{"id":13455,"date":"2016-10-07T11:39:29","date_gmt":"2016-10-07T15:39:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=13455"},"modified":"2025-09-25T15:41:24","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T19:41:24","slug":"what-the-wind-blew-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=13455","title":{"rendered":"What the Wind Blew In (by McFair_58)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary<\/strong>:\u00a0One day the wind blows in a woman claiming to be Ben Cartwright’s daughter. As her claim appears to be valid, Belle moves into the Ponderosa bringing trouble from her past in the form of a man who is obsessed with her and who blames Ben Cartwright for taking her mother away. Before the end the lives of the Cartwrights and the Ponderosa itself are in danger of going up in flames.<\/p>\n

Rated: PG-13\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Word count: 59, 034<\/p>\n

All known and public characters belong to those who created them. \u00a0All new characters belong to the author. \u00a0There is no intent to infringe on copyright and no money is being made – just friends and warm hearts hopefully!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What the Wind Blew In<\/strong><\/p>\n

One<\/p>\n

Joe Cartwright clung to the shadows in the alley beside the Dry Goods store.\u00a0 It was a hot and windy day in Virginia City.\u00a0 He and his brothers had come into town to pick up supplies \u2013 and maybe wet their whistle if time allowed before they had to head back home.\u00a0 Pa had told them in no uncertain terms that they were to be back to the Ponderosa before nightfall.\u00a0 There was a renegade band of Indians in the area who were bucking for a fight.\u00a0 So far they\u2019d killed at least four people and had scalped one man and left him bleeding in the dust. \u00a0Joe reached up and felt his thick brown curly hair.\u00a0 He swallowed hard.\u00a0 Much as he\u2019d hate to die, surviving<\/em> a scalping would be worse.<\/p>\n

Weren\u2019t many women interested in a man of eighteen who was bald \u2013 whether he came by it honestly or not.<\/p>\n

A sudden noise made Joe pull back deeper into the shadows.\u00a0 That fella who was hunting him, he sure as shooting was never going to give up.\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t seen anybody that hot under the collar since his pa found out he had borrowed old chief Winnemucca\u2019s daughter for that dance a month or so back. \u00a0Joe placed a hand on his back, pushing against the gray corduroy of his jacket.\u00a0 It still hurt after all that extra work splitting wood for the new corral fence.<\/p>\n

His pa was like a force of nature \u2013 nothing to trifle with.<\/p>\n

The brown-haired man leaned a little ways out of the shadows to listen.\u00a0 His horse Cochise was tied up out front of the livery. \u00a0All he had to do was get to him and ride.\u00a0 A glance showed him that Adam almost had the wagon loaded.\u00a0 He\u2019d say \u2018howdy\u2019 on the way past and then beat a path toward home and wait for his older brother a little ways along.<\/p>\n

He needed to get out <\/em>of Virginia City.<\/p>\n

As Joe stood there, contemplating his next move, halfway in and halfway out of the shadows, his slight form was suddenly eclipsed.\u00a0 It was as if a cloud had traveled over the face of the sun.\u00a0 Catching a quick breath, Joe ducked and rolled even as a pair of strong arms reached out, meaning to capture and squeeze the life out of him.<\/p>\n

There were advantages to being small and quick.<\/p>\n

Joe came up out of the roll and headed for the wooden deck outside the Dry Goods store.\u00a0 He hated the idea of running with his tail between his legs to his older brother almost as much as a day without a smile from a pretty girl, but it looked like the stoic Yankee might be his only hope.<\/p>\n

Behind him a bellow worthy of a grizzly bear expressed in fine terms the frustration of the man he was running from.\u00a0 Adam heard it and turned to look at him.\u00a0 An expression somewhere between concern and outright amusement landed on his brother\u2019s face, lifting the corner of one lip like a shade raised at dawn.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe, watch out!\u00a0 He\u2019ll crush you!\u201d Adam shouted.<\/p>\n

In spite of everything \u2013 in spite of what he\u2019d done \u2013 he really didn\u2019t deserve to die.\u00a0 Really.\u00a0 Just…\u00a0 Well, maybe…..\u00a0 Joe winced.\u00a0 Maybe he should fall on his pursuer\u2019s mercy.<\/p>\n

Joe looked at the man\u2019s beet-red face with its narrowed eyes and jutting chin.<\/p>\n

No milk of human kindness there.<\/p>\n

Ducking, Joe just missed being caught.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook out, older brother!\u00a0 I\u2019m coming through!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, no, you ain\u2019t!\u201d the man behind him bellowed.\u00a0 \u201cYou done deserve to be tarred and feathered and I am just<\/em> the man to do it!\u201d<\/p>\n

As the giant shadow lurched for him Joe ducked and rolled again.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t get it right this time.\u00a0 The man with the curly brown hair felt a sharp pain in his shoulder as he struck the boards and then, even worse than that, he rolled straight into a pair of ladies side lace boots \u2013<\/p>\n

With the lady still inside them.<\/p>\n

Joe heard her holler, and then a shower of packages and a bag of sweets came down around him, the caramels and peppermints pelting him like rain.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately the lady came down too.\u00a0 Right on top of him.<\/p>\n

The wind knocked out of him, Joe drew in several shallow breaths.\u00a0 He wanted to tip his black hat, but couldn\u2019t find it.\u00a0 \u201cSorry, Ma\u2019am,\u201d he managed to wheeze out.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe, really!\u201d<\/p>\n

It was Adam.\u00a0 His brother was charging forward.\u00a0 Joe didn\u2019t know if it was to throttle him or to help the lady to stand.<\/p>\n

From the look of his older brother\u2019s face, he\u2019d lay money on the first.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe!\u201d Adam snarled.\u00a0 \u201cWhere are you manners?\u00a0 Help …the…lady…up.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I can\u2019t…rightly, Adam,\u201d Joe protested meekly, his words still coming hard.\u00a0 He looked at the woman sitting on top of him.\u00a0 She looked stunned.\u00a0 \u201cLeastways…not till she<\/em> helps me<\/em> up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, for goodness sake!\u201d\u00a0 Adam stopped at his side. \u201cAre you all right?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m fine, if a little \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot you!\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 Adam glared at him and then looked at the woman.\u00a0 \u201cMadam, are you <\/em>all right\u201d<\/p>\n

She was a handsome woman, past her prime but pretty as a waning rose.\u00a0 From a distance a man might have put her at the high end of her twenties.\u00a0 Closer up Joe could tell she was \u00a0in her mid-thirties.\u00a0 There were tiny wrinkles at the ends of her eyes and lines dug deep around her mouth that showed she liked to laugh.\u00a0 She was thin and what his pa would have called buxom.\u00a0 Joe just called it busty.<\/p>\n

He liked \u2018em busty and, come to think of it, he liked them in their thirties.<\/p>\n

The woman\u2019s hair was the color of a brown bear\u2019s coat and her skin pale as the honey that bear liked to eat.\u00a0 She was dressed in expensive clothes that had once been white, but were gray now with the settling of the cloud of dust their tumble had raised.<\/p>\n

The woman blinked several times but said nothing.<\/p>\n

\u201cEr, Adam,\u201d Joe asked.\u00a0 \u201cYou think you could get her off of me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re in pain, you deserve it.\u201d\u00a0 Adam rolled his eyes and then held his hand out.\u00a0 \u201cMadam?\u201d<\/p>\n

The woman blinked again and seemed to become aware of her surroundings.\u00a0 Looking down at Joe she let out a little gasp.\u00a0 \u201cOh! I\u2019m sorry.\u00a0 Did I trip you?\u201d \u00a0she asked.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d been about to share some of the blame for the fall, but Adam cut him off.\u00a0 \u201cJoe, don\u2019t you dare!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Joe swallowed more dust than pride.\u00a0 \u201cNo Ma\u2019am, the fault…was mine.\u00a0 I\u2019m glad I was able to…cushion your fall, but Ma\u2019am….\u201d\u00a0 He winced.\u00a0 \u201cCould you please<\/em> get off of me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHere, let me help,\u201d Adam offered as he glowered at him.\u00a0 \u201cAre you hurt?\u201d<\/p>\n

As the woman assured his older brother that she was fine, Joe drew in a long gulp of air.\u00a0 It tasted sweet for precisely ten seconds and then was forced from his lungs as those strong arms that had been seeking to find and crush him for the last half hour found him and squeezed him like a cow\u2019s teats.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I finally got you, little brother!\u201d Hoss proclaimed as his grip tightened.\u00a0 \u201cIf you ain\u2019t slipperier than a horny toad in a spring flood!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cH…Hoss.\u00a0 About what happened \u2013 \u201d<\/p>\n

Adam had the woman\u2019s arm linked over his own.\u00a0 She had gathered up one of the boxes and it hung from her arm like a lop-sided smile.\u00a0 His older brother had been directing her toward one of the chairs pushed up against the Dry Goods store front when he halted and turned back to stare at him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat<\/em> happened?\u201d Adam demanded.<\/p>\n

\u201cGoldarnit, Adam!\u201d Hoss said, holding Joe so his feet were off the ground and kicking, \u201c if I didn\u2019t catch this<\/em> little horny toad shinnying out of the second story window of the Washoe Millionaire\u2019s Club!\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam frowned.\u00a0 \u201cThe second<\/em> story?\u201d<\/p>\n

If Joe\u2019s cheeks hadn\u2019t already been red they\u2019d have turned it.\u00a0 \u201cNow…now, it isn\u2019t what you think, Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

His elder brother patted the woman\u2019s hand and released her to her seat.\u00a0 At this point she was obviously enjoying the proceedings.\u00a0 A small smile quirked the ends of her rose petal lips.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou do <\/em>know who is on the second floor, don\u2019t you Joe?\u201d Adam growled.\u00a0 \u201cWho and what?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI know who.\u00a0 I\u2019m not so sure about what.\u201d<\/p>\n

His elder brother came right up to him.\u00a0 Adam made a gesture but didn\u2019t complete it toward his lower parts.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrouble.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam, I swear, it wasn\u2019t what you think!\u201d\u00a0 Joe gasped in air.\u00a0 \u201cYou tell this…big galoot to let me go and… I\u2019ll explain.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou explain and I\u2019ll tell<\/em> the big galoot to let you go,\u201d Adam deadpanned.<\/p>\n

Joe hung his head.\u00a0 \u201cI was with Nellie.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou were what?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNellie Makem, you know?\u00a0 Prettiest little filly this side of the Mississippi, with the biggest brightest blue eyes and hair like sunshine \u2013.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd a pa and five older brothers who warned you in no uncertain terms to stay away from her.\u201d\u00a0 Adam frowned.\u00a0 \u201cWhat was Nellie doing at the Millionaire\u2019s Club in the first place?\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss squeezed so hard Joe squeaked.\u00a0 \u201cLet me tell you, Adam\u00a0 It ain\u2019t bad enough that little brother here decided to sneak away and see a forbidden gal he\u2019s sweet on.\u00a0 The dad-blamed smooth-talking muttonhead took her inside the Millionaire\u2019s Club!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust to dance, Adam, I swear,\u201d Joe protested while testing his brother\u2019s hold.<\/p>\n

He needn\u2019t have bothered.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo how in all that is holy did you end up on the second<\/em> floor?\u201d his elder brother asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, that would be when Nellie\u2019s pa and brothers came into the Washoe.\u201d \u00a0Joe hesitated, \u201cThe only way out was up the spiral stair and through one of the…ladies\u2019 rooms.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUnoccupied I hope?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe screwed up his face.\u00a0 \u201cNot exactly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know about you, Adam, but much as I\u2019d like to tan the hide of little brother here, if we don\u2019t get him out of town soon, I won\u2019t have to.\u00a0 I saw Mister Makem a while back and had one of the hands send him in the opposite direction.\u00a0 It ain\u2019t gonna be long before he figures it out and comes this way totin\u2019 his anger and a sawed off shotgun.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a matter of fact….\u201d\u00a0 Adam nodded back along the street.<\/p>\n

Joe looked.\u00a0 Five men walked abreast along it carrying pistols and rifles.\u00a0 The one in front was Alvin Makem.\u00a0 He was dragging a very sheepish looking Nellie Makem in his wake.<\/p>\n

Quick as lightning Adam stepped over to the wagon and threw the tarp back.\u00a0 On the bed of the wagon were various boxes of supplies, ropes, and several large bags of flour.<\/p>\n

\u201cToss him in!\u201d Adam ordered.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam!\u00a0 Hoss!\u00a0 No!\u201d\u00a0 Joe wriggled and wiggled, trying to get free.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s gonna hurt!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will hurt a great deal less than two barrels of shot in your backside.\u00a0 Hoss.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow!\u201d<\/p>\n

A second later Joe was flying through the air.\u00a0 He hit the bed of the wagon with its contents hard, driving the air out of him again \u2013 which was a good thing because all around him was a haze of flour that would have stung and made him cough had he sucked it in.<\/p>\n

A second later everything went black as Adam pulled the tarp over him.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, keep your mouth shut, Joe.\u00a0 If that\u2019s possible!\u201d Adam snapped.\u00a0 There was a pause and then he heard his oldest brother say, \u201cOh, Mister Makem.\u00a0 How good to see you.\u201d\u00a0 Silence and then.\u00a0 \u201cJoe?\u00a0 No, I haven\u2019t seen him since this morning.\u201d\u00a0 Another pause.\u00a0 \u201cYes, sir, he certainly is a rapscallion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe frowned.\u00a0 He\u2019d have to look that <\/em>one up.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, just supplies,\u201d Adam said, answering an unheard question.\u00a0 \u201cYou want to take a look?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe hunkered down in the dusty wagon bed.\u00a0 Scrambling, he found a blanket and pulled it over himself just as the tarp was thrown back.<\/p>\n

\u201cSee?\u00a0 No brother.\u201d<\/p>\n

A second later Adam replaced the tarp.\u00a0 \u201cYou do that, sir,\u201d he called out loudly.\u00a0 Mister Makem must be moving away.\u00a0 \u201cYes, Pa will be home tomorrow.\u00a0 Joe will be too.\u201d\u00a0 Then he added in a mutter, \u201cUnless Pa kills him tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was another pause \u2013 this time a minute or so \u2013 and then the tarp was pulled back again.\u00a0 Adam looked in as Joe shifted and poked his head out from underneath the blanket, and then he and Hoss and the woman stranger all broke out laughing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you laughing at?\u201d Joe pouted.\u00a0 \u201cCan\u2019t be any funnier than what I see!\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss stepped over and rummaged in the goods in the wagon, coming up at last with a bright shining new grub pan.\u00a0 He handed it to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you don\u2019t beat all, little brother.\u00a0 You act like a devil and come out lookin\u2019 like an angel!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe looked in the pan.\u00a0 He was covered in white flour dust from head to toe with the exception of two big circles around his eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cOr maybe a coon!\u201d Adam laughed.<\/p>\n

Joe looked at them.\u00a0 Then he looked back at himself.\u00a0 Then he fell against the ruined flour sacks and laughed until he was exhausted.<\/p>\n

When the merriment subsided, the poor woman who had been drawn into their childish interplay rose from the chair where Adam had left her and began gathering up her things.\u00a0 Adam and Hoss went to help her.\u00a0 Joe stayed put, sure she didn\u2019t want white dust all over everything.\u00a0 Besides, his shoulder was hurting pretty bad and, though he wasn\u2019t going to tell his brothers, he doubted he could lift much of anything at the moment.\u00a0 Leaning over the side of the wagon, he said, \u201cMa\u2019am, I apologize again.\u00a0 Sorry you ended up between Hoss and Adam and me.\u201d<\/p>\n

The woman had been leaning over, picking up a wrapped package.\u00a0 He saw her start.\u00a0 When she straightened up, she looked them over one by one.\u00a0 \u201cAdam?\u00a0 Hoss?\u201d\u00a0 The woman paused.\u00a0 \u201cSo you must be Little Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n

He nodded.\u00a0 \u201cYes, Ma\u2019am.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s Miss,\u201d she corrected, \u201cMiss Belle Babylon.\u201d<\/p>\n

He exchanged a glance with his brothers.\u00a0 That<\/em> name was a brow raiser.<\/p>\n

\u201cWelcome to Virginia City, Miss…Babylon,\u201d Adam said. \u201cMay I ask what brings you here?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou,\u201d she answered.<\/p>\n

Adam touched his chest.\u00a0 \u201cMe?\u201d<\/p>\n

She shook her head. \u201cNo, all <\/em>of you. That is, if you are Benjamin Cartwright\u2019s sons.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat we are, Madam…Miss Babylon.\u00a0 How can we help you?\u201d<\/p>\n

The lady had gathered all of her goods.\u00a0 She stood holding them.\u00a0 \u201cWell, first of all you can help me take my things to the hotel where I\u2019ll be staying.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCertainly, Adam answered.\u00a0 \u201cAnd then?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen you can take me to see your father.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDoes Pa know you?\u201d his older brother asked.<\/p>\n

She hesitated ever so slightly.\u00a0 \u201cHe knows my mother.\u00a0 I have a…gift to deliver to him from her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWould we know her, Miss?\u201d Adam asked.<\/p>\n

The woman\u2019s blue eyes narrowed.\u00a0 \u201cHow old are you?\u201d<\/p>\n

His eldest brother frowned.\u00a0 \u201cThirty-one.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen no, you wouldn\u2019t know her.\u00a0 Your father met my mother before you were born.\u201d\u00a0 She looked at them again.\u00a0 \u201cBefore any<\/em> of you were born.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen he was a sailor? \u201c Hoss asked.<\/p>\n

She nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow come he never told us about her?\u201d the big man asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s another <\/em>question I intend to ask your father.\u201d<\/p>\n

The three of them looked at each other.\u00a0 Your pa was…well, your pa..\u00a0 It was hard, say, to think of him being eighteen years old once upon a time.\u00a0 Joe leaned back in the flour, thinking about it, wondering if his pa had ever shinnied up a porch post and visited a girl against her family\u2019s wishes, or if he\u2019d ever been chased off with a shotgun and a threat.\u00a0 Or if…..<\/p>\n

The woman was staring at him.\u00a0 She smiled when she realized he had become aware of it.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Miss?\u201d he asked, sitting up.<\/p>\n

The smile deepened.\u00a0 She laughed as she answered.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ll find out soon enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

xxxxxxxxxxoooxxxxxxxxxx<\/p>\n

\u201cJoseph Francis Cartwright!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe winced.\u00a0 \u201cYes, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHave you ignored every single thing<\/em> I have ever taught you about proper behavior and about being a responsible human being?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cNo, Pa.\u00a0 I got that last part down.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe last part?\u201d\u00a0 His father\u2019s voice was rising like a river toward flood stage.\u00a0 \u201cAbout being responsible?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAbout being human, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

His father began to pace.\u00a0 \u201cWhat am I going to do with you, boy? Hog tie you?\u00a0 Lock you in your room like I would an ornery child?\u00a0 No, wait.\u201d\u00a0 His father approached.\u00a0 Joe was sitting down.\u00a0 The older man towered over him.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll just have Roy Coffee lock you in a cell and throw away the key!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat wouldn\u2019t do any good, Pa,\u201d Joe answered with a smile.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019d just break out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, you would, would you?\u00a0 And how<\/em> would you do that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019d sweet talk the cleaning lady, Pa,\u201d Adam chimed in.<\/p>\n

\u201cOr that girl that brings the meals for the prisoners,\u201d Hoss suggested.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou two,\u201d their pa whirled to look at his brothers who were seated in front of the fireplace, \u201cbe quiet!\u00a0 When you go to town you are responsible for seeing that your brother,\u201d he threw a glance Joe\u2019s way, \u201cbehaves.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPa,\u201d Adam protested.\u00a0 \u201cJoe\u2019s a grown man.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their father folded his arms over his chest.\u00a0 \u201cThat isn\u2019t what you told me a moment ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, it\u2019s just Joe doesn\u2019t act<\/em> like a grown man.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMore like a ornery bronco if you ask me,\u201d Hoss added, nodding.<\/p>\n

Ben Cartwright fixed his middle son with the stare that would have taken down an army of masked robbers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cDidn\u2019t what, Pa?\u201d the big man inquired.<\/p>\n

\u201cAsk you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, yeah…sorry, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoseph, Joseph, what am I going to do with you?\u00a0 Last month you almost started a war with the Paiutes.\u00a0 Now this.\u201d\u00a0 Ben stroked his beardless chin with his fingers.\u00a0 \u201cMaybe I\u2019ll send you over to the Makems to help Alvin and his boys with their chores.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s eyebrows shot toward his considerable hair.\u00a0 \u201cPa, they\u2019ll kill me.\u201d<\/p>\n

His father shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cIt might be a relief.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPa!\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben Cartwright approached him and laid a hand on his shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cAll levity aside, Joseph, it is time you grew up and accepted the responsibilities of a man.\u00a0 You want me \u2013 you want your brothers to treat<\/em> you as a man \u2013 prove<\/em> to us that you are one by acting responsibly and facing up to what you have done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe swallowed over a lump the size of Texas in his throat.\u00a0 \u201cYou want me to go and apologize to Mister Makem?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat would be good for a starter.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA starter?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe, think of the way your brothers look out for you.\u00a0 Now, imagine if you were a girl \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

That elicited snickers from his brothers.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou call that \u2018grown up\u2019<\/em>, Pa?\u201d he protested.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam.\u00a0 Hoss.\u201d\u00a0 His father continued.\u00a0 \u201cNellie\u2019s brothers are looking out for her, just like your brothers do for you, Joe, only she\u2019s a girl and as such has to worry about her reputation far more than \u2013 \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPa, I kissed<\/em> her!\u00a0 And danced with her.\u00a0 I swear I never \u2013 \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s different with a girl, Joe.\u00a0 Just seeing Nellie going into the Washoe Club could ruin her reputation and make it impossible for her to find a good man to marry.\u201d\u00a0 His pa paused.\u00a0 \u201cUnless, of course, you <\/em>mean to marry her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe blinked.\u00a0 \u201cPa, I\u2019m only a boy.\u00a0 You said so yourself.\u00a0 I\u2019m not old enough to marry anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYour pa\u2019s right, Joe,\u201d Belle Babylon said as she appeared on the stairs.\u00a0 \u201cA woman has to be ten times as pure as a man and twenty times as careful.\u00a0 One wrong word \u2013 one wrong act, and it can mark her for life.\u201d\u00a0 She arrived at the bottom and turned toward their father.\u00a0 \u201cIsn\u2019t that right, Benjamin?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe could tell his pa was puzzled.\u00a0 \u201cMiss Babylon?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

The woman walked over to them.\u00a0 When they arrived with her earlier their pa had insisted Adam and Hoss go back into town to retrieve her things.\u00a0 The least they could do, his father said, was provide her with lodgings to make up for the trouble his boys had caused.\u00a0 Since her arrival Belle had changed and freshened up.\u00a0 She was attired in a moss green dress now.\u00a0 Her long brown hair hung loose and free and fell near to her waist.\u00a0 It was wavy like his if not quite as curly.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mother told me a story of a young man she met long ago.\u00a0 It must have been in eighteen twenty-seven or twenty-eight.\u00a0 He was just about your youngest\u2019s age and just as handsome with brown hair and brown brows set over a pair of deep brown eyes.\u201d\u00a0 She stopped by Joe. \u00a0\u00a0\u201cYou look like him, you know?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe frowned. \u201cLike who?\u201d<\/p>\n

He glanced at his pa and noted the way the older man was standing had changed.\u00a0 He seemed anxious, uncertain even.\u00a0 As Joe watched, his pa took a step forward and caught the back of one of the leather chairs in his hand.\u00a0 A second later he asked, \u201cBelle, just exactly who<\/em> is your mother?\u201d<\/p>\n

She smiled.\u00a0 \u201cI thought you\u2019d never ask.\u00a0 Babylon, of course, is my step-father\u2019s name.\u00a0 My mother\u2019s name is Persuad.\u00a0 Jasmin Persuad.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their father had gone pale.\u00a0 \u201cJasmin….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI see you remember her.\u201d\u00a0 Belle smiled.\u00a0 \u201cI told your boys I had a package to deliver to you from my mother.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes?\u201d Ben asked trepidatious.<\/p>\n

She spread her arms wide.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re looking at it!\u00a0 It\u2019s me!\u201d Belle laughed.<\/p>\n

The older man scowled.\u00a0 \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n

The stranger walked straight up to him, going toe to toe.\u00a0 \u201cI mean, Benjamin Cartwright, that I have come to stay.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat, here, on the Ponderosa?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, here on the Ponderosa,\u201d she said, reaching out and cupping his cheek with her hand.\u00a0 \u201cWith my pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TWO<\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t take long.<\/p>\n

If there was one thing Adam Cartwright had learned in his life it was that \u2013 after a typhoon \u2013 a woman was one of the most powerful forces in nature. \u00a0He was standing in the middle of the great room, hands on hips, surveying Belle\u2019s \u2018improvements\u2019 to the ranch house.\u00a0 She\u2019d been with them a little over a week and, slowly, with grace and charm and apologies here and there, taken over \u2013 much like he would have expected a sister to do. She said she wanted to help them, to make their lives pleasant.\u00a0 His father had laughed when he complained just a little bit and told him to give the young lady her head for a while. \u00a0\u2018Don\u2019t you remember Marie?\u2019 he asked. \u2018It\u2019s what a woman does.\u00a0 She can\u2019t help herself.\u2019<\/p>\n

Adam pursed his lips and hung his hands on his hips as he looked around.\u00a0 There were antimacassars on the backs of all their chairs \u2013 small circles made of stiff white crochet work that were meant to protect the leather or fabric from the Roland\u2019s macassar oil both he and Joe used in their hair. Flowers decorated every<\/em> open surface. She\u2019d added pillows to the chairs and somehow located several sets of white curtains and\u00a0 managed to hang them in place of the heavy red ones.\u00a0 He\u2019d come in the day before and found Joe buried under a mound of white fabric, his mouth shut for once since he had a whole paper of pins clenched between his teeth.<\/p>\n

The look out of Joe\u2019s eyes had been worth the fuss it caused when he had suggested to Belle \u2013 politely \u2013 that flowers, frilly lace curtains, and little white doilies were perhaps not<\/em> the best way to convey strength and potency when meeting with bankers, lawyers, mine owners, and other power brokers of the West.<\/p>\n

She\u2019d pooh-poohed his concerns, of course, and put a pin cushion on his arm and told him to hold still or the next pin would go into<\/em> his arm instead of the filly white valance she was hanging.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d tossed a coin with Hoss to see which of them got to ride out with their pa.<\/p>\n

He was sure Hoss had cheated.<\/p>\n

Adam closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath.\u00a0 It brought both pleasure and the furrowing of his brow.\u00a0 The scent of Hop Sing\u2019s cooking made his mouth water \u2013 the idea of what Belle was doing to their cook made him want to cry.\u00a0 While his father might be willing to give the eager young lady her \u2018head\u2019, Hop Sing had quite another take on the situation.<\/p>\n

A sound made him open his eyes.\u00a0 It took a second, but then Adam noticed the door had opened a crack.\u00a0 Joe\u2019s curly brown head poked in.\u00a0 \u201cIs it safe?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam approached him.\u00a0 \u201cIf you mean by \u2018safe\u2019, is \u2018sister\u2019 Belle still in the Nevada territory?\u00a0 No, it\u2019s not safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere is she?\u201d Joe asked as he stepped in.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s in the kitchen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWith Hop Sing?\u00a0 No, Adam!\u00a0 Last night he threatened to return to China if she set foot in his kitchen again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBy \u2018she\u2019, would you mean the woman who might be our sister?\u00a0 The one Pa told us to handle with kid gloves?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe scrunched up his nose.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, she\u2019s in there now.\u201d\u00a0 Adam turned toward the kitchen and listened.\u00a0 It had gone quiet.\u00a0 A shiver ran through him.<\/p>\n

Maybe Hop Sing was dead.<\/p>\n

\u201cShould you or I go check and see if there\u2019s a body?\u201d he asked his little brother, his lips quirking ever so slightly.<\/p>\n

\u201cTarnation, Adam!\u00a0 What are we going to do about her?\u00a0 She pinched my cheek today and called me \u2018cute\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cWell, you are, kind of.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe slapped his arm.\u00a0 \u201cHave you <\/em>figured a way to get shy of her yet?\u201d<\/p>\n

He shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cOnce again, you know what Pa said.\u201d<\/p>\n

His little brother looked like he\u2019d swallowed a bad egg.\u00a0 \u201cWe gotta be nice to her?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe,\u201d Adam\u2019s tone was serious, \u201cshe may be<\/em> our sister.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut Adam, Pa couldn\u2019t have been more than eighteen or so….\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam\u2019s dark brows peaked.\u00a0 \u201cSo?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut Pa, he\u2019s… Well, he\u2019s not that sort…he\u2019s….pa<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam laughed.\u00a0 \u201cBut he wasn\u2019t<\/em> \u2018pa\u2019 thirty-three years ago.\u00a0 You know what he\u2019s told us about his \u2018misspent\u2019 youth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe sighed.\u00a0 \u201cNot much.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s probably worried about giving you <\/em>ideas.\u201d\u00a0 Adam shifted his weight from one foot to the other and stared at his brother.\u00a0 \u201cI suppose you<\/em> have been a perfect gentleman with every<\/em> girl you\u2019ve ever romanced.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCourse I have!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve never gone beyond<\/em> kissing?\u00a0 Not once?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam,\u201d Joe\u2019s cheeks were turning red, \u201cisn\u2019t that kind of a personal <\/em>question?\u00a0 What if I asked you the same thing?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a bit older than you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd that makes it right?\u201d<\/em> his baby brother exclaimed.<\/p>\n

Adam tugged at his collar.\u00a0 \u201cWeren\u2019t we talking about Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe laughed.\u00a0 \u201cWe sure were.\u201d<\/p>\n

A sudden crash made them both turn their heads in the direction of the kitchen.\u00a0 Two seconds later Hop Sing burst into the room, his arms and cook\u2019s apron a flutter.<\/p>\n

\u201cHop Sing no cook for Cartwrights anymore!,\u201d he proclaimed.\u00a0 \u201cHop Sing no set foot in kitchen while woman <\/em>is here!\u00a0 Go live in bunkhouse!\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam approached the Chinese man.\u00a0 \u201cHop Sing, calm down.\u00a0 Belle\u2019s just trying to \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat woman trying to take over ranch!\u00a0 She worse than claim jumpers, robbers, and Paiutes combined!\u201d<\/p>\n

It was kind of hard to argue with that.\u00a0 \u201cYou just need to be firm with her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFirm?\u00a0 Firm!\u201d\u00a0 Hop Sing shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cI tell her no touch pans.\u00a0 She touches them.\u00a0 I tell her leave pans where they are, she rearranges them to look \u2018good\u2019.\u00a0 She tell me what herbs to use, how to prepare the meat, how to fry it on the grill!\u201d\u00a0 The Chinese man paused.\u00a0 He reached out and took hold of Adam\u2019s arm.\u00a0 \u201cPlease tell Hop Sing, Mr. Adam, that she go away soon.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s kind of up to Pa, Hop Sing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their cook\u2019s face fell.\u00a0 \u201cYour father nice man.\u201d\u00a0 He gazed back toward the kitchen.\u00a0 \u201cToo <\/em>nice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not that Hop Sing,\u201d he hesitated.\u00a0 \u201cBelle may be….\u201d<\/p>\n

Hop Sing shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cThat woman no Mister Ben\u2019s girl.\u00a0 She no your sister.\u201d<\/p>\n

He exchanged a look with Joe.\u00a0 \u201cPa told you?\u201d<\/p>\n

The cook nodded solemnly.\u00a0 \u201cYou think it could be true?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, it isn\u2019t, Hop Sing,\u201d Joe assured him.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe, we have no way of knowing that.\u00a0 It\u2019s possible.\u00a0 That\u2019s why Pa took off for Virginia City to see if he could find anything else out about her, maybe from the people she traveled with on the stage.\u00a0 Pa\u2019s not denying he knew her mother.\u201d\u00a0 Adam paused. \u201cYou saw his face when he heard her name.\u201d<\/p>\n

The three of them stood in silence for a moment, contemplating this act of God, wondering what sin they had committed to deserve such a punishment.<\/p>\n

The Chinese man was the first to stir.\u00a0 \u201cHop Sing get clothes.\u00a0 Maybe sail back to China.\u00a0 Crazy lady cook for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam!\u00a0 Joe!\u201d\u00a0 Belle\u2019s voice rang out.<\/p>\n

Like the pestilence in the Bible, the darkness was drawing near.<\/p>\n

Adam drew a breath.\u00a0 \u201cYes, Belle?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happened to that little man?\u00a0 I didn\u2019t finish instructing him on how to prepare the beef.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hop Sing threw his hands into the air and, without his belongings, headed out the door leaving a blistering trail of Chinese words of dubious meaning behind him.<\/p>\n

Adam could guess what some of them were.\u00a0 He\u2019s used them often enough himself since Belle had moved in three days before.<\/p>\n

A second later Belle came around the corner.\u00a0 At the sight of her, Adam had to suck in air.\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t seen her today.\u00a0 She\u2019d swept up the most of her hair and locked it in place with a beautiful rhinestone encrusted ivory comb.\u00a0\u00a0 The upsweep and the brunette curls that tumbled from it onto her forehead accented her large dark eyes and unusual skin.\u00a0 It was really<\/em> the color of honey and he didn\u2019t think it was from the sun.\u00a0 Her lips were full and slightly pouty but broke readily into a smile.\u00a0 She was wearing a gold locket and was dressed in a dark blue silk dress that fit her form better than any dress ever had any dressmaker\u2019s form in a ladies\u2019 shop.<\/p>\n

Adam shook himself.\u00a0 What was he thinking?<\/p>\n

This could be his sister.<\/em><\/p>\n

Better derail the train of his thoughts on that<\/em> track right now.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere did he go?\u201d she asked innocently.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho?\u201d Joe asked.\u00a0 \u201cOh, Hop Sing?\u00a0 He…he went out to cook for the men in the bunkhouse.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d Adam agreed.\u00a0 \u201cHop Sing said he thought you<\/em> wanted to cook for us tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

She looked a little startled.\u00a0 \u201cWell, I hadn\u2019t thought about it.\u00a0 I was just trying to give him some help, poor man.\u00a0 You know he doesn\u2019t know Cayman from Coriander?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re done in the kitchen, Miss, I can go get him and bring him back,\u201d Joe offered.<\/p>\n

Belle smiled at him.\u00a0 \u201cLittle Joe.\u00a0 I\u2019m your sister.\u00a0 You can stop calling me \u2018miss\u2019.\u00a0 It\u2019s just Belle.\u201d\u00a0 She looked from one of them to the other.<\/p>\n

Joe nodded.\u00a0 \u201cBelle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam seconded.\u00a0 \u201cYes, er, Belle, perhaps you should go and freshen up in your room?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI just came from my room.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, a woman can\u2019t ever be too fresh,\u201d Joe said and then blanched.\u00a0 \u201cSorry..I didn\u2019t mean that…I….\u201d\u00a0 He paused\u00a0 \u201cI think I\u2019ll freshen up myself after I get Hop Sing.\u201d\u00a0 A second later his little brother hightailed it faster than he had ever seen and scooted out the door while tossing another \u2018miss\u2019 after him.<\/p>\n

That left the two of them alone.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere\u2019s Pa?\u201d Belle asked.<\/p>\n

That <\/em>still grated on him.\u00a0 Still, he had to admit, it could be true, and as such, he would treat it as true until he knew for certain otherwise.\u00a0 \u201cHe went into town with Hoss.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s he doing in town?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, the usual stuff,\u201d Adam said as he moved toward one of the chairs in front of the fire, \u201cchecking the wire to see if there have been any posts, picking up mail and supplies.\u00a0 Visiting friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs he checking up on me?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam\u2019s hazel eyes flicked to her face.\u00a0 \u201cShould he be?\u201d<\/p>\n

Belle shrugged.\u00a0 She planted herself in one of the chairs and spread her skirts wide.\u00a0 \u201cI guess if I had a stranger land in my house who claimed to be my daughter or son, I would want to check them out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo the thought doesn\u2019t make you nervous?\u201d<\/p>\n

She shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cI am what I said.\u00a0 Jasmin Persuad\u2019s daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n

He sat too.\u00a0 \u201cThat doesn\u2019t prove Pa is your father.\u201d<\/p>\n

Belle touched the gold necklace she wore. \u00a0She looked at it for a second and then reached up and undid the clasp.\u00a0 Holding it out, she offered it to him.\u00a0 \u201cHere,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cLook inside.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam shook his head.<\/p>\n

\u201cI insist.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reaching out he took it.\u00a0 The black-haired man hesitated a moment before opening it.\u00a0 What he found inside made his breath catch.\u00a0 The locket contained the portrait of a handsome brown-haired man in a sailor\u2019s coat.\u00a0 The mass of hair and the shape of his face looked like Joe.\u00a0 Adam could see himself in the eyes.<\/p>\n

There was no mistaking that it was their father.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was my mother\u2019s.\u00a0 She gave it to me before she died.\u201d<\/p>\n

He started.\u00a0 \u201cYour mother is dead?\u00a0 Did you tell Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d\u00a0 She accepted it back from him.\u00a0 \u201cNot yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs that why you came out West?\u00a0 Are you all alone?\u201d<\/p>\n

Belle nodded.\u00a0 \u201cMy mother was not rich, but she left me enough to live in comfort.\u201d\u00a0 The beautiful woman rose.\u00a0 \u201cI should leave.\u00a0 I am causing nothing but trouble here.\u00a0 I should never have come and expected \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBelle.\u201d\u00a0 Adam stood.\u00a0 He crossed to her and took her by the hand.\u00a0 \u201cYou have to understand, this is a household of men \u2013 Pa, me, Little Joe and Hoss, Hop Sing, and dozens of hands.\u00a0 It\u2019s been a long time since we\u2019ve had a woman around.\u00a0 Joe\u2019s mother, Marie, died thirteen years ago.\u201d\u00a0 He smiled.\u00a0 \u201cIt will just take a little getting used to.\u201d<\/p>\n

There were tears in her eyes.\u00a0 \u201cReally?\u00a0 You don\u2019t want me to go?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam hesitated.\u00a0 If Joe were here would he say what he was about to say?<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I don\u2019t want you to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

A smile broke on her face, lighting it up.\u00a0 \u201cOh, Adam!\u00a0 That is the sweetest thing anyone has said to me in the longest time.\u00a0 I could just kiss you!\u201d\u00a0 And she did, right beside his mouth.<\/p>\n

He felt her eyelashes flutter against his cheek as she did.<\/p>\n

\u201cBelle, I….\u201d\u00a0 Adam stared at her.\u00a0 Then he did something inexplicable.<\/p>\n

He kissed her \u2013 and he meant it.<\/p>\n

The funny thing was, Belle wasn\u2019t horrified. \u00a0She just looked at him with a curious look in her eyes and then, after drawing a deep breath, rushed past him and flew up the stairs.<\/p>\n

Adam remained where he was.\u00a0 He was disgusted with himself.\u00a0 This woman could be his sister, for God\u2019s sake!<\/p>\n

A second later the door opened and Joe\u2019s head popped in again.\u00a0 \u201cPsst.\u201d<\/p>\n

He sighed.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam, is she gone?\u201d<\/p>\n

He turned toward his brother.\u00a0 \u201cBelle went upstairs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s good.\u00a0 I talked Hop Sing into finishing the cooking.\u00a0 I snuck him in the side window.\u00a0 You think she\u2019s gonna come back down tonight?\u201d<\/p>\n

He shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cI doubt it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou mean we can eat our supper in peace and take a drink without crooking our little pinkies out like they\u2019re broke?\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cHow\u2019d you do it Adam?\u201d Joe asked as he came along side him. \u201cDid you do something?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe never knew why that question brought him a slap upside his head.<\/p>\n

xxxxxxxxxxoooxxxxxxxxxx<\/p>\n

Ben Cartwright closed the door to the telegraph office.\u00a0 He\u2019d just wired a message to Dayton, Ohio, seeking further information on Belle Babylon.\u00a0 It seemed her story, so far as she had told it, was true.\u00a0 She had come into town looking for the Cartwrights and told at least three people\u00a0 that they were related, even if she hadn\u2019t gone into exactly how.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cYou get done what you wanted to, Pa?\u201d his son Hoss asked.<\/p>\n

Ben nodded.\u00a0 \u201cYes, I sent the message.\u00a0 From what the stagecoach driver remembered, Belle\u2019s point of origin was Dayton, Ohio.\u00a0 He said she told one of the passengers that her parents moved there in eighteen-thirty, shortly after she was born.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just the thing a young woman would do if she had a child out of wedlock.<\/p>\n

She had married Lucius Babylon the next year.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you trying to prove she ain\u2019t who she says she is?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSon, I am seeking to verify that she is<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss removed his hat and ran a hand through his dark blond hair.\u00a0 \u201cPa, you think Belle\u2019s really<\/em> our sister?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben let out a sigh.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u00a0 It\u2019s…possible, I suppose.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou and her mother, you…?\u201d<\/p>\n

He started to tell his son that that was none of his business.\u00a0 The problem was \u2013 with what was happening \u2013 it was.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI hope you boys are wiser than your old man when it comes to women,\u201d he said with a note of chagrin.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you love her, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben nodded toward the bench that was butted up against the telegraph office\u2019s wall.\u00a0 \u201cLet\u2019s sit down, son.\u201d\u00a0 Once they had, he began.\u00a0 \u201cI was very young, Hoss.\u00a0 Just like your baby brother, I thought I was in love with every pretty face I saw \u2013 and I knew<\/em> they were all in love with me.\u201d\u00a0 He smiled, thinking of his rakish third boy and how alike they were in many ways.\u00a0 Ben leaned back.\u00a0 Closing his eyes he thought of Jasmin Persuad.\u00a0 She had come into Boston on her brother\u2019s ship out of the West Indies to meet her American kin.\u00a0 He had been a simple sailor then, not advanced yet to first mate as he would be by the time he married Adam\u2019s mother.\u00a0 Jasmin had been like a warm breeze from the islands.\u00a0 Her father was white, but her mother was a native of Barbados.\u00a0 She had looked like a gypsy and had woven a spell from which he had found it nearly impossible to free himself.\u00a0 In the end it had been Jasmin that had cut it off.\u00a0 Their dalliance had lasted one week.<\/p>\n

It <\/em>had happened only one time.\u00a0 Only once.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was foolish, Hoss.\u00a0 If Belle is my child, then I did her mother irreparable harm.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut you didn\u2019t know, Pa.\u00a0 She didn\u2019t tell you.\u00a0 She coulda.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben shifted.\u00a0 \u201cYes, Jasmin could have.\u00a0 I have to respect her choice whether or not it makes sense to me.\u00a0 It seems, from what I have been able to find out, that she married this man, Babylon, shortly after Belle was born.\u00a0 He was a businessman.\u00a0 Something to do with imports.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe musta been a good man, Pa, to accept her and her baby.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Hoss.\u00a0 That\u2019s some <\/em>comfort, I suppose.\u201d\u00a0 Ben patted his son\u2019s shoulder and then rose.\u00a0 \u201cCome on, we should get back to the ranch.\u00a0 Belle\u2019s liable to have your brothers wearing their Sunday best and sitting with their elbows off the table.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt sure is funny,\u201d Hoss held his hand up and extended his pinky finger, crooking it like an open \u2018C\u2019.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s this got to do with drinking tea?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s got nothing to do with drinking tea, Hoss, and everything to do with a civilized world.\u00a0 Now, come on.\u00a0 Let\u2019s get home.\u201d<\/p>\n

xxxxxxxxxxoooxxxxxxxxxx<\/p>\n

As Ben and Hoss rode out of town they passed the stage coming in from the east.\u00a0 If they had looked back, they would have seen it roll up and stop and a man step out of it.\u00a0 It was obvious he was from the city.\u00a0 He wore a fine tailcoat of dark gray wool and matching trousers with a pair of Contract Brogans.\u00a0 The Bell Crown top hat on his head was black and beaver with a fine silk band wrapped around it.\u00a0 His cravat was black as well, the shirt underneath white as snow, and there was a fine silver stickpin decorating his lapel.\u00a0 He was not a young man, but neither was he old.\u00a0 He looked to be sixty, but was\u00a0 in reality closer to fifty.<\/p>\n

The choices he had made in life had aged him prematurely.<\/p>\n

The man waited as his bags were removed from the stage.\u00a0 His first order of business would be to meet with the man \u00a0he had hired through an agent and give him further instructions.\u00a0 The man\u2019s campaign was already underway, but Jarvis thought it needed direction.\u00a0 It appeared, from the wires he had received on his way to Nevada, that McRae was losing his focus.\u00a0 What the man had done had been, for the most part, necessary, but it was time to go for the prime target.<\/p>\n

Oh, yes, it was past<\/em> time.<\/p>\n

In a slow and leisurely manner, to show the inhabitants of this rough, raw, nascent city who was who, he made his way across the street.\u00a0 These were self-made men here.\u00a0 Men who thought they were better than the men who had chosen to remain in the east whom they said had done nothing for themselves, but benefitted from hard work of the ones who had come before them.<\/p>\n

The stranger paused on the stoop of the hotel and turned south, toward the Ponderosa.<\/p>\n

Ben Cartwright was such a self-made man.\u00a0 Or, rather, the former Yankee had made himself a bed thirty years before that he was going to have to lie in.<\/p>\n

Until he put him in the grave.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

THREE<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was sweet of you to bring me into town, Joe.\u00a0 You and Adam.\u201d\u00a0 Belle Babylon gave the youngest Cartwright her sweetest smile as the elder son of Benjamin Cartwright offered her a hand and assisted her in climbing out of the wagon.<\/p>\n

