{"id":10304,"date":"2015-01-13T16:56:44","date_gmt":"2015-01-13T21:56:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=10304"},"modified":"2025-02-18T19:11:29","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T00:11:29","slug":"kanes-legacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=10304","title":{"rendered":"Kane’s Legacy (by Krystyna)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary<\/strong>:\u00a0 It’s been two years since Eastgate, Salt Flats, and Kane.\u00a0 Business for the Ponderosa continues and life goes on.\u00a0 What happens when life takes Adam back to Eastgate and his memories?\u00a0 Could the truth have prevented his ordeal?<\/p>\n

Rating<\/strong>:\u00a0 K+ (28,925 words)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Kane’s Legacy<\/strong><\/p>\n

It had taken a while, two years and six weeks to be exact, but here he was, sitting in the Red Dog saloon with a glass of cold beer on the table.\u00a0 He had, at times, vaguely wondered what he would do should he be in a situation that led him back to that town.\u00a0 But it had only be a vague nebulous thought, and one\u00a0he had not allowed himself to dwell upon for too long.\u00a0 His mind had shied away from dwelling on it for the obvious reasons.\u00a0 But, as the good book says, time and chance happens to us all. \u00a0 A freak storm, the need for shelter, and – well, Eastgate was the nearest place to go.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He sighed deeply, picked up the glass and raised it to his lips.\u00a0 The last time they had been here, Joe had complained of the heat and the bar keep had talked about a trial being held in the town, and Joe had stayed and he \u2013 well, he had gone on his own and met his Nemesis.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The glass was empty when he put it back on the table. \u00a0 He stared at it for a while and thought how Joe should have been sitting opposite him, drinking beer with him and chattering nonsense, which mostly entertained his serious minded brother for no other reason than he had lived with it all Joes life. \u00a0 He sat back and crossed one leg over the other as he looked around the saloon. \u00a0 It was not exactly busy. \u00a0 Two dusty cowboys draped over the counter talking together in low voices, as they shared a bottle of whiskey to cut the dust from their throats. \u00a0 Several miners were hunched over a table, playing poker and some, quite obviously, were about to lose all of their hard found gold dust.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The barkeep watched him thoughtfully before reaching for a bottle of whiskey and two glasses. \u00a0 Abandoning his place behind the counter he walked over to the man in black and placed the bottle down with a friendly air, followed by the two glasses.\u00a0 He then pulled out the chair opposite the sombre looking customer, and sat down.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI know you from back along, don\u2019t I?\u201d He indicated the glasses and the whiskey with his ring finger, received a nod as acknowledgement, and began to fill the two glasses. \u201cYou came in with your kid brother if I recalls rightly, about two year ago?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cS\u2019right,\u201d Adam Cartwright replied.\u00a0 He nodded his thanks as he picked up one of the glasses. \u00a0\u201cJust over two years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI remember because it was about the time of that trial.\u00a0 Obadiah Johnson was up for murdering his partner and his wife \u2013 his own wife I mean.\u201d \u00a0He grinned at his own joke, but Adam merely raised his eyebrows. \u201cOnly got five years.\u00a0 I thought he would hang for sure.\u00a0 That seemed to be logical to me, if you murder a man you hang \u2013 murder two folk \u2013 you hang!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, seems logical.\u201d Adam sighed and frowned slightly. \u00a0 That was all he needed, to run into a barkeeper with a memory like an elephant\u2019s.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYour kid brother stayed here in town, didn\u2019t he?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSo I believe.\u201d Adam poured out some more whiskey and topped up his companion\u2019s glass. \u00a0\u201cHe stayed for the trial anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI guess he did,\u201d Tompkins grinned. \u00a0\u201cHad a way with the ladies, did your little brother.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cDid he?\u201d Adam crooked his eyebrow and nodded, not liking to correct the man by saying that Joe still had a way with the ladies.\u00a0 He held the glass up to the light and surveyed it thoughtfully, before replacing it on the table.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSo what happened to you? \u00a0 Last I heard you were found wandering round the desert dragging a dead man behind you?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cReally? \u00a0 Where\u2019d you hear that interesting piece of information?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cFrom Dolly.\u201d Tompkins pointed over to a tall brunette who was draped over the shoulder of one of the miners, the one with the biggest cache of gold dust. \u201cShe worked in one of the saloons in Salt Flats when your family rode in with you.\u00a0 It was the talk of the district for quite some time.\u00a0 She got on pretty well with your kid brother as well, and he told her all about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam glanced over at the brunette and frowned.\u00a0 She looked the sort of girl that Joe would \u2018get on well with\u2019, but he doubted very much that Joe would have told her \u2018all about it\u2019. That was mainly due to the fact that neither Joe nor any other member of his family knew ‘all about it’ at all.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cDid she say who the dead man was?\u201d he asked Tompkins, leaning forward as though he were hanging on the man\u2019s every word.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cPeter Kane. \u00a0 She said it was Peter Kane, the crazy guy who had a mine about 15 miles south of Salt Flats.\u201d \u00a0Tompkins leaned forward now, and lowered his voice. \u00a0\u201cSome folks reckon that the place is haunted by his ghost.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIs that so?\u201d Adam\u2019s dark eyes darkened a little more, and he leaned back in his chair, surveying the talker opposite with wry amusement. \u00a0\u201cWhat makes them think that?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t ask.\u00a0 I don\u2019t believe it myself.\u201d \u00a0Tompkins stood up and moved aside, hesitated for a second, as he pondered over whether or not to take the bottle, then avarice won out, and he took the bottle and returned to the counter. \u00a0 The two cowboys had been joined by a third, and it was time to bring out another glass and chew the fat over with them.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ghosts! \u00a0 Adam bowed his head and grimaced. He picked up the glass of whiskey again, and nursed it between his fingers as he stared down into the amber liquid, his mind turning back to a time that had provided him with enough ghosts to last him the rest of his life.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam Cartwright raised the glass to his lips and gulped down half of the whiskey it contained. \u00a0 He was about to take another gulp, when a light touch on his shoulder made him turn, look up, and smile as the tall brunette moved to sit down on the chair next to him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou looked deep in thought, mister.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

She turned to the counter, signaled for another bottle, and then smiled at the handsome man, who was turning the half empty glass round and round between his fingers.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cFact is, mister, you look just about downright lonely to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cOh, I don\u2019t know about that, ma\u2019am,\u201d he replied. \u201cI just had a lot on my mind to think about.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tompkins bustled up and put down the bottle of whiskey.\u00a0 Adam noticed it was a full bottle again, and knew he was expected to pay for it.\u00a0 He pulled some coins from his pocket and tossed them onto the table.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cDolly, this is him! This is the guy who dragged Peter Kane outa the wilderness\u201d Tompkins gabbled, as he gathered up the money and slid the coins into his pocket. \u00a0 Adam wondered momentarily whether they would make the transition to the cash box.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

She paused in the act of pouring the whiskey into her glass and stared at him, with her ruby red lips opened like a blood red circle.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou brought in that crazy guy?\u201d she exclaimed, filling the glass overfull so that some trickled over her fingers. \u00a0\u201cThen you must be Little Joe\u2019s brother, the one who nearly died from getting lost out there in the wilderness?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI guess I must be,\u201d Adam said, reaching out for the bottle and filling his glass slowly.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou know,\u201d She leaned forwards conspiratorially, and her eyes narrowed. \u00a0\u201cThat guy was just plain evil.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cMy brother?\u201d Adam asked in a slow drawl with one eyebrow slightly raised.\u00a0 She shook her head and took a deep breath.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNot him.\u00a0 I meant the other guy.\u00a0 Kane.\u201d \u00a0She swallowed several gulps and then put the glass down with a rather heavy thud, obviously that was not the first taste of whiskey to have passed her lips that day. \u00a0\u201cHe came to where I worked in Salt Flats several times.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSo what makes you say he was evil?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cJust \u2013 wal \u2013 just the feel of him, you know?\u201d She looked at him, and the question was asked in such a way as to assume that he would know the answer, without having to say what it was.\u00a0 She played idly with the glass between her fingers before looking at him again. \u00a0 Her brown eyes were just a little misty, as though she had tears in them. \u00a0\u201cHe always talked to folk so nice and so polite. \u00a0 But the way he looked at me and the other girls \u2013 as though we were the scum of the earth. \u00a0 Yet he never talked to us, and didn\u2019t bother us at all.\u00a0 Just stood there, or sat at the table, all alone, watching us.\u00a0 When he was there\u2026\u201d she shuddered, \u201chis eyes would just follow us all the time until it made you want to scream.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam looked at the whiskey and drank it down slowly, then put the glass back onto the table. \u00a0 She continued to talk, and Tompkins returned to the counter and began to polish the glasses.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Dolly stood up, and leaned forward, prodding him in the shoulder with a long and very pointed fingernail, while with the other hand she scooped up the bottle of whiskey.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cY\u2019know something?\u201d she snapped with a voice as brittle as shattered glass. \u00a0\u201cYou ain\u2019t nuthin\u2019 like your brother.\u00a0 At least he always had the courtesy to listen to a gal\u201d and with a flounce she pushed away from the table, and got to her feet and teetered away.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam watched her go with a slight frown, and then looked over at Tompkins, who merely shrugged and grimaced.\u00a0 Pushing his chair back, Adam stood up and in a few paces caught up with her and took her elbow<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry, I forgot my manners and was rather rude.\u00a0 I\u2019m afraid that when you mentioned how evil you felt Peter Kane to be, I \u2013 well \u2013 it brought back some rather unpleasant memories.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

She looked at him thoughtfully, and her face softened and she smiled.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI can understand that, mister. \u00a0 I guess I was runnin\u2019 on a bit anyhows.\u00a0 No hard feelings?\u201d \u00a0She put out a hand, and her eyes twinkled when he took it and gripped it tightly. \u00a0\u201cSay, y\u2019know, you ain\u2019t bad lookin\u2019, mister, why don\u2019t you come and see me some other time.\u00a0 When you ain\u2019t so preoccupied p\u2019raps?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam smiled and nodded, touched the brim of his hat and excused himself, and walked out of the saloon into the Main Street of the town.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Chapter 2<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Eastgate had grown in the two years since he and Joe had been there. \u00a0 It showed its prosperity by the tall fronted buildings that had grown around the main square. \u00a0 There was a fine looking bank in the town that had not been quite so handsome previously, and the building that housed the\u00a0public baths was now adjacent to the\u00a0hotel.\u00a0 Adam remembered his visit to the public baths with his brother two years previously and the way he had lectured Joe about the logical aspects of the law. \u00a0 Joe had said something then about did everything have to be logical, and he had come up with some flippant comment about how no one could or would drive him to murder.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

His brow creased slightly in thought as he walked to where Sport was nodding in the sun.\u00a0 He untethered him, squinted around the street to locate the Livery Stable, and walked the horse across to where a large building declared itself to be Livery Stable and Blacksmith. \u00a0 \u00a0A large man, with sweat standing in beads upon his face, came to meet him as he entered.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat kin I do fer yer?\u201d Luke wiped his hands down a leather apron, which protected his clothing from the sparks from the metal that he hammered into shoes for the horses.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cTake care of my horse until tomorrow morning?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cOver there \u2013 first stall on the left.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam led Sport to the indicated stall, and began to unbuckle the cinch strap and slide off the saddle. \u00a0 He swung it upon the top rail and paused, as he realised the blacksmith was watching him with a curiosity not usually found in busy men in his line of business.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cAnything wrong?\u201d he asked, narrowing his dark eyes slightly to get a more detailed appraisal of the man.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNope.\u201d \u00a0The farrier walked up to Sport, ran a hand down the animal\u2019s withers, and nodded. \u00a0\u201cSeen this hoss before, ain\u2019t I?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t know,\u201d Adam replied, \u201cI don\u2019t think you were here the last time I was in Eastgate.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cTrue enough, I moved here about six months back.\u00a0 Jest a minute thar and I\u2019ll check.\u201d \u00a0He walked over to a rather shaky looking desk, where he pulled open a drawer and produced a thin leather bound book.\u00a0 Mumbling under his breath, and every so often licking his thumb and forefinger, he leafed through the book until a satisfied smile creased his face. \u00a0\u201cYep, here it is. \u00a0 See, I thought I\u2019d seen his brand before.\u201d \u00a0He showed Adam the entry. \u201cI like to make a note of the different brands and kind of horses that I bought or sold or shoed.\u00a0 This hoss I bought from two rough necks, and then this young feller with\u2026\u201d he paused and ran his finger down the rows of writing, \u201c\u2026a black and white hoss with the same brand as this \u2018un, came in and said it was his brother\u2019s.\u00a0 You must be the brother.\u201d \u00a0He fixed Adam with a stern glare. \u00a0 \u201cHe came back later, to collect the piebald.\u00a0 Nice hoss that \u2018un was, I had to fix his shoe.\u201d He pointed to the sketch of a horseshoe and the note written beside it, of the size and reason for shoeing Cochise. \u201cI like to keep records of things,\u201d he said once again, \u201cthen when I git to retire I\u2019ve some kind of memory to look back on.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam nodded, and continued to remove the harness and bridle.\u00a0 He stroked the animal\u2019s cheek and nose, and led him further into the stall where the feedbag was hanging from a hook in the corner.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSo what happened to yer?\u201d the farrier asked as he put the book back into the drawer. \u00a0\u201cThat young \u2018un was skeered to death that something was wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI kinda got lost for a while,\u201d Adam said quietly. \u201cDo you want me to pay now or later?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNow would be as good a time as any.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam was about to put some coins on the desk when there came the sound of hurried footsteps approaching the entrance of the stable, and a woman suddenly appeared with a wild-eyed and dishevelled appearance.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cLuke, Luke, oh Luke.\u201d \u00a0She ran to him and seemed to melt into his arms as he held her tightly, and Adam, unsure exactly what to do, stepped back and made an attempt to leave, only to find his way blocked by them.\u00a0 He could do nothing except step back into the stall and allow them some privacy, although he could hear the conversation well enough.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He stood beside Sport and stroked his horse affectionately, while the hurried conversation whispered about his ears.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cLuke, he\u2019s escaped.\u00a0 He\u2019s free again.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cBut, he can\u2019t be, sweetheart.\u00a0 He\u2019s still got three more years to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI just heard it from Sheriff Cutter.\u00a0 He got a message from the State Governor saying Obadiah had broken loose with three other men.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThen he\u2019s crazy. \u00a0 Darlin\u2019, he won\u2019t come here.\u00a0 Don\u2019t you be a-feared none, he won\u2019t come here.\u00a0 Why, fer heaven\u2019s sake, folk would be on the look out for him and he\u2019d be on a hidin\u2019 to nuthin\u2019 if he came here.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cLuke, of course he\u2019ll come here.\u00a0 Don\u2019t you see?\u00a0 He\u2019ll come for Danny.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNo, no.\u00a0 He won\u2019t risk his neck and do that, not with three other men with him. \u00a0 They won\u2019t want to come here and git hankered down with a kid.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhy would he break jail now, Luke? \u00a0 He killed two people.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThey said it was manslaughter, honey, and in the heat of the moment.\u00a0 Not like it were all planned an\u2019 all.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHe could have been free in another eighteen months if he had stayed quiet and jest got on with things, Luke.\u00a0 Why spoil it all fer himself now?\u00a0 It has to be so that he can get Danny.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHush now, yer jest worrying about nuthin\u2019.\u00a0 If he comes for Danny, then we\u2019ll jest reason it out with him. \u00a0 He was always a good friend of ours, Clara, and there ain\u2019t no reason for him to be any different now as he was then. \u00a0 He\u2019ll have Danny\u2019s best interests at heart, you\u2019ll see. \u00a0 Why else would he have asked us to care fer the boy?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Luke murmured more words of encouragement as he wiped away the tears from her cheeks, and after a few more minutes she left him, slightly calmer than when she had arrived.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Her husband, however, looked a far more worried man than he had been when Adam had first seen him.\u00a0 For a second or so he seemed to have forgotten that there was another person in the building and stood, deep in thought, by the desk. \u00a0 \u00a0Adam cleared his throat.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m, huh, sorry, I couldn\u2019t help but overhear,\u201d he said apologetically.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Luke shrugged and shook his head.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cMy wife, Clara. \u00a0 She\u2019s got herself all worked up because Obadiah Johnson broke loose from jail. \u00a0 Scared that he\u2019ll be back for the boy.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI see.\u201d Adam put the coins on the desk and looked at Luke thoughtfully. \u00a0\u201cI thought you had only moved here recently?\u00a0 Obadiah Johnson was jailed over two years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s right. \u00a0 Clara was related to his wife.\u00a0 Cousins they were, and when she was killed, she came here for the funeral.\u00a0 Then there was the trial, of course. \u00a0 We\u2019d always got on well with Obadiah, and he asked Clara if she and I would care for the boy until he came out of jail.\u00a0 Danny\u2019s a good boy, so she brought him back with her to Salt Flats. \u00a0 But then business got a mite tougher there, and it was a lonely place for the boy who was used to a town and kids an\u2019 such. We decided to move back here, so that Danny could be with his old friends and be settled for when his Pa came out of jail. \u00a0 Obadiah was a good hearted man, he never would have murdered anyone deliberately.\u201d \u00a0Luke sighed and shook his head. \u00a0\u201cSure put the cat among the pigeons now, thet\u2019s fer sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam nodded and picked up his saddlebags, which he swung over his shoulder and, after a muttered leave taking, he made his way to the main street and stepped out into the full glare of the afternoon sun.\u00a0 After a quick glance up and down the street, he made his way to the hotel.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cOne single room?\u00a0 Yes, sir.\u00a0 Here\u2019s your key.\u00a0 Room sixteen.\u201d \u00a0The little man behind the counter handed over the key, and watched the tall dark man in the black clothes sign his name. \u00a0\u201cOh, Cartwright huh?\u00a0 Had another Cartwright here some years back.\u00a0 Wouldn\u2019t be the same one, would it?\u201d He gave Adam another glance over. \u201cNo, can\u2019t recall the face.\u00a0 Got a good memory for names though.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam said nothing, but gave the clerk a piercing look with his dark eyes and turned towards the stairs. \u00a0 Joseph had obviously made quite an impression on the town during his stay there, and with a sigh he began to mount the stairs to Room sixteen.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Chapter 3<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It was neat, clean and reasonably large. \u00a0 He tossed the saddlebags down onto a chair and walked over to the window.\u00a0 The sun streamed into the room, and he raised a hand to pull down the blind to provide some shade. Glancing through the window before doing so he glanced out and recognised the blacksmith\u2019s wife, Clara, as she crossed the road walking hand in hand with a good-looking boy of about ten years of age.\u00a0 Adam gave them both a cursory look, before bringing down the blind and plunging the room into semi-darkness.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He unbuckled his gun belt and hung it on the bedpost, so that the gun handle was close enough for him to reach in a hurry.\u00a0 He sat on the bed, yawned like only an exhausted man can, and then turned and sank into the mattress.\u00a0 He folded his arms behind his head and surveyed the shadows that lingered in the room, and then looked up at the streaks of light that filtered through the gaps in the blind before sleep conquered him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam lay sprawled out upon the bed. \u00a0 He lay on his back with his arms flung to either side of him. \u00a0 \u00a0The warmth of the room, the slow drift of a breeze through the window which merely touched the blind, the buzz of two flies as they waltzed around each other in a speck of warm sunshine, all combined to send the exhausted man into a deep, dreamless sleep.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Luke Morgan checked Sport\u2019s shoes and then resumed his business. \u00a0 The rise and fall of his hammer upon the anvil was somewhat muffled by the closed doors of his stables, so that he failed to notice the three men that rode slowly into town.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Clara Morgan and Danny stood together at the counter of the Eastgate Bank.\u00a0 It had taken a while to reach the counter, due to Mr. Dodgeson taking his time over counting the money he had been given by the clerk. \u00a0 He was leaving the bank when a new customer walked in, knocking the old man to one side and ignoring the look of reproach that was hurled at his back.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In fact, the new customer ignored the whole queue.\u00a0 He strode to the counter, and then turned to face the townspeople assembled there. \u00a0 No one complained.\u00a0 They just stepped back with a gasp of startled horror.\u00a0 The gun in his hand was sufficient inducement for one and all to group together and huddle back against the wall. \u00a0 \u00a0Another man had entered now, and he held a gun on them, at the same time shouting to the first man to hurry up.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cGet these filled,\u201d a thick voice spat the command at the clerk, who grabbed at the bag, and began to pull out the drawers of money from the counter and throw the wads of dollars into the sack. \u00a0\u201cNow the safe.\u201d \u00a0Another empty bag was thrown at the other clerk who, white faced and shaking, hurried to open the safe door.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cGit a move on, Larry,\u201d a thin man standing by the door called out, whilst he leaned against the doorframe in an attempt to appear as a casual townsman.\u00a0 He had his arms folded across his chest, but the gun in his left hand was pointed in the direction of the huddle of customers.\u00a0 Even if he were not aiming at anyone in particular they could see that someone would be injured, were he to be alarmed enough to use it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cFrank, git to them \u2013 see what they\u2019ve got \u2013 we want to make a clean sweep before leaving here,\u201d the man referred to as Larry suggested to the man who had followed behind him only minutes earlier.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Frank pulled a bag from his jacket pocket and approached the queue.\u00a0 He began to systematically pull off the rings from the women\u2019s fingers, and fumble in jacket pockets to pull out wallets and purses from the men.\u00a0 One by one the people began to empty their pockets and throw their belongings into the now bulging sack.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Clara clenched her fist in desperation as he approached her.\u00a0 He grabbed the purse from her right hand, but seeing her efforts to hide her left hand behind her, he reached out and grabbed at her wrist and pulled her hand forwards.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cPlease, not my wedding ring,\u201d she implored, struggling to free her hand in a valiant but foolhardy attempt to save her precious ring.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cLeave her alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhatta \u2013 git off\u2019n me ya young hellion.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Danny was slim but strong, and his grip on Frank\u2019s arm was powerful enough to send the bank robber staggering back in an attempt to keep hold of his gun and not release the bag that contained his \u2018loot\u2019. \u00a0 \u00a0His yell was sufficient to bring him to the attention of the man at the door, who stepped inside the bank and fired off a shot.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The bank clerks suddenly seemed galvanised to move at an even more frantic speed, stuffing money and bonds into the bags with an alacrity that did them credit. \u00a0 \u00a0There were stifled screams from the women in the crowd, and one man yelled out an oath that was silenced with a groan, as Jerry Coutts\u2019 pistol butt was brought heavily down upon his skull. \u00a0 Clara gave a sobbing plea for the boy to be left alone, as Frank stepped forwards and grabbed the boy by the hair. \u00a0 Danny yelled and struggled, but against two men he was powerless.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cPlease\u2026\u201d Clara cried in a heartfelt sob, but Frank raised his arm in a threat to silence her, and she shrank back against the wall.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cDanny Johnson,\u201d Coutts said, looking at Frank in a way that Clara would eventually realise to be particularly significant.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cLeave me alone.\u201d Dan yelled, and swung a kick at their shins.\u00a0 He heard Clara\u2019s scream before the gun came crashing down upon his skull. \u00a0 As the blow fell she threw herself forward to prevent its descent, only to be flung with such force against the wall that it knocked the breathe from her body, and she fell unconscious upon the floor.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cBring him with us,\u201d Jerry Coutts said, indicating the boy who was now slumped in a huddle on the floor close to Clara.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cAre you sure we have to be lumbered with him?\u201d Frank whispered but seeing the determination in Jerry\u2019s eyes, he nodded and dragged the boy up, and with a slight struggle succeeded in hauling the boy over his shoulder.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Still no one moved. \u00a0 Larry Parks grabbed the last bundle of money and forced it into the bag, then turned and made for the door.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Main Street was bathed in sunlight, and nothing had changed despite the gunshot that had rung out earlier.\u00a0 The sound of Luke\u2019s hammer falling upon the anvil still tolled rhythmically like a church bell. \u00a0 \u00a0The mute sounds of people talking drifted from the stores and street walks. \u00a0 \u00a0The three men, one of them bearing the boy over his back, walked hurriedly from the bank, mounted their horses, and had started their gallop away from the hitching rail when the first alarm went off.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

