{"id":13465,"date":"2016-09-14T09:37:23","date_gmt":"2016-09-14T13:37:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=13465"},"modified":"2025-09-25T15:41:26","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T19:41:26","slug":"same-pines-different-wind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=13465","title":{"rendered":"Same Pines Different Wind (by McFair_58)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary<\/strong>: This story is a sequel or WHN for the wonderful episode ‘Different Pines Same Wind’. \u00a0As Joe Cartwright helps the old woman Carrie Pickett prepare for winter, the arrival of a beautiful young woman at the Ponderosa spells disaster. Her appearance serves as a catalyst for an unexpected series of events that culminate in a showdown in the Piney Woods in which not only Joe, but Hoss and Ben, must face and overcome Marks deep seated need for revenge .<\/p>\n

Rated PG-13\u00a0\u00a0 Word Count: 50,528<\/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

Same Pines Different Wind<\/strong><\/p>\n

ONE<\/p>\n

“Joseph!\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben Cartwright opened the door of the ranch house and looked out toward the stable.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoseph, are you out there?\u201d<\/p>\n

When he received no reply, the older man stepped onto the porch.\u00a0 He glanced at the sky, noting that it was clouding over \u2013 not unusual for a day in the first week of December.\u00a0 The cold had advanced quickly this year and everyone was expecting an early snow.\u00a0 In fact, the day before while out on the range he had spotted a few flakes drifting to the ground.\u00a0 Yes, the year was winding down and soon there would be time for that book and glass of brandy by the fire that cattle drives, timberlines, and mining operations had so long denied.<\/p>\n

That was, if he ever found his son.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cWhat do you need, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

The voice came from behind him and not from the stable.\u00a0 He spun to find Joe emerging from the house.\u00a0 His son was dressed as usual in his tan hat, green leather coat, brown shirt and gray pants, and looked like he was ready to travel.\u00a0 He had a saddlebag slung over his shoulder along with a bag from the kitchen containing food that Hop Sing had no doubt prepared.<\/p>\n

There was also an apple in his mouth.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen did you come in?\u201d Ben asked.<\/p>\n

Joe finished the bite he was taking, pointed to his mouth while he chewed, and then swallowed so quickly he coughed.\u00a0 \u201cSorry, Pa.\u00a0 I\u2019ve been in the kitchen with Hop Sing.\u00a0 I came in the side door.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh.\u201d\u00a0 His son was twenty-eight years old now and had streaks of silver highlighting his once deep brown hair, but he still looked like that little boy with the mound of curls and great green eyes that he would swoop up and out of \u00a0his mother\u2019s arms. \u00a0\u00a0He indicated the saddlebag with a nod.\u00a0 \u201cAre you going somewhere?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe looked immediately guilty.\u00a0 \u201cWhat?\u00a0 Oh, this?\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 He winced.\u00a0 \u201cI just thought I\u2019d ride up and check out the timber on the north edge toward Crescent Mountain.\u00a0 It\u2019s been about six months since any of us was up that way to check things out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHmmm, let\u2019s see.\u201d\u00a0 Ben snapped his fingers.\u00a0 \u201cNow, that wouldn\u2019t be when you went to check up on Carrie Pickett, would it?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe actually blushed.\u00a0 \u201cIt might be.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe, if you wanted time off to go and visit Carrie, all you had to do was ask.\u00a0 What makes you think you have to sneak off?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry, Pa.\u00a0 It\u2019s just, well, you know, when I went last summer, Hoss never let me hear the end of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t remember it clearly, but he did<\/em> remember the fact that Joe had decked his brother for implying that his feelings for the older woman went deeper than friendship.\u00a0 Carrie Pickett was his <\/em>age, either near or over sixty.\u00a0 The idea that Joe had any sort of romantic connection to her was\u00a0 ridiculous and his brother knew it, of course.\u00a0 But there was<\/em> something there.\u00a0 The \u2018stubborn, cantankerous old woman\u2019, as Joe put it, had definitely won a bit of his young son\u2019s heart \u2013 which said a lot about Joe and <\/em>Carrie.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know how Hoss is,\u201d he said t last.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith me?\u00a0 Yeah, I know.\u201d\u00a0 Joe ran a gloved hand through his ample hair.\u00a0 \u201cI just thought, if I said you had sent me up to the timberline, that Hoss\u2019d just think it was routine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you lied to your brother?\u00a0 And were going to lie to me?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s brown eyebrows met in the middle.\u00a0 \u201cWell, not exactly lied<\/em>….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo what exactly<\/em> would you call telling your brother that I told you to go when I didn\u2019t, if not a lie?\u201d he asked, folding his arms over his chest.<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s lips pursed and his mouth twitched.\u00a0 \u201cCreative thinking?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben rolled his eyes.\u00a0 \u201cJoseph, whatever am I going to do with you?\u00a0 You\u2019re too old to send to your room and definitely<\/em> old enough to know better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe hung his head for a moment.\u00a0 When he looked up, there was an odd light in his eyes.\u00a0 \u201cI can\u2019t explain it, Pa.\u00a0 I feel responsible for that old woman up there.\u00a0 The last time I checked on her she only had enough food in her cupboard for a week.\u00a0 That\u2019s all.\u00a0 When I asked her why, she told me to mind my own business.\u201d\u00a0 Joe snorted.\u00a0 \u201cActually, she threw a kettle at me and then <\/em>told me to mind my own business.\u00a0 Pa, Carrie\u2019s just so dang stubborn that she\u2019s liable to get herself into trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, you are not <\/em>responsible for her,\u201d Ben replied.\u00a0\u00a0 As Joe started to protest, he held up a hand. \u201cHowever, if what you are saying is that you are concerned for a friend and you would like to ask to go and help her out for a few weeks in order to prepare her place for winter, I think that would be acceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n

His son\u2019s eyes lit with hope.\u00a0 \u201cReally, Pa.\u00a0 You mean you\u2019ll let me go?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben stepped over to his son and placed a hand on his shoulder. \u00a0\u201cYou\u2019re a grown man, Joseph.\u00a0 You don\u2019t have to get my permission.\u00a0 If I disagree with what you intend to do, it\u2019s still <\/em>your choice.\u00a0 I reared all of you boys to be independent men.\u00a0 However,\u201d he wagged his finger, \u201cno more lying, young man.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe grinned.\u00a0 \u201cNo more lying, Pa.\u201d\u00a0 His son hesitated.\u00a0 \u201cSo I guess that means I should tell you that Hop Sing\u2019s packing a wagon with stock from the kitchen for me to take with me to Piney Woods?\u201d<\/p>\n

The older man sighed.\u00a0 \u201cIt wouldn\u2019t hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll pay you back, Pa.\u00a0 I just want to make sure she\u2019s stocked up for winter.\u201d\u00a0 Joe glanced toward the horizon.\u00a0 \u201cIt looks like it\u2019s going to be a hard one.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, and that makes it even more imperative you go now.\u201d\u00a0 Ben lifted his hand from his son\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t stay too long, Joseph.\u00a0 It\u2019s December, and you know what the snow can be up near Crescent.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSure thing, Pa.\u00a0 It takes a day to get there.\u00a0 I\u2019ll stay five or six and be back in a week.\u00a0 Will that work?\u201d<\/p>\n

