 around to some places in town Saunders might have frequented, maybe see if we could pick up a mite more information about him . . . where he works, lives, any known associates.\u00a0 Easier\u2014and safer, I might add\u2014that haulin\u2019 him around to every saloon in town.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam nodded.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s . . . a good idea, Roy, and the Reed boy is a gifted enough artist to capture a good likeness.\u00a0 This might lead us to the other two kidnappers.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy thinkin\u2019 exactly.\u201d\u00a0 Roy snuffled his irritation and muttered, \u201cI do know my job, even if some folks think they could do it better.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam smiled ruefully.\u00a0 \u201cNot better, Roy . . . faster, maybe.\u00a0 Look, if you don\u2019t mind, I\u2019d like to make the rounds with you.\u201d<\/p>\n Roy\u2019s mouth skewed first one way and then the other in consideration.\u00a0 \u201cWhether I mind or not depends on whether you can contain yourself, young fellow.\u00a0 No more talk of beating information out of people, you hear?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNothing outside the law, Pa said,\u201d Adam told him.\u00a0 \u201cI think I can contain myself to that, sheriff.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThen you\u2019re welcome to come along.\u00a0 You got sort of a gift for noticin\u2019 things others miss, boy, and in an investigation, that\u2019s as good a gift as Ed Reed\u2019s for drawin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0**********<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 After visiting half a dozen saloons, Adam took the sheriff by the biceps.\u00a0 \u201cWait a minute, Roy,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019re going about this all wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know it\u2019s tedious, son,\u201d Sheriff Coffee said, \u201cbut it\u2019s usually best to do this in an orderly way.\u00a0 Less likely to miss something.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, I agree,\u201d Adam said, \u201cbut we\u2019re giving our culprit too much credit.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow\u2019s that?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBy asking about him in any saloon of decent quality,\u201d Adam explained.\u00a0 \u201cA man like him would never show his face in the Washoe Club, for instance.\u00a0 Personally, I doubt that he\u2019d even patronize something as high-class as a two-bit saloon.\u201d<\/p>\n Roy stroked his chin.\u00a0 \u201cI \u2018spect you\u2019re right about that.\u00a0 You think we\u2019d have better luck if we started down to the south end of C Street?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s what I\u2019m suggesting, Sheriff.\u201d<\/p>\n Roy tapped Adam\u2019s shoulder with a lightly doubled fist.\u00a0 \u201cSee?\u00a0 I knew I done right, lettin\u2019 you come along.\u00a0 Let\u2019s try it.\u201d<\/p>\n The lawman and his assistant had to try eight of the single-bit saloons in the cheaper part of town before anyone would admit knowing the man depicted in Ed Reed\u2019s sketch.\u00a0 Adam thought he had discerned a glint of recognition once or twice before that, but had nothing but instinct to tell him that those barkeeps were more interested in keeping the goodwill of a steady customer than in assisting the law.\u00a0\u00a0 However, the bartender at the Silver Slipper, which might have been more aptly called the Tattered Sandal, said at once, \u201cThat\u2019s Ike Saunders.\u00a0 Used to come in real regular, Sheriff.\u00a0 Not so often the last few months.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAny idea why?\u201d Adam asked.<\/p>\n The bartender glanced inquiringly at Roy, who nodded permission to answer the man without a badge.\u00a0 \u201cJust said he\u2019d been busy when he came in the other day.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat else you know about him?\u201d Roy Coffee asked.<\/p>\n The bartender slowly exhaled as he considered the question.\u00a0 \u201cWorks in some mine.\u00a0 Not sure which one, but might be Walt Franklin\u2019s outfit.\u00a0 I\u2019ve seen him hang around a couple of men that I know work there.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam leaned urgently over the bar.\u00a0 \u201cWould you have a name to offer?\u201d<\/p>\n The barkeep grinned.\u00a0 \u201cMister, I can do better than that.\u201d\u00a0 He gestured toward the back of the room.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s one of \u2018em at that corner table.\u00a0 Calls himself Williams.\u00a0 Rube Williams.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam turned swiftly and would have charged that corner had Roy not blocked his path.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ll spook him,\u201d the sheriff hissed in an undertone, and taking a calming breath, Adam nodded.\u00a0 Together, the two ambled to the back of the room and stood over the corner table.\u00a0 \u201cHear you work for Walt Franklin,\u201d Roy drawled.<\/p>\n Reuben Williams eyed him warily.\u00a0 \u201cWho says so?\u201d<\/p>\n With his chin Roy gestured over his shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cBarkeep.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, well, what of it?\u201d<\/p>\n Roy shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cJust thought you might know another one of his men, an Ike Saunders.\u201d<\/p>\n The dark eyes grew warier still.\u00a0 \u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEither you do or you don\u2019t,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s a simple question.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, well, I might,\u201d Williams admitted.<\/p>\n \u201cI reckoned you might, seein\u2019 as how he\u2019s one of your drinkin\u2019 buddies,\u201d Roy grunted.<\/p>\n The man shot a disgruntled glare at the bartender.\u00a0 \u201cYeah, all right.\u00a0 I know him some, enough to take a drink with.\u00a0 Ain\u2019t seen him around lately, though, if you\u2019re lookin\u2019 for him.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI ain\u2019t,\u201d the sheriff said.\u00a0 \u201cI know exactly where he is.\u00a0 If you know where he lives, on the other hand . . .\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t,\u201d the man said quickly, too quickly in Adam\u2019s opinion.<\/p>\n \u201cHe works for Franklin, same as you?\u201d Adam asked.<\/p>\n Williams gave his lips a nervous lick, as if trying to decide what would be the safest answer.<\/p>\n \u201cEither does or doesn\u2019t,\u201d Roy said, echoing Adam\u2019s previous statement.\u00a0 \u201cAin\u2019t a tough question, Mr. Williams, but if you need time to mull it over, I can offer you a nice comfy cot in my jail while you\u2019re considerin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n That apparently settled the matter in Williams\u2019 mind.\u00a0 \u201cNaw.\u00a0 I know he used to work for Franklin, but we was never in the same crew.\u00a0 Seems like I heard he\u2019d been let go awhile back, but I ain\u2019t sure.\u00a0 Like I said, I ain\u2019t seen him around lately.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEven so, Franklin should have a record of his employment, including a home address,\u201d Adam suggested.<\/p>\n \u201cShould have,\u201d Roy agreed.\u00a0 \u201cI reckon that\u2019s where we\u2019ll head next, then.\u201d<\/p>\n Roy went directly out, but Adam stopped at the bar.\u00a0 Leaning over it, he asked softly, \u201cYou said Saunders had been in here the other day.\u00a0 Can you recall how long since you last saw him?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, couple of days,\u201d the bartender said.\u00a0 Then his eyes lighted with certainty.\u00a0 \u201cThe day that fire broke out down to the mines.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd this one?