David Lowe was the one to send off the alarm.\u00a0 He and his fellow bank clerk had taken one look at each other as the robbers left, and he, having the longer legs, had reached the door first. \u00a0 \u00a0He yelled as loudly as he could and fired off a shot from a gun that had been concealed under the counter, but which they had been too scared to use during the robbery. \u00a0 \u00a0For some reason David Lowe assumed that bank robbers stopped using guns once they were on their horses heading out of town. \u00a0 He was wrong.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Pandemonium was released with the speed of light. \u00a0 From peace and accord came a swift transition to chaos and terror. \u00a0 Gunshots rang out from all directions. \u00a0 A dog began to bark, adding his own voice to the cacophony of sound. \u00a0 \u00a0Women shrieked and men yelled.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

David Lowe bled to death in the doorway of the bank, his head resting in the lap of old Mrs. Butler, who wept copious tears that cascaded down and dripped upon his face. \u00a0 \u00a0 The sheriff, who had been slumbering under a hot towel in the local barbershop, was firing off shots in all directions, hoping that one would find the correct target.\u00a0 The dog ceased barking, his voice now a whine and yelp as a bullet grazed his back leg and he ran, his injured leg held high from the ground, to hide under the boards of the sidewalk.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam Cartwright stirred, turned upon his side and slowly opened his eyes.\u00a0 He blinked, and as alarm sent adrenalin pumping through his body, he rolled from the bed, grabbed his gun from its holster and headed for the window.\u00a0 He released the blind that rolled up so fast it made him jump. \u00a0 Then he leaned forwards, cautiously, his gun in his hand and ready for use.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He could see within seconds what had happened. \u00a0 His eyes took in the scene of the young man dying and being comforted by the old woman.\u00a0 The sheriff and half a dozen men running in each other\u2019s way, firing off shots that could possibly cause more danger to the inhabitants of the town than the robbers themselves.\u00a0 He saw the tail end of the three horses, as they rounded the corner and disappeared from sight. \u00a0 People were running from the stores and shops.\u00a0 He saw Luke Morgan striding from his farrier\u2019s shop, rifle in one hand and hammer in the other.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He relaxed. \u00a0 He returned to the bed and slipped the gun into the holster and lay down.\u00a0 This was not his town. \u00a0 Eastgate was facing a problem all western towns had to face some time or another.\u00a0 He rubbed his face and then yawned again. \u00a0 He closed his eyes.\u00a0 This would, he mused, test the mettle of the town\u2019s sheriff.\u00a0 If it had been Roy, then it would have been a different story.\u00a0 He slipped easily back into sleep, with the bedroom now bathed in golden sunlight and the two flies now partying with several blue bottles in the corner of the window frame.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Chapter 4<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Clara Morgan opened her eyes to find herself looking up at her husband.\u00a0 The anxiety that had been etched on his face ebbed away like the creases ironed from fragile tissue paper.\u00a0 He kissed her brow, and stroked her hair, and held her close.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re alive.\u00a0 Thank God, for a moment I thought you were taken from me,\u201d he whispered.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cDanny?\u201d the word slipped from her lips in a gasp, and her eyes widened in terror. \u00a0\u201cWhere is he?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A woman, who had been receiving some impromptu treatment from the doctor for shock, approached them and put a hand on Luke\u2019s shoulder.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThey took him.\u00a0 Don\u2019t you remember, Clara, they said his name and they took him.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou mean that they knew him?\u201d \u00a0Luke asked, his anxious eyes resting first upon his wife\u2019s face, and then upon the kindly features of Mrs. Groschen.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cOne of them seemed to know him,\u201d the elderly woman replied. \u00a0\u201cThe other man, the one they called Frank, didn\u2019t want to take him but they bundled him out of here anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cOh Luke, Luke ….\u201d \u00a0She grabbed at his arm. \u00a0\u201cI tried to stop them from hurting him, I tried but they were too strong.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThe sheriff\u2019s rounding up a posse, my love.\u00a0 I\u2019m going with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNo, Luke.\u201d Her large eyes looked up at him in bleak despair.\u00a0 Oh, to be sure he was an ungainly man, not handsome, nor slim and sleek, he was overweight and he smelled of the fire and the horse sweat, but he was her man, and she knew him.\u00a0 She knew the kindness in him, and the honesty, and the gentle way he had to caring for Danny and herself. \u00a0 He loved her with an intensity that engendered a tender love from her in return. \u00a0 The fear of losing him now gripped her as so real that her heart shook within her.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI have to go, honey,\u201d he whispered, stroking away a tear from her cheek and releasing her hand from his arm. \u201cNot just for Danny\u2019s sake, but for that lad\u2019s too.\u201d \u00a0He turned his head to bring her attention to the young man who lay dead at the door. \u00a0\u201cI\u2019ll bring him home safely, I promise you.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

She said nothing more.\u00a0 He helped her to her feet, and made sure that she was steady enough to walk. \u00a0 With reassurances that he would be home as soon as they had caught the men, and that Danny would be with him, he walked away. \u00a0 Outside, the deputy was striking the big metal triangle with the steel rod in order to assemble as many men for the posse as possible.\u00a0 It clanged loudly and consistently for several minutes. \u00a0 As the noise ebbed away, so the sheriff and the townsmen galloped out of the town.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The racket of the alarm clanged through Adam\u2019s mind and he woke up, shook his head, and sat up.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cComing, Pa,\u201d he mumbled, his eyes still shut tight, and swaying slightly on the edge of the bed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He yawned and opened his eyes, as he looked around at unfamiliar surroundings. \u00a0 So, it wasn\u2019t Pa sounding out the alarm after all. \u00a0 Had he been dreaming again? \u00a0 He yawned once more, and stood up and stretched so high that his shirt slipped its moorings and exposed an expanse of dark flesh.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He walked slowly to the window, tucking the shirt back into his pants as he did so. \u00a0 He watched as some men carried away the inert body of the young man from the bank, and people left the building and walked their separate ways. \u00a0 An elderly lady leaned upon the arm of a younger man, weeping into her handkerchief.\u00a0 A younger woman walked in the opposite direction, alone, with her head bowed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He followed her with his eyes and remembered where he had seen her before, and wondered where the boy had gone. \u00a0 He sighed, and turned back to the bed and picked up his gun belt. \u00a0 Had it only been minutes since he had fallen asleep? \u00a0 He could vaguely recall the bank raid being played out in his mind. \u00a0 It had all seemed part of a dream.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Chapter 5<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Clara Morgan opened the door to her home and closed it with a slow motion.\u00a0 She was too sad and too anxious to move with any speed.\u00a0 Weariness consumed her as she walked towards the chair at the table and sunk down upon it, and then bent her head so that her face was buried in her hands as she wept.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

For some seconds she sat there, with only the ticking of the clock as company to the sounds of her weeping. \u00a0 Then another sound came to her ears and she froze.\u00a0 She lifted her head and turned towards the door. \u00a0 The light tapping as the handle turned brought a sudden hope to her heart, and she ran forwards with the word \u2018Danny\u2019 on her lips.\u00a0 Even before her hand had touched the door however, it opened.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you doing here?\u201d \u00a0Hope died, and in despair she stepped back, a hand clutched at her skirts, the other raised to her lips to hold back the sob that caught at her throat.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The tall man at the door way put a finger to his lips for silence. \u00a0 Dipping his head slightly so as to avoid the doorframe, he stepped into the room and with a very gentle movement pushed the door shut. \u00a0 Then he stepped closer to Clara, took off his hat and forced a smile to his lips.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHello, Clara,\u201d he said very softly.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He was a handsome man. \u00a0 Tall, slim in build, with dark hair that waved back from a high brow.\u00a0 His blue eyes were large and framed by thick dark lashes and his nose was high bridged. \u00a0 The mouth was formed well and when his lips were parted to expose his teeth, they were seen to be very white and even. \u00a0 A strong jaw line, which was set off by a cleft chin, made the handsome face appear to be that of a strong and resolute character.\u00a0 He held out a hand towards her, a hand that was well shaped with a broad palm and long fingers. \u00a0 An expression of misery fell across his features as she shrank back from him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cClara?\u00a0 What\u2019s wrong?\u00a0 I thought you\u2019d be pleased to see me after all this time?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cPleased to see you?\u201d her voice came as barely a whisper. \u00a0\u201cHow can you say that, Johnny? \u00a0 You only had another eighteen months to go before being a free man, and now you\u2019ve broken jail you\u2019ll be forever looking over your shoulder.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 How could you be so stupid?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He smiled gently and stepped closer to her, and she, prevented from moving any further due to the table, was forced to remain where she was, although she held out a hand to stop him getting too near.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSo? You do still worry about me then?\u201d his voice was soft, gentle and his mouth smiled whilst his eyes were wary as they watched her face.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cOf course I worry about you.\u00a0 You\u2019re Danny\u2019s father, aren\u2019t you?\u00a0 I wanted him to \u2013 to be able to know he was safe when he went home to you. \u00a0 Now I can\u2019t promise him that anymore.\u00a0 Why didn\u2019t you stop and think of him, Johnny? \u00a0 If you had, for a moment at least, perhaps you would have had some sense and stayed where you were!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He frowned and chewed his bottom lip, and then bowed his head as though considering more carefully the things she had said. \u00a0 Then he glanced up at her and nodded slowly,<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cMay I sit down?\u201d He pulled out a chair and sat before she had answered either one way or the other.\u00a0 With a deep sigh he buried his face in his hands, and stayed silent for a moment or two before asking her for something hot to drink. \u201cI\u2019ve been riding for days.\u00a0 Trying to get some distance between them and me.\u00a0 I had to get here before them.\u201d \u00a0He looked up at her and she stared at him, her eyes round in a pale mask of horror. \u201cYou\u2019ve been crying?\u00a0 You were crying when I came here?\u00a0 Where\u2019s Danny?\u201d He pushed the chair back, and it toppled with a resounding thud onto the floor. \u201cWhere\u2019s Danny?\u201d He reached out and grabbed at her, held her tightly by the arms and searched her face. \u201cHave they got here already then?\u00a0 Am I too late?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you mean, Johnny?\u00a0 What \u2013 who are you talking about?\u201d she whispered, while her mind took her back just an hour in time, to when she last saw the little boy being carried out from the bank.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cJust tell me where Danny is so that I know he\u2019s safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re frightening me.\u00a0 Let me go, Obadiah, let me go now.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He relaxed his hold on her and she stepped back and away from his reach. \u00a0 Like two antagonists in a ring, they paused and surveyed one another, wary and cautious. \u00a0 She was the first to move, stepping towards the stove and placing the coffee pot on a ring, thinking over what he had said and the implications.\u00a0 Then she turned to face him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a bank robbery just over an hour ago.\u00a0 The bank teller was killed, shot.\u00a0 One of the men seemed to know Danny, and took him with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou didn\u2019t do anything to stop them?\u201d \u00a0It was an accusation that stabbed her to the heart.\u00a0 She bowed her head and burst into tears, which prompted him to step closer to her and once again take hold of her by the arms, but this time, more gently.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThey hurt me, and he stepped up and tried to stop them. One of the men said his name and everything was so hazy, I think I had fainted, Johnny, I can\u2019t remember, except that they took him with them,\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cDo you know who they were?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cOne man was called Larry – I can\u2019t remember – I can\u2019t\u2026\u201d \u00a0She turned away from him and walked to the table, slowly setting herself down onto one of the chairs. \u00a0\u201cThere were three of them, and they robbed the bank and took our jewelry and wallets, and Danny tried to stop them taking mine. \u00a0 I don\u2019t know anymore than that.\u00a0 Oh, Johnny, I\u2019m so sorry, I should have taken more care of him for you, but\u2026\u201d she brushed away tears from her cheeks and looked at him, \u201c\u2026I had him with me because I was afraid that you would come and take him away from us.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t want you to go to the school and take him, so I kept him home with me.\u00a0 We went to the bank together.\u201d \u00a0Again the tears flowed, and as she buried her face in her hands, the tears dripped through her fingers onto the table.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He stared at her.\u00a0 He watched the tears drip slowly onto the table and form miniscule pools.\u00a0 He let her words sink into his brain, before he too had to sit down opposite her at the table.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou thought I would steal my own son away from you?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I heard that you had broken jail, I knew you would come for him.\u201d She looked up at him, her long lashes spiked by her tears. \u201cAnd you did, didn\u2019t you?\u00a0 That\u2019s why you\u2019re here.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNot to steal him away, Clara.\u00a0 No, no \u2013 I wouldn\u2019t have done that to you and Luke. \u00a0 I knew\u2026\u201d he paused, and stopped himself from saying the words because they were no longer true.\u00a0 He could not assure her that he had known Danny would be safe with them, when it had been proven that he had not. \u00a0\u201cI knew you would do the best you could for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cLuke\u2019s with the posse.\u00a0 They\u2019ve gone after them.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He looked at her thoughtfully, and then shook his head. \u00a0\u201cThey won\u2019t find them. \u00a0 Coutts was here before, he knows this territory inside out\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSo does Luke.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNo, not like Coutts.\u201d Obadiah Johnson stood up and went to the stove.\u00a0 He began to pour out the coffee as he considered what his next course of action could be, then he took the cups to the table and set them down, before resuming his seat. \u201cClara, I had to go with them.\u00a0 When I knew what they wanted I had no choice.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThere are always choices, Johnny,\u201d she said softly. \u201cThe right one or the wrong one\u2026you could have \u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t know, you weren\u2019t there.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

They were silent for a while, as each struggled to get their thoughts in some semblance of order.\u00a0 Then he sighed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cClara, have you ever heard of a man called Peter Kane?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWell, he was a strange kind of a man.\u00a0 Kept himself to himself mostly. \u00a0 He had a mine about seventeen miles east of the Lucky Seven.\u00a0 Not many people knew its location, and I guess not many ever got to meet Kane, but rumours went around that there was some kind of crazy hermit out there with a mine full of gold. \u00a0 \u00a0Coutts met him once, in Salt Flats.\u00a0 Well, Coutts and I shared a cell and he got to talking about it.\u00a0 Said Kane was a man who made the hairs at the back of your neck stand on end.\u00a0 Scared the life out of Coutts.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat has this got to do with Danny?\u201d she whispered.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He glanced at her sharply and frowned, then took a deep breath.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThing is, Kane told them that he had gold in that mine, it would be another Comstock, so he said.\u00a0 He was the kind of man you\u2019d believe too.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYes, but\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThen they heard that he was dead. \u00a0 Coutts told \u2018em I knew the location of the mine and could lead them to it.\u00a0 But I said no, I had to work out my sentence. \u00a0 Coutts said that if they didn\u2019t get me to help them voluntarily they would make me lead \u2018em to the mine.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou mean, they threatened to take Danny, just so that you would lead them to a mine?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNot just any mine, Clara. \u00a0 Look, I met Kane several times.\u00a0 He showed me some gold ore that was the purest I\u2019d ever seen.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSo you agreed to leave with them?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI had no choice in the end.\u00a0 I was on a work party with them, and chained to Larry, so when they made their escape I was an unwilling, but captive, victim.\u00a0 I had no chance -.\u201d his voice faded then he looked at her and forced her to look into his eyes, as though that would compel her to believe him. \u201cThen later, when they got to talking about things again, I thought if I could just get a horse and reach town before them, I could grab Danny and get away someplace.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cLuke would never have let you.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWell, Luke isn\u2019t here, and Danny\u2019s gone too,\u201d he replied quietly.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A sharp staccato knock on the door stopped them from talking further and Clara froze, looking at him in horror.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cJust act naturally, don\u2019t arouse suspicion,\u201d he whispered, retreating more into the shadows of the room.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