Joe nodded.\u00a0 \u201cNo trouble, Belle.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was pleasant to have a lady along.\u00a0 It stopped little brother here from reciting a catalogue of his conquests on the way.\u201d\u00a0 At Joe\u2019s scowl, Adam smiled\u00a0 \u201cGive me the money belt, Joe, before you go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Belle frowned.\u00a0 \u201cOh?\u00a0 Are you going somewhere else Little Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam\u2019s lips twisted.\u00a0 \u201cJoe has an errand to run.\u00a0 I\u2019m going to go to the wire office while he\u2019s gone and see if Pa\u2019s message brought any replies.\u00a0 We\u2019ll meet back here in a couple of hours to finish with the supplies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t you forget about checking in with Deputy Clem too,\u201d his brother said.\u00a0 \u201cPa wants to know about those Indians, and if anybody knows where they are.\u201d<\/p>\n

The black-haired man bit back his amusement.\u00a0 Joe wasn\u2019t telling him what to do \u2013 he was delaying the inevitable.<\/p>\n

A confrontation with Alvin Makem.<\/p>\n

Adam laid a hand to Cochise\u2019s bridle.\u00a0 His brother\u2019s Paint horse was tethered behind the wagon.\u00a0 \u201cYou sure you want to go alone, Joe?\u00a0 If you want to wait, I\u2019d be more than happy to go with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cYou heard what Pa said.\u00a0 If I want you and Hoss to treat me like a man, I gotta start acting like one.\u00a0 It was my fault that Nellie got in trouble and its mine to fix.”\u00a0 Joe hopped from the wagon and approached him.\u00a0 \u201cI should be back in an hour or so,\u201d he said as he accepted Cochise\u2019s reins.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you aren\u2019t, I make you a promise I will <\/em>come looking for you.\u201d\u00a0 Adam held up his hand.\u00a0 \u201cNot because you aren\u2019t a man and can\u2019t handle it, but because Alvin Makem is mean as a rattlesnake and just about as dangerous when riled.\u00a0 And that\u2019s saying nothing for his boys.\u201d\u00a0 Joe had mounted.\u00a0 Adam touched his brother\u2019s gray pants leg above the boot.\u00a0 \u201cYou be careful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe favored him with that smile he had \u2013 bold as brass, cocky, and chagrined all at one and the same time.\u00a0 He tipped his black hat back.\u00a0 \u201cLater, big brother.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Adam stood watching Joe ride away, Belle came to his side.\u00a0 She stood there a second and then said, \u201cYou really love him, don\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam shrugged. \u201cWe\u2019re brothers.\u201d<\/p>\n

The lovely woman made a small dismissive sound.\u00a0 \u201cThat doesn\u2019t mean anything.\u00a0 I know plenty of brothers whose only purpose in life is to best the one older than them, or belittle the youngest.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSounds like you\u2019ve made the acquaintance of some charming people.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs an only child I had plenty of opportunity as an outsider to observe my friends and their siblings.\u00a0 Your relationship, Adam, with your brothers is inspiring.\u201d<\/p>\n

He laughed.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t let Hoss or Joe hear you say that.\u00a0 I\u2019d never live it down.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s true.\u201d<\/p>\n

He nodded.\u00a0 He and his brothers did have an extraordinary love for one another.\u00a0 In his opinion that said more about their father than them.\u00a0 Though he thought now and then that Joe was a little favored in that his father let his youngest brother get by with things that he or Hoss would have been tarred and feathered for, he knew his father loved them equally.\u00a0 He had never given them any reason for jealousy.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know what else is true, Belle?\u201d Adam asked.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cThe day is fast flying.\u00a0 I need to get to the wire office and then back to the store.\u00a0 Do you want to come with me?\u00a0 I can escort you to the hotel for that drink after that.\u201d<\/p>\n

She smiled.\u00a0 \u201cLike Little Joe, I can take care of myself.\u00a0 You go ahead.\u00a0 I\u2019ll get my own sarsaparilla and wait for you on the porch.\u201d<\/p>\n

He tipped his hat.\u00a0 \u201cI won\u2019t be long.\u201d<\/p>\n

xxxxxxxxxxoooxxxxxxxxxx<\/p>\n

\u201cTake your time,\u201d Belle \u00a0called after Adam as he walked away.\u00a0 She watched him go, noting the way he held himself, with a tiny little hunch to his shoulders that rolled him forward as if he was a man on a mission.\u00a0 He was a handsome figure of a man, especially when \u2013 like now \u2013 he was dressed all in black.\u00a0 His hair was like a raven\u2019s wings, ebony, glistening, and that smile….\u00a0 Little Joe\u2019s smile always held mischief, Hoss\u2019s, deep feeling.\u00a0 Adam\u2019s was a mystery.<\/p>\n

Like the man.<\/p>\n

Belle drew a deep breath.\u00a0 The feelings coursing through her weren\u2019t for a sister of the man.\u00a0 Of course, she had met Adam at thirty-one and not even known he existed six months ago.\u00a0 It was hard to think of him as a brother.<\/p>\n

But necessary.<\/p>\n

She watched until Adam entered the wire office and then turned to go to the hotel.\u00a0 The people of Virginia City were cautious, but friendly.\u00a0 By now some of them were aware of the claim she made.\u00a0 There would be suspicions that she was lying and, at the same time, snickering that Benjamin Cartwright had a child he knew nothing of.\u00a0 She really didn\u2019t want to cause the older man any trouble.\u00a0 Her mother had loved him until the day she died.\u00a0 She had grown up with tales of the handsome young sailor who had turned Jasmin\u2019s head and who she, in turn, pretended not to love.\u00a0 Her mother was not a Christian woman.\u00a0 She had been with many men.\u00a0 Jasmin knew what that would do to a man like him.\u00a0 And so, she had pretended the entire affair had been a lark and sent him away.\u00a0\u00a0 Benjamin had been on shipboard when her mother found she was pregnant.\u00a0 Out of love, she had made the choice not to reveal her pregnancy to him, not to seek him out or to try to trap him.<\/p>\n

Belle wondered what her life might have been if she had.\u00a0 She glanced in the direction Adam had taken.\u00a0 She could have been elder sister to three wonderful brothers.\u00a0 She would have had a family.<\/p>\n

Belonged.<\/p>\n

With a sigh Belle lifted her skirts and took a step up onto the boards out front of the hotel.\u00a0 As she approached the door, a man stepped into her path, barring her entry.\u00a0 She looked up and gasped.<\/p>\n

It was him.<\/em><\/p>\n

How had he found her?.<\/p>\n

The man tipped his black top hat.\u00a0 \u201cBelle, imagine meeting you here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJ…Jarvis Barrot,\u201d she stuttered.\u00a0 \u201cWhat are you doing here?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI had business in Virginia City.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat business?\u201d she asked, suspicious.<\/p>\n

He moved toward her, coming so close she grew uncomfortable.\u00a0 Without asking permission, Jarvis took her chin in his fingers.\u00a0 \u201cYou, of course.\u201d<\/p>\n

She jerked her head away.\u00a0 \u201cI told you I wanted nothing to do with you.\u00a0 Ever.\u201d<\/p>\n

He shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cWe all change our minds.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot me,\u201d she insisted.\u00a0 \u201cIf I am your only business here, you can just leave.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, what would your father say if he knew his old business partner left such an innocent as you without protection in this rough and wild frontier town?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy father fired you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, he didn\u2019t.\u201d\u00a0 A sinister tone colored Jarvis\u2019s words with menace.\u00a0 \u201cHe tried.\u00a0 In the end, I fired<\/em> him.\u201d<\/p>\n

She had always suspected that Jarvis Barrot had something to do with her father\u2019s death, but had never been able to prove it.\u00a0 Belle\u2019s jaw grew tight.\u00a0 She considered the risk for a moment, and then asked, \u201cJarvis, why are you really here?\u201d<\/p>\n

The elegantly dressed man pulled his gloves off and tucked them behind his waistband.\u00a0 He removed his top hat and wiped sweat from his forehead, and then cast a glance at the wooden bench butted up against the store.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s passing hot.\u00a0 Shall rest our weary bodies for a bit?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t intend to be here that long.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA shame,\u201d he said as he moved to the bench and sat down.\u00a0 \u201cYou can run, but I will be here when you return.\u00a0 Belle, you know you can\u2019t escape me.\u201d<\/p>\n

She had hoped…. Well, she had thought she might find protection at the Ponderosa.<\/p>\n

With a sigh she crossed over to him.\u00a0 \u201cJarvis, what do you want from me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe same as ever, Belle.\u00a0 I want you with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you can have what my father worked for, what you failed to take away from him by deceit and fraud!\u201d she snapped.\u00a0 \u201cYou don\u2019t love me.\u00a0 You just want to possess me like everything else of my father\u2019s.\u00a0 You couldn\u2019t have my mother, so you want me!\u201d<\/p>\n

He stood up, his eyes cold as a cobra\u2019s about to strike.\u00a0 \u201cI couldn\u2019t have your mother because she loved another man \u2013 and he wasn\u2019t your father.\u00a0 Or,\u201d Jarvis paused, \u201cwas he?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou leave Benjamin Cartwright out of this!\u201d<\/p>\n

Jarvis came even closer.\u00a0 \u201cI would have, Belle, but you made a choice.\u00a0 You brought Cartwright and<\/em> his sons into this.\u00a0 If anything happens, it will be your fault.\u201d<\/p>\n

A shiver ran through her.<\/p>\n

He meant it.<\/p>\n

\u201cJarvis, I \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBelle, is this man giving you trouble?\u201d a strong male voice asked from close behind her.\u00a0 She didn\u2019t have to turn.<\/p>\n

It was Adam.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u00a0 Mister Barrot and I are of old acquaintance.\u00a0 He just happens to be in Virginia City on business.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI spotted Belle heading into the hotel and thought we might enjoy a drink together.\u00a0 Perhaps you would like to join us, Mister….\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam held out his hand.\u00a0 His next words doomed him.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam.\u00a0 Adam Cartwright.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf the<\/em> Cartwrights?\u00a0 The ones who own the big spread here in Nevada?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat would be us.\u201d\u00a0 Adam\u2019s suspicions were aroused.\u00a0 \u201cAnd what is it brings you here, Mr. Barrot.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease, call me Jarvis.\u00a0 I am an importer, Mr. Cartwright.\u00a0 I was once in business with Belle\u2019s dear departed father.\u00a0 We brought goods from the West Indies to the States among other things.\u00a0 I am here in Virginia City to see if I can make contacts to extend my own company into the West.\u201d\u00a0 Belle felt Jarvis\u2019 eyes land on her for a second before returning to Adam.\u00a0 \u201cPerhaps your father would be interested?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt depends on the goods,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re welcome to come out to the Ponderosa to talk to Pa.\u00a0 Belle\u2019s staying with us.\u00a0 We could have supper together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI would like that,\u201d Jarvis said.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m staying here at the hotel.\u00a0 I would be willing to come to your place or, if your father plans on being in town, we could meet in my rooms.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll mention it to Pa.\u00a0 One way or the other, we\u2019ll get word to you.\u201d\u00a0 Adam turned toward her.\u00a0 \u201cWould you still like that drink, Belle?\u201d<\/p>\n

She shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m tired.\u00a0 I\u2019d like to go home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam turned to the south.\u00a0 \u201cI hate to leave before Little Joe gets back.\u00a0 It should be any time now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYour brother?\u201d Jarvis asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of them.\u00a0 Joe rode out to one of the neighboring farms to take care of something.\u201d\u00a0 Adam looked at the sun and frowned.\u00a0 \u201cBelle, maybe it would be best if Mister Jarvis accompanies you into the hotel.\u00a0 I have to finish packing the supplies and if Joe\u2019s not here in half an hour, I plan on riding out to find him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you really think Mister Makem would harm Little Joe?\u201d she asked, fighting with herself over whether to say \u2018yes\u2019 or not.\u00a0 She had grown quite fond of Joe with his ebullient spirit and winning smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike I said, Alvin Makem\u2019s mean as a snake and he has a whole brood of viper sons to back him up.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think they would do Joe serious harm, but I wouldn\u2019t put it past them roughing him up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cReally?\u201d she blinked.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe West is honest, but brutal, my dear,\u201d Jarvis said softly.\u00a0 \u201cOne never knows, when one steps out the door, whether he will live to see another sunrise.\u00a0 If a man survives the incredible heat and the deadly creatures, he is bound to be taken down by the deadliest creature of all \u2013 man.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s quite a description, Jarvis,\u201d Adam remarked quietly.\u00a0 \u201cNot one for the travel brochures.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is true, is it not?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the most part,\u201d the eldest Cartwright brother conceded.\u00a0 \u201cBut there is beauty here as well, and kindness.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell,\u201d Jarvis said, turning to look at her, \u201clet us hope it is the latter your little brother has encountered.\u201d\u00a0 He offered Belle his arm.\u00a0 \u201cBelle?\u201d<\/p>\n

She looked at this man she loathed and then back to Adam.\u00a0 The worry was evident on his face.\u00a0 \u201cGo find Joe,\u201d she said at last.\u00a0 \u201cYou won\u2019t rest until you do.\u00a0 I\u2019ll wait in the hotel until you get back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, Belle.\u00a0 Thanks to you too, Mister Barrot,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0 As he headed for his horse that was tethered in front of the store, he added, \u201cI owe you one.\u201d<\/p>\n

As she watched him go, Jarvis came up close behind her.\u00a0 \u201cYou should have straightened him out, Belle.\u201d<\/p>\n

She looked over her shoulder at the man who had destroyed her family.\u00a0 \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n

Jarvis\u2019s voice was pitched low and full of menace.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe and his family own me more<\/em> than one.\u201d<\/p>\n

xxxxxxxxxxoooxxxxxxxxxx<\/p>\n

He\u2019d done his best.\u00a0 He\u2019d tried to explain.\u00a0 Joe looked at the solid wall of Makems before him and swallowed hard.<\/p>\n

If he wasn\u2019t dead by nightfall it would be a miracle tantamount to Moses parting the Red Sea.<\/p>\n

Nellie Makem was watching out her second story window, pulling the curtains back and waving, doing everything in her power to draw attention to herself.\u00a0 If the truth were known \u2013 and he<\/em> knew it for sure \u2013 Nellie had gone with him into the Club as much to defy her father and brothers as she had because she was sweet on him.\u00a0 That was why her pa sat down on her so hard.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t her only beau, not by a long shot.<\/p>\n

He just happened to be the one who got caught.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Makem,\u201d Joe began, trying again, \u201cNellie wanted to dance, so I took her into the Millionaire Club.\u00a0 I realize now that wasn\u2019t such a good idea.\u00a0 I \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo now you\u2019re blaming our Nellie,\u201d Alvin Makem growled.\u00a0 \u201cIt was her<\/em> fault that you two went into that den of iniquity?\u201d<\/p>\n

Five male voices growled in chorus with him.\u00a0 The Makems were tall as the Ponderosa pines and twice as tough.\u00a0 Even the youngest, who was only a year older than him, was an inch taller and about twenty pounds heavier than he was.\u00a0 They\u2019d been in school at the same time and, though they\u2019d never been friends, he and Jimmy had never had anything to quarrel about either.<\/p>\n

Until now.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, sir.\u00a0 It was my fault entirely.\u201d\u00a0 Joe was holding his hat.\u00a0 He ringed it nervously with his fingers.\u00a0 \u201cI didn\u2019t mean it to sound like that.\u00a0 I just meant to say that Nellie wanted to dance and the Club was the only place I could think of to take her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do we know you didn\u2019t take her upstairs<\/em>, Cartwright?\u201d Robert, the oldest Makem son, demanded as he came to stand before and tower over Joe.\u00a0 \u201cYou was seen comin\u2019 out of one of the windows on the floor them hussies use.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI sent Nellie out the back door.\u00a0 You know that, Rob,\u201d Joe answered, feeling just a little defensive.\u00a0 \u201cI may have made a mistake, but I wouldn\u2019t have done anything to harm Nellie.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMistake, eh?\u00a0 That your definition of ruinin\u2019 a girl\u2019s reputation so no decent man will have her?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNellie\u2019s not \u2018ruined\u2019, Rob.\u00a0 She\u2019s a beautiful girl.\u00a0 No reasonable man is going to reject her because she was seen walking into the Club.\u201d\u00a0 His temper was rising.\u00a0 \u201cRespectable people go in there every day!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe heard the sound of a trigger being cocked.\u00a0 \u201cYou watch your tone, boy,\u201d Alvin Makem warned.<\/p>\n

\u201cMister Makem, I\u2019m sorry,\u201d Joe replied.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s just that Rob\u2019s being unreasonable \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe speaks for all of us, Cartwright,\u201d Ned, the third son said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay, look, I\u2019ve tried my best.\u201d\u00a0 Joe slammed his hat on his head.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s no use talking to you people.\u00a0 You have my apology.\u00a0 Take it or leave it as you want.\u00a0 I\u2019m heading back to town.\u201d<\/p>\n

No one said anything.\u00a0 No, that wasn\u2019t right.\u00a0 Someone did.<\/p>\n

Nellie.<\/p>\n

She\u2019d opened the window and leaned out of it.\u00a0 Waving a silk handkerchief, she cried, \u201cI love you Little Joe.\u00a0 You tell that mean old snake of a pa that he can\u2019t do nothing to keep us apart!\u201d\u00a0 To emphasize her point she let the silk hankie float to the ground.<\/p>\n

It landed at her father\u2019s feet.<\/p>\n

Nellie might as well have waved a red flag and shouted, \u201cCharge!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe sensed the attack coming ten seconds before it happened.\u00a0 There was no chance to get to Cochise who was tethered some twenty feet away in front of the Makem\u2019s stable before Nellie\u2019s brothers reached him.\u00a0 Out of those ten seconds, he had about two to think.<\/p>\n

They were all he needed.<\/p>\n

Turning away from the advancing wall of retribution and unrighteous indignation, Joe bolted into the trees and began to run for all he was worth.<\/p>\n

xxxxxxxxxxoooxxxxxxxxxx<\/p>\n

Adam Cartwright drew his horse Scout to a halt.\u00a0 Dismounting, he tethered the animal in front of the Makem\u2019s log house and then stood there, debating what to do.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t see Joe\u2019s horse, so maybe his brother had come and gone.\u00a0 Still, he hadn\u2019t passed him on the road.\u00a0 He took a moment to pat Scout and feed him a treat, and then Adam headed for the front door.<\/p>\n

Before he could get there, a gruff voice called out, \u201cYou looking for something Cartwright?\u201d<\/p>\n

The black-haired man pivoted.\u00a0 \u201cAlvin, yes, I\u2019m looking for my brother.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhich <\/em>brother?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe.\u00a0 He was coming out to see you, to apologize for what happened with Nellie.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alvin had some sort of tool in his hand.\u00a0 He went back to cleaning it as he said, \u201cAin\u2019t seen him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u00a0 Not at all?\u201d<\/p>\n

The older man\u2019s eyes moved to his face.\u00a0 \u201cYou callin\u2019 me a liar, Cartwright?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just surprised.\u00a0 Joe\u2019s been gone for hours.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know where he would have gone if he didn\u2019t come here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTry any house that\u2019s got a female in it.\u00a0 You know, Cartwright, your pa needs to take a whip to that randy son of his.\u00a0 Teach him good how to respect a woman.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam bit back both his anger and the words he wanted to say.\u00a0 It was well known that Nellie Makem was well on her way to being anything but <\/em>a respectable woman.\u00a0 Still, arguing would get him nowhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe\u2019s young, Alvin, and impulsive.\u00a0 He makes mistakes, but he\u2019s always willing to admit to them and make it right.\u00a0 That\u2019s why he was headed here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAin\u2019t nothin\u2019 gonna make it right but that brother of yours staying away from my Nellie permanent-like, if you take my meaning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam\u2019s eyes flicked to Alvin Makem\u2019s hands.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t a tool he was polishing, it was a gun.<\/p>\n

Adam drew a breath.\u00a0 \u201cAlvin, I hope you haven\u2019t done anything foolish.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI<\/em> ain\u2019t done nothing.\u00a0 Now why don\u2019t you be on your way, Adam Cartwright. \u00a0I got a lot of work to get me done before the sun goes down.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right,\u201d Adam said, adding before he turned back toward his horse.\u00a0 \u201cIf Joe shows up, I want you to let him know I was here looking for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam mounted Scout and turned the horse\u2019s nose toward the Ponderosa.\u00a0 Five minutes out, he couldn\u2019t do it.\u00a0 There had been something in Alvin Makem\u2019s demeanor that suggested the older man was being less than truthful.\u00a0 Tethering Scout just off the road, Adam walked back through the trees and arrived at the Makems\u2019 home where he hugged the shadows and crouched down to wait.\u00a0 Alvin Makem was standing at the pump, getting a drink of water.\u00a0 As he watched, the older man turned and entered the stable.\u00a0 He could hear him speaking to the horses.\u00a0 Probably getting them bedded down for the night.<\/p>\n

Ten minutes later the door to the stable opened.\u00a0 Alvin stepped out and looked around and then returned inside.\u00a0 A moment later he left it, leading a piebald horse.<\/p>\n

Adam\u2019s heart dropped to his boots.<\/p>\n

It was Cochise.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

FOUR<\/p>\n

Hoss Cartwright reined in his horse and dismounted.\u00a0 Tethering Chubb in front of the mercantile, he walked over to the wagon sitting out front of it and checked its contents.<\/p>\n

It sure enough was theirs. \u00a0He\u2019d read the shopping list.<\/p>\n

With one hand on his hip and the other tilting his hat back, Hoss looked in every direction.\u00a0 It was late night and the town was jumping like jack rabbits.\u00a0 Adam and Joe could be anywhere.\u00a0 The big man turned back toward the wagon.\u00a0 The odd thing was, neither Scout nor Cochise were in sight.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t figure why his brothers would have stabled their horses, but left the wagon here in plain sight for any ne\u2019er-do-well to walk off with.<\/p>\n

He and his pa had eaten supper together.\u00a0 All the while the older man\u2019s eyes had been on the two empty plates.\u00a0 It was something they\u2019d grown sort of used to with Joe, but Adam missing, well, that was a horse of another color.\u00a0 His pa had wanted to come to town with him, but there\u2019d been word the renegade Indians had been spotted on their land just south of Virginia City.\u00a0 They\u2019d set out together with about a half-dozen hands, but parted company about an hour out of town<\/p>\n

After thinking about it, Hoss decided to go to the saloon first.\u00a0 Adam was right sensible and he couldn\u2019t imagine him taking off with Joe to gamble or sweep the floor with a couple of pretty ladies when there were chores waiting at home, but then again, he\u2019d surprised him before.\u00a0 Hoss had seen his cool, slow-thinking and slower to anger brother go against their father\u2019s wishes.\u00a0 Adam\u2019d flown off the handle more than a few times.\u00a0 He\u2019d even had to take him and pin his arms back now and again to keep him from popping someone in the nose.<\/p>\n

Hoss smiled.\u00a0 Older brother would never admit it, but you sure <\/em>could tell by his temper sometimes that he and Joe were related.<\/p>\n

It just took Adam a lot longer to boil over.<\/p>\n

As he approached the saloon, the big man stopped.\u00a0 Thinking it through, he changed his mind and decided to head for the hotel instead.\u00a0 Belle had been with his brothers and sure as shootin\u2019 they hadn\u2019t towed her along to any saloon.\u00a0 The most likely case was that they were eatin\u2019 a late supper together. If he\u2019d had the chance, and a pretty gal like that Belle on his arm, he would have taken her to the finest hotel and shown her a good time \u2013 sister or not.\u00a0 Hoss removed his hat and scratched his head.\u00a0 It had been hard at first, acceptin\u2019 Belle. \u00a0\u00a0And, silly as it was, harder to admit that their pa might have been capable of what she claimed.\u00a0 Their Pa\u2019d read the Bible and the riot act to them<\/em> hundreds of times, making sure they knew how to treat a woman.<\/p>\n

That thought brought Little Joe to mind again.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d never considered it before.\u00a0 Maybe Little Joe and Pa butted heads the most because they were the most alike.<\/p>\n

Shaking his head and snorting laughter, Hoss headed for the hotel.<\/p>\n

When he was halfway there, a woman stepped out of the door.\u00a0 At first she failed to notice him.\u00a0 When she did, she cried, \u201cHoss!\u00a0 Thank goodness!\u201d<\/p>\n

The big man waited as Belle fairly flew across the street to his side. \u00a0Her eyes were wild and she was out of breath as she took him by the arm.<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss…Hoss…I….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou take your time, Belle.\u00a0 Draw in some air afore you \u2013 \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no time!\u201d\u00a0 She gripped his arm.\u00a0 \u201cI know something terrible has happened to either Adam or Little Joe, or maybe both!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cBeggin\u2019 your pardon, Belle, but you ain\u2019t had much acquaintance with those two.\u00a0 They can get into a peck of trouble quicker than a starving man can go through a steak.\u00a0 I wouldn\u2019t worry too much.\u201d\u00a0 He thought about the missing horses.\u00a0 \u201cLooks like they might of taken off together.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cNo?\u201d he repeated.<\/p>\n

Belle shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cNo.\u00a0 Joe went on his errand \u2013 the one to Makems.\u00a0 When he didn\u2019t come back, Adam rode out to look for him. \u00a0It\u2019s going on two hours now since he left.\u201d\u00a0 She paused.\u00a0 \u201cAdam looked very worried.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMost times when there\u2019s somethin\u2019 has to do with my baby brother and women, there\u2019s cause to worry,\u201d he admitted, starting to worry himself.<\/p>\n

She smiled.\u00a0 \u201cIf I were ten or twelve years younger, I\u2019d be in line.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, Little Joe has that effect on most pretty ladies,\u201d he admitted with a snort.<\/p>\n

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

Hoss looked at her.\u00a0 It was dark and Belle\u2019s face was half-masked, but there\u2019d been something in her voice \u2013 something that hinted at an interest in his older brother that was anything but<\/em> sisterly.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost the time Adam\u2019s no problem \u2013 unless you stick him with Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you\u2019re the middleman?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPretty much, I guess.\u201d\u00a0 He shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cSomeone\u2019s got to keep them two from killing one another.\u00a0 There\u2019s men aplenty around here who would do it for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you and your family disliked that much then?\u201d she asked, surprised.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s them that don\u2019t cotton to us, part-wise as we\u2019re outsiders.\u00a0 You know, we don\u2019t live in the city.\u201d\u00a0 He hesitated, not wanting what he said to come out wrong.\u00a0 \u201cMostly, it\u2019s because of Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

She was astonished.\u00a0 \u201cPeople don\u2019t like Benjamin Cartwright?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSome do, Belle.\u00a0 They like him a lot.\u00a0 But there\u2019s others…mostly wealthy men who ain\u2019t honest, who\u2019d cheat a settler out of their land or a cowhand of his hard-earned pay without breakin\u2019 stride. \u00a0You see, pa has a high sense of justice and he don\u2019t believe in compromisin\u2019.\u00a0 That\u2019s puts him on the other side of a good many people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Belle\u2019s pretty face reflected her thoughts.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs somethin\u2019 botherin\u2019 you Belle?\u00a0 I mean, asides worry for Adam and Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n

For a moment it seemed she would tell him.\u00a0 Then, \u00a0\u201cNo, Hoss.\u00a0 Nothing else.\u201d<\/p>\n

The big man thought furiously for a moment.\u00a0 \u201cI can\u2019t rightly take you out into the night and the unknown.\u00a0 Can you stay at the hotel until I get back from the Makems?\u201d<\/p>\n

A little sigh escaped her.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019d rather not, but I will if I must.\u00a0 I don\u2019t want you to delay enough to take me back to the Ponderosa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow\u2019s \u2018bout I go to the saloon and see if I can round up one or two of our ranch hands who ain\u2019t had too much to drink.\u00a0 They can take you and the wagon back.\u00a0 That sound okay\u201d<\/p>\n

Belle glanced over her shoulder at the hotel door.\u00a0 He thought he saw her shiver.\u00a0 It might have been the cool night air.\u00a0 \u201cThat would be wonderful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss stepped forward and took Belle by the arm.\u00a0 \u201cYou come with me,\u201d he said, sensing her need\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ll hitch Chubb up to the wagon and you can wait in it while I go inside.\u201d<\/p>\n

xxxxxxxxxxoooxxxxxxxxxx<\/p>\n

Lantern in hand, Ben Cartwright knelt on the ground and searched it for clues.\u00a0 Unfortunately, it did little good.\u00a0 They would have to wait until first light to see whether the small band of Indians had been heading toward the Ponderosa or away from it toward Virginia City.\u00a0 While his men searched the land, he had interviewed the settlers who had seen the natives passing through.\u00a0 From their description he believed the band was Ute and led by an old warrior named White Crow, though there was no way to be sure.\u00a0 If these renegades were <\/em>of the Ute tribe, most likely they were after horses \u2013 which made it even more important that they be driven off the land.\u00a0 There was a large stock of horses at the Ponderosa right now, fresh from a recent purchase.\u00a0 For an Indian tribe that specialized in horse mounted combat, the animals would be a temptation too great to resist.<\/p>\n

The older man rose and turned toward the west.\u00a0 The sun was nearly down.\u00a0 Already the forest pathways and even the road were black with shadows. It was time for supper and a few hours of sleep.\u00a0 Nothing would be gained from pushing themselves further tonight.<\/p>\n

\u201cHank!\u201d Ben called out.<\/p>\n

One of the ranch hands, a tall lanky man with blond hair and a scruffy beard, appeared.\u00a0 \u201cYes, Mister Cartwright?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCall the men in.\u00a0 There\u2019s no point in continuing.\u00a0 We\u2019ll start again in the morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hank smiled and tipped his hat.\u00a0 \u201cYes, sir, Mister Cartwright.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know about you but I\u2019m saddle sore and weary to the bone.\u201d<\/p>\n

He had pulled the men out of one of the far pastures where they had been rounding up cattle.\u00a0 They had already put in a full day when he called on them to accompany him.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m grateful you came, Hank.\u00a0 You and the others.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hank must have heard something in his voice.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re missing your boys.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben laughed.\u00a0 \u201cIs it that obvious?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo another father.\u00a0 Sure is.\u201d\u00a0 Hank was around forty.\u00a0 His oldest was a few years younger than Joe.\u00a0 The family lived close to Reno and Hank often went months without seeing them.\u00a0 \u201cMy boy\u2019s nigh on as tall as I am now.\u00a0 Another year or two and he\u2019ll be a man.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure he\u2019ll be a good one, Hank.\u00a0 You\u2019re a good man.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, sir.\u201d\u00a0 Hank paused.\u00a0 \u201cRemind me why the boys didn\u2019t come with you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe and Adam went to town for supplies.\u00a0 Hoss and I were riding there to see why they were late getting back.\u00a0 That\u2019s when Jeb Miller found us and told us about the Indians that had been spotted.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss went to find Adam and Little Joe then?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben nodded.\u00a0 \u201cJoseph had to ride out to one of the neighboring farms.\u00a0 He had a mistake to remedy.\u00a0 Adam was to wait for him in town and then they were to come back to the ranch.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hank smiled.\u00a0 \u201cI like Joe, but he does have a tendency to leap before he looks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOne day I think that boy will be quite a man.\u201d\u00a0 Ben laughed. \u201cI just hope I live long enough to see it!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat mistake did he have to remedy?\u00a0 If you don\u2019t mind my asking.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u00a0 No.\u00a0 Youthful hi-jinks.\u00a0 Joe took Nellie Makem dancing after her father warned him to keep away from her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hank\u2019s blond brows shot up toward the shock of hair hanging down on his forehead.\u00a0 \u201cNellie Manning?\u00a0 Old Alvin\u2019s girl?\u00a0 How\u2019d Joe get mixed up with her?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben noted something in the ranch hand\u2019s tone.\u00a0 \u201cShe\u2019s a pretty girl.\u00a0 For Joseph, that\u2019s all it takes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hank shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cThat father of hers.\u00a0 He\u2019s mean as a snake.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAlvin?\u00a0 Oh, I don\u2019t know.\u201d\u00a0 Alvin and his family had been in the area about six years before.\u00a0 They lived a good eight miles outside of town and so kept mostly to themselves.\u00a0 He and Alvin had met at town hall meetings and shared a couple of beers.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s a hard man, but always seemed fair enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was afore his wife died.\u201d<\/p>\n

How had he missed that?\u00a0 \u201cWhen did Anna die?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLast winter.\u00a0 Since then he\u2019s kept that young filly of his close as the grave. \u00a0Some might say too<\/em> close.\u00a0 Nellie\u2019s champing at the bit and straining the lead like a wild colt.\u00a0 Some say she\u2019ll do anything to upset her old man, and the less control he has over her, the more control he tries to have over everyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about his boys?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSame thing.\u00a0 Old Cote here,\u201d he indicated one of the hands sitting by the fire, \u201che just said \u2018hello\u2019 to her and Ed and Rob wiped the street up with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben fought to control his rising fear.\u00a0 Adam had gone with Joe, and though he intended to leave him and remain in town, if his brother failed to return he knew his eldest would have gone looking for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry, Mister Cartwright,\u201d Hank said.\u00a0 \u201cI didn\u2019t mean to lay another burden on your shoulders.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure Little Joe\u2019s okay.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, yes, I\u2019m sure you\u2019re right.\u00a0 The boys will probably come riding in, in the morning.\u201d\u00a0 The older man clapped his hand on Hank\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cNow go and call the other hands in and get some shut eye yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hank nodded and disappeared into the darkness.<\/p>\n

Ben\u2019s eyes followed him, going even farther north toward Virginia City.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t believe, no matter how hard Alvin Makem had grown, that he or his boys would hurt a young man just for dancing with his girl. From what Hank said, the whole thing was probably Nellie\u2019s fault.\u00a0 He\u2019d been hard on Joe.\u00a0 Probably too<\/em> hard.\u00a0 There were times when he looked at his youngest son that he saw himself.\u00a0 He just didn\u2019t want Joseph \u2013 or any of the boys \u2013 to make the same mistakes he had.<\/p>\n

Like growing infatuated with a beautiful woman such as Jasmin Persuad.<\/p>\n

With a shake of his head, Ben crossed to Buck and removed his bedroll from the back of the saddle where he had it anchored. \u00a0No matter what, there was nothing he could do about it tonight.\u00a0 God alone knew what tomorrow would bring.<\/p>\n

The best thing he could do was be prepared.<\/p>\n

xxxxxxxxxxoooxxxxxxxxxx<\/p>\n

For some reason Hoss dismounted and walked the remaining half mile to the Makems\u2019 place towing Chubb behind him.\u00a0 When a man lived in the West, he learned to heed that voice deep down inside him.\u00a0 Sometimes it was a quiet voice that gave warning of a fork in the road that was best not taken, or of something lying in wait around the bend.<\/p>\n

Other times, like now, it fairly shouted.<\/p>\n

Just as the Makem\u2019s house came into view he heard his brother Adam\u2019s voice.\u00a0 \u201cHoss, get down!\u201d<\/p>\n

Ducking instantly, he slipped into some brush beside the path.\u00a0 \u201cWhere are you?\u201d he called back.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo your left.\u00a0 Tether Chubb and then come over here.\u00a0 I\u2019m about ten feet in and the same up.\u201d\u00a0 There was a pause, as Adam waited for him to tie up his horse.\u00a0 A second later his brother said, \u201cNow!\u201d<\/p>\n

Without hesitation Hoss crossed the open gap and then worked his way through the trees until he was at Adam\u2019s side.\u00a0 \u201cWhat you doing hidin\u2019 in here?\u201d he asked him.<\/p>\n

Adam indicated the area of the Makem\u2019s stable with a nod.\u00a0 \u201cTake a look.\u201d<\/p>\n

The big man looked.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s Cochise!\u00a0 What\u2019s Alvin doing with him.\u201d\u00a0 A second later he added, \u201cHave you seen Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d\u00a0 Adam turned toward him.\u00a0 \u201cAlvin Makem just told me, not fifteen minutes ago, that Joe hadn\u2019t been here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fear for his brother fueled him.\u00a0 \u201cWell, then, let\u2019s go ask him again.\u00a0 He\u2019ll tell me!\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam\u2019s hand on his arm stopped him from rising.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s as simple as that, Hoss.\u00a0 For one thing, even though Cochise is here, it doesn\u2019t prove anything.\u00a0 Makem can just say he was mistaken and Joe went out with one of his boys.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd for another thing?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam shook his head. \u201cI don\u2019t understand it, but Alvin Makem definitely threatened Joe\u2019s life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss felt a knot big as his fist in his stomach.\u00a0 \u201cKill<\/em> him?\u00a0 Whatever for?\u00a0 For dancing with his girl?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s something not right with Alvin.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know him well, but he was definitely a different man from the last time we talked.\u00a0 His boys weren\u2019t much better.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know them boys, Adam.\u00a0 They do whatever their pa tells them.\u00a0 \u2018Cept maybe the youngest.\u00a0 Jimmy\u2019s always had a mind of his own.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd he\u2019s the one closest to Joe.\u201d\u00a0 Adam turned back.\u00a0 \u201cMaybe that\u2019s one slim thread of hope.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss came up beside him and looked.\u00a0 \u201cDang it!\u00a0 If Alvin ain\u2019t takin\u2019 Cochise out to hide him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alvin Makem was leading their brother\u2019s horse into the trees beside the house.<\/p>\n

\u201cCome on.\u00a0 Let\u2019s follow him,\u201d Adam said.<\/p>\n

Cautiously, they moved out of the protection of the trees and, hugging the shadows, followed in Alvin Makem\u2019s wake.\u00a0 As they drew abreast the house the door flew open and a very frazzled Nellie Makem flew out of it.<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss!\u00a0 Adam!!\u00a0 You gotta save Joe!\u201d she shouted as she ran.\u00a0 \u201cMy pa and my brothers are gonna kill him!\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam caught her by the arms.\u00a0 \u201cNellie.\u00a0 Calm down.\u00a0 If you want to help Joe, you need to calm down!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou gotta listen to Adam, Nellie,\u201d Hoss agreed.\u00a0 \u201cTake a breath and then tell us what you know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam waited a moment and then asked, \u201cDid your father or your brothers hurt Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n

The blonde girl blinked, suddenly frightened for her family as well.\u00a0 \u201cNo.\u00a0 They was going to, but he ran away.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe got away?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

She nodded toward a gap in the trees, close to the place where Alvin Makem had just disappeared.\u00a0 \u201cHe ran through there, but they was right on his heels.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNellie,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0 He waited for her to meet his eyes.\u00a0 \u201cI need an honest answer.\u00a0 Do you really think your father and brothers mean to harm Joe, or just teach him a lesson?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe they\u2019re just gonna rough him up?\u201d Hoss asked, hopefully.<\/p>\n

Nellie looked down and then up again.\u00a0 Her jaw was tight and there were tears in her eyes.\u00a0 \u201cMy pa ain\u2019t been right since mama died.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen did your mother die, Nellie?\u201d the black-haired man asked, surprised.\u00a0 \u201cWe didn\u2019t hear of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one did.\u201d\u00a0 She shivered in his grip.\u00a0 \u201cIt was winter and pa didn\u2019t even bury her for a week or so.\u00a0 He just sat there, holding her hand while….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood God!\u201d\u00a0 Adam exclaimed.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter that, well, he got right funny with me.\u201d\u00a0 She met his gaze again.\u00a0 \u201cWhen he had too much to drink he\u2019d call\u00a0 me by her name, and things like that. \u00a0When he was sober he knew I wasn\u2019t her, but Pa started locking me in my room, keeping me away from town.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd boys like Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

She nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI started sneaking out.\u00a0 It was the only way I could ever<\/em> do anything.\u00a0 I had Joe come get me the other night so I could escape for just a little while.\u201d\u00a0 Her head went down.\u00a0 \u201cIt was me talked him into going into the Millionaire Club.\u00a0 He knew it weren\u2019t right.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss met his brother\u2019s stare.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s little brother,\u201d the big man said with a sigh.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, disobedient, mule-headed, and chivalrous as ever.\u201d \u00a0Adam sighed.\u00a0 Turning back to Makem\u2019s girl, he asked, \u201cNellie, do you have any idea where your kin would taken Joe, if<\/em> they managed to catch him?\u201d<\/p>\n

She shook her head.\u00a0 Then a thought seemed to enter it.\u00a0 \u201cI imagine Pa was taking Joe\u2019s horse down to the shack we have beside the Little River.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know if they\u2019d take Joe there too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, Nellie.\u00a0 Come on, Hoss,\u201d Adam said, drawing his gun.\u00a0 \u201cI think it would be expedient to move quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n

The big man nodded.\u00a0 As he began to follow his brother, Nellie Makem caught his arm. \u00a0Hoss turned back.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Miss?\u201d<\/p>\n

Her eyes were wide with the knowledge of the events her foolishness had put in motion.\u00a0 \u201cAre you gonna kill them?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWho\u2019s that, Nellie?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy pa and my brothers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pain and fear were evident in her voice.\u00a0 Hoss tried to ease them both.\u00a0 \u201cWell, Nellie, we\u2019re gonna try our darndest not to.\u00a0 It\u2019s mostly up to your Pa and your brothers what happens.\u201d\u00a0 He paused.\u00a0 \u201cBut you gotta understand \u2013 we cain\u2019t<\/em> let them hurt Little Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss?\u201d Adam called.<\/p>\n

\u201cComin\u2019 big brother.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss covered the girl\u2019s tiny hand with his own.\u00a0 \u201cNow you go back inside, Miss Nellie, where you\u2019re safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIsn\u2019t there something I can do?\u201d she protested.<\/p>\n

He lifted his hand.\u00a0 \u201cIt might not hurt to say a prayer or two while your waitin\u2019 for Little Joe and your kin.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Nellie headed into the house, Hoss turned and followed his brother into the trees.<\/p>\n

Whispering a prayer or two himself.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

FIVE<\/p>\n

Joe thought about that wolf he and his brothers had been tracking a few days back.\u00a0 It had been the three of them against the one of him.\u00a0 At the time all he could think of was what an advantage that was, having the three of them there to circle him, tighten the net, and pin him down.<\/p>\n

Now, with the Makem boys closing in, he was thinking about the wolf\u2019s point of view.<\/p>\n

From the time he\u2019d left the open area in front of the Makem\u2019s house until now, he\u2019d been on the move.\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t had anything to eat since breakfast and while he not about to faint or fall down, he was feeling it.\u00a0 The edge he usually had was dulled by fatigue and hunger and he was worried he\u2019d make a mistake.\u00a0 The Makem boys, on the other hand, showed no signs of slowing down.\u00a0 He could hear them now.\u00a0 They were close.\u00a0 They were beating the brush and every once in a while one of them took a shot, as if they fired blind into the tall grasses hoping to hit him.\u00a0 As he held still, listening, \u00a0he heard one of them shout.\u00a0 He thought it was Ned.\u00a0 What part of his words the wind carried to him seemed to indicate that Ned thought he had seen him.\u00a0 As the Makem brothers\u2019 voices converged, Joe headed in the opposite direction toward the wide stream that cut through the back of Makem\u2019s property.\u00a0 They called it the Little River even though it was just a wide stream.\u00a0 He and Jimmy had had some good times fishing and swimming there four or five years back.<\/p>\n

Joe darted between trees and crawled through grass for ten minutes or so before ducking down behind a clump of bushes.\u00a0\u00a0 By the time he did, he was breathing hard and his head had grown light.\u00a0 Though he was doing his best to ignore it, fear had a tenacity that stuck it to a man\u2019s bones and he couldn\u2019t shake the fact that the men pursuing him wanted to hurt him.\u00a0 He really couldn\u2019t see Rob or Ned Makem as a murderer, but he knew they believed in their pa and whatever Alvin Makem had told them had them madder than wet hornets.<\/p>\n

They were out for blood.<\/p>\n

Another shout brought Joe\u2019s head up.\u00a0 It was even farther away than the first one.\u00a0 He thought it was Sam, one of the middle boys.\u00a0 That accounted for three of them and left Jimmy and Moore as wild cards.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t really think Jimmy would hurt him, but as the youngest brother he would have little or no control over what his older brothers or father did.<\/p>\n

So, where <\/em>was Moore?<\/p>\n

Joe held his breath and listened.\u00a0 Night had fallen, so he couldn\u2019t see his pursuers, but then that also meant they couldn\u2019t see him.\u00a0 Even though he wanted to fly fast as he could, he heard his oldest brother\u2019s calm voice in his head telling him to go slow and stay low.\u00a0 The only way they could catch him was if he made too much noise, so he had to be sure he didn\u2019t.\u00a0 What saved him, could send him to his grave as well.\u00a0 One stick snapped underfoot, one cough or sneeze, and they would have him.<\/p>\n

\u201cCartwright!\u00a0 We know you\u2019re out there!\u00a0 You cain\u2019t get away.\u00a0 Why don\u2019t you give yourself up?\u201d<\/p>\n

It was Robert again.\u00a0 He must have slipped around the back and come in on the other side.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s right, Joe.\u00a0 You ain\u2019t gonna get away,\u201d Ned added, his voice coming at a forty-five degree angle to his brother\u2019s.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ve got you surrounded.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe swallowed hard.\u00a0 They had him ringed in.<\/p>\n

Just like the wolf.<\/p>\n

The Makems were closing in; their voices drawing closer with each pounding beat of his heart.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re all around you, Cartwright.\u00a0 Ain\u2019t no place for you to go!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe sucked in air.\u00a0 They were right about him being surrounded, but they were dead wrong about him having no place to go.<\/p>\n

There was always the river.<\/p>\n

xxxxxxxxxxoooxxxxxxxxxx<\/p>\n

Ben Cartwright had left his men behind to look for the Indians.\u00a0 He knew he could trust Hank to see it done right.\u00a0 There was a feeling in his gut that he couldn\u2019t let go of and it told him that he needed <\/em>to get back to the ranch and his boys.\u00a0 He had arrived ten minutes before.<\/p>\n