\u201d\u00a0 He moved his head slightly in the direction of the back table.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was with him,\u201d the bartender whispered.\u00a0 \u201cThat important?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMight be,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0 \u201cThanks.\u201d\u00a0 He hurried outside to meet Roy.<\/p>\n \u201cDecide to wet your whistle?\u201d Roy chuffed.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, asked a couple more questions,\u201d Adam explained.\u00a0 \u201cRoy, that man lied to us.\u00a0 The bartender just told me that he\u2019d seen Williams and Saunders in here together the day of the fire.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat a fact.\u201d\u00a0 Roy\u2019s jaw hardened.\u00a0 \u201cMaybe we\u2019d best have another little talk with our friend Williams . . . down at the jail.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam nodded, and the two men walked briskly back into the saloon, only to find the back corner table now vacant.<\/p>\n The bartender looked up.\u00a0 \u201cHeaded out the back, soon as you left.\u00a0 Looked to be in a powerful hurry.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCome on!\u201d Adam cried, running toward the back door with Roy lumbering along at his heels. \u00a0As he raced down the back alley, he spotted his quarry, just rounding a corner, headed downhill.\u00a0 The man ran past the attractions of D Street, past the hoisting works below that and had just turned right onto F Street when Adam leaped forward and knocked him to the ground.<\/p>\n They scuffled long enough for Roy to catch up and draw his gun.\u00a0 \u201cOn your feet,\u201d the sheriff ordered.<\/p>\n Having heard the cock of the pistol, Williams quit struggling, and Adam hauled him to his feet.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s your beef?\u201d the miner demanded.\u00a0 \u201cAnswered all your questions back at the Silver Slipper, didn\u2019t I?\u00a0 What more you want?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe truth, for a change,\u201d Adam grunted.\u00a0 \u201cWhere\u2019s my brother?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMister, I don\u2019t even know you, much less your brother,\u201d Williams protested.<\/p>\n \u201cAbout the way you barely know Ike Saunders and \u2018ain\u2019t seen him around lately\u2019?\u201d Adam taunted.<\/p>\n \u201cMan lies to me about one thing, makes me suspicious of everything he says,\u201d Roy amplified, \u201cso let\u2019s mosey down to the jail and see if you can\u2019t get your story straight, huh?\u201d<\/p>\n Williams struggled in Adam\u2019s grasp.\u00a0 \u201cI got business to tend to,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll bet you do,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0 \u201cTake him, Roy.\u00a0 I think I\u2019ll walk over to Walt Franklin\u2019s office and ask some questions.\u00a0 I have a strong suspicion that\u2019s where this gent was headed in such a hurry.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s close to here,\u201d Roy admitted, \u201cbut you ain\u2019t goin\u2019 there without me, Adam.\u00a0 Let\u2019s get this fellow locked up and then we\u2019ll both pay a call on Mr. Franklin.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam gritted his teeth.\u00a0 More needless delay.\u00a0 Didn\u2019t Roy understand that a man\u2019s life might be at stake?\u00a0 He\u2019d promised his father to stay within the law, but the law was frustratingly slow, especially when he had another, more important, promise to keep.\u00a0 When they reached the jail, he all but threw Williams into the cell next to that of Ike Saunders, who had grasped the bars so tightly his knuckles turned white at sight of the new prisoner.\u00a0 \u201cLet\u2019s go,\u201d Adam said urgently as soon as Roy had turned the key in the lock.<\/p>\n \u201cIn a minute,\u201d Roy said.\u00a0 \u201cGot to give some instruction to my deputy.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam groaned audibly.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll be outside,\u201d he grunted.<\/p>\n \u201cRight outside,\u201d Roy said with a significant look.<\/p>\n Adam exhaled with notable exasperation.\u00a0 \u201cYes, of course.\u201d\u00a0 He walked outside and paced the boardwalk in front of the sheriff\u2019s office.\u00a0 Suddenly, he stopped dead still, and a sly smile twisted his mouth.\u00a0 When Roy finally came out, he drew him aside.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve got an idea,\u201d he whispered.\u00a0 Touching his index finger to his lips, he moved to the alley beside the jail and slipped down it with the cunning stealth of a cougar stalking prey.\u00a0 Keeping his own steps as silent as Adam\u2019s, Roy followed, for he had quickly discerned the other man\u2019s intention.<\/p>\n Bending low, Adam ducked under the barred window and flattened himself against the wall, while Roy took up a similar position on the near side of the window.\u00a0 Both were instantly rewarded with a loud and unguarded conversation.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019d you tell \u2018em?\u201d Rube Williams demanded of the man in the next cell.<\/p>\n \u201cNot a word,\u201d Saunders declared.<\/p>\n \u201cThen, how\u2019d they know to come lookin\u2019 for me?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI got no idea.\u00a0 I never mentioned your name.\u201d<\/p>\n There was a pause and then Williams hissed, \u201cJust make certain you don\u2019t mention Franklin.\u00a0 I told \u2018em you used to work for him, but was let go awhile back.\u00a0 See you stick to that.\u00a0 And you don\u2019t really know me all that well, got it?\u201d<\/p>\n Saunders snorted.\u00a0 \u201cAnd neither one of us ever heard of the Golgonda, I reckon.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDoggone right, we ain\u2019t!\u201d<\/p>\n The men fell silent then, and Roy signaled for Adam to follow him out of the alley.\u00a0 When they were a safe distance from the jail, Adam observed, \u201cI found that quite revealing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYup,\u201d Roy agreed.\u00a0 \u201cDefinitely sounds like Franklin is involved somehow.\u00a0 Wouldn\u2019t have figured that, respected businessman like him.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019ve heard of the Golgonda,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0 \u201cIs that a new venture?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNew to me,\u201d Roy said.\u00a0 \u201cOne more thing to ask Franklin about.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam leaned in conspiratorially.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019d love a look at his records.\u00a0 I don\u2019t suppose . . .\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf we had a warrant,\u201d Roy said with a slight grin.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m willin\u2019 to guess a smart fellow like you can come up with some reason we need to see them books.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam slowly rubbed his lower lip.\u00a0 \u201cTo verify the prisoners\u2019 assertion of their employment?\u201d he suggested.\u00a0 \u201cPossibly to find the name of the third perpetrator?\u201d<\/p>\n Roy\u2019s grin broadened.\u00a0 \u201cSeein\u2019 as it\u2019s Judge Lawson, I think that\u2019ll do it.\u00a0 Let\u2019s get that warrant and then pay a little call on Mr. Franklin.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0**********<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 The time-consuming process of getting the warrant had irked Adam, as all delay did at this point.\u00a0 What if Franklin heard that two of his men had been arrested?\u00a0 What if he felt a sudden need to destroy all evidence pointing to the crime of which Adam was now convinced he was guilty?