It was pushing it as far as the weather, but he knew Joe would want to help Carrie out with her own preparations for winter.\u00a0 In the spring he had spent the majority of his time constructing a few small buildings, including a barn and a lean-to for Carrie\u2019s horse connected to the corral.\u00a0 This time there would be wood to lay in, butchering to be done, and much more.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t suppose you could try to talk her into moving closer to the Ponderosa?\u201d he asked.\u00a0 \u201cA few more years and she\u2019s not going to be able to take care of that place or herself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe laughed.\u00a0 \u201cYou <\/em>can tell her that, Pa.\u00a0 Not me.\u00a0 I don\u2019t want to have my head blown off with a double-barreled shot gun.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI suppose so.\u00a0 Anyhow, son,\u201d Ben held out his hand, \u201ctake care of yourself.\u00a0 Don\u2019t take any unnecessary risks.\u00a0 Jason Milburn is still active in that area and he has no love lost for you.\u00a0 You defeated a scheme of his that would have made him a very<\/em> rich man.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s eyes lit again, this time with a kind of pride.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019ll never be as rich as Miss Carrie, Pa.\u00a0 Not in a million years.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The ride to Piney Woods was an agreeable one.\u00a0 The sun was bright and the air pleasantly brisk.\u00a0 \u00a0He\u2019d slept the night before in the open air and that always made him feel optimistic.\u00a0 It was going to be a good visit.\u00a0 He\u2019d get there by sundown today and have time to give Carrie her surprise before settling in to sleep.<\/p>\n

Cochise was tethered behind the wagon and he had a strong plow horse named Onyx pulling it.\u00a0 She was a Missouri Fox Trotter, black in color and pretty as a thoroughbred.\u00a0 \u00a0He meant to leave the horse with Carrie so she could use it, along with her other one, to plant her fields in the spring.\u00a0 He\u2019d come back, of course, to help and make sure she had a good crop laid in.<\/p>\n

It was hard to explain, even to himself, what Carrie meant to him.\u00a0 She was the orneriest, most cantankerous and\u00a0 argumentative woman he had ever met.\u00a0 The first time they\u2019d come in contact she\u2019d almost shot him.\u00a0 Then she\u2019d lied to him, played tricks on him, and made him just about as mad as he had ever been. \u00a0\u00a0And yet….\u00a0 There was something about her.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t her looks, though he was sure she had been pretty enough when young.\u00a0 It was her spirit.\u00a0 She was like a proud stallion that had shed all restraints, standing on a mountain top, rearing up into the wind and whinnying for joy, not caring if it lived or died, only that it was free.<\/p>\n

It made him wonder just what Amos Pickett had been like.\u00a0 He must have been quite<\/em> a man to keep that flying filly content.<\/p>\n

Joe slapped the reins against the Trotter\u2019s rump, coaxing one final burst of speed from the animal.\u00a0 They were almost there.\u00a0 In a half hour he should see the log cabin Amos Pickett had built for his young wife come into view with its single door, transom, and front window under which Carrie kept a bench just for sitting.\u00a0 \u00a0There was a porch off the left-hand side where she kept a chair and liked to sit too, and another extension of the other side of the cabin that was her bedroom.\u00a0 The corral was to the right and there was a well nearby.\u00a0 That was the first thing he was going to tackle.\u00a0 The well had gone dry the year before and he hadn\u2019t had time to fix it yet.\u00a0 Carrie needed a well.\u00a0 A woman her age shouldn\u2019t be forced to go down to the lake and haul heavy buckets back every day.\u00a0 For one thing, it just wasn\u2019t safe.\u00a0 He figured a week should be long enough to do it.\u00a0 That, and other things like chopping wood and helping her with the smoked meat.\u00a0\u00a0 Yes, he\u2019d have Carrie all set for the winter before he left and then he could rest easy.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The sun was setting in the west by the time Joe arrived.\u00a0 It cast long thin shadows along the ground that partially hid Carrie Pickett\u2019s humble home.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t until he pulled up out front and really looked at it, that he realized something was wrong.\u00a0 The porch on the left-hand side of the house was gone.\u00a0 Reining in the horse, Joe stopped the wagon and jumped out.\u00a0 He walked over to the charred part of the structure to examine what remained.<\/p>\n

There had been a fire.\u00a0 A bad one that had burned right through the logs to the inside.<\/p>\n

Joe walked straight to the door and banged on it.\u00a0 \u201cCarrie!\u00a0 Carrie!\u00a0 It\u2019s Joe Cartwright.\u00a0 If you\u2019re in there, let me in!\u201d\u00a0 He waited.\u00a0 When there was no reply, he banged again.\u00a0 \u201cCarrie!\u00a0 Open up!\u201d<\/p>\n

He only answer was an ominous silence that set his nerves on edge.<\/p>\n

Joe swung in a tight circle, looking out toward the lake, and then back to the woods that lay on the southwest portion of Carrie\u2019s quarter section.\u00a0 She could be anywhere \u2013 anywhere<\/em> out there.\u00a0 As stubborn as the old woman was, she could have tried to chop down a tree or burn out a stump or any of a million things that might have left her injured.\u00a0 The wilderness was no place for a woman alone.\u00a0 He was sure her Amos would have agreed with him.\u00a0 He was going to have to find some way to convince her to go back to the Ponderosa with him where she\u2019d be safe.\u00a0 At least for the winter.<\/p>\n

Stepping to the edge of the property, Joe cupped his hands around his mouth and called, \u201cCarrie!\u00a0 Carrie, it\u2019s Joe!\u00a0 Carrie, answer me!\u201d<\/p>\n

It was then he heard it.\u00a0 A clang and a clamor to the west.\u00a0 Frowning, Joe drew his gun and moved in the direction of the noise, heading to the area behind the cabin and into the trees that flanked it.\u00a0 It was almost dark, so it was hard for him to see.\u00a0 Still, there were stars and the moon was up, so it wasn\u2019t impossible.\u00a0 Joe traveled for several minutes and then paused to listen.\u00a0 He heard it again \u2013 a banging sound like Hop Sing made on a day when he took his temper out on one of Pa\u2019s fine copper kettles.\u00a0\u00a0 Drawing a breath and holding it, he started to move again and was about halfway to the next clump of trees when he saw a flash of something shiny off to his right.\u00a0 Weapon raised, he spun \u2013 but he wasn\u2019t fast enough.\u00a0 Something hard made contact with his head.<\/p>\n

And he was out.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When Joe woke up he was in Carrie\u2019s cabin, sort of laying in her bed.\u00a0 His feet hadn\u2019t quite made it.\u00a0 He had a splitting headache and was nursing a goose egg the size of, well, a goose egg. \u00a0He could hear someone bustling around in the room beyond the curtain that separated the bedroom from the rest of the house, rattling dishes, and talking to themselves.\u00a0 Righting himself, he waited for the herd of buffalo to stop thundering through his head, and then rose unsteadily to his feet.\u00a0 Gripping the curtain, he pulled it aside and stepped into the common room of the Pickett house.<\/p>\n

Carrie had her back to him.\u00a0 She didn\u2019t hear him apparently, because she didn\u2019t turn around but continued to fuss with something on the stove.\u00a0 He noticed some of the supplies he had brought with him had been carried into the house.\u00a0 Carrie must have found the wagon after she…well…either found him or tried to kill him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat you got cooking, Carrie?\u201d he asked softly.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m mighty hungry.\u201d<\/p>\n