She waited until it was quite obvious no one could see him from the doorway, and then opened it very cautiously and slowly.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

…………………………..<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cExcuse me, ma\u2019am.\u201d Adam Cartwright slipped off his hat and held it loosely in his hand as he looked at her with a smile. \u00a0 His sharp eyes were quick to detect the fact that the woman had been crying, although she held back into the shadows. \u00a0 He took a deep breath. \u00a0\u201cI\u2019m Adam Cartwright from the Ponderosa, and I left my horse at your husband\u2019s stables.\u201d \u00a0He paused and looked at her again. \u201cAre you all right, ma\u2019am?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYes, yes, I\u2019m all right,\u201d she whispered.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I agreed to leave the horse there overnight but decided to leave now.\u00a0 I just wanted to let him know, so that he wouldn\u2019t think the animal had been stolen.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI see.\u00a0 Thank you.\u201d She began to close the door and then paused. \u201cDo you need a refund of money?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNo, that was not the point of my calling, I just wanted to make sure he would know I had taken the horse.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWell, he isn\u2019t here just now, but I will tell him.\u00a0 Thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

She began to close the door, but was prevented from doing so when he placed a hand against it, and she looked up, frightened at the thought that he was about to force an entry.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry, ma\u2019am, and you can tell me to mind my own business should you so wish, but I couldn\u2019t help noticing that something was upsetting you.\u00a0 Are you sure that there isn\u2019t anything I can do for you?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

She looked up at him then and noticed the kindness in the stern features. She could see the warmth in the dark eyes that lingered over her face, and she raised a hand to her eyes to wipe away the last traces of tears.\u00a0 She forced a smile.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m all right, thank you for asking.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam nodded and turned away.\u00a0 Well, there was no point in foisting himself upon her privacy.\u00a0 He was the stranger in town, so why should she trust him?\u00a0 He wondered if anyone else knew that there was a black horse steaming from sweat caused by a hard ride, hobbled at the back of the house. \u00a0 That meant she was not alone in the house and he wondered, momentarily, whether or not the man she feared returning to town, was actually already present.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He mounted Sport and turned the big horse out of town. \u00a0 Some towns had the power to hold a person for a day or two, but not this one.\u00a0 A few hours had been just about all he could take of Eastgate, and most of that time he had spent sleeping.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He edged Sport off the track, as a posse of men rode towards him and passed him by.\u00a0 The sheriff and his men had returned to town, and from the look of it, they had returned empty handed and with a few casualties. \u00a0 He shrugged, well, it was not his town, the sheriff was not Roy Coffee and it seemed to him that they had not spent that much time out there to warrant their return so soon. \u00a0 However, he urged Sport forwards and into a quick gallop, he needed to get on as he had ghosts of his own to exorcise.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

………………………………..<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Luke Morgan pushed open the door of his home with a weariness that comes from either physical exhaustion or mental distress. \u00a0 \u00a0Slowly he put the rifle down in the corner, and then glanced up to find his wife hurrying towards him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cDid you\u2026?\u201d the question hung half asked in the air, and she swallowed the tears and blinked them back as she took hold of his hand. \u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWell, we had to turn back is what happened,\u201d he replied glumly, and he tossed his hat along with the rifle. \u00a0 \u201cThey knew we\u2019d be along after them.\u00a0 Shot down Deputy Lawson and winged young Mike Pitts almost as soon as we got on their trail. \u00a0 Then they produced their ace card\u2026..\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cDanny?\u201d she whispered.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYeah.\u00a0 Danny.\u201d He put his arm around her shoulders and dropped a kiss upon her head. \u201cWe had no choice but to turn back, or they would have used the boy as a shield. \u00a0 Mebbe even killed him. \u00a0 Couldn\u2019t afford to take that risk.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you going to do?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to go after them, of course.\u00a0 No one\u2019s going to take my boy from me and use him like some hostage.\u00a0 Who do they think they are?\u00a0 Oh\u2026\u201d his voice trailed away as he suddenly became aware of the other person in the room, and he looked quizzically at his wife then at Obadiah Johnson. \u201cI wondered when you would turn up,\u201d he said quietly, and with a sigh he released his wife, stepped forward, and extended his hand. \u201cYou\u2019re a long way from where you should be,\u201d he murmured as he shook Johnson\u2019s hand.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhere should a man be, Luke? \u00a0 Ain\u2019t it with his son?\u201d Obadiah replied slowly.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNot when he has a prison sentence to finish.\u201d \u00a0Luke pulled out a chair and frowned, looking rather like a bad tempered bull. \u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t take Johnson long to explain to Luke what had happened at the prison, and why he was now sitting there in their cabin. \u00a0 He shifted nervously in his chair, knowing that his fate now lay in the big strong hands of the blacksmith, who was so honest in his dealings that harbouring a criminal, a runaway from justice, was totally out of countenance with him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

For some seconds there was silence in the room, and Clara could feel her heart beating faster and faster beneath her ribs. \u00a0 Eventually Luke looked at her, then he reached out to take her hand in his and draw her nearer to him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWe promised to take good care of your boy, Johnny,\u201d he said quietly. \u201cWe failed in doing that, although the situation was beyond our control. \u00a0 \u00a0If you think you know where they may have taken him, perhaps we can get him back.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWe?\u201d Johnson said quietly, with a note of hope in his voice.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou and I.\u201d Luke\u2019s dark features darkened in the shadows of the room and he frowned again. \u201cYou think they\u2019ll still want to get to Kane\u2019s mine?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cMmmm.\u00a0 So where would they expect to meet you?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know\u2026.possibly at Signal Rock.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSignal Rock?\u00a0 Well, if we leave within the hour, we should be there before nightfall. \u00a0 Clara, make us something to eat, dear, while we talk.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Johnson put out a hand and grasped hold of Luke\u2019s gratefully, for a second his voice failed him, but when he spoke it was husky with emotion.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t thank you enough, Luke.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m doing this for Danny, and for Sarah, your wife,\u201d Luke replied, looking at Johnson with near black eyes. \u201cWe\u2019ve come to care for the boy, Johnny, and I\u2019d rather die than break our promise and see any harm come to him.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Johnson nodded and clasped his hands tightly together, and rested them on the table.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou do still believe me, don\u2019t you? That I never murdered them?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThe jury saw fit to say it was not wilful murder, and the Judge gave you a lenient sentence.\u00a0 As for me, who am I to judge any man.\u00a0 If you say it was not murder, then so be it.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI want you to believe me,\u201d Obadiah pleaded. \u201cYou sound as though you don\u2019t really believe me.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI believed you then, when Clara told me about it. \u00a0 I have no reason to doubt you now. \u00a0 If all goes well, and we can find Danny and bring him home safely, you know that you will have to go back and serve your sentence, don\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t really know what you\u2019re asking,\u201d Johnson replied with his voice trembling. \u201cIt\u2019s like a pit from hell there.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cBut if you serve your sentence,\u201d Clara said gently, placing her hand upon his arm, \u201cyou\u2019ll be free to live your life with a clean conscience.\u00a0 Johnny, you took two people\u2019s lives, and\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI know.\u201d He nodded acquiesance. \u201cI know, Clara.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cFirst things first, we have to think of how to get Danny back safely. \u00a0 We\u2019ll get fresh horses.\u00a0 Mine\u2019s just about tuckered out.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cOh, that reminds me.\u201d Clara turned from her meal preparation at the stove. \u201cA man came just before you came home, Luke.\u00a0 He said to tell you that he had taken his horse and was leaving.\u00a0 He had told you he was going to collect him tomorrow but changed his mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWho was it?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cAdam Cartwright, from the Ponderosa.\u201d She picked up some plates and carried them carefully to the table. \u201cHe didn\u2019t want a refund.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s got a good horse there,\u201d Luke said quietly, and then returned to the subject previously under discussion. \u201cWhen do you plan to meet up with these friends of yours, Obadiah?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The younger man clasped his hands together in a gesture of despair, he could feel the sweat on the palms and steadied them by a determined effort of will. \u00a0 He looked up at the dark eyes of the blacksmith and took a deep breath.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cFirstly, they ain\u2019t friends of mine and secondly, as soon as possible.\u00a0 I want Danny home and out of their hands.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t you think we want that too?\u201d Clara cried, her voice strained with the effort to keep calm. \u00a0\u201cIf anything has happened to him I\u2019ll never forgive myself.\u201d She turned away and hurried from the room.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Her husband paused, looked at Johnson, and then followed his wife into the other room, where he took her into his arms and held her tight. \u00a0 Alone, Johnson buried his face in his hands and saw only the blackness of despair ahead of him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Chapter 6<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Signal Rock was black against the beauty of a surprisingly magnificent sunset. \u00a0 The young man on the large chestnut horse steered the animal between the rocks and towards his planned camping ground, without much thought to the action.\u00a0 He rode by instinct, registering obstacles and such with one part of his mind, the other part was engaged in thinking. \u00a0 Sometimes he wished he could turn off the thinking process altogether as it was becoming increasingly exhausting.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He dragged his mind from where it had wandered and looked about him, as he felt the slight tug on the reins and realised that Sport had come to a full stop. \u00a0 He inhaled deeply. \u00a0 A slight frown furrowed his brow, as along with the fresh evening air came the drifting aroma of smoke, and food being cooked. \u00a0 \u00a0He allowed a slight exclamation of annoyance escape his lips, as he came to the conclusion that others had decided that Signal Rock was a good place to camp, and that he had either to abandon the idea and ride on, or test out the hospitality of the other travellers.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He stroked Sport\u2019s sleek neck and considered the situation seriously. \u00a0 Some travellers were more than hospitable, and glad to have a stranger enter their camp.\u00a0 It meant pleasant conversation, and a catching up of news that could be passed on to others at another time. \u00a0 But there were others whereby caution was necessary.\u00a0 Adam Cartwright urged Sport on to a slow walk, and gingerly approached the camp.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

From a vantage point behind some shrubs, he was able to look upon the camp and saw three men. \u00a0 Two were in deep conversation, the other was busy checking on the food. \u00a0 A coffee pot was spitting hot water onto the stones by the fire, fat dripped into the flames from the rabbit incinerating above them.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He was in the process of inching forwards when there came a rustling in the shrub and as he turned, his hand inches from the handle of his gun, someone scampered through the shadows and towards him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He could see from the corner of his eye movement in the camp, as the three men seemed to separate, moving towards the point where the figure had emerged. \u00a0 At the same time a hand grabbed at his booted foot, and he looked down into the pale face of a young boy<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHelp me\u2026\u201d the child gasped. \u201cGit me outta here, please.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He acted instinctively, extended his hand and took the boy\u2019s in his own, and hauled him upwards.\u00a0 It was a matter of seconds to manoeuvre the child into the saddle and turn Sport round.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cStop right there.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The voice was hard and cold. \u00a0 \u00a0The barrel of the rifle pointed at them was even harder, colder. \u00a0 The moonlight gleamed upon it and made it shimmer silver. \u00a0 He put out a hand to reassure the boy, and turned Sport in another direction, only to be confronted by yet another rifle. \u00a0 Instinct warned him that the third man would be right behind him now, and any move to get away would be futile.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cPut the boy down.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Gently he put a hand upon the boy\u2019s arm, to reassure him of his desire to help.\u00a0 At the same time, the boy clasped at Adam\u2019s hand and gripped so tightly that the man felt the boy\u2019s nails dig into his flesh.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI said, put the boy down.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sport was a powerful creature and, as his legs pumped into action in obedience to his master\u2019s command, Adam held the boy closer to his body, as though to protect him from any repercussions to his actions. \u00a0 The horse seemed to mount the air, hover and then land gracefully some distance from Larry Parks. \u00a0 \u00a0Without any hesitation, Sport twisted his body to a 45 degree angle and then leapt forwards. \u00a0 \u00a0The muscles of his sleek and magnificently honed body moved in perfect synchronization, and for an instant of time it seemed as though horse, man and boy would be beyond the reach of any of the men.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But a bullet moves faster. \u00a0 \u00a0 Adam heard the crack of the rifle and his brain registered the fact that, when he heard the sound, the bullet was already covering half the distance between them and himself.\u00a0 He bent low, his head brushing against that of the child, who squeezed himself against the man\u2019s body and felt the breath crushed out of his lungs.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sport lunged to the left, and faltered. \u00a0 The bullet had burned a welt across his hide that had both stung and startled the creature, and with a whinny of protest he misjudged his footing. \u00a0 \u00a0Adam heard the boy cry out as he, himself, was sent somersaulting over Sport\u2019s head and then plummeting to the ground.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A well-built man would find it impossible not to land without some damage to himself. \u00a0 \u00a0He fell upon dry rock strewn soil that, for him, was a blessing. \u00a0 Even so, the breath was knocked out of his body. He heard a crunching sound that seemed to fill his ears.\u00a0 Then he was only aware of consciousness ebbing away, and all the sounds around him seeming to disappear down into a long tunnel.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIs he dead?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Larry Parks stood looking down at the man, he knelt and touched Adam\u2019s neck, and felt the pulse beat against his fingers.\u00a0 He looked up and shook his head.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cCheck out who he is,\u201d Frank yelled, as he struggled to keep the boy under control. \u00a0 \u201cCould be he\u2019s the law around here. \u00a0 Git still, doggone your ornery hide, boy, or I\u2019ll whip you so good you won\u2019t have a hide left.\u201d He shook Danny severely for good measure.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Larry Parks roughly manhandled Adam from side to side as he rifled through his pockets, and finally stood up with the wounded man\u2019s wallet in his possession.\u00a0 He opened it as he walked towards his brother and cousin.\u00a0 The sky was drawing to its climactic ending to day, and all the beauty of the sunset was now gone.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s git back to camp,\u201d Coutts grumbled with a scowl at the man on the ground and a sharp slap around the head for Danny, as he passed the boy who was walking by Frank\u2019s side. \u00a0 \u201cWe kin find out what we want by the fire, looks like a full moon anyhows\u2026.\u201d He glanced heavenwards as the moon broke through the clouds and lightened the sky.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYa ain\u2019t thinkin\u2019 of jest leavin\u2019 him thar, are ya?\u201d Larry asked, pausing now as he thought of the man who could be dying from his injuries only feet from their camp.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cDid we invite him to join us?\u201d Coutts muttered out of the side of his mouth. \u201cI don\u2019t think so!\u201d he answered himself with a sneer, and he spat heartily into the shrub before making a grab at the boy and yanking him towards himself. \u201cAnd as fer you, you little sneak, thought you\u2019d be able to git away, did ya?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The boy raised an arm to ward off the blow that seemed destined to fall upon him. \u00a0 A sob jerked at his throat, and he raised his eyes upwards in despair.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cLook at this?\u201d \u00a0Larry said, as he held a letter up towards them preventing the blow from falling by so doing. \u201cThat guy ain\u2019t any lawman, he\u2019s one of the Cartwrights from the Ponderosa, down Virginia City way.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cLet me see that.\u201d Coutts grabbed at the letter and narrowed his eyes.\u00a0 The light from the moon was bright enough to see by, but even so he strode over to the fire and crouched near its flames to read the address on the envelope. \u00a0 He frowned and then looked at Larry. \u201cThe name seems familiar.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou ain\u2019t never met the Cartwrights, have you?\u201d Frank leaned down and poured coffee from the pot into a tin cup. \u00a0 \u00a0His narrow eyes glanced from his brother to his cousin, and then to the boy who was crouched against some rocks nearby in an effort to appear as unnoticeable as possible. \u00a0 His mean, thin lips softened and with a slight frown on his brow he stepped towards the child, and pushed the mug into the shaking hands. \u201cHere, boy, drink this and then get some sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Danny said nothing, but accepted the drink with an alacrity that spoke volumes.\u00a0 His terror of the men, who had snatched him away from the security of those he loved, no less even though he had been shown this one act of consideration.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI worked on the Ponderosa a spell.\u201d Coutts said quietly, chewing now on a matchstick and glancing thoughtfully over his shoulder in the direction of the injured man. \u00a0\u201cOld Ben Cartwright can be a force to be reckoned with, when roused.\u201d \u00a0His voice trailed off, and he looked once again at the square of paper in his hand. \u201cAdam Cartwright, that\u2019s Ben\u2019s eldest son, the one he relies on as his right hand man.\u201d He tugged at his ear lobe. \u201cThere\u2019s something else too\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s that?\u201d Larry pulled the rabbit from the spit, swearing beneath his breath as the hot fat burned his fingers.\u00a0 He tossed the roasted carcass upon a flat rock set down for the purpose, and began to pull meat from the bone.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cDolly wrote me about him.\u201d \u00a0He jerked his thumb over his shoulder to indicate the subject of their conversation. \u201cThat\u2019s how I knew Kane was dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cDid I miss something?\u201d Frank sneered. \u201cSo, Dolly writes and tells you Kane\u2019s dead, but how does that have anything to do with Cartwright or the Ponderosa?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cDolly was working in a saloon at Salt Flats, when the Cartwrights rode in with Adam Cartwright half dead.\u00a0 Seems they found him dragging Kane\u2019s body on a travois through the wilderness. \u00a0 The sun, lack of water and food, nearly killed him, it put paid to Kane, that\u2019s for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHow did Dolly get to know this?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cBecause Dolly, being a pretty gal, got friendly with Joseph Cartwright, the youngest of the Cartwright boys.\u00a0 He told her all about his big brother nearly killing himself in order to save Kane\u2019s life, but failing.\u201d His voice trailed off, and he screwed the letter up and tossed it upon the flames.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, that Dolly, she sure is a looker, and not half clever either.\u201d Larry laughed softly, only the motion of his shoulders indicated his laughter, the sound of it was so muffled in his throat.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s a good girl, and if it weren\u2019t for her, we\u2019d not have known about the bank in Eastgate being so solvent.\u201d \u00a0Frank patted the plump sacks heaped by the side of his makeshift bed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cShe has her uses,\u201d Coutts agreed, as he stared into the flames of the fire, his mind already dwelling on other subjects apart from his sister and her useful qualities. \u201cLarry, go and check that guy over, and bring him here.\u00a0 I want to talk to him.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWal, can\u2019t you\u2026\u201d Larry\u2019s voice trailed away, he knew from years of experience that there was little point in protesting that he was not there to run their errands.\u00a0 He lumbered to his feet and walked away from the camp. \u00a0 In the white light of the moon, his lean long limbed body was a strange silhouette thrown against the rocks and shrubs in some kind of bold relief against their whiteness.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