\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t thinking of the books, although he sensed they had something important to reveal; no, the evidence he feared might be destroyed was, in fact, his brother Hoss, eyewitness testimony being the strongest of all.\u00a0 Hadn\u2019t one of Franklin\u2019s men already tried to silence Little Joe\u2019s testimony in the most permanent manner possible?<\/p>\n Judge Lawson, no defender of the rights of supposed lawbreakers, had proven as willing as Roy had suggested to grant their request, and they now stood on the doorstep of Walter Franklin\u2019s mining office.\u00a0 \u201cLet me handle this,\u201d Roy warned, for Adam looked like a horse seething at the bit.<\/p>\n \u201cJust do it,\u201d Adam growled through gritted teeth.<\/p>\n As the business was a public place, they just walked in, and Roy asked to see the president of the company.\u00a0 He and Adam were soon escorted into a richly appointed inner office, where Walter Franklin graciously welcomed them with a warm handshake for each man.\u00a0 \u201cYoung Cartwright, isn\u2019t it?\u201d he asked as he took Adam\u2019s hand.\u00a0 \u201cSay, I was sorry to hear about your young brother\u2019s attack.\u00a0 Terrible thing, terrible thing.\u00a0 Broad daylight, too, or so I heard.\u00a0 I hope you\u2019ll find the perpetrators quickly, sheriff.\u00a0 Can\u2019t have riff-raff like that on our streets.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGot two culprits in my jail right now,\u201d Roy said, watching Franklin\u2019s face for any reaction.<\/p>\n Franklin\u2019s eyes widened slightly.\u00a0 Then a smile appeared on his face.\u00a0 \u201cExcellent work, sheriff!\u00a0 I hope you\u2019ll prosecute them to the full extent of the law.\u00a0 Hanging\u2019s too easy for anyone who would molest a child.\u00a0 Strangers, I presume.\u00a0 Surely, none of our good citizens would . . .\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cClaim to work for you,\u201d Roy stated bluntly.\u00a0 \u201cIke Saunders and Rube Williams?\u201d<\/p>\n Franklin shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t recall those names.\u201d\u00a0 He laughed hoarsely as he scratched his neck with an index finger.\u00a0 \u201cI can\u2019t be expected to know the names of every man on my payroll, sheriff.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe do,\u201d Adam grunted.<\/p>\n Franklin hooked his thumbs behind the lapels of his brocade vest.\u00a0 \u201cYes, I\u2019m sure, but the El Dorado employs a much larger number of men than a family operation, big as the Ponderosa is.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd the Golgonda?\u201d Adam threw out.<\/p>\n \u201cGolgonda?\u201d\u00a0 Franklin visibly paled at the mention of that name.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t see why you look so surprised, Mr. Franklin.\u00a0 One of your operations, ain\u2019t it?\u201d Roy asked.<\/p>\n \u201cWell . . . yes,\u201d Walter Franklin finally replied.\u00a0 \u201cI was only surprised that you\u2019d heard of it, sheriff, it being outside your territory.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd where, exactly, might that be?\u201d the sheriff pressed.<\/p>\n \u201cReally, Sheriff Coffee, I don\u2019t understand your interest,\u201d the mine owner said.<\/p>\n \u201cThen let me make it clear,\u201d Adam snapped.\u00a0 \u201cWhere is my brother?\u201d<\/p>\n Roy glared at the young man for interrupting, but said nothing.<\/p>\n Franklin adopted an astounded look.\u00a0 \u201cWhy, he\u2019s under the doctor\u2019s care, isn\u2019t he, either at his home or, perhaps, the hotel?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy other brother!\u201d Adam barked, moving toward the mine owner.<\/p>\n Roy planted himself between the two.\u00a0 \u201cAdam, back off,\u201d he ordered.\u00a0 He turned to the other man.\u00a0 \u201cSorry about that, Mr. Franklin.\u00a0 It\u2019s natural for my young friend here to be kinda upset, what with one brother attacked and the other missing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cReally?\u00a0 I-I hadn\u2019t heard about that.\u201d\u00a0 Again he scratched his neck, looking thoughtful.\u00a0 \u201cWell, of course, I understand young Cartwright\u2019s concern, sheriff, but I don\u2019t see how I can be of any help.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFact is, we need a look at your books, Mr. Franklin,\u201d the sheriff said.<\/p>\n \u201cMy books!\u00a0 Whatever for?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, first thing, we need to verify my prisoners\u2019 claim that they work for you.\u201d\u00a0 Seeing Franklin about to remonstrate, Roy hurried on.\u00a0 \u201cIf they lied about that, it might be they\u2019re lying about other things, you see?\u00a0 And we\u2019re lookin\u2019 for a third man we believe to be tied in with them, so we\u2019re hopin\u2019 to get a lead on that by lookin\u2019 at your payroll.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, I don\u2019t know, sheriff,\u201d Franklin sputtered.\u00a0 \u201cHow am I supposed to keep track of my affairs if you have my records?\u201d<\/p>\n Roy waved the concern aside.\u00a0 \u201cOh, we\u2019ll get \u2018em back to you quick enough.\u00a0 Adam\u2019s gonna help me with that.\u00a0 Sharp young eyes, you know?\u201d<\/p>\n Franklin\u2019s own eyes looked razor sharp as he turned them on Adam.\u00a0 \u201cYes, well, I . . .\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe got a warrant,\u201d Roy said, \u201cso I will be takin\u2019 those records, Mr. Franklin, or I\u2019ll be takin\u2019 you to jail for resistin\u2019 a lawful writ.\u201d<\/p>\n Palms raised, Franklin moved them quickly back and forth.\u00a0 \u201cNo need, no need.\u00a0 Always happy to cooperate with the law.\u00a0 Just think it\u2019s a waste of time in this case.\u201d\u00a0 He hastily pulled three ledgers from a shelf behind him.\u00a0 \u201cHere you are, sheriff.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGive \u2018em to Adam,\u201d Roy said.<\/p>\n Adam stepped forward to take the ledgers and quickly scanned the opening pages of each.\u00a0 \u201cThese are all for the El Dorado,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cWhat about the Golgonda?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh.\u00a0 Yes, certainly,\u201d Franklin said.\u00a0 \u201cKeep that separate, of course, it legally being in California.\u201d\u00a0 He pulled a similar volume from the bottom drawer of his desk and laid it atop the pile in Adam\u2019s arms.<\/p>\n \u201cWhereabouts, exactly?\u201d Roy asked again.<\/p>\n With his chin Franklin indicated the ledger.\u00a0 \u201cAll detailed in there, gentlemen.\u00a0 Now, if there\u2019s nothing more, I have several matters to attend to.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBest get \u2018em tended to, then,\u201d Roy said, sounding amiable.\u00a0 \u201cCome on, Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0**********<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Ben looked up at the sound of footsteps and exhaled with relief when his oldest son entered the bedroom.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s about time,\u201d he chided.\u00a0 \u201cI was beginning to think I\u2019d lost my third son to whatever this is.\u201d\u00a0 His brow wrinkled in thought as he noticed the stack of books in Adam\u2019s arms.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s all that?\u201d<\/p>\n Adam set the ledgers on the round table.\u00a0 \u201cHopefully, the key to \u2018whatever this is.\u2019\u00a0 How\u2019s Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n Ben glanced back at his youngest son.\u00a0 \u201cAbout the same.\u00a0 Holding his own.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll sit with him,\u201d Adam offered.\u00a0 \u201cYou need to get some food, rest.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben arched a meaningful eyebrow.\u00a0 \u201cDid you?\u00a0 Food, I mean.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes.\u201d\u00a0 Adam carefully omitted saying that the food had only been a few nibbles of whatever was on offer at the saloons where he and Roy had shown Ed Reed\u2019s sketch of Ike Saunders.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m going to be knee-deep in these for a while,\u201d he said, tapping the ledgers, \u201cand I might as well do that here as anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAll right.\u201d\u00a0 Ledgers struck Ben as a peculiar place to be searching for his second son, but he trusted his eldest implicitly.\u00a0 With a final stroke of his youngest\u2019s warm cheek, he rose and headed for the door.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll be at Winn\u2019s, if I\u2019m needed.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019ll be fine, Pa,\u201d Adam assured him.<\/p>\n As soon as his father left, Adam sat down and spread a ledger open on the table.\u00a0 He decided to start with the records for the Golgonda, primarily because Franklin\u2019s palpable reluctance to part with them had raised his hackles of suspicion.\u00a0 He checked the mine\u2019s location first, but what was written was as meaningless as most property descriptions without familiarity with the reference points.\u00a0 Adam did recognize the name of the county, at least; as the mine owner had said, it lay just over the border into California.<\/p>\n Filing that information at the back of his mind, he began to scan the Golgonda\u2019s list of employees.\u00a0 It didn\u2019t take long to find the two names he was looking for.\u00a0 Williams appeared earlier in the record, with Saunders\u2019 name joining the list some three months later.\u00a0 Adam arched an eyebrow as he read the job title beside each name.\u00a0 Williams was listed as superintendent, while Saunders\u2019 job was labeled supply, whatever that implied.\u00a0 In both cases, the man didn\u2019t seem to match the apparent level of responsibility.\u00a0 In fact, had Adam been hiring either man for the Ponderosa, he\u2019d have been more likely to trust them with cleaning out the pigpen, with the possibility of promotion to feeding the chickens if they proved reliable.\u00a0 Running his finger along the line to check their salaries, however, he observed that the amounts were not only in keeping with positions of responsibility, but generous, compared to other mine payrolls he\u2019d seen.\u00a0 Obviously, these were valued workers. \u00a0Yet Franklin had claimed not to recognize their names.<\/p>\n On a hunch he checked the records to see if any other workers were as liberally compensated.\u00a0 Most did not even receive the $3.50 per day typical of the average miner, although that was how they were designated.\u00a0 A good number were paid significantly more, though still not as much as Williams or even Saunders\u2019 slightly lower salary.\u00a0 In each case these jobs were classified as security.\u00a0 Valuable property, such as a mine, warranted protection, of course, but the unless the Golgonda was a huge operation, the number of guards seemed larger than average.\u00a0 By the time he reached the end of the ledger, Adam had discovered only one other man whose compensation seemed in line with the top two men.\u00a0 Elias Whittier, beside whose name the word \u201csupply\u201d was also written, received a salary equal to that of Saunders.<\/p>\n Adam was just closing the book when his father returned.\u00a0 \u201cAny change?\u201d Ben asked.<\/p>\n \u201cHmm?\u201d\u00a0 Then Adam glanced at the bed, chagrinned that he couldn\u2019t recall when he\u2019d last checked on Joe.\u00a0 \u201cNo.\u00a0 He\u2019s been resting quietly.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben removed his hat and stood opposite his oldest son.\u00a0 \u201cAnd you?\u201d\u00a0 He tapped the cover of the ledger.\u00a0 \u201cFind what you were looking for?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think I know the name of the third man who attacked Little Joe,\u201d Adam said.<\/p>\n Looking incredulous, Ben nodded at the ledger.\u00a0 \u201cIn that?\u201d<\/p>\n Briefly, Adam explained what he\u2019d discovered.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s odd, I grant you,\u201d Ben said when his son finished, \u201cbut it doesn\u2019t really prove anything, except they all work for the same man.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA man who claimed not to know two of his highest paid workers,\u201d Adam pointed out.<\/p>\n \u201cSuspicious,\u201d Ben agreed, \u201cbut what does it prove, son?\u201d<\/p>\n Adam shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cSo far, only that Franklin didn\u2019t want us to know about the Golgonda or anyone who worked there.\u201d\u00a0 He raked through his dark hair with a frustrated hand.\u00a0 \u201cSomething\u2019s wrong with that operation, Pa, and the answer\u2019s in here somewhere.\u201d\u00a0 He slammed his hand onto the ledger.\u00a0 \u201cI just can\u2019t figure out what it is!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd you think figuring that out will lead you to Hoss?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m almost certain the key is somewhere in these pages.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWant me to go through them?\u00a0 Maybe a fresh eye . . .\u201d<\/p>\n Adam smiled, but shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cTempting, Pa, and it might be helpful, but your place is with Joe.\u00a0 He needs you more than I do.\u00a0 Let me struggle on with this for a while, and if I feel like I\u2019m not getting anywhere, maybe I\u2019ll take you up on that offer.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAll right, son.\u201d\u00a0 Ben looked relieved and moved directly to the side of\u00a0 his youngest son.<\/p>\n Adam stood and gathered the ledgers.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m gonna take these up to the bedroom.\u00a0 Sometimes it helps to pace while I think, and I don\u2019t want to disturb Joe.\u201d\u00a0 He looked toward his brother.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ll call me if . . .?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOf course, son.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0**********<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 As the hours passed, Adam became increasingly glad that he\u2019d moved to the upstairs bedroom, for his frustrated pacing and mumbling under his breath might well have disturbed his young brother\u2019s rest.\u00a0 He himself had found no rest, for either body or mind.\u00a0 When he wasn\u2019t pacing, he was poring over the pages of the ledgers, though he still couldn\u2019t find the key he was certain lay within them.\u00a0 He was unaware of the passage of time until the room darkened enough to necessitate lighting a lamp.<\/p>\n He was again pacing the dimly lit room when his father walked in.\u00a0 Adam spun on his heels and anxiously asked, \u201cJoe?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s all right,\u201d Ben assured him.\u00a0 \u201cNo better, no worse.\u00a0 Dr. Martin is with him, and I\u2019ve come to take you to dinner, young man.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, thanks, Pa.\u00a0 You go on.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAdam, you have to eat,\u201d Ben said firmly.\u00a0 \u201cI have two boys in trouble.\u00a0 I\u2019m not sure my heart can handle it if I have to worry about all three.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam gave him a wry half-smile.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ll outlive us all, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben grasped his oldest son by both shoulders.\u00a0 \u201cDoes it ever occur to you, son, that that\u2019s exactly what I\u2019m afraid of.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam\u2019s breath caught in his throat as he suddenly saw the entire scenario through his father\u2019s eyes.