The older woman pivoted on her heel to look at him.\u00a0 Her hands went up in the air.\u00a0 \u201cJoe Cartwright!\u00a0 If you bein\u2019 up and around ain\u2019t a sight to set a woman\u2019s heart singin\u2019.\u00a0 I thought you was dead, boy!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe gingerly touched his head where it had been struck.\u00a0 \u201cI might feel better if I was.\u201d<\/p>\n

She took his hand and dragged him toward the table.\u00a0 \u201cNow you sit yourself right down and let me take a look at that there bump you got.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m okay, Carrie,\u201d he protested as she pulled out a chair and practically shoved him into it.\u00a0 \u201cReally.\u00a0 There\u2019s no need to \u2013 ouch!\u201d<\/p>\n

Carrie lifted her fingers. \u201cDid that hurt?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe winced as his hand went to his head.\u00a0 \u201cNo. \u00a0I just felt like yelling.\u201d<\/p>\n

She looked askance at him.\u00a0 \u201cNow you are<\/em> joshin\u2019 me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s okay, Carrie.\u00a0 I\u2019ll survive.\u00a0 I just have a headache.\u201d\u00a0 He hesitated to ask and then did.\u00a0 \u201cYou wouldn\u2019t happen to have any whiskey around, would you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow what would I be doing with that there Devil <\/em>water in this here house?\u201d she asked, her tone indicating he had just suggested that she had stolen money from the church plate.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just thought…maybe Amos….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy Amos weren\u2019t a drinkin\u2019 man, Joe Cartwright, and you should know it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEr, I never met Amos, Carrie, remember?\u201d<\/p>\n

She was moving to a cupboard on the opposite of the kitchen from her bed.\u00a0 When she got there, she produced a key from her apron pocket and opened one of its sections.\u00a0 \u201cNo, my Amos never drank,\u201d she said, still sounding slightly put out.\u00a0 Then she turned around with a bottle of whiskey in her hand.\u00a0 \u201cBut he did keep a supply for medicinal <\/em>purposes.\u201d<\/p>\n

She returned to the table with the bottle and a smile on her lips.\u00a0 Joe took it.\u00a0 He whistled.\u00a0 The handwritten label read: Pure Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey aged 10 years.<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhere\u2019d Amos get this?\u201d<\/p>\n

She looked a bit chagrined.\u00a0 \u201cWould you believe me if I told you it was a wedding present?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe held the bottle up.\u00a0 It was over half-full.\u00a0 His look was skeptical.\u00a0 \u201cWhen were you and Amos married?\u201d<\/p>\n

She shook her head and let out a sigh.\u00a0 \u201cNigh onto thirty years ago….\u201d<\/p>\n

He turned the bottle around and looked at the label again.\u00a0 Not only was the whiskey aged<\/em> ten years, the bottle was only eleven years old.\u00a0 \u201cUm, Carrie,\u201d he started.<\/p>\n

She batted her eyes that way that she did.\u00a0 It made her look like a fresh-faced school girl.\u00a0 \u201cWell, I have to take medicine too.\u201d<\/p>\n

He wondered if she had had the bottle the year before when he\u2019d tried to stake a claim for her in order to keep her land out of Jason Milburn\u2019s hands.\u00a0 She\u2019d been sick with infection then; close to losing her hand to an animal bite.\u00a0 The whiskey would\u2019ve helped with the pain she had to bear before Doc Belden treated her and her fever finally broke.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll go fetch you a cup,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Joe watched her cross over to the cupboard again and come back with a fine silver mug.\u00a0 He took it and then asked, \u201cAnother wedding gift?\u201d<\/p>\n

There was something odd in the way she answered. \u00a0\u201cWell,\u201d she huffed, \u201cit was a gift anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n

He poured himself a glass, sniffed it, and then taking a sip let it roll back on his tongue before he swallowed.\u00a0 \u201cMm, mm!\u201d he said, making a noise of approval.\u00a0 \u201cNothing in Pa\u2019s stock can rival that! \u00a0Your Amos had good taste.\u201d\u00a0 He looked at her, sitting there, watching him, and smiled.\u00a0 \u201cBut then I knew that.\u00a0 He picked you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, pshaw, Joe,\u201d Carrie said, blushing like that school girl.<\/p>\n

Joe took another sip and let the warmth course through him.\u00a0 It helped a bit with the pain in his head, but not much.\u00a0 The knot on it was throbbing and hot to the touch.<\/p>\n

\u201cSay, Carrie, where did you find me, and how did you get me back here?\u201d<\/p>\n

She was running a finger over the table, following the grain.\u00a0 \u201cI got hold of that there horse of your\u2019n and used him to drag you here.\u201d<\/p>\n

No wonder his head ached!\u00a0 Joe thought a moment.\u00a0 He remembered moving into the woods and hearing a strange noise, like someone banging pans.\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cWhere\u2019d you find me?\u201d<\/p>\n

She glanced up.\u00a0 \u201cLayin\u2019 flat on your face in the grass.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you see anyone around, I mean, did you see who cold-cocked me?\u201d\u00a0 When she said nothing, he went on.\u00a0 \u201cCome on, Carrie.\u00a0 There could be someone out there looking to hurt you.\u00a0 If you didn\u2019t see them, then I need to \u2013 \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt were me!\u00a0 Oh, Joe, it were me.\u201d\u00a0 She looked crestfallen.\u00a0 \u201cI thought you was one of them boys who\u2019s been givin\u2019 me trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n

Somehow he was not <\/em>surprised.\u00a0 \u201cBoys?\u00a0 What boys?\u201d<\/p>\n

She sighed and rose to her feet.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m gonna get you somethin\u2019 to eat, Joe Cartwright, and then we can talk.\u201d<\/p>\n

He wanted to protest because he really wanted to know.\u00a0 But then again, he really<\/em> wanted to eat too.\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t had anything since noon and could tell by rising light outside that it was near morning.\u00a0 He thanked Carrie as she placed a bowl of soup and a hunk of bread in front of him.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou eat, Joe.\u00a0 We\u2019ll talk later,\u201d she said as she went about her business.<\/p>\n

As he ate, Joe thought back to the first time he had met Carrie Pickett.\u00a0 He\u2019d come to this land, fifty miles south of Crescent Mountain, and found her living here all alone.\u00a0 She\u2019d been a handful and more when he tried to get her to understand that she had to stake a claim and file it at the land office in order to keep hold of the Piney Woods, as she called them. \u00a0Jason Milburn, a timber baron and thief, had been willing to do just about anything to get his hands on her piece of land as it was crucial to his lumber business.\u00a0 Milburn wanted the trees and a way to get them out, little caring that he would strip the land bare and destroy twenty ranchers\u2019 livelihoods as well as effecting the watershed.\u00a0 Fortunately, with the aid of Doc Belden \u2013 who had actually been working for Milburn at the time \u2013 they were able to get Carrie to sign a claim and have the man from the Carson City land office file it.\u00a0 Milburn had ridden off that day with his tale between his legs.\u00a0 He\u2019d wondered at times if Carrie had had any more trouble with him.\u00a0 Obviously if she was out in the woods hunting someone down with a frying pan, she\u2019d had some kind of problems besides the fire.<\/p>\n

Joe pushed his empty bowl away.\u00a0 \u201cSit down, Carrie.\u00a0 Now, tell me why you were out in the woods tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