……………………….<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Jerry Coutts surveyed the injured man thoughtfully. \u00a0 There was little kindness in Coutts.\u00a0 He was callous, mean and cruel. As he watched the younger man stretched out on the ground and bathed in the cold white light of the moon, his twisted little mind began to make plans. \u00a0 He sat a little further away from his victim, to consider his schemes and to see what would develop as he put them into action. \u00a0 He smiled slowly, he could be charming when he needed to be, when it suited him to achieve his own ends.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Larry Parks stood in the shadows of the rocks and felt the turbulence stirring in his breast.\u00a0 There was all ways confusion and conflict within Larry, for he had a natural kindness deep within him, hidden under layers of fear and terror of his older brother and his cousin. \u00a0 Now he stood and watched and hoped that stranger would hurry up and regain consciousness.\u00a0 By doing so it would salve Larry\u2019s conscience and make him feel like a reasonably normal person again. \u00a0 He swallowed hard.\u00a0 He had hoped to have become a more normal person over the past few months, but the fear always so close to the surface of his personna had proven to him that he had yet a long way to go.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Frank Parks squatted on his haunches and stirred the fire with a stick and thought of the money in the sacks.\u00a0 He was a brute who was led by his instincts and the strongest of them was his fear of Coutts. \u00a0 He suffered no conflict of conscience such as Larry because he had no conscience.\u00a0 He was unfeeling to the suffering of others, enjoyed barking orders to his brother because he knew he had power over him and that made him feel strong.\u00a0 He forgot that the orders he barked were those already directed at him by those who wielded power over him. \u00a0 \u00a0Years in prison had not sharpened his intellect nor softened his feelings. \u00a0 Whether Cartwright lived or died was immaterial to him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam Cartwright slowly opened his eyes and then closed them again.\u00a0 The flames of the fire lulled him into the false impression that, when he opened his eyes again, he would be sitting in the big room with his father and brothers.\u00a0 Everything that had happened was just a bizarre dream. \u00a0 He moved, and the resultant excruciating pain from his shoulder and arm reminded him that the reality of life was not so easy to escape as would be a mere dream.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He groaned from the pain.\u00a0 It was a long, drawn-out shudder of a groan. \u00a0 The pain made him want to keep his eyes closed for as long as possible. \u00a0 It was easier to fight pain in the dark. \u00a0 The light could be too obtrusive, and who wanted to have their weaknesses laid out on display as though on a shelf for all to see?\u00a0 Certainly, not a man as proud as Adam Cartwright.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He sensed someone approaching and tensed. \u00a0 It seemed to him that whoever had come near was now uncertain as to what to do next, and hovered nearby as though waiting for some instructions as to how to proceed. \u00a0 Even as he thought to open his eyes and see for himself what was happening around him, a booted foot kicked him squarely in the ribs.\u00a0 He inhaled breath sharply. \u00a0 In an attempt to avoid another kick he rolled away, but met with an obstacle that prevented any further movement. \u00a0 He reached out a hand in the hope that the obstruction would be some implement he could use to defend himself, but his fingers closed upon only another booted foot.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He withdrew his hand immediately, rolled again, and pushed himself away from the ground. \u00a0 He was on his knees, on his feet, and felt himself swaying. \u00a0 His legs had no strength in them, and at just the time he needed their support. \u00a0 The pain down his arm was sending messages to his brain to run; adrenalin and endomorphines pumped their way through his veins as a result.\u00a0 He clenched his right fist. \u00a0 Then he opened his eyes to see what he had to fight against.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The white light from the moon was practically daylight and forced him to shield his face with his upraised arm. \u00a0 Even so, he had had enough time to see the three men once more, and to know where they were located.\u00a0 His legs were steadier, and he moved back a pace or two and away from the men nearest to him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It was the voice of the man who had spoken earlier, and obviously the spokesman of the three. \u00a0 It was a voice that held a familiar ring to it and Adam waited, his body tense, for him to speak again.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cGet him something to drink.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Through narrowed eyes, Adam watched as the two men backed away towards the campfire. \u00a0 He saw one pour coffee into a tin mug and bring it over to him. \u00a0 Tentatively he reached out a hand to take it. \u00a0 \u00a0With non- reasoning louts such as this one, it was possible that the coffee would be flung aside, or worse still, thrown over him. \u00a0 It paid to be wary.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Larry Parks may have been non-reasoning, and a lout too, but he was a man with kindliness about him, and was now ashamed of his previous action in kicking a man when he was down.\u00a0 He gave Adam the coffee with his eyes lowered, so that the young man would not be able to read the regret and shame in his face.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cTh\u2026ugh\u2026thank you,\u201d Adam grunted, forcing the words through a throat that was dry from dust and from pain. \u00a0 He glanced hurriedly about him, and looked at Coutts, who was now standing in the full glare of the fire. \u00a0\u201cThank you,\u201d he said, addressing Coutts as the main benefactor of the drink.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSit down, man, before you fall down,\u201d Coutts said sharply, pointing to a bundle of blankets. \u201cHelp him down,\u201d he snapped the command at Frank, who did as he was bidden with an alacrity that too clearly showed his fear of his cousin.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Coutts watched them, and smiled thinly. \u00a0 Kindness did not come naturally to him, but it was useful. \u00a0 One caught more flies with honey than without; \u00a0he was now quite prepared to be as kind as a man could be and hope that his cousins would follow his direction.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The coffee was hot and bitter, but Adam drank it with a relish that only a man in his position could do. \u00a0 It took the sharpness from the pain and seemed to make his brain start to function, in that it began to pick up details and collate them together in their usual orderly, logical fashion. \u00a0 Over the rim of the mug Adam took note of the three men, their location and size of camp, and the fact that the child was huddled against the rocks for protection but was unhurt, although obviously terrified.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t I know you?\u201d he addressed Coutts with that control back in his voice, making it deep and commanding.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI thought perhaps you would.\u201d \u00a0Coutts pulled up a saddle and a blanket, and sat down opposite his \u2018guest\u2019. \u201cI\u2019m Jerry Coutts.\u00a0 I got myself a job on your Pa\u2019s ranch some years back along as a horse breaker.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI remember.\u201d Adam nodded. \u201cYou were good at the job.\u00a0 We were sorry to see you go.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWal, as a job it was not too bad. \u00a0 Fact is, I don\u2019t take kindly to working for folk.\u00a0 Prefer it if they work for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSo I see,\u201d Adam remarked quietly, lowering his eyes and raising the cup to his mouth again in an obvious movement designed to convey to Coutts that he did not think much of the current arrangement.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cMy cousins and I are on a kind of exploratory mining expedition,\u201d Coutts drawled in a leisurely manner.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cMining?\u00a0 Well, there are quite a few abandoned mines in this area.\u00a0 No doubt the town\u2019s Assay Office could help you out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNo doubt, but the fact is that we thought you would be more help to us than they could be.\u201d Coutts leaned forward. \u201cDoes the name Peter Kane mean anything to you?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam raised his near black eyes and fixed them upon the lean face of his antagonist. \u00a0 He drew in a deep breath, and released it slowly. \u00a0 The pain in his shoulder had already eased considerably, but his arm had obviously been more severely damaged in the fall.\u00a0 He wondered briefly where Sport had gone and hoped fervently that the beast was safe, and unharmed.\u00a0 He realised that Coutts was still waiting for a reply and nodded slowly.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I knew Kane.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cMy sister told me how you brought Kane through the desert. \u00a0 Dragged him along on a travois, even when he was dead.\u00a0 Buried him in the desert, didn\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d \u00a0Adam shook his head and frowned thoughtfully. \u00a0 He sighed and looked over at the boy. \u201cWhat\u2019s the boy here for?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNever mind him,\u201d Coutts voice snapped, a hard edge to the words.\u00a0 Adam took heed of the warning and drew back from the subject.\u00a0 His own mind returned to the time he had regained consciousness in Salt Flats, and how Ben had told him about their search for him, and how they had found him, and Kane.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cMy father and brothers buried Kane.\u201d Adam drained the cup and set it down. \u201cI don\u2019t know where exactly. \u00a0 Are you kin to him?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThen why the interest?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cBecause I knew him for a while. \u00a0 Met him several times in Salt Flats as a matter of fact. \u00a0 He used to tell us about his mine, and that it had a vein running through it that was going to yield another Comstock, he said.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThere ain\u2019t no gold in that mine.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhaddya say?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI said, there ain\u2019t no gold in that mine.\u201d Adam looked at Coutts severely.\u00a0 His dark eyes stared straight into Jerry\u2019s, and he raised one dark eyebrow as though daring the man to contradict him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cKane always had a pouch of gold on him.\u00a0 Said it was just the beginnings of what was to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHe was lying.\u201d Adam\u2019s voice held the slightest hint of scorn. \u00a0\u201cHe was lying through his teeth, like he always did.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWal, one time my sister got hold of some of that gold.\u00a0 We had it assayed, and the guy in the office told us it was the purest gold he had seen in years.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe so.\u00a0 Maybe not.\u201d Adam shrugged and felt a measure of relief in being able to do so. \u00a0 The fear that his shoulder was broken or dislocated had been immense, but at least that was one worry less at present.\u00a0 He looked over at the boy who appeared to have fallen asleep.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you know about that mine, anyhow?\u201d \u00a0Larry Parks demanded.\u00a0 He scowled darkly at Adam, while all the time chomping on some meat he had torn from the roasted rabbit.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cMore than you know,\u201d Adam replied, and he nodded slowly. \u201cMore than you know,\u201d he repeated, giving the statement an entirely different turn of phrase. \u00a0 \u00a0He leaned forward. \u201cLook here, Coutts, when I knew you back along, you struck me as a fairly decent kind of man. \u00a0 You\u2019re no fool either, so why not just accept the facts as I\u2019m telling you them.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Coutts rubbed his chin thoughtfully, and stared at the dying flames of the fire as he turned his mind back to the time he had worked on the Ponderosa.\u00a0 He had earned a fair wage and been treated like all the Ponderosa hands, as though they were close friends to the family. \u00a0 \u00a0He had liked the three boys too, because they had not been afraid of hard work and had rubbed along with the men, just like any other ranch hand would be expected to do.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cTell me what the facts are then, Cartwright.\u00a0 Ain\u2019t no point in us believing there ain\u2019t no gold thar jest because it\u2019s you telling it. \u00a0 Could be you have aims to git it fer yourself, fer all we know.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam nodded, that was, after all, fair comment. \u00a0 He glanced at the three of them and could sense their tension.\u00a0 This hope of finding a rich vein of gold had kept them going through the years, that much was obvious.\u00a0 He just hoped that the disappointment would not lead to the messenger being shot.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cJust over two years ago, I met up with Peter Kane at his mine. I actually stumbled upon him by accident. \u00a0 At the time I thought it was a God-send as it saved my life, or rather, his hospitality, did.\u201d He glanced at the empty mug and sighed and flicked his eyes over at Larry, who immediately picked it up and refilled it. \u00a0 \u201cTo repay Kane\u2019s \u2018kindness\u2019 I agreed to help in the mine for three days. \u00a0 I shored it up, put in new joists, used explosives to make some new exploratory avenues, and in all that time, I didn\u2019t come across a single vein of gold.\u00a0 At the end of the three days, Kane forced me to stay.\u00a0 I became, effectively, his prisoner.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHow come?\u201d \u00a0 Frank demanded.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWell, Kane was a bitter man. \u00a0 Disappointment and failure leave their mark on a man after twenty odd years of seeking money, fame and fortune. \u00a0 It twisted something inside of him and distorted any view to the future that he could possibly have had.\u00a0 He knew there was no gold, but he wanted \u2013,\u201d Adam paused, what had Kane wanted?\u00a0 Perhaps the whole issue of what had happened was all due to what Kane really wanted. \u00a0 Adam shrugged and drained his second mug of coffee dry. \u201cHe wanted to die.\u00a0 Maybe had he been alone, he would have shot his own brains out, but I came along, so he played his games with me, hoping I could be goaded into doing the job for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSo what happened?\u00a0 Did you kill him?\u201d Frank wiped his mouth free of grease from the rabbit\u2019s flesh and narrowed his eyes. \u201cDid you?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWe fought. \u00a0 He fell and struck his head upon a rock, I made a travois from the remnants of his camp, \u00a0put him upon it, but I can\u2019t remember whether he was alive or dead.\u00a0 I can\u2019t remember anything really, until my father and brothers came and found us.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

His voice trailed away into silence. \u00a0 He could remember falling into his father\u2019s arms, and the way his father had enfolded him close to his breast and held him so tightly.\u00a0 He remembered the smell of him, and the sweat and heat on him, and the familiar strong beat of his father\u2019s heart as he had sobbed himself into unconsciousness.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Chapter 7<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Strange how the memory of it came back now.\u00a0 He had stepped out, one foot forward each time, one foot forward, and then the other, and then another. He didn\u2019t know how long it had lasted but he could remember the pain in his arms and legs, the ache across the shoulders.\u00a0 He could also remember the anticipation of \u00a0his own death, a solitary death.\u00a0 As his knees began to give way he had welcomed death, longed for it, until strong arms had drawn him into that close embrace \u2026 and he had wept, no , he had sobbed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He shivered and forced his mind back to the present, looked at Coutts, at the narrowed eyes,<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIs that the truth?\u201d Coutts said in a bland, matter of fact way, his eyes fixed on the younger man\u2019s face. \u00a0 \u00a0Adam nodded, and bowed his head.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThere ain\u2019t no reason for us to believe all that talk.\u201d Larry\u2019s voice was raised and rang out sharply. \u201cHow\u2019d we know he ain\u2019t wanting to stop us getting to Kane\u2019s fortune?\u00a0 He could know where Kane\u2019s stashed it away.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s right, Jerry.\u00a0 Why should we believe him?\u201d Frank flung the remainder of the meat clinging to the bone into the fire, it spluttered as the grease hit the hot embers.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never known a Cartwright lie yet,\u201d Coutts said in a solemn voice, his eyes still fixed on Adam\u2019s face. \u00a0 \u00a0He was a man of some sense, some discernment, and could see from the expression that something terrible had happened to him during that last day at Kane\u2019s mine. \u00a0 He sighed deeply, stood up, and walked over to the fire, he poured himself some coffee and quietly began to drink it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He had pinned his hopes on finding that mine, and the gold that Kane had said was there. \u00a0 \u00a0How many years had it been? \u00a0 At least three, maybe even four. \u00a0 His shoulders sagged and he glanced over his shoulder at the man in black and frowned.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIs that the God\u2019s honest truth, Cartwright?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam nodded. \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou didn\u2019t see no silver?\u00a0 Copper?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThere was nothing to see.\u00a0 Only rock.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Coutts nodded slowly and chewed on the inner part of his cheek as he stared down at the flames.\u00a0 The veneer of kindliness was too shallow for him to withstand this kind of set back. \u00a0 \u00a0He threw the coffee and cup into the fire and stalked away to the rocks.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

……………………………………<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHere. \u00a0 You\u2019ll need this.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam glanced up as Larry Parks addressed him in a voice that could only be termed as gentle.\u00a0 In amazement, Adam realised that the man was holding some linen and a mug of water, and even as he watched him, Larry Parks squatted in front of him and reached out to take hold of the injured arm.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry about kicking you earlier,\u201d Parks mumbled, tearing back the sleeve of Adam\u2019s shirt to expose the injury to the full light of the moon. \u00a0 He leaned forward to look at it more closely. \u201cI always swore that I wouldn\u2019t do anything like that, jest \u2018cos I was livin\u2019 with people worse\u2019n animals didn\u2019t mean that I had to behave like \u2018em, and then, the first chance I git to prove myself a decent human bein\u2019 I go and kick a man when he\u2019s down.\u201d \u00a0He began to clean out the wounds carefully, but even so the action made Adam bite hard on his lip, although several involuntary gasps slipped through and he writhed a little and clenched his right hand into a fist once or twice.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

There were two deep gashes torn in the flesh of the arm itself. \u00a0 Had Paul Martin been there he would have used needle and thread to bind the edges together, and the encouraging counsel that they would leave scars. \u00a0 As Adam watched Parks clean and bind up the wounds, he wondered whether or not they would ever heal properly, with or without scarring his arm for life.\u00a0 Parks frowned in concentration and continued with his monologue as he worked, gently dabbing here and there as he spoke.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cMe and Frank and Jerry always went around together, even as kids. \u00a0 Our brothers never wanted us around, so we went our own way and got into trouble as kids do.\u00a0 Guess if our folks had bin interested enough in us, then things might\u2019ve straightened out but\u2026\u201d \u00a0He shrugged as though it hardly mattered now, although it was obvious that at one time, it had mattered very much. \u00a0\u201cThen Jerry got hisself into big trouble and went his own way for a while.\u00a0 Guess that was about the time he was at your place, some years back.\u201d \u00a0He began to tighten the linen around the injured arm. \u00a0\u201cAnyhows, next time we meet up, Frank and me was already in the county jail for armed robbery.\u00a0 That was where I became the medical orderly.\u201d He looked up at Adam with a light in his eyes, a light that bespoke pride and self respect, and Adam realised that the wretched man must have struggled against many and much to have accomplished such a privileged ranking in the prison.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHow long did you get?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSix years. \u00a0 Guess if they catch up with us this time round, we\u2019ll probably hang.\u201d \u00a0Parks sighed and shook his head. \u201cDidn\u2019t think on thet when Jerry said about the Bank in Eastgate, but when we broke outa jail I thought it was to get to Kane\u2019s mine.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThen why go to Eastgate in the first place if\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cJerry said we needed a stake, and his sister told us when there was going to be a big amount of money at the bank for a payroll to the big mining businesses in the area. \u00a0 Jerry said\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t you ever get to think for yourselves, or is it always left to Jerry?\u201d \u00a0Adam flexed his fingers, and shuddered as pain rippled down into his wrist, causing the fingers to curl involuntarily into the palm of his hand.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cGuess we jest git back into old habits, Jerry was always the one to take the lead.\u201d Larry frowned. \u201cSorry if that hurts, but it\u2019s jest about the best I kin do fer now.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam nodded, and pulled the remnant of sleeve away from the shirt and gave it to Parks, who fashioned it into a reasonable sling. \u00a0 \u00a0Over Parks\u2019 shoulder Adam was able to see the boy, still sleeping, which prompted him to ask why the boy was with them.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIs the boy anything to do with any of you?\u201d he asked casually. \u201cSeems rather odd to see him here, in this kind of situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNah.\u201d Parks shook his head. \u201cJerry knew him from some time back. \u00a0 He\u2019s the son of a local miner around here, who knew Kane. \u00a0 \u00a0Shot his wife and partner and got put away for five years. \u00a0 \u00a0He broke out with us and was going to take us to the mine, but he went back on the deal.\u00a0 So Jerry thought if we took his kid then he\u2019d as sure as anything want him back safe.\u201d \u00a0He glanced over his shoulder and hurriedly stood up. \u201cHope the arm heals alright, but I can\u2019t promise much.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