\u00a0 \u201cI understand,\u201d he said, \u201cbut missing a meal or two will not jeopardize my health, and I can\u2019t stop now, Pa; I just can\u2019t,\u201d Adam said, his voice almost pleading.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m close; I know I\u2019m close.\u00a0 The answer is just beyond my reach.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIn those ledgers?\u201d Ben asked with a glance at the books sprawled across a table in the doctor\u2019s bedroom.<\/p>\n \u201cYes,\u201d Adam said tersely.\u00a0 \u201cI know it doesn\u2019t make sense, but . . .\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI trust your instincts,\u201d his father said, \u201cbut perhaps that fresh eye . . .\u201d<\/p>\n Adam sighed with unexpected relief.\u00a0 \u201cYes . . . absolutely.\u201d\u00a0 He walked to the table and, offering the chair to his father, tapped the larger pile.\u00a0 \u201cThese are Franklin\u2019s Virginia City operations, the ones we knew about.\u00a0 They seem to be straight forward business accounts, nothing out of the ordinary.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd this one?\u201d\u00a0 Ben laid his palm on the open pages of the remaining ledger.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Golgonda.\u00a0 The opening pages match the accounts of Franklin\u2019s other mines, down to the wages paid, although the profits, when there are any, are much lower.\u201d\u00a0 He turned back a few pages.\u00a0 \u201cI presume that\u2019s why he lowered the miners\u2019 wages at this point, to cut expenses.\u00a0 From here on the Golgonda\u2019s profit line increases substantially, more so as the months pass.\u201d<\/p>\n Frown lines wrinkled Ben\u2019s forehead as he glanced at the figures on the page.\u00a0 \u201cFifty cents an hour would mean a great deal to the miners, but it shouldn\u2019t be enough, in itself, to account for a sudden upturn like this.\u00a0 Have you checked their figures?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo.\u201d\u00a0 Adam shook his head at his own stupidity.\u00a0 \u201cI just assumed they\u2019d recorded them correctly, but you\u2019re right: something doesn\u2019t add up.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd if it happens every month, it\u2019s not a simple miscalculation,\u201d Ben suggested solemnly as he stood.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m going to run over to the caf\u00e9, son, and get us a couple of sandwiches.\u00a0 We have work to do, and we need fuel.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRight,\u201d Adam said, taking the chair and beginning at once to set down figures of his own from the Golgonda\u2019s puzzling records.\u00a0 By the time his father returned, bearing two sandwiches wrapped in brown paper, the sheets of paper he\u2019d borrowed from the doctor were filled with calculations.<\/p>\n \u201cAny progress?\u201d Ben asked.<\/p>\n Excitement edged Adam\u2019s voice as he answered, \u201cI think so.\u00a0 I thought this expense line seemed incredibly low, even given the decrease in wages, so I added up the wages of each man listed and came up with a figure significantly higher than the total expenses.\u201d\u00a0 He paused to let his father digest that information and then continued, \u201cWhat I find even more astonishing is the amount of the difference.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben raised an eyebrow.\u00a0 \u201cWhich is?\u201d<\/p>\n Adam leaned back in his chair.\u00a0 \u201cThe exact total of all wages purportedly paid to the miners.\u201d<\/p>\n The gray eyebrow arched higher.\u00a0 \u201cNone of those wages are charged as expense?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot a penny.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat doesn\u2019t make sense,\u201d Ben said slowly.<\/p>\n \u201cOh, it makes perfect sense,\u201d Adam grunted.\u00a0 He turned the ledger so his father could see it.\u00a0 \u201cNotice anything odd about these names?\u201d<\/p>\n At first, Ben didn\u2019t see anything unusual, but then he began to detect a definite pattern in the names on the roster:\u00a0 Abraham Smith, Benjamin Smith, Caleb Smith\u2014and scattered among the Smiths a similar list of Jones and Browns attached to alphabetical first names.\u00a0 \u201cEither this region of California is populated by only three families,\u201d he mused, \u201cor . . . these miners don\u2019t exist.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey exist,\u201d Adam said harshly.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sure they exist; they\u2019re just not listed under the names they were born with.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat are you suggesting, son?\u201d\u00a0 Ben suspected he knew, but hesitated to accuse anyone, especially a respected businessman, of something so heinous.<\/p>\n \u201cThe records suggest these miners aren\u2019t being paid,\u201d Adam stated bluntly, \u201cand I know of only one kind of miner who works without wages.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben nodded reluctantly.\u00a0 \u201cSlave labor.\u00a0 And you think . . . Hoss?\u201d<\/p>\n Adam\u2019s jaw hardened.\u00a0 \u201cIf it\u2019s muscle they were looking for, he\u2019d have enough to mine the Sierras single-handed.\u00a0 Yeah, Pa, I think that\u2019s exactly why they took him.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBen!\u00a0 Ben, get down here!\u201d\u00a0 At the sound of the shout from downstairs, Ben bolted for the door with Adam close behind him.\u00a0 They burst into the guest bedroom, where Dr. Martin was bending over Little Joe, holding him still with both hands.<\/p>\n \u201cGet him calmed down\u2014now!\u201d the doctor ordered, stepping aside.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t want to have to sedate him; it\u2019s too soon.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJoseph, Joseph . . . easy now,\u201d Ben said, gathering the boy into his arms.\u00a0 \u201cEverything\u2019s all right, son.\u201d\u00a0 For him, it was simple statement of fact.\u00a0 His boy was back with him, no longer wandering in some cloudy domain between life and death.<\/p>\n \u201cPa . . . hurt,\u201d the boy said between heaving gasps for air.<\/p>\n Ben\u2019s eyes registered instant concern.\u00a0 \u201cWhere, son?\u00a0 Where does it hurt?<\/p>\n Little Joe shook his head wildly.\u00a0 \u201cNo . . . Hoss.\u00a0 They hurt . . . Hoss.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, son, I know,\u201d Ben soothed, \u201cbut your brother will be all right, and you, young man, need to settle down.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhere is he?\u201d Little Joe asked, eyes brimming with fear.<\/p>\n Ben floundered for an answer.\u00a0 The little he knew\u2014more truthfully, suspected\u2014was not something he dared share with such a debilitated boy.\u00a0 \u201cSon, I don\u2019t . . .\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPa . . . let me,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0 His father surrendered his place at Joe\u2019s side, and Adam came forward to take his brother\u2019s small hand in his own.\u00a0 \u201cJoe, I promised I\u2019d find Hoss, remember?\u00a0 Have I ever broken a promised to you?\u201d\u00a0 When Little Joe shook his head, Adam squeezed his brother\u2019s hand.\u00a0 \u201cI won\u2019t break it now, little buddy.\u00a0 I know where Hoss is, and I\u2019m going to get him right now.\u00a0 Okay?\u201d<\/p>\n Ben arched an eyebrow at the stretched truth, but he exhaled in relief when Little Joe whispered, \u201cNow?\u00a0 Okay,\u201d and the hand that Adam held relaxed.<\/p>\n \u201cYou take it easy, little buddy, and I\u2019ll have Hoss here almost before you know it,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0 With a final pat of his little brother\u2019s hand, he straightened up and looked directly at his father.\u00a0 \u201cI promise,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Ben nodded.\u00a0 Adam had never broken a promise to him, either.