She sighed as she took the seat next to him.\u00a0 \u201cWell, I was sitting here, minding my own business, when I heard a noise outside.\u00a0 I figured me it was those rascals that set fire to the porch afore and so\u2019s I went after them.\u00a0 I\u2019m out of ammunition, Joe, so the shotgun weren\u2019t any use.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you took a pan?\u00a0 To defend yourself?\u201d<\/p>\n

She straightened up.\u00a0 One graying eyebrow arched.\u00a0 \u201cTook you down right quick enough, didn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d he laughed.\u00a0 \u201cIt certainly did.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s eyes strayed to the far side of the cabin.\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t noticed it before, but the wall was covered with a flannel blanket.\u00a0 Rising, he walked over to it and pulled it aside, revealing the log wall that was charred black and falling away in places.<\/p>\n

He glanced at her.\u00a0 \u201cBoys did this?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know young\u2019uns.\u00a0 They was playing with firecrackers.\u00a0 I heard \u2018em.\u00a0 I was sittin\u2019 here readin\u2019 and I heard them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe looked at the wall again.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t say anything, but it was obvious to him that the damage he was looking at had not been caused by a wayward boy with a sparkler.\u00a0 \u201cWhat would kids be doing out here?\u201d<\/p>\n

She pursed her lips and shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s people on every side anymore!\u00a0\u00a0 Closest neighbors nigh on my doorstep.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow close?\u201d<\/p>\n

She threw her arms wide.\u00a0 \u201cBarely three miles away!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThree miles.\u201d\u00a0 Joe thought a moment, hesitant to mention his fears, but then decided to speak.\u00a0 \u201cCarrie, it wasn\u2019t any boy who did this to your cabin.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cNo.\u00a0 The damage is too thorough.\u201d\u00a0 He paused.\u00a0 \u201cTell me, have you had anything else happen?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, there were the corral fence.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happened with the fence?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI came out one morning and found more than half of it on the ground!\u00a0 Them animals you brung me was practically in the lake by the time I found them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI see.\u00a0 Anything else?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh,\u201d she said, \u201cjust little things.\u00a0 Missin\u2019 tools.\u00a0 A window broke out.\u201d\u00a0 Carrie paused.\u00a0 \u201cThough it seems as of late it\u2019s gotten worse.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d he asked as he dropped the blanket and crossed back over to her.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, like the fire.\u00a0 In the beginnin\u2019 it was just little botherin\u2019 things.\u00a0 That fire happened when I was sleepin\u2019.\u00a0 If\u2019n I hadn\u2019t \u2018a smelled smoke, I\u2019d \u2018a died!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe sat heavily in the chair.\u00a0 He supposed he shouldn\u2019t be surprised.\u00a0 A man like Milburn wasn\u2019t the kind to give up easily.\u00a0 Glancing around, he asked, \u201cWhere\u2019s my gun, Carrie?\u201d\u00a0 He\u2019d noticed he didn\u2019t have it on when he woke.<\/p>\n

She stood, went to a cupboard, and returned with it.\u00a0 \u201cIt was lyin\u2019 on the ground beside you….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you found me?\u201d<\/p>\n

Carrie nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI didn\u2019t figure you needed it whiles you was in bed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe took the pearl-handled pistol and anchored it in the holder tied down to his thigh. \u00a0\u201cNeed has nothing to do with it,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m just trying to be prepared.\u201d<\/p>\n

The older woman looked horrified.\u00a0 \u201cNow you ain\u2019t gonna go and shoot no little boys.\u00a0 Are you, Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n

He walked over to her and planted a kiss on the top of her head.\u00a0 \u201cCarrie, I\u2019m not even going to dignify that with an answer.\u201d\u00a0 He glanced at the burned wall, once again hidden behind the blanket.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m going to take a look around outside and then go to work on that well.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s little brother thinkin\u2019!\u201d Hoss Cartwright complained as he picked up the last bit of firewood he had taken an ax to and threw it on the growing pile.\u00a0 \u201cWinter ain\u2019t two weeks away and he takes hisself off on a lark to look at some dag-blamed<\/em> trees!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 The big man picked up another piece of wood and put it on the stump he was using as a splitting bench.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He brought the ax down again, striking it so hard the pieces flew both directions \u2013 one of them almost hitting his pa.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhoa!\u201d the white-haired man said, dancing back.<\/p>\n

Hoss took his hat off and wiped his forehead with his sleeve.\u00a0 In spite of the cold temperatures, he was sweating.\u00a0 \u201cSorry \u2018bout that, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

The older man crossed over to where he was working.\u00a0 He nodded, indicating the wood.\u00a0 \u201cYou weren\u2019t imagining that was your little brother\u2019s head you were splitting, now were you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGosh darn it, Pa! \u00a0I love little Joe as much as a body could, but he\u2019s just plain vexin\u2019 most<\/em> of the time. What\u2019s he doing going up there near Crescent now?\u201d<\/p>\n

His father looked to the Northeast.\u00a0 \u201cI think Joe just needed some time away.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAway from his dagburn<\/em> chores!\u201d\u00a0 Hoss bent and retrieved one half of the piece of firewood he had almost wounded his father with.\u00a0 The big man indicated the sky with a nod.\u00a0 It was steel gray and a whole army of clouds were moving in.\u00a0 \u201cTake a look at that, Pa,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cIf we don\u2019t have snow tomorrow \u2013 and a lot of it \u2013\u00a0 I\u2019ll eat my hat!\u201d<\/p>\n

The older man\u2019s expression surprised him.\u00a0 It was a mixture of exasperation and downright worry.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

His father turned to meet his stare.\u00a0 \u201c I\u2019m just concerned about Joseph.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, heck, Pa,\u201d Hoss began as he anchored the piece of wood on the stump and sized it up with an eye to the ax, \u201cJoe\u2019ll just turn back if it looks like trouble.\u00a0 Those dang<\/em> trees ain\u2019t that important!\u201d\u00a0 He swung the ax, this time directing the split away<\/em> from his father and then looked again at the older man.\u00a0 The worried expression hadn\u2019t changed, only deepened.<\/p>\n

Hoss put the ax down and crossed to where his father stood.\u00a0 \u201cPa, what ain\u2019t<\/em> you tellin\u2019 me?\u201d<\/p>\n

The older man pursed his lips.\u00a0 \u201cIt looks like I\u2019m going to have to break a promise I made to your brother.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat promise is that?\u201d the big man asked as he wiped the last of the sweat from his brow with a pocket handkerchief.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour brother went to help Carrie Pickett get ready for winter.\u201d<\/p>\n

For a moment he was confused.\u00a0 Why would Joe ask Pa to lie about a thing like that?\u00a0 Then he remembered the last time his little brother was headed up to see Miss Carrie, he\u2019d had about a week\u2019s worth of fun teasing him about being in love with the old gal.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe didn\u2019t want you to tell me \u2018cause of me ribbin\u2019 him the last time, did he?\u201d<\/p>\n

His father shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cOne wouldn\u2019t think they would have to worry about that kind of thing with two grown men, now would they?\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss blew out a breath.\u00a0 \u201cSorry, Pa.\u00a0 Sometimes I just forget Joe wears his heart at the end of that daggone green coat sleeve.\u00a0 You\u2019d think I\u2019d a know\u2019d better by now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tight-lipped, his father replied.\u00a0 \u201cOne would think.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo how come you decided to tell me now?\u201d<\/p>\n