With those words he walked back to the campfire, and began to build it up in order to gain better warmth during what was going to be a cold night. \u00a0 The moon slid behind some clouds, and the campsite was plunged into momentary darkness.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam leaned back against the rocks and nursed his injured arm against his chest. \u00a0 The wounds were throbbing as a result of being cleaned and probed into by Parks. \u00a0 Intermittent stabs of red hot agony rippled down into his fingers, or up around his elbow and into his shoulder. \u00a0 He was thinking that the pain was rather like soldier ants biting into his flesh, when he realised that someone was close by, and he opened his eyes to find himself face to face with the boy.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry, mister.\u00a0 It was all my fault you got yerself hurt and into trouble,\u201d the boy whispered, and he edged closer, as close as he possibly could get, as though the proximity of their bodies would afford both of them a greater chance of survival.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I rather think I was heading for trouble anyway, whether you were here or not,\u201d Adam said quietly.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The boy said nothing in reply but sat in silence, his head bowed. \u00a0 Adam reached out, put his finger beneath the boy\u2019s chin, and raised his head up so that he could look into the young face. \u00a0 He had thought the boy was at least ten, but on closer inspection he realised that Daniel Johnson could have been no older than eight years. \u00a0 The red rimmed eyelids were evidence to the fact that the boy had cried a lot during the past hours, and Adam frowned at the thought that some form of cruelty had been meted out to the boy.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cAre you alright? \u00a0 They\u2019ve not treated you too badly, have they?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I guess not. \u00a0 Not really.\u00a0 Larry is okay I suppose, but Jerry and Frank hit me sometimes.\u00a0 I want to go home, mister, that\u2019s all. \u00a0 But they said my pa was out of prison now and would be meeting us here, but then they said that they didn\u2019t have to wait for him now \u2018cos they got you instead.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHow do you mean?\u00a0 They\u2019ve got me for what?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cTo take them to the mine. \u00a0 My pa was going to take \u2018em to the mine, but now they won\u2019t wait for him, they\u2019ll jest git you to take \u2018em. \u00a0 That\u2019ll mean that my pa won\u2019t find me here, if they take me with you all.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam nodded, it all made sense in some crazy fashion and fitted in with what Larry had already said earlier.\u00a0 He put a gentle hand on the boy\u2019s shoulder and smiled kindly.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cLook, it\u2019s been a long day for you. \u00a0 Why not sleep now and see what tomorrow brings, huh? \u00a0 Could be that your pa is not so far away anyhow, and you\u2019ll see him sooner than you think.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cDo you reckon, mister?\u201d The boy\u2019s eyes lit up like beacons, then the light faded. \u201cBut what if they shoot him?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think they will,\u201d Adam assured him, putting a little pressure to his grip on the boy\u2019s shoulder and drawing him closer. \u201cSettle down and sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Chapter 8<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Clara Morgan opened the door slowly whilst she pulled the shawl closer around her shoulders, for the early morning caller had arrived before she had had time to dress for the day.\u00a0 Her nightgown billowed out as the fresh morning breezes caught beneath the hem, and she blinked up against the brightness of the sun.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201c\u2019Morning, Missus Morgan.\u201d Sheriff Cutter touched the brim of his hat and acknowledged her with a nod of his head. \u201cI jest came to see Luke for a moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cLuke isn\u2019t here,\u201d she said quietly, and looked straight into the sheriff\u2019s blood shot eyes. \u00a0 \u00a0She saw the jaw line tighten slightly before the wide mouth relaxed into a smile.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cFact is, ma\u2019am, I already knew that as I heard tell he had left town earlier.\u201d He watched her face, and noticed the crinkling of her brow, and the widening of the pupils of her eyes. \u00a0 \u201cI heard tell he didn\u2019t leave on his own either.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s gone to find Danny, seeing as you seem to have forgotten all about him.\u201d Her voice was harsh with accusation, although he knew it was a woman\u2019s ploy to try and deflect the subject he had raised by his previous comment.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI admit I\u2019ve not pursued that matter as quick as you may have wished, but the fact is, I lost several men yesterday, which means some wimmin lost a husband or a son, and things like that need sortin\u2019 too.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

They glared at one another for a second or two, but she was the more fearful in her attempt to guard her secret, so she remained silent, her hand on the door ready to close it as soon as she could without raising more suspicion.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou did hear that Obadiah Johnson broke out of jail, didn\u2019t you?\u201d he lowered his voice in a conspiratorial manner, although there was no reason, for there was no other house near enough to hear their conversation.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I heard.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you know that harbouring a runaway convict is a breach of law, don\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSo, if Johnson were to come on by your place, you\u2019d know the sensible thing to do would be to notify me right away, wouldn\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

She looked him squarely in the eyes, forcing her features to remain unchanged and acknowledged that she would, of course she would.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd Luke wouldn\u2019t dream of riding off on his own with a convict now, would he?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you mean, Sheriff?\u201d \u00a0Her eyes narrowed and she glanced nervously over the man\u2019s shoulder as though desperate for the conversation to end.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, if by chance, Johnson had come here, Luke would not be foolish enough to trust him, and go off on his own with him on some stupid attempt to find the boy, would he?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

She had never been a good liar.\u00a0 Luke always said she was as transparent as glass. \u00a0 Her face reddened and her lips thinned, and she pushed against the door to close it, but the sheriff\u2019s big hand gripped the edge of the door and prevented her from doing so. \u00a0 He frowned and looked at her anxiously.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhere are they headed? \u00a0 Don\u2019t try and lie, Ma\u2019am, they were seen leaving here together.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

She glanced away with a sigh and shook her head, then looked up at Cutter and realised that there was genuine concern in his eyes as he watched her, and she nodded slowly.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cDanny is Obadiah\u2019s son too,\u201d she said quietly. \u201cAll he has left in the world. \u00a0 He had to get the boy safe\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSafe?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThe other three men took Danny to force Johnny, I mean Obadiah, to lead them to a mine they\u2019ve been planning on taking over for years.\u00a0 Obadiah is the only one who knows how to reach it, but he wouldn\u2019t help them so they took Danny!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a pity you didn\u2019t let me know yesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re the law.\u00a0 We didn\u2019t know if you would believe him, if you would help at all.\u00a0 It was more than he could bear, the thought of being caught and put back in jail and never knowing if Danny were safe back with us.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhere are they headed, ma\u2019am? \u00a0 Don\u2019t worry, I aim to help where I can, it\u2019s just that I don\u2019t think they realise what kind of men they are up against.\u00a0 They\u2019ve already killed three men\u2026that youngster at the bank didn\u2019t stand a chance\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI know, I was there,\u201d she whispered, and shrugged the shawl closer about her shoulders.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThen tell me where Luke and Johnson were headed.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSignal Rock. \u00a0 I heard Johnny saying that the mine was about 30 to 40 miles south from there.\u201d She lowered her eyes, disappointed that she had betrayed their trust, but relieved that they were going to get unexpected and much needed help.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t sheriff here at the time Johnson was on trial, ma\u2019am, but a man who can kill his wife and friend doesn\u2019t really seem a very trustable kinda man, if you get my understanding.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHe only got five years imprisonment, Sheriff, he could have been hanged.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps he should have been,\u201d came the reply, and the sheriff turned, paused, and touched his hat politely.\u00a0 Then he walked away, back to the hitching rail where his horse was nodding over the water trough wishing it were back in its stall enjoying its breakfast oats.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

She watched him wheel the horse around and ride slowly away, and with a long drawn out sigh she closed the door and dropped the bar across it. \u00a0 Once inside she found that her legs had weakened, and she pulled away a chair and sat down upon it hurriedly, before sinking her face into her hands in despair.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

………………………….<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Horses are gregarious creatures by nature. \u00a0 Once he had overcome his shock at being stung by the bullet across his backside, and tossing off his rider, Sport took himself off to get a long cooling drink from the pool at Signal Rock. \u00a0 \u00a0The scent of other horses was a further enticement to the powerful beast, so it was not surprising that when morning dawned, Sport was to be found grazing on the grass close to the other horses.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSeems you can\u2019t get rid of a good horse,\u201d Larry Parks commented, as he led the animal in to the camp. \u201cLooks like you won\u2019t have to walk to Kane\u2019s mine after all.\u201d He smiled in an attempt to put humour into the remark, but it did little to assuage Adam\u2019s concern as to just what Coutts intended to do with him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As it was, he stroked Sports soft velvety nose and tried to think of what to do to get himself and the boy out of the situation they were in. \u00a0 \u00a0Frank Parks was on guard duty, and there was no doubting that his personal insecurities made him over efficient when assignments were handed down to him. \u00a0 Just like his brother, he was cowed by his cousin. \u00a0 Coutts\u2019 aggressive nature, bullying attitude, and history of brutality in and out of prison, coupled with the fact that the two brothers had grown up with him as their role model, made it a relationship carved, apparently, in stone.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The younger Parks brother stroked Sport\u2019s neck and then looked at Adam thoughtfully.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a good bit of horse flesh. \u00a0 Powerful built as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHe is.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d give anything to have a horse like this one.\u201d \u00a0Larry sighed and ran his hand over the horse\u2019s long legs.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam said nothing. It went without saying that he understood the implication of Larry\u2019s comments but he also knew that if he had any chance of leaving them behind, it would need Sport\u2019s powerful legs to get him out.\u00a0 He also knew that the chances of slipping away unnoticed with Frank Parks always on the lookout were about a hundred to one.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHow\u2019s the arm?\u201d \u00a0 Parks asked, realising that his tentative hints about Sport were being ignored.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cPainful.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHere, let me see.\u201d He stepped forward to examine the injured arm.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Leave him be -” Coutts voice froze the other man into inaction, Parks glanced apologetically back at Adam and stepped aside as Coutts strode towards them.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“I presume we’re still riding to Kane’s mine?” Adam said softly, nursing his arm carefully against his chest.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s right.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cEven though there\u2019s no gold there?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI ain\u2019t inclined to jest take your word for it.\u00a0 I prefer to see things fer myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam squinted up at the sun and narrowed his eyes, before looking once again at Coutts.\u00a0 He nodded slowly. \u00a0 \u00a0The previous evenings charade of friendship was over.\u00a0 With the morning sun Jeremiah Coutts had arisen with no intentions of showing the world his humane side \u2013 if he could have found it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019d best fill every canteen with water because there isn\u2019t any where we\u2019re going. \u00a0 We\u2019ve a long ride ahead, about thirty to forty miles due south of here.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Jerry Coutts nodded and gave Adam a cool lingering look, so filled with hatred that Adam wondered what he had ever done to the man to deserve such loathing from him.\u00a0 He sighed with the acceptance of facts.\u00a0 Some people did not need a reason to hate.\u00a0 Coutts was one of those kind of people.\u00a0 He took Sport\u2019s reins and led him to the water, glancing along the way at the boy.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cAre you all right, boy?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI want Pa,\u201d Daniel replied with a catch in his throat. \u00a0\u201cThey said he was going to come here and I\u2019d see him, but he ain\u2019t here and they\u2019re going away.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam looked over at Coutts and the Parks brothers, then at Daniel, and he put a gentle hand on the boy\u2019s shoulder.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cLook, sooner or later there\u2019s going to be a chance for us to get away from them and\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNo talking, you two. \u00a0 Daniel, get over here.\u201d Coutts voice broke through with the harshness of a whip lash cutting flesh.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI want Pa.\u201c the boy cried in a high pitched voice full of misery, and he side stepped to cling to Adam\u2019s leg. \u201cTake me with you, mister, I don\u2019t want to go with them.\u00a0 Can I ride with you? Don\u2019t let them take me with them, please, don\u2019t let them take me.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cDaniel, I\u2026\u201d Adam\u2019s words were knocked out of his mouth as Frank Parks slammed past him, hitting against his shoulder and injured arm with the brutal force of a bull charging a red painted post.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cCome here, you young varmint\u201d \u00a0Frank growled, as he grabbed the boy by the collar of his shirt and bodily lifted him off his feet.\u00a0 The child yelled, his feet gyrating wildly and his hands flailing uselessly in the air.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Instinctively Adam hurled himself at the wretched man. \u00a0 \u00a0For as long as he could remember, Adam had had to protect those younger and more vulnerable that himself, and it was second nature to him now to launch himself forward to protect the boy. \u00a0 Frank was caught wrong footed and stumbled backwards, releasing the boy, who scampered hurriedly away, only to be snatched up by Larry Parks some little distance further along.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Over and over rolled Frank and Adam, each of them seeking some means of supremacy over the other, and at the same time an opportunity of freeing themselves from the tangle of legs and arms that currently prevailed.\u00a0 Disadvantaged due to his injured arm, Adam landed a few punches and was pulling himself away when Coutts ended the matter by clubbing him across the temple with his gun.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThis guy\u2019s trouble, Jerry.\u201d Frank scrambled to his feet, panting heavily, and rubbing dust from his face and eyes. \u201cWhy don\u2019t ya jest git rid of him fer good?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Jerry Coutts surveyed his cousin with a long lingering look of contempt, and then gave a thin smile.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou jest ain\u2019t thought it out, have you, Frank?\u201d He slipped the gun into its holster and leaned down to pull Adam over onto his back. \u00a0\u201cCould be that what he says about Kane\u2019s mine is true, and there ain\u2019t no gold thar after all.\u00a0 Have you wondered what we\u2019re gonna do then?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSure thar\u2019s gold thar, Jerry.\u00a0 Kane told ya so, didn\u2019t he?\u201d Larry frowned over at his cousin and brother, whilst struggling to retain hold of the squirming boy.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cKane was crazy, everyone knew thet,\u201d Jerry said coldly. \u201cSo, if we don\u2019t find gold in thet mine, then we git it from someplace else.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cAnother bank raid, you mean?\u201d Frank suggested.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNo, stupid.\u201d \u00a0 His cousin shook his head and sighed, and then nudged Adam\u2019s shoulder with his foot. \u201cThis, gentlemen, could be our gold mine.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHim?\u201d both brothers exclaimed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cAdam Cartwright.\u201d Jerry smiled and looked up at the sky. \u201cYes, that\u2019s right, boys, we could be looking at the man who will make our fortunes. \u00a0 Now, git those canteens filled with water. \u00a0 \u00a0We\u2019ve some ways to go yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Chapter 9<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam was stiff when he regained consciousness. \u00a0 He rubbed his head, and came away with blood on his fingertips. \u00a0 Just for a moment he did not risk moving as he felt light headed and dizzy. \u00a0 As he looked around the camp, all he could see were vague moving shadows within shadows, and he wondered fleetingly whether or not he was still asleep. \u00a0 Gradually his sight grew clearer and he could see that preparations to leave camp were well under way. \u00a0 The boy was sitting slumped in the saddle of Larry\u2019s horse.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It was a struggle to get to his feet.\u00a0 Thankfully Sport was not standing too far away, and he was able to reach him without falling down again.\u00a0 He leaned against the animal\u2019s side for a fraction of a minute, and then slowly clambered into the saddle. \u00a0 \u00a0He brushed away the blood that was trickling down the side of his face, and took the reins. \u00a0 It was then he realised how difficult it was to move the fingers of his injured arm.\u00a0 Looking at them he saw that they were swollen, and the bruising that was visible on his arm now extended to his hand.\u00a0 It\u2019s just bruising, he told himself, as he took a firmer grip of the reins in his right hand and turned Sport\u2019s head away from Signal Rock, and in the direction of Kane\u2019s Mine.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He could sense them behind him. \u00a0 \u00a0For an instant he wondered about leading them back to town via a track that would take them through the wilderness, but could he afford to take the chance with the boy there? \u00a0 \u00a0He was contemplating such a solution to the problem, when Coutts rode up beside him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNow then, Adam Cartwright, you wouldn\u2019t be thinking of doing anything stupid now, would you?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSuch as?\u201d \u00a0He didn\u2019t move his head, but stared straight ahead. \u00a0 The cool sweet air of the water hole at Signal Rock was being replaced by the heat and arid heaviness of the wilderness.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSuch as taking us someplace else other than Kane\u2019s Mine, or just leading us into the desert and losing us?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t trust me?\u201d Adams lip curled as he spoke the words in total contempt.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNow I know that you\u2019re your daddy\u2019s cleverest boy\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t say that myself,\u201d Adam retorted calmly.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cAh, but you\u2019re the one that went to college and got all that education, ain\u2019t\u2019cha?\u201d \u00a0 Jerry Coutts smiled, and darted a look at the younger man\u2019s face. He could tell just by that one glance that the man was suffering.\u00a0 The blood was already drying and congealing on his temple area, and he held his body in such a way as to favour the injured side as best he could. \u00a0 Coutts passed his tongue over his teeth and chuckled to himself. \u201cCollege ain\u2019t gonna do you much good now, is it?\u201d he snickered.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam said nothing. \u00a0 He kept his eyes straight ahead and rode on towards Kane\u2019s Mine. \u00a0 There was no point in trying to avoid it.\u00a0 The inevitable had to be faced. \u00a0 Perhaps this was the best way to end it all, and the consequences could take care of themselves.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t know what it\u2019s like, being poor.\u201d \u00a0Coutts said, his voice deepening. \u00a0\u201cYou and your brothers always been so well off, so rich.\u00a0 Had all that land, didn\u2019t ya? \u00a0 Must be something, when you rich boys have to live rough like we have to. \u2018Cept this is how we have to live all our lives long.\u00a0 We ain\u2019t never knowed what it\u2019s like to have money a-jingling in our pockets always, and able to go in and buy good blood stock like that \u2018un.\u201d He indicated Sport with a nod of the head.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam raised his hand and gingerly touched the congealing mess of blood from his brow.\u00a0 He wondered just how much damage he had actually taken.\u00a0 He shook his head, in an effort to remove the sound of the man\u2019s voice, which jarred on his senses.\u00a0 Coutts continued to speak, using the time he had to spit out his bile and his covetous contempt for those who had what he himself longed to possess.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI see\u2019d how you boys lived high on the hog in that big house of your\u2019n. \u00a0 Food for the taking, and that boy running around and cooking for you an\u2019 all, like as if he were your paid servant. \u00a0 You should live the way me and my cousins done, eating anything that moved rather than starve, seeing our folks worn thin with hunger and disease.\u00a0 No work, no money, more kids being born, more mouths to feed and nothing there to feed \u2018em with.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam wiped the perspiration from his upper lip, and from his brow. \u00a0 He was becoming feverish, and the voice was becoming satanic in its goading.\u00a0 He forced his eyes to remain fixed on the horizon.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThen going to school, when there was one\u2026no shoes to wear, clothes jest rags and handed down from who knew who\u2026.and other kids starin\u2019 and gawpin\u2019 all the time.\u00a0 Once yer kin write yer name and read it there ain\u2019t no point in goin\u2019 no more\u2026but that ain\u2019t the way with you rich kids, is it? \u00a0 You git fancy books to write in and read, and you study and git to college. \u00a0 Ya don\u2019t sit thar bein\u2019 made to feel stupid and ignorant jest \u2018cos yore poor and hungry.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Coutts pulled a wad of tobacco from his pocket and snapped off a bite, which he mangled between his stumps of teeth, and for some while they could ride in silence. \u00a0 He spat a stream of tobacco stained saliva into a dried out shrub.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI seen those horses of your\u2019n, there on the Ponderosa. \u00a0 Cost a fine lot of money each and every one I dares say. \u00a0 Wonder how much a Cartwright would cost?\u00a0 What do you reckon, Cartwright, how much would your daddy pay for you to git home alive and whole, huh?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He cast a quick look at Adam, and could tell from the rigidity of the man\u2019s back that the point had struck home.\u00a0 He chewed on his wad of tobacco a little while to let his companion dwell on the matter a little.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNow, take Larry fer instance.\u201d He glanced over his shoulder where Larry and Frank rode together, with the boy astride the saddle in front of Larry. \u201cIf\u2019n he\u2019d had an education like your\u2019n, he could have bin a nurse, or better still, a real doctor.\u00a0 But he didn\u2019t have the breaks like you and your brothers, he didn\u2019t have the chances that came your way.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cBecause he had you as a cousin, that\u2019s why\u201d Adam growled.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNow, now, that jest ain\u2019t the right way to be talkin\u2019 is it?\u00a0 Not considering the way things are jest now an\u2019 all. \u00a0 You want to be polite, boy, and civil. \u00a0 If Larry had had a rich daddy like your\u2019n, he\u2019d have got the breaks, gone to college, and got to be a doctor.\u00a0 That way he\u2019d have bin able to make his gifts profitable.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIs that all that matters to you, making a profit?\u201d \u00a0Adam looked at Coutts with barely concealed contempt, before resuming his steady surveillance of the horizon.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you ain\u2019t had money, boy, that\u2019s the only way you kin think,\u201d Coutts replied coldly.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam shook his head slightly. The realisation that man\u2019s meanness and shortsightedness could only see money as a measure of success in life, dismayed him.\u00a0 He glanced at Coutts and saw the rigidity in the man\u2019s profile, the bitter line of hatred for those who had benefited from life whilst he had not.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSo your parents were poor?\u201d he ventured to ask eventually. \u201cYour ma and pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cPoor ain\u2019t the word.\u00a0 She did as well as she could, but was glad enough when I took off from home, same as Frank and Larry\u2019s ma and pa were, I guess.\u00a0 Fewer mouths to feed,\u201d Coutts replied.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cBut you had a ma,\u201d Adam said quietly, staring ahead of him and thinking of the sepia coloured portrait of the dark haired woman in the silver frame, that he always had beside his bed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSure, everyone has a ma!\u201d Coutts sneered.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cMy ma died when I was born. \u00a0 \u00a0 My pa and I were on our own, until he met Inger.\u00a0 I was five then.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Coutts opened his mouth and then resolutely closed it. \u00a0 He looked over at Adam, and then returned his gaze to the far off mountains that were slowly drawing closer.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, but your pa was rich.\u00a0 Money cushions misery, thet\u2019s what my ma used to say, when she saw folks going by in their carriages an\u2019 such.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was three years old my Pa and I were travelling through Indian territory.\u00a0 The nearest homestead was through Indian land, and they were picking off white folk like ticks from the hide of a dog. \u00a0 Our wagon made too clear a trail, so Pa decided it was best for us to go down river on a raft. \u00a0 It took nearly a week to make that raft. \u00a0 \u00a0 He tied me on a long length of rope to a tree, so\u2019s I\u2019d not fall into the water while he was working on the raft. \u00a0 I was hungry. \u00a0 I got to being so hungry that I\u2019d go down to the water to chew the reeds until I was sick.\u00a0 Sometimes I was able to catch a fish, or a frog, or something that crept or crawled through the mud.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He paused, and a slight frown furrowed his brow.\u00a0 How odd to remember that now, here in this arid dry land.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cGo on,\u201d Coutts urged.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it was time for him to rest up, or when it was nightfall, Pa would hide the raft and everything in the shrubs and bushes, just in case there was any Indian scout prowling near. \u00a0 \u00a0One evening they came down to the river. \u00a0 We heard them whispering together.\u00a0 Pa picked me up and waded into the water with me, and put his hand over my mouth and whispered to me that I was not to move, nor make a sound.\u00a0 He pulled the boughs over us and we stayed there for what seemed hours, as they smoked their pipes and talked and laughed. \u00a0 I must have fallen asleep in my father\u2019s arms, and my weight must have been intolerable after a while, but he never let me fall for an instant. \u00a0 \u00a0Just stood there in the water hour after hour, waiting and praying for them to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam closed his eyes; the horizon was melting into a faded waving line of movement. It was with relief, that upon opening his eyes again, the mountains rushed into view, clear and beckoning.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen they had gone, Pa secured me to a barrel on the raft and we set off down the river.\u00a0 When we finally reached the settlement, the homesteaders saw our raft and waded in and helped us ashore.\u00a0 Some woman took me to her home and I never saw Pa for a while. \u00a0 He\u2019d been taken ill from hunger, and exhaustion. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0I know what it\u2019s like to be hungry, Mr. Coutts.\u00a0 To know what it feels like to have your backbone cleave to your belly. \u00a0 So does my Pa, and so does Hoss.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, but he struck it rich didn\u2019t he?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cMoney doesn\u2019t prevent misery, Mr. Coutts. \u00a0 When my Pa married Inger, I guess that was when we thought we were really rich.\u00a0 I had a ma, and then I had a brother. \u00a0 And then she was killed, right before our eyes. \u00a0 That was real poverty, a real stripping off down to the bone, Mr. Coutts. \u00a0 Seeing someone like Inger die in your father\u2019s arms, and holding her son in my arms to witness it.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Coutts spat a stream of tobacco juice into the dust. \u00a0 Adam averted his eyes and stared at the mountain ridge as it drew closer.\u00a0 Within its confines was nestled the mine that had haunted his dreams, and those of his companions, for months now. \u00a0 He chewed on his bottom lip, as he pondered over the things he had talked about to Coutts, memories from long ago that he had suppressed, or had he?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWal, whaddya think?\u201d Coutts rough voice broke into his reverie, and he was forced to look briefly at him, before shrugging and asking him what he meant exactly. \u201cWhaddya think about your pa? \u00a0 Reckon he\u2019ll pay up to git you back whole and alive?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cMy father has never kept it a secret that his sons mean more to him than the Ponderosa, Mr. Coutts.\u201d \u00a0Adam\u2019s voice was even but it held a trace of sarcasm, and he drew a deep breath.\u00a0 Sure, Ben would give every inch of the Ponderosa away to save any one of his sons, but the four of them would give no quarter in the attempt to get every inch back!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNow, I like that,\u201d Coutts said approvingly, and spat another stream of juice into the dirt.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re leaving a fine trail for anyone to follow,\u201d Adam remarked quietly \u201cWho is it for?\u00a0 Danny\u2019s father?\u00a0 The sheriff?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Coutts frowned, he had not given a thought to the tell tale signs he was giving away so openly.\u00a0 He said nothing, merely scowled.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about Danny\u2019s father anyway?\u00a0 I thought you were supposed to be waiting for him at Signal Rock. \u00a0 \u00a0Couldn\u2019t you have let the boy go back home, instead of dragging him to Kane\u2019s mine?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I intend to do with that boy is none of your affair, Cartwright.\u00a0 Jest keep your nose outta my business!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cBeing dragged along with you makes it my business,\u201d Adam replied coolly.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