\u00a0 This one might prove impossible to keep, but so long as Hoss was still alive, Ben knew that nothing would stop his oldest son from bringing his middle boy back to him and, what was more important in this moment, back to his baby brother.<\/p>\n \u00a0**********<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Adam ran up the dark street.\u00a0 He\u2019d not only doubled down on his promise to Little Joe, but he\u2019d made the same brave vow to his father, and he knew that with every tick of the clock his chances of keeping his word grew slimmer.\u00a0 Hoss had been hurt.\u00a0 How badly, he didn\u2019t know.\u00a0 Hopefully, not so badly that he\u2019d become useless baggage to his enslavers.\u00a0 Then, the very fact that Franklin knew that he and Roy were closing in on the operation put Hoss at greater risk.\u00a0 Adam could only pray that the mine owner was so cocky that he\u2019d believe no one could see through his scheme, or maybe, he\u2019d trust in the distance between here and California to give him extra cover\u2014or, at least, extra time to cover his tracks.\u00a0 Either way, Adam had no time to lose.<\/p>\n He was panting almost as breathlessly as his young brother by the time he reached the sheriff\u2019s office, but he pushed through the door and began pouring out words as if he had an endless supply of air to propel them.\u00a0 \u201cSlave labor,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cThey\u2019re using Hoss . . . and more . . . as slave labor.\u201d<\/p>\n Roy stood from his chair.\u00a0 \u201cHuh?\u201d<\/p>\n With both palms Adam leaned against the desk separating him from the lawman.\u00a0 \u201cThe Golgonda . . . books all wrong.\u00a0 Only paying head men.\u00a0 The rest\u2014slave labor.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShow me,\u201d Roy ordered.\u00a0 He stared at Adam\u2019s empty hands.\u00a0 \u201cWhere\u2019s the books?\u201d<\/p>\n Adam groaned.\u00a0 \u201cBack at the doc\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n Roy rounded the desk and guided Adam to a chair.\u00a0 \u201cSit a spell, boy, and get your breath.\u00a0 Then start over.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam nodded and, as ordered, took several deep breaths before trying to continue.\u00a0 \u201cThe ledgers prove it, Roy.\u00a0 Page after page of miners whose wages never get tallied as expense.\u00a0 They\u2019re being held at the Golgonda; I\u2019m sure of it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll get \u2018em.\u00a0 You think Hoss is there, too, huh?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSure of it,\u201d Adam said, \u201cand we\u2019ve got to hurry, Roy.\u00a0 If keeping him alive becomes too great a risk . . .\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah,\u201d Roy said.\u00a0 \u201cWe better move fast.\u201d<\/p>\n The office door opened and Ben Cartwright entered, his arms weighed down with the indicting ledgers.\u00a0 \u201cI thought you might need these,\u201d he said, \u201cas well as this.\u201d\u00a0 He handed Adam the sandwich, which he\u2019d also left in the doctor\u2019s bedroom.<\/p>\n \u201cThanks, Pa,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0 The sandwich was exactly what he needed for the long ride to California.<\/p>\n \u201cBring my boy back, Roy,\u201d Ben said as he moved toward the door.<\/p>\n \u201cHow\u2019s your other boy?\u201d Roy asked.\u00a0 \u201cAdam didn\u2019t say.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBetter,\u201d Ben said.\u00a0 His gaze took in his oldest son, as well, for he realized that Adam didn\u2019t have the latest report, either.\u00a0 \u201cOnce he settled down, Dr. Martin was able to examine him.\u00a0 He\u2019s breathing easier.\u201d\u00a0 Seeing Adam\u2019s eyebrow arch skeptically, he smiled.\u00a0 \u201cThe gasping you saw was primarily agitation.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGood,\u201d Adam said with obvious relief.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d better get back, in case he wakes again,\u201d Ben said.\u00a0 \u201cTake care of yourself, son.\u201d\u00a0 He pointed at the sandwich.\u00a0 \u201cAnd eat!\u201d<\/p>\n Adam lifted his right hand in a smart salute.\u00a0 \u201cYes, sir!\u201d<\/p>\n With a roll of his eyes and a shake of his head, Ben left, wondering as he walked back to the doctor\u2019s house why all of his sons, the eldest in particular, seemed to pick moments like this to mock a father\u2019s rightful authority.<\/p>\n He might have felt less abused had he been able to see inside the office he had just left, where that eldest son was proving that it wasn\u2019t only the authority of his father that he was willing to buck.\u00a0 \u201cWhy are we waiting?\u00a0 We need to leave for California immediately!\u201d Adam demanded.\u00a0 He could think of nothing except his brother\u2019s life, which delay only further jeopardized.<\/p>\n \u201cJust where in California?\u201d Roy asked pointedly.<\/p>\n Adam huffed in frustration.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know, but surely any assay office in the state can look up the location of the Golgonda.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe,\u201d Roy conceded, \u201cbut there\u2019s a quicker way.\u201d\u00a0 In answer to Adam\u2019s quizzical look, he said, \u201cJust ask.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd you think Franklin will just tell us, if we ask nicely,\u201d Adam scoffed.<\/p>\n Roy quirked a lopsided smile at the scornful young man.\u00a0 \u201cNot him . . . and not nicely.\u00a0 Which of our guests in there\u201d\u2014he cocked his head toward the cell block\u2014\u201cyou think might be the easiest nut to crack?\u201d<\/p>\n A spark of enlightenment flashed in Adam\u2019s stormy eyes.\u00a0 \u201cSaunders,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Roy nodded.\u00a0 \u201cJust what I was thinkin\u2019.\u00a0 Let\u2019s get him out here and see if he don\u2019t have a sudden notion to talk his head off.\u201d<\/p>\n Before I tear it off<\/em>.\u00a0 Adam\u2019s thought was only revealed by the smirk that slowly replaced the grin with which he\u2019d first greeted Roy\u2019s suggestion.<\/p>\n Ike Saunders, hands cuffed in front of him, slunk warily into the outer office at Roy\u2019s direction.\u00a0 \u201cHave a seat, Saunders.\u201d\u00a0 The sheriff pointed to a chair near his desk.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s this about?\u201d Saunders said.<\/p>\n \u201cNeed a little information,\u201d Roy said, pausing briefly before he added, \u201cabout the Golgonda.\u201d<\/p>\n Saunders blanched.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s that?\u201d<\/p>\n Adam held up the pertinent ledger.\u00a0 \u201cAccording to these records, the place of your employment.\u201d<\/p>\n Though it scarcely seemed possible, the prisoner grew even paler.\u00a0 \u201cOh . . . that Golgonda.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, that Golgonda,\u201d Roy snorted.\u00a0 \u201cWondered if you could tell us where it\u2019s located.\u201d<\/p>\n Saunders threw an anxious glance at the door to the cell block.\u00a0 \u201cUh . . . well, it\u2019s . . . uh . . .\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou do work there,\u201d Adam again pointed out.<\/p>\n \u201cUh . . . yeah.\u00a0 It\u2019s . . . uh . . . in California.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhereabouts in California?\u201d Roy pressed.<\/p>\n \u201cUh . . . well . . . south of Downieville, some ways.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam could no longer contain his sense of urgency.\u00a0 \u201cMister, you tell me exactly where that mine is right now or I will literally tear your limbs from your body.\u201d<\/p>\n Saunders turned frantically toward the sheriff.\u00a0 \u201cYou gonna stand for such as that?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSuch as what?\u201d Roy said, his face a portrait of innocence.\u00a0 He gave Adam a significant look.