The older man indicated the sky to the north.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ll give it until tomorrow, but I think \u2013 if it becomes clear that snow is coming \u2013 I\u2019m going to ride after your brother.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLet me do it, Pa.\u00a0 You\u2019ll be needed here what with all we got goin\u2019 on gettin\u2019 ready for winter. \u00a0The wood and the chores I gotta do can wait.\u00a0 Joe and me can catch \u2018em up when he gets home.\u201d\u00a0 He didn\u2019t mention, of course, the fact that it was a sight smarter for a younger man like him to get caught out in a snowstorm if one was to come.<\/p>\n

Of course, he knew he wasn\u2019t foolin\u2019 his pa about that.<\/p>\n

He watched the older man debate with himself.\u00a0 Finally, his pa nodded. \u00a0\u201cAll right.\u00a0 You\u2019ll go.\u201d\u00a0 The white-haired man looked up again at the sky.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s just hope we\u2019re wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It was later that night after midnight that Ben Cartwright heard the sound of wheels rolling across the yard out front of the house.\u00a0 He\u2019d kept himself awake worrying about Joe being caught out in a storm and had come down for a shot of brandy and a moment or two of reading his favorite book by the fire, hoping both would help him to sleep.\u00a0 The fire was blazing, of course, since the weather outside was cold and inclement.\u00a0 Whoever had pulled in might have seen the light it cast through the windows and assumed someone was up.<\/p>\n

Which, luck would have it, he was.<\/p>\n

Catching his heavy coat from the peg on the wall, Ben tossed it over his robe and opened the front door.\u00a0\u00a0 The wind that struck him was strong and blowing in from the northeast.\u00a0 It was misting, and what moisture was driven against his exposed skin stung as it struck.\u00a0 He glanced again in the direction Joe had gone and then went out to see what the impending storm had blown in.<\/p>\n

A citified looking man of middle years wearing a coat more suitable for fall than winter was climbing out of the carriage.\u00a0 He was talking to someone who was still inside.\u00a0 As Ben approached he saw him release a feminine hand, so the other passenger was a woman.<\/p>\n

Ben waited until the man had found his footing and then asked, \u201cCan I help you?\u201d<\/p>\n

The man turned toward him.\u00a0 His face was pale.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry to bother you so late at night, friend, but we just had a scare and Mrs. Landes is overcome.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t mind, I would like to get her out of the cold and in somewhere safe where she can rest for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCertainly,\u201d he replied.\u00a0 \u201cDo you need help?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u00a0 She can lean on me and make it.\u201d\u00a0 He turned back to the carriage.\u00a0 \u201cDid you hear me, Nonie?\u00a0 You can walk, can\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben heard a muffled assent.\u00a0 The woman\u2019s hand appeared again, reaching out of the carriage. \u00a0\u00a0From the look of it, with its tidy white glove and lace-edged sleeve, the lovely young woman who followed came as no surprise.\u00a0 Her skin was as pale as that of the man who waited for her, but by nature.\u00a0 Her hair was the color of Buckwheat honey, golden and deep as amber.\u00a0 She wore it up, though at the moment several loose curls cascaded in front of her face.\u00a0\u00a0 As the warm woolen shawl someone had tossed over her shoulders fell away , the white-haired man saw that she was attired as a woman of some wealth in a bustle-back dress cut of a fine changeable silk.<\/p>\n

Definitely<\/em> from the city, he mused quietly to himself.<\/p>\n

The young woman\u2019s feet touched ground and she wobbled.\u00a0 As he started forward, she looked up and favored him with a small tight smile.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m quite all right.\u00a0 Neville fusses too much.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe that\u2019s called \u2018caring\u2019 in some people\u2019s vocabulary,\u201d Neville said quietly.<\/p>\n

The woman glanced at him and then disentangled her hand from his.\u00a0 \u201cI can walk by myself.\u00a0 If it is all right, I will go into the house and sit down, Mister….?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCartwright.\u00a0 Ben Cartwright.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMister…Cartwright,\u201d she said with a nod.\u00a0 \u201cI promise you we won\u2019t bother you for long.\u00a0 We\u2019ll only stay long enough to warm ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s no trouble, Mrs. Landes.\u00a0 You\u2019re welcome to stay as long as you need.\u00a0 We have a large home with plenty of extra rooms.\u00a0 Please feel free to remain overnight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her look was wary.\u00a0 It was the look of a woman who took nothing at face value, but sought a deeper, more sinister motive underneath.\u00a0 She must have been hurt deeply sometime in her short life.\u00a0 Nonie Landes looked to be twenty-seven or eight at most.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is most kind of you, Mister Cartwright.\u00a0 But….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease.\u00a0 Virginia City is at least five hours away by carriage.\u201d\u00a0 He glanced up.\u00a0 \u201cYou wouldn\u2019t want to be caught out in a storm.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not headed for Virginia City, Mister Cartwright,\u201d the man named Neville said.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019re \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNeville,\u201d the pretty blonde interrupted, her tone curt.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s no need to boor Mister Cartwright with our business.\u201d<\/p>\n

The man shut his mouth and looked at his feet.<\/p>\n

Ben looked from one to the other.\u00a0 He\u2019d thought at first that, in spite of the way she addressed the older man, Neville and Mrs. Landes were related somehow.\u00a0 Now he wasn\u2019t so sure.\u00a0 Their relationship was more that of a servant and his mistress than kin.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell?\u201d he asked at last.<\/p>\n

The woman hesitated, but then nodded.\u00a0 \u201cThank you, Mister Cartwright.\u00a0 We would be most grateful to accept your hospitality for one night.\u00a0 Neville, bring my bags and follow me into the house after you stable the horse.\u201d<\/p>\n

With a slow and not too heartfelt, \u201cYes, ma\u2019am,\u201d Neville headed for the back of the carriage.<\/p>\n

Ben stared after the man a moment and then turned to Mrs. Nonie Landes.\u00a0 Holding out a hand, he\u00a0 indicated the front door.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter you,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

As he followed behind the self-assured young woman, Ben Cartwright wondered just what<\/em> he was letting himself in for.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TWO<\/p>\n

Joe Cartwright was fifteen feet down at the bottom of Carrie Pickett\u2019s dry well.\u00a0 He\u2019d tied the long rope he\u2019d brought with him off and descended first thing in the morning to see if he could figure just why it had gone dry.\u00a0 It was well-constructed, made of fine stone, with a cast iron ring at the bottom.\u00a0 When he\u2019d asked Carrie about the ring and how they got it all the way out to the Piney Woods, she said her Amos could beat Vulcan pounding iron in a contest and he\u2019d made it himself.<\/p>\n

Joe chuckled.\u00a0 He would really<\/em> have liked to meet that man.<\/p>\n

There were usually two reasons for a dry well.\u00a0 The first was a low water table.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t think that was the case. The second was something cutting off the source of the water.\u00a0 That was why he was at the bottom, to see if there was anything blocking the flow on Carrie\u2019s end.\u00a0 There didn\u2019t seem to be.\u00a0 So the problem was most likely with the water\u2019s source unless, of course, whatever fed it had simply gone dry.\u00a0 He could simply sink it deeper, and that might do the trick, but he\u2019d have to have help as one person was needed at the bottom to dig and the other above to add bricks.\u00a0 Joe rose to his feet and looked up.\u00a0 He was sure Carrie would be more than ready to help, but he wasn\u2019t sure he wanted to have her labor so hard.\u00a0 Last night, she\u2019d looked like the same old Carrie.\u00a0 Today in the light she seemed a little grayer and a little more bent than he remembered.\u00a0 Living up here, alone, would take its toll in a shorter life.\u00a0 The labor to keep up even a small homestead was back-breaking and never ending.<\/p>\n