There wasn\u2019t a sign of any of the boys.<\/p>\n

The older man had asked the ranch hand that was tending the extra horses in the stable about it.\u00a0 He said that none of them had returned, though their guest had come in about midnight.\u00a0 Ben had gone in to check his boys\u2019 bedrooms and then looked in on Hop Sing.\u00a0 No one had seen Adam, Hoss, or Joe in the last twelve hours.\u00a0 He was contemplating going up and knocking on Belle\u2019s door when the handsome young lady appeared at the top of the stairs dressed in riding clothes.<\/p>\n

\u201cBelle,\u201d he said, crossing to the staircase, \u201care you planning on going somewhere?\u201d<\/p>\n

She descended to his level.\u00a0 \u201cI was planning on going out to find you<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere are the boys?\u201d<\/p>\n

Belled shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cThe last one I saw was Hoss.\u00a0 He looked up two of your hands and they brought me home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere were Adam and Joe?\u00a0 I\u2019ve not reared my sons to abandon a lady or a charge to look after one.\u201d<\/p>\n

She shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s not like that.\u00a0 Little Joe went off on that errand you set him.\u00a0 When he didn\u2019t come back, Adam took off to look for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDidn\u2019t come back?\u00a0 How long was he gone?\u201d<\/p>\n

She thought about it.\u00a0 \u201cFour, maybe five hours.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Makem\u2019s house could be reached on horseback from Virginia City in an hour.\u00a0 Joe should have been there two and a half, maybe three hours at most.\u00a0 \u201cWhat time did Adam leave?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAround supper time.\u00a0 Then Hoss followed a quarter to a half hour later.\u201d She paused.\u00a0 \u201cAdam was very worried.\u201d<\/p>\n

He nodded.\u00a0 \u201cJoseph, for all his youth, can take care of himself under normal circumstances.\u00a0 Alvin Makem and his boys would make it six to one.\u00a0 And they\u2019re all built like giants.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe, of course, was not.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you going to do?\u201d Belle asked, her eyes wide with concern.<\/p>\n

\u201cI should be out there with the men looking for those renegade Indians, but my sons have to come first.\u00a0 I\u2019ll head into town and if I can\u2019t find them, I\u2019ll ride out to Alvin Makem\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease, take me with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

He touched her arm.\u00a0 \u201cBelle, this is not your fight.\u00a0 These men are mean and, most likely, dangerous.\u00a0 I can\u2019t allow you to expose yourself to such danger.\u201d<\/p>\n

She looked down and then lifted her head and met his eyes.\u00a0 \u201cI know you don\u2019t believe I am your daughter.\u00a0 That\u2019s all right.\u00a0 Most likely, if I was in your boots I would think the same thing.\u00a0 But, well, whether they are<\/em> my brothers or not, I think of Adam and Hoss, and Little Joe as if they were.\u201d\u00a0 She paused.\u00a0 \u201cI want to do something to help.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben looked at her with sympathy.\u00a0 \u201cCan you handle a gun?\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cOr ride fast in the saddle?\u00a0 Or maybe stalk someone and shoot to kill<\/em> if you have to?\u201d<\/p>\n

Belle blanched.\u00a0 \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben took her by the shoulders.\u00a0 \u201cWhile I appreciate your offer, \u00a0and your feelings, I am afraid you would only slow me down and, in the end, be in the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou love your sons deeply, don\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Without hesitation he answered, \u201cThey are my life.\u201d\u00a0 As tears brimmed in her eyes, he added, \u201cI\u2019m sorry, Belle, they have to come first \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not that,\u201d she said, turning away.\u00a0 \u201cI only wish I had known such a father\u2019s love.\u00a0 My stepfather was a good man in many ways.\u00a0 He worked hard to make sure my mother and I were comfortable and never wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI always knew I was not his child.\u00a0 He loved my mother and she loved him, but most of the time \u2013 as far as William Babylon was concerned \u2013 I was in the way.\u201d\u00a0 Belle laughed sadly.\u00a0 \u201cI was definitely not<\/em> his life.\u00a0 I have never….\u201d\u00a0 She drew in a breath.\u00a0 \u201cI have never known such a love as your sons have.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSurely there\u2019s been someone<\/em> \u2013 you\u2019re a beautiful woman, Belle.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were boys, and then men, but none of them counted.\u00a0 They either wanted the things I would not give, or wanted the things I had.\u00a0 My mother was considered a wicked woman.\u00a0 Men just assumed I would be the same, and since we were well-off…..\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMen are fools,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

She looked up at him and smiled.\u00a0 \u201cNot all<\/em> of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

At that moment Ben heard the sound of horse\u2019s hooves beating the ground in front of the house.\u00a0 With hope he flew to the window and looked out.\u00a0 Regrettably, it wasn\u2019t any of the boys.<\/p>\n

It was a city slicker in a dark gray tailcoat and black top hat.<\/p>\n

Belle followed him.\u00a0 He heard the sharp intake of breath the man\u2019s presence elicited and felt her grip his elbow.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease, Benjamin, please<\/em>.\u00a0 Don\u2019t tell him I am here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWho is he?\u201d<\/p>\n

She hesitated and then replied, \u201cJarvis Barrot, my step-father\u2019s former business partner.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is he doing out here and so late?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not sure.\u00a0 At first when I saw him in town today, I assumed he had followed me from back East.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t have my mother and so he ruined my step-father, taking his company and driving him to an early grave.\u00a0 For some time, it was just my mother and me against him and then when she died, well \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben started.\u00a0 \u201cJasmin is dead?\u201d<\/p>\n

She nodded.\u00a0 \u201cIt was after she died that I decided to come looking for you.\u00a0 I\u2019m sorry.\u00a0 It seems I have brought my troubles with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

He patted her hand.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t you worry.\u00a0 Now, what do you want me to tell this Jarvis Barrot?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s going to say he\u2019s come out to see if he can do business with you.\u00a0 Don\u2019t believe him.\u00a0 Jarvis is not interested in business.\u00a0 The only thing that snake is interested in is vengeance and retribution.\u201d\u00a0 At his look she went on.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sure you don\u2019t remember him.\u00a0 Jarvis was a sailor too.\u00a0 He fell in love with my mother while in Barbados, but she cruelly rejected him.\u00a0 When he asked her why, she told him.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cMy mother told him she wanted nothing to do with him because she was in love with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

xxxxxxxxxxoooxxxxxxxxxx<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s blacker than the heart of a coal mine out here, Adam.\u00a0 How are we gonna see to track Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe good thing about that is that if we can\u2019t see him, neither can the Makems.\u201d\u00a0 Adam paused .\u00a0 \u201cDid you hear that?\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss straightened up and listened.\u00a0 \u201cNo.\u00a0 I don\u2019t hear nothin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure I did.\u201d\u00a0 His brother held up a hand.\u00a0 \u201cThere.\u00a0 Someone shouting.\u00a0 Hear it?\u201d<\/p>\n

This time he did, though the voice was far enough away he couldn\u2019t make out the words.\u00a0 \u201cYou figure that\u2019s one of the Makems?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMust be.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think Little Joe would be shouting.\u201d\u00a0 The black-haired man paused as the same thought occurred to him.\u00a0 He wouldn\u2019t be shouting unless someone had him cornered and he was screaming for mercy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhich direction you figure?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cHard to tell in the woods.\u00a0 Toward the stream, maybe?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMakes sense.\u00a0 Probably thinks if he can get across, he can get away.\u00a0 And there\u2019d be help not too far away on the other side.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s the wisest, if not our only course.\u00a0 There\u2019s no tracking any of them.\u00a0 We\u2019ll just have to \u2013\u201d\u00a0 Adam stopped abruptly.\u00a0 A shot had been fired.\u00a0 It was followed by an excited chorus of voices.<\/p>\n

\u201cSounds like they\u2019re closing in,\u201d Adam said between gritted teeth.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still cain\u2019t believe they\u2019d hurt Joe.\u00a0 We ain\u2019t exactly been friends, but for gosh sake\u2019s all he did was dance with Nellie.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d\u00a0 Adam shifted his position.\u00a0 \u201cBut is that all they believe Joe did with her?\u00a0 Alvin Makem could have told them anything, maybe that Joe took advantage of Nellie. Nothing would rile a bunch of brothers up like that.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s funny, you know?\u00a0 Even though we don\u2019t know anything about Belle \u2013 even if she\u2019s telling the truth \u2013 I kind of feel that way about her.\u201d<\/p>\n

The black-haired man nodded.\u00a0 \u201cMe too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam?\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cI think Belle likes you.\u201d\u00a0 At his brother\u2019s puzzled look he added with emphasis, \u201cReally<\/em> likes you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, now, that would fly in the face of her thinking we were siblings, wouldn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt sure enough would.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam held his hand up again, calling for silence. \u00a0Hoss heard it.\u00a0 Another shot.<\/p>\n

\u201cDefinitely down by the river.\u00a0 Come on, Hoss.\u00a0 We need to reach him before the Makems do, and before he\u2019s forced into the stream.\u00a0 The water\u2019s not terribly deep but with the recent rains, it\u2019s running fast.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe\u2019d do okay.\u00a0 He swims like a fish.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam nodded.\u00a0 \u201cYes, you\u2019re right.\u00a0 So long as he enters it conscious.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss paled.\u00a0 Men drowned every day.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know,\u201d his brother said, translating his look.\u00a0 \u201cIt would be the perfect murder, wouldn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n

xxxxxxxxxxoooxxxxxxxxxx<\/p>\n

Ben Cartwright halted with his hand to the door handle and looked back at Belle.\u00a0 She was pale and trembling.\u00a0 She\u2019d told him something of her story, but he could sense there was more \u2013 something she was either afraid to name.<\/p>\n

Or ashamed<\/em> to name.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou go upstairs,\u201d he said quietly.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t come down until I call you.\u201d<\/p>\n

The lovely brunette nodded and then bolted up the stairs.<\/p>\n

Ben opened the door and stepped outside.\u00a0 \u201cHello,\u201d he said, \u201cits late, friend.\u00a0 Did you need assistance?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMister Cartwright?\u00a0 Benjamin Cartwright?\u201d<\/p>\n

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

The man left the side of his rig.\u00a0 Crossing over to him, he held out a gloved hand. \u00a0\u201cPermit me to introduce myself.\u00a0 Jarvis Barrot at your service.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben looked him up and down.\u00a0 \u201cAnd are you?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

The man was a little thrown off.\u00a0 \u201cAm I what?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cReally \u2018<\/em>at my service\u2019, or is that just the polite thing to say?\u201d<\/p>\n

He saw the man\u2019s estimation of him go up a notch.\u00a0 A slightly wary look entered his pale gray eyes.\u00a0 \u201cAs a matter of fact, Mister Cartwright, I do mean it.\u00a0 Pardon the latest of the hour, but I only have one more day in Virginia City and I wanted to offer you a proposition.\u00a0 I am a wholesale importer of goods and am looking to establish myself in the West.\u201d\u00a0 Jarvis looked around.\u00a0 \u201cAn account with the Ponderosa would do much to establish my business as legitimate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben pursed his lips and nodded.\u00a0 \u201cWell,\u00a0 I can\u2019t say as I would or would not be interested right now, Mister Barrot.\u00a0 I was just heading out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jarvis eyes traveled the length of his frame.\u00a0 \u201cIf you don\u2019t mind my saying so, you look like a man who only now left the road.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben glanced down.\u00a0 He was covered with trail dust and horse hair.\u00a0 He probably smelled like horse too.\u00a0 \u201cYes, I just arrived, but I am also going back out.\u00a0 I have three sons.\u00a0 They\u2019re missing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll three of them?\u201d\u00a0 The man seemed genuinely surprised.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne was in a little trouble.\u00a0 His brothers went to find him.\u00a0 Now it seems I must find them all.\u201d \u00a0He started to turn. \u201cNow, if you will excuse me I need to gather up a few supplies before I go.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps later then?\u00a0 After you locate your sons?\u00a0 I\u2019m staying at the hotel in Virginia City.\u00a0 Shall we say lunch tomorrow and, if not, dinner?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben turned back.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re very persistent, Mister Barrot.\u201d<\/p>\n

The man\u2019s smile was self-deprecating \u2013 and a little bit false.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m a salesman, Mister Cartwright.\u00a0 What else would you expect?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, I don\u2019t know \u2013 courtesy? \u201c<\/p>\n

Jarvis laughed.\u00a0 \u201cPoint taken.\u201d\u00a0 He reached up and tipped his expensive hat.\u00a0 \u201cUntil later then.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben said nothing but watched him go, and then reentered the house.\u00a0 He crossed to the bottom of the stairs and shouted, \u201cBelle!\u201d<\/p>\n

She appeared momentarily. \u00a0\u201dIs he gone?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think so, though he could double back.\u201d\u00a0 Ben watched her descend the two final steps before speaking.\u00a0 \u201cI changed my mind.\u00a0 I think you should come with me, at least as far as Virginia City.\u201d<\/p>\n

She shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t want to be there alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou won\u2019t be.\u00a0 I have a lady friend I\u2019m thinking of.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure she\u2019ll entertain you for the day.\u00a0 I\u2019m not comfortable with you being out here with no one but Hop Sing to protect you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe wields a pretty mean knife,\u201d Belle said with a little smile.<\/p>\n

Ben laughed.\u00a0 \u201cThat he does.\u201d\u00a0 He took his hand and squeezed it.\u00a0 \u201cSince it seems you and Hop Sing are getting along now, would you mind going into the kitchen and asking him to pack food for me for a two day journey?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you really think it will take two days to find your sons?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt could, but more than that I am thinking of Joseph.\u00a0 He woke late yesterday morning and went to town with nothing but his breakfast in his stomach.\u00a0 He would have gone to Makems before or around lunch time.\u00a0 It may be he\u2019s had no food for over half a day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI see.\u00a0 You think of everything, don\u2019t you, Benjamin?\u201d<\/p>\n

No, not everything.\u00a0 If he thought of everything none of them would have been in this pickle in the first place.<\/p>\n

xxxxxxxxxxoooxxxxxxxxxx<\/p>\n

This was it.\u00a0 Joe\u2019s back was to the water and the Makem brothers were advancing, guns drawn.\u00a0 Their ghostly forms moved toward him, illuminated by the lanterns they held.\u00a0 He\u2019d stopped just short of the water.\u00a0 He meant to plead with them one final time, to try to make them see reason and forget all about whatever it was they were thinking of doing.\u00a0 Rob and Ned were on opposite sides of the advancing line.\u00a0 Moore and Sam came next, and Jimmy was the man in the middle.<\/p>\n

Joe held up his hands.\u00a0 He\u2019d try his \u2018friend\u2019 first.\u00a0 \u201cHey, Jimmy.\u00a0 What do you think you\u2019re doing?\u201d\u00a0 His old school mate\u2019s face was masked in shadow.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t tell what he was thinking.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s me.\u00a0 Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJimmy ain\u2019t gonna answer you, Cartwright.\u00a0 He\u2019s with us.\u201d\u00a0 Robert Makem stepped forward.\u00a0 His gun was aimed directly at him.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ve ruined our little sister and you\u2019re gonna pay.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRuined?\u00a0 What do you mean, ruined?\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 Joe shifted back.\u00a0 He felt the dirt crumble under his feet on the bank and could hear the trickle of stones striking the shore some five or six feet below.\u00a0 \u201cI took Nellie dancing, that\u2019s all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat ain\u2019t all, Cartwright,\u201d a deep gruff voice pronounced.\u00a0 Joe turned to find Alvin Makem emerging from the trees to his left.\u00a0 \u201cWe know what you did.\u00a0 Nellie told us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNellie told you?\u201d\u00a0 Joe\u2019s voice had gone up in pitch.\u00a0 \u201cWell, if she told you we did anything but dance, then she\u2019s \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t compound the sin by lying, boy,\u201d Alvin warned.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re about to meet your maker.\u00a0 You want a clean conscience to do that, don\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMister Makem, I swear….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can swear till your blue, boy,.\u00a0 It won\u2019t make no nevermind.\u00a0 Either you or Nellie is a liar, and I\u2019m banking on my girl being the one who\u2019s telling the truth.\u201d\u00a0 Alvin moved forward, lifting the barrel of his gun and sighting along it.\u00a0 \u201cSay your prayers, boy….\u201d<\/p>\n

Without warning, a voice cut through the dark night.\u00a0 \u201cJoe?\u00a0 Joe, can you hear me?\u00a0 It\u2019s Adam.\u00a0 Joe?!\u201d<\/p>\n

Relief flooded through him, making him somewhat giddy.\u00a0 Adam.\u00a0\u00a0 Adam<\/em> was here to save him.\u00a0 As he opened his mouth to reply, Joe turned toward Alvin Makem.\u00a0 He saw the blow coming a split second before it landed.\u00a0 Alvin had flipped his rifle and was swinging the gun butt-end toward his head with brutal force.\u00a0 Joe threw his arm up, deflecting it a bit.\u00a0 After striking his left wrist, the metal and wood club continued on, taking him in the forehead, knocking him back and then over the edge so he dropped like a stone to the pebbled shore some six feet below.<\/p>\n

Joe opened his eyes once to find the world was spinning out of control, and then he closed them and sunk into a darkness deeper than that which cloaked the shore and his battered form.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

SIX<\/p>\n

Adam and Hoss emerged from the trees a few minutes later to find the Makem boys and their pa sitting pretty beneath the stars, warming their hands around a small campfire.\u00a0 Alvin Makem rose and came to meet them.\u00a0 His expression was unreadable.<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss.\u00a0 Adam,\u201d Makem said in greeting.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere\u2019s our brother?\u201d Hoss demanded.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019ve you done with Little Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI ain\u2019t done nothing.\u00a0 I told you.\u00a0 I ain\u2019t seen your brother.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss was riled.\u00a0 He started forward.\u00a0 Adam held him back with a hand to his chest.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen, may I ask, what you are doing with Little Joe\u2019s horse?\u00a0 I saw you leading Cochise into the trees not twenty minutes ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

Makem didn\u2019t skip a beat.\u00a0 \u201cBeen spying on me, eh?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam drew a deep breath.\u00a0 \u201cYes, if you must know, I have <\/em>been spying on you. \u00a0I believe you mean to do my brother harm.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alvin nodded toward the shelter by the river.\u00a0 \u201cThe horse\u2019s in there.\u00a0 It wandered into our yard.\u00a0 I figured Joe was in this area after all and brought the boys out to look for him.\u00a0 There\u2019s a passel <\/em>of things can happen to a man alone in the woods after dark.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you expect me to believe that?\u201d Adam asked, his tone skeptical.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t matter one way or the other to me,\u201d Alvin spit out tobacco juice. \u201cMight to your brother.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam exchanged glances with Hoss.\u00a0 It was a signal for him to take over.\u00a0 Sometimes the big man had a better way with people than he did.\u00a0 Hoss certainly had more patience.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlvin, you seen any tracks that might indicate Joe was in this part of the wood?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNah.\u00a0 Too dark.\u00a0 That\u2019s why we parked here.\u00a0 Ain\u2019t no point in lookin\u2019 until mornin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

The big man turned toward him.\u00a0 \u201cYou think Cochise might be able to nose him out, Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n

The man in black shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s worth a try.\u00a0 You know what they say about a boy and his horse….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Paint\u2019s in the lean-to over there.\u00a0 Jimmy?\u201d<\/p>\n

The youngest son, the one who had been friends with Joe, rose to his feet.\u00a0 \u201cYes, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou go get these two boys their brother\u2019s horse.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam waited until Jimmy had returned and placed Cochise\u2019s reins in Hoss\u2019s hand before turning back to Alvin Makem and saying, \u201cI want to make things clear between us, Alvin.\u00a0 I don\u2019t for one minute believe Cochise just happened on your property and you just happened<\/em> to head out looking for Joe.\u00a0 I believe you were tracking my brother with the intent to do him harm, and I am here to tell you that if you hurt Joe, it will be me<\/em> you answer to.\u201d\u00a0 Adam\u2019s jaw grew tight as he considered this man who thought six to one were fair odds.\u00a0 \u201cI will come here and shoot you down, and think nothing more of it than if I was putting down a rabid dog.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam heard Makem\u2019s sons stir and rise from where they sat.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe same thing goes for all of you,\u201d Hoss added, his tone deadly serious.\u00a0 \u201cOnly this time the odds will be better \u2013 it won\u2019t be only Adam, but me and my pa.\u00a0 From my perspective, six to three is right fair.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t you threaten me,\u201d Alvin growled.<\/p>\n

Adam snorted.\u00a0 \u201cWe just did.\u00a0 Now, get out of my way.\u00a0 Hoss and I are going to keep looking for Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

xxxxxxxxxxoooxxxxxxxxxx<\/p>\n

Alvin Makem watched the two Cartwright boys disappear into the trees.\u00a0 Then he turned to his middle son.\u00a0 \u201cMoore, you get down that hill and find out if that boy is alive or drowned.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

The older man watched his son cross to the bank and then cautiously work his way down in the dark.\u00a0 Several minutes passed and then finally Moore called out.\u00a0 \u201cHe ain\u2019t here, Pa!\u201d<\/p>\n

Alvin walked over to the bank.\u00a0 \u201cWhat do you mean, \u2018He ain\u2019t here\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust what I said Pa.\u00a0 Joe must have fallen in the water and been taken away.\u00a0\u00a0 I found his hat, but nothing else.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alvin chewed on that for a moment and then spit out a heartfelt, \u201cDamn!\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 He drew a breath and let it out slowly and then said, \u201cCome on back up here, boy, and bring that hat.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moore handed it to him once he reached the top.\u00a0 The hat was black with gray trim, and small.\u00a0 It was Cartwright\u2019s all right.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou think Joe\u2019s dead, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

Alvin sensed both fear and shame in his boy\u2019s tone.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there\u2019s any justice, he sure as Hell is,\u201d Alvin growled.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d he snapped.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you sure Nellie was telling the truth?\u00a0 You know how she can be.\u00a0 If\u2019n she was sore at Joe, she might\u2019a made that story up \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

The crack of his hand on his son\u2019s cheek resounded through the woods.\u00a0 \u201cYou callin\u2019 your sister a liar?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Moore remained quiet for a moment.\u00a0 Then he said, \u201cYeah, Pa.\u00a0 I am.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alvin brought his gun up.\u00a0 The barrel rested under his son\u2019s chin.\u00a0 \u201cI should \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat Pa?\u00a0 Kill<\/em> me like you did Little Joe?\u00a0 What\u2019s wrong with you? \u00a0Ever since Ma died \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t you bring your Ma into this, boy!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy not?\u00a0 Pa, you know you were killing Ma slowly, keeping her caged up here, never letting her go to town \u2013 just like you\u2019re doing with Nellie now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis world ain\u2019t safe boy!\u201d<\/p>\n

Moore\u2019s eyes flicked to the barrel of the gun that was still pressed up under his chin.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s safer than being here with you.\u00a0 Either lower your gun, Pa, or shoot me.\u00a0 I don\u2019t really care which one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alvin\u2019s eyes flicked to the campfire around which his other sons sat.\u00a0 \u201cYour brothers think the same thing?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOnly Jimmy.\u00a0 You got the others hoodwinked, Pa. They think Joe defiled Nellie and they\u2019re glad you made him pay.\u201d\u00a0 Moore paused.\u00a0 \u201cYou didn\u2019t make Little Joe pay, Pa.\u00a0 You murdered<\/em> him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou shut your mouth, boy,\u201d Alvin said, lowering the rifle.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve had enough of your backtalk.\u201d<\/p>\n

The young man stared at his father. \u201cYou\u2019ve had all of it you\u2019re gonna get, Pa.\u00a0 You stay here and keep looking for the man you murdered.\u00a0 In the morning, I\u2019m packing my things and going somewhere that isn\u2019t<\/em> here.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Moore moved away, his father shouted after him.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ll change your mind by morning.\u00a0 You mark my word, boy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just before he entered the trees, Moore swung back.\u00a0 \u201cI ain\u2019t a \u2018boy\u2019 anymore, Pa.\u00a0 What you did here just made me a man.\u201d\u00a0 With that, Moore faded into the trees.<\/p>\n

Alvin felt another form close to his.\u00a0 He turned to find his son, Rob, watching.\u00a0 \u201cHe don\u2019t understand, Pa, how them Cartwrights think they can just take what they want.\u201d\u00a0 His oldest snorted.\u00a0 \u201cWe just sent them a message they ain\u2019t ever gonna forget.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d Alvin agreed as he hefted his rifle.\u00a0 \u201cNow, come on.\u00a0 We got us a body to find.\u201d<\/p>\n

xxxxxxxxxxoooxxxxxxxxxx<\/p>\n

Pain exploded in Joe Cartwright\u2019s head the moment he opened his eyes.\u00a0\u00a0 The world around him was black with the single exception of a star winking overhead in a clear sky.\u00a0 He shifted and moaned, and then moaned again as he balanced on one elbow and attempted to rise.\u00a0 Just working his way into a seated position from which to make the attempt made his head spin.\u00a0 Bracing his back on a tree trunk he looked at the Little River running beside him.<\/p>\n

He was lucky when he struck the bank that he didn\u2019t roll into its fast running waters.<\/p>\n

Joe didn\u2019t remember much as he\u2019d come down hard on a stone, striking his head, and driving consciousness away.\u00a0 After waking up he\u2019d felt everything and didn\u2019t think anything was broken, but he was stoved-up and he\u2019d done something to his left leg.\u00a0 He doubted it would bear his weight very well.\u00a0 Shifting, he felt the ground around him for a suitable branch to use to make a splint.\u00a0 The night was so dark he couldn\u2019t see to find what he needed.\u00a0 Joe\u2019s gaze went to the bank that loomed above him.\u00a0 He had crawled using his hands and good knee some twenty or thirty feet down from where he had fallen and taken refuge in the tall grasses that lined the stream.\u00a0 A short time before one of the Makems come down to look for him.\u00a0 The only reason he knew was because the light of a lantern had illuminated the man as he descended.\u00a0 Alvin and his boys knew he was alive now and that meant the chase was on.<\/p>\n

He had to move \u2013 and fast.<\/p>\n

As that thought occurred, Joe\u2019s hand landed on a sturdy branch.\u00a0 He hesitated to snap it, for fear of the noise it would make, but it was too long to use otherwise.\u00a0 Joe held still for a moment, listening.\u00a0 When he was sure the Makem\u2019s\u2019 voices were some ways away, he positioned the branch against his good foot and applied pressured, snapping it in two.\u00a0 Then he listened again.\u00a0 When he heard nothing, he laid the branch parts to either side of his wounded leg.\u00a0 Working the tail of his light gray shirt out of his black trousers, he tore strips from it and tied them around both the branches and his leg.\u00a0 After finishing the splint, he used his hand to work his way up the tree and then stood and put his weight on his leg.<\/p>\n

The pain wasn\u2019t quite <\/em>as bad as being shot, but it wasn\u2019t much better.<\/p>\n

Joe stood there, contemplating his next move.\u00a0 He really needed to get to the other side of the stream.\u00a0 Jim Phillips cabin was there, within two miles.\u00a0 His Pa had helped Jim keep his place when a sickness had laid the other man low and he\u2019d been unable to work.\u00a0 All four of them had gone there to do chores to help his wife, Liz.\u00a0 Joe was sure Jim would help him now.<\/p>\n

If he could just get to him.<\/p>\n

Suddenly, he remembered the shack the Makems kept near the water\u2019s edge.\u00a0 Jimmy and he had often used the raft Jim\u2019s father kept tethered there. \u00a0It might surprise Alvin and his sons if, instead of running, he circled back and took the raft.\u00a0 They\u2019d assume he\u2019d be making for the Ponderosa and not going in the opposite direction.\u00a0 If he could get on the raft and use it to cross the rushing stream, then he\u2019d be home free.<\/p>\n

Home.<\/p>\n

Free.<\/p>\n

Fighting back tears, Joe began the slow walk along the lower bank to where he knew the shack and raft lay.<\/p>\n

xxxxxxxxxxoooxxxxxxxxxx<\/p>\n

Early the next morning Ben Cartwright stepped out of Anne Bannington\u2019s home and closed the door behind him.\u00a0 Anne and her husband had been settlers in the area before moving to the city.\u00a0 She\u2019d known Marie and liked her and he knew she would do anything for him if it meant he was free to go find Marie\u2019s son.\u00a0 He\u2019d left Belle in her care and felt good about it.\u00a0 It would also be good for the young lady to spend some time with womenfolk.\u00a0 He\u2019d had a word with Anne, who would be about Belle\u2019s mother\u2019s age, and asked her \u2013 in a gentle way \u2013 to see if she could get any more information out of the mysterious young lady.\u00a0 He\u2019d already picked up the wire from Dayton and it seemed, so far as what she knew, that Belle was telling the truth.\u00a0 Still, whether or not he was related to her, the young woman was now his responsibility and in order to protect her he needed to understand just what <\/em>she needed protection from.<\/p>\n

Or who.<\/p>\n

As he stepped into the street Deputy Clem was crossing it.\u00a0 It appeared he wanted to talk to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cClem,\u201d Ben said as they came abreast one another.\u00a0 \u201cWhat can I do to help you?\u201d<\/p>\n

The deputy indicated the wagon sitting outside of the mercantile.\u00a0 \u201cThat yours, Ben?\u201d<\/p>\n

He nodded.\u00a0 \u201cYes, it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been there since yesterday morning.\u201c\u00a0 Clem shoved his hat back.\u00a0 \u201cIs something wrong, Ben?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben pursed his lips, calculating just how much to say.\u00a0 \u201cJoe rode off on a errand and didn\u2019t come back.\u00a0 Adam and Hoss went to look for him.\u201d\u00a0 He paused.\u00a0 \u201cIf the wagon\u2019s in the way, Clem, I\u2019ll….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u00a0 No, it\u2019s fine.\u00a0 Did the boys find Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t know.\u00a0 It\u2019s been nearly a day since I saw hide or hair of any of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clem seemed to think a moment.\u00a0 \u201cYou got a minute, Ben?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe a minute.\u00a0 I need to hit the trail.\u00a0 Why?\u201d<\/p>\n

The deputy indicated the jail with a nod of his head.\u00a0 \u201cI think there\u2019s someone you should talk to.\u00a0 Came in this morning and turned himself in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben\u2019s dark brows shot toward his hairline.\u00a0 \u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMoore Makem.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMoore?\u201d\u00a0 That was Alvin\u2019s middle son.\u00a0 \u201cTurned himself in, you say?\u00a0 For what?\u201d<\/p>\n

Clem\u2019s mouth was a thin line.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe murder of Little Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

xxxxxxxxxxoooxxxxxxxxxx<\/p>\n

Ben watched Clem return to the main room of the jail. Then he turned back and looked at the young man who stood before him, his hands clenching the iron bars of his jail cell.\u00a0 Moore Makem was a fine looking lad.\u00a0 He had his mother\u2019s black hair and favored her in every way more than his father.\u00a0 Alvin\u2019s wife had always had a smile on her face and been a kind soul.\u00a0 Alvin Makem had a hang-dog look. He cut furrows deep in the field of his life, even when it meant plowing others under to get what he wanted.<\/p>\n

Ben waited for Moore\u2019s blue eyes to meet his and then he asked.\u00a0 \u201cWhat is this about Little Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n

The young man hung his head.\u00a0 He muttered something that Ben couldn\u2019t understand.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ll have to speak up, son.\u00a0 I can\u2019t hear you.\u201d<\/p>\n

The young man sighed.\u00a0 \u201cI said Little Joe is dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Panic rose in him.\u00a0 He meant to beat it down with facts.\u00a0 \u201cWhat makes you think Joe\u2019s…dead?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think, Mister Cartwright, I know<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow<\/em> do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI was there!\u201d Moore\u2019s eyes brimmed with tears.\u00a0 \u201cJoe didn\u2019t stand a chance.\u00a0 There was six of us and only one of him!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy would you want to harm Joseph?\u201d Ben asked, still not believing it.<\/p>\n

\u201cNellie lied about what happened the other day.\u00a0 She told Pa Joe took her in that place on purpose and took her upstairs to…well…you know what happens upstairs at the Club.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy son would never take advantage of a woman.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moore looked pained.\u00a0 \u201cI know that, Mister Cartwright.\u00a0 But Pa, well, he ain\u2019t been himself since Ma died.\u00a0 Once he gets his mind set on something there\u2019s no changing it, especially if it has to do with Nellie.\u201d\u00a0 The young man paused.\u00a0 \u201cI sure am sorry.\u00a0 I should of done something to stop it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happened?\u00a0 Did you see it ?\u00a0 Was Joseph shot?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, sir, but not for lack of trying.\u00a0 Pa had us hunt him down, circle him, and then move in for the kill.\u00a0 We was down by the river.\u00a0 Before Pa could shoot, Little Joe lost his balance and fell into the water.\u201d\u00a0 The boy winced.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s drowned, Mister Cartwright.\u00a0 Drowned dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you find…a body?\u201d<\/p>\n

The first ray of hope came when Alvin\u2019s middle boy shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cNo, sir.\u00a0 I went down the bank to look for him.\u00a0 I found his hat, but nothing else.\u00a0 Joe must\u2019ve hit the water and been carried away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben drew a breath and held it.\u00a0 The boy\u2019s guilt stopped him from seeing any other option.\u00a0 If there had been no body then that meant most likely Joseph had gotten away.<\/p>\n

Stepping closer, Ben steadied himself with a hand on the cell door.\u00a0 \u201cTell me, Moore, did you happen to run into Adam or Hoss?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey was there.\u00a0 They came up just after Little Joe fell.\u00a0 My Pa didn\u2019t tell them nothing, just let \u2018em think we hadn\u2019t seen him at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd Hoss and Adam believed<\/em> that?\u201d he asked, not believing it himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think so.\u00a0 They took Little Joe\u2019s horse and set off looking for him.\u201d\u00a0 Moore paused.\u00a0 \u201cBut they ain\u2019t gonna find anything.\u00a0 That\u2019s why I came into town and turned myself in.\u201d\u00a0 The young man looked to the window.\u00a0 \u201cClem says he\u2019s gonna organize a party and go out and arrest all of the rest of my kin.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, he\u2019d have to do that. Let\u2019s just hope Alvin is wise enough not to resist arrest.\u00a0 Moore….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSir?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI want you to understand that I respect what you have done.\u00a0 It\u2019s not easy to admit to a mistake and to face a possible murder charge.\u201d\u00a0 His look stopped the young man from replying. \u201cI also want you to know that I don\u2019t for one minute believe you , your brothers, or your father have killed Little Joe.\u00a0 That boy\u2019s strong.\u00a0 Most likely he awoke on the bank and dragged himself away and out of view.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hope entered the young man\u2019s eyes.\u00a0 \u201cYou really think so?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben patted his hand.\u00a0 \u201cI really <\/em>do.\u00a0 You take care of yourself, son.\u00a0 When I find Joe, I\u2019ll come back and make certain you\u2019re released.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moore\u2019s voice cracked as he said, \u201cThank you, sir.\u201d<\/p>\n

The older man nodded and then returned to the main room of the jail.\u00a0 Clem was there with a half-dozen other men.\u00a0 \u201cWhat are you planning on doing, Clem?\u201d Ben asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoing?\u00a0 Going out to catch those killers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you question the boy, Clem?\u201d\u00a0 As the deputy nodded, Ben finished, \u201cFrom what he said he didn\u2019t see anything except Joe falling off the bank and, maybe, into the river.\u00a0 There\u2019s no proof my son is dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clem shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s no proof Joe\u2019s alive <\/em>either, Ben.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know.\u00a0 Clem, my other sons are out there searching for their brother.\u00a0 I don\u2019t want them to get killed in the crossfire.\u00a0 Can you give me an hour or two to find them?\u201d<\/p>\n

The deputy hesitated.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know, Ben.\u00a0 My duty \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs to protect the citizenry of this town.\u00a0 Clem, this situation has the potential to turn into a powder keg.\u00a0 Let the boys and me see if we can find Joe.\u00a0 If we can \u2013 and<\/em> he\u2019s alive \u2013 then you\u2019ll be looking for men who made a mistake and not murderers.\u00a0 Go now and you\u2019ll be forced to shoot if the Makems take a stand.\u201d\u00a0 He paused for emphasis.\u00a0 \u201cNeighbors killing neighbors, Clem, that\u2019s not what this city is about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clem looked at the men he had just deputized.\u00a0 For the most part, they were mumbling and nodding their heads. \u201cAll right, Ben, we\u2019ll wait until noon, but I can\u2019t promise we\u2019ll wait any longer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben clapped his hand on the deputy\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cThank you, Clem.\u00a0 You won\u2019t regret it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clem\u2019s gaze went from him to the young man standing in the cell, still leaning on the bars.<\/p>\n

\u201cI certainly hope not.\u201d<\/p>\n

xxxxxxxxxxoooxxxxxxxxxx<\/p>\n

Joe had managed to find the raft.\u00a0 It took some work to free it and he was exhausted by the time he had it done, but he launched it into the stream and was floating now along with the fast-running water, heading for the opposite shore.\u00a0 As he floated he could hear the Makems\u2019 voices.\u00a0 They were on the river bank.\u00a0 He could see the reflection of their lantern\u2019s light on its black surface and knew they were scouring the ground, looking for a trace of him.\u00a0 He had pulled his gray jacket close and buttoned it, hiding the lighter gray shirt beneath so the light would have nothing to reflect off of.\u00a0 Then he had laid low and let the raft drift.\u00a0 He figured he was about a half-mile downstream.\u00a0 He\u2019d make the attempt to land soon.\u00a0 From what he remembered, he should be about parallel to the Phillips\u2019 place. \u00a0Once up the bank he would have to cross open fields, but \u2013 hopefully \u2013 the Makems would still be on the opposite side of the water and pose no threat.<\/p>\n

He was really hunger and really tired and really <\/em>ready to be home.<\/p>\n

About five minutes later Joe stirred again and reached for the pole he had found with the raft.\u00a0 Using it as a crutch, he rose to his feet and began to alter the raft\u2019s path, forcing it closer to the shore.\u00a0 Just as he reached it and hopped onto the bank, a shot rang out.\u00a0 The bullet whizzed over his head, striking a nearby rock. Dropping the pole, Joe bolted into the trees, seeking shelter.<\/p>\n

They\u2019d seen him!<\/p>\n

Moving as quickly as he was able, Joe began to work his way up the bank.\u00a0 As he did another shot flew over head.\u00a0 \u2018Damn!\u2019<\/em> he thought.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t understand how the Makems had gotten on the other side of the stream so quickly when he had their only raft.\u00a0 Out of breath and nearly out of strength, Joe clawed his way up the bank and emerged into a field of wheat.\u00a0 The shafts of the wheat reached to his knees and were visible as far as the eye could see.\u00a0 The sun was rising.\u00a0 It was a new day.<\/p>\n

He only hoped he lived to see it through.<\/p>\n

Knowing it would be only a matter of time before the Makems caught up with him, Joe started to make his way across the field as quickly as he could, dragging his injured leg.\u00a0 He made it about twenty feet before a rope dropped over his shoulders and he felt it jolt and draw him back.\u00a0 Losing his footing, he fell to the ground and lay there, panting.\u00a0 Seconds later a pair of boots appeared.<\/p>\n

Fringed leather boots.<\/p>\n

Joe looked up, wondering what in all of God\u2019s green earth he had done to deserve this.<\/em><\/p>\n

He\u2019d found the band of renegade Indians.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

SEVEN<\/p>\n

Anne Barrington looked over her needlework at the young lady Ben Cartwright had dropped on her doorstep.\u00a0 Belle was standing by the window looking out, concern written into every line of her slender form.\u00a0\u00a0 They had shared a light breakfast with Ben before he left and then she had had household matters to attend to.\u00a0 This was the first chance there had been to stop and see if she could become acquainted with this young woman who claimed to be Ben\u2019s child.<\/p>\n

Her eyebrows had shot up when he told her that!<\/p>\n

\u201cBelle, your tea is growing cold.\u201d\u00a0 Her guest didn\u2019t move.\u00a0 Anne wondered if she had even heard.\u00a0 \u201cBelle?\u201d<\/p>\n

The lovely brunette started.\u00a0 \u201cOh.\u00a0 I\u2019m sorry.\u201d\u00a0 Belle turned, looked at the cup, and then reluctantly came to the table and sat down.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou seem a million miles away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Belle took a sip.\u00a0 She smiled.\u00a0 \u201cMore like two thousand.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThinking of home?\u201d<\/p>\n

Her guest\u2019s lips turned down at the corners. \u00a0\u201cI guess you\u2019d call it that.\u00a0 Ohio\u2019s where I spent most of my childhood, so I suppose that qualifies it as home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anne placed her needlework in her lap and folded her hands over it.\u00a0 \u201cDo you mind if I ask you a personal question?\u201d<\/p>\n

Belle\u2019s hand shook, rattling the spoon in her cup.\u00a0 \u201cI guess not.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat brought you to Nevada?\u00a0 I know you\u2019ve been staying with Ben and his boys.\u00a0 It would be rare indeed to find anywhere in the state that represented home and hearth better than the Ponderosa and the family that inhabit it.\u00a0 Did you come directly to see them?\u201d<\/p>\n

Belle nodded.\u00a0 A moment later a tear slipped down her cheek.<\/p>\n

Anne rose and crossed over to the table.\u00a0 Pulling up a chair, she sat beside her.\u00a0 \u201cChild, whatever is the matter?\u201d<\/p>\n

Belle drew in a breath and let it out in a sob.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve brought such grief to them.\u00a0 I never meant to.\u00a0 I just….\u00a0 I just wanted to be a part of a family.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you mean what\u2019s happened with Little Joe, I\u2019m sure he\u2019s all right.\u00a0 That boy is always<\/em> all right in spite of the situations he gets himself into.\u00a0 He leads a charmed life,\u201d she finished with a smile.<\/p>\n

Belle glanced at her.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s part of it, but there\u2019s more,\u201d she said, her voice barely above a whisper.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoes this have to do with you not wanting to be alone in Virginia City?\u00a0 Ben mentioned someone…Jasper Barrot?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJarvis.\u201d\u00a0 A shiver ran through her.\u00a0 \u201cYes, it does.\u00a0 Jarvis is a wicked man.\u00a0 I had no idea he would follow me or that, if he did, he would follow me all <\/em>the way out here.\u201d\u00a0 The young woman looked down at her hands.\u00a0 \u201cJarvis hates Ben Cartwright.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh dear!\u00a0 Who could hate Ben?\u201d<\/p>\n

Belle\u2019s eyes flicked to her face.\u00a0 \u201cIt take a special kind of man.\u00a0 A wicked one!\u201d<\/p>\n

Anne thought a moment.\u00a0 \u201cAnd you think this man means Ben harm?\u201d<\/p>\n

There was no hesitation.\u00a0 \u201cHe told me as much.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fear gripped her.\u00a0 Ben and his boys were dear friends.\u00a0 She hated to think of anything happening to any of them, but there was a special place in her heart for the father of the Ponderosa.\u00a0 \u201cDoes Ben know?\u201d<\/p>\n

The young woman laughed sadly.\u00a0 \u201cYou know Benjamin.\u00a0 I tried to talk to him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDid he listen?\u201d<\/p>\n

Belle shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cAnne, I admire Benjamin more than you can know.\u00a0 I…love<\/em> him.\u00a0 But he\u2019s a bull-headed man who believes he can take care of anything and protect his own.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure he can<\/em> when it comes to the brutal honesty of the West where life and death are the stakes.\u201d\u00a0 She shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cDeception and subterfuge are the heart of the East.\u00a0 Jarvis Barrot occupies the shadows.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think you should try to talk to Ben again.\u00a0 Have you told him all you know?\u201d<\/p>\n

She looked down.\u00a0 \u201cI was going to \u2013 until this trouble with Little Joe came up.\u00a0 How can I tell Benjamin now \u2013 how dare <\/em>I distract him from looking for his son?\u201d<\/p>\n

Anne reached out and took Belle by the hands.\u00a0 \u201cPromise me, when Ben comes back \u2013 whether Little Joe is with him or not \u2013 that you will tell him everything.<\/em>\u00a0 If you don\u2019t Belle, I am afraid you will be making a mistake and the consequences to Ben and his family may prove dire.\u201d<\/p>\n

The young woman hesitated and then nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, my dear, finish your tea.\u201d<\/p>\n

xxxxxxxxxxoooxxxxxxxxxx<\/p>\n

Adam drew in a deep breath and reined in his horse when he spotted their Pa riding toward them.\u00a0 He glanced at Hoss and then at the empty saddle Cochise carried, acutely aware of the missing third of their trio.\u00a0 He and his brother were both saddle sore and heart-weary.\u00a0 They\u2019d searched through the night for Joe, stopping only once to snatch a few hours sleep, and had faced the dawn still having no idea what had happened to their baby brother.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa ain\u2019t gonna be happy,\u201d Hoss said, stating the obvious.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, neither am I.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean about you wanting to go into town to get the Sheriff.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLike it or not, Hoss, there\u2019s too many Makems for us to tackle alone \u2013 and too much land to cover.\u00a0 If Joe was<\/em> able to get away, he could be anywhere along the Little River, and on either side.\u00a0 If he\u2019s hurt, he might have taken shelter.\u00a0 We can\u2019t find him on our own \u2013 at least, not quickly enough for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their father arrived.\u00a0 He checked Buck and asked without preamble, \u201cWhere\u2019s your brother?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe couldn\u2019t find him, Pa,\u201d Hoss said quickly.\u00a0 \u201cWe searched all night and there just weren\u2019t no sign of Joe anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you look along the river?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam frowned.\u00a0 What, he wondered, had made his pa\u2019s thoughts go there first?\u00a0 \u201cAs much as we could, Pa.\u00a0 It was dark and impossible to \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy aren\u2019t you there searching now?\u201d<\/p>\n

The two exchanged glances.\u00a0 Here it came.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa, Adam and I, well, we figured it would be best to go back to Virginia City and get more men.\u00a0 There\u2019s a powerful lot of land to cover.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd a powerful lot of Makems,\u201d Adam added sourly.<\/p>\n