\u00a0 \u201cReckon it\u2019s time I made my evening rounds.\u00a0 You\u2019ll watch the prisoner for me, won\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGlad to,\u201d Adam said, his mouth curling with sinister-looking satisfaction.<\/p>\n \u201cYou cain\u2019t do that!\u201d Saunders yelped.\u00a0 \u201cI got a right to protection, Sheriff.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou got a right to spill your guts about where you and your cohorts got Hoss Cartwright held prisoner,\u201d Roy said.\u00a0 \u201cUntil you do that, I got no interest in any other rights you think you got.\u201d<\/p>\n Saunders raised his cuffed hands to wipe his slobbering mouth.\u00a0 \u201cOkay, okay,\u201d he said with another furtive glance toward the cell block, \u201cbut you cain\u2019t be lettin\u2019 Williams . . . or Franklin know I told you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey won\u2019t hear it from me,\u201d Roy promised.\u00a0 He felt no obligation to give his opinion of the intelligence of either of those men if they couldn\u2019t figure that one out for themselves.<\/p>\n \u201cAll right, then.\u201d\u00a0 Saunders swallowed the mouthful of nervous saliva flooding his mouth.\u00a0 \u201cIf it\u2019s him you\u2019re lookin\u2019 for, it ain\u2019t the Golgonda you need.\u00a0 We never got that far, him bein\u2019 hurt and all.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam grabbed the man by his shirt front.\u00a0 \u201cSpit it out!\u00a0 Where is my brother?\u201d<\/p>\n Whites of his eyes showing, Saunders sputtered, \u201cOld shack . . . just past Gold Hill.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGet three horses, and if you see my deputy out on rounds, tell him to get back here and take charge of the office,\u201d Roy ordered Adam.\u00a0 Turning to Saunders, he said, \u201cYou\u2019re gonna lead us there.\u00a0 Help us get that boy back alive and I\u2019ll put in a good word for you with the judge.\u201d<\/p>\n Figuring that cooperation was his best hope of avoiding a long prison term or, possibly, even a hangman\u2019s noose, Saunders nodded mutely.<\/p>\n \u00a0**********<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Per the plan developed in quick consultation with Sheriff Coffee, an apparently unconscious Adam Cartwright was dragged into the rickety shack Ike Saunders pointed out and dumped onto the dirt floor.\u00a0 The explosive entrance produced a marked reaction on the two current occupants of the room.\u00a0 One bolted to his feet in alarm, which caved into relief when he caught sight of Saunders, though he said suspiciously, \u201cHeard you was in jail.\u00a0 Reason I had orders to lay low here.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLet go,\u201d Saunders said.\u00a0 \u201cLack of evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSure you weren\u2019t followed?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, I made sure.\u201d\u00a0 Dunderheaded as he was, Saunders knew better than to mention that Roy Coffee was even now pressing his ear against the door, waiting until he heard Adam take action.<\/p>\n The other man jerked his chin toward Adam\u2019s prone form.\u00a0 \u201cWhat you got there? We don\u2019t need no more merchandise, when we can\u2019t even ship out the big fellow over there!\u201d<\/p>\n Adam\u2019s heart leaped in his chest.\u00a0 Hoss was here, mere inches away!\u00a0 Somehow, he managed to keep still, for the plan was to wait until Whittier had taken his presence for granted and turned his attention elsewhere.\u00a0 Then Adam could take the man by surprise, Roy would hear the ruckus and rush in to make the arrest.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s the one been makin\u2019 all the trouble,\u201d Saunders explained to his cohort, \u201cthe one what got me arrested\u2014the big fellow\u2019s bothersome brother, Adam Cartwright.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou crazy!\u201d the other man hollered.\u00a0 \u201cAin\u2019t we got troubles enough with one Cartwright?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo-ooo.\u00a0 Not Adam, too.\u201d\u00a0 A long, mournful moan came from the corner of the room, and Adam could almost feel himself shaking as he recognized the familiar voice.\u00a0 Hoss was here . . . alive and conscious!\u00a0 Restraining himself became almost impossible, but he kept an iron grip on his emotions and schooled his body to stillness.\u00a0 Not yet<\/em>, he told himself as he listened to the argument between Saunders and Elias Whittier.<\/p>\n Judging by the sound that those two men no longer stood between him and the back corner from which Hoss\u2019s voice had come, Adam risked a small flutter of his eyes.\u00a0 Hoss, head crudely wrapped in a blood-stained bandage, lay tied to a cot, but he was even now straining against the binding ropes.\u00a0 Concerned that his brother might further injure himself, Adam knew he would have to take action soon.\u00a0 He closed his eyes and moved slightly, as a man returning to consciousness might and waited for a reaction.\u00a0 There was none.<\/p>\n He moved his head slightly and opened his eyes.\u00a0 As soon as he saw that Whittier\u2019s back was to him, he cautiously came to his feet.\u00a0 Hearing the shuffling behind him, Whittier turned and, seeing Adam crouched, sprang forward.\u00a0 Adam was ready, however, and slammed into Whittier\u2019s legs, bringing him to the ground as the door crashed open and Roy Coffee, gun drawn, came barreling in.\u00a0 Whittier was quickly apprehended and cuffed.\u00a0 \u201cYou traitor!\u201d he bellowed at Saunders.<\/p>\n Saunders shrugged, holding out his own hands when the sheriff extended a second set of handcuffs.\u00a0 \u201cMan\u2019s gotta look out for his own skin.\u201d<\/p>\n As soon as the prisoners were secured, Adam hurried to Hoss\u2019s side.\u00a0 \u201cEasy, buddy,\u201d he said as he untied the ropes holding his brother.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s all over; you\u2019re safe.\u201d<\/p>\n Tears began to stream down Hoss\u2019s face. \u00a0\u201cJoe ain\u2019t.\u00a0 They killed him, Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam cupped his brother\u2019s face between his hands.\u00a0 \u201cNo, Hoss.\u00a0 He\u2019s alive.\u201d<\/p>\n Face wracked with agony, Hoss shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cI saw \u2018em.\u00a0 They knifed him, Adam; blood everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam insistently held Hoss\u2019s head still.\u00a0 \u201cI know, but I swear, Hoss: he\u2019s still alive.\u201d\u00a0 He smiled broadly.\u00a0 \u201cYou know what a fighter our little brother is.\u00a0 You think the likes of them\u201d\u2014with his head he gestured at the culprits in Roy\u2019s custody\u2014\u201ccould stop him.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss\u2019s lower lip began to quiver.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2014he went after \u2018em to save me.\u00a0 I thought . . . he\u2019s alive . . . for sure?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFor sure.\u00a0 He\u2019s at Doc Martin\u2019s\u2014Pa, too\u2014and that\u2019s where we\u2019re taking you, big fellow.\u201d<\/p>\n Finally, Hoss\u2019s characteristic wide grin split his face.\u00a0 \u201cBest news I ever heard.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam helped his brother to his feet, but when he saw how unsteady Hoss was, he immediately sat him down again on the cot.\u00a0 \u201cRoy,\u201d he called, \u201cwe\u2019re going to need some transportation.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI can make it,\u201d Hoss insisted.<\/p>\n Adam laid a hand on his brother\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cNo, buddy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMight be the easiest way to get these two back to the jail, anyway,\u201d Roy said.\u00a0 \u201cYou hold the fort here, and I\u2019ll get things arranged.