It would kill her in the end.<\/p>\n

With a snort and a shake of his head, Joe reached for the rope.\u00a0 As he did, Carrie\u2019s weathered and lined face appeared at the top.\u00a0 \u201cNow, what\u2019re you doin\u2019, Joe Cartwright, at the bottom of my Amos\u2019 well?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot looking for a route to China, I can tell you that,\u201d he laughed as he began to climb.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m coming up now.\u201d<\/p>\n

She must have stepped back because her face disappeared.\u00a0 Once at the top, he caught the rim of the well and hauled himself up into a seated position on the edge of the wooden frame surrounding it.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou find out anything?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOnly that Amos Pickett not only had good taste in women and liked to listen to the trees talk to the wind, but he could build one heck of a well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carrie beamed.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019d be my Amos,\u201d she said, her voice soft as a feather touching the floor.<\/p>\n

Joe grinned.\u00a0 \u201cSo what couldn\u2019t<\/em> he do?\u201d<\/p>\n

She had to think hard.\u00a0 Finally she said, \u201cWell, he weren\u2019t much good at dancin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou mean to tell me Amos didn\u2019t take hold of you and turn you around on that floor in your big room?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce or twice,\u201d she admitted.\u00a0 Then, with a wicked smile, added, \u201cAfter that I asked him not to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat bad?\u201d he chuckled.<\/p>\n

She nodded.\u00a0 \u201cThat bad and <\/em>worse.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe hopped down and went to stand beside her.\u00a0 \u201cWell, you know what you and I are gonna do after supper tonight?\u00a0 We\u2019re gonna push all of your furniture against the wall and take a couple of turns around that floor.\u201d<\/p>\n

She eyed him skeptically.\u00a0 \u201cYou any good at dancin\u2019, boy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAm I good at dancing?\u201d\u00a0 He reached out and caught her in his arms and spun her around two times.<\/p>\n

Carrie laughed as her released her.\u00a0 \u201cWhere\u2019s the music comin\u2019 from?\u201d she asked, a little winded.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, me, of course.\u00a0 I\u2019ll be singing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Again, that look.\u00a0 So challenging and wary it made him want to laugh.\u00a0 \u201cCan<\/em> you sing?\u00a0 I mean, a man ain\u2019t usually talented in two areas, if you take my meaning.\u201d<\/p>\n

He sensed something in her tone.\u00a0 \u201cWas Amos good at singing, Carrie?\u201d<\/p>\n

She sighed.\u00a0 \u201cHe had the voice of an angel<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you figure I stink at it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I ain\u2019t sayin\u2019 as you stink….\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe pursed his lips and shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cI was gonna give you sample, but for that you\u2019re just going to have to wait until tonight.\u201d\u00a0 He looked up and around.\u00a0 He\u2019d noticed the sky changing, darkening with clouds that promised snow.\u00a0 \u201cLooks like we may get snow tonight.\u00a0 I better get started on repairing that burned-out wall. That thin blanket isn\u2019t going to do much to keep you warm this winter.\u201d<\/p>\n

She caught his hand and held him back.\u00a0 \u201cHow will I ever thank you, Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n

He hadn\u2019t broached the subject of her coming back to the Ponderosa to wait out the cold months yet.\u00a0 Somehow, he sensed now was not the time.\u00a0 Maybe tonight after they\u2019d eaten and enjoyed each other\u2019s company for a while.<\/p>\n

\u201cKnowing you is thanks enough, Carrie.\u00a0 I\u2019m just glad I can help.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you get back, you tell that Pa of yours that I\u2019m thankful he loaned you to me for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be sure to do that.\u00a0 Now you get inside.\u00a0 It\u2019s cold out here and you\u2019re not dressed for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her hands went to her hip.\u00a0 \u201cAnd just what do you think I do, boy, when you\u2019re not here?\u00a0 Run around all December nekkid?\u00a0 If I\u2019ve a mind to put a coat on, I will.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019d never really thought of it, but at that moment he wondered if she and Amos had ever had children.\u00a0 Carrie was so different from the mother he remembered and yet, he thought, she would have made a fine ma.<\/p>\n

Maybe he\u2019d ask her about that tonight too<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Their guests were up early in the morning.\u00a0 Ben filled Hoss in on what had happened as he came down the stairs so his son would be prepared for the two extra settings at the breakfast table.\u00a0 Apparently, while traveling along the part of the road from Virginia City that ran along a steep cliff face, the horses pulling Mrs. Landes\u2019 carriage had ventured too close to the edge, nearly taking the vehicle over.\u00a0 While they hadn\u2019t been hurt, the near fatal incident had so distressed the blonde woman that her man thought she needed to stop and rest and gather strength before the next part of their journey.\u00a0 Ironically, they were headed in the direction Joe had gone, bound for a plot of land near Elko where the woman had relatives.<\/p>\n

Mrs. Landes was a widow.\u00a0 She\u2019d married at nineteen years of age and buried her husband seven years later at the tender age of twenty-six.\u00a0 Though her childhood had been spent in the West, not too far from the Ponderosa from what little she said, she had spent the largest part of her life in New York living with an uncle and aunt. That was where she had met and married Robert Landes, a financier, whose short life had been cut off by an inoperable cancer of the brain.<\/p>\n

He had been right in that she and Neville Greaves\u00a0 were not related.\u00a0 Neville, it seemed, had worked for the same concern as her husband and after Robert\u2019s death had hired on as her assistant, not only taking care of her late husband\u2019s business affairs but Robert\u2019s wife as well.\u00a0 Ben\u2019s eyes flicked to the middle-aged man.\u00a0 He was nice looking enough, with black hair tending toward gray, a mustache, and a trim figure.\u00a0 Neville was seated to Nonie\u2019s left side and his eyes never left her.\u00a0 While their arrangement seemed to be all business for the young woman, he sensed that Greaves might have other hopes.<\/p>\n

The lovely young woman placed her napkin on the table beside her plate and said.\u00a0 \u201cThank you, Benjamin, for your most gracious invitation to bide overnight and share such a marvelous repast.\u00a0 My compliments to your chef.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHop Sing will be in soon to clear the table.\u00a0 Perhaps you can tell him yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll do that.\u00a0 Thank you as well for your offer of provisions for our further journey.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI still think you should wait the storm out here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Overnight winter had arrived.\u00a0 There was two inches of snow on the ground and more was falling.\u00a0 He had tried to talk to bullheaded young woman into waiting until it stopped to go on, but she wouldn\u2019t hear of it.\u00a0 She had a relative waiting for her at the end of her journey and she was not about to disappoint them by being late.\u00a0 Gently, he\u2019d suggested \u2018late\u2019 was better than not getting there at all.\u00a0 Nonie thanked him for his concern and then, in so many words, told him to mind his own business.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I am most thankful for your concern, but we\u2019ll be fine.\u00a0 Though Neville may look like he\u2019s never set foot beyond New York\u2019s seventy-seventh and fifth streets, he has wilderness experience and will be able to get us through.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben frowned.\u00a0 The fact that the man had had a lightweight coat on the night before seemed to belie that.\u00a0 Still….<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, it\u2019s up to you.\u00a0 All I can do is give you the benefit of my experience \u2013 and that pair of horses I mentioned.\u201d\u00a0 He\u2019d offered to trade them two of his rugged, high-terrain trained mounts for the pair of show horses and their carriage.\u00a0 He\u2019d take a loss, but he\u2019d feel better for letting them head out into the storm.<\/p>\n