For a moment or two they rode in silence, before Coutts rather abruptly turned his horse around and joined ranks with his cousins, leaving Adam time on his own to lead them to their destination in peace.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Chapter 10.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s move on.\u00a0 Staying here gives me the creeps,\u201d Obadiah muttered as he walked towards his horse, at the same time firmly screwing on the top of his canteen.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve only been here five minutes,\u201d Luke protested, wiping sweat from his brow. \u201cWe need a rest.\u00a0 So do these animals.\u201d \u00a0He wiped white foaming sweat from the neck of his horse, as it drank the cool water in the pool at Signal Rock.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThe longer we wait here, the further along they get.\u00a0 Once they get to the mountains, they could lose themselves and never find their way out agin.\u00a0 They\u2019ve got my boy \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t have to remind me, Johnson.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThen what are you waiting for, Luke? \u00a0 You know they can\u2019t find the mine without my help.\u00a0 You know that was the reason they took Danny?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Luke Morgan glanced over at his companion and frowned.\u00a0 It was obvious that the man was half out of his mind with fear about what was going to happen to the boy. \u00a0 The big man heaved a sigh, and stroked the neck of his horse once again.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cLook, Johnson, if we ride away from here now, these horses are going to be no use to us, nor to Danny, when we need to get back.\u00a0 From what you\u2019ve told me, Kane\u2019s mine is in a position in those mountains that makes walking into hell a picnic. \u00a0 Just give the horses time to recover; we\u2019ve pushed them hard enough as it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Johnson shook his head, threw his hat on the ground and then, weary beyond all measure, sunk down upon a rock and buried his face in his hands. \u00a0 With a sigh, he eventually moved his hands away, and it was then that his eyes noticed the stains upon the rocks. \u00a0 He leaned forward a little and touched them with his fingertips.\u00a0 Blood.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSomeone\u2019s been hurt here,\u201d he cried. \u201cIt could have been Danny.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd there again it might not have been Danny.\u00a0 Now, calm down. \u00a0 \u00a0Let me see.\u201d Luke hurried towards the rocks and leaned forward.\u00a0 He, too, touched the dried blood with his fingertips and surveyed it thoughtfully. \u00a0\u201cBefore we scare ourselves witless, let\u2019s take a good look around and see if we can make sense of this. \u00a0 Try not to obscure prints that are already here.\u00a0 I\u2019ll go over yonder, you look around here.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Obadiah grabbed Luke\u2019s arm and looked up into the man\u2019s face.\u00a0 He could not find the words to speak for fear had frozen his voice, but the look in his face was sufficient.\u00a0 Luke put a reassuring hand on the man\u2019s shoulder, and walked away.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t take long to find the tracks of a man and boy standing together, and evidence of a scuffle. \u00a0 \u00a0As Luke walked along, he thought he could recognise the print of a horse shoe here and there and, crouching lower, he peered at one very clear print and nodded to himself. \u00a0 The horse had put a lot of weight upon his hind legs to get lift off for a launch forwards, and several paces along there was the first sign of blood, and the print, rather mussed up, of something heavy having fallen upon the dust strewn rock.\u00a0 Blood, dried black by the sun, was splattered upon a rock. \u00a0 Someone had been hurt and lain prostrate upon the injury for a while. \u00a0 But that someone had not been a child.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat did you find?\u201d he asked Obadiah upon joining him at where a camp site had been dismantled only hours earlier.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNot much.\u00a0 Danny must have spent most of his time over there.\u00a0 Some smudged prints here.\u201d He pointed to the two locations. \u00a0 Obviously the most important signs he was going to seek were those of his son.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Luke scratched his chin through his stubble and narrowed one eye as though having to weigh up his answer carefully.\u00a0 Then he leaned forwards and picked up Obadiah\u2019s hat and passed it to him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI think I recognised the print of a horse.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThe print of a horse?\u201d \u00a0Obadiah shook his head. \u201cHow\u2019s that going to help us?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cLook, I keep a record of all the horses I care for, by their shoes for one thing. \u00a0 Most of the prints are horses I\u2019ve never treated nor known before, but this one…his prints are fresher than the others so he must have ridden up here later. \u00a0 \u00a0Danny must have thought it was you \u2018cos there\u2019s his prints near by the horse. \u00a0 They tried to make a run for it, but something happened. My guess is that Coutts, or one of \u2018em, shot the man off his horse.\u00a0 That man was hurt, but not enough to stop them riding on to Kane\u2019s mine with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Johnson looked at Luke and then nodded. \u201cThe guy who came to your place and got his horse last night. Of course!\u00a0 What\u2019s his name?\u00a0 Cartwright?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the one.\u00a0 So they\u2019ve got him and Danny.\u00a0 But they\u2019ll still be expecting you, Johnny.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Obadiah gave Luke a brief smile of thanks for the mention of his soubriquet, an indication of acceptance and friendship.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s wait half an hour.\u00a0 That\u2019s enough time for the horses and us to have rested enough.\u201d Luke pulled open his saddle bags and produced a small sack of food, provisions hastily prepared by Clara for the journey. \u00a0\u201cWe\u2019ll eat and then ride on.\u00a0 It isn\u2019t as though they\u2019re taking any trouble to hide their tracks, is it?\u201d<\/p>\n

……………………….<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam turned in the saddle and looked back. \u00a0 They were in the mountains now.\u00a0 The rocks were treacherous, even for a sure footed beast such as Sport.\u00a0 He could see the boy tense as he sat in front of Larry, gripping the pommel of the saddle. \u00a0 It was easier to lose a trail here.\u00a0 He remembered how long it had taken his father and brothers to pick up his own, and then lost it again and again.\u00a0 He sighed, wiped his brow and pushed his hat to the back of his head. \u00a0 \u00a0He was in pain now.\u00a0 It was becoming increasingly difficult to ride as though the pain was not affecting him. \u00a0 His fingers were swollen so much that he could no longer bend them, and the nails had long lost their pink colour, as circulation was being slowly strangled from reaching them.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He fumbled for his water canteen and drew it to his chest, holding it firmly in place by his injured arm while he screwed off the lid. \u00a0 He was about to bring it to his lips when Coutts rode up and pulled it away, spilling several drops of the precious liquid as he did so.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t spare water.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam stared at him.\u00a0 For an instant it were as though he was transported back in time, and he fully expected Coutts to turn the canteen up and pour out sand and laugh, as Kane had laughed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Their eyes locked, and between them mutual hatred flashed like electricity.\u00a0 Coutts\u2019 eyes narrowed and flickered momentarily but he could not withstand the cold loathing in the younger man\u2019s brown eyes, and reluctantly passed back the canteen. \u00a0 \u00a0For a mere second, Adam kept his eyes fixed upon Coutts before raising the canteen to his lips, and letting the water trickle delightfully down his parched throat.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Even as the water slid down he was aware of the intensity of feeling from Coutts, aware also that now he had made another enemy and that he would have to watch every word, every action he made . \u00a0 He glanced over his shoulder and saw Danny, who was white faced, with eyes overlarge and dark shadowed.\u00a0 He turned Sport\u2019s head, and urged the horse back to where the boy sat in front of Larry. \u00a0 Without a word he passed the canteen to the boy, and nodded to him as an inducement for the boy to take the water.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI never said\u2026\u201d Coutts hissed, but his words were cut short by the look Larry cast at him, and he knew he could lose more than he would gain if he pursued the subject.\u00a0 In order to ease the situation and gain some mastery of what was left of his leadership, he pulled his horse back and took a deep breath. \u201cI never said we need go without, common sense has to prevail.\u00a0 Perhaps now we should have a rest, the horses could do with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Larry eased down the boy, who was still hugging the canteen close to his chest. \u00a0 Adam dismounted and walked alongside the boy, until they found a flat rock upon which to sit in the shadow of the higher cliffs.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cFeeling better?\u201d He glanced sideways on at the boy, anxious not to lose sight for too long of the three men.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cA bit.\u201d \u00a0Danny passed back the canteen as he looked at Adam and frowned. \u201cYou got hurt, I\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam tried to shrug it off, but the pain in his arm had travelled up to his shoulder, and the bruised area was beginning to remind him that he was no lightweight, and falling on rocks was folly for a man his size.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat would you be doing now?\u201d he asked quietly, trying to flex his fingers and get some life back into them.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSchool. \u00a0 I had an essay to read for Mr. Pritchard.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat was it about?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was about a day in a blacksmith\u2019s workshop.\u00a0 We all had to write about our pa\u2019s work as though we were actually there, but as my pa \u2013.\u201d \u00a0He stopped and looked down at the rocks. \u201cI wrote about Uncle Luke instead. \u00a0 \u00a0I wish I were there now.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam sighed and placed a gentle hand on the boy\u2019s knee. \u201cYou\u2019ll be back soon.\u00a0 You\u2019ll be a hero, and you can write an essay about your adventures with outlaws and such.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t feel like an adventure,\u201d he whispered forlornly.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNo, adventures never do until afterwards. \u00a0 You\u2019ll see, I promise.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cTruly?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cCross my heart and spit in the wind truly.\u201d Adam smiled and picked up the canteen, then he poured some water on his handkerchief and began to wipe away the blood from his brow and face. \u00a0\u201cYou remind me of my youngest brother.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI do?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSure you do.\u00a0 When he was your age, he loved to go on adventures.\u00a0 Fact is he used to find adventures so easily, that Pa thought it might be wise to lock him in his room for his own good.\u201d He grinned at the boy, who gave him a slow smile in return. \u201cHe\u2019s still getting into trouble even now.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cDoesn\u2019t he mind?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHe does at the time, but afterwards, well, afterwards is always the best part of an adventure.\u201d \u00a0He looked over at the three men, and sighed. \u201cI think we have to move on. \u00a0 It won\u2019t be long now, Danny, and it will soon be all over.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI just wish my pa were here, that\u2019s all.\u201d The child\u2019s voice was husky, as he clambered to his feet and slowly slipped his hand into that of the tall dark man at his side.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam felt the soft touch of the child\u2019s fingers as they slipped into his.\u00a0 They were dry and warm, and curled about his hand with the trust only a child can bestow upon a total stranger.\u00a0 It reminded him of the times another little boy had done just the same, many years before, and his heart turned a somersault in his breast at the memory.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

………………………………<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The camp was bleak.\u00a0 The wagon was blown over, smashed and bleached white and gray with the heat of countless suns upon it.\u00a0 The lean-to, under which Kane had set his table and would take his meals, was no longer there and it took Adam a little while to remember that he had used the materials of it for the travois to drag Kane away.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

There was the big rock upon which Kane had placed the bag of food and the canteen of water, before he stepped away to place the rifle down on the ground. \u00a0 \u00a0Adam\u2019s heart fluttered mischievously at the thought of that moment in time, the desperate lunge for the rifle, and the way they had fought and Kane\u2019s taunts. \u00a0 \u00a0He closed his eyes, as though to wash away the memories of that time in order to deal with the situation as it stood now.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Chapter 11<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The sun beat down even though evening was drawing in.\u00a0 He watched as Larry Parks dismounted, lifted the boy down in his arms and carried him to the mine, where the shadows promised some respite from the heat. \u00a0 \u00a0Frank Parks also dismounted and walked round and round, leading his horse, his eyes narrowing as he peered here and there, and then turned to look at Adam.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThis the place then?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYes, this is the place.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