\u201d\u00a0 Before leaving, he cuffed one of each prisoner\u2019s hands to the end of the bed.\u00a0 \u201cStay right where you are, Hoss,\u201d the sheriff said.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t reckon they\u2019re likely to drag off that cot with you holdin\u2019 it down.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss nodded with satisfaction, but then held a hand to his head in a way that raised Adam\u2019s concern.\u00a0 Head injuries, after all, were nothing to take lightly, no matter how well his brother might appear otherwise.<\/p>\n Though certain that Roy was moving as quickly as he could, the wait seemed eternal to Adam.\u00a0 He tried to further assess Hoss\u2019s condition, but the constant bickering of the men at the foot of the bed distracted him until he threatened to stuff gags down their throats.\u00a0 They were silent for a minute or so; then Whittier, noting Adam\u2019s concern for his brother and apparently hoping for leniency, said, \u201cI took care of him best I could.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam slowly turned a set of smoldering hazel eyes on the man, who gulped under the severe gaze.\u00a0 \u201cSo, basically, you\u2019re saying that you\u2019re the sort of man who prefers to keep his pack mules in good working condition.\u201d\u00a0 After that, both prisoners kept scrupulously silent and yearned for Roy\u2019s return as eagerly as Adam.\u00a0 The sooner they were safe behind bars, out of reach of Adam Cartwright, the better.<\/p>\n Eternity finally passed, and Roy returned with a wagon.\u00a0 Though he would have preferred to have Hoss lie down, Adam didn\u2019t want him riding with his former captors.\u00a0 Instead, he helped his brother onto the wagon seat and then helped the sheriff toss the prisoners unceremoniously (and with a bit of unnecessary roughness) into the back.\u00a0 Tying his horse and the one Saunders had ridden to the rear, Adam mounted the wagon and drove toward Virginia City with Sheriff Coffee, eyes glued to his prisoners, following on horseback.\u00a0 \u201cNot far now, buddy,\u201d Adam told Hoss.\u00a0 \u201cNot much more than a mile back to town.\u201d\u00a0 And given Hoss\u2019s condition, how grateful he was that they weren\u2019t making that drive from California!<\/p>\n \u201cJust get me to Joe,\u201d Hoss said.<\/p>\n Adam nodded his understanding.\u00a0 Having seen that vicious assault on their baby brother, Hoss had to see with his own eyes that Little Joe was still with them.\u00a0 He drove first to the jail.\u00a0 \u201cNeed any help with them?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n \u201cNaw,\u201d Roy snorted.\u00a0 \u201cThey ain\u2019t gonna give me any trouble, are you, boys?\u201d<\/p>\n One look at the chiseled granite of Adam\u2019s gaze was enough to produce promises of saintly behavior from the two men scrambling out of the wagon.\u00a0 Moments later, Adam was driving to the doctor\u2019s home, and minutes later he was helping Hoss down from the wagon.<\/p>\n The door to the doctor\u2019s house opened, and Ben Cartwright strode onto the porch.\u00a0 \u201cHoss!\u201d he cried, hurrying forward to engulf the big man in his arms.\u00a0 \u201cThank God.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPa,\u201d Hoss whispered, and for the first time uttered a sob of relief.<\/p>\n \u201cThe doctor needs to see him,\u201d Adam said, tapping his head with his index finger.<\/p>\n \u201cI need to see Joe,\u201d Hoss said, lower lip thrust out in stubborn demand.<\/p>\n \u201cFine, son, fine,\u201d his father soothed.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll take you to Joe.\u201d\u00a0 The look he exchanged with his oldest son told Adam that Hoss would also find Dr. Martin there.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you can manage without me,\u201d Adam said, \u201cI\u2019ll get this rig back to Gold Hill.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe can manage,\u201d Ben assured him.\u00a0 As Adam turned to leave, his father\u2019s voice stopped him.\u00a0 \u201cAdam . . . thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam merely nodded and mounted the wagon, taking the reins and urging the team forward.\u00a0 The sooner gone, the sooner he could return again to his reunited family.<\/p>\n Watchful for any sign of weakness, Ben led his middle son inside, straight to the room where his youngest lay with the family doctor in attendance.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve brought you another patient, doctor.\u201d<\/p>\n Dr. Martin strode briskly across the room, but Hoss brushed him aside.\u00a0 \u201cI wanna see my little brother,\u201d he insisted.<\/p>\n \u201cBy all means, son,\u201d the doctor said, recognizing an irresistible force when he met one.<\/p>\n Hoss fell into the chair at Little Joe\u2019s bedside and took the slender hand in his larger one.\u00a0 \u201cPunkin,\u201d he croaked.<\/p>\n The voice he had most longed to hear penetrated the boy\u2019s light slumber, and he woke, stretching trembling arms toward his brother.\u00a0 \u201cHoss,\u201d he sighed with contentment.\u00a0 \u201cAdam did find you . . . like he promised.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss made no answer except to hold his baby brother tightly as tears streamed down his cheeks.\u00a0 He might have stayed there the rest of the night had not the doctor placed a firm hand on each shaking shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cAnd now, young fellow, it\u2019s time for me to examine my second patient.\u00a0 No argument.\u00a0 Come with me.\u201d<\/p>\n Reluctantly, Hoss loosened his hold on his brother and, with promises to return soon, he meekly followed the doctor out.\u00a0 Once outside the door he asked, \u201cIs he gonna be all right?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t promise yet,\u201d the doctor said with an encouraging smile, \u201cbut I wouldn\u2019t ever bet against a Cartwright.\u201d<\/p>\n A month\u2019s time would validate the doctor\u2019s faith in the Cartwright stamina.\u00a0 All the Cartwrights were home again at the Ponderosa.\u00a0 Hoss was fully recovered, and while the same could not yet be said of Little Joe, he was definitely out of danger and growing feistier by the day.\u00a0 In the meantime Adam had made that trip to California after all, where he was instrumental in freeing the other men held captive in the Golgonda mine and seeing that Franklin, Whittier and Williams were all charged and extradited for trial there.\u00a0 As a concession to Saunders for his help in recovering Hoss and testifying against the others, Sheriff Coffee and Judge Lawson conspired to have him charged in Nevada Territory, instead, and only for the crimes committed in that jurisdiction.\u00a0 He would still serve hard time in prison, but he considered himself lucky to do so in a different state from his vengeful cohorts.<\/p>\n By Thanksgiving cards and letters from the former prisoners in Franklin\u2019s mine came pouring into the Ponderosa.\u00a0 Ben read the profuse expressions of gratitude with satisfaction, but he didn\u2019t really need to.\u00a0 He had only to look into his own heart or the smiling faces gathered around the hearth after stuffing themselves with turkey to know exactly the relief and joy those men and their loved ones were feeling.\u00a0 That his three sons had been the means of proclaiming deliverance to the captives and setting at liberty those who had been bruised, as the Scripture put it, was only the whipped cream atop the pumpkin pie.\u00a0 And the huge mound of it gracing the slice Hoss was currently inhaling seemed, symbolically, about the right amount for what he was feeling.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The End<\/p>\n \u00a9 December, 2014<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Tags:\u00a0 Adam Cartwright,\u00a0Ben Cartwright,\u00a0Hoss Cartwright,\u00a0hostage,\u00a0Joe \/ Little Joe Cartwright,\u00a0kidnap,\u00a0Paul Martin,\u00a0Roy Coffee<\/p>\n