Their father shifted in the saddle. \u00a0\u201cWell, there\u2019s one less Makem than there was last night to contend with.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d Adam asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cMoore Makem came into town last night and turned himself in to Clem.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTurned himself in?\u00a0 What for?\u201d Hoss asked.<\/p>\n

They watched their father\u2019s eyes go to the empty saddle. \u00a0\u201cThe murder of your brother.\u201d<\/p>\n

His words struck both of them dumb.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoys,\u201d their father said before either one of them could speak, \u201cI don\u2019t for one minute believe Joe is dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut…but, Pa,\u201d Hoss stuttered, \u201cwhat about what Moore said?\u00a0 You think he was lying on purpose?\u201d<\/p>\n

He shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cMoore was telling the truth as far as he knew it.\u00a0 He saw his father strike Joe with his rifle butt and then watched as your brother fell off the bank.\u00a0 When Moore went down to find him at the stream\u2019s edge Joe wasn\u2019t there, so he assumed your brother must have drowned.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPa,\u201d Adam began, \u201cdid Moore explain why they were so hot to hurt Joe?\u00a0 I understand Alvin Makem is a hard man and insanely protective of his daughter, but murder is another \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAccording to Moore, his father is deranged,\u201d the silver-haired man answered.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t have no argument with that,\u201d Hoss said.\u00a0 \u201cYou shoulda seen him last night.\u00a0 He was like a crazy<\/em> man.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, well, that\u2019s all the more reason we need to find your brother.\u201d\u00a0 He indicated the road behind them with a nod.\u00a0 \u201cNow, you just turn your horse\u2019s noses back the way you came and we\u2019ll get going.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam shifted uncomfortably.\u00a0 \u201cPa, didn\u2019t you hear what we said before, about getting help?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I heard, and for once I agree with you.\u00a0 If Joe was hurt in that fall and is lying somewhere along the river, we need to find him as quickly as possible.\u201d\u00a0 The older man paused and a slight smile curled his upper lip.\u00a0 \u201cDidn\u2019t you hear what I<\/em> said?\u201d<\/p>\n

The black-haired man frowned. He glanced at Hoss, but his brother seemed as mystified as him.\u00a0 \u201cWhat did you say?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat Moore told Clem everything \u2013 including how his father and brothers meant to kill Joe.\u00a0 The deputy was organizing a posse as I left town.\u00a0 They\u2019re an hour, maybe a little more behind me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cClem\u2019s coming for the Makems?\u201d Hoss asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, and I would prefer to find your brother before he does.\u00a0 There\u2019s no knowing how it will go down.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019ll be a lot of lead flying, that\u2019s for sure,\u201d the big man said with a sigh.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I don\u2019t want you or <\/em>your brothers to be in the middle of it.\u00a0 Now, come on,\u201d Ben Cartwright said as he nudged Buck and began to move forward.\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cLet\u2019s go find your brother.\u201d<\/p>\n

xxxxxxxxxxoooxxxxxxxxxx<\/p>\n

Belle Babylon stood at the top of the staircase in Anne Bannington\u2019s house, listening.\u00a0 A delivery had come and the older woman told her she would be in the back for a while accepting and paying for it. It presented her with an opportunity.<\/p>\n

She was debating whether to take advantage of it.<\/p>\n

As she saw things, she had two choices \u2013 she could return to the ranch house with Benjamin when he came to retrieve her and tell him everything, or she could gather her things and fly.\u00a0 Whatever grudge against, or evil plans Jarvis had for the master of the Ponderosa, she doubted very much they would outweigh the wicked man\u2019s desire to find and possess her.\u00a0 She was sure if she left, then Jarvis would too.<\/p>\n

But where to run?\u00a0 Was there a place on the face of the earth where she could escape from him?\u00a0 At one time California had seemed far enough, but if he had come to Nevada….\u00a0 Maybe north.\u00a0 Maybe, Washington state where there was nothing but wilderness and loggers.\u00a0 Yes, she\u00a0 could be safe there.\u00a0 She\u2019d heard Seattle was in need of women, and while she might not be good for much of anything, she could cook and make some lonely logger a home.<\/p>\n

Belle shivered.\u00a0 She could.\u00a0 But she didn\u2019t want<\/em> to.<\/p>\n

Another possibility, she thought as she descended the Barrington\u2019s stair, was to leave the country entirely.\u00a0 She could go back to her mother\u2019s people, if she could find them.\u00a0 In a suitcase in her room at the Ponderosa were several packets of her mother\u2019s letters.\u00a0 A few of\u00a0 them, which had never been sent, were addressed to Benjamin Cartwright from Barbados.\u00a0 They didn\u2019t exactly detail where in that country her mother had come from, but she thought she could puzzle it out if she read them more closely.<\/p>\n

As far as practical matters, she had enough money.\u00a0 Though her father\u2019s life and business had been ruined by Jarvis Barrot, the trust William Babylon had established for her had remained untouched.\u00a0 She was an independent woman with enough means to support herself in the manner to which she was accustomed.\u00a0 Still, she\u2019d have to wire for the money, and that meant she would have to continue to live with the Cartwrights for an undetermined amount of time.<\/p>\n

God alone knew what destruction that would wreck.<\/p>\n

In the end Belle decided there was nothing she could do at the moment.\u00a0 She\u2019d ask Anne to walk with her to the telegraph office and had the man there send for the money.<\/p>\n

Once it came, it would be time to decide.<\/p>\n

xxxxxxxxxxoooxxxxxxxxxx<\/p>\n

\u201cYou see anything, Adam?\u201d Hoss Cartwright was looking at his brother who was kneeling on the lower bank of the Little River, searching for clues.\u00a0 The sun was up and the day heading toward noon.\u00a0 He and Adam and his pa had canvassed the area around the Makem\u2019s homestead, giving the house itself a wide berth, but had soon returned to the river to search for clues to Little Joe\u2019s whereabouts.<\/p>\n

So far they had found nothing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is where Joe should have landed,\u201d Adam replied.\u00a0 \u201cThere does seem to be a place where the river rock is scattered, but that could have been done by an animal.\u00a0 I don\u2019t see any boot prints.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis close to the water it would be a miracle to find any, what with the water rising and falling,\u201d their father said.<\/p>\n

Hoss glanced at his older brother.\u00a0 Adam was wearing that exasperated expression where he leaned in on his knee, cocked his head, and one eyebrow headed for the sky.\u00a0 \u201cSo what are<\/em> we looking for?\u201dhe asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll know it when we see it, son.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss had only one ear to their conversation.\u00a0 The other was trained on the water, listening to how fast it was flowing.\u00a0 As he searched the bank with his eyes, the big man\u2019s thoughts flew to his little brother.\u00a0 It was hard to imagine what Joe felt, facing six angry men with rifles bent on his destruction.\u00a0 Truth be told, he bet Joe jumped rather than fell.<\/p>\n

The water would have been his only way out.<\/p>\n

With another glance at his pa and Adam who were talking, Hoss began to move forward, scanning the stream\u2019s edge and the surrounding brush for something out of place.\u00a0 It took about five minutes, but he found it.<\/p>\n

Kneeling, Hoss called out, \u201cAdam!\u00a0 Pa!\u00a0 I think I got somethin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

They were at his side in seconds.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat did you find, son?\u201d his father asked, his voice full of hope.<\/p>\n

Hoss stood up.\u00a0 In his fingers was a scrap of cloth.\u00a0 Just a plain simple scrap of gray cloth \u2013 with a button on it.\u00a0 \u201cI think it\u2019s part of a shirt, Pa.\u00a0 Joe\u2019s<\/em> shirt.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam came forward to finger it.\u00a0 \u201cI agree, Pa.\u00a0 It\u2019s that shirt you bought Joe a while back on that trip to Carson City.\u201d\u00a0 His older brother handed the scrap to their pa.\u00a0 \u201cYou remember, the one with the abalone buttons?\u201d<\/p>\n

Their father nodded gravely.\u00a0 \u201cI remember.\u00a0 Joseph was wearing it yesterday morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss knelt again.\u00a0 He found a few scraps of pale wood, the kind you found on the inside of a branch.\u00a0 One was still attached to a bit of the tree\u2019s outer husk and looked torn.\u00a0 \u201cLooks like someone snapped a branch.\u201d\u00a0 The big man puzzled it out for a moment.\u00a0 \u201cYou think Joe might\u2019a made a splint of some kind?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe he hurt himself in the fall,\u201d Adam suggested.<\/p>\n

Their father nodded.\u00a0 \u201cIt would make sense.\u201d\u00a0 He looked up at the water and the bank beyond.\u00a0 \u201cI hate to think of Joe out here somewhere, injured, not knowing the danger is over and running for his life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam was frowning.\u00a0 \u201cYou know, Pa, I just remembered something.\u00a0 Do you recall when Joe and Jimmy Makem were spending a lot of time together \u2013 back when Joe was eleven or twelve?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u00a0 They were inseparable that one summer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI caught them down here on the Little River one time when the water was riding high.\u00a0 I barely stopped them climbing onto a raft and riding the flood like a bronco.\u201d\u00a0 Adam looked up the bank.\u00a0 \u201cIf I remember correctly, Alvin kept the raft tied to a tree low on the bank behind the shack.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hope lit their father\u2019s eyes.\u00a0 \u201cJoe would be sure to remember that!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam\u2019s right, Pa.\u00a0 Joe and Jimmy used to go out on that raft for night fishing.\u00a0 I remember Joe telling me about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s get a move on it then,\u201d their father said.\u00a0 He glanced up.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s almost noon.\u00a0 If Clem comes when he said he would, we have little time left before we chance being caught in the middle of a firefight.\u201d<\/p>\n

They traveled for ten or fifteen minutes along the bank.\u00a0 It was Adam that spotted the raft first.\u00a0 It was tethered to a tree on the opposite side of the bank.<\/p>\n

Relief washed over all three of them.\u00a0 Hoss reached up, removed his hat and wiped his brow free of sweat before replacing it.\u00a0 \u201cIt sure enough looks like Joe made it, Pa,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Their Pa turned to the left and right and then back to them.\u00a0 \u201cAm I right?\u00a0 Are we below the Phillips place?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam nodded.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re right, Pa.\u00a0 That\u2019s Jim\u2019s wheat fields up there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you thinking what I\u2019m thinking?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat Joe would have headed for the Phillips?\u201d\u00a0 Adam thought a moment.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s what I would have done.\u00a0 Jim would be the only safe harbor within a good many miles.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI agree,\u201d their father said, his voice growing excited.\u00a0 \u201cCome on, boys.\u00a0 Let\u2019s get back to the horses and ride to Jim\u2019s.\u00a0 God willing, we will find your brother there.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ride to the Phillips took them a little more than an hour and a half.\u00a0 It should have been shorter, but they had to get their horses and then ride to the footbridge a few miles south in order to cross the Little River.\u00a0 About five minutes into their ride they had some across Deputy Clem and his men, heading for the Makems.\u00a0 The deputy was glad to see them and even happier to hear they were heading out to look for Joe.\u00a0 Their pa was known for taking matters into his own hands, law or no.\u00a0 Their departure freed Clem up to pursue the matter as he thought best.<\/p>\n

As the three of them rode away gunfire broke out behind them.\u00a0 Their pa halted and turned Buck\u2019s nose back.\u00a0 Hoss could tell he was struggling with the right or wrong of leaving the Makems to the law and worrying that, at the end of the day, there wouldn\u2019t be<\/em> no Makems.\u00a0 It was no more than ten seconds before their pa sighed and ordered them to turn their horses toward the south and the narrow wooden bridge that spanned the Little River.\u00a0 Once across it they rode hard toward the Phillips\u2019 home.<\/p>\n

In their wildest dreams they couldn\u2019t have imagined what they would find.<\/p>\n

It was Adam who smelled it first. \u00a0He drew Sport to a halt and waited until they both had done the same with their animals.\u00a0 \u201cYou smell that, Pa?\u00a0 Smoke.\u201d<\/p>\n

He smelled it.\u00a0 It was kind of funny \u2018cause it was a warm day.\u00a0 Still, Liz Phillips was a skinny little thing and she might have a fire going to stave off the morning chill.\u00a0 \u201cWhat do you mean, Adam?\u201d Hoss asked.\u00a0 \u201cAin\u2019t no surprise to smell smoke.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot wood smoke, no.\u00a0 There\u2019s something there.\u201d\u00a0 He drew in a noseful of air.\u00a0 \u201cOil and, I don\u2019t know, maybe gunpowder?\u201d<\/p>\n

Their pa shifted in the saddle and then urged his mount forward.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s only one way to find out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss patted Chubb on the neck and then urged him forward. \u00a0They were still near five minutes out from Jim\u2019s house at a full sprint.\u00a0 Four minutes later as they broke through the tree-line all three of them drew to a halt.<\/p>\n

Jim Phillips\u2019 house was on fire.<\/p>\n

Their Pa looked at both of them and then kicked Buck into full speed.<\/p>\n

As they approached the house, the smell of oil grew stronger.\u00a0 At a guess, someone had smashed an oil lamp to set it on fire.\u00a0 The small ranch house was still in flames.\u00a0 Little remained but a blackened skeleton.\u00a0 Together they dismounted and drew their weapons.\u00a0 Their pa waved Hoss toward the barn and then followed Adam to search the area beside the house.\u00a0 With a frown Hoss noted a dead dog by the barn door.<\/p>\n

It had an arrow in its side.<\/p>\n

Dropping beside the dead animal, the big man fingered the feathered end of the arrow, thinking of what he knew of the various tribes.\u00a0 If he had to guess, he\u2019d have said it was Ute.<\/p>\n

Hoss turned to call his brother and father, but they were already heading to his side.\u00a0 Hoss indicated the dog.\u00a0 \u201cIndians, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

The silver-haired man nodded.\u00a0 \u201cJim\u2019s dead.\u00a0 We found him by the stable.\u00a0 There\u2019s no sign of Liz.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOr Joe,\u201d Adam said, voicing it for all of them.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe that\u2019s a good thing.\u201d\u00a0 Their father nodded toward the stable door.\u00a0 \u201cDid you look inside yet, Hoss\u201d?<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, sir.\u00a0 I was just about to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s go then.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss put his hand to the door.\u00a0 It swung open on its own.\u00a0 As he prepared to step inside, his father\u2019s hand came down on his shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cIf Liz was able to escape, she might be in there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWith a loaded rifle pointed at you,\u201d Adam added.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we better call out,\u201d Ben said.\u00a0 Hoss stepped aside to let his father draw near to the door.\u00a0 \u201cLiz?\u00a0 Liz!\u00a0 It\u2019s Ben Cartwright, are you there?\u00a0 Liz?\u201d<\/p>\n

For a second there was nothing.\u00a0 Then, a strangled sob.\u00a0 \u201cBen?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCome on!\u201d<\/p>\n

The three of them entered the barn.\u00a0 At first they saw nothing, but then a bedraggled, smoke and ash -covered Liz Phillips stumbled out of one of the back stalls.\u00a0 She looked at them, let out another strangled cry, and then dropped near senseless to the floor.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam, look after her.\u00a0 Hoss check the other stalls.\u00a0 I\u2019ll get the loft.\u201d<\/p>\n

A few minutes later they were reunited.\u00a0 Neither of them had found anything.\u00a0 The Phillips\u2019 didn\u2019t have any children at home, but Hoss knew that wasn\u2019t who his father was searching for.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa,\u201d Hoss said, \u201cit looks like Joe ain\u2019t here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their father crossed to where Adam sat cradling Liz Phillips\u2019 shaking form.\u00a0 \u201cHas she said anything?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou mean about Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n

The older man nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I asked, Liz told me they hadn\u2019t seen him today.\u00a0 She and Jim were working outside the house when the Indians attacked.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI see.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPa.\u00a0 No.\u00a0 You don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you mean, Adam?\u00a0 Did Missus Phillips tell you something else?\u201d Hoss asked.<\/p>\n

His brother nodded.\u00a0 \u201cShe said that after the Indians attacked, they headed east, back toward the river<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

It only took a second.<\/p>\n

\u2018Back toward the river\u2019, back the way Joe would have been coming?\u201d the older man asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa, you don\u2019t think….\u201d<\/p>\n

His father came to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m trying not to, Hoss.\u00a0 If your brother was injured and the Indians found him….\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss knew what he meant.\u00a0 The Ute weren\u2019t known for taking prisoners, especially ones that couldn\u2019t keep up or pull their own weight.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s our baby brother,\u201d Adam sighed. \u201cOut of the frying pan and into the fire.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss nodded.\u00a0 Once they got Missus Phillips set, that\u2019s where they\u2019d have to go too.<\/p>\n

Into the fire.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

EIGHT<\/p>\n

Joe didn\u2019t know why he wasn\u2019t dead.<\/p>\n

At first he had been sure the renegade Indians were going to kill him.\u00a0 The natives were kitted out for war, their faces painted red and their belts heavy with weapons.\u00a0 As a tall one took hold of him and lifted him bodily from the ground, the scent of oil and smoke had struck him like a hand across the face.\u00a0 His gaze had gone immediately to the area of the Phillips\u2019 house.\u00a0 The sight of a plume of smoke rising high in the sky had turned his stomach.<\/p>\n

The native who held him tossed him to the ground at the feet of another warrior.\u00a0 The native knelt on the grass beside him and gripped his hair.\u00a0 Pulling his head back, he laid the knife blade against his throat.<\/p>\n

At that moment another native spoke.\u00a0 Joe couldn\u2019t see him, but he could tell from the sound of the newcomer\u2019s voice that the man was older.\u00a0 Whoever he was, he must have been someone in authority because the warrior holding the knife to his throat pulled the blade back just a hair.\u00a0 Joe felt blood trickle down his neck.<\/p>\n

It had been that<\/em> close.<\/p>\n

Next, words had been exchanged in the Indians\u2019 tongue over his head, flying fast and furious between the tall warrior and the unseen older native.\u00a0 When they finished, he was hauled to his feet, trussed like a pig, and slung over the bare back of a horse. The warrior mounted behind him and, holding on to his belt to anchor him, kicked the animal into a gallop and flew across the fields toward the water.\u00a0 The others followed close behind.\u00a0 For a quarter of an hour the Indians paralleled the stream and then turned abruptly to the south and galloped into the trees.<\/p>\n

By the time they arrived at the native\u2019s camp he was barely conscious.\u00a0 The Indian who rode behind him dismounted and, taking hold of his belt again, pulled him off the horse\u2019s back and let him fall to the ground.\u00a0 Still trussed up, there was nothing he could do to break his fall.\u00a0 The impact drove the wind out of him and he passed out only to awaken here sometime later \u00a0\u2013 wherever here <\/em>was.<\/p>\n

Joe glanced around.\u00a0 He was in a wickiup, he knew that<\/em> at least.\u00a0 He could see the mid-afternoon sun shining through the willow branches it was constructed of.\u00a0 He was gagged and tied to a pole near the middle of it, with his hands and feet bound.\u00a0 His injured leg was laid out flat before him and it throbbed with every rapid beat of his heart.\u00a0 He hated to admit it, but his heart was <\/em>beating fast \u2013 in tune with his growing fear.\u00a0 Joe knew he was smart and could handle himself in about any situation \u2013 with white men.\u00a0 Indians were another matter entirely.<\/p>\n

Especially the un<\/em>friendly ones.<\/p>\n

As he sat there contemplating what if anything he could do about his situation, the red, black, and white blanket covering the entry into the wickiup was thrust back and a man stepped in.<\/p>\n

Surprisingly, he was not <\/em>a native.<\/p>\n

For a second Joe thought the man might have been there to free him, but then the tall Indian who had held him on the back of the saddle entered as well and stood there shooting arrows at him with his eyes.\u00a0 The white man wasn\u2019t much friendlier.\u00a0 He was tall as well, but rangy, with black hair and pale cold eyes.\u00a0 He had a gangrel look to him, like a hungry coyote eying its next meal. The man stared at him for a few seconds and then turned to the native.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, that\u2019s him,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cOld man Cartwright\u2019s youngest.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe frowned.\u00a0 He thought he recognized the man, but only as an acquaintance.\u00a0 He was fairly new to the town.\u00a0 He\u2019d said hello to him at the saloon and seen him loading wagons outside the Mercantile. \u00a0He was surprised the man knew who he was.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are sure?\u201d the native asked.<\/p>\n

The man snorted.\u00a0 He moved forward and knelt by Joe\u2019s side and then took his head and thrust it back against the wooden pole.\u00a0 With a finger, he traced the fresh wound on his throat.\u00a0 \u201cYou almost had him, Yellow Hawk.\u201d<\/p>\n

The native grunted.\u00a0 \u201cI would have<\/em> him yet, McRae\u2019\u201d he growled.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know that ain\u2019t gonna happen.\u201d\u00a0 The man glowered at Joe and then thrust his head back savagely against the pole he was bound to.\u00a0 As his head spun, the man stood.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s too valuable alive.\u00a0 You know that.\u201d\u00a0 The man looked down at him\u00a0 \u201cYou know, Cartwright, you stumbling into us was a God-given answer to prayer.\u00a0 A real God-given<\/em> answer.\u00a0 It\u2019s gonna make what we have to do that much easier.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe struggled against the ropes that bound him even as he stared daggers at the white man.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve heard about you and that there temper of yours.\u00a0 Ain\u2019t no use trying to get free.\u00a0 Yellow Hawk here tied you up real good.\u201d\u00a0 McRae\u00a0 bent and ruffled Joe\u2019s brown hair.\u00a0 \u201cWe wouldn\u2019t want you getting away before we can use you against your old man.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe stopped.\u00a0 What?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s right, you heard me.\u201d\u00a0 McRae straightened up.\u00a0 \u201cHaven\u2019t you heard, something\u2019s got these here Indians all riled up.\u00a0 The word is it\u2019s old man Cartwright\u2019s fault.\u00a0 He caught a party of Ute on his land a while back, killed most of them.\u00a0 Old Yellow Horse here, he escaped, but not before he saw what you Cartwright boys did to their womenfolk.\u201d\u00a0 McRae kicked Joe\u2019s boot as a sly smirk lifted his upper lip.\u00a0 \u201cOne of them was the old chief\u2019s granddaughter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s head was spinning.\u00a0 He tried to remember when he had first heard the Ute were acting up.\u00a0 It hadn\u2019t been that long ago \u2013 in fact, he thought it had been just about the same time McRae had come to town.\u00a0 Most of the Indians in the area were friendly.\u00a0 Not this group.\u00a0 Before attacking the Phillips today, they had burned and looted at least two other spreads.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrouble is,\u201d McRae went on as he knelt briefly to check the ropes binding his hands, \u201cthere\u2019s too many folks around here who won\u2019t believe the truth<\/em>.\u00a0 Too many who think your pa\u2019s some kind of saint.\u00a0 Don\u2019t matter.\u00a0\u00a0 Everyone in Virginia City knows <\/em>old Ben\u2019s youngest boy is a sinner<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 The white man\u2019s laugh was short and carried no mirth.\u00a0 \u201cAfter you\u2019re found with the dead body of the old chief\u2019s girl, there won\u2019t be any question.\u00a0 Then, when the Ute attack the Ponderosa and burn it to the ground, well…the people of Virginia City and those nearby it will count it as justice, don\u2019t you think?\u201d<\/p>\n

It would have been better if the Makems had killed him.<\/p>\n

Now, everything his father had fought to gain and sought to retain was in jeopardy.\u00a0 No one would question a sudden strike by Indians, especially not at a time when a renegade band was known to be on the warpath.\u00a0 Everyone would shake their heads and look at the ground and say what a pity it was if his pa and brothers\u2019 bodies were found burned among the ashes of the ranch house, but no one would suspect foul play.\u00a0 Joe shuddered.\u00a0 Whoever had set this up had killed the other families in the area just to cover up their wicked scheme.\u00a0\u00a0 There was a lot of killing in the West where a man had to look after his own and keep them safe from predators \u2013 both the four-legged and two<\/em>-legged kind.\u00a0 But killing innocent people?\u00a0 Starting a was between the white men and the Indians?\u00a0\u00a0 On purpose?<\/p>\n

There was a special place in Hell reserved for such men.<\/p>\n

\u201cCome on, Yellow Horse,\u201d McRae said, rising.\u00a0 \u201cWe gotta talk to White Crow and get things going with the others.\u201d\u00a0 He indicated Joe with a nod.\u00a0 \u201cThen we\u2019ll come back for him \u00a0and Pretty Prairie, and unite them in death…forever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s jaw tightened as the two men left the wickiup and he listened to their cruel laughter fade into the distance.<\/p>\n

It sounded like the poor girl might already be dead.\u00a0 Murdered \u2013 no doubt \u2013 by McRae and Yellow Horse.\u00a0 White Crow must know nothing of it.\u00a0 If he did, and the chief suspected that he had had a part in the girl losing her life, then he would have been dead before they left the Phillips\u2019 fields.\u00a0 Apparently the scheme was just hatching.\u00a0 So far, nothing had touched his pa and his brothers.\u00a0 He had to find a way to make sure it never did.<\/p>\n

He had to escape. \u00a0Somehow.<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s leg had gone numb under him,\u00a0 His head was still reeling from being slammed against the wickiup pole and from the knock he had taken at the bottom of the bank beside the stream.\u00a0 It was hard to think straight.<\/p>\n

Someone was out to destroy his father and to destroy everything he had built.\u00a0 But who?\u00a0 Who hated Ben Cartwright that much? <\/em><\/p>\n

Weary, exhausted, hungry as a bear and aching like a man the Grizzly had attacked, Joe closed his eyes and concentrated on his hands.\u00a0 The ropes around them were tight, but there was a bit of wiggle room.\u00a0\u00a0 If he could just find something sharp to work on the ropes with.\u00a0 Feeling around as best he could with his bound hands, Joe stiffened as his fingers encountered an object on the ground.\u00a0 Probing it, he discovered it was a scrap of metal.\u00a0 It was an odd place to find it, just beside the pole that supported the willow structure.\u00a0 As his hand closed on it, Joe weighed the odds that it had been left there on purpose.\u00a0 If he escaped and McRae managed to kill him while running, there would be nothing to challenge the wicked man\u2019s story and nothing<\/em> to prove that he had not abused and killed the old chief\u2019s granddaughter.\u00a0 It was better he stay put.<\/p>\n

Joe turned the scrap of metal over and began to saw away at his bindings with the sharpest edge.<\/p>\n

Better.<\/p>\n

But he wasn\u2019t going to.<\/p>\n

xxxxxxxxxxoooxxxxxxxxxx<\/p>\n

Jarvis Barrot was an impatient man.\u00a0 He hated waiting for anything.\u00a0 The long years he had put in to build up William Babylon\u2019s trust in him had been hard, but the promised pay-off made it more than worth it.\u00a0 It had been even longer since he had decided that William and Jasmin\u2019s daughter was just as much a possession of his as the lion\u2019s share of the stock in her father\u2019s company he had won, and all of the thousands of items filling their various dry goods shops back in Ohio.\u00a0 Jasmin should have been his.\u00a0 She never was.\u00a0 Her heart belonged to another man and it was not<\/em> her husband.<\/p>\n

It was this damned Benjamin Cartwright.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d heard of Cartwright first when he\u2019d asked Jasmin at the supper table one night whose portrait was in the locket she constantly wore.\u00a0 The object of his heart had glanced at the man at her side and said only, \u2018Someone dear to me.\u2019\u00a0 Later, when he\u2019d asked William if it was his likeness in that locket, his partner had hesitated and then told him haltingly about his wife\u2019s infatuation with this man who got away.\u00a0 Apparently, William had known all about her feelings and had married her anyway.\u00a0 Jarvis\u2019 smirked.\u00a0 When you considered Jasmin\u2019s past, he supposed a youthful love affair paled by comparison.\u00a0 Jasmin\u2019s family back in Barbados supplied the slavers\u2019 ships and she was known to have bedded just about anything that walked through the door with a handsome face.\u00a0\u00a0 That included a good many young sailors.\u00a0 Like Cartwright.<\/p>\n

Still, for all the men she had known, Jasmin had worn that locket until her death.\u00a0 He supposed that was why he hated Ben Cartwright so.\u00a0 The men in Jasmin\u2019s life had been passing fancies, meant to amuse and entertain her \u2013 including her husband.\u00a0 Cartwright had been different.\u00a0 Jasmin had loved him.\u00a0 Really <\/em>loved him.\u00a0 Which made Ben Cartwright and his beloved Ponderosa with those three strong boys even more of an impediment to his possession of Jasmin\u2019s daughter.<\/em><\/p>\n

But not for long.<\/p>\n

Jarvis shifted.\u00a0 He had been looking east out the window of his hotel room toward the land where he knew Gabriel McRae was working his will.\u00a0 The talk around town was that a half-dozen settlers\u2019 families had been burnt out, with at least seven killed and more wounded.\u00a0 The count might have been exaggerated, but McRae\u2019s work was doing what he wanted.\u00a0 It hadn\u2019t taken much to get Yellow Horse and his band of Indians on his side.\u00a0 Owning a number of Mercantile shoos went a far way toward securing the loyalties of the Indians.\u00a0 He\u2019d promised the Indian warrior more guns and blankets and tobacco than one Indian would normally see in a lifetime.\u00a0 Beside, this particular band of Utes were thugs.\u00a0 No different from a band of white men working to keep miners in line by beating the life from a few of them as a warning, or men threatening innocent shop keepers in a town and taking protection money.<\/p>\n

Yellow Horse, in particular, enjoyed<\/em> killing.<\/p>\n

So it hadn\u2019t been hard to get them in on his scheme to destroy Benjamin Cartwright and the Ponderosa.\u00a0 The ironic thing was, he had hatched this scheme and meant to carry it out before <\/em>he\u2019d found out Belle had flown to her mother\u2019s former lover for protection.\u00a0 The last time he\u2019d seen her, she had been extremely distressed.\u00a0 Her mother had just passed and Belle had only recently found Jasmin\u2019s personal letters \u2013 the ones addressed to Benjamin but never sent.\u00a0 Apparently something she read in them had compelled her to seek the man out, even though more than thirty years had passed since they had been written.<\/p>\n

Jarvis turned from the window.\u00a0 He crossed over to the ornate dresser that occupied the east side of the room and picked up his sterling silver diamond stick pin and worked it into his lapel.\u00a0 It was fate, he knew <\/em>it.\u00a0 Everything was coming together.\u00a0 And this last bit of news \u2013 the one a messenger from McRae had just brought to town \u2013 capped it.<\/p>\n

When McRae put the corpse of the youngest Cartwright next to the dead body of old chief White Crow\u2019s granddaughter Pretty Prairie, and Yellow Horse told his tale, there\u2019d be nothing in Heaven or on the Earth that would save the Ponderosa and its master from destruction.<\/p>\n

xxxxxxxxxxoooxxxxxxxxxx<\/p>\n

Ben Cartwright stood beside his horse at the edge of the thick tree-line on the eastern side of the Little River, just south of Alvin Makem\u2019s lands.\u00a0 For a brief moment he let his thoughts wander that way, wondering if Alvin and his boys had been taken into custody for what they tried to do to Joe \u2013 or if they were even alive.\u00a0 Weary as he was, he didn\u2019t have much energy to spare for such matters.\u00a0 Quickly deciding that all of that was best left in the law, and the Lord\u2019s hands, Ben turned his attention back to the trees.\u00a0 Hoss was down by the water filling canteens and rustling up a bit of grub for them to eat before renewing the hunt for Joe.\u00a0 Adam had pushed into the trees and was looking for a sign that would lead them to his brother. Ben glanced at the sun which was descending the sky and pushing the day toward night.\u00a0 His eldest boy had been gone about a half an hour.\u00a0 He wished Adam would hurry.\u00a0 They didn\u2019t have much time left to look.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben turned to find his middle son walking toward him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is it Hoss?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFood\u2019s ready, Pa.\u00a0 Any sign of Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n

He shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cNot yet, but you know Adam.\u00a0 Your brother is nothing if not thorough.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes I wonder at you, Pa, handling all of us boys without no help.\u00a0 Adam, well, he\u2019s smart \u2013 book smart \u2013 and he can hold his own in a fight or with a mountain lion or desperado.\u00a0 He always thinks things through before he acts \u2013 looks before he leaps, you know?\u00a0 But Adam\u2019s so gosh darn stubborn.\u00a0 Moving him once he\u2019s made his mind up is like workin\u2019 a mule who\u2019s plain figured it\u2019s done. \u201d Hoss smiled.\u00a0 \u201cThen there\u2019s Joe….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAh, yes, Joseph.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat boy\u2019s heart is on his sleeve, don\u2019t matter whether its romancin\u2019 some pretty girl or spoilin\u2019 for a fight.\u00a0 Everything he thinks passes through them bright green eyes so fast there\u2019s no time to take warning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOr action most of the time,\u201d his father laughed.\u00a0 \u201cAnd what about you, Hoss?\u00a0 What do I have to put up with from you?\u201d<\/p>\n

The big man thought a moment.\u00a0 \u201cMe, Pa?\u00a0 Why, nothing, Pa.\u00a0 I\u2019m perfect, you know\u00a0 that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben roared.\u00a0 So did his son.\u00a0 When the laughter had died down, Ben put a hand on his son\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re my mediator between the two of them, you know that, boy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI sure do, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut more than that you\u2019re the strength, the backbone<\/em> of this family \u2013 planted as firmly as a mountain and rock-steady and solid as the land the mountain stands on.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAh, shucks, Pa.\u00a0 You\u2019re makin\u2019 me blush.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben studied him.\u00a0 \u201cI wasn\u2019t aware mountains could blush,\u201d he deadpanned.<\/p>\n

Hoss covered his father\u2019s hand with his own.\u00a0 He opened his mouth to say something, but the words never came.\u00a0 Hoss nodded toward an opening through the trees.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa. \u00a0It\u2019s Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben whirled to find his eldest emerging from a forest of tall trunks that reached for the sky.\u00a0 \u201cSon, did you find anything?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cA good many horses tracks, crossing over the country and headed for that hilly region south and west of here.\u00a0 One set of prints was dug in deep….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs if the rider was carrying something heavy,\u201d Ben finished for him.\u00a0 \u201cMost likely that\u2019s your brother.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI suppose there ain\u2019t no way to tell if Joe was alive or not?\u201d Hoss asked, hoping against hope that there was.<\/p>\n

The black-haired man shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cThough I doubt the Indians would have taken a corpse with them.\u00a0 No, Joe\u2019s alive \u2013 for now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben paused, thinking.\u00a0 \u201cAdam, I think you should ride back to town.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy\u2019s that, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, for one thing I left Belle with Anne Barrington and I don\u2019t want her to wear out her welcome.\u00a0 Also, I think you had better head back to the ranch.\u00a0 Check things out there and then bring a half dozen hands back with you when you return.\u00a0 We\u2019re going to need help with the hunt for your brother, and \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd if it comes to war, we\u2019re going to need even more help.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m afraid so.\u201d\u00a0 He looked at the sky.\u00a0 The day was dying.\u00a0 \u201cHoss and I will press on south for a few hours and then get some shut-eye.\u00a0 You find Belle and take her back to the ranch, but Adam….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t leave her alone there.\u00a0 Be sure to set several of the men to keep watch on the ranch house.\u00a0 There\u2019s something Belle\u2019s not telling us and I think it has to do with a man named Jarvis Barrot.\u00a0 Barrot came to the Ponderosa last night looking for her.\u00a0 She was terrified.\u00a0 He\u2019s a city slicker, Adam, wearing a gray coat and a tall black hat.\u201d\u00a0 Ben gestured at his vest.\u00a0 \u201cHe wears a diamond head stickpin here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll see to it, Pa.\u201d\u00a0 Adam\u2019s dark gaze went from him to Hoss.\u00a0 \u201cYou two take care.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou do the same, son.\u201d<\/p>\n

His eldest son didn\u2019t smile as much as the other boys, but when he did it melted Ben Cartwright\u2019s heart \u2013 he looked so much like his mother, Elizabeth.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlways,\u201d Adam said, then he turned and went to where he had tethered Sport.\u00a0 A minute later he was gone.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo what now, Pa?\u201d Hoss asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat food ready?\u201d Ben asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt sure enough is. I hope you\u2019re hungry, Pa.\u00a0 I made enough for three.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m famished.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMe too.\u00a0 Come on, Pa, follow me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben turned to do just that, but the thought of filling his belly made him think again of his youngest son.\u00a0 Most likely Joe\u2019d been without food for more than a day now.\u00a0 That had a way of wearing down a man.\u00a0 Closing his eyes, he whispered a quick prayer, asking the Almighty to look over his boy and to give him strength.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou comin\u2019, Pa?\u00a0 It\u2019s gettin\u2019 cold.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m on my way,\u201d he called back as he headed for the fire.<\/p>\n

xxxxxxxxxxoooxxxxxxxxxx<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s wrists and hands were bloody, but he was almost free.\u00a0 Since the departure of McRae and Yellow Horse no one had come in to check on him.\u00a0 He was tied to the pole that anchored the wickiup and it was a good thing.\u00a0 He\u2019d been long enough now without food that he felt weak and was having trouble concentrating.\u00a0\u00a0 The first thing he\u2019d need to do once he got away from here was find some grub, wild plant or otherwise.<\/p>\n

He was going to need all of his strength if he was going to move fast enough to survive.<\/p>\n

Closing his eyes and leaning his head back, Joe continued to work.\u00a0 It wouldn\u2019t be long now.\u00a0 Once whoever was keeping watch came to check in on him, he would break the ropes on his wrists, untie his feet, and run like the Devil himself was on his tail.\u00a0 That way he might have an hour or so before anyone realized he was missing. He wasn\u2019t sure what direction to take.\u00a0 The first thing McRae would expect was for him to head back to the Ponderosa.\u00a0 Much as it hurt him to think of worrying his father and brothers for a few more days, it would be best if he headed\u00a0 either south toward the lake or west and crossed the Truckee.<\/p>\n

An unexpected noise caused him to stop moving his hands.\u00a0 He kept his eyes closed and listened.\u00a0 Someone had come into the wickiup and was crossing over to where he was tied.\u00a0 He heard them kneel and place something on the ground.\u00a0 Then he felt a hand on his shoulder.\u00a0 It shook him once, gently.\u00a0 Several seconds later it shook him again, more firmly this time and the action was accompanied by words.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou must wake up.\u00a0 Eat, so you will be strong.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s eyes popped open.\u00a0 He fought to mask his surprise.\u00a0 It was an Indian woman \u2013 well, a girl really.\u00a0 She looked like she might be sixteen at most.\u00a0 She was pretty as a spring filly with long, straight black hair falling almost to her waist.\u00a0 \u00a0The Indian girl was wearing a fringed knee-length buckskin dress decorated with beadwork and shells, and a pair of buckskin moccasins edged with elk\u2019s teeth.\u00a0 Her eyes were black and her lips pink; her skin the color of Tupelo honey.\u00a0 As Joe watched, she reached toward him.\u00a0 A moment later the gag come off.<\/p>\n

He gasped in air, swallowed, and then said, \u201cThank…you.\u201d\u00a0 His voice was rougher than he had expected.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou must promise not to shout.\u201d<\/p>\n

He nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI do.\u201d<\/p>\n

The girl glanced toward the door.\u00a0 When she turned back, her face was troubled.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is it?\u201d Joe asked.<\/p>\n

She shuddered, but gave no reply. \u00a0Dipping the spoon into the bowl, she lifted it toward his mouth.\u00a0 Joe took the food, relishing not only the taste of the simple soup but the warmth it generated as it traveled the length of his gullet.\u00a0 He took about ten spoonfuls before he shook his head.\u00a0 His stomach was starting to churn.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have had enough?\u201d she asked, surprised.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u00a0 I just need a minute.\u00a0 I\u2019ve been a day and a half without food and my belly\u2019s not ready for that much.\u201d<\/p>\n

The girl nodded.\u00a0 She put the bowl down and picked up a horn cup that held water.\u00a0 Joe accepted it with thanks.\u00a0 As she put it down next to the bowl, he asked, \u201cWhat\u2019s your name?\u201d<\/p>\n

She looked at him, a little bit frightened.<\/p>\n

Joe knew names were important to Indians.\u00a0 Giving yours away gave something of who and what you were to the person you told.\u00a0 So, in order to put her at ease, he told her his name first.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m Joe.\u00a0 Joe Cartwright.\u201d<\/p>\n

The girl nodded, accepting his gift, but still reluctant to give one of her own.<\/p>\n

\u201cCome on, now,\u201d Joe said with his most winning smile.\u00a0 \u201cI promise I don\u2019t bite.\u201d<\/p>\n

That made her laugh \u2013 just a little.\u00a0 \u201cI am called Pretty Prairie.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat sure is a good name, \u2018cause you sure<\/em> are pretty,\u201d he said with a grin.\u00a0 \u201cSo how\u2019d you pull jailhouse duty?\u201d<\/p>\n

Pretty Prairie frowned.\u00a0 \u201cJailhouse?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry.\u00a0 How\u2019d you get the job to come and feed the prisoner?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhite Crow trusts me.\u201d<\/p>\n

He thought about that.\u00a0 If White Crow was as much of a killer as he suspected, having his approval might not be a good thing.\u00a0 \u201cSo you know the old chief well?\u201d Joe asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, yes,\u201d she said picking up the bowl and filling the spoon again.\u00a0 \u201cHe is my grandfather.\u201d<\/p>\n

Any appetite Joe had \u00a0remaining fled at her words.\u00a0 White Crow\u2019s granddaughter?\u00a0 Then she wasn\u2019t <\/em>dead.\u00a0 Still, if what McRae said was true, she would be soon.\u00a0 Joe looked her up and down, deciding, renegade Indian or not, he just couldn\u2019t let those men kill her.<\/p>\n

When he escaped, he was going to have to take Pretty Prairie with him \u2013 whether she wanted to go or not.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

NINE<\/p>\n

It was early morning.\u00a0 So early even a bustling town like Virginia City was still asleep.\u00a0 The shopkeepers were at work behind closed doors, but none of the blinds had been raised and, for the most part, Belle Babylon walked the street alone \u2013 which was the way she wanted it.\u00a0 She had made up her mind to return to the Ponderosa and gather her things.\u00a0 The money she wired for would be in by late afternoon.\u00a0 There was a stagecoach leaving for Sacramento about the same time and she planned to be on it.<\/p>\n

She had brought enough grief to the Cartwrights.\u00a0 It was time to move on.<\/p>\n

In order to get out of town and to the ranch she would have to hire a wagon, and so she was headed for the livery.\u00a0 As she walked she passed one or two people, but no one who knew her.\u00a0 When she arrived and lifted a hand to knock on the door, her luck changed.\u00a0 Belle was startled as it opened and Adam Cartwright stepped out.<\/p>\n

\u201cBelle,\u201d he said, tipping his hat.\u00a0 \u201cWhat are you doing here?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI, uh, well, I thought I would go back to the Ponderosa.\u00a0 Mrs. Babington has been sweet, but I don\u2019t want to overstay my welcome.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI see.\u201d\u00a0 The eldest of the Cartwright boys held her gaze \u2013 for so long she began to squirm.\u00a0 It was as if he was reading her like one of the books he was so fond of.\u00a0 \u201cWell, it\u2019s fortunate then, that I came along.\u00a0 I\u2019m headed to the Ponderosa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you find Joe?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a way.\u00a0 He\u2019s alive, we know that.\u201d\u00a0 Adam paused.\u00a0 \u201cBut we think he\u2019s been taken by the band of renegade Indians who have been wrecking havoc with the settlers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, no!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPa and Hoss are still looking for him.\u00a0 That\u2019s why I\u2019m headed to the spread, to rustle up some hands to help us search.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen you won\u2019t be staying at the house?\u201d \u00a0Belle hoped she did not sound too eager.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot for long.\u00a0 Belle.\u00a0 Why don\u2019t you go back to Ann\u2019s and wait for me?\u00a0 I need to check in with Deputy Clem before I head out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAbout the Makems?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u00a0 Do you know anything?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole town knows it.\u00a0 Your deputy Sheriff came riding into town last night.\u00a0 He had the Makems with him.\u00a0 There were four men riding horses and a body slung over the saddle of another one.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDead?\u201d<\/p>\n

She nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you know who it was?\u201d<\/p>\n

Belle drew a breath.\u00a0 The sight had been horrible, what with the crowd pressing in and people whooping and hollering and cursing and crying all at one and the same time.\u00a0 She had stood on Ann\u2019s porch and watched for an hour and then retreated to the parlor and cried for two.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not certain,\u201d she said at last.\u00a0 \u201cI think someone said the dead man was named Robert.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam frowned.\u00a0 \u201cThat would be Alvin\u2019s oldest son.\u00a0 Rob was hard-nosed as his father.\u00a0 He wouldn\u2019t have backed down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Belle wrapped her arms about her shoulders.\u00a0 \u201cIt seems such a waste, and all over a misunderstanding.\u201d<\/p>\n

His tone was harsh.\u00a0 \u201cA misunderstanding perpetuated and used by the Makems to try to justify killing my brother.\u201d<\/p>\n

Belle blanched. \u00a0\u201cI\u2019m sorry, Adam.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t mean to \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I\u2019m sorry.\u201d\u00a0 Adam looked to the east where his father and brother were still searching for Joe.\u00a0 \u201cNevada is a harsh mistress, Belle.\u00a0 It\u2019s kill or be killed out here.\u00a0 Sometimes it seems a man is no better than an animal.\u201d<\/p>\n

She stepped closer to him and laid a hand on his arm.\u00a0 \u201cThere are good men here, like you and your father and brothers.\u00a0 Trust me, Adam, bad men are everywhere.\u00a0 Back East they\u2019re still wolves.\u00a0 They hide behind a sheep\u2019s fleece pretending that they are civilized, when they are really worse than men like Alan Makem.\u00a0 They don\u2019t make the kill clean.\u00a0 They want to see men suffer and dry up without dying.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam was looking at her in that way again.\u00a0 \u201cYou sound bitter, Belle.\u201d<\/p>\n

She shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cWell, maybe I am, a little.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWant to tell me about it?\u201d<\/p>\n

She looked at him, at Adam Cartwright with his handsome face, raven-black hair, and hazel eyes.\u00a0 He had a handsome and a kind face; one that shone with intelligence.\u00a0 Adam was a strong man, the kind a woman could have clung to, counting on that strength for a lifetime.\u00a0 The eldest of the Cartwright sons had a high sense of honor and a commitment to justice that went deeper than most.\u00a0 He was a serious man, not given to quick expressions of what he was thinking, and yet, she had seen him laugh at the antics of his younger brothers and be nearly broken with worry when one of them went missing.\u00a0 If her life had just been different \u2013 if she hadn\u2019t been who<\/em> she was \u2013 she might have loved him.\u00a0 Would<\/em> have loved him.<\/p>\n

Did<\/em> love him.<\/p>\n

\u201cBelle?\u201d<\/p>\n

She jerked back to the present.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry, Adam.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t sleep well last night.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPa said the man who came out to the house, this Jarvis Barrot, was bothering you.\u00a0 Is it him?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOnly in part.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sensing she had nothing more to say, Adam offered her his arm.\u00a0 \u201cLet me take you back to Anne\u2019s.\u00a0 I\u2019ll check in with Clem and tell him what we know about Joe, and then I\u2019ll come to fetch you and we can head back to the spread together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Belle knew she shouldn\u2019t.\u00a0 The minute Benjamin\u2019s oldest son left her, she should run as far away as fast as she could from the Cartwrights.\u00a0 Her presence at the ranch would be a magnet for trouble.\u00a0 And yet….<\/p>\n

Adam was looking at her, his hazel eyes sparking in the rising morning light.\u00a0 Belle sighed and took his arm.<\/p>\n

And committed them both to purgatory.<\/p>\n

xxxxxxxxxxoooxxxxxxxxxx<\/p>\n

Gabe McRae peered around the trunk of the Ponderosa Pine he had parked his horse behind.\u00a0 He focused his attention on the wagon pulling up to the ranch house below.\u00a0 He recognized the man driving it.\u00a0 It was Adam Cartwright, the oldest of Ben Cartwright\u2019s sons.\u00a0 He\u2019d seen the woman who was with him in town too and knew who she was.\u00a0 That pretty brunette was gonna be the cause of Jarvis Barrot\u2019s downfall.\u00a0 Barrot was a smart and savvy man who\u2019d cooked up a scheme to get rid of Ben Cartwright and his boys.\u00a0 One with no possible blame attached to him.\u00a0 Before Jarvis arrived, an agent of his from the East had hired him to find a group of renegade Indians willing to take on a job.\u00a0 He chose Yellow Horse.\u00a0 He and the Ute warrior had known each other for years and participated in countless raids together.\u00a0 Yellow Horse and his men had begun that week to harass and then burn out and kill local settlers, setting the stage for one big <\/em>burn-out at the end.\u00a0 Upon Jarvis\u2019s arrival the scheme had kicked into high gear.\u00a0 The final act was about to begin.\u00a0 After he and Yellow Horse took care of the Cartwright kid and the old chief\u2019s granddaughter, the Ute would gather his men and head for the Ponderosa.\u00a0 Jarvis had hoped to catch most of the Cartwrights at home, but \u2013 if it came to it \u2013 this one would do.<\/p>\n

This one and<\/em> the woman.\u00a0 If Belle Babylon died along with the Cartwrights, Jarvis would be sure to seek revenge against the Indians and, well, weren\u2019t no way the city slicker could survive that.<\/p>\n

McRae shifted in the saddle.\u00a0 Jarvis had promised him a good wage for his work, but it wasn\u2019t enough.\u00a0 He\u2019d make far more from all of the businessmen and disgruntled ranchers in these parts he\u2019d contacted on his own, promising the destruction of the Ponderosa.\u00a0\u00a0 Once it was done, they would owe him.<\/p>\n

They\u2019d owe him big<\/em> time.<\/p>\n

Yes, once the deed was done and he had the money in hand, he and Yellow Horse would hit the trail again.\u00a0 Maybe go up into the north country and lay low for a while.\u00a0 Then, in a year or so, they\u2019d part company and he\u2019d go on to San Francisco and live like a king.<\/p>\n

Using his knee, McRae edged his horse forward.\u00a0 Adam Cartwright had just returned from stabling his horse and was standing by the supply wagon talking to the woman.\u00a0 McRae picked up his rifle and sighted along the barrel.\u00a0 He wouldn\u2019t kill him, but he\u2019d send his father a clear message\u00a0 by taking him out of action.\u00a0 That would make one less Cartwright able to defend what was theirs.\u00a0 Course, if he killed him, it weren\u2019t no never mind.\u00a0 If he\u2019d had his<\/em> choice, he\u2019d rather die clean and quick with a bullet in his belly than be burned.<\/p>\n

So, actually, he was doing the man a favor.<\/p>\n

Laughing at his own joke, Gabe McRae checked his aim again and fired.<\/p>\n

xxxxxxxxxxoooxxxxxxxxxx<\/p>\n

Belle left Adam at the wagon.\u00a0 He had asked if she would go into the ranch house and return with Hop Sing so the Chinese man could help unload the supplies.\u00a0 She had agreed, of course, and was just about to open the door when a sound stopped her.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t a familiar sound, but she\u2019d heard it the night before.\u00a0 In fact, she had heard it many times when the bloodthirsty men surrounding the Makems had pointed their guns into the sky and fired them in celebration of a possible hanging.<\/p>\n

A gun shot.<\/p>\n

Whirling, Belle looked for Adam.\u00a0 The tall handsome man was nowhere to be seen.\u00a0 She wondered if he had returned to stable and been confronted by something that made him fire off his weapon.\u00a0 Leaving the door behind, Belle returned to the wagon.\u00a0 It was then she realized how<\/em> she had missed Adam.<\/p>\n

He was on the ground underneath it.<\/p>\n

\u201cBelle!\u00a0 Get…down!\u201d he ordered.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy?\u00a0 What?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam cut her off.\u00a0 \u201cGet…down here.\u00a0 Get under the wagon!\u201d<\/p>\n

As Belle complied another shot whizzed over her head, striking the wagon\u2019s side.\u00a0 She dropped to the earth and rolled under it.\u00a0 \u201cWho do you think it is?\u201d she asked as she clung onto him.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt could be anyone,\u201d he replied, wrapping one arm around her.\u00a0 \u201cCattle rustler, one of those renegade Indians, or someone wanting to rob the house.\u201d<\/p>\n

She drew a breath.\u00a0 \u201cOr someone hired by Jarvis Barrot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam\u2019s eyes flicked to her.\u00a0 \u201cYou think so?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t put anything past him.\u201d<\/p>\n

They\u2019d gone a minute or so now without another shot being fired.\u00a0 Belle hesitated and then released her hold on Adam.\u00a0 The closeness was making her uncomfortable.\u00a0 As she shinnied out from under his arm, she looked down..<\/p>\n

It was then she saw that her dress was covered in blood.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam!\u00a0 You\u2019re hit!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d he admitted.\u00a0 \u201cThat first one took me in the shoulder.\u00a0 If I hadn\u2019t have just straightened up from taking supplies out of the wagon, it would have been my head.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam\u2019s tan shirt was quickly turning red.\u00a0 \u201cWe need to get you into the house.\u00a0 You\u2019re bleeding badly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m feeling light headed,\u201d he grudgingly admitted.<\/p>\n

Belle looked toward the trees.\u00a0 \u201cDo you think whoever shot you is gone?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo idea.\u00a0 He could be, or he could be hiding and just waiting for another chance.\u201d\u00a0 Adam turned over and looked toward the house.\u00a0 \u201cIf we head to the right side of the door, for the water trough, we can keep it between us and him.\u00a0 The sprint to the door after that shouldn\u2019t be too bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about Hop Sing?\u201d she asked.\u00a0 \u201cI could go alone and bring him out to help.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d \u00a0Adam sighed.\u00a0 \u201cHop Sing must not be here.\u00a0 He would have heard the shots and come running.\u201d<\/p>\n

Belle\u2019s eyes were full of tears.\u00a0 She knew<\/em> this had to do with Jarvis. Her own selfish desires were once again bringing harm to this family.\u00a0 A steely determination overcame her as she thought of how kind and welcoming the Cartwrights had been to her.\u00a0 In spite of any danger to herself, she had <\/em>to get Adam into the house and get that wound tended.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we back out under the wagon, can you manage the crawl to the water trough?\u201d Belle asked.<\/p>\n

The black-haired man\u2019s eyes were slightly glazed.\u00a0 She could see that the shock was wearing off and the pain setting in.\u00a0 \u201cI think so,\u201d he replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Belle placed her arms around Adam\u2019s waist and helped him to crawl to the\u00a0 rear of the wagon and, from there, to the water trough which they laid low behind.\u00a0 She was horrified to see the trail of blood their journey left.\u00a0 Adam was bleeding badly.\u00a0 It was imperative she get him into the house and bandage his wound.\u00a0 Taking what little courage she had in hand, Belle left Adam where he was and, in spite of his weak protests, sprinted to the door and thrust it open.<\/p>\n

No one fired at her.<\/p>\n

Returning to Adam, Belle ringed her arms around him just under his arms.\u00a0 He\u2019d fallen unconscious and it was all she could do to move him.\u00a0 By the time she got him to the sofa in the great room she was shaking like a leaf in an October wind.\u00a0 Looking around, she located a blanket and tossed it over him and then sat on the table that flanked the sofa and let it all sink in.\u00a0 She was covered in blood and trembling from head to foot.\u00a0 Adam had a bullet in his shoulder and was bleeding profusely.\u00a0 She had no idea where to find bandages, medicine, or anything else, and really no idea of \u00a0how to take care of a gunshot wound or, Heaven help her, get the bullet out.\u00a0 There was a killer outside, so going for help was out of the question, and Ben and Hoss were unlikely to return because they were still hunting for Joe.<\/p>\n

Belle let the tears come.\u00a0 How could<\/em> she have done this!\u00a0\u00a0 It was all because she had selfishly wanted a family and its protection and had failed to consider the consequences of involvement with her for<\/em> that family.\u00a0 She had known Jarvis would never let her go.\u00a0 She had also known of his hatred for the Cartwrights.<\/p>\n

She had played right into his unprincipled hands.<\/p>\n

The young woman dissolved into tears.\u00a0 Belle allowed herself a minute or two of self-pity, and then drew a breath and rose.\u00a0 After checking Adam and pressing the blanket up against the wound to slow the bleeding, she headed for the kitchen.<\/p>\n

She was going to make a mess of it, but she didn\u2019t think Hop Sing would mind.<\/p>\n

xxxxxxxxxoooxxxxxxxxxx<\/p>\n

Gabe McRae reined in his horse as Yellow Horse and his men came into view.\u00a0 They were waiting on the top of a ridge.\u00a0 He\u2019d sent word for them so that Yellow Horse\u2019s warriors could be dispersed around the ranch house to keep watch while they were gone.\u00a0 He and Yellow Horse needed to return to the Indian camp.\u00a0 It was time to take the old chief\u2019s granddaughter and the Cartwright boy into the hills and set the stage.\u00a0\u00a0 They\u2019d make it appear that the boy had been trying to have his way with Pretty Prairie and when she refused, had strangled her.<\/p>\n

Of course, being an Injun, she had the strength to knife him before she died.<\/p>\n

After the bodies were\u00a0 discovered, White Crow would give them his blessing and order<\/em> them to sweep in and burn the Ponderosa to the ground.\u00a0 When it was done, Jarvis would find out his woman had been in the house and, driven mad, would end up getting killed by Yellow Horse or one of the other Indians.\u00a0 After that, he\u2019d take in the money promised by the business men and cattle barons and run.<\/p>\n

Not a bad day\u2019s work.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you get the old chief to agree to his granddaughter taking the Cartwright boy his food?\u201d McRae asked as the tall Indian rode up to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u00a0 When we return, she should be with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

McRae nodded.\u00a0 The hand that fate had dealt them, with Joe Cartwright falling into their laps, was almost beyond believing.\u00a0 He\u2019d set the stage for the boy\u2019s escape \u2013 leaving that metal shard near him.\u00a0 They\u2019d catch Cartwright within minutes, but it would appear he had run away.\u00a0 White Crow would assume the boy took Pretty Prairie with him as a hostage and then killed her when she refused to cooperate.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have men watching the wickiup?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

Yellow Horse nodded.\u00a0 \u201cThe boy will not see them, but they are there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll need to distract White Crow.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no need.\u00a0 White Crow has announced that he will go to the water to seek the wisdom of the holy people at the setting of the sun.\u201d<\/p>\n

A smirk lifted the corner of Gabe McRae\u2019s lips.\u00a0 Once again, it seemed everything was falling into place.<\/p>\n

\u201cPerfect.\u201d\u00a0 McRae nudged his horse with his knee and turned its nose back toward the Indian camp.<\/p>\n

\u201cCome on,\u201d he said to Yellow Horse.\u00a0 \u201cTime\u2019s a wasting.\u201d<\/p>\n

xxxxxxxxxxoooxxxxxxxxxx<\/p>\n

The light outside was fading.\u00a0 Another day was nearly done.\u00a0 Belle stood by the window in Adam Cartwright\u2019s bedroom looking out.\u00a0 She was exhausted.\u00a0 After rummaging in the kitchen and coming up with a suitable knife to extract the bullet, she had made an abortive attempt to remove it that had ended with her sobbing on the floor.\u00a0 Thank the Heavens, God had taken pity on her and as she rose to try again Hop Sing had returned.\u00a0 The Chinese man boiled water, found a bottle of whiskey, laid out bandages and several instruments from which to choose from, and then set to probing for the bullet.\u00a0 Adam had become insensible, but he woke when the knife went in.\u00a0 She had to hold him down.\u00a0 As the bullet came out, the black-haired man lost the battle to remain conscious.\u00a0 He\u2019d been unconscious ever since.\u00a0 Before he went to fetch the doctor from Virginia City, Hop Sing had told her to keep cold compresses on him and given her a bottle of medicine, telling her to dispense a few drops into water and make him drink it every hour.<\/p>\n

When she asked the cook how he had come to know so much about bullet wounds he had flown into a frenzy of Chinese and finished with a flurry of English words.\u00a0 \u2018You try living here on Ponderosa.\u00a0 You care for Cartwright boys and you know.\u00a0 \u2018Specially Little Joe!\u201d<\/p>\n

The medicine had been left over from the last time the youngest of the Cartwright men had been shot.<\/p>\n

Leaving the window Belle returned to Adam\u2019s bedside.\u00a0 She placed her hand on his forehead to check the course the fever was taking.\u00a0 His skin was cooler to the touch.\u00a0 Crossing to the basin by the door, she wet a fresh cloth in the cool water and then, returning to the injured man\u2019s side, traded it out for the old one that was warm.\u00a0 As she did, Adam stirred.\u00a0 He groaned slightly and then opened his eyes.\u00a0 At first they were not quite focused, but a moment later he favored her a pale imitation of his usual smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cBelle.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do you feel, Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLike someone shot me.\u201d<\/p>\n

It took her a moment.\u00a0 Then she realized he meant the statement to be humorous.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou must be feeling better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam pursed his lips and raised one black brow.\u00a0 \u201c\u2018Better\u2019 being a relative term.\u201d<\/p>\n

Belle reached out and took his hand.\u00a0 \u201cHop Sing has gone for the doctor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe went out?\u00a0 What about the shooter?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s been no sign.\u00a0 We think he must have run.\u00a0 But don\u2019t worry, Hop Sing was careful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam took hold of the coverlet laid over him and drew it back.\u00a0 \u201cHelp me up….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, Adam!\u00a0 You\u2019ll reopen the wound.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t just lie here,\u201d he said as he began to rise.\u00a0 \u201cJoe\u2019s…still missing. And whoever did…this…could be after Hoss or Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOr you!\u201d\u00a0 Belle started to plead again but stopped as Adam Cartwright went the color of paste and fell back into a seated position.\u00a0 Moving to the other side of the bed, she sat beside him and took hold of his arm.\u00a0 \u201cThey might have meant to kill only you!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

He looked sideways at her.\u00a0 \u201cWhy me?\u201d<\/p>\n

It was a fear that had grown within her as the days passed and she became more and more attached to the eldest of the Cartwright sons.\u00a0 Had Jarvis noticed?\u00a0 Was this attempt on Adam\u2019s life entirely her fault?<\/p>\n

Belle dipped her head.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ve been very kind to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you think someone would take offense at that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll answer your question, but you need to lie back,\u201d Belle said. \u00a0\u201cYou\u2019ve lost a lot of blood.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam did as he was told.\u00a0 Once braced against the pillows, he asked, \u201cDoe this have to do with this man, Jarvis Barrot?\u00a0 Do you think he\u2019s behind it?\u201d<\/p>\n

Her jaw grew tight.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t think<\/em>, Adam, I know<\/em>. \u00a0Jarvis Barrot means to possess me, and he will let nothing and no one stand in his way.\u00a0 Nothing!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cBelle, you\u2019re giving that man power over you.\u201d<\/p>\n

She jumped to her feet.\u00a0 \u201cHe has<\/em> power over me!\u00a0 He always has, over me and <\/em>my family.\u00a0 I thought by coming here, by becoming a part of your<\/em> family, that I could escape him.\u00a0 That he would see the power and the might of the Cartwrights and leave me alone!\u00a0 That he would \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re not our sister, are you?\u201d<\/p>\n

His words silenced her for a moment.\u00a0 Belle closed her eyes and lowered her head.\u00a0 \u201cNo.\u201d\u00a0 She shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cAt least, I don\u2019t think so.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you\u2019ve known this all along?\u201d<\/p>\n

She nodded.\u00a0 \u201cThe story is true.\u00a0 My mother loved your father.\u00a0 She wanted<\/em> her baby \u2013 wanted me \u2013 to be his child, but there was no way she could be certain.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd this man, Barrot?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe loved my mother.\u00a0 She gave him nothing in return.\u00a0 She married William Babylon instead and rubbed that rejection in Jarvis\u2019 face every day that she lived.\u201d\u00a0 Belle paused.\u00a0 \u201cMy mother was not a nice woman.\u00a0 Your father was fortunate he escaped her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam was silent for a moment.\u00a0 \u201cWell, Belle, I can\u2019t say I\u2019m happy about the lies you\u2019ve told.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t expect you to be,\u201d she said, straightening her shoulders and looking him square in the eye.<\/p>\n

Adam nodded.\u00a0 \u201cBut there is one thing that I am happy about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Belle blinked.\u00a0 \u201cAnd what is that?\u201d<\/p>\n

The black-haired man reached out to her.\u00a0 She caught his hand thinking he wanted help lying back in the bed.\u00a0 Instead, Adam pulled her toward him and kissed her passionately on the lips.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m happy you\u2019re not my sister.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TEN<\/p>\n

It was time for Pretty Prairie to bring Joe his food.\u00a0 He\u2019d finished sawing through the ropes that bound his hands and was sitting, waiting for her to arrive.\u00a0 He\u2019d thought about standing by the wickiup door and catching hold of her the moment she stepped inside, but he was worried she might cry out before he had a chance to talk to her.\u00a0 There was no reason she should believe him over her own people.\u00a0 He doubted he could convince her that she was in danger.\u00a0 Still, he had to try.\u00a0 If he could take her somewhere and talk to her \u2013 explain everything \u2013 then maybe, just maybe<\/em> she would believe him.<\/p>\n

Pretty Prairie didn\u2019t know it but her life hung in the balance.<\/p>\n

Of course, he didn\u2019t want to die either, and it would have been a whole lot easier just to leave her behind.<\/p>\n

Joe sighed.\u00a0 Easier, but not right<\/em>.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d taken a bit more fabric off of the tail of his shirt and fashioned a tie that he could use to keep her from making any noise if he needed to.\u00a0 At first he\u2019s thought to gag her and toss her over his shoulder and carry her out of the camp.\u00a0 The problem was his injured leg.\u00a0 He just didn\u2019t think it would support him with the added weight.\u00a0 The smartest thing would have been to steal a horse \u2013 smart, of course, unless you were dealing with a group of renegade Utes who valued their horses more than their own children and wives.\u00a0\u00a0 No, he\u2019d just have to try plan B and hope against hope that she didn\u2019t put up too<\/em> much of a stink when he told her.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d be able to handle her, of course \u2013 she was after all, a girl \u2013 but girls were also good at making noise and that was what he was afraid of.<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s head came up as the blanket that kept the wickiup\u2019s entrance closed was pulled back and lifted away.\u00a0 A second later Pretty Prairie entered carrying a basket laden with food.\u00a0 She was dressed in a buckskin dress again, the shoulders of which were covered with multicolored beads and elk\u2019s teeth.<\/p>\n

\u201cSupper time already?\u201d Joe smiled.<\/p>\n

She hesitantly returned it.\u00a0 The smile lit her face and made her even more beautiful.\u00a0 \u201cAre you hungry?\u201d\u00a0 she asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a grizzly,\u201d he replied.<\/p>\n

Pretty Prairie approached him.\u00a0 As she knelt at his side, Joe said softly, \u201cYou sure <\/em>are pretty, just like your name says.\u201d<\/p>\n

The girl said nothing but her cheeks turned crimson.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was wondering, since I\u2019m a condemned man and all….\u201d\u00a0 Her dark eyes flicked to his face.\u00a0 He could see she was distressed.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t you know?\u00a0 The men of your tribe, they mean to kill me.\u201d<\/p>\n

She frowned.\u00a0 \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause I\u2019m a white man.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pretty Prairie was silent a moment.\u00a0 \u201cWhite men bring us harm.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe cocked his head and looked at her.\u00a0 \u201cI haven\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

It took a second.\u00a0 \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, do you think it would be all right if I got away?\u00a0 Escaped, I mean?\u201d<\/p>\n

Fear entered her deep brown eyes.\u00a0 She nodded toward him.\u00a0 \u201cYou are bound.\u201d<\/p>\n

This was it \u2013 the moment that either saved or condemned them both.<\/p>\n

Joe shifted and pulled his bloodied hands forward, showing her that he was free.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow?\u201d she gasped.<\/p>\n

He produced the metal shard.\u00a0 \u201cI found this and used it.\u00a0 Pretty Prairie, I need <\/em>to get away.\u00a0 I know there are men keeping watch outside.\u201d\u00a0 He batted his long lashes and smiled that smile \u2013 the one that kept getting him in trouble with so many girls\u2019 fathers.\u00a0 \u201cDo you think you could help me get past them?\u201d<\/p>\n

Every line of her thin frame went rigid.\u00a0 For a second, Joe thought she was going to holler right there and then, and he\u2019d be trussed up like a pig and ready to roast sooner than he could say Jack Robinson.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do not know….\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe hesitated.\u00a0 Then he laid his hand on hers.\u00a0 \u201cSay now, you don\u2019t want me to die<\/em>, do you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d she responded \u2013 a little too<\/em> quickly.<\/p>\n

He had <\/em>her.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you\u2019ll help me escape?\u201d<\/p>\n

Pretty Prairie nodded.\u00a0 \u201cWhat do you need me to do?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe main thing I need to find is a clear way out.\u00a0 There\u2019s a man stationed out front, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

She nodded.\u00a0 \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs there one out back \u2013 out back of the wickiup I mean?\u201d<\/p>\n

She shook her head.<\/p>\n

Joe considered that.\u00a0 It either meant the Indians considered him little or no threat, or that there was<\/em> a man there \u2013 in hiding.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t like the implications of that.\u00a0 Still, he had little choice.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen that\u2019s the way we\u2019ll go.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe thought furiously.\u00a0 \u201cWell, you don\u2019t want them to think you helped me, now do you?\u00a0 If I disappear right after you\u2019ve been here, then that\u2019s what they\u2019ll think for sure.\u00a0 If we pretend I kidnapped you, then you\u2019ll be safe to return.\u00a0 You can go with me, outside the camp, and then after a bit come back.\u201d\u00a0 It was a lie, he wasn\u2019t going to let her return, at least not right away.\u00a0 Still, he figured it was going to take every lie he could come up with to get her out of the camp and save her life.\u00a0 \u201cAll right?\u201d<\/p>\n

Pretty Prairie hesitated.\u00a0 She was obviously frightened.\u00a0 He lifted her hand and, holding it up to his lips, planted a light kiss on it.\u00a0 \u201cYou can believe me.\u00a0 I won\u2019t let anything happen to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Indian girl reached out and touched his cheek. \u201cYou have not told me what I have to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust sit there looking pretty,\u201d he smiled.<\/p>\n

The blush grew deeper.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll I need for you to do is this,\u201d Joe continued, \u201cwhen you leave, wait a few minutes and then come back.\u00a0 Bring something with you to cut through the wickiup\u2019s hide.\u00a0 I\u2019ll escape out the back and we\u2019ll run for a while, and then you can return to your people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pretty Prairie sat there, thinking about it for a full minute.\u00a0 Joe fought to keep the sweat from beading on his forehead.\u00a0 If she didn\u2019t help him, he didn\u2019t think there was any help to be had.\u00a0 McRae and Yellow Horse would show up soon and kill the both.<\/p>\n

Finally, she nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI will help you.\u201d<\/p>\n

He felt weak, but he hid it behind a smile.\u00a0 \u201cYou sure are one of the nicest Indians I ever met \u2013 and about the prettiest.\u00a0 I\u2019m having a hard time thinking of a way to thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know one,\u201d the girl said, startling him.<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s eyebrows peaked toward the cascade of brown curls on his forehead.\u00a0 \u201cYeah?\u201d<\/p>\n

Her dark eyes met his and then she leaned in and kissed him \u2013 on the lips.<\/p>\n

Joe sighed.<\/p>\n

This was going to be more fun than he had first imagined.<\/p>\n

xxxxxxxxxxoooxxxxxxxxxx<\/p>\n

Ben Cartwright stood looking east toward the Ponderosa.\u00a0 The sun was dipping behind the horizon, casting a coppery glow on everything, and he and Hoss were making camp for the night. They had continued to follow the tracks of the Indian\u2019s horses and had been led into a densely forested hilly area.\u00a0 He allowed himself a moment to take in the wonder of it all \u2013 the pine trees tall and straight as the mast on a schooner, the brilliant blue sky, the rocks and the prairie grasses.\u00a0 Like a beautiful woman the West took a man\u2019s breath away.\u00a0 The trouble was it could also take a man\u2019s life away somewhere between that breath and the next.\u00a0 Adam was long<\/em> overdue, adding to his worry about Joe.\u00a0 Each boy\u2019s whereabouts were unknown.<\/p>\n

Wherever they were, his eldest and his youngest sons\u2019 fates lay in two different directions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe grub\u2019s ready, Pa,\u201d his remaining son called from near the small fire they had kindled.\u00a0 When he didn\u2019t move immediately, Hoss added, \u201cYou need to eat to keep up your strength.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben turned and crossed to him.\u00a0 He held his hands out for the plate Hoss had prepared.\u00a0 \u201cWords of wisdom, son.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss grinned that big friendly bear of a grin he had.\u00a0 \u201cSure enough, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben took a seat on a nearby log.\u00a0 He lifted his fork and poked at his food.\u00a0 \u201cI sure wish we had found something more concrete in the search today.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are Utes, Pa.\u00a0 They ain\u2019t gonna be easy to track.\u201d<\/p>\n

His son was right.\u00a0 Following white men, well, it varied.\u00a0 There were some that were masters of masking their trail, but most proved easy enough.\u00a0 The ones who were masters of it had usually ridden or lived with Indians.<\/p>\n

When he said nothing, Hoss added, \u201cI\u2019m sure we\u2019ll find some sign of Joe tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben nodded.\u00a0 He took a spoonful of stew and chewed for a minute, thinking.\u00a0 After he had washed it down with water, he said, \u201cI think we\u2019re going to have to part company tomorrow, Hoss.\u201d<\/p>\n

His son frowned.\u00a0 \u201cI was thinkin\u2019 you was probably thinkin\u2019 that, Pa.\u00a0 Don\u2019t seem right smart.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u00a0 No, it isn\u2019t, but I don\u2019t see that we have any choice.\u00a0 Adam should have been back by now.\u00a0 Something has to have happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe he had to ride out far to get the hands,\u201d the big man suggested.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe.\u00a0 Or maybe Jarvis Barrot\u2019s schemes concerning Belle have progressed.\u201d\u00a0 Ben took another bite and swallowed.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m praying that\u2019s all that\u2019s happened and not something worse.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWorse, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben took another bite and then placed his plate on the ground.\u00a0 \u201cI wouldn\u2019t put anything past Barrot.\u00a0 If I didn\u2019t know better, I would say he might have something to do with Joe\u2019s disappearance as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou think Barrot\u2019s gunning for us then?\u201d<\/p>\n

Did he?\u00a0 His thoughts about all that was happening around them were just coming into focus.\u00a0 \u201cLet\u2019s look at the situation, Hoss.\u00a0 Apparently this man Barrot arrived in town shortly before Belle did.\u00a0 She seemed surprised to see him, so I don\u2019t think they are working together.\u00a0 I think Belle is who she says she is if not what<\/em> she thinks she is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t think she\u2019s yours?\u201d<\/p>\n

The question hung in the air a moment.\u00a0 \u201cBelle\u2019s a lovely girl.\u00a0 I\u2019d be proud if she was, but no, I don\u2019t think so.\u00a0 I can\u2019t explain why.\u00a0 It\u2019s just something a man feels<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI agree, Pa.\u00a0 It just don\u2019t…fit, if you know what I mean.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss thought a second.\u00a0 \u201cSo Belle didn\u2019t come here with Barrot?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u00a0 He met her in town and she became extremely agitated and upset.\u00a0 That night, Barrot shows up on our doorstep with a deal.\u201d\u00a0 Ben leaned forward.\u00a0 He exchanged his water for coffee and then continued.\u00a0 \u201cOnly I don\u2019t think he had a deal.\u00a0 I think he was just seeking information about Belle.\u201d\u00a0 Ben scowled.\u00a0 \u201cYou can tell by the way he looks at her what his thoughts are.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cKind of a hungry look?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI think Belle feels threatened by him, and has been most of her life. Apparently her mother Jasmin married William Babylon not for love, but for security, for a safe haven from Barrot.\u00a0 Belle says her mother tormented Jarvis and that her attitude and actions led to the downfall of her father\u2019s company and her father as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut he loves her, right?\u00a0 Jarvis, I mean.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Hoss shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cBeats me, Pa.\u00a0 I remember you and Marie.\u00a0 That\u2019s the standard I set for love between a man and woman.\u00a0 How can this Jarvis think that what he feels is love?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLike I\u2019ve told you before, son, there are many kinds of love.\u00a0 Jarvis Barrot\u2019s love for Jasmin is something like the fever a man gets when he hears there\u2019s gold in the hills.\u00a0 Barrot doesn\u2019t want a woman to work at his side or give him strong sons.\u00a0 He waned to possess Jasmin like a man owns property or goods.\u00a0 And when he couldn\u2019t have her, he turned his attentions on her daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss thought a moment.\u00a0 \u201cYou said this here Jarvis Barrot wants to destroy us too?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBelle said as much,\u201d the silver-haired man said as he leaned back, coffee cup in hand.\u00a0 \u201cApparently her mother never stopped talking about me, and holding up my example to both her husband and Barrot.\u00a0 In her mind I became the image of the perfect man.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, Pa, you\u2019re just about as close as it gets,\u201d Hoss deadpanned.<\/p>\n

Ben snorted.\u00a0 \u201cIf you could talk to your mother, she\u2019d probably have a thing or two to say about that!\u201d\u00a0 The older man grew sober.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s a terrible thing, Hoss, fighting a ghost.\u00a0 I feel for Jasmin\u2019s husband.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss paused.\u00a0 \u201cSo, from what I understand, Pa, Barrot ruined Babylon and his business.\u00a0 The man died.\u00a0 Then, last year, Jasmin died too.\u00a0 Why do you think Belle showed up now?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think she was frightened.\u00a0 Jarvis may have intensified his pursuit of her.\u00a0 There\u2019s no way to know for sure until she tells us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you think this Barrot has something to do with Adam bein\u2019 late?\u00a0 And maybe with Joe being missing too?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYour youngest brother\u2019s disappearance is a mystery.\u00a0 If Joe was free, he\u2019d have found us by now.\u00a0 Someone has to be holding him.\u00a0 I hope it\u2019s the Indians.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss stopped in the middle of a bite.\u00a0 \u201cHope it is?<\/em>\u00a0 How come, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Indians are pure in their hate, son.\u00a0 They\u2019ll kill a man without a thought if he threatens them, but for the most part they don\u2019t kill without good reason.\u00a0 Your brother has never offended the Indians.\u00a0 And there are a good many of them who know the Cartwright name and know we mean to help them when we can.\u00a0 But Barrot?\u201d\u00a0 He shuddered.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s like a snake, full of venom, ready to strike the first man who walks by.\u00a0 That\u2019s why I\u2019m close to being more worried about Adam than Joe.\u00a0 Your little brother can take care of himself in a situation like that.\u00a0 Adam\u2019s situation is entirely different.\u00a0 Since he went back to the ranch, he\u2019s in Barrot\u2019s territory.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo what are you thinkin\u2019?\u00a0 You want me to go back to the house?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben tossed his coffee on the ground next to the fire.\u00a0 \u201cNo, son, much as I want to keep looking for Joe, I think it\u2019s me who has to go back to the Ponderosa.\u00a0 I need to make sure Belle is in a safe place and that Adam is all right, and then he and I need to gather up the men to come here and help us scour these hills and the caves they contain.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you thinkin\u2019 Joe might be holed up in one?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s what I taught him \u2013 taught all<\/em> of you to do when you were boys.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss tossed his own coffee next to the fire and rose.\u00a0 \u201cFirst light then, Pa.\u00a0 I\u2019ll make for the caves aside the stream.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGod willing, you\u2019ll find your brother.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss crossed to his bedding and laid down.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll find him, Pa.\u00a0 Don\u2019t you worry.\u00a0 You go find Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben nodded as he watched his middle son scoot down to a comfortable place and pull his hat over his eyes.\u00a0 He thought about doing the same, but poured himself another cup of coffee instead.<\/p>\n

With half of his family missing, he was going to get very little sleep tonight.<\/p>\n

xxxxxxxxxxoooxxxxxxxxxx<\/p>\n

They\u2019d made it out of the wickiup and were running, hand in hand, through the tall trees.\u00a0 Joe\u2019d thought he would have to help Pretty Prairie to cross the rough land, but he was forgetting she was the granddaughter of a rogue Indian chief who had moved her from one place to the next as regular as the moon waning and waxing, probably from the time she was born.\u00a0 She was a sure-footed as any wild animal and had actually outpaced him a couple of times.<\/p>\n

Of course, he did<\/em> have a bad leg.<\/p>\n

The girl had just climbed a ten foot rise and was looking down at him.\u00a0 She knelt at the top and extended a hand.\u00a0 \u201cDoes Joe Cartwright need help?\u201d<\/p>\n

He tried to pretend that he wasn\u2019t in pain and his breath wasn\u2019t coming hard.\u00a0 \u201cNo.\u00a0 No.\u00a0 I\u2019m all right.\u00a0 I\u2019ll be up there in a minute.\u00a0 I\u2019m just, well, listening to see if anyone is behind us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pretty Prairie looked at him and then past him to the trees.\u00a0 \u201cSomeone is.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cI hear them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe took hold of some of the long grass on the ridge and began to work his way you.\u00a0 \u201cWhy didn\u2019t you say anything?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPretty Prairie figure you not say anything, so white man must know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Was that sarcasm in her voice?<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, maybe my hearing ain\u2019t what it should be.\u201d He reached for some tall grass sticking out of the side of the ridge.\u00a0 As his hand caught it, the foot on his bad leg slipped and he slid several feet back down the rise.\u00a0 \u201cNext time,\u201d he huffed, \u201cjust tell me.\u00a0 Okay?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe felt the Indian girl\u2019s hand circle his wrist.<\/p>\n

\u201cNext time Joe Cartwright ask.\u00a0 Okay?\u201d<\/p>\n

He looked up at her.\u00a0 She was grinning.<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay,\u201d he agreed as he used the strength her grip added to complete the climb to the top.\u00a0 Once on the crest of the rise, he sat down and looked at her.\u00a0 \u201cThanks,\u201d he said, returning the grin.<\/p>\n

The Indian girl\u2019s dark eyes were full of mischief.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re welcome,\u201d she said and then she leaned over and kissed him again.\u00a0 Before he could do anything about it, Pretty Prairie was on her feet and offering him a hand.\u00a0 \u201cCome, Joe Cartwright.\u00a0 My father\u2019s people come close.\u201d<\/p>\n

A minute later they were on the move again. They made steady if somewhat slow progress.\u00a0 The more he used his leg, the less it wanted to <\/em>be used.\u00a0 He was beginning to think he might have fractured instead of strained it.\u00a0 By the time they reached the area of the river caves, he was sweating like a horse after a gallop and his leg was throbbing in tune with his heartbeat.<\/p>\n

He was also leaning heavily on Pretty Prairie.<\/p>\n

Joe nodded toward one dark opening gaping in the hill before them.\u00a0 \u201cWe need to get inside.\u00a0 Even if your grandfather\u2019s men follow us into the cave, there\u2019s plenty of places to hide inside.\u201d<\/p>\n

She was looking at him.\u00a0 Her face was all screwed up the way a girl got when she heard bad news or was looking at something she was afraid was going to die.\u00a0 \u201cYou are hurting,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t know if that was a statement or a question.\u00a0 Either way she was right.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just need to rest for a while.\u00a0 I\u2019ll be fine after I do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhite men lie,\u201d Pretty Prairie replied.<\/p>\n

He shook his head. \u201cNot all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Indian girl reached up and fingered the brown curls dripping down on his forehead.\u00a0 Then she laid her hand alongside his cheek.\u00a0 A moment later her soft lips met his again and for just a second he was able to completely forget about the predicament he was in.<\/p>\n

Just a second.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, lookee here.\u00a0 It don\u2019t look like we\u2019re gonna need to lie at all, does it?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe pivoted on his good heel.\u00a0 Then he took hold of Pretty Prairie and shoved her behind him as Gabriel McRae and a group of Indian men stepped out of the tree-line to their right.<\/p>\n

\u201cGet ready to run,\u201d Joe told her over his shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cHead west into the trees.\u201d<\/p>\n

He felt her hand on his back.\u00a0 \u201cJoe,\u201d she said, sounding hesitant.\u00a0 He looked.<\/p>\n

They were surrounded.<\/p>\n

McRae left the other Indians\u2019 side and approached them. \u00a0\u201cYou been having your way with White Crow\u2019s girl, boy?\u201d he asked as he stopped. \u201cEven with<\/em> that bad leg?\u201d<\/p>\n

Without warning McRae\u2019s leg shot out taking him squarely in the center of his injured limb.\u00a0 Joe cried out and fell. \u00a0Pretty Prairie began to drop beside him, but another of the renegade band caught her around the waist and prevented her from doing so.<\/p>\n

While lookin down at him, McRae said to the man, \u201cWhy don\u2019t you take Juliet there into the cave.\u00a0 I\u2019ll bring Romeo here in a minute.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Indian holding Pretty Prairie lowered her to the ground.\u00a0 As he did, the girl began to strike him.\u00a0 There was a loud slap!<\/em> as the man struck her cheek.\u00a0 After that she fell silent and allowed the man to lead her away.<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s temper flared.\u00a0 \u201cHey!\u00a0 You didn\u2019t need to do that!\u00a0 She\u2019s a girl.\u00a0 If you\u2019re angry about something, you take it up with me!\u201d<\/p>\n

McRae knelt beside him.\u00a0 \u201cAin\u2019t gonna make no nevermind to neither of you an hour or so from now, boy.\u201d\u00a0 McRae caught him by the hair and thrust his head back.\u00a0 \u201cSoon as Yellow Horse shows up, you\u2019re both gonna be dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLet her go,\u201d Joe pleaded.\u00a0 \u201cYou can tell White Crow anything you want.\u00a0 You can say you found me with her, killed me, and then brought her back.\u00a0 You don\u2019t have to kill Pretty Prairie!\u201d<\/p>\n

McRae smirked.\u00a0 \u201cWhite Crow wouldn\u2019t want her if she\u2019d been sullied by a white man.\u201d<\/p>\n

That stopped him.\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t given a thought to what having Pretty Prairie run away with him might do to her<\/em> \u2013 he\u2019d just wanted to escape.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou mean, he wouldn\u2019t want her back?\u00a0 His own granddaughter?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo\u2019s he could raise some white man\u2019s pup?\u00a0 He\u2019d as soon kill it as look at it.\u201d<\/p>\n

That was another thing he had forgotten \u2013 prejudice went both ways.<\/p>\n

Joe felt the barrel of the rifle the villainous man held rest on his stomach. \u201cNow get to your feet, boy, and get movin\u2019 afore I put a hole through you right here and now!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe fought a wave of dizziness as he struggled to stand.\u00a0 He got to his feet, but then his bad leg gave out and he stumbled.\u00a0 McRae made a disgusted sound deep in his throat and then reached out and caught him around the waist before ordering him forward.\u00a0 Joe eyed the man\u2019s rifle as they made their way to the cave.\u00a0 He could drop and take McRae out by rolling and striking his legs and then maybe, just maybe get hold of the gun.\u00a0 Once he had it, he could shoot his way out.\u00a0\u00a0 Or he could have if it hadn\u2019t been for Pretty Prairie.\u00a0 She\u2019d already disappeared into the cave.<\/p>\n

There was nothing to do but follow her in.<\/p>\n

And die.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

ELEVEN<\/p>\n

It was, maybe, three in the morning and Hoss was on the move.\u00a0 So was his pa.\u00a0 Neither of them had been able to get any shut-eye, so they\u2019d decided to break camp and go their separate ways.\u00a0 His pa\u2019s path was easier, sticking to the road and heading back to the Ponderosa.\u00a0 Hoss found himself on foot leading Chubb and making his way across rocky uneven ground by the light of the stars.\u00a0 They\u2019d agreed he should head for the caves located near the stream first.\u00a0 They were the best shelter in the area and if Joe\u2019d managed to get free of a bunch of Utes, he was going to need the best there was.\u00a0 As the big man approached the water\u2019s edge, that inner sense that a fella developed when spending most of his time in the wilderness set off an alarm.\u00a0 It was strong enough it brought him to a halt.\u00a0 Something was wrong, but he just couldn\u2019t place it.\u00a0 It might have been a sound on the wind, or a smell, or maybe a shadow moving when all of the other shadows were still.\u00a0 Hoss drew a deep breath.\u00a0 Yeah, that was it.\u00a0 That last one.\u00a0 He\u2019d seen something shift not too far ahead of him.<\/p>\n

Something that moved like a man.<\/p>\n

Ducking into the trees with Chubb, the big man tethered his horse and began to work his way slowly forward on foot.\u00a0 He\u2019d gone about a hundred yards when the figure turned from a shadow into an Indian sitting on a horse.\u00a0 There were three of them actually, two on foot and the one riding.\u00a0 They were talking low about something.\u00a0 Hoss moved forward a few more feet, hoping to hear what it was.\u00a0 Before he could arrive, the tall warrior on the horse kicked his mount\u2019s side and moved forward \u2013 heading for the big dark opening into a cave that was up a small hill and a little ways to the south.<\/p>\n

The moonlight revealed that there were two more Indians standing guard outside the cave.<\/p>\n

Hoss scowled.\u00a0 He needed information and he needed it now<\/em>.\u00a0 The dumbest thing he could do was charge a bunch of renegade Indians holed up in a cave if their presence had nothing to do with Joe.\u00a0 The big man eyed the two Indians who remained.\u00a0 They were talking to one another.\u00a0 His guess was, when they were done talking, that they\u2019d go their separate ways.\u00a0 Most likely they were patrolling the perimeter, making sure no one got through.\u00a0 He\u2019d just have to change that.<\/p>\n

Then he\u2019d just sit the feller he caught down and have a nice friendly chat with him.<\/p>\n

xxxxxxxxxxxoooxxxxxxxxxx<\/p>\n

Ben Cartwright galloped into the yard in front of his ranch.\u00a0 He checked his mount, tied the reins to the rail, and then looked around.\u00a0 The supply wagon was still sitting by the pump, its cargo intact.\u00a0 He could see the supplies in the bed, lying open to the sky.\u00a0 Puzzled, the silver-haired man made his way over to it.\u00a0 As he did, he noticed a dark substance on the ground.\u00a0 Kneeling, he fingered it.<\/p>\n

Blood.<\/p>\n

Rising, Ben called out, \u201cAdam!\u00a0 Adam, are you here? \u201c\u00a0 When no one answered, he headed for the door, trying again.\u00a0 \u201cAdam!\u00a0 Son, if you\u2019re here, answer me!\u201d<\/p>\n

A voice stopped him and caused him to backtrack.\u00a0 Looking up, Ben spotted Belle leaning out of one of the upstairs\u2019 windows that fronted the yard.<\/p>\n

\u201cBenjamin!\u00a0 Benjamin, up here!\u00a0 We\u2019re in Adam\u2019s room.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before she finished speaking, Ben was on the move.\u00a0 He passed through the front door and flew up the steps, reaching Adam\u2019s bedroom in less than a minute.\u00a0 The first thing he saw when he entered it were the blood-stained linens hanging on the side of the washstand.<\/p>\n

Belle turned toward him.\u00a0 \u201cOh, thank goodness!\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cAdam needs help.\u00a0 He\u2019s been shot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben was at his son\u2019s side in a heartbeat.\u00a0 He took a seat beside him and reached out to touch his arm.\u00a0 \u201cAdam?\u00a0 Adam, can you hear me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s in and out, Benjamin.\u00a0 Sometimes I can wake him, other times his sleep is so deep there\u2019s nothing I can do.\u201d<\/p>\n