Hoss, who had been quietly finishing his second plate of flap jacks nodded.\u00a0 \u2018I got \u2018em all saddled up and ready, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben could see the wheels working in Nonie\u2019s head.\u00a0 She\u2019d argued that the team she had belonged to her uncle and weren\u2019t hers to trade.\u00a0 When he told her he would hold them until her return and then they could make a reverse deal, that had nudged the New Yorker toward accepting.<\/p>\n

\u201cVery well,\u201d she said as she pushed her chair back from the table and rose.\u00a0 \u201cI agree.\u00a0 It seems traveling without a carriage would be the wisest thing considering the circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben smiled.\u00a0 \u201cYes, it would.\u201d\u00a0 He turned to Hoss as he rose as well.\u00a0 \u201cSon, if you will bring the animals into the yard?\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss tossed his napkin on the table.\u00a0 \u201cSure thing, Pa.\u00a0 It\u2019ll take fifteen minutes or so to finish up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust enough time to gather my things,\u201d the young woman said.\u00a0 And with that, she headed up the stairs.<\/p>\n

Neville finished his coffee and then rose to follow her.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s quite a young woman you have there,\u201d Ben remarked, partly to see what the other man\u2019s reaction would be.<\/p>\n

Neville stiffened.\u00a0 \u201cNonie can be strong-minded at times, but I find working in her employ rewarding.\u00a0 It is a privilege to help her in her current endeavor.\u00a0 Now, Mister Cartwright, you must excuse me.\u00a0 I have to prepare for the day\u2019s upcoming journey.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben watched the man walk up the stairs and turn toward the end of the house where the room they had given him was.\u00a0 \u2018Endeavor.\u2019\u00a0 That was a word pregnant with possibilities not necessarily good.\u00a0 Again, he wondered what this odd pair were up to.<\/p>\n

He guessed he\u2019d never know.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

While Carrie made no comment on his singing, she did remark that she\u2019d never met a man lighter on his feet.\u00a0 She\u2019d surprised him by producing a spring winding music box from the cupboard that played several songs.\u00a0 It had been, of course, a gift from Amos.\u00a0 They\u2019d danced and laughed, and laughed some more until their sides and feet hurt equally and the sun was lying low in a bank of clouds.\u00a0 Outside the land was blanketed in snow.\u00a0 It had started in the morning as he worked replacing the burnt-out logs and continued throughout the day, laying down at least four inches.\u00a0 With the wind howling, there were drifts up against the house that were nigh-onto a foot high.\u00a0 As he finished off one last cup of coffee, he\u2019d seen Carrie yawn.\u00a0 Ten minutes later she was asleep sitting up.\u00a0 Joe gently lifted her from the chair \u2013 noting how she felt light and fragile as a bird in the hand \u2013 and placed her in her bed.\u00a0 The pink shawl Amos had bought her hung above the bed, maybe as a reminder that once she had not occupied it alone.\u00a0 Before he left, he covered her with the quilt that lay at the bottom of the bed and extinguished all but one of the oil lamps in the house.<\/p>\n

Joe pulled on one of Amos\u2019 old coats, which was deer hide brown, and stepped outside and looked to the horizon.\u00a0 It was late and the light would be gone soon, but he could work by the moon and a lantern.\u00a0 Since his day had been taken up with repairing the cabin, he\u2019d left other simple chores like fetching water, laying up firewood, and tending to the animals until now.\u00a0 The dancing had invigorated him and he was wide awake, so he figured he had a good two or three hours in him yet.\u00a0 While still on the stoop, he pulled his collar up close and fastened it, and then pulled on the black gloves that were tucked behind his belt.\u00a0 He figured it was in the thirties, which wasn\u2019t bad.\u00a0 Once he got to work, he\u2019d probably be too hot.<\/p>\n

As he stepped off of the porch Joe caught hold of the handles of two buckets.\u00a0 With one to each side, he headed for the lake.\u00a0 He\u2019d found an old cistern out back of the house and meant to repair it.\u00a0 If he couldn\u2019t get the well fixed this time, at least Carrie could lay up a good amount of water and not have to make so many trips.\u00a0 As he walked, he looked up.\u00a0 The night was amazing, with stars shining like diamonds in a sky black as ebony cloth.\u00a0 Snow was still falling.\u00a0 The large flakes rode the wind down to the earth like tiny dancers, spiraling and whirling with as much gusto as he and Carrie had danced a short time before.\u00a0 It took only a minute or two to reach the lake.\u00a0 When he did, he knelt beside it and broke a thin layer of ice so he could lower the first bucket into it.\u00a0 After the second was full, he rose and turned to head back to the house.<\/p>\n

As he did, Joe heard a sound, something like a man moving through underbrush. \u00a0It came from the trees to the side of the lake.\u00a0 He squinted his eyes, seeking the source, and took a step forward.<\/p>\n

God was with him.\u00a0 That step saved his life.<\/p>\n

Joe felt a hot pain in his forehead.<\/p>\n

The force of the bullet striking bone turned him around and dropped him where he stood, half-in and half-out of the water.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Nonie Landes was not a happy woman.\u00a0 They\u2019d made it a little more than halfway to Crescent Mountain when the growing strength of the storm forced them to stop.\u00a0 \u00a0Neville had scouted ahead and found a place for them to weather it out.\u00a0 He said, most likely, it was one of the Cartwright\u2019s line shacks.\u00a0 There had been provisions in it, so they settled in, cooked a meal, and then fell into the stony silence that existed between them now.\u00a0 She knew Neville was in love with her and had used it to her advantage.\u00a0 She had no romantic feelings for him.\u00a0 Though she\u2019d been with Robert only a brief time, she knew there would never <\/em>be another man for her.\u00a0 Neville was sweet and looked after her well.\u00a0 That was enough for some women, but not for her.\u00a0 Love had to be soul <\/em>deep.\u00a0 That was one thing she had learned from her mother.<\/p>\n

Love was about the one<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Before they left the Ponderosa, she had changed clothes and was attired in a riding outfit replete with trousers and boots.\u00a0 At first it had horrified her to think of wearing men\u2019s pants, but she\u2019d found out soon enough that riding side-saddle through deserts and gorse was not an easy thing to do.\u00a0 So, when they\u2019d reached Stockton and started their journey inland, she gone to one of the finest dressmakers in the bustling city and bought herself some proper western garb.<\/p>\n

Of the finest material and workmanship, of course.<\/p>\n

With a glance at Neville where he sat brooding by the fire, she headed for the window beside the front door and looked out.\u00a0 There had been a few inches of snow, which seemed to be little to reckon with, but then she had never seen the kind of winds there were here, which seemed to make it magically grow to twice that in depth.\u00a0 Neville had suggested they turn back, but she wouldn\u2019t hear of it.\u00a0 What she had to do had to be done now<\/em>, before winter set in.\u00a0 Otherwise it would be next year and who knew, everything could be different by then.<\/p>\n