They stared at one another, and then Frank tethered his horse to what remained of the wagon\u2019s shaft.\u00a0 Then he walked over to the pile of rocks close to the mine entrance.\u00a0 He prodded at them with his foot and several toppled over and cluttered down, spilling dust into spirals about them.\u00a0 They had been there for over two years, and had accumulated sand and grit from countless sand storms in that time.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd Kane\u2019s gold is here, is it?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI told you, there\u2019s no gold here.\u201d Adam leaned upon the pommel of his saddle and looked about him. \u00a0 \u00a0It was just a pile of rock, with drifting sand, and the black mouth of a mine. The silence was profound. \u00a0 He looked up and then saw Coutts walking towards him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou reckon there\u2019s no gold here, is that right?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI know there\u2019s no gold here. \u00a0 \u00a0I told you that before, but you wouldn\u2019t believe me.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cBecause I don\u2019t believe you, that\u2019s why.\u201d \u00a0 Coutts put his hands on his hip and scowled. \u201cA man like Kane doesn\u2019t lie.\u00a0 He had gold dust in plenty, and boasted that there was more to come too. \u00a0 Apart from which, you wouldn\u2019t have stayed here more than a few days unless you were sure there was something in it for you. \u00a0 Now, get down from that horse, and show us where the seam is.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam dismounted. He was stiff from the ride, and dry from lack of water.\u00a0 He was in such pain from the wound to his arm and shoulder that he longed to sink down and just sleep, oh, and have a long cup of coffee and some of Hop Sings sweet and sour pork and – he shook his head. \u00a0 Was he becoming delusional?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no seam.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSo you keep saying, but I want you to go on in there and prove it.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHow?\u201d \u00a0Adam\u2019s eyes betrayed his open bemusement at their inability to understand what he had been telling them. \u201cHow can I prove it to you?\u00a0 Would you recognise a good seam of gold if you saw one? \u00a0 \u00a0I can\u2019t show you something that isn\u2019t there.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cJust go on inside and show us.\u201d \u00a0Coutts stood with his legs apart and his hands on his gun belt. \u00a0 \u00a0He was master of the situation now, and he watched the other man\u2019s face contort with a myriad conflicting expressions.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It was Larry Parks who came to Adam\u2019s aid by, putting his hand on his cousin\u2019s arm and advising him to act with more caution.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThe man isn\u2019t well, Jerry.\u00a0 I should\u2019ve checked on his arm before now.\u00a0 If there ain\u2019t no gold in that mine, then you\u2019ll want to keep this pigeon alive, won\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Jeremiah Coutts stared thoughtfully at his cousin, and then nodded slowly.\u00a0 Yes, he did want this pigeon kept alive. \u00a0 His eyes flicked from that of his cousin back to Adam\u2019s, and then to the boy who was now edging closer to the man in black.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSee to him.\u201d he snapped angrily and stalked away, barking orders to Frank to get a fire lit and some food cooking.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThanks for that,\u201d Adam said quietly, looking at Larry thoughtfully, as though he were seeing someone he had not expected to see, but was pleased nonetheless.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t thank me yet awhile,\u201d Larry replied, placing his saddlebags down beside where the other man had sat down. \u00a0\u201cI\u2019ve not checked that wound in your arm and should have done.\u00a0 I\u2019m sorry, but this is going to hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam nodded, and watched as Larry carefully began to unwind the temporary bandage that they had used.\u00a0 It didn\u2019t take long to reach the stage where the blood had dried onto the material, and Larry sighed.\u00a0 He opened his bags and began to rummage about in them, and then produced lint and linen bandages and various boxes and bottles of medication.\u00a0 Seeing the question in Adam\u2019s eyes he shrugged.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI stole \u2018em from the dispensary, as soon as Jerry told me they were going to make a run for it. \u00a0 I thought we\u2019d be sure to need something like this sooner or later, and it would spare us having to get to a town for a doctor.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou should have stayed there, in the prison,\u201d Adam said slowly, as he watched the convict pour water onto some lint and gently dab at where the material, flesh and blood had become firmly attached.\u00a0 He flinched as Larry gently began to tweak back the material.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI told you already, I couldn\u2019t do that, not only because of Frank and Jerry, but because I couldn\u2019t bear being locked up for much longer.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSurely you would have been due for parole or release soon?\u201d \u00a0Adam looked away and stared at the sky.\u00a0 He was not squeamish but, for some reason, watching Larry pull away the bloodied stuff made his stomach turn over. \u00a0 Drops of vermilion blood were seeping up to the surface and beading the line of the cuts in his arm, glistening ruby red amongst the other colours the bruising and grazing had created on his arm.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d \u00a0Larry shook his head, as he began to gently clean the wound with some iodine. Adam chewed the inside of his cheek, to take his mind away from the burning pain as the iodine touched the raw wounds. \u201cNo, we still had some to go on our sentences, we didn\u2019t get the breaks like you, mister,\u201d Larry muttered, an edge to his voice that had never been there before. \u201cA rich pa, fancy schools and goin\u2019 to college.\u201d \u00a0He had a gentle touch, and was examining Adam\u2019s hands and the flexibility of the fingers, and with a sigh began to put ointment smeared lint upon the wounds. \u00a0\u201cIn the end, what does it matter?\u00a0 You had the breaks but still end up here with us.\u201d He looked at Adam with a cool arrogance, and Adam realised that any chance of reasoning with the man was slipping fast away.\u00a0 Whatever envious venom Coutts was spilling out, was having its effect.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If they had only known, or would only accept the truth of the matter.\u00a0 Schooling?\u00a0 What schooling?\u00a0 Adam\u2019s dark brows met in a dark line of annoyance. \u00a0 He had been born with a thirst for knowledge, for learning, and a love for words and books. \u00a0 As a child, there had been the long nights and longer days in his pa\u2019s company, listening to his father reading.\u00a0 He remembered sitting on Ben\u2019s knee, learning about the constellations at night, and how to navigate his way by the stars, or paying attention to the way figures worked together to prove whether one man and his child could eat that day, or go without food.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And there were the times when he went barefoot, times when he wore clothes too small, too tight, too ragged; a walking advertisement for poverty. \u00a0 Yet, upon every settlement they reached, his father would send him to school. \u00a0 How many schools had he been to over the years as an itinerant child? \u00a0 Too many.\u00a0 Some he would attend for only a few days, some a few weeks. \u00a0 Some, happily, for several months.\u00a0 And the teachers would slake his thirst for education as graciously as an oasis of water could sweeten the belly of a horse dying for lack of refreshment.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Generous people gave them books for him to read. \u00a0 Books still treasured, for they had been gifts of immeasurable generosity, for these homesteaders could only carry so many items of value, and any book was a treasure to them. \u00a0 Yet they had been given him, and sometimes, Ben had paid money for a new book from a store, and that would then become, oh, so precious.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam felt the warmth of the child\u2019s body pressed against him, and instinctively he put his arm around his shoulder and drew him closer. \u00a0 Larry had concluded his ministrations and was putting his things away in his saddle bags. \u00a0 With grave eyes, Adam watched Parks walk away and join the others.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

At least Kane had been educated.\u00a0 They had talked about poetry, and literature, and found common ground for a few days. \u00a0 Kane\u2019s envy had come from what he believed had come too easy to the Cartwrights\u2026their empire.\u00a0 He had proven himself as unreasonable as these three men; ignorant in their bitterness, unreasoning in their covetousness. \u00a0 Adam sighed, and glanced down at the boy.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m awful hungry, Mr. Cartwright,\u201d Danny whispered.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll eat soon.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The boy looked at him trustfully, and then lowered his head upon Adam\u2019s shoulder and tried to shrink closer into the man\u2019s protective clasp. \u00a0 Adam watched, as Coutts and Frank Parks walked towards the entrance of the mine and Larry took his position as watchman upon the rocks.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What childhood had he enjoyed anyway?\u00a0 He looked down at the boy, and remembered a golden headed child who had looked to him for protection from the first weeks of his birth. \u00a0 Perhaps, Adam considered now, the only time he had been a child, or allowed to be a child, had been those weeks at school, wherever it had happened to be at the time, when he had been able to play, kick a ball about, shout and holler, and learn, as any other child could and would and should have done.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He sighed. \u00a0 One could never turn back the pages of one\u2019s life, except to peer into them occasionally and see where the highlights lay, and in what chapters had been the heartbreaks. \u00a0 He had never envied anyone in his life, it never came into the equation<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cCartwright?\u00a0 Come here.\u201d \u00a0Coutts was beckoning to him, and with another sigh he got to his feet, the child clinging to his hand all the while.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

They stood there at the entrance of the mine.\u00a0 The child was a complete non-essential to the equation and it seemed as though, suddenly, Coutts realised that the boy was a liability who would consume their share of water and food.\u00a0 He reached out and grabbed the child away from Adam, and held him by the collar.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cLeave him,\u201d Adam said immediately, his hand outstretched towards the boy. \u00a0\u201cLeave him, Coutts, he\u2019s no harm to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYeah?\u00a0 But he ain\u2019t much good to me either,\u201d Coutts sneered, pulling his gun from its holster.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cLook, whatever you want from me, I\u2019ll do\u2026.just leave the boy in peace.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHow magnanimous of you, Cartwright. \u00a0 And what do you have to bargain with, anyway? \u00a0 \u00a0I can wait a few more hours for this kid\u2019s father to appear and show me where the gold is, or you can get in there and find it for me.\u00a0 It hardly matters now.\u00a0 Your worth comes from being a Cartwright \u2013 but his,\u201d he swung the gun towards the boy, \u201che ain\u2019t worth a plugged dime.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThen why bring him along?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cBecause at the time we needed to make sure his pa would come and show us where this here mine was\u2026.you coming along removed that need\u2026which makes this kid irrelevant.\u201d \u00a0He clicked back the trigger and smiled with that same blank eyed look on his face that Adam had seen in Kane\u2019s<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Chapter 12<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cRiders coming this way.\u00a0 Looks like Johnson and some other man.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cAre you sure?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, about half an hour\u2019s ride away.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Coutts smiled, and looked at the boy and then at Adam,<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSeems like your daddy\u2019s got good timing, sonny.\u201d \u00a0Coutts smiled and slipped the gun into its holster, \u00a0looked at the boy and then again at Adam, and walked quickly to a vantage point among the rocks, to watch the two black specks in the distance growing larger and larger.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

For Adam and Danny it meant time waiting, and once again they sat together on the rocks. \u00a0 Frank Parks stood close by, his rifle nestled in the crook of his arm and his eyes watching them closely. \u00a0 There was little chance of escape. \u00a0 Adam, with memories so much to the forefront of his mind now, knew the risks involved in any attempt far outweighed future opportunities, which could open up to them upon the arrival of the two men currently riding towards them.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sitting beside Danny now, Adam watched the boy thoughtfully. \u00a0 When Joe had been that age, Adam mused, he had been used to being doted upon by his two older siblings and his father. \u00a0 Everything he did, everything he said during the day, would be discussed and shared between the three of them because, by his presence, Joe had brought sunshine into their lives. \u00a0 His childhood had been a glimpse of the childhood Hoss and Adam had never enjoyed, but they gained pleasure from the enjoyment he had, and this neither had ever begrudged him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Cartwright.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The boy\u2019s voice shook him from his reverie, and he glanced up as two riders came into view.\u00a0 He recognised the blacksmith immediately, but the other man he did not know.\u00a0 He was about to say something to Danny, when the boy launched himself forwards like an arrow from a bow.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Man and boy met one another close to the big rock that had once been the place Adam had sat to eat his meals with Kane.\u00a0 The man swept the boy up and into the air and then down into his arms, and held him tight. \u00a0 The emotion between both was tangible, and Adam glanced away and stared only at the far off horizon.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s enough now.\u201d Coutts came, striding hurriedly forwards with the rifle loose in his hands. \u00a0 He pulled the boy away, and then looked at Obadiah and nodded. \u201cFound us, then?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t difficult.\u00a0 You left a trail that was easier to read than a novel from the prison library.\u201d Obadiah smiled.\u00a0 The joy of seeing his son made him feel magnanimous even towards Coutts.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWho\u2019s your friend?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is Luke Morgan.\u00a0 He was caring for Danny, he wanted to come with me to make sure the boy was safe, and to take him home.\u201d \u00a0Obadiah narrowed his eyes.\u00a0 He was making a statement, but it was really a request.\u00a0 He was not stupid enough to assume that Coutts was that open handed, but he did not want the man to feel his superior.\u00a0 He needed, desperately, to get his son home safely, or at least, know he was in good hands and away from this crowd.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Coutts surveyed them coldly, and met cold eyes in return.\u00a0 He noted that Morgan had his hand resting easily on his thigh, but close to his gun handle.\u00a0 He nodded, turned away and looked at Daniel.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cDo you want to go home, boy?\u201d he asked the child.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYes, sir.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cGo on then.\u201d He gave Daniel a push towards Luke, and then smiled as he saw the boy\u2019s eyes light up. \u201cSay goodbye to your pa, you won\u2019t be seeing him for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cBut\u2026\u201d The boy paused, and looked alternately at Luke then his father, and he turned to Coutts. \u201cBut I want to go home with Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Obadiah grabbed his son by the arm and drew him close, away from Coutts and nearer to Luke.\u00a0 He knelt on one knee and looked into the boy\u2019s face.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is as good as it gets, Daniel.\u00a0 Go with Luke now while you can. \u00a0 He and Clara will take good care of you, you know that?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYes, pa, but\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou know I can\u2019t go back there to town with you, Danny. \u00a0 I\u2019d be arrested, maybe shot. \u00a0 This way at least I get a chance, and I\u2019ll know that you\u2019re safe.\u201d \u00a0 He drew the boy into his arms and held him tight, and then looked up and his eyes caught the dark gaze of the man in black, who was watching with a melancholy look in his brown eyes. \u00a0 He turned aside and pushed the boy towards Luke. \u201cGo, now.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cBut, pa\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou heard what your pa said, boy. \u00a0 \u00a0I ain\u2019t got much patience, if you don\u2019t git outta here right this minute I may just change my mind.\u201d \u00a0Coutts raised his rifle and swung it towards Luke. \u201cJust move, now!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Luke Morgan reached out a hand, took the boy\u2019s hands in his own, and lifted him easily up into the saddle in front of him.\u00a0 He looked earnestly at Obadiah and then, with a curt nod, turned his horse and rode back out of the canyon.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThank you.\u201d Johnson said simply to Coutts, knowing that the man was not prone to acts of generosity. \u00a0\u201cThank you for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a stupid idea to bring him along in the first place. \u00a0 Still, I guess if we had not, you would not be here now, would you?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Johnson replied honestly.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Coutts nodded, and gestured to the man to walk along with him to where Adam was now standing, watching them.\u00a0 When they were close enough, Coutts introduced Johnson to Adam.\u00a0 The two men eyed each other cautiously.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cJohnson, this here is Adam Cartwright.\u201d \u00a0Jerry looked at Adam and then at Johnson. \u201cHis daddy owns the Ponderosa and is worth a fortune.\u00a0 Now this guy tells me that he was here two years ago working this mine with Kane, and he says that there ain\u2019t no gold.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cKane always boasted that there was a gold seam bigger than the Comstock there in that mine,\u201d Johnson said quietly.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what I keep telling Mr. Cartwright, but he won\u2019t believe me.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t say that,\u201d Adam interjected. \u201cI don\u2019t doubt that Kane boasted about the gold seam that he wanted there, but the simple fact of the matter is that there ain\u2019t no gold, and no wishing it up will make it any different.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Johnson frowned and shrugged. \u201cI\u2019ll go and take a look for myself,\u201d he declared, and walked towards the mine entrance, then turned to Adam. \u201cAre you coming?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

They stepped into the shaft and Adam looked around, he followed without a word, and behind him came Coutts and Larry. \u00a0 Their footsteps echoed in the hollowed out cavern of the mine, and they stepped past the joists that Adam had hauled and erected there.\u00a0 They walked past the area that Adam had blasted over two years before, where he had found only rock and dust.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Johnson stopped and looked around him.\u00a0 The lamp that had been lit for their use by Larry, cast a dim light, but even so there was no responding glitter of any gold from the black walls around them.\u00a0 He stretched out a hand and ran it across the rough walls of the mine.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cDidn\u2019t you find anything at all?\u201d he asked Adam.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNothing,\u201d Adam replied, and he glanced over at Coutts. \u201cKane knew there was no gold here.\u00a0 He knew, but didn\u2019t want the dream to go, so he just kept on trying to find it, until it broke him and drove him crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Coutts nodded and looked about him. \u00a0 He knelt down and picked up a discarded lamp, some stub of candle was there and he lit it and held it out to Adam.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cRight. \u00a0 I hear what you say, but I ain\u2019t gonna believe it jest because you said so.\u00a0 Now, you and Johnson are going to stay here and find that gold vein.\u201d He raised the rifle to the level of their belts and behind him, Larry did likewise.\u00a0 He smiled and nodded. \u201cGood, I\u2019m glad that you understand what I mean.\u00a0 Now, don\u2019t just stand there, get to work!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam and Johnson stood there; they looked at one another and then at Coutts and Larry as they backed off down the mine shaft back to the entrance. \u00a0 When Johnson made a step forward Coutts stopped. \u201cDon\u2019t think about leaving, you won\u2019t get far.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Chapter 13<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sheriff Cutter raised his hand and drew his horse to a halt.\u00a0 Immediately behind him, the posse grouped together and came to a standstill.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Morgan, as I live and breathe,\u201d he declared in a sarcastic tone of voice.\u00a0 He looked at Danny and frowned. \u201cWhere did you both spring from?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cOver there.\u201d Luke turned in the saddle and pointed to the area that he had just left. \u00a0\u201cHow did you know to follow us?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou were seen leaving with Obadiah Johnson, who \u2013 may I remind you \u2013 happens to be an escaped convict.\u00a0 I should arrest you for assisting in his escape, you do realise that, don\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t assist him in his escape, don\u2019t be so ridiculous!\u201d \u00a0Luke Morgan snorted angrily. \u201cI rode with him to rescue his son, that\u2019s all.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI see.\u00a0 And where is he now? \u00a0 Not riding back with you exactly, is he?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d \u00a0Luke frowned. \u201cHe couldn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cOf course he couldn\u2019t, because his pals out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThey aren\u2019t his pals. \u00a0 They forced him to go with them, and then took Danny to make sure that he did what he was told and\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A plaintive wail broke through their discussion, as the boy slid from Luke\u2019s horse and ran to the sheriff and gripped his leg tightly.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t arrest him, please, don\u2019t arrest him again,\u201d he cried, his voice thin and a wail of despair.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWell, son, I don\u2019t have much choice you hear? \u00a0 He\u2019s a man who has killed two people, and while he\u2019s loose with those other men, he could kill more. \u00a0 He\u2019s a dangerous man.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNo, no, he ain\u2019t dangerous, he ain\u2019t.\u201d \u00a0Tears dripped from the boy\u2019s eyes and coursed down his cheeks. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t him that killed Jeb and my ma, it wasn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s enough now, Daniel.\u201d Luke dismounted, put his hands on the boy\u2019s shoulders, and turned him around. \u00a0\u201cYou don\u2019t know what you\u2019re saying, now, be quiet.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI do know what I\u2019m saying, I do, and my pa didn\u2019t kill anyone, he didn\u2019t, I tell you.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWell, if he didn\u2019t then who did?\u201d Sheriff Cutter asked patiently, tapping his fingers impatiently against his thigh. He was more than a little anxious to get back to the job of arresting Johnson and the other three men.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI did.\u201d The boy\u2019s voice was barely above a whisper, and he looked up at the lawman with round, terrified eyes, before bowing his head and staring blankly at the ground. \u201cI did, sir,\u201d he whispered to the rocks at his feet.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cDaniel.\u201d \u00a0Luke squatted down and stared at the boy seriously. \u201cLook, son, there\u2019s no need to lie for your pa.\u00a0 He wouldn\u2019t want you to do that for him, and would tan your hide if he knew that you were lying for him like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI told you, I ain\u2019t lying.\u201d \u00a0Daniel wiped his face on his sleeve and looked defiantly up at the sheriff, and then at Luke. \u201cIt\u2019s true.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The two men exchanged looks, and then looked anxiously at the boy.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHow old are you, son?\u201d Cutter asked.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNearly nine.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThat means you must have been coming up to seven years old when your ma died. \u00a0 You mean to tell me that you took a gun, and shot your ma and Jeb?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cA gun ain\u2019t a toy, and it weighs something heavy.\u00a0 You mean to say you were strong enough to hold a gun steady and fire it, twice?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Daniel nodded, his eyes were wide, terrified, and his face was white.\u00a0 Cutter dismounted, walked towards the boy, and turned him round to face him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you say before?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cPa said not to say anything.\u00a0 He said that they would take me away from him, and put me somewhere, and I\u2019d never have a decent life.\u00a0 He said it didn\u2019t matter if he said he did it because he knew he was innocent, and so did God, and that was all that mattered.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cBut, Danny, if this is true, oh, Danny, think now, are you really telling us the truth?\u201d \u00a0Luke put his hand gently on the boy\u2019s shoulder, and with his other hand tipped up the boy\u2019s face so that the child was looking up at him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cMa and Jeb were going to leave me alone.\u00a0 Pa was out and they were going to sneak off together, and I said they couldn\u2019t do that, and ma started shouting at me.\u00a0 She was always shouting at me.\u201d His voice trailed away forlornly. \u00a0 \u201cThen she hit me and I fell against the chair, and Jeb\u2019s gun belt was hanging on the back of the chair and the gun was in his holster, and I grabbed it and said she wasn\u2019t to leave or I\u2019d shoot. The gun was heavy, heavier than I thought it would be, and it was hard to keep it steady, and then it went off, and I fell backwards and hit my head against the table leg.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThen what happened, son?\u201d Cutter asked very gently.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cJeb Early came and grabbed hold of me and shook me, and was shouting and screaming at me, and then Pa came in. He started yelling too, he kept calling ma\u2019s name and moaning.\u00a0 Jeb hit me across the head and said how I\u2019d killed her.\u00a0 But Pa thought Jeb had killed ma, and when he saw Jeb hit me, he jumped him and they started fighting.\u00a0 They were rolling on the floor, knocking the things over and I saw ma then, and blood, and she was just lying there with her eyes staring at the ceiling.\u201d \u00a0He began to shake, and flung his arms around Luke\u2019s neck and held him tightly, as tightly as he could. \u201cJeb grabbed a rifle and fired it at Pa, and I was crying because I saw ma like she was, and then the gun went off in my hand several times over, and then everything went black and I couldn\u2019t remember anything for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Luke shut his eyes tightly, trying to blank out the images the boy\u2019s discourse had brought into his mind.\u00a0 When he opened his eyes he looked at Cutter.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cDo you think it was possible?\u201d he asked very quietly, as he held the sobbing child in his arms.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s possible. \u00a0 But we only have his word for it, and his father, I doubt, would confirm it.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cCan I take him home?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Cutter nodded and turned to remount his horse.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSheriff, I think I ought to mention that they have another man there \u2013 a man called Adam Cartwright.\u00a0 They\u2019re holding him hostage of sorts.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Cutter nodded but said nothing. \u00a0 Cartwright.\u00a0 The name had a familiar ring to it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Chapter 14<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The two men faced one another in the gloom of the mineshaft. \u00a0 Each wondered whether the other would be an antagonist, or an ally. \u00a0 \u00a0 Each took the measure of the other, and both came to the same conclusion.\u00a0 In the circumstance in which they found themselves beggars could not be choosers, and they had to make do with what they each could offer the other.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI doubt if you\u2019re going to be much help in finding gold here,\u201d Johnson said, pointing to Adam\u2019s injured arm.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThere isn\u2019t any gold here.\u201d Adam sighed, and sat down wearily upon some rocks.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cKane always insisted that there was.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHe was deluding himself.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Obadiah frowned and looked about the gloomy interior, while he tried to reason out the other man\u2019s obvious irritation as having his word doubted.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI knew Kane for a long time, mister. \u00a0 Why should I take your word against his?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam nodded slowly, as though assuring himself that nothing in this world should surprise him, even now, here in Kane\u2019s tight, crazy little world all over again.\u00a0 He stood up and placed his hand upon one of the uprights that supported a joist, and took a deep breath.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSee this? \u00a0 I put this into place.\u00a0 All these beams were cut down, trimmed to size and placed here by me, while MISTER Kane sat outside under his awning looking over pieces of rock. \u00a0 \u00a0For many days I worked in this mine.\u00a0 I did the blasting and hauled out the rocks, and all for nothing. \u00a0 \u00a0He knew there was no gold here.\u00a0 He\u2019d known for weeks, but hadn\u2019t the guts to get up and move on. \u00a0 He was a defeated, bitter man.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Johnson nodded slowly and ran a hand down the smooth side of the wooden beam, and then looked at Adam, before sitting down on the rocks that Adam had just vacated.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYes, that sounds like Peter.\u201d He frowned thoughtfully. \u00a0\u201cBut what possessed you to stay here and work, if you knew there was no gold here?\u00a0 Why didn\u2019t you just get yourself on your horse and get the blazes outta here?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam put his head to one side and stared at the entrance of the mine, where a patch of blue sky could still be seen. \u00a0 Then he sighed and shook his head.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cBecause\u2026\u201d \u00a0He put a hand to his brow, and then swept his hand to one side in a gesture of utter futility. \u201cBecause I was his prisoner.\u00a0 I had no horse and no weapons.\u00a0 He saved my life with one hand, and then set about destroying me with the other. \u00a0 When I tried to leave on his mule, he shot it dead. When I tried to escape, he prevented me and hobbled me to a post like an animal.\u00a0 He degraded my very existence.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