The older man lifted the coverlet and looked at his son\u2019s wound.\u00a0 \u201cIs the bullet out?\u201d<\/p>\n

She nodded.\u00a0 \u201cHop Sing took care of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben\u2019s silvery brows shot up.\u00a0 \u201cHop Sing?\u201d<\/p>\n

Belle shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cDesperate times call for desperate measures?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben laughed.\u00a0 \u201cWell, Hop Sing has certainly watched enough bullet extractions in this house.\u00a0 If the bullet wasn\u2019t in too deep, I suppose he could take care of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam thought he was shot from some distance.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh?\u201d\u00a0 Ben wondered now if he had ridden right past the shooter who had allowed him to reach his home for some reason \u2013 or if they were gone.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ve seen or heard nothing else?\u201d<\/p>\n

She shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cHop Sing went for the doctor earlier.\u00a0 You didn\u2019t see him along the way?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben glanced at the window.\u00a0 \u201cThey\u2019re probably bedded down for a spell.\u00a0 It\u2019s the blackest part of the night.\u201d\u00a0 He sighed.\u00a0 \u201cHoss and I, well, we tried to sleep.\u00a0 It was pointless.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you find out anything about Little Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u00a0 I left Hoss to look for him.\u201d\u00a0 He frowned.\u00a0 \u2018It was a hard choice.\u00a0 Now I\u2019ve got all three<\/em> sons at risk.\u201d<\/p>\n

The lovely young woman had grown pale.\u00a0 \u201cI am so sorry….\u00a0 I am so<\/em> sorry I brought this on you.\u201d<\/p>\n

He shifted to look at her.\u00a0 \u201cYou had nothing to do with Joe\u2019s trouble.\u00a0 That was his own fault.\u00a0 But this,\u201d he glanced at Adam, \u201cyou think you are responsible for this?\u201d<\/p>\n

Belle\u2019s eyes were fixed on Adam.\u00a0 \u201cI think I\u2019m in love with your son, Benjamin.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was hard for his brows to fly higher, but they did.\u00a0 \u201cIn love with you \u2018brother\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n

She flopped down in the chair beside the bed.\u00a0 \u201cI already told Adam.\u201d\u00a0 Her eyes flicked to his face as she winced, anticipating trouble.\u00a0 \u201cMuch as I would like to be, I\u2019m not your child.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re sure of this?\u201d<\/p>\n

She shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cOne hundred percent?\u00a0 No. Mother, as you know, had many lovers at once.\u00a0 She thought I was yours.\u00a0 She wanted <\/em>me to be yours.\u00a0 So did I.\u201d\u00a0 Belle sighed and smiled ruefully.\u00a0 \u201cIf you had a choice between the most wonderful man in the world and the dregs of soldiers, sailors, and other men she was with for a father, who do you think you would have chosen?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo why come here?\u00a0 What was your purpose?\u201d<\/p>\n

She rose and began to pace like a caged animal.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know!\u00a0 I guess I thought, if you believed that I was your child, that you would protect me from Jarvis.\u00a0 My pa did until he died.\u00a0 Things got worse that last year while my mother was ill.\u00a0 Then when she died….\u201d\u00a0 Belle shuddered.\u00a0 \u201cJarvis has connections, Benjamin.\u00a0 Men he hired hounded me everywhere I went.\u00a0 I still had part ownership in my father\u2019s company, not control, but ownership.\u00a0 They began to cut off all of our supply lines and made legal trouble for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLegal?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThese men, Benjamin, they\u2019re lawyers and doctors and council men, even senators.\u00a0 It was nothing for them trump up charges.\u00a0 Jarvis was determined I would be left with nothing so I would have to call on him and take him up on his offer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat offer was that, Belle? \u201cthe silver-haired man asked softly.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo marry him.\u201d\u00a0 She shivered and wrapped her arms about her shoulders.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019d rather bed a grizzly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben rose, intending to go to her side, but when he did, Adam stirred.\u00a0 Turning back, he placed a hand on his son\u2019s good shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cAdam?\u00a0 Son, can you hear me?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam\u2019s hazel eyes opened.\u00a0 \u201cPa?\u201d he asked with a little smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m here, son,\u201d he said, taking his hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe…?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cNothing yet.\u00a0 Hoss is still looking.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam blinked and seemed to become more aware.\u00a0 \u201cPa, there was someone laying in wait when we got back.\u00a0 He shot me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know, son.\u00a0 It looks like Belle and Hop Sing took care of you.\u201d<\/p>\n

That brought a smile.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m fortunate I didn\u2019t end up on the table for supper.\u201d<\/p>\n

He smiled too.\u00a0 \u201cHow do you feel?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBetter.\u201d\u00a0 Adam glanced at Belle.\u00a0 At her look he added, \u201cNo, I really feel better.\u00a0 I think I can get out of bed \u2013 \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I think you can just stay in it a little longer,\u201d his father replied.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s nothing to do right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPa!\u00a0 That shooter is still out there!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf he is, why didn\u2019t he shoot at me when I came in?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam paused.\u00a0 He blinked.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s right. Sorry.\u00a0 I\u2019m a bit confused.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve lost a great deal of blood son.\u201d\u00a0 Ben patted his arm.\u00a0 \u201cYou just lay there and get better.\u00a0 I\u2019m going to go out and gather up some of the men.\u00a0 I\u2019ll send some after Hoss and Joe and position the others around the ranch house to keep watch.\u201d\u00a0 The older man finished with, \u201cDoes that meet your approval?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI must be in sorry shape if you\u2019re asking my approval, Pa,\u201d Adam said with a grin.<\/p>\n

Ben leaned over and kissed him on the forehead.\u00a0 \u201cYou get some rest, son.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Adam leaned back and closed his eyes, Ben turned to Belle.\u00a0 He held out a hand. \u201cShall we?\u201d<\/p>\n

The lovely brunette nodded.\u00a0 As they headed down the stairs, she asked, \u201cWhat would you like me to do?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben thought a moment.\u00a0 \u201cI think it\u2019s best if you stay here and look after Adam.\u00a0 I\u2019m going to take Buck and go out and look for the men.\u201d\u00a0 As he finished speaking they passed through the door.\u00a0 Continuing on until they were near the wagon, he said, \u201cI\u2019ll come back with a couple of the hands and unload this before I head out again to look for Joe.\u201d\u00a0 Bidding Belle farewell for the moment, the silver-haired man lifted his foot and placed his boot in the stirrup.<\/p>\n

The moment he did a shot rang out and a bullet struck the ground not a foot from him.\u00a0 Reacting instantly, Ben turned and ran toward Belle.\u00a0 He pulled her close to the house and out of the line of fire.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat was that?\u201d she gasped.<\/p>\n

The older man frowned.\u00a0 \u201cA warning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA \u2018warning\u2019 of what?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat we\u2019re allowed to come home, but not to leave.\u00a0 Someone has men positioned to watch the house and keep us contained.\u201d<\/p>\n

Belle was clinging to him.\u00a0 \u201cBut why?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know, Belle, but I\u2019m afraid we\u2019re about to find out.\u201d<\/p>\n

xxxxxxxxxxoooxxxxxxxxxx<\/p>\n

Hoss looked down at the native who lay trussed and gagged at his feet.\u00a0 He\u2019d remained where he was, holding still, until the Indian passed in front of him and he was able to take him down without a sound.\u00a0 He\u2019d dragged the man away and threatened him with all kinds of terrible things he had no intention of doing.\u00a0 Whether the Ute sensed that, or was tough enough not to care, he\u2019d gotten very little information out of him.\u00a0 From what he could tell the men in the cave were guarding a white man and someone else \u2013 a woman, he thought.\u00a0 That made it less likely that it was Joe, but then again if the renegade Utes were holding a white man, he was duty-bound to try and save him no matter who he was.<\/p>\n

After checking his bindings, the big man left the native lodged between a fallen log and a clump of rocks.\u00a0 He threw several handfuls of dry grass over him for good measure before he left, making sure no one would see him.\u00a0 After that Hoss made the short trek back to where he had taken the man captive and positioned himself to watch the cave\u2019s entryway.<\/p>\n

There was a horse tethered outside it now.\u00a0 The tall Indian he\u2019d seen before was standing beside the animal.\u00a0 As he watched another man \u2013 a white one \u2013 came out of the cave to greet him.\u00a0 Hoss narrowed his blue eyes, squinting against the dark.\u00a0 The moon was strong and so he could see pretty well.\u00a0 Still, the night stole all the details.\u00a0 He thought he recognized the white man, but couldn\u2019t be sure.\u00a0 From what he remembered they\u2019d talked a few times over a beer in the saloon.\u00a0 He thought the man\u2019s name was Gabe, and that he was a drifter who moved from ranch to ranch, going where the work was.<\/p>\n

Gabe seemed mighty friendly with the mean-looking warrior.<\/p>\n

Remaining where he was, the big man continued to watch and assess the situation.\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t seen the other man who\u2019d been walking the perimeter in some time, so he was betting he\u2019d gone back to the cave to join in whatever was happening there.\u00a0 Other than that there was Gabe, the tall Indian, and two others who had been standing guard.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t know, of course, if there were anymore in the cave but from the count of horses tethered close to it he thought there might have been maybe six at most.\u00a0 One of them he\u2019d left back in the woods.\u00a0 That made the odds five to one.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d had worse.<\/p>\n

Hoss took a moment to unfasten the strap on the holster that held his gun in place.\u00a0 He also put a knife in his right boot, pushing it all the way down so the handle was hidden.\u00a0 Then, with a silent prayer that he get through and successfully rescue whoever it was these men were holding, Hoss moved off into the night.<\/p>\n

xxxxxxxxxxoooxxxxxxxxxx<\/p>\n

Joe Cartwright shook his head trying to dispel the stars that floated before his eyes and against the black interior of the cave.\u00a0 One of the natives keeping watch had been handling Pretty Prairie and it had been more than he could take.\u00a0 With his hands bound he\u2019d charged the warrior, body slamming him and knocking the native backwards.\u00a0 Unfortunately, the other Indian guarding them had come at him with a one of the staffs the Utes carried when riding on horseback.\u00a0 Joe\u2019d managed to avoid the point piercing him, but at the last minute the Indian had turned and struck him across the chest with the end, throwing him against the cave wall where he\u2019d hit his head. The Indian stood over him now where he lay on the ground, pressing the staff\u2019s head into his torso and pinning him down.<\/p>\n

Pretty Prairie was sobbing.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re a feisty one, Cartwright, I\u2019ll give you that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s mouth was gagged so he couldn\u2019t answer, except with his eyes.\u00a0 If only looks could <\/em>have killed….<\/p>\n

Gabe McRae came to stand over him, relishing the power it gave him over a bound man as only a varmint could.\u00a0 McRae smirked as he kicked his bad leg, bringing him renewed pain.\u00a0 \u201cToo bad you\u2019re a Cartwright.\u00a0 With that temper and speed of yours, you\u2019d make a good addition to our little band.\u201d\u00a0 He shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s a shame, but all of you high and mighty Cartwrights are gonna be dead by the next nightfall.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe asked the question with his eyes.<\/p>\n

McRae leaned in and lifted him up by taking hold of his tattered collar.\u00a0 \u201cNot you, boy.\u00a0 You\u2019re gonna be dead by this <\/em>one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe looked toward the cave mouth.\u00a0 All of the Indians were there now, including Yellow Horse who had just arrived.\u00a0 The tall Indian walked to his side and stood there, knife in hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

McRae rose to his feet.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll get the girl.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe squirmed beneath the Indian\u2019s staff.\u00a0 All he accomplished was to get the pole pressed more firmly into his side.<\/p>\n

McRae snorted and shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cStupid kid.\u00a0 Doesn\u2019t know when he\u2019s beaten.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe watched helplessly as McRae approached Pretty Prairie and wrapped his hands around her neck.\u00a0 He feared he was going to watch her die in the next few seconds, but it was worse than that.\u00a0 The wicked man removed her gag and then pressed in against her and twisted his lips against hers, taking some sick pleasure from the experience of abusing a helpless woman.\u00a0 As Pretty Prairie struggled against her attacker, a black shadow eclipsed Joe.\u00a0 He looked up to find Yellow Horse had moved in for the kill.\u00a0 The Indian ordered the native who held the staff to move away.\u00a0 He used one hand to draw him to his feet and position Joe against the cave wall.\u00a0 With a sadistic smirk on his weathered face, Yellow Horse toyed with him first, pressing the tip of the blade into the flesh of his shoulder.\u00a0 Then, with a short push, the Indian split his skin and thrust the blade in until it struck bone.<\/p>\n

Joe bit his lip to keep from crying out. \u00a0He wasn\u2019t going to give the man any satisfaction.\u00a0 With a cold chuckle, the Indian withdrew the blade.\u00a0 Joe fought blacking out as the world began to spin again and the stars reappeared.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, white man,\u201d Yellow Horse snarled while pressing the knife tip into his belly, \u201cyou die!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe closed his eyes and waited for the killing blow.\u00a0 When it didn\u2019t come, he dared to open them.\u00a0 Yellow Horse had not moved.\u00a0 He was looking toward the cave\u2019s mouth.\u00a0 The other Indians were alert as well and McRae had released Pretty Prairie and taken a step away from her.\u00a0 His mind taken off of dying for a moment, Joe listened as well.\u00a0 This time he heard what they had heard.\u00a0 Several gunshots struck the front of the cave, first from one angle and then maybe thirty seconds later, from another.\u00a0 Outside, he could see the feet of one of the native\u2019s who had been standing guard.\u00a0 The man was lying on the ground.<\/p>\n

That left four in the cave.<\/p>\n

A voice followed the gun shots.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ve got you surrounded, McRae.\u00a0 Come on out with your hands up!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe frowned.\u00a0 There was something familiar about that voice.<\/p>\n

McRae had moved to the cave mouth.\u00a0 \u201cWe got hostages in here!\u201d he shouted.\u00a0 \u201cThey\u2019ll die if you come any closer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ll<\/em> die if you don\u2019t let them go,\u201d whoever it was called out.\u00a0 \u201cYou hear?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe watched as the native with the staff moved past McRae, heading for a stand of rocks beside the cave.\u00a0 It was a mistake.\u00a0 A shot rang out and the man fell.<\/p>\n

The odds were getting better.\u00a0 It was three to three now.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, two hardly counted.\u00a0 Pretty Prairie was in a heap on the floor, and his hands were bound.<\/p>\n

Yellow Horse was still holding him.\u00a0 Looking into the native\u2019s eyes, \u00a0he read his death.\u00a0 The Indian was going to carry through and kill him.\u00a0 Before he could, McRae yelled, \u201cYellow Horse, no!\u00a0 He\u2019s a Cartwright.\u00a0 He\u2019s worth more now as a hostage.\u201d<\/p>\n

The light in the Indian\u2019s eyes shifted from murderous to cunning.\u00a0 He was weighing his options, considering what path would benefit him the most.\u00a0 Coming to a decision, the warrior called out, \u201cCome, McRae!\u00a0 There is a back way out.\u201d<\/p>\n

McRae stared at Yellow Horse in disbelief for a moment and then ordered the remaining native to grab Pretty Prairie up from the floor and follow.\u00a0 The man did as he was told, but as he did another shot rang out.\u00a0 It struck and ricocheted off the wall above McRae\u2019s head and struck the man causing him to let loose of Pretty Prairie.<\/p>\n

The Indian girl shot Joe a look that contained a combination of fear and regret and then bolted for the cave opening.<\/p>\n

xxxxxxxxxxoooxxxxxxxxxx<\/p>\n

Hoss frowned.\u00a0 He\u2019d taken out at least two of the kidnappers and most likely three since no one was shooting at him anymore.\u00a0 Moving out from the cover he had concealed himself in, the big man sprinted for the cave.\u00a0 He had just arrived and made a step to enter when a small form came hurtling out.\u00a0 Whoever it was barreled into him and rebounded, falling flat on their behind.\u00a0 Hoss\u2019s brows shot up when he saw it was a skinny little Indian gal.\u00a0 The girl stared at him and then jumped to her feet.\u00a0 Taking hold of the ends of his buckskin vest she pulled the tough fabric, urging him toward the cave.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ll kill him!\u201d she shouted.\u00a0 \u201cPlease!\u00a0 Come! Come now!\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss caught her by the hands and waited until she met his eyes.\u00a0 \u201cWho are they gonna kill?\u00a0 Your Pa, or maybe a brother?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo!\u201d\u00a0 Tears streamed down her cheeks.\u00a0\u00a0 She looked like she\u2019d been ill-used by whoever held her.\u00a0 \u201cNo!\u00a0 Not Indian!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMiss,\u201d Hoss said, \u201cif you\u2019ll calm down and tell me what\u2019s going on, I promise I\u2019ll do my best to help you.\u201d\u00a0 As she quieted, he said, \u201cNow if you\u2019ll just tell me your fellers\u2019 name and who has him.\u201d<\/p>\n

The girl blushed.\u00a0 That alone should have given him a clue to what her answer would be.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cJoe Cartwright.\u00a0 Yellow Horse and McRae have taken him!\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss looked into the dark maw before him that had swallowed his brother one minute away from recue.<\/p>\n

Joe.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TWELVE<\/p>\n

Hop Sing had returned from town.\u00a0 Thankfully he arrived unmolested.\u00a0 Unfortunately, the Chinese man had also arrived without Doc Martin.\u00a0 The Doc, it seemed, was away attending a young man about Joe\u2019s age who was the victim of a mountain lion attack.\u00a0 His family lived on a ranch outside of Virginia City.\u00a0 Ben was glad for the doctor\u2019s sake, but worried for his son.\u00a0 Hop Sing told him he had handed a note to one of their hands in town and asked him to ride out to the Carters\u2019 place, so it was possible the doctor might still stumble into whatever Jarvis Barrot had planned for them.<\/p>\n

They had no way of warning him off.<\/p>\n

After allaying Hop Sing\u2019s worries about Adam, who really was doing better, Ben had sent the Chinese man to the kitchen to rustle up some grub for all of them.\u00a0 Ben crossed to the door and looked out.\u00a0 Since it appeared they were under siege, he felt they were going to need it.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa.\u201d<\/p>\n

He turned to find Adam leaning on the banister on the lower portion of the staircase that went up to the second floor.<\/p>\n

\u201cSon!\u00a0 What are you doing out of bed?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m tired of laying down, Pa.\u00a0 I thought I\u2019d come sit by the fire.\u201d<\/p>\n

The older man crossed to his son and offered him his shoulder for support.\u00a0 Adam accepted and let him lead him to one of the big crimson chairs that butted up against the hearth.\u00a0 Once he had Adam positioned, Ben sat on the edge of the table.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow are you, son?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m fine, Pa.\u00a0 The fever\u2019s almost gone.\u201d\u00a0 He shifted his left arm.\u00a0 \u201cMy shoulder\u2019s sore, but luckily whoever it was didn\u2019t hit my gun arm.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re not intending to fight \u2013 \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPa, if Barrot\u2019s hired thugs attack the Ponderosa like Belle thinks they will, you\u2019re going to need every able-bodied man watching one of these windows.\u201d\u00a0 At the moment that\u2019s you, me, Hop Sing, and Belle,\u201d Adam grinned.\u00a0 \u201cIf such a pretty lady can count as able-bodied.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBelle has no experience of guns,\u201d Ben said.<\/p>\n

Adam shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cIt doesn\u2019t take much to learn to aim, point, and shoot.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d\u00a0 Ben was adamant. \u201cI won\u2019t willingly put her in harm\u2019s way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s I who have put you and your <\/em>family in harm\u2019s way,\u201d Belle announced as she appeared at the top of the stairs. \u00a0Please, Benjamin, let me help.\u201d<\/p>\n

He shook his head as she approached.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s too dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only reason there is danger is because you took me<\/em> in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben took her shoulders in his hands.\u00a0 \u201cYou don\u2019t know that, Belle.\u00a0 You said Jarvis hated me from the moment he knew I had been in Jasmin\u2019s life.\u00a0 That was before you were born.\u00a0 Men like Jarvis, they don\u2019t need a reason.\u00a0 They\u2019re so full of self-hate they have to find something to justify their existence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Belle frowned\u00a0 \u201cSelf-hate?\u00a0 It seems Jarvis loves no one but<\/em> himself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt often appears that way.\u00a0 But deep down inside them that self-love is a cancer that gnaws away at who and what they are, until there is nothing left but the need to take what they want and destroy what they cannot have or be.\u201d\u00a0 Ben released her. \u201cBelle, your being here might actually prove our salvation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tears entered her eyes.\u00a0 \u201cHow?\u00a0 Please tell me how?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWhether we\u2019d use the word or not, Jarvis loves you.\u00a0 It\u2019s likely he\u2019ll change his plans once he knows you are in the house.\u201d\u00a0 Ben was glad to see hope dawn in her eyes.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t want to dash it\u00a0 so he said nothing about the fact that the men working for Jarvis would hold no such compunction.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you really think so, Benjamin?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure of it,\u201d he replied, giving her hand a little squeeze.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa.\u201d<\/p>\n

His son was rising.\u00a0 \u201cWhat is it, Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s someone outside.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben went to the door and looked out.\u00a0 A familiar carriage was parked beside the still unloaded supply wagon.\u00a0 Doc Martin was just stepping out, bag in hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cDamn,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, I don\u2019t know, Pa,\u201d his eldest said as he came to lean on the tall case clock beside him. \u201cBefore this is over we may be glad the Doc\u2019s here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben nodded.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t like it, but this \u2013 like Joe\u2019s life and Hoss\u2019s whereabouts \u2013 were in the Almighty\u2019s hands.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s get the good doctor in here where he\u2019s safe, Adam, and have him take\u00a0 a look at that arm,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

xxxxxxxxxxoooxxxxxxxxxx<\/p>\n

Once Hoss released her the little Indian gal took off like a shot and plunged into the cave.\u00a0 He had a time following her.\u00a0 She was fast on her feet and slender as a stick, so while he had to take time to work his way around the rock formations in the cave\u2019s innards, she just kept running and calling his brother\u2019s name.\u00a0 It was good she was a noisy little thing.\u00a0 It was pitch-black in the cave and he had to make his way by following her voice. Not for the first time the big man wondered how his little brother had ended up in this mess.\u00a0 The last time he\u2019d seen Joe he\u2019d been headed for the Makems and now, here he was, being held captive by a band of renegade Indians.<\/p>\n

That boy did<\/em> have a way about him.<\/p>\n

Hoss stopped to draw a breath.\u00a0 As he did, he shouted, \u201cHey!\u00a0 Slow down.\u00a0 It ain\u2019t gonna do you any good to get there afore me!\u00a0 Hey!\u201d<\/p>\n

It took about thirty seconds.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t see her, but he felt the girl touch his hand. \u00a0\u201cIt is too late.\u00a0 They are gone.\u201d<\/p>\n

She was trembling.\u00a0 Hoss placed his big hand over her tiny one.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019d you see?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMcRae and Yellow Horse were mounted.\u00a0 Yellow Horse had Joe slung over his saddle.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWas he conscious?\u00a0 Could you tell?\u201d<\/p>\n

She made a small strangled noise.\u00a0 \u201cHe did not move.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss squeezed her hand.\u00a0 \u201cTake me to the opening.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Indian girl took his hand and began to lead him forward.\u00a0 Hoss followed her all the way through and out of the cave.\u00a0 He had seldom been so happy in his life as when he was able to draw a deep breath of the cool night.\u00a0 The moon was in the \u00a0west and the sun was peeping over the horizon to the east.\u00a0 There was a footpath leading down the hillside, but no road.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you see what way they went?\u201d he asked her.<\/p>\n

The little Indian gal scrunched up her face.\u00a0 \u201cNortheast,\u201d she said at last.<\/p>\n

Hoss drew a breath.\u00a0 The Ponderosa lay northeast.\u00a0 Now why would the men who kidnapped him be taking Joe back home?\u00a0 Maybe to try to ransom him?\u00a0 \u201cDid those men who took Joe know who he was?\u00a0 Ben Cartwright\u2019s son, I mean?\u201d<\/p>\n

She nodded.\u00a0 \u201cThey want to destroy Ben Cartwright.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDestroy?\u00a0 Why?\u201d\u00a0 Hoss paused.\u00a0 The girl was shaking from head to toe and looked like she might faint at any moment.\u00a0 \u201cMiss,\u201d he said, removing his hat, \u201cI\u2019ve been mighty remiss.\u00a0 How long\u2019s it been since you ate anything?\u201d<\/p>\n

She shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cWe need to go after Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt ain\u2019t gonna help Joe any if you faint and fall off the horse, now it is?\u201d\u00a0 The big man pursed his lips.\u00a0 \u201cHey, I don\u2019t even know your name.\u201d\u00a0 He held out his hand.\u00a0 \u201cMine\u2019s Hoss.\u00a0 Hoss Cartwright.\u00a0 Joe\u2019s my little brother.\u201d<\/p>\n

That seemed to surprise her.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, I know we don\u2019t look any more alike than a stallion and the hind end of a mule, but it\u2019s true.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss smiled, trying to put her at ease.\u00a0 \u201cWill you tell me your name?\u201d<\/p>\n

She hesitated only a second.\u00a0 \u201cPretty Prairie.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow that sure is a good name since you\u2019re about the prettiest little thing I\u2019ve seen for a long time.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss glanced back at the cave.\u00a0 \u201cPretty Prairie, you and me are gonna have to go back through that there cave and get my horse before we can go after Joe.\u201d\u00a0 As she shook her head, he added, \u201cThose men are on horseback.\u00a0 Ain\u2019t no way we can catch them on foot.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Indian girl sighed.\u00a0 She looked back the way Joe had been taken and then nodded.\u00a0 \u201cWe must move quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow come?\u201d<\/p>\n

Pretty Prairie frowned.\u00a0 \u201cDoes your father have much money?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, he\u2019s got a good bit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe white man, McRae, he wants money.\u00a0 That is the only thing keeping Joe alive.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYellow Horse has been shamed.\u00a0 He has been defeated by a white man.\u00a0 Yellow Horse would kill your brother to make it right.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you think McRae can control him?\u201d Hoss asked, frightened by her words.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do not know.\u00a0 I only know we must go.\u201d<\/p>\n

As she pushed past him, Hoss caught her arm.\u00a0 \u201cYou<\/em> don\u2019t have to \u2013 go, you know?\u00a0 Would you like me to take you back to your people?\u00a0 It might be safer.\u201d<\/p>\n

The disgust was evident on Pretty Prairie\u2019s face.\u00a0 \u201cYellow Horse is<\/em> my people.\u00a0 He meant to kill me and make it look like Joe had done it so there would be war between the Ute and the Ponderosa.\u201d\u00a0 She moved toward the cave mouth.\u00a0 \u201cI want nothing to do with my<\/em> people!\u201d<\/p>\n

As she disappeared into the cave Hoss tilted his hat back on his head and turned to look back the way the kidnappers had taken.<\/p>\n

What was that Adam had said about Joe?<\/p>\n

Out of the frying pan?<\/p>\n

xxxxxxxxxxoooxxxxxxxxxx<\/p>\n

Jarvis Barrot waited at the edge of the Ponderosa lands.\u00a0 Gabriel McRae had sent him word that the raid was to be tonight and had arranged this place and an approximate time to meet to go over everything.\u00a0 A slow smirk curled Barrot\u2019s thin lips into a cruel smile.\u00a0 Ben Cartwright\u2019s youngest must already be dead, his body left beside that of old White Crow\u2019s granddaughter for the aged chief to find.\u00a0 Poor Cartwright wouldn\u2019t have much time to mourn.\u00a0 White Crow\u2019s revenge would be swift, and by morning the great Ponderosa and Ben Cartwright would be nothing more than a memory.<\/p>\n

There was only one thing that troubled him.\u00a0 He had no idea where Belle was.<\/p>\n

Jarvis removed his watch from his inner pocket and checked the time.\u00a0 McRae was nearly an hour late.\u00a0 He looked to the southwest where he knew McRae and Yellow Horse had meant to do the deed, wondering if something had gone wrong.\u00a0 There was always a chance, when working with such unsavory men, that their greed would get in the way of his need.\u00a0 He had stressed to McRae that there was one constant with two ends and that was all that mattered \u2013 Ben Cartwright was to be destroyed and Belle must be his.<\/p>\n

The sound of hoof beats warned him of someone\u2019s approach.\u00a0 Drawing the small snub-nosed pistol he carried in his inner vest pocket, Jarvis melted into the shadows and waited.\u00a0 The light was dawning, so he recognized McRae almost immediately.\u00a0 The native man beside him must be Yellow Horse.<\/p>\n

But there was someone else \u2013 someone slung over the Indian\u2019s saddle.<\/p>\n

Gabriel McRae dismounted.\u00a0 He looked around and then called, \u201cBarrot?\u00a0 Barrot, are you here?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m here,\u201d he said stepping into the waxing light.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re late.\u201d<\/p>\n

McRae nodded.\u00a0 \u201cWe ran into some trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jarvis indicated Yellow Horse and his prisoner.\u00a0 \u201cWho have you got there?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, that was the trouble.\u00a0 Someone came looking for young Cartwright.\u00a0 Must have been three or four of them.\u00a0 They took out Yellow Horse\u2019s men.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhite Crow\u2019s granddaughter?\u201d<\/p>\n

McRae scowled.\u00a0 \u201cShe got away.\u201d\u00a0 Before Jarvis could respond, he nodded toward the horse.\u00a0 \u201cCartwright didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

McRae snorted.\u00a0 \u201cNot yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jarvis began to walk in a circle.\u00a0 \u201cWhat now?\u00a0 If Pretty Prairie isn\u2019t found with Cartwright, how are we going to draw White Crow into this war?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHold on, Barrot.\u00a0 Think about it.\u00a0 The Cartwright boy escaped and Pretty Prairie is missing.\u201d\u00a0 His smile was slick.\u00a0 \u201cThat just about says it all.\u201d<\/p>\n

He stopped.\u00a0 \u201cYes.\u00a0 Yes, it could still work.\u00a0 Does White Crow know?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat his granddaughter is missing and that Cartwright took her?\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 I met one of my men on the road and sent him back to the Indian camp to stir things up.\u00a0 White Crow should be heading this way soon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jarvis eyed McRae for a moment and then walked over to where Yellow Horse was.\u00a0 He stepped close to the native\u2019s horse and, taking the youngest Cartwright by the hair, lifted his head up.\u00a0 The boy didn\u2019t make a sound as he did.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you sure he\u2019s still alive?\u201d Jarvis asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I had my way, he would not be,\u201d Yellow Horse said with a scowl.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt took some convincing to get my Indian companion here to leave him alive.\u00a0 Think about it, Barrot.\u00a0 You can use him as a hostage.\u00a0 His old man would do anything to get him back.\u00a0 Or, you could ransom him and have enough gold to build a second empire.\u201d\u00a0 McRae smirked.\u00a0 \u201cIf he lives, that is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jarvis had noted the blood on the shoulder of the boy\u2019s gray jacket.\u00a0 \u201cWhat happened to him?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI did,\u201d Yellow Horse snarled.\u00a0 With a hand on Joe Cartwright\u2019s back, the native turned and looked at McRae.\u00a0 \u201cI must return to White Crow and make sure he chooses the red path.\u201d<\/p>\n

McRae nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll take Cartwright then.\u00a0 You \u2013 \u201d<\/p>\n

Before he could end the sentence, Yellow Horse took his knife and sliced through the cord binding Ben Cartwright\u2019s boy to his saddle.\u00a0 Joe Cartwright plummeted like a stone to the ground and lay there unmoving.<\/p>\n

Yellow Horse glared at them and then turned his mount to the south and disappeared into the trees.<\/p>\n

Jarvis knelt beside the boy.\u00a0 He felt just the slightest bit of regret for what he was about to do.\u00a0 This young man\u2019s only sin was being the seed of Ben Cartwright.\u00a0 He felt no animosity toward him.<\/p>\n

It would have been easier if the boy\u2019s death had occurred far away.<\/p>\n

Jarvis took hold of the young man\u2019s shoulders and laid him flat on his back.\u00a0 Then he placed an ear to his chest.\u00a0 His heart was still beating, but it was rapid, and there was a sheen of sweat on his face that suggested he was fevered. \u00a0Turning to look at the other man, he said, \u201cAt this point he\u2019s worth more to us alive than dead, McRae.\u00a0 Help me to get him off the road and then bring me something to bind this wound with.\u00a0 It\u2019s been bleeding for too long as it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

McRae snorted.\u00a0 \u201cSounds like you\u2019re going soft, Barrot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jarvis rose to his feet and turned on the other man.\u00a0 \u201cYou yourself said he\u2019s worth more to us alive than dead.\u00a0 Your bungling \u2013 and your Indian\u2019s savagery \u2013 have nearly killed him.\u00a0 Without help, he won\u2019t last<\/em> long enough for us to use as leverage against his father!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay.\u00a0 Okay.\u00a0 I got some whiskey in my saddle bag.\u00a0 I\u2019ll get that and some bandages.\u201d\u00a0 He glanced at Joe Cartwright where he lay on the ground.\u00a0 \u201cStill, seems a waste of time when he\u2019s gonna be dead by morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jarvis rose to his feet and looked toward the Ponderosa.\u00a0 A lot could happen before morning.\u00a0 Having the boy as insurance may have been better than having him dead.\u00a0 If everything else failed \u2013 if the Ponderosa survived as did Cartwright\u2019s sons \u2013 at the least he would still have the man himself.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d have Ben Cartwright\u2019s life for his son\u2019s.<\/p>\n

xxxxxxxxxxoooxxxxxxxxxx<\/p>\n

Adam Cartwright shifted his shoulder and looked up at Doc Martin.\u00a0 \u201cWell, Doc, I\u2019m sorry you\u2019re trapped here with us, but I\u2019m not sorry you\u2019re here.\u00a0 That feels a lot better.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHop Sing did an excellent job for an amateur.\u00a0 I just added some finesse,\u201d the doctor responded with a smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, I hardly think Hop Sing qualifies as an amateur.\u00a0 After all, he\u2019s been with Pa since Joe was born \u2013 he\u2019s had a lot of practice coping with emergencies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t see Joe here now and I seem to have had plenty of work.\u201d\u00a0 The doctor closed his bag with a smart snap.\u00a0 \u201cWhere is your youngest brother?\u201d<\/p>\n

They hadn\u2019t had time to tell him.\u00a0 \u201cJoe\u2019s missing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh.\u201d\u00a0 Doc Martin\u2019s gaze went to the dining room table.\u00a0 His father was sitting there, staring at the cup of coffee Hop Sing had just brought him.\u00a0 \u201cHow\u2019s Ben doing?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s used to it.\u00a0 Worrying about Joe, I mean.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t seen Hoss either, is he here?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam\u2019s lips pursed.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s out looking for Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

The doctor snorted.\u00a0 A moment later he sat in the chair opposite him.\u00a0 \u201cSo what exactly have I gotten myself into here?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry to have to tell you, Doc, but it\u2019s not pretty.\u00a0 We expect a raid on the house shortly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRaid?\u00a0 By who?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not entirely sure. There\u2019s a man in town who hates Pa for some reason.\u00a0 He\u2019s hired men to cause trouble with the Indians.\u00a0 We think there\u2019s a ranch hand named McRae involved as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, some combination of the above?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam nodded.\u00a0 \u201cOdds are, you\u2019ll have a lot of work before daylight.\u201d<\/p>\n

The doctor rose to his feet.\u00a0 He looked toward the table.\u00a0 \u201cBen?\u201d<\/p>\n

His father\u2019s head came up.\u00a0 \u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a long day.\u00a0 Adam here seems to think I may have a lot to do later on tonight.\u00a0 Do you have a bed I could borrow for a few hours?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s plenty upstairs, Doc,\u201d the older man said, rising.\u00a0 \u201cYou can take your pick.\u00a0 They\u2019ll be quieter than the guest room down here, and we won\u2019t be using them tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, Ben.\u201d\u00a0 The doctor headed for the staircase.\u00a0 \u201cYou be sure to wake me the moment something happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI will \u2013 \u201d<\/p>\n

Adam looked at his father.\u00a0 The older man had stopped and was turned toward the front of the house.\u00a0 \u201cPa?\u201d<\/p>\n

He inclined his head toward the door.\u00a0 \u201cSomeone\u2019s coming.\u201d<\/p>\n

The black-haired man was on his feet in a second.\u00a0 In two, his pistol was in his hand.<\/p>\n

Ben had moved to the door.\u00a0 \u201cThey\u2019re coming this way.\u201d\u00a0 After hesitating a second, the silver-haired man opened the door far enough to look outside.\u00a0 Relief washed over him.\u00a0 \u201cAdam, it\u2019s Hoss.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDoes he have Joe with him?\u201d<\/p>\n

The older man frowned.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s someone.\u00a0 It\u2019s not Joe.\u00a0 Whoever it is, they\u2019re smaller than your brother.\u201d\u00a0 In spite of the danger they were in, his father laughed.\u00a0 \u201cAnd wrapped in Hoss\u2019s coat!\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam went to his father\u2019s side.\u00a0 Sure enough, his brother was making his way across the yard.\u00a0 Whoever was with Hoss was sheltered under the big man\u2019s arm.\u00a0 He half-carried them as they rushed toward the house.<\/p>\n

A moment later both were inside.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam, go get me a warm blanket and have Hop Sing warm up some soup!\u201d\u00a0 Hoss ordered.\u00a0 As the big man lifted his charge from the ground and bore them to the sofa, he added, \u201cSure enough this one\u2019s gonna fall down and not get up f she\u2019s not tended to soon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their father had paced him and stood by the sofa.\u00a0 \u201cShe?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Hoss had deposited whoever it was.\u00a0 Kneeling by their side, he reached out and drew away the bandana that covered their head.\u00a0 Adam heard his father\u2019s sharp intake of breath and went to see who it was.<\/p>\n

Cloaked inside the cocoon of his brother\u2019s corduroy jacket was a small framed, pale Indian girl.<\/p>\n

\u201cHer name\u2019s Pretty Prairie, Pa,\u201d his brother announced.\u00a0 \u201cShe\u2019s old White Crow\u2019s granddaughter.\u201d<\/p>\n

He and his father exchanged glances.\u00a0 \u201cAdam, go get Doc Martin, and while you\u2019re at it, fetch Belle too.\u00a0 I have a feeling we are all going to want to hear what Hoss has to say.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam\u2019s eye went to his brother.\u00a0 \u201cOne thing, Hoss, about Joe….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe ain\u2019t dead, leastways not yet,\u201d the big man replied.\u00a0 \u201cBut that scum McRae\u2019s got him, along with Yellow Horse, and Pretty Prairie here says he\u2019s hurt.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss looked at their father. \u2018Those two mean to use Joe against you, Pa.\u201d\u00a0 He looked at the native girl on the sofa.\u00a0 \u201cWe was gonna go after Joe, but this here little gal here needed tendin\u2019 first.\u00a0 She can tell you more once we get her fixed up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll go get the doctor, Pa,\u201d Adam said as he headed for the stair. A sound made him turn back.\u00a0 His father had crossed to the door and stood looking out it.\u00a0 Worry was written into every line of his strong figure.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, son.\u00a0 And warn the Doc, it\u2019s going to be a long<\/em> night.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

THIRTEEN<\/p>\n

Joe opened his eyes one at a time and blinked as the daylight struck them.\u00a0 He drew a deep breath against the ache in his shoulder and looked around, noting he was in some kind of a makeshift camp.\u00a0 Six or seven men moved around him, preparing to ride.\u00a0 His jaw clenched and a white hot fury shot through him as he realized one was Gabriel McRae.\u00a0 No matter how long it took, he\u2019d make him pay for the way he\u2019d treated Pretty Prairie!\u00a0 At the thought of her, Joe extended the look-around to include everything he could see.<\/p>\n

The Indian girl was nowhere in sight.<\/p>\n

A strange man dressed in a fancy gray city suit with a diamond pin sparking on his lapel was.\u00a0 He looked oddly out of place with the other rough cowpokes and rustler types in their worn cotton shirts and jeans.\u00a0 If it hadn\u2019t been for the presence of McRae \u2013 and the ropes binding his hands and feet \u2013 Joe might have thought he\u2019d had a good turn of luck.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see you\u2019re awake, young man,\u201d the stranger said, approaching him.<\/p>\n

He was gagged too, so no response was needed.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re probably wondering where you are and why you\u2019re here.\u00a0 And, maybe, just maybe<\/em>, why you\u2019re not dead.\u201d\u00a0 At his look, the man extended a hand and placed it on his shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cYour usefulness is not done, son.\u00a0 There\u2019s something very important you have to do yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe squirmed under his touch.\u00a0 There was something in the man\u2019s eyes \u2013 something akin to the look out of a rabid dog\u2019s.<\/p>\n

The man pulled back.\u00a0 \u201cDo you know who I am, boy?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe shook his head.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, that\u2019s right, you went missing before I became acquainted with your family.\u00a0 Maybe you\u2019ve heard my name while you\u2019ve been here?\u201d<\/p>\n

He thought a second, and then shook his head again.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, then, son, let me introduce myself.\u00a0 The name is Jarvis Barrot.\u00a0\u00a0 I came to Virginia City for one purpose and one purpose only \u2013 to put an end to your father\u2019s life and destroy everything he has.\u201d\u00a0 The man leaned in so close he was practically touching him. His words dripped venom.\u00a0 \u201cYou<\/em> are going to be the weapon I use.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe stiffened.\u00a0 He struggled against his bonds.\u00a0 Barrot held his gaze and then, with deliberation, caught his wounded shoulder in his fingers and pressed hard, driving his thumb into the wound.<\/p>\n

Joe gasped.\u00a0 His eyes watered and stars appeared before them.\u00a0 He shook his head vehemently.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know you\u2019d rather die than bring harm to your Pa.\u00a0 Consider it a gift, boy, that I\u2019m giving him a chance to make his death count for something.\u201d<\/p>\n

With that Barrot stood up and moved away.<\/p>\n

A second later Gabriel McRae took his place.\u00a0 The varmint towered over him.\u00a0 A wicked light in his eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhoever was looking for you spoiled our plans, Cartwright.\u00a0 I should kill you for that.\u00a0 Fortunately, old Barrot there came up with a new one.\u00a0 We\u2019re not gonna attack your place.\u00a0 Why do all that work when we have you?\u201d\u00a0 McRae knelt beside him.\u00a0 \u201cDid you notice your jacket is missing?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe looked down.\u00a0 It was true.\u00a0 He was only wearing his shirt and pants.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re gonna send that there jacket to your pa and tell him if he wants you back alive, we\u2019re gonna make an exchange.\u00a0 Him for you.\u201d\u2019<\/p>\n

Joe didn\u2019t believe for a minute that they would let him go.\u00a0 He knew too much.\u00a0 He also didn\u2019t believe they would leave the Ponderosa untouched.\u00a0 Jarvis and McRae would know Adam and Hoss would never quit.\u00a0 He\u2019d have to kill them too.\u00a0 Joe glanced around.\u00a0 Yellow Horse was missing.\u00a0 Most likely the Indian was gathering his men, preparing for a strike as night fell.<\/p>\n

He had to escape!<\/p>\n

\u201cNow don\u2019t you think of trying anything,\u201d McRae admonished him, seeing the look in his eyes.\u00a0 \u201cWe got that jacket and nothing about it will tell your pa whether the boy who wears it is alive or dead.\u201d\u00a0 So quickly Joe couldn\u2019t catch the movement, McRae lifted a knife and pressed the blade to his throat. \u201cI\u2019d be just as happy to see you dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMcRae!\u201d<\/p>\n

It was Jarvis.\u00a0 Apparently the city slicker wasn\u2019t as comfortable with outright murder as the man he hired.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cHaven\u2019t you got something better to do than torment that young man?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI could<\/em> kill him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even from a distance Joe could hear Jarvis sigh.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019re not savages.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gabriel McRae stared for a second.\u00a0 He stood up and then he roared.\u00a0 When the laughter subsided, he said, \u201cJarvis, you\u2019re the man who hired me to hire Indians to burnout and kill settlers just<\/em> so you could destroy the Ponderosa and everyone associated with it.\u00a0 And just because you want to bed some filly who don\u2019t want you!<\/em>\u00a0 Just like her mother didn\u2019t want you!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe watched the two men square off.\u00a0 There was something there if he could just use it.\u00a0 He pulled at the restraints on his wrists.<\/p>\n

If he could just get free<\/em> to use it.<\/p>\n

Jarvis Barrot hesitated and then, quicker than a flash there was a small snub-nosed pistol in his hand.\u00a0 He pointed it at McRae.\u00a0 \u201cOne more word, Gabriel.\u00a0 Just one<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

McRae raised his hands and backed away.\u00a0 He was still laughing.\u00a0 \u201cWhatever you say, big man.\u00a0 Whatever you say.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jarvis slowly returned the gun to his pocket.\u00a0 He glanced at the sky.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s almost time,\u201d Jarvis said, confirming Joe\u2019s suspicions about an attack on the ranch house.\u00a0 \u201cTake his jacket to the house and spell it out for Ben Cartwright.\u00a0 Tell him if he doesn\u2019t make an appearance within the hour, his son will pay the price.\u00a0 Oh, and McRae….\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Jarvis grew deadly serious.\u00a0 \u201cYou find out first if Belle is in that house.\u00a0 If she is, you bring her too. \u00a0I want her out of there before anything happens that we can\u2019t control.\u201c\u00a0 Joe saw the man glance at him.\u00a0 \u201cTell Cartwright the price is the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever you say, Barrot,\u201d McRae shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cYou want me to warn his other sons not to follow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jarvis snorted.\u00a0 \u201cThe bullets that hit them will be warning enough.\u00a0 Now get going!\u201d<\/p>\n

McRae tipped his hat.\u00a0 Returning to his side, the lean man knelt and caught Joe\u2019s blood-stained jacket up from the ground.\u00a0 McRae looked, and when he saw that Jarvis Barrot had turned to talk to another man, he sneered and, under cover of the jacket, pressed the barrel of his gun into Joe\u2019s side.\u00a0 \u201cI could kill you now, Cartwright, but I won\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe felt the pistol ease away.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll wait until your daddy can watch.\u201d<\/p>\n

xxxxxxxxxxoooxxxxxxxxxx<\/p>\n

Ben Cartwright was weary to the bone.\u00a0 There were times when he thought he was too old to be raising young sons, especially one as young as Joseph.\u00a0 Marie\u2019s boy was so like his mother \u2013 quick to laugh and fight, determined, and so sure of himself he thought he knew just about everything. Ben leaned back in the chair and ran a hand over his face.<\/p>\n

\u201cDear Lord,\u201d he muttered, \u201cwhere is my boy?\u201d<\/p>\n

The night before the Indian girl had recovered enough to tell them all about the scheme to use her and Joe to start a war with the Utes under White Crow.\u00a0 Whoever this Gabriel McRae was, he\u2019d intended to kill them both and then, along with an Indian named Yellow Horse, destroy the Ponderosa.\u00a0 Ben was certain that Jarvis Barrot was behind it.\u00a0 The man\u2019s obsession with Belle and his hatred of him were driving Barrot to extreme measures.\u00a0 Unfortunately, trapped as they were in the ranch house, there was little they could do to stop any of it.\u00a0 Adam had offered to sneak out the back and go to town for help.\u00a0 So far he\u2019d refused to let his son undertake anything so dangerous.\u00a0 Still, the older man knew it might come to one of them taking just such a risk in the end.\u00a0 He\u2019d sent Pretty Prairie upstairs to bed and set Belle to watch over her.\u00a0 In a little while he\u2019d have to wake her.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t just sit here waiting.\u00a0 Somehow \u2013 somehow he had<\/em> to find Joe.\u00a0 It had been three days since they had seen the boy and what with knowing he was wounded, every minute \u2013 each second<\/em> counted.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa!\u201d\u00a0 Hoss was keeping a watch at the window beside the front door, rifle in hand.\u00a0 Ben turned toward his middle son in time to hear him say, \u201cSomeone\u2019s coming, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

Four long strides took him to his son\u2019s side.\u00a0 \u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n

The big man shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cIt ain\u2019t Joe, Pa.\u00a0 It looks like that man Pretty Prairie described.\u00a0 That there Gabriel McRae.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben stiffened.\u00a0 This was the man whose intent it was to kill his son and use Joe\u2019s death and his supposed rape of a young Indian girl as the spark to set off a war between the Utes and the Ponderosa.\u00a0 It would soon spill over onto the other settlers and ranches nearby, causing untold damage and uncountable dead.<\/p>\n

The man was pure evil.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s just standing there, Pa.\u00a0 Waiting.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you suppose he\u2019s waiting for?\u201d Adam asked from where he stood on the staircase.\u00a0 He\u2019d been on the second floor checking on Belle and their other guest.<\/p>\n

Ben looked at him.\u00a0 Belle was only a few steps behind his eldest.\u00a0 Her face was white as chalk.<\/p>\n

\u201cI imagine he\u2019s waiting for me,\u201d the older man replied.\u00a0 \u201cAdam, alert the good doctor and Hop Sing.\u00a0 Give them firearms and tell them to position themselves to the back and west side of the house.\u00a0 You can cover the east.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam came to stand beside him.\u00a0 \u201cI still think one of us needs to go for help.\u201d<\/p>\n

He considered it.\u00a0 After moment later Ben turned and looked at the door.\u00a0 \u201cI suppose now would be the best time, while McRae and his men are involved out front.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll get my things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben reached out and caught his son\u2019s arm.\u00a0 \u201cThe odds are, son, they\u2019ve set someone out back of the house to keep watch.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be careful \u2013 and I\u2019ll be back with help as quickly as I can.\u201d<\/p>\n

The silver-haired man watched his son as he returned to Belle\u2019s side.\u00a0 Adam halted.\u00a0 He took her hand and she responded by touching his face with her own.<\/p>\n

\u201cBe ever<\/em> so careful, Adam,\u201d Belle breathed.\u00a0 \u201cThese men are mercenaries.\u00a0 They only care about the money Jarvis can pay them.\u201d\u00a0 Belle paused and then she added, so low Ben almost missed it.\u00a0 \u201cCome back to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam bent his head and kissed his one-time \u2018sister\u2019 on the lips.\u00a0 When he drew back, he promised, \u201cI\u2019ll be back \u2013 with help.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSon.\u201d<\/p>\n

The black-haired man pivoted on his heel.\u00a0 \u201cYes, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGive me five minutes.\u00a0 I\u2019ll gave McRae engaged by then.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019ll take me that long to get my gear.\u201d<\/p>\n

His father nodded.\u00a0 He turned back toward the entry to the house.\u00a0 \u201cHoss, open the door.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Pa.\u00a0 You want me to go out with you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben thought a moment.\u00a0 \u201cI think that would be wise.\u00a0 Belle?\u201d<\/p>\n

The young woman turned toward him.\u00a0 Her cheeks were wet with tears.<\/p>\n

\u201cWill you go up and mind Pretty Prairie?\u201d he asked.\u00a0 \u201cAnd stay there until I tell you it is safe to come down?\u201d<\/p>\n

Belle drew a strengthening breath.\u00a0 She nodded and then returned to the staircase and climbed to the second floor.<\/p>\n

The older man turned back.\u00a0 \u201cAll right, Hoss.\u00a0 Open the door.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gabriel McRae didn\u2019t move as he and his middle son stepped and into the yard fronting the ranch house.\u00a0 It was mid-afternoon.\u00a0 The day was cloud-covered, but the light was strong it revealed McRae\u2019s lean and rangy form.\u00a0 He was dressed as a ranch hand in jeans and a patterned shirt.\u00a0 Ben noted he wore his belt and holster low on his hip and tied down like a gunslinger.\u00a0 McRae\u2019s face was a tough one, tanned hard by years in the saddle until it resembled the leather the saddle was made of.\u00a0 But it was his eyes that stood out \u2013 cold, with no compassion or mercy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat took you so long, Cartwright?\u201d McRae asked as Ben halted some four or five feet away from him.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince we had a guest, I had to have everyone get ready,\u201d the older man replied ironicly.<\/p>\n

McRae snorted.\u00a0 \u201cWould that be fixin\u2019 supper, or fixin\u2019 to shoot?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben\u2019s lips twitched.\u00a0 \u201cBoth.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou better not shoot me, Cartwright, or else you ain\u2019t never gonna see that youngest boy of yours again \u2013 not even his corpse.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPa, you want I should do something?\u201d Hoss asked.\u00a0 Ben could feel his middle son\u2019s concern for his little brother .\u00a0 It was palpable.<\/p>\n

\u201cStay where you are, Hoss.\u201d\u00a0 Turning his attention back to McRae he said, \u201cThe only thing I have tying you to my son are the words you speak, and I give them very little credence.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat may be the only thing you<\/em> have, Cartwright, but it ain\u2019t all I<\/em> have.\u201d\u00a0 McRae was carrying a saddle bag.\u00a0 He opened it and reached inside and drew out a piece of gray cloth.<\/p>\n

No, not cloth, a jacket.<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s jacket.<\/p>\n

\u201cCatch!\u201d the villain shouted as he tossed it.<\/p>\n

Ben stepped forward and caught the jacket with his hand.\u00a0 He stared hard at it, wanting to be wrong, but he wasn\u2019t.\u00a0 The gray corduroy jacket had been a gift to his son.\u00a0 He knew it like he knew his own hands.\u00a0 As he examined it, Ben noted the dust and dirt, the torn places \u2013 and the blood.\u00a0 There was an awful lot of dried blood on the left shoulder.<\/p>\n

Hoss was champing at the bit, but it was he who went off half-cocked.<\/p>\n

\u201cMcRae!\u201d the older man shouted, moving forward.\u00a0 \u201cWhat is this?\u00a0 What have you done to my son?\u00a0 If you have hurt Joe so help me God<\/em> I will not rest until you hurt ten times more!\u201d<\/p>\n

McRae didn\u2019t move.\u00a0 \u201cYou might make me hurt, Cartwright , but if I\u2019m not back to that camp in about half an hour \u2013 and you with me \u2013 your boy ain\u2019t gonna hurt no more.\u00a0 He\u2019ll be dead!\u201d\u00a0 The lean man smirked.\u00a0 \u201cSome of my boys, well, they can be a mite trigger happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

All the fear and fury and worry in Ben Cartwright turned into steel that nailed him to the ground.\u00a0 \u201cI need to see my son.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou will when you come with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u00a0 I need to see him here.<\/em>\u00a0 I want you to bring Joe here so the exchange can be made with witnesses.\u201d\u00a0 McRae opened his mouth to speak.\u00a0 Ben stopped him.\u00a0 \u201cI will not surrender myself so you can kill me and <\/em>Joe.\u00a0 I have no guarantee you\u2019ll let the boy live and, even if you gave me one, I wouldn\u2019t believe a lying, murdering coward like you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou watch your mouth, Cartwright!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you watch your back, McRae,\u201d Hoss threatened.\u00a0 Then he asked, \u201cPa, you ain\u2019t actually gonna go with him, are ya?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf he brings your brother here, I will.\u201d\u00a0 He looked at McRae.\u00a0 \u201cAnd that<\/em> is a promise you can trust.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rangy man seemed to be considering it.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s no guarantee the man I work for will go along with this.\u00a0 He may just order me to shoot that boy of yours when I get back and be done with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben knew it was a possibility.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t one to gamble, especially with the life of one of his sons, but he knew this kind of man and knew a bargain \u2013 a promise \u2013 meant nothing.\u00a0 Agreeing to go now would be tantamount to signing Joe\u2019s death warrant.<\/p>\n

\u201cMcRae, you tell Jarvis Barrot what I said.\u201d\u00a0 When the lean man looked surprised, Ben continued, \u201cYes, I know Barrot is behind this.\u00a0 You tell him to bring Joe here for the exchange and I will go with him.\u201d\u00a0 The older man took a step forward.\u00a0 \u201cAnd you tell him this as well, if my son dies there won\u2019t be a rock between Heaven and Hell I won\u2019t turn over to find him, and I will kill him with my bare hands.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHave it your way, Cartwright.\u00a0 If Barrot accepts your proposal we should be here by five o\u2019clock.\u00a0 If not,\u201d McRae tipped his hat, \u201cI\u2019d be calling the undertaker.\u00a0 Won\u2019t take much wood to make a coffin for that youngest boy of yours.\u201d<\/p>\n

With that, McRae turned and walked out of the yard.<\/p>\n

Hoss came right up behind him.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s an awful chance you\u2019re takin\u2019, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben drew a deep breath and let it out slowly.\u00a0 He placed a hand on his son\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cI know, son, but I know just as surely that neither I nor Joe would have walked out of that camp alive.\u00a0 I\u2019m hoping this keeps the boy safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know, Pa.\u00a0 It feels like I <\/em>need to be doing something.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben smiled.\u00a0 \u201cI was hoping you\u2019d say that.\u00a0 I want you to wait five minutes and then trail McRae back to the camp.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure some of his men will be going \u00a0back with him and there will be fewer keeping watch.\u00a0 Still the way will be dangerous.\u00a0 See if you can find your brother and get him away before this goes down.\u00a0 But son….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBe careful.\u00a0 The trees around the ranch house may be hiding death.\u00a0 You\u2019ll have to move like the wind.\u201d\u00a0 The older man glanced back at the house.\u00a0 \u201cDid Adam get away?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s gone, Pa.\u00a0 There weren\u2019t no shots fired, so I\u2019m thinkin\u2019 he did.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood.\u00a0 Good.\u00a0 Night\u2019s coming.\u00a0 I\u2019d put on a dark coat to mask that white shirt you\u2019re wearing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSure enough will, Pa.\u00a0 And don\u2019t you worry.\u00a0 I\u2019ll track that varmint and find Joe.\u00a0 I sure enough ain\u2019t gonna let you go to him.\u201d<\/p>\n

He squeezed his son\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cHoss, if it comes to it, you know I will to save Joe\u2019s life.\u201d<\/p>\n

The big man dropped his head.\u00a0 \u201cYes, sir.\u00a0 That\u2019s why I ain\u2019t about to allow it to come to that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben nodded.\u00a0 \u201cThank you, son.\u00a0 Come on, let\u2019s go back into the house.\u00a0 I need to question that Indian girl about your brother.\u201d<\/p>\n

xxxxxxxxxxoooxxxxxxxxxx<\/p>\n

Pretty Prairie was staring out of the window in Joe Cartwright\u2019s room.\u00a0 She had asked Belle to get her some food and then wandered the halls, searching for the place where the beautiful white man laid his head.\u00a0 She knew this was his room by the scent that lingered in the air and on the things he touched.\u00a0 Her grandmother used the white men\u2019s spices to cook.\u00a0 Joe smelled like that, like cloves and cinnamon mixed with other scents she did not know.\u00a0 With a sigh, she let the curtain drop back into place.\u00a0 Was the handsome man with the green eyes still alive, she wondered?<\/p>\n

It would be a shame if he was not.<\/p>\n

Crossing to the piece of furniture that held brushes and bottles and other things for which she had no name, Pretty Prairie looked in the glass above it.\u00a0 The face it reflected was haunted.\u00a0 Her normally large eyes seemed great as a doe\u2019s and were surrounded with darkness like her friend the raccoon\u2019s.\u00a0 \u00a0She closed them and listened to the spirit within her.\u00a0 It was not content to lie here in this white man\u2019s house, to eat his food and sleep in his bed, while her people killed Joe Cartwright and his family.<\/p>\n

If they did, it would be as if she<\/em> had killed them too.<\/p>\n

The young woman turned and leaned her back against the wooden piece.\u00a0 She had spoken with the white woman named Belle.\u00a0 She was afraid for Joe Cartwright\u2019s oldest brother.\u00a0 He had gone to town to bring the white man\u2019s law to the Ponderosa, but Pretty Prairie knew the white man\u2019s law meant nothing to the Indian.\u00a0 The warriors would not stop until everyone of them was dead.\u00a0 Well, perhaps Yellow Horse would stop.\u00a0 He was a coward.\u00a0 Her grandfather did not trust this, his sister\u2019s son.\u00a0 If only she could get word to her grandfather.\u00a0 If only White Crow could know she was well, and that the white man named Joe had risked his own life and lost his freedom to protect her.<\/p>\n

Pretty Prairie eyed the window again.\u00a0 It was not a long drop to the ground.\u00a0 She could open the window and fly on the hawk\u2019s wings through the darkening woods to meet her grandfather as he rode out of their camp.\u00a0 Of all the young woman in her tribe, she was the fastest.\u00a0 If Senawahv was with her, and the spirits of the mothers of her tribe who had gone before her accompanied her, she would reach White Crow in time and then none of the Cartwrights would have to die.<\/p>\n

She did not want Joe Cartwright to die.<\/p>\n

Coming to a decision, Pretty Prairie crossed once again to the window.\u00a0 It took her a moment, but she figured out how to open it.\u00a0 As the cooling air that signaled the return of the night struck her, blowing her long black hair back from her face, she straddled the wooden frame and placed one foot outside.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd just where do you think you are going, young lady?\u201d<\/p>\n

The voice was stern but loving.\u00a0 It reminded her of her grandmother who had raised her.\u00a0 Pretty Prairie turned back into the room to find the father of Joe Cartwright standing with his hands on his hips, looking at her.<\/p>\n

As she had when her grandmother found her sneaking out of their lodge one night to meet a boy, she lied, \u201c\u201dI am not used to being inside.\u00a0 I was going to sit on your roof.\u201d<\/p>\n

He crossed over and sat on the side of the bed facing her.\u00a0 \u201cYou weren\u2019t going out to try and find my son?\u201d<\/p>\n

This time the answer was honest.\u00a0 \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cI was going to find my grandfather,\u201d she admitted.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhite Crow?\u00a0 What good do you think you could do there?\u00a0 It\u2019s well know your grandfather hates the white man and wishes him off the land forever.\u201d<\/p>\n

She nodded.\u00a0 \u201cThat is true.\u00a0 But grandfather does not believe in murder.\u00a0 He will fight and he will kill, but not a man who is bound or who cannot fight back.\u201c\u00a0 She stepped back into the room and approached him.\u00a0 \u201cJoe\u2019s father, you must let me go.\u00a0 I will tell grandfather you have cared for me and that Joe Cartwright did not harm me.\u00a0 That he risked his life to save me.\u201d<\/p>\n

She had told them how, when McRae attacked her, Joe sought to stop him and was knifed for his courage.<\/p>\n

The silver-haired man drew closer.\u00a0 He reached for her and when she did not flinch, took both shoulders in his hands.\u00a0 \u201cYoung lady, you are very brave.\u201d<\/p>\n

She held her head up.\u00a0 \u201cThe mothers are with me.\u00a0 I am not alone.\u201d\u00a0 Pretty Prairie frowned.\u00a0 \u201cWhere is Joe\u2019s mother?\u201d<\/p>\n

Pain flashed in Ben Cartwright\u2019s dark eyes.\u00a0 \u201cShe\u2019s in Heaven, with the Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYour Lord, he is the Creator?\u201d<\/p>\n

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

The young Indian woman nodded.\u00a0 \u201cThen Joe Cartwright\u2019s mother is with me too.\u00a0 She will guide me through the woods to my grandfather so he will not kill her son.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s father\u2019s eyes were wet.\u00a0 \u201cYes, I\u2019m sure she will.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pretty Prairie brightened.\u00a0 \u201cThen you will not try to stop me?\u201d<\/p>\n

He released her.\u00a0 \u201cChild, if you can stop your grandfather from attacking the Ponderosa, you will be saving not only Little Joe but all of the men, women, and children who stand to get hurt because one evil man is willing to do anything to get what he wants.\u201d\u00a0 The older man paused.\u00a0 \u201cIncluding killing my son.\u201d\u00a0 He dropped back on the bed.\u00a0 \u201cIf only I knew that the choice I made was right. If only I could be sure that if \u2013 if <\/em>Joe dies \u2013 my choice didn\u2019t kill him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat choice is this?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n

Ben Cartwright looked as if he carried a the trunk of a great tree on his back.\u00a0 \u201cI told McRae there was no deal unless he brought Joe here.\u00a0 I will gladly go with him if he does, but I don\u2019t trust him or Yellow Horse.\u00a0 I was certain when I got to their camp they would kill both of us and then burn the Ponderosa to the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n

She\u00a0 crossed to him and placed a hand on the older man\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cYou are wise.\u00a0 Yellow Horse lies to the white man and thinks nothing of it. McRae does the same with all men.\u00a0 They would not have let Joe Cartwright go.\u201d\u00a0 Pretty Prairie lifted her hand.\u00a0 \u201cNow, I<\/em> must go.\u00a0 I have asked Senawahv to watch over you and your sons, and for the mothers to watch over Joe Cartwright this night.\u201d<\/p>\n

A tear escaped the older man\u2019s eyes to trail down his tanned cheek.\u00a0 \u201cThank you.\u00a0 I have asked my God to watch over you as well and to make you run swift as the deer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pretty Prairie nodded and then headed for the window.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are men out there watching,\u201d Ben Cartwright said as he rose to his feet.<\/p>\n

The young Indian woman smiled.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo not worry, Joe\u2019s father.\u00a0 They will not see me.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

FOURTEEN<\/p>\n

Adam Cartwright flew along the road to the Ponderosa.\u00a0 He had fourteen riders trailing him \u2013 more than enough men and arms to stop the renegade band of Indians who were threatening his home.\u00a0 His wound throbbed with each jolt of Sport\u2019s feet on the packed earth.\u00a0 He ignored it.\u00a0 Later, there would be time to rest and heal.\u00a0 Later after McRae and Yellow Horse were defeated.<\/p>\n

After he found Joe.<\/p>\n

Adam glanced back to make certain the men were following.\u00a0 He was riding hard and had outpaced them several times.\u00a0 Deputy Clem waved a hand and then sunk his spurs into his horse\u2019s sides and burst forward with renewed speed from the group.\u00a0 The men who were with the lawman quickly matched his pace.\u00a0 Adam waved back, and then turned and pushed his mount into a gallop.<\/p>\n

It was almost dark and they still had a good hour before they would reach the spread.\u00a0 The odds were Yellow Horse would make his move once the sun had set and the shadows masked his men.\u00a0 The renegades had attacked other homestead in the daylight hours, but the Ponderosa was different.\u00a0 Once the shooting starting and their ranch hands heard the bullets fly, it would be out and out war with dozens of men trying to kill each other.\u00a0 Adam leaned forward in the saddle to gain a little more speed.\u00a0 He wished Belle wasn\u2019t in the house.\u00a0 Her presence would be a distraction for him.\u00a0 Their home was likely to be the main target.\u00a0 Between the threat of fire and the hail of bullets that would hit it, anything could happen.<\/p>\n

Anything.<\/em><\/p>\n

As he pushed forward fears for his family occupied the black-haired man\u2019s thoughts.\u00a0 If the Utes attacked sooner than he expected, he could return home as the only surviving member of the Cartwright family.\u00a0 Joe might already be <\/em>dead.\u00a0 His father and Hoss would go out fighting, never backing down, never surrendering.\u00a0 Between one heartbeat and the next, everything could be irrevocably changed.\u00a0 He often had thoughts about leaving the Ponderosa and returning to the East.\u00a0 The idea that his Pa and his brothers would still be here, where his heart lay, was the one thing that let him contemplate it.\u00a0 If he was left alone, could he remain forever?<\/p>\n

Would he want to?<\/p>\n

Deputy Clem pulled up alongside him.\u00a0 Adam glanced at the deputy and saw the same fear in his eyes.<\/p>\n

He nodded, and then, asked Sport for more speed.<\/p>\n

xxxxxxxxxxoooxxxxxxxxxx<\/p>\n

Hoss Cartwright was one weary man.\u00a0 After sneaking out of the ranch house, past guns and guards and Indians. he\u2019d walked on foot to a nearby ranch.\u00a0 Once there he\u2019d explained his need and the family had loaned him the only horse they had.\u00a0 Their youngest daughter \u2013 a pretty little thing named Amy about eight years old \u2013 had volunteered to come along.\u00a0 Her Ma explained she was sweet on Little Joe.\u00a0 After saying farewell and assuring Amy he\u2019d send Joe over later to let her know he was all right, Hoss mounted the horse and went back nearly to where he had started and began to follow McRae\u2019s tracks.\u00a0 The big man knew he was a good quarter to a half hour behind McRae.\u00a0 He\u2019d prayed to God all along the way that the man have an unexpected delay, and that the two of them arrive at the varmint\u2019s camp at about the same time.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d sure enough know soon if that there prayer was answered.<\/p>\n

Dismounting, Hoss tied the horse off to a tree and began the push toward the camp on foot.\u00a0 He had no idea how many men would be in it, though he doubted it would be a lot since more men meant more mouths that could run \u00a0off and ruin a man\u2019s plans.\u00a0 Plus McRae \u2018d left men watching the Ponderosa.\u00a0 At a guess he\u2019d expect six to a dozen.\u00a0 Not the best of odds, but then he didn\u2019t mean to go in with guns blazing.\u00a0 He meant to locate Joe and free him somehow and then take off like a jackrabbit running from a wolf.<\/p>\n

At a sound, Hoss ducked.\u00a0 Lo and behold Gabriel McRae went riding by, headed into the camp.\u00a0 His horse was limping.<\/p>\n

Hoss looked to the Heavens.\u00a0 \u201cThanks,\u201d he said softly.<\/p>\n

Shifting deeper into the underbrush that covered the forest floor, Hoss moved forward until he was right on the edge of the clearing where the scallywags had made camp. \u00a0At first fear almost undid him.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t find Little Joe anywhere.\u00a0 Then, as McRae dismounted and dropped to the ground, several men appeared dragging Joe between them.\u00a0 At a word from McRae the men dropped him.<\/p>\n

His little brother hit the dirt and didn\u2019t move.<\/p>\n

Hoss glanced up again.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s another one for ya, God.\u00a0 Let him be alive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Next McRae did something that made the big man want to leap out of the trees and take him by the throat and squeeze until he was dead, dead, dead.\u00a0 The lean man took his boot and kicked Joe in the side near his belly.\u00a0 Then he put his foot down on Joe\u2019s shoulder and applied pressure.<\/p>\n

The only good thing about the scream that came from that was to tell Hoss his brother was<\/em> alive.<\/p>\n

With another quick \u2018thanks\u2019 on his lips, the big man drew back and then began to work his way around the perimeter of the clearing.\u00a0 His intention was to come up behind Joe.<\/p>\n

What he did after that might be the subject of another prayer.<\/p>\n

xxxxxxxxxxoooxxxxxxxxxx<\/p>\n

Joe Cartwright\u2019s world at the moment consisted of pain \u2013 pain in his body from lack of sleep, pain in his stomach from not eating much for days, pain in his ankle that was still bound with strips of linen and broken sticks, and pain from the knife wound Yellow Horse had inflicted, which was festering and hot as Hellfire.\u00a0 He wanted nothing more than to curl up and sleep, forgetting everything around him, but every time he almost got there someone would hit him, or shake him, or stomp on him and wake him up, bringing it all back like a hammer blow to the spine.\u00a0 The only good thing about the way McRae had stepped on his wounded shoulder just now was that it had given him a few minutes of blessed relief because he\u2019d passed out.<\/p>\n

A bowl of cold water thrown in his face had brought him right back.<\/p>\n

\u201cWake up, Cartwright!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe opened one eye and then closed it again.\u00a0 There wasn\u2019t anything worth looking at.<\/p>\n

\u201cGet him up!\u201d McRae ordered.<\/p>\n

As he was caught by the collar and forced to his feet, he heard another man say, \u201cWhat is this?\u00a0 Where\u2019s Cartwright?\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019s right here, Joe thought.\u00a0 Then as his head stopped pounding from the sudden change in position, he realized it was Jarvis Barrot speaking and his interest wasn\u2019t in him <\/em>but in his father.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat explanation do you have, McRae?\u00a0 I know Ben Cartwright.\u00a0 He wouldn\u2019t abandon his son to be killed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why Cartwright ain\u2019t here, Barrot.\u00a0 He\u2019s too wily.\u00a0 He knew we\u2019d kill them both if he came here.\u201d\u00a0 McRae paused.\u00a0 \u201cHe wants us to take the boy to him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d Jarvis roared.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to take the boy to him.\u00a0 Once he knows he\u2019s safe, Ben Cartwright said he would surrender himself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about Belle?\u201d the man from the city demanded.<\/p>\n

The lean man shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cDidn\u2019t see her.\u00a0 I figured she was in the house.\u00a0 We\u2019ll get her one way or the other when we make the switch.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you think I should just capitulate to Ben Cartwright \u2013 do this his way instead of mine?\u201d<\/p>\n

McRae shifted his hat back on his head.\u00a0 He glanced at Joe and then back to Jarvis Barrot.\u00a0 \u201cAt the moment ain\u2019t much we can do about it.\u00a0 I\u2019d gladly kill Little Joe here, but if I do you\u2019ve lost your leverage.\u00a0 Ben Cartwright knows that.\u00a0 He\u2019s using it against you.\u201d\u00a0 Gabriel McRae shifted.\u00a0 \u201c \u2018Sides, if we take the boy back and leave him at the Ponderosa, he\u2019ll be dead by morning with the rest of them.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t think it was worth arguing about.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t pay you to think.\u201d<\/p>\n

McRae snorted.\u00a0 \u201cConsider it a bonus.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe watched Jarvis Barrot pace.\u00a0 \u201cI suppose it doesn\u2019t alter anything.\u00a0 But I\u2019m coming with you.\u00a0 I don\u2019t trust you to transport or deliver such a valuable commodity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo honor among thieves, eh?\u00a0 You\u2019re breaking my heart, Barrot.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d like to break your head.\u201d\u00a0 Jarvis turned and walked toward Joe.\u00a0 He laid a hand on his forehead. It remained a second or two before Joe found the strength to pull away.\u00a0 As his guards held him fast, the man continued to stare at him.\u00a0 A moment later he ordered his gag removed.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re sick, boy.\u00a0 Can you ride a horse?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe wet his lips.\u00a0 He swallowed and coughed.\u00a0 Could he?\u00a0 Probably not.<\/p>\n

\u201cSure I can,\u201d he replied.\u00a0 \u201cYou planning on a trip to town and a stay in the sheriff\u2019s nice hotel?\u201d<\/p>\n

Jarvis scowled.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t make me regret removing that gag, boy.\u00a0 It can go right back in place easier than breathing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe glanced at the throng of thugs surrounding him.\u00a0 There was McRae who was standing by enjoying himself way too much, Jarvis, of course, and a half dozen other mean and rangy gunmen.\u00a0 Even in top form it would have been hard for him to take all of them down where they stood.<\/p>\n

On the road, things might be different.<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay,\u201d he said, blinking sweat out of his eyes.\u00a0 \u201cSo where are we going?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re going home, Cartwright.\u00a0 Didn\u2019t you hear?\u201d Gabriel McRae asked as he drew closer.\u00a0 \u201cOld Jarvis here\u2019s gonna talk to your Pa.\u201d\u00a0 The lean man halted beside him.\u00a0 \u201cAnd then kill<\/em> him!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe fought against the men who restrained him\u00a0 \u201cThen I\u2019m not going back.\u00a0 You can just kill me right here and now!\u00a0 I won\u2019t put Pa in danger!\u201d<\/p>\n

McRae stepped up to him.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re going on that horse one way or the other Cartwright.\u00a0 Nothing says you gotta be conscious.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe looked at Jarvis Barrot.\u00a0 There was a crazed look in his eyes that hadn\u2019t been there before.\u00a0 It was the look a man got when everything he had was sinking under the waves and he was desperate, somehow, to rescue what he could.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust so he\u2019s alive when we get there,\u201d he growled. \u201cAfter that, he\u2019s all yours.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJamison!\u201d McRae shouted, looking toward one of the gunmen.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s up, Gabe?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSaddle up a horse for young Cartwright here.\u00a0 We\u2019re gonna go visit his daddy.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the other man moved off, McRae turned back to him.\u00a0 \u201cYou got the gag, Jarvis.\u00a0 We won\u2019t want him shouting out when we get close.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe didn\u2019t want that gag back in.\u00a0 \u201cI won\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis may come as a real surprise, Cartwright, but I\u2019m not about to take you at your word,\u201d McRae said as he accepted the rag from Jarvis.<\/p>\n

Joe fought as hard as he could.\u00a0 It did no good.\u00a0 The gag was quickly back in place. McRae kept his gun trained on him as he began to move.\u00a0 Joe considered dropping to the ground, bowling McRae over, and running for it, but decided against it.\u00a0 There were too many guns trained on him.<\/p>\n

He wouldn\u2019t get five feet.<\/p>\n

McRae waved his pistol.\u00a0 \u201cMount up!\u201d he ordered.<\/p>\n

Joe did as he was told, catching the saddle horn with his bound hands and settling on the horse\u2019s back.\u00a0 A momentary wave of nausea and dizziness washed over him and he swayed, but quickly caught himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou fall off, Cartwright, we may just let the rest of the horses tramp over you.\u201d<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t a threat.\u00a0 It was a promise.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d just have to remember to fall off <\/em>the road and not land on <\/em>it.<\/p>\n

xxxxxxxxxxoooxxxxxxxxxxx<\/p>\n

Adam had left Clem and his men about a thousand feet from the house, well beyond the perimeter of gunslingers Jarvis Booth and Gabriel McRae had positioned around the house.\u00a0 As he made his way out, taking hidden paths he and Hoss had used when he was a boy, he had counted a half dozen circling the ranch.\u00a0 Most of them were less than vigilant.\u00a0 It was almost as if their heart wasn\u2019t in what they were doing.\u00a0 He wondered if they had come to realize that they were putting their lives at risk for the personal vendetta of one man and that, maybe, it wasn\u2019t worth it.\u00a0 Still, he didn\u2019t want to take any chances and so he was making his way back the same way he had left and that was taking time.<\/p>\n

Time he felt he simply did not have.<\/p>\n

On their way they had seen smoke signals rising into the sky and heard the sound of a war dance in the distance.\u00a0 Even if all the men McRae had hired deserted, there was still White Crow and Yellow Horse and a band of Ute Indians who hated the white man. \u00a0The renegade Indians were always ready to take advantage of an opportunity to kill and destroy as many settlers as they could.<\/p>\n

The black-haired man breathed a sigh of relief when the ranch house came into view.\u00a0 His father was pacing in the yard out front.\u00a0 Doc Martin stood in the doorway with Belle.\u00a0 The scent of food told him Hop Sing was in the kitchen, cooking away as if a full belly would solve everything.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t see Hoss and wondered what that meant.<\/p>\n

Much as he wanted to run right up to his pa, Adam knew it was not wise.\u00a0 Continuing on, he circled the yard and entered the trees, intent on passing to the back where he\u2019d enter through one of the rear windows, cross through the house, and then join his pa by using the front door. \u00a0He\u2019d made plans with Clem.\u00a0 If the deputy heard multiple gunshots, of course he would come.\u00a0 But if Adam needed him before the Utes arrived, he was to fire three times rapidly, wait for a count of ten, and then let off another shot.<\/p>\n

The black-haired man\u2019s jaw tightened.<\/p>\n

His only wish was to have Jarvis Barrot on the other end of one of them.<\/p>\n

xxxxxxxxxxoooxxxxxxxxxx<\/p>\n

It had been all Hoss could do to stand still and remain hidden while McRae and the city slicker mistreated his brother.\u00a0 It was obvious Joe was hurting and it pained him to think of what else he might suffer before he got him out of the varmints\u2019 hands.\u00a0 There were six of them on the road now \u2013 McRae, who rode beside Joe with his pistol trained on him, the city slicker, and three other scallywags.\u00a0 Joe was swaying in the saddle, barely able to keep his seat.\u00a0 Every once in a while Gabriel McRae would reach out to steady him.\u00a0 They were riding that close.\u00a0 Hoss was on his horse, pacing them from behind, worrying about Joe and wondering what he could do to get him away from the men who had him.\u00a0 The party was coming up on a footbridge over a steep-sided creek and would be forced to travel one at a time soon.\u00a0 The big man wasn\u2019t sure whether to wait and follow them, or to go farther downstream and cross over where there was no chance they could spot him.\u00a0 With one last look at Joe, he decided on the latter.\u00a0 It was too risky keeping to the trail.\u00a0 If they spotted him, Joe\u2019d be dead for sure.<\/p>\n

Turning his mount, Hoss applied his left knee to the horse and took him to the right and off the road.\u00a0 The bank was easy here, though the point where he\u2019d have to climb out was mighty steep.\u00a0 After edging the slightly skittish horse down the hill the big man paused to give her a moment to catch her breath.\u00a0 While parked there he heard the sounds of a scuffle.\u00a0 There was a gunshot.\u00a0 Then another followed by a lot of shouting.<\/p>\n

Hoss dismounted and drew his gun.\u00a0 He also smiled.<\/p>\n

Sure as shooting his little brother had just leaped out of the pan again.<\/p>\n

xxxxxxxxxxoooxxxxxxxxxx<\/p>\n

Joe tumbled end for end down the hill until he came to the bottom where he was stopped by a thorny bush with wrist-thick branches.\u00a0 He lay there breathing hard for a second or two, and then righted himself and rose to his feet.\u00a0 With a glance back up the hill he took a step and went right back down as his leg gave out.\u00a0 He could hear the men shouting above. \u00a0An angry Jarvis was screaming at McRae.\u00a0 McRae, humiliated, was threatening to kill him when he found him.\u00a0 Gritting his teeth, Joe tried again to stand.\u00a0 This time he managed to keep his feet, but every step he took was agony.\u00a0 Leaving the ground behind, he made his way along the creek bed, sticking to the water.\u00a0 It would be the best way to lose his pursuers, plus the cold water was numbing his leg, making it easier to walk on it. \u00a0He had travelled about sixty or seventy feet when the first bullet whizzed over his head and struck a tree of the other bank.<\/p>\n

Joe glanced back to make certain no one was in sight and then pressed on.\u00a0 There was a fork not too far ahead, offering two choices.\u00a0 If he could just make it to that point, maybe he could fool McRae into thinking he had gone the other way.\u00a0 Maybe by leaving a bit of his ripped shirt or something else behind.\u00a0 The echo of a shot made it to him before the bullet and he ducked as he ran.\u00a0 It took a second, but when nothing struck the trees before him, he realized the shot had come from close by and been aimed away from him and toward his pursuers.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe!\u00a0 Joe!\u00a0 Over here!\u201d<\/p>\n

The voice had come from his right.\u00a0 His head and heart were pounding so hard he couldn\u2019t hear it well enough to place it.\u00a0 \u201cWhere\u2019s here?\u201d he shouted in return.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver here by this here rock that looks like a grizzly crouching!\u201d<\/p>\n

It took a second, but then he saw it.\u00a0 A clump of rocks with a big one for the bear\u2019s bent back and a smaller one for its head.\u00a0 As he started for it another shot rang out, flying over his head and back the way he had come.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can see \u2018em, Joe!\u00a0 Get your skinny little hiney out of there!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe was grinning as he ran.\u00a0 Even if the voice didn\u2019t tell him who, the words did.\u00a0 \u201cHoss?\u00a0 Is that you, big brother?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou bet it is.\u00a0 Tell me, just how many times am I gonna have to do this afore your grow\u2019d?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe ducked as a bullet whizzed past his head \u2013 real close.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m all for this being the last time, brother!\u201d\u00a0 He was almost at the cluster of rocks.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe, behind you!\u201d<\/p>\n

McRae had appeared.\u00a0 He was pointing his pistol straight at him.\u00a0 Joe saw him take aim.\u00a0 He glanced quickly about. There was no cover until he made it to the rocks.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe!\u00a0 Get down!\u00a0 Now!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t think.\u00a0 He just dropped.<\/p>\n

At the same instant two bullets flew through the air.\u00a0 McRae\u2019s went over his head.<\/p>\n

Hoss\u2019s took Gabriel McRae in the chest and dropped him like a stone.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s more of them coming, Joe,\u201d his big brother said as he appeared beside the rock.\u00a0 \u201cGet moving!\u00a0 We need to get out of here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe looked at Hoss.\u00a0 He was real.\u00a0 His brother was really<\/em> here.\u00a0 A wave of relief washed over him making him weak in the knees.\u00a0 Added to that was the fact that he felt like he\u2019d been run over by a herd of cattle.\u00a0 Those two things were enough to bring a fella down.\u00a0 Of course, you had to add to them the fact that he was finally going home.<\/p>\n

Joe smiled weakly at his brother \u2013 and then collapsed on the ground.<\/p>\n

xxxxxxxxxxoooxxxxxxxxxx<\/p>\n

Ben Cartwright paced the yard before his ranch house.\u00a0 It was long past the time McRae had said he would return with Joe. Images of his youngest son with the barrel of a gun pressed into his curly brown hair flashed before his eyes.\u00a0 What if Jarvis had not agreed?\u00a0 What if he\u2019d murdered Joe out of spite, angered by his own refusal to come?<\/p>\n

Could he live with himself if that choice killed his boy?<\/p>\n

The older man halted and looked out, wondering where all three of his boys were.\u00a0 Adam would have had time to make it to town and back if the sheriff \u00a0had been in his office and they had set out right away.\u00a0 He wondered if Hoss had found his brother and, if so, was his middle son in danger as well?\u00a0 McRae might have both of them \u2013 or maybe all three \u2013 or….<\/p>\n

Ben shook his head, driving the fear and doubt out.\u00a0 They\u2019d eat away at a man as surely as a bark beetle ate away at one of the giant Ponderosa Pines.\u00a0 \u2018Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself,\u2019<\/em> the Good Book said.\u00a0 \u2018Each day has enough trouble of its own.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

In other words, it did no good to borrow trouble.\u00a0 He\u2019d be better off checking the rifles, making sure they were battle worthy, or going over yet again the plan of response to the impending Indian attack with the Doc, Hop Sing, and Belle.<\/p>\n

With one last glance at the yard, the silver-haired man turned to enter the house.\u00a0 As he did, the door opened and Adam stepped out.<\/p>\n

\u201cSon!\u201d Ben exclaimed, opening his arms and gathering his son in with a bear hug.\u00a0 A few seconds later he extended the boy to arm\u2019s length and looked at him.\u00a0 \u201cYou made it unscathed, I see.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam nodded.\u00a0 \u201cMcRae\u2019s men are getting sloppy.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think they\u2019re much of a threat.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you bring help, son?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u00a0 Deputy Clem and a dozen of his men are stationed in the trees, about a thousand feet from the house.\u00a0 They\u2019re going to take out as many of McRae\u2019s men as they can find and then wait for a signal.\u00a0 Have you heard anything about Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben sobered quickly. \u201cNo.\u00a0 I only hope I haven\u2019t killed him by refusing to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know that kind of man, Pa.\u00a0 It would have done no good.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStanding here, helpless, waiting isn\u2019t doing any good either,\u201d he growled.<\/p>\n

Adam laid a hand on his shoulder briefly.\u00a0 As he removed it, he said, \u201cI didn\u2019t see the Indian girl anywhere inside.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s gone off to try to talk to her grandfather.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo talk White Crow out of attacking?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben nodded.\u00a0 \u201cShe\u2019s a spunky one.\u00a0 Who knows?\u00a0 She might have a chance.\u201d<\/p>\n

His son waited a second and then asked, \u201cWhat about Belle?\u201d<\/p>\n

The silver-haired man frowned.\u00a0 \u201cWhat about her?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t see her inside either.\u00a0 I searched the second floor and checked in the kitchen.\u201d\u00a0 The color drained from Adam\u2019s face.\u00a0 \u201cYou mean she should be here?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, son.\u00a0 If Belle is missing, my guess would be she decided to take matters into her own hands.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPa!\u00a0 I\u2019ve got to go after her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben placed an anchoring hand on his son\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cNo, you don\u2019t.\u00a0 We need you here, son.\u00a0 Think about it, she\u2019s safe.\u00a0 Jarvis won\u2019t let any harm come to Belle, and if the Indians attack, she\u2019s better out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

His son considered it.\u00a0 \u201cI guess you\u2019re right.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam, I\u2019m tired of waiting.\u00a0 If Clem\u2019s taken out those men who were watching the house, then you and I need to saddle up and go find your brothers.\u201d\u00a0 His tone softened.\u00a0 \u201cMaybe we\u2019ll find Belle too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd leave the house unprotected?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u00a0 I\u2019ll tell the Doc and Hop Sing to leave.\u00a0 I\u2019ll not have them dying for something that can be rebuilt.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re right, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben grinned and slapped his son on the back.<\/p>\n

\u201cAren\u2019t I always?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

FIFTEEN<\/p>\n

Pretty Prairie stopped her progress through the wood and listened.\u00a0 On her left the stream that cut through the land north and east of their village was singing.\u00a0 She knew her grandfather White Crow would follow the water and she would find his warriors camped somewhere along it, waiting for the night and the time when they would attack Ben Cartwright\u2019s house.\u00a0 Yellow Horse would be with him, and so she would have to watch and wait and find a way to speak to her grandfather without the warrior joining them.\u00a0 Yellow Horse\u2019s words were like the rattler\u2019s venom.\u00a0 They stung at first and then burned as fire in the veins.\u00a0 His words would be lies about the Cartwrights, about Joe and his father.\u00a0 Lies meant to anger her grandfather so he would not think but would act.\u00a0 If he did \u2013 if White Crow burned down the Ponderosa \u2013 there would be nothing to stop the white men hunting him down and killing him.\u00a0 Most likely they would kill all of the Utes she lived with.<\/p>\n

Yellow Horse, of course, would be long gone.<\/p>\n

Moving with stealth, the young Indian woman moved through the trees lining the stream.\u00a0 She could see a light ahead and thought it must come from a fire her people had kindled, which meant she was close.\u00a0 There were men talking.\u00a0 A dog barked.\u00a0 Someone raised their voice and ordered \u2018Silence!<\/em>\u2019\u00a0\u00a0 Cutting through the tall grasses, Pretty Prairie headed for the water\u2019s edge, halting behind the last bit of shelter that was a thick grove of wild plum trees.\u00a0 It was <\/em>her grandfather\u2019s camp.\u00a0 She could see White Crow standing in the center of a circle of warriors that included Yellow Horse.\u00a0 Their faces and bodies were painted for war, marked with handprints in the color of the blood of the men they would seek out and kill.<\/p>\n

She would have to wait.\u00a0 She could not approach her grandfather until he was alone.\u00a0 Her hope was that the men in the circle were not ready to depart.\u00a0 If they were, all too soon the warriors would say their prayers, sing their songs and dance, and then mount and ride.\u00a0 She would not be able to follow on foot.\u00a0 They would be too swift.<\/p>\n

Settling in, Pretty Prairie closed her eyes and sought the spirits who walked with her.\u00a0 \u201cMothers,\u201d she whispered, \u201cguide me.\u00a0 Help me to save your red and white sons.\u00a0 Do not allow them to kill one another when there is no need.\u201d\u00a0 Her eyes opened and she looked into the night, sensing the presence of one to whom she felt a special bond.\u00a0 \u201cMarie, Joe\u2019s mother, hear me.\u00a0 I cannot be with your son.\u00a0 You must watch over him and bring him to his father safely.\u201d<\/p>\n

As she finished the wind stirred the leaves on the trees and lifted the ends of her black hair, tossing it against her cheeks.<\/p>\n

She had her answer.<\/p>\n

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\u201cJoe!\u00a0 Joe, come on.\u00a0 Wake up!\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss hesitated to strike his brother.\u00a0 By the look of him, all battered and bloodied, Joe\u2019d been struck more than enough lately.\u00a0 But he needed him to wake up.\u00a0 He had to get his little brother on the horse and, though he could sling him across the saddle, they\u2019d make better time and be able to move more quickly if Joe sat before him.<\/p>\n