There was silence for some moments, during which Adam chewed on his bottom lip and Obadiah turned a rock round and round between his fingers.\u00a0 It was the latter man who broke the silence.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cBut you survived, and he didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSure.\u00a0 Triumph of good over evil!\u201d Adam said with a cynicism that was not lost on Johnson, who sighed and nodded as he tossed the rock to one side.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI sympathise.\u00a0 Truly, I do.\u201d He looked at Adam thoughtfully, then stood up and with a deep sigh walked to the rock face and ran a hand over the rough surface, before looking at Adam.\u00a0 He folded his arms across his chest and leaned against one of the joists, that, full credit to Adam\u2019s hard work in installing it years ago, didn\u2019t even move enough to raise the dust. Obadiah glanced over at Adam and bit his bottom lip. \u201cI guess you heard all about that, huh?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cAbout my wife and Jeb Early?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cOh, yes, sure I heard about that,\u201d Adam replied rather distractedly.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was during that time that I met Peter Kane..\u00a0 He told me how much gold he had gleaned from this mine.\u00a0 He had a fortune already. There was yet another fortune still to be found.\u00a0 I believed him.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWell, he was lying.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know how many more times I have to say it, but he was, and he admitted as much before he died.\u00a0 He knew he had lost everything, but didn\u2019t know how to end it all. \u00a0 He wanted to die, but didn\u2019t even know how to do that in a decent manner.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI can imagine,\u201d Obadiah said simply. \u00a0\u201cWhat a miserable man he was.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam Cartwright nodded in agreement, yes, what a miserable man, what a small-minded, miserable man. \u00a0 Yet that same man, with his egotistical obsessions, had subjugated Adam in a manner that had caused him to suffer unmitigated misery. He glanced over his shoulder at Obadiah, and raised his eye brows in question. \u201cDo you intend staying here all night?\u201d he said quietly.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNope.\u201d Johnson smiled again as he leaned down to turn up the flame in the lamp. \u201cDo you trust me then, Mr. Cartwright?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cTrust doesn\u2019t enter the equation, Mr. Johnson, but you have a little boy who loves you back in Eastgate, and I assume you care enough about him to want to get back there?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYes, true enough,\u201d the other man\u2019s voice quavered just slightly, but sufficiently for Adam to notice, and be assured of the fact that he could lean on the man for his support.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He made his way slowly towards the entrance of the mine, with Johnson close by his side. \u00a0 In silence they crouched together, observing the movements of the three men closely, and noting in particular where the horses were hobbled.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cLarry Parks won\u2019t put up much opposition,\u201d Adam murmured, pointing to where Larry was looking through his saddlebags, as though ensuring that there was sufficient medical paraphernalia to withhold a siege.\u00a0 His rifle was resting on a rock close by, perhaps teetering would have been a better expression, and this Adam noticed with a slight smile.\u00a0 His eyes then turned to Frank and Jerry, who were in earnest conversation about something, and the way they kept looking towards the mine it was obvious that he and Johnson were part of the topic. \u00a0 Jerry was pointing and gesturing towards the mine emphatically, and Frank seemed to be losing his temper. \u00a0 The rifle in his hands could well have become a means of disposing of Jerry, if the conversation became any more heated than it was already.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam smiled and glanced at Johnson.\u00a0 He pointed to Larry and to the horses, just a few feet to the left of the inattentive sentry, and as he raised his hand to signal to Johnson in which direction to move, so a shot rang out. \u00a0 It startled them all.\u00a0 Adam and Johnson immediately stepped back into the dark confines of the mine, while the Parks brothers and Coutts scattered into the rocks.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWho is it? \u00a0 Do you think it\u2019s that blacksmith?\u201d Adam whispered.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWho? Luke? \u00a0 No, no, he wouldn\u2019t risk Danny on some hare brained idea of rescuing us. \u00a0 \u00a0But I wouldn\u2019t be at all surprised if there wasn\u2019t a posse close behind us.\u00a0 I told Luke more than once that I thought I saw dust some ways behind us.\u201d \u00a0He stopped, as Adam raised a hand for silence, and together they waited to see what would happen.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Chapter 15<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If they were tense in their expectations of what was to befall them, so were the Parks and Jerry.\u00a0 In their covert hiding places, the three men felt their hearts racing as they struggled to come to terms with what was happening.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re surrounded,\u201d a voice warned them, and immediately they released the safety catches on their rifles and waited. \u00a0 \u00a0\u201cCoutts? \u00a0 Parks? \u00a0 Did you hear what I said?\u00a0 This is Sheriff Cutter from Eastgate.\u00a0 I\u2019m telling you that you are surrounded by my men, and if you don\u2019t throw out your weapons now you\u2019ll be shot trying to resist arrest. \u00a0 I\u2019ll count to three.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Jerry answered by sending a bullet in the direction of the voice.\u00a0 It whined to its end, flattened out against a rock.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cOne.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Frank and Jerry fired off several bullets, and several bullets were fired back. One found its mark. \u00a0 Frank fell sideways, clutching at his shoulder, the rifle cluttering from his powerless fingers. \u00a0 Seeing his brother fall, Larry Parks ran across the clearing, and crouched behind the big rock where years earlier Adam had squatted, forced to eat there like an animal by Kane.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cShucks, I didn\u2019t expect it to end like this.\u201d Frank groaned as he saw the blood seeping through his fingers.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cTwo.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Larry inched forwards, and without a word began to check over the wound that his brother had sustained. \u00a0 He placed wadding against it and looked at his brother sadly. \u00a0 Frank nodded and opened his mouth to speak, but whatever he had wished to say was smothered by a gush of black blood and then, with a sad little jerk, he was still.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s dead,\u201d Larry whispered, as though he found it impossible to believe what his eyes told him. \u201cHe\u2019s dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThree.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou said there would be gold for us, gold and riches, that\u2019s what you said,\u201d Larry cried, as he turned to his cousin and grabbed at his shoulder. \u201cNow, see what\u2019s happened?\u00a0 He\u2019s dead, my brothers dead, and all because of you.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

More shots were fired, peppering the surrounding rocks, but the fatal shot that brought Jerry Coutts to his end was the one fired from Larry\u2019s own gun.\u00a0 Even before the smoke had began to curl from the end of the barrel, Larry had thrown the gun down, raised his hands above his head, and yelled out that he was surrendering.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As he stepped away from the big rock and walked into the clearing, where they could see him by the fading daylight, so the sheriff and his men began to emerge from the rocks. \u00a0 They stepped forward warily,<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHe said there was gold here,\u201d Larry said by way of explanation to the sheriff, who stood looking down at Jerry\u2019s body. \u00a0\u201cHe lied to us.\u00a0 Now Franks dead because of him.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Cutter nodded slowly and walked over to the body of Frank Parks, and then looked over at Larry and shook his head. \u00a0 With a sigh he turned away and returned to his prisoner, while at the same time, Adam Cartwright and Obadiah Johnson stepped from the mine.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Pyramid Lake had never looked so beautiful. \u00a0 \u00a0Sitting in the saddle with one leg hooked around the pommel and his hat pushed to the back of his head, Adam Cartwright looked at the perfect mirror of the lake, as the sun shone down upon it from a bluer than blue sky. \u00a0 He wondered where the reality ended and the reflection began. \u00a0 On such a tranquil day and among such beautiful surroundings, he was inclined to spend time to meditate and ponder such trivial things.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He allowed his mind to return to the events of the previous day, when Obadiah was reunited with his son. \u00a0 Larry was put in the cell, and Obadiah and Daniel were closeted with the sheriff for an hour or so.\u00a0 During that time Adam had his arm seen to by a doctor, who assured him that he would have some scars due to a lack of the proper medical procedures, but at the same time it would heal fast, as what attention he had received prevented any poison festering in the wound.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Walking out of the doctor\u2019s and surveying the town as it baked in the sun, he watched Danny come out of the sheriff\u2019s office, hand in hand with his father. \u00a0 The two had exchanged warm smiles and walked towards the home of the blacksmith and his wife. \u00a0 Adam was watching them in a day dreamy kind of way, when Cutter approached him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cTime for a drink, Mr. Cartwright?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cTime enough,\u201d Adam had replied.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Seated with their drinks before them, Cutter looked over at Adam, who was surveying his beer thoughtfully.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cGuess you got to know the boy pretty well, didn\u2019t you?\u201d Cutter asked, as he picked up his glass.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cPretty much.\u201d \u00a0Adam mirrored the sheriff\u2019s action and raised the glass.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cDid he tell you about his ma\u2019s death?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHe did,\u201d Adam replied slowly, and then looked at the sheriff. \u201cWhat are you going to do about him?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWal, on checking the gun in question, I could see where the problem lay\u2026not only in it\u2019s weight, and the youth of the person in question, but also by the fact that it had a hair trigger.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cA hair trigger, huh?\u201d Adam\u2019s dark eyes fixed onto the sheriff\u2019s face. \u201cNo chance of the boy firing with intent to kill then\u2026.the gun would go off as soon as his hands touched the thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s right, that\u2019s how I see it too.\u201d \u00a0Cutter finished his drink and wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. \u201cCan\u2019t press charges under those conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNo, can\u2019t see how you could.\u201d Adam nodded thoughtfully.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cPity that Johnson didn\u2019t tell us the truth in the beginning, saved himself some years in jail.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I can see what a problem it must be.\u201d \u00a0He finished his drink and picked up his hat. \u201cThanks for the drink, Sheriff.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou leaving today, then, Mr. Cartwright?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYeah.\u201d \u00a0Adam smiled slowly. \u201cI\u2019m going to take a slow ride down to Pyramid Lake and then \u2013 I\u2019m going home.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

They had shaken hands and parted company. \u00a0 Outside the saloon Adam mounted his horse and rode slowly out of the town, the reins slack in his hands.\u00a0 He touched the brim of his hat as he passed the Johnsons and Morgans. \u00a0 Danny waved, but Adam didn\u2019t look back. It was sufficient to have seen them all together, looking happy and relaxed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The dust of summer storms blew upon the frail remnants of Kane\u2019s camp.\u00a0 Gradually it was bowed down and buried beneath the sands.\u00a0 The rock at which Adam had once squatted for his meals, and where Jerry Coutts had died, stood stalwart guardian to the secrets of its past. \u00a0 Kane had a legacy; one of hatred and bitter obsession that blinded him to the good in the man who had stumbled upon him one hot summer\u2019s day. \u00a0 His poison had touched that young man\u2019s life, and momentarily blighted it. \u00a0 In the end, however, the legacy fell void. \u00a0 In poverty and in riches, and throughout his life, Adam Cartwright had known love, not only in word, but also in deeds, and that love had all the strength necessary to wipe out and remove forever any trace of the introverted bitterness of Peter Kane.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He allowed a smile to touch his lips now.\u00a0 He thought \u00a0back to the days of his childhood \u2013 those rolling wagons, those wild rivers, those meagre settlements \u2013 oh, what adventures he had shared with Pa and then, later, with Hoss. \u00a0 When he recalled the days when a homely, poor woman would hand him a book and ruffle his hair, or a small group of children would look at him, wide eyed, as he was introduced to them as a new pupil, his heart missed a beat, for he had tasted generosity unparalleled, and a love of learning even in the smallest communities.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

His life had been a rich pattern of all things and in the midst of it all had been one man \u2013 his strength, his buckler, his shield, his father.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He drew in clean fresh air and smiled, and then turned Sport around.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cC\u2019mon, boy,\u201d he said quietly, \u201ctime to go home.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Finis<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tags:\u00a0 Adam Cartwright,\u00a0Peter Kane<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/g><\/svg><\/i> \"Loading\"<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summary:\u00a0 It’s been two years since Eastgate, Salt Flats, and Kane.\u00a0 Business for the Ponderosa continues and life goes on.\u00a0 What happens when life takes Adam back to Eastgate and his memories?\u00a0 Could the truth have prevented his ordeal?<\/p>\n

Rating:\u00a0 K+ (28,925 words)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":145,"featured_media":5984,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"template-full-width-post.php","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,23,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-actionadventure","category-drama","category-whn","wpcat-2-id","wpcat-23-id","wpcat-13-id"],"a3_pvc":{"activated":true,"total_views":1233,"today_views":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Crucible286.jpg?fit=640%2C477&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":60410,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=60410","url_meta":{"origin":10304,"position":0},"title":"It Was Just One Second (by AC1830)","author":"AC1830","date":"October 28, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary: How long does it take to change a life forever? Joe Cartwright finds out it only takes a second. Written for the 2025 Michael Landon\u2019s Birthday Challenge - pick a period of time, from a second up to a year, that changed Joe Cartwright\u2019s life forever. Rating: T, Word\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hurt\/Comfort"","block_context":{"text":"Hurt\/Comfort","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=41"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Crucible","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot-2025-10-28-230423.png?fit=797%2C628&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot-2025-10-28-230423.png?fit=797%2C628&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot-2025-10-28-230423.png?fit=797%2C628&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot-2025-10-28-230423.png?fit=797%2C628&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5979,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=5979","url_meta":{"origin":10304,"position":1},"title":"No More Games (by Patina)","author":"patina","date":"June 3, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Rating: T Word Count=3617 Summary:\u00a0WHIB for The Crucible. When Adam realizes he's in the act of killing Peter Kane, he's horrified that he's finally lost control and proved his tormentor right. As he makes his escape, he's reminded that two men left him in the desert to die, too. Just\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Drama"","block_context":{"text":"Drama","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=23"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Crucible286.jpg?fit=640%2C477&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Crucible286.jpg?fit=640%2C477&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Crucible286.jpg?fit=640%2C477&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15540,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=15540","url_meta":{"origin":10304,"position":2},"title":"Kane’s Bidet (by Robin)","author":"profrobinw","date":"January 4, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary:\u00a0 An investigational report of epic (too much information) proportions. Rating:\u00a0 T\u00a0 (1,150 words)","rel":"","context":"In "Drama"","block_context":{"text":"Drama","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=23"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/ARLE-e1497282889671.png?fit=570%2C416&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/ARLE-e1497282889671.png?fit=570%2C416&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/ARLE-e1497282889671.png?fit=570%2C416&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13181,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=13181","url_meta":{"origin":10304,"position":3},"title":"Worth Fighting For (by No1ButJoe)","author":"No1butjoe","date":"July 28, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary:\u00a0 A What Happened Instead to The Crucible.\u00a0What if Joe went with Adam? WARNINGS: Rated due to bad language, descriptive violence, and extremely harmful injuries. Rating:\u00a0 T \u00a0 Word count: 58390","rel":"","context":"In "Action\/Adventure"","block_context":{"text":"Action\/Adventure","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7436,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=7436","url_meta":{"origin":10304,"position":4},"title":"Crossroads (by southplains)","author":"southplains","date":"May 8, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary: \u00a0Adam's choices regarding his torment at the hands of a madman result in an ever-widening ripple effect. A WHN\/WHI for \"The Crucible.\" Rated:\u00a0MA \u00a0WC 35,000","rel":"","context":"In "Brothers"","block_context":{"text":"Brothers","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=1009"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Crucible286.jpg?fit=640%2C477&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Crucible286.jpg?fit=640%2C477&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Crucible286.jpg?fit=640%2C477&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1742,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=1742","url_meta":{"origin":10304,"position":5},"title":"The Crucible – WHN (by BluewindFarm)","author":"BluewindFarm","date":"October 20, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary: This is what happens when a writer responds to a Pinecone challenge, and then is reminded how easily she could have incorporated another existing challenge that few dared to attempt.\u00a0 But hey, can one writer incorporate the requirements of all three challenges into\u00a0one story to create a fourth edition?\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Adam Cartwright"","block_context":{"text":"Adam Cartwright","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=1005"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/BONANZA-MARVIN-2-.jpg?fit=599%2C324&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/BONANZA-MARVIN-2-.jpg?fit=599%2C324&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/BONANZA-MARVIN-2-.jpg?fit=599%2C324&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10304","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/145"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10304"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10304\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5984"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10304"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}