Gently, he patted his face.\u00a0 \u201cJoe?\u201d<\/p>\n

The next time it was closer to a slap.\u00a0 \u201cJoe!\u201d<\/p>\n

He was rewarded when his brother moaned.\u00a0 \u201cHoss….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s right, little brother.\u00a0 It\u2019s me.\u00a0 Now come on, we gotta get you up and get outa here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cToo tired….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know you\u2019re tired, Joe, but unless you think sleeping in a pine box is something you want to do, we need to get on that horse and ride!\u201d<\/p>\n

His brother rolled over and began to curl up.\u00a0 The words came out in a mumble.\u00a0 \u201cCan\u2019t you just leave me here?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe.\u00a0 You ain\u2019t thinkin\u2019 straight.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss sat back on his heels and stared at Joe.\u00a0 He knew how it was.\u00a0 A man would push and push to survive, driving himself harder than made any sense.\u00a0 But the moment he knew someone else was there and that burden of living was off his shoulders, he\u2019d just plain and simple give up.<\/p>\n

Over the saddle it was!<\/p>\n

Leaning forward, the big man slipped his hands under his brother\u2019s knees and shoulders.\u00a0 Joe was a skinny little thing, so rising with him was nothing.\u00a0 As he turned to head for the horse he had tethered some ten feet off in the trees, Hoss halted.<\/p>\n

They weren\u2019t alone.<\/p>\n

At the same moment he realized it, he felt the barrel of a rifle press between his shoulder blades and a half dozen natives appeared from out of the shadows.\u00a0 One of them stepped in front of him.\u00a0 With a nod, the warrior ordered one of his men to come and take Joe from his arms.\u00a0 Hoss wanted to fight, but even as the native reached for his brother, he felt the tip of a knife follow the rifle barrel.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou fight or try to escape,\u201d the warrior said, indicating Joe.\u00a0 \u201cThis one dies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow you just be careful with him.\u00a0 He\u2019s sick.\u201d<\/p>\n

The native shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cHe will live or die.\u00a0 This is not for me to say.\u201d\u00a0 Turning, he ordered the native who held Joe to, \u201cPut him over the back of the horse and tie him down so he will not fall.\u201d\u00a0 At Hoss\u2019s look, he added, \u201cWe do not have far to travel.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere are you taking us?\u201d Hoss asked even as his hands were drawn back and tied behind him.\u00a0 \u201cJoe needs help!\u201d<\/p>\n

The warrior glanced at Joe who was slung over the saddle like a sack of grain, and then back at him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is for White Crow to decide.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Belle Babylon was lost.\u00a0 She had no idea where she was.\u00a0 She had left the ranch house, determined to turn herself over to one of McRae\u2019s men only to find they were all being held captive and she had to avoid the deputy\u2019s men instead.\u00a0 She had ruined her green gown.\u00a0 Her brown hair was flying and there were cuts on her cheeks.\u00a0 The tree\u2019s brown fingers had reached out and pulled the pins right from her hair.\u00a0 It was dark and she was frightened, but she was also unwavering in her decision to find Jarvis and accept his offer of marriage.\u00a0 It was the only thing she could do to save the Cartwrights who had been so kind to her.\u00a0 She didn\u2019t know if it would save Little Joe, but gentle Hoss, tough Benjamin, and Adam \u2013 dear, sweet, strong Adam \u2013 at least would be spared.\u00a0 \u00a0Jarvis wanted her and though he wanted to kill the idea of Benjamin Cartwright as much as the man, she was sure his jealous fury would be cooled by the thought of wedding and bedding her.<\/p>\n

The brunette halted.\u00a0 She shivered and pulled her cloak more tightly about her thin frame to stave off the chill night air.\u00a0 Closing her eyes, she drew in a breath.\u00a0 This was it.\u00a0 The last of freedom she would taste before being committed to the prison of Jarvis Barrot\u2019s passions.<\/p>\n

A sound behind her startled her.\u00a0 She was pacing the road, not on it but keeping close by.\u00a0 She figured McRae would have set men to watch it too and that one of them could lead her to wherever Jarvis was. \u00a0Listening, she decided it was horses\u2019 hooves striking the hard earth.\u00a0 Quickly Belle stepped behind a tumble of rocks.\u00a0 From there she watched as Benjamin and Adam Cartwright went flying past.<\/p>\n

Adam!\u00a0 He was alive!<\/p>\n

She had feared he would be taken by Jarvis and killed just for looking at her.\u00a0 But here he was, hearty and well and on his way to find his brother.\u00a0 She hadn\u2019t thought about the fact that the absence of McRae\u2019s men would have freed them to take action.\u00a0 If the Indians could be stopped the whole thing would blow over \u2013 once, that was, she and Jarvis left town.<\/p>\n

Belle rose and left her hiding place.\u00a0 She stood in the open staring after them.\u00a0 As she hesitated, she heard another noise.\u00a0 Shortly after that a man a man said, \u201cSo I\u2019ve found you at last.\u201d<\/p>\n

The brown-haired woman turned slowly.\u00a0 A slightly harried and rather disheveled Jarvis Barrot was standing behind her.\u00a0 His hat was missing and his fine gray coat was tattered and torn.\u00a0 His pants looked like he had waded here through river mud.<\/p>\n

\u201cJarvis, what have you done?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n

His stare was ice cold and glinting as the stars in the firmament above.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s only one thing left, Belle, and that\u2019s watching Ben Cartwright die.\u201d<\/p>\n

She stepped closer to him.\u00a0 \u201cWhy, Jarvis?\u00a0 Why do you want to destroy the man and all he has built?\u00a0 Benjamin never loved my mother.\u00a0 She would never have been \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t you see, that\u2019s part of the reason why!\u201d he shouted, his tone slightly hysterical.\u00a0 \u201cHe never loved her.\u00a0 How could he not have loved her?\u00a0 If for nothing else, he deserves to die for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Belle\u2019s head was reeling.\u00a0 \u201cI thought you hated him because my mother loved him. I don\u2019t understand.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jarvis\u2019 jaw was tight, his lips a thin straight line.\u00a0 \u201cI just hate him.\u00a0 That should be enough for you.\u00a0 You <\/em>don\u2019t need to understand.\u201d<\/p>\n

She held her breath for a moment, and then committed to the path she had chosen.\u00a0 \u201cJarvis,\u201d she said coming even closer, \u201clet\u2019s leave, go away from here, just you and I.\u201d \u00a0She reached toward him.\u00a0 \u201cIsn\u2019t that what you want?\u201d<\/p>\n

He frowned.\u00a0 \u201cWhat kind of trick is this?\u201d<\/p>\n

Belle shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s no trick.\u00a0 I\u2019ve seen the error of my ways,\u201d she lied as she touched his face.\u00a0 \u201cI want to be with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

He caught her hand and pressed it so tightly it hurt.\u00a0 \u201cOr are you lying because you want to save the Cartwrights?\u201d<\/p>\n

Belle winced.\u00a0 \u201cI will be honest with you, Jarvis.\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 The Cartwrights have been good to me, they took me in and accepted me as one of their own.\u00a0 I don\u2019t want anything to happen to them, but that doesn\u2019t mean I am lying about how I feel about you.\u201d\u00a0 She thought furiously.\u00a0 \u201cAfter all these years, and especially being out here in the West where conditions are so harsh, I have finally realized that all you offer me \u2013 a beautiful home, fine clothes, elegant jewels, and everything else a woman could want \u2013 is what I want.\u00a0 It just took running from it to realize how much<\/em> I want it.\u00a0 Do you understand?\u201d<\/p>\n

It took a moment.\u00a0 \u201cNo.\u00a0 I can\u2019t say I do.\u201d<\/p>\n

She forced a laugh.\u00a0 Her fingers went to this silver hair.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s because you\u2019re a man.\u201d<\/p>\n

He caught her arm and pulled her tightly against him.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re right, I am a man, and I want everything from you that is due to a man.\u201d<\/p>\n

Belle didn\u2019t hesitate.\u00a0 She pressed into him and kissed him passionately on the lips. \u201cAnd you can have it,\u201d she breathed.\u00a0 As he reached for her, she pulled back.\u00a0 \u201cOn one condition.\u201d<\/p>\n

He scowled.\u00a0 \u201cAnd that would be\u201d?<\/p>\n

\u201cThat you forget this vendetta against Benjamin Cartwright and leave him and his sons in peace.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jarvis\u2019 eyes were flint struck against steel.\u00a0 \u201cDo you have feelings for the man?\u201d<\/p>\n

She shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cNo, I feel only gratitude toward Benjamin.\u201d\u00a0 Fortunately she didn\u2019t <\/em>have to tell him what she felt for Benjamin\u2019s son, Adam.\u00a0 \u201cPlease, Jarvis, call everything off and I will go with you \u2013 willingly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u00a0 Why?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMcRae\u2019s dead and his remaining men have deserted, so there\u2019s no threat there.\u00a0 But there\u2019s nothing I can do to stop Yellow Horse.\u00a0 The Ute are probably on the way to the Ponderosa ranch right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

From what she had seen the only men remaining there were Doctor Martin and Hop Sing.\u00a0 They wouldn\u2019t stand a chance.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs there nothing you can do?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYellow Horse told White Crow that Joe Cartwright ravished his granddaughter and left her body to rot somewhere in the woods.\u00a0 Nothing but the girl showing up alive could stop the massacre that\u2019s coming.\u201d<\/p>\n

Belle drew in a breath.\u00a0 Ben had told her, when they met in the hall for the last time, that Pretty Prairie was going to try to reach her grandfather and tell him the truth.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe girl was at the Ponderosa, Jarvis, with me.\u00a0 Ben let her go. She was going back to her people.\u00a0 Maybe, just maybe this madness can end with no one being killed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right, then, Belle,\u201d Jarvis said taking hold of her arm.\u00a0 \u201cLet\u2019s go.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now?\u00a0 My things are back at the ranch house.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll buy you new things and the Cartwrights can send on anything you want from there.\u00a0 I want you on a stage out of Virginia City with me before you can have second thoughts.\u201d<\/p>\n

She closed her eyes.\u00a0 God willing, everything was going to be all right.\u00a0 Benjamin would be free of Jarvis\u2019 hate, Adam would, and their home would be spared.\u00a0 Belle said a quick prayer for Hoss and Little Joe.\u00a0 If the Almighty was merciful, they would live too.\u00a0 There was nothing she had done with her selfish scheme that couldn\u2019t be undone.<\/p>\n

That was enough to last a lifetime.<\/p>\n

Linking her arm with Jarvis Barrot\u2019s Belle smiled and said, \u201cLet\u2019s go.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Joe had been dumped unceremoniously in the center of the ring of warriors.\u00a0 His brother was only half-aware of what went on.\u00a0 Hoss had been forced to his knees beside him.\u00a0 He was all but hogtied.\u00a0 The Indians had made sure he wouldn\u2019t be able to do anything.\u00a0 Or so they thought.<\/p>\n

He still had his head and his shoulders and three hundred pounds of muscle behind them.<\/p>\n

Beside him, his brother stirred.\u00a0 Joe blinked several times as he looked at him.\u00a0 \u201cHoss, what….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHush, Joe, we got company.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s eyes went to the ring of fierce painted natives surrounding them.\u00a0 His head dropped to the ground.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I\u2019ll just go back to sleep….\u201d<\/p>\n

Before Hoss could stop him, a warrior straddled Joe and, gripping him by one arm and the back of his hair, hauled him to his feet.\u00a0 Joe let out a strangled cry, but once he was on his feet, he bit his lip and stopped anymore coming.<\/p>\n

They both knew a show of strength was their best defense.<\/p>\n

A second later the big man was hauled to his feet too and positioned beside Joe.\u00a0 His little brother gave him a pale imitation of his usual game smile and swayed like he was drunk.<\/p>\n

\u201cHold on, Joe.\u00a0 I\u2019ll get us out of this,\u201d Hoss whispered.<\/p>\n

Somehow.<\/p>\n

Outside the circle there was a hastily erected lean-to.\u00a0 The blanket that shut it was drawn back suddenly and two men emerged.\u00a0 One was older, about their pa\u2019s age.\u00a0 The other was about Adam\u2019s age.\u00a0 He was tall and well-muscled, with a scarred face and long black hair drawn back in a tail.\u00a0 There was a red hand painted on his face and he was holding a long sharp spear.\u00a0 His weapons belt dripped death.\u00a0 The older man advanced toward them.\u00a0 He had a strong face, hard but not cruel.\u00a0 His white hair was contained by a beaded band.\u00a0 Feathers both rose and dangled from it.\u00a0 On his wrinkled face was the twin of the red hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou will tell me who you are,\u201d he demanded.<\/p>\n

Hoss swallowed.\u00a0 \u201cWell, my name\u2019s Hoss and this is Little Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

The elder Indian\u2019s gaze flicked to his brother.\u00a0 \u201cThe white men have two names.\u00a0 What is the other?\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss knew what was coming next.\u00a0 He\u2019d tell them their name and Joe would be dead.\u00a0 \u00a0Pretty Prairie had explained it all to him on the way to the Ponderosa.\u00a0 The tall Indian was Yellow Horse.\u00a0 He\u2019d told her grandpa she was dead and Joe had done it.<\/p>\n

And he had nothing but his word to prove otherwise.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore I answer that, White Crow….\u00a0 You are White Crow, ain\u2019t ya?\u201d<\/p>\n

The older of the two men nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I got some good news for you.\u00a0 Pretty Prairie ain\u2019t dead!\u201d<\/p>\n

He saw the news strike the old man like a hand.\u00a0 Yellow Horse immediately reacted.\u00a0 \u2018The white man lies to save his brother!\u201d\u00a0 The warrior struck Joe with the back of his hand, sending him reeling to the ground.\u00a0 In a second the tip of the war spear he carried was pressing into his brother\u2019s chest.\u00a0 \u201cHe will die!\u201d<\/p>\n

White Crow said nothing.\u00a0 He simply raised his hand.<\/p>\n

Yellow Horse growled, but he backed off.<\/p>\n

\u201cExplain,\u201d the old chief said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, sir, the last time I saw Pretty Prairie she was at our ranch.\u00a0 I found her in a cave.\u00a0 McRae and some Indian feller,\u201d his eyes flicked to Yellow Horse, \u2018took her and my brother there to kill them both.\u00a0 They was gonna make it look like Joe done tried to take advantage of her.\u00a0 According to Pretty Prairie Joe didn\u2019t do nothin\u2019, but that man McRae tried to have his way with her.\u201d\u00a0 He glanced at his brother where he lay unmoving on the ground.\u00a0 \u201cJoe tried to stop them and they took him hostage while the girl got away.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou cannot believe a white man!\u201d Yellow Horse snarled.\u00a0 \u201cAll white men lie.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRed men lie too,\u201d a light voice pronounced.\u00a0 Hoss felt relief wash through him like a flash flood as Pretty Prairie stepped out of the trees.\u00a0 The Indian gal stood there with her shoulders back and her head held high.\u00a0 \u201cYellow Horse lies.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cShe thinks she loves this one,\u201d the warrior shouted as he gave Joe\u2019s still form a kick.\u00a0 \u201cShe will say anything to save him!\u201d<\/p>\n

Pretty Prairie ignored him and went to kneel before her grandfather. \u00a0\u201cWhite Crow knows Pretty Prairie does not lie.\u00a0 Joe Cartwright saved my life.\u201d\u00a0 She turned and pointed at the warrior.\u00a0 \u201cIt is Yellow Horse who meant to take it!\u201d<\/p>\n

White Crow turned to look at Yellow Horse.\u00a0 The warrior must have scented which way the wind was blowing and was backing up toward the trees.\u00a0 \u201cTake him!\u201d the old chief shouted.<\/p>\n

Before they could, Yellow Horse lifted his spear and threw it, taking one of the young warriors in the side.\u00a0 In the confusion that followed, he bolted and ran into the woods.<\/p>\n

Hoss was on his feet and stretching toward him.\u00a0 White Crow turned to him.\u00a0 \u201cHe will not escape.\u00a0 Yellow Horse is not your worry.\u00a0 Your brother is your worry.\u00a0 My men will help you take him into the lodge where we will tend him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss was rubbing his wrists.\u00a0 Pretty Prairie had found a knife and freed him.\u00a0 She was doing the same now to Joe.\u00a0 \u201cI thank you kindly for your offer, White Crow, but Joe is gonna need the white man\u2019s medicine.\u00a0 Our…medicine man is at the Ponderosa.\u00a0 He\u2019ll look after him.\u201d<\/p>\n

White Crow was looking at the ground where his granddaughter was seated with Joe\u2019s head in her lap.\u00a0 \u201cThe journey will be hard,\u201d the elder Indian said.\u00a0 \u201cHe is near the other side.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss swallowed.\u00a0 \u201cYes, sir, but Joe\u2019s tough.\u00a0 He\u2019ll make it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will rig a horse and travois for you so you may bear him home.\u201d\u00a0 The older man went to stand over his granddaughter.\u00a0 \u201cA warrior would wish to die with those he loves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pretty Prairie looked up.\u00a0 \u201cGrandfather….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou may go.\u00a0 See him settled and then return.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Indian girl slipped out from under Joe and gently laid his head on the ground.\u00a0 Then she embraced her grandfather.\u00a0 The older man placed his hand on her head and bent down to kiss her forehead with great affection.\u00a0 A moment later he raised his eyes, and in those eyes that had ordered the deaths of hundreds was a gentleness no white man would have thought an Indian capable of.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you,\u201d he said simply.<\/p>\n

Hoss nodded and then he bent to look to his brother.<\/p>\n

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\u201cPa.\u00a0 Someone\u2019s coming.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam Cartwright caught the reins of his father\u2019s mount and pulled him to a halt.\u00a0 They had been backtracking Gabriel McRae\u2019s tracks and were about an hour into the woods.\u00a0 He could hear a stream babbling beside them.\u00a0 The light was rising in the sky, heralding a new day.<\/p>\n

Neither of them had any idea of what it would hold.<\/p>\n

His father checked Buck and looked at him.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t hear anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cListen, Pa,\u201d he told him. \u00a0Adam did the same himself.\u00a0 At least two horses were coming their way, but there was another sound he couldn\u2019t identify.\u00a0 It was rough, like a millstone grinding.\u00a0 \u201cHear that?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben Cartwright was frowning.\u00a0 \u201cYes. Yes, I do.\u00a0 What do you think it is?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSounds like someone\u2019s hauling something.\u201d\u00a0 He nodded toward the trees.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s best if we get off the path until we see who it is, don\u2019t you think?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI completely agree.\u201d\u00a0 With that, his father turned his horse\u2019s nose toward the trees and the two of them settled just within the cover of their shadows.<\/p>\n

The wait was not long.\u00a0 Adam was the first to realize it was an Indian horse dragging a travois that they had heard.\u00a0 There were two others on horseback.\u00a0 An Indian and a big white man whose face was hidden by the morning\u2019s shadows.\u00a0 Beside the travois a native woman walked with her head down.\u00a0 Adam sucked in air when he realized who she was.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa!\u00a0 It\u2019s Pretty Prairie!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u00a0 Then that must be Hoss.\u201d\u00a0 His father leaned forward in the saddle, worry etched into every strained muscle.\u00a0 \u201cBut where\u2019s Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cSomeone\u2019s got to be on the travois, Pa.\u00a0 Odds are its Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Without saying a word his father urged Buck forward and moved onto the road.\u00a0 His sudden appearance halted the small party.\u00a0 It was early morning and there was mist in the air so it took both the Indian girl and his brother a moment to realize who it was.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa!\u201d Hoss shouted.\u00a0 \u201cIf you ain\u2019t a sight for sore eyes!\u201d<\/p>\n

Their father was off the horse and heading toward the travois.\u00a0 Adam saw him stiffen as he looked at the still form laying on it.\u00a0 \u201cWhat happened to your brother?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLittle Joe\u2019s had some rough days, Pa.\u00a0 He\u2019s plumb wore out and that shoulder don\u2019t look good.\u00a0 Is the Doc still at the house?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo far as I know,\u201d the silver-haired man said as he knelt by the rig.\u00a0 \u201cJoe?\u00a0 Joe, can you hear me?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam followed.\u00a0 He watched as Little Joe stirred at the sound of that beloved voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m here, son.\u00a0 We\u2019ll get you home and see to your injuries.\u201d\u00a0 His father had reached out and laid his hand on Joe\u2019s forehead.\u00a0 As he knelt there, Pretty Prairie stepped over to him and placed her hand on his shoulder.\u00a0 When his father looked up, there were tears in his eyes. \u201cThank you,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Indian girl smiled.\u00a0 Then she said, enigmatically, \u201cThank Marie.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam watched his father choke.\u00a0 The older man nodded and then rose to his feet.\u00a0 Looking at him, his pa said, \u201cAdam, I think you should find Deputy Clem.\u00a0 Let him know it\u2019s over.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll find Roy, Pa.\u00a0 But is it really over?\u201d<\/p>\n

The older man frowned.\u00a0 \u201cWhat are you talking about, Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n

The black-haired man sighed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe still don\u2019t know what happened to Belle.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

SIXTEEN<\/p>\n

Ben Cartwright stood by the window as he had done so many times before with his wives, with all of his boys, waiting for the doctor to come and tell him the chance someone he loved had of living.\u00a0 Joe was young and strong as Doc Martin always said, but a body could only take so much\u00a0 The boy had been missing nearly a week.\u00a0 He\u2019d been without food for most of that time.\u00a0 He was battered and bruised, and the muscles in his leg had been strained to the point of tearing.\u00a0 Still, it was the knife wound that worried him.\u00a0 Thankfully someone along the way had actually tended the damage done by the blade and bound it, which kept the open place in his son\u2019s shoulder from being contaminated. \u00a0Another plus was that the knife blade had gone through mostly flesh and had missed the artery.\u00a0 The biggest threat to Joe\u2019s life was the fever brought on by the infection and the possibility of gangrene.<\/p>\n

\u201cBen.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was Doc Martin.\u00a0 Fortunately the older man had remained at the house when he and Adam rode away.\u00a0 Ben steeled himself as he turned.\u00a0 \u201cHow\u2019s Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat boy of yours, Ben, leads a charmed life.\u00a0 He\u2019s still alive.\u201d<\/p>\n

The older man\u2019s brows peaked at that.\u00a0 \u201cYou sound surprised.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am.\u00a0 If you\u2019d asked me an hour ago, the news might not have been so good.\u201d<\/p>\n

They\u2019d brought Joe home as the sun rose.\u00a0 It was now six hours later.\u00a0 The day had been a \u00a0rough one on all of them.\u00a0 Joe had been out of his head for most of it.\u00a0 His youngest kept trying to get out of bed, all the while shouting about being pursued by the Makems.\u00a0 It had been so long, or so it seemed, since Joe had set out to Alvin Makem\u2019s and this whole thing had started that he had almost forgotten that one of his neighbors had tried to kill his boy.\u00a0 Adam was going to look into what happened to the Makems and Nellie while he was in town searching for Belle.\u00a0 The poor girl was all alone now and needed someone to watch over her until her relatives back East came to take her home with them.\u00a0 Nellie\u2019d paid quite a price for being a silly, self-serving child.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut you think he\u2019ll make it now?\u201d Ben asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we can keep the infection at bay and the fever down until it\u2019s done its work, then I\u2019d say yes.\u201d\u00a0 The doctor turned and looked back the way he had come, up the stairs to the second floor.\u00a0 \u201cHe certainly won\u2019t lack for care.\u00a0 Joe\u2019s got a devoted nurse.\u201d<\/p>\n

Once they had arrived at the Ponderosa and deposited Joe in his bed, White Crow\u2019s men had wanted to leave.\u00a0 Pretty Prairie would hear none of it.\u00a0 She insisted that her grandfather had said she should stay until Joe was \u2018settled\u2019.\u00a0 Well, she didn\u2019t consider him settled until he was out of danger.\u00a0 He\u2019d sent his thanks back with the warriors to the Ute chief along with a pile of blankets, some silver, and a fine rifle for White Crow.\u00a0 He\u2019d also sent his assurances that the girl would come to no harm and that, once Joe was better, he would personally see her home.<\/p>\n

The only thing that had left him unsettled was that Yellow Horse was still on the loose.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s times I think that boy\u2019s made of honey,\u201d Ben said, shaking his head.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s not a girl, red or white, can resist him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s nothing more I can do for him now, Ben.\u00a0 You keep cold compresses on him and give him the medicine.\u00a0 Tonight there will probably be a crisis.\u00a0 I\u2019ll try to make it back before then.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere are you going, Doctor?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll run my rounds in this area.\u00a0 I need to check in on the young man who was mauled by the mountain lion for one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben nodded.\u00a0 There were other fathers out there who were just as worried about their sons as he was.\u00a0 The silver-haired man held out his hand.\u00a0 \u201cThank you, Doctor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Doc Martin smiled.\u00a0 \u2018You tell that youngest boy of yours, once he\u2019s well enough, that I\u2019m going to start charging double if he keeps running me out here.\u201d<\/p>\n

The older man laughed.\u00a0 \u201cI will.\u00a0 Thank you again, Doctor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben watched as the white-haired man opened the door and stepped out into the light.\u00a0 It was mid-afternoon.\u00a0 The day was a bright one, with lots of promise.\u00a0 Unfortunately, it was winter in his soul.<\/p>\n

\u201cMister Cartwright?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben turned to find Pretty Prairie standing at the top of the stairs.\u00a0 He moved toward her.\u00a0 \u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/p>\n

Her eyes were wide.\u00a0 \u201cYou need to come now.\u201d<\/p>\n

xxxxxxxxxxoooxxxxxxxxxx<\/p>\n

Adam Cartwright was leaning on the post of the Mercantile\u2019s porch.\u00a0 He pushed his hat back on his head.\u00a0 He looked up, noting the sun was beginning to fall toward the horizon.\u00a0 He\u2019d really hoped to be back to the Ponderosa before nightfall.\u00a0 He was worried about Joe.\u00a0 Hoss had come with him to town and they had scoured it like a muddy floor, searching every establishment and back alley for a sign of Belle.\u00a0 So far they had found nothing.\u00a0 He\u2019d gone to the hotel and inquired about her, but they hadn\u2019t seen her there.\u00a0 The items Belle had brought to the Ponderosa were still in the room she had occupied.\u00a0 It was as if she had vanished.\u00a0 He had a bad feeling about it all.\u00a0 Belle had felt responsible for what happened to Joe, and for what was going to happen to the spread.\u00a0 He was afraid she had done something foolish.<\/p>\n

Like left with Jarvis Barrot.<\/p>\n

As he stood there thinking, Hoss rounded the corner.\u00a0 His brother stopped and looked around. When he spotted him, he made a beeline over.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is it, Hoss?\u201d Adam asked, straightening up.<\/p>\n

\u201cI seen her, Adam.\u00a0 You was right.\u00a0 She\u2019s with Barrot.\u201d<\/p>\n

He pursed his lips.\u00a0 \u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWaiting on the stage.\u00a0 There\u2019s one due in about a half hour.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs there?\u00a0 Well, that\u2019s plenty of time to get her to change her mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss caught his arm as he moved past.\u00a0 \u201cAdam, are you sure that\u2019s smart?\u00a0 We ain\u2019t got any right to question her.\u00a0 Belle\u2019s old enough to know what she\u2019s doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, I know she knows \u2018what\u2019 she\u2019s doing, it\u2019s why<\/em> she\u2019s doing it that bothers me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou mean to protect us?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what I mean exactly.\u201d\u00a0 Adam moved into the street.\u00a0 \u201cWe can take care of ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam, you ever consider this is something Belle needs to do?\u00a0 To make up for what she thinks she\u2019s done wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n

He stopped and looked at his brother.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t be ridiculous.\u00a0 None of this is Belle\u2019s fault.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know that, Adam, but that don\u2019t mean she don\u2019t believe it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, then, I am just the man to set her straight.\u00a0 You wait here.\u00a0 I\u2019ll be back shortly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want me to come with you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cNo. This is something I need to do alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay, brother, I understand.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam\u2019s jaw tightened.\u00a0 No.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Stepping out into the sun the black-haired man headed for the small building where the stage came in.\u00a0 As he approached he saw her.\u00a0 Belle was dressed in the Virginia City Milliner\u2019s finest.\u00a0 It was a dress of canary yellow with rose and green trim.\u00a0 He\u2019d seen it in the window for over a month now.\u00a0 The price had been high enough to buy the town.\u00a0 When he had almost reached her side Jarvis Barrot appeared.\u00a0 The man from the city stepped out of the office and placed himself between them.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re not wanted here, Cartwright.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you ask the lady?\u201d he replied.<\/p>\n

Belle didn\u2019t look at him.\u00a0 \u201cGo away, Adam.\u00a0 Go home,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot until you look me in the eye and tell me that this is what you want.\u201d<\/p>\n

She hesitated, and then looked at him.\u00a0 Her eyes were moist.\u00a0 \u201cThis is what I want.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, it isn\u2019t.\u00a0 Barrot\u2019s bribed you or threatened you or \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThose words, young man, are libel,\u201d Barrot said as he stepped down to street level.\u00a0 \u201cI would suggest you take them back,\u201d<\/p>\n

His eyes never left Belle.\u00a0 \u201cWhat are you going to do if I don\u2019t?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI shall call the sheriff.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam snorted.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve never known Roy or Clem to arrest a man for words.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen I shall do this!\u201d\u00a0 Barrot pulled off one of his gloves and struck Adam across the face with it.\u00a0 \u201cConsider yourself challenged.\u201d<\/p>\n

Belle went white.\u00a0 \u201cAdam, no.\u00a0 Jarvis has killed two men in duels.\u00a0 You can\u2019t go up against \u2013\u201d\u00a0 A sharp look from Barrot silenced her. As she looked around wildly, her eyes lit on Hoss who was coming up behind him in spite of what he had said.\u00a0 \u201cHoss, stop him!\u00a0 Stop them!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam, you cain\u2019t \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou stay out of this, Hoss.\u00a0 I can do anything I like.\u00a0 I\u2019m a grown man in spite of what Pa seems to think at times.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss hesitated.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re acting like Little Joe, Adam.\u00a0 He ain\u2019t grown.\u201d<\/p>\n

That stung.\u00a0 Adam\u2019s jaw clenched.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s done.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, it is,\u201d Barrot said coldly.\u00a0 He indicated the street with a nod.\u00a0 \u201cShall we?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cInformal, then?\u201d the black-haired man asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cQuite.\u00a0 Twenty paces and then draw.\u00a0 Does that satisfy you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSuits me fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss had moved to the platform where Belle stood.\u00a0 She clung to him as if for dear life.\u00a0 Adam gave her a smile and then turned and began to count the paces down the street.\u00a0 When he had reached the count of fifteen he heard her draw a breath.\u00a0 At one and the same time both she and Hoss cried out, \u201cAdam!\u201d<\/p>\n

Quicker than thought he turned and fired.\u00a0 Barrot already had his weapon out and it was smoking.\u00a0 At the same time Adam realized it, the bullet hit him, glancing off his collarbone and cutting a path through his flesh.\u00a0 He staggered back.\u00a0 Barrot did something more.<\/p>\n

He dropped where he stood.<\/p>\n

Hoss was at his side in a second.\u00a0 \u201cAdam, are you okay?\u201d<\/p>\n

He nodded.\u00a0 \u201cIts\u2019 nothing.\u00a0 Mostly flesh.\u201d\u00a0 The black-haired man moved past his brother and headed for Belle where she knelt in the dust beside Barrot\u2019s prone form.\u00a0 Her hand was on his chest.\u00a0 When she looked up, it was with disbelief.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s…dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam knelt beside her.\u00a0 \u201cYes, Belle.\u00a0 He\u2019s dead.\u00a0 And not by my hand, by his own.\u201d\u00a0 He reached out and touched her face.\u00a0 \u201cBelle, you\u2019re free.\u201d<\/p>\n

She blinked.\u00a0 It hadn\u2019t sunk in yet.\u00a0 \u201cFree?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJarvis Barrot will trouble you no more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Belle reached up and covered his hand with her own.\u00a0 Then she burst into tears.<\/p>\n

In spite of his wound, he pulled her close and held her as she cried.\u00a0 When the storm had subsided a little, he pushed her away and met her red-rimmed eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow come on, \u2018big sister\u2019, it\u2019s time to go home.\u201d<\/p>\n

xxxxxxxxxxoooxxxxxxxxxx<\/p>\n

Halfway to the Ponderosa they met Hop Sing.\u00a0 He was in one of the rigs and was flying down the road.\u00a0 He told them Mr. Ben had sent him to find the doctor.\u00a0 Little Joe had taken a turn for the worse.\u00a0 Exchanging Hop Sing for Hoss, Adam sent his brother in search of Doc Martin.\u00a0 He put Hop Sing on his horse, took Belle in hand and climbed into the rig, and made record time back to the ranch.<\/p>\n

They arrived at a house in crisis.\u00a0 Joe was out of his head.\u00a0 Adam heard him crying out as they entered the great room.\u00a0 Sprinting up the stairs with Belle at his heels he opened the door to Joe\u2019s room and stepped inside.\u00a0 The look his father gave him nearly broke his heart.\u00a0 The older man was forcibly holding Joe down as he thrashed and screamed, crying out that the Makems were going to kill him.\u00a0 Adam crossed to the bed and placed his hand on his little brother\u2019s forehead.\u00a0 Joe was on fire.<\/p>\n

He turned and looked at Belle.\u00a0 She was standing in the doorway.\u00a0 \u201cGo and see if there\u2019s any ice in the ice house.\u00a0 If there is, bring it here.\u00a0 Now!\u201d<\/p>\n

Belle shook but she didn\u2019t move.<\/p>\n

\u201cBelle!\u00a0 Now!\u00a0 Find Hop Sing.\u00a0 If there\u2019s no ice, then bring all the cold water you can. We need to soak these sheets!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs…is he going to die?\u201d she stammered.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is if you don\u2019t move!\u201d Adam snapped, ignoring the look his father gave him.\u00a0 \u201cGo!\u00a0 Get moving!\u201d<\/p>\n

She did.<\/p>\n

Still holding his brother down, the older man turned and looked at him.\u00a0 \u201cAdam, was that necess \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBelle blames herself for Joe.\u00a0 She needs to feel she\u2019s helping.\u201d\u00a0 He glanced at his brother.\u00a0 \u201cPa, if Joe dies, we\u2019ll have two<\/em> dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

His father\u2019s jaw tightened.\u00a0 \u201cJoe won\u2019t<\/em> die.\u00a0 The Doc said we\u2019d have a crisis to pass through.\u00a0 This is it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam nodded.\u00a0 This was what it meant to be a Cartwright.\u00a0 Never giving in.\u00a0 Never giving up.<\/p>\n

Never, ever<\/em> admitting defeat.<\/p>\n

xxxxxxxxxxoooxxxxxxxxxx<\/p>\n

It was a long night.\u00a0 One of the longest Ben Cartwright had known since coming to Nevada.\u00a0 Oh, he\u2019d known long ones before \u2013\u00a0 nights without hope when there was nothing to be done but keep watch \u2013 but this one was different.\u00a0 Joe had a chance and even if it was slim, then they had to grab hold and hang onto it for all they were worth.<\/p>\n

Ben had surrendered his seat by his boy\u2019s side to Hoss a few minutes before.\u00a0 He was downstairs now beside the fire, collapsed in one of the crimson chairs that sat before it, weary beyond putting into words.\u00a0 Doc Martin had returned several hours before and had drained Joe\u2019s wound and rebandaged it, and then given him a dose of laudanum to quiet him.\u00a0 Joe had calmed down and then fallen silent.<\/p>\n

That had been worse than the ranting.<\/p>\n

The silver-haired man leaned forward and placed his head in his hands.\u00a0 His mind had flown to Marie as he sat there on Joe\u2019s bed holding him down, fighting with his boy like he was a wildcat bent on being free, and then watching him retreat into silence.\u00a0 He remembered how it had been after Joe\u2019s mother had fallen from the horse.\u00a0 She\u2019d cried out in pain and then gone silent like her son.<\/p>\n

And never awakened again.<\/p>\n

At the end of the day Sheriff Coffee had made an appearance, checking on them.\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t spoken to Roy directly, but Hoss had conveyed that Adam was in the clear for the death of Jarvis Barrot.\u00a0 He\u2019d also told them that they\u2019d let the youngest of Alvin Makem\u2019s sons go.\u00a0 Moore and Jimmy were back at the house now with Nellie.\u00a0 The other two boys and their pa were being held for what they tried to do to Little Joe.\u00a0 Doc Martin had visited Alvin s before coming to the Ponderosa and declared he was unsound of mind and unable to stand trial.\u00a0 Alvin\u2019s brother back East had been contacted and was looking for some place where he could get him help.<\/p>\n

Ben still had his head in his hands when he felt a gentle touch.\u00a0 He looked up to find Belle.\u00a0 She was white as a sheet, but on her feet and functioning.\u00a0 A steely sort of resolve had overtaken her guilt and grief and she had served alongside Pretty Prairie as Doc Martin\u2019s assistant throughout the long, nearly unendurable night.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou should get some sleep,\u201d she said, sounding like a woman.<\/p>\n

He shook his head as he sat back.\u00a0 \u201cNot until I know Joe is out of danger.\u201d<\/p>\n

She sat beside him.\u00a0 \u201cThe doctor is with him.\u00a0 We should know soon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben smiled at her.\u00a0 \u201cThank you, Belle, for all your help.\u201d<\/p>\n

She shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cI brought this one you. \u00a0It\u2019s the least I can do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d he said, straightening up, \u201cJarvis Barrot\u2019s evil brought this on us.\u00a0 You are just as much a victim of his as Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe wouldn\u2019t have come here if it hadn\u2019t been for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBelle, look at me,\u201d Ben said.\u00a0 When she did, he went on.\u00a0 \u201cBarrot came here without knowing you were here.\u00a0 He meant to destroy me with or without you.\u00a0 You have to consider, if\u00a0 you hadn\u2019t come, we would have had no warning and his scheme with McRae might have succeeded.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I do,\u201d he said taking her hand and squeezing it.<\/p>\n

\u201cBen.\u201d<\/p>\n

They both stood and turned toward the stair.\u00a0 His heart dropped to his toes as he asked, \u201cDoc?\u201d<\/p>\n

The white-haired man smiled.\u00a0 \u201cYour son is asking for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a heartbeat he was on the stairs and moving past the doctor.\u00a0 As he did, the physician caught his arm. \u201cOnly a minute, Ben.\u00a0 The boy needs to rest.\u201d<\/p>\n

He nodded and finished the climb.\u00a0 When he arrived at Joe\u2019s bedroom, Hoss was waiting.\u00a0 \u201cThe fever ain\u2019t broke, Pa, but its way down.\u00a0 The Doc thinks it will break yet tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGo find your older brother and tell him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPretty Prairie already went to get him,\u201d the big man answered.<\/p>\n

Ben\u2019s eyes sought his son as he entered the room.\u00a0 Joe\u2019s slender form was blanketed in wet sheets topped off with what ice remained.\u00a0 His\u00a0 brown hair was soaked with sweat.\u00a0 The fever had painted his cheeks a rosy red and flushed his slender form with perspiration.\u00a0 His breathing had evened and he was sleeping like a babe.<\/p>\n

The older man sat gingerly on the bed beside his son, trying hard not to wake him.\u00a0 He needn\u2019t have bothered.\u00a0 Joe seemed to sense he was there.\u00a0 His son\u2019s dark eyelashes fluttered.\u00a0 His green eyes opened and his lips moved.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa….\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben touched his face, grateful to find it was warm and not blazing hot.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m here, son.\u201d<\/p>\n

A slow smile spread across Joe\u2019s lips.\u00a0 \u201cDid you see that Indian girl, Pa?\u00a0 She sure was pretty….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Joe, I did.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI tried to help her, Pa,\u201d his son said, growing agitated.\u00a0 \u201cMcRae, he wanted to hurt her.\u00a0 He…..\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMcRae\u2019s dead, son.\u00a0 And Pretty Prairie is here.\u00a0 She\u2019s been watching over you.\u201d<\/p>\n

He smiled like a little boy.\u00a0 \u201cShe sure is pretty….\u201d he said as he drifted back to sleep.<\/p>\n

Ben turned toward the door to find the young Indian woman standing in it.\u00a0 Adam was behind her.\u00a0 Rising, he laid Joe\u2019s hand on the wet sheet and crossed to White Crow\u2019s granddaughter.\u00a0 \u201cI think that you\u2019ll do my son more good now that I can,\u201d he said with a smile,<\/p>\n

She nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI will stay with Marie\u2019s son.\u201d<\/p>\n

He touched her shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cThank you.\u201d\u00a0 Turning his attention to his oldest boy, Ben signaled for Adam to follow him into the corridor.\u00a0 \u201cHave you spoken to Belle?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cI passed her downstairs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBelle is a young lady who has lost her way, son.\u00a0 Why don\u2019t you see what you can do about helping her find it?\u201d<\/p>\n

xxxxxxxxxxoooxxxxxxxxxx<\/p>\n

Adam stopped on the stairs near the top.\u00a0 Belle was seated in the great room.\u00a0 She had a bunch of letters in her hand.\u00a0 She was staring into the fire, her mind as far away as the life he had known back East.\u00a0 Taking the steps quickly, he crossed to her side.<\/p>\n

\u201cBelle?\u201d<\/p>\n

It took a second before she looked up at him.<\/p>\n

\u201cPenny for your thoughts?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow\u2019s Joe?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s going to be all right.\u00a0 The fever\u2019s nearly gone.\u00a0 It will take time, but Joe won\u2019t care so long as he has a pretty nurse watching over him.\u201d<\/p>\n

The young woman smiled.\u00a0 \u201cYou Cartwrights are an interesting bunch.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe <\/em>Cartwrights?\u00a0\u00a0 So you\u2019ve decided completely that you aren\u2019t one of us?\u201d<\/p>\n

She sighed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThese are my mother\u2019s.\u00a0 I read them again, setting all of my own wishes aside.\u00a0 Mother wanted with all of her heart for Benjamin Cartwright to be my father, but I don\u2019t think he is.\u201d\u00a0 She shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll probably never know for certain who was.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy not?\u201d Adam asked.<\/p>\n

She winced as she waved the letters.\u00a0 \u201cToo many candidates.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh.\u201d<\/p>\n

Belle laughed.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s okay.\u00a0 My mother was not me and I am not my mother.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u00a0 But you are a beautiful woman just like Pa said she was.\u201d\u00a0 Adam moved closer.\u00a0 He reached out and took her chin in his hand and when she didn\u2019t resist, kissed her on the lips.\u00a0 \u201cI want you to stay here, Belle.\u00a0 With me.\u201d<\/p>\n

She closed her eyes briefly.\u00a0 When they opened, they were full of tears.\u00a0 \u201cAdam, I would like nothing more, but I have to go back to Ohio.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo deal with your step-father\u2019s business?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn part.\u00a0 But more than that, to discover who I am.\u00a0 I think I\u2019ll go back East and seek out the people who knew my mother \u2013 and my real father.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought you said you wouldn\u2019t be able to figure out who he was.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cProbably not.\u00a0 But I can try.\u00a0 Who knows, he could still be living.\u201d\u00a0 Belle took his hand and pressed it between her own.\u00a0 \u201cWho knows?\u00a0 I could have real brothers \u2013 or sisters out there somewhere.\u00a0 I need to try to find them.\u201d<\/p>\n

He nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI understand.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you?\u00a0 I don\u2019t think so.\u00a0 Adam, you are so rooted here.\u00a0 You know who you are and where you came from, and who the people were who made you what you are.\u00a0 I need to find out who those people were in my life, and what they have made me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA strong, beautiful, intelligent and compassionate woman,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Belle smiled and kissed his hand.\u00a0 \u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you want me to take you into town?\u201d<\/p>\n

She looked up the stairs.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll wait until I know Little Joe is well, and then I\u2019ll go \u2013 and yes, I would love to have you take me into town.\u201d<\/p>\n

He looked at her, thinking of all the possibilities, and of all that had happened since the wind blew her into their lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll miss you, Belle.\u201d<\/p>\n

She nodded, unable to speak.<\/p>\n

Then they kissed.<\/p>\n

xxxxxxxxxxoooxxxxxxxxxx<\/p>\n

Two days later Belle was gone.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tags:\u00a0 Adam Cartwright,\u00a0Angst,\u00a0Ben Cartwright,\u00a0Hop Sing,\u00a0Hoss Cartwright,\u00a0hostage,\u00a0Joe \/ Little Joe Cartwright,\u00a0JPM,\u00a0Roy Coffee,\u00a0SJS<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

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

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

Summary:\u00a0One day the wind blows in a woman claiming to be Ben Cartwright’s daughter. As her claim appears to be valid, Belle moves into the Ponderosa bringing trouble from her past in the form of a man who is obsessed with her and who blames Ben Cartwright for taking her mother away. Before the end the lives of the Cartwrights and the Ponderosa itself are in danger of going up in flames.<\/p>\n

Rated: PG-13\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Word count: 59, 034<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10058,"featured_media":30558,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","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":[2,23,41],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13455","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-actionadventure","category-drama","category-hurtcomfort","wpcat-2-id","wpcat-23-id","wpcat-41-id"],"a3_pvc":{"activated":true,"total_views":2780,"today_views":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/landscape-nature-grass-horizon-mountain-snow-797389-pxhere.com_-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1920&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":14374,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=14374","url_meta":{"origin":13455,"position":0},"title":"The Tiger Puzzle (by Robin)","author":"profrobinw","date":"January 1, 2000","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary:\u00a0 The Cartwright brothers come to the aid of sisters; however, will they be able to help the damsels in distress? \u00a0If you know the brothers, you know where this is going -- risque'. 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