Either way, everything would<\/em> be different.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s some coffee left, Nonie, if you\u2019re feeling the cold,\u201d Neville said as he rose to his feet.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, thank you.\u00a0 It keeps me awake.\u00a0 I\u2019ve had enough now to stay up until January.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you want me to bank the fire then, or do you intend to read?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLeave it.\u00a0 I have a letter to complete.\u00a0 Along with the lamp, that should be enough to see by.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSuit yourself.\u201d\u00a0 Neville headed for the small room off to the side where they had agreed he would sleep.\u00a0 He\u2019d left her with the cot nearest the fire.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll say goodnight then.\u201d<\/p>\n

She nodded and waited until he had disappeared to sit down at the table.\u00a0 Her carpet bag was beside the chair.\u00a0 She reached into it and pulled out her journal, and then opened the journal and began to page through looking for the letter she had tucked there.\u00a0 As the pages flew past a small rectangular piece of metal fell onto the table with a tiny clang.\u00a0 Nonie started.\u00a0 She\u2019d forgotten it was there.\u00a0 Her jaw tight, she took it and flipped it over and stared at the severe blonde woman and the dark-haired man whose likenesses it carried.\u00a0 They were both a little older than she was and the man, a good five years older than the woman.\u00a0 They were dressed in plain cloth and sat side by side, holding hands.\u00a0 The man looked serious, though there was a definite twinkle in his tinted blue eyes and a little crinkle at the edge of his full lips.\u00a0 The woman\u00a0 was supposed to be looking forward.\u00a0 She wasn\u2019t.\u00a0 She was staring at the man with one of the most open loving looks the girl from the city had ever seen.<\/p>\n

Nonie drew a breath and closed her eyes, remembering.<\/p>\n

Then she picked the quarter plate tintype up, stuck it back in the journal, and continued searching for the letter she had been composing.\u00a0 When she found it, she placed the journal on the table and the letter beside it, and then fished in her bag for ink and pen.\u00a0 Finding both, she prepared the first and then dipped her pen in second and began to write.<\/p>\n

\u201cDear Mister Milburn….\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Carrie Pickett sat on the edge of her bed, thinking. \u00a0She\u2019d awakened and found she was alone in the cabin.\u00a0 Joe\u2019d told her he was going to work late and she supposed that was what he was doing.\u00a0 Still, the clock had just chimed the hour of one and she was sure he hadn\u2019t meant to be so long.\u00a0 Glancing over her shoulder out the window she saw that the snow was still falling.\u00a0 The wind that carried it was howling like a banshee heralding death.\u00a0 She\u2019d seen these kind of storms come up before where the air grew so thick with the white flakes you couldn\u2019t see nothing.\u00a0 Why, a man could freeze to death ten yards from his front door if he got turned around.\u00a0 Worried, she put her feet on the floor and headed for the table by the door that held her walking-to-the-barn lantern.\u00a0 As she did the wind rattled the transom over the door, working the latch free, and snow blew in, looking for all the world like a great white puff of smoke.<\/p>\n

\u201cI told Amos we needed a new latch on that thing afore he died,\u201d she muttered to herself.\u00a0 \u201cHe was just like that Joe Cartwright, always somethin\u2019 else to do \u2013 dig a well, build a barn, put up a fence.\u00a0 What good\u2019s all of that if you freeze to death!?\u201d<\/p>\n

With a sigh, the older woman went to the table to get a chair, which she pushed up alongside the door.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll just have to get up there and fix it \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

A violent banging on the door made her jump.<\/p>\n

\u201cHello!\u00a0 Hello in the house!\u00a0 I need help!\u00a0 There\u2019s been an accident!\u201d<\/p>\n

Carrie\u2019s eyes went to her double-barreled shotgun perched on two pegs by the door.\u00a0 \u00a0Hurrying over to it, she palmed the weapon and pointed it at the door.\u00a0 \u201cYou just go away.\u00a0 You ain\u2019t gonna get any help here!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMadame, please!\u00a0 It\u2019s a matter of life and death.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhose?\u00a0 You seem right well enough!\u201d<\/p>\n

His voice trembled as he explained.\u00a0 \u201cI was out hunting by the moonlight.\u00a0 The snow, it was falling so hard.\u00a0 I took a shot at what I thought was a deer.\u201d\u00a0 There was a pause.\u00a0 \u201cIt wasn\u2019t.\u00a0\u00a0 It was a man.\u201d<\/p>\n

The older woman frowned.\u00a0 \u201cWhat do you mean \u2018a man\u2019?\u00a0 You mean you shot<\/em> a man?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u00a0 I found him down by the lake.\u00a0 The bullet grazed his head.\u00a0 The wound\u2019s jagged and deep.\u00a0 It\u2019s still bleeding.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carrie wasn\u2019t falling for it.\u00a0 She\u2019d been a woman alone in the woods too long.\u00a0 She cocked the gun so\u2019s he could hear it and was about to tell him where to go when she remembered \u2013<\/p>\n

She remembered Joe Cartwright was missing.<\/p>\n

Her heart pounding, she started asking questions.\u00a0 \u201cWhere\u2019d you say you found this man?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDown by the lake.\u00a0 It looked like he was gathering water.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her stomach tightened at that.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s he look like?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMa\u2019am, it\u2019s pitch-black out here.\u00a0 I can\u2019t see color, but he\u2019s wearing a heavy coat and black gloves.\u00a0 He\u2019s young.\u201d\u00a0 The voice paused, as if the man was looking further.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s got a lot of hair.\u00a0 Its curly and dark.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carrie clutched the gun against her chest.\u00a0 Joe!<\/em><\/p>\n

Still holding the gun, she lifted the latch and opened the door a crack.\u00a0 The man was standing on the stoop.\u00a0 He was a large man and had the silent form of Joe Cartwright slung over his shoulder.\u00a0 As she stepped back he came in along with a good portion of the storm.\u00a0 The wind rattled the pictures on the walls and blew in a carpet of white.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou put your rifle right there first,\u201d she ordered.\u00a0 As he complied, she nodded toward the alcove that held her bed.\u00a0 \u201cPut him over there,\u201d she said as she used her back to push the door to and then dropped the latch into place.\u00a0 \u201cAnd then you come back out here where\u2019s I can see you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s going to need attention,\u201d the man said as he laid his burden down.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be seein\u2019 to that in a minute.\u00a0 Now you come on out here into the light.\u201d<\/p>\n

The man was bundled up.\u00a0 He looked just like Amos had when he\u2019d go out into a blizzard to hunt.\u00a0 He had a thick wool scarf tied around his hat so\u2019s it wouldn\u2019t blow off, and was wearing a thick corduroy coat and strong, mule-eared boots.\u00a0 On his back there was a pair of snowshoes.\u00a0 As he advanced toward her, he lifted his hands in surrender.<\/p>\n

\u201cI promise, I mean you no harm.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s as it may be, but it ain\u2019t no nevermind.\u00a0 Now you just go on back outside.\u201d<\/p>\n

His voice was startled.\u00a0 \u201cMa\u2019am, a body can\u2019t see a foot in front of its nose out there. Besides, I\u2019d rather know the young man is all right before I leave.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow\u2019s do I know I can trust you?\u00a0 You could be anyone.\u00a0 You coulda shot Joe on purpose just so\u2019s you could get in here and take all I got!\u201d<\/p>\n

For the first time, he frightened her.\u00a0 \u201cI could do that anyway.\u00a0 I seriously doubt you could stop me if I wanted to rob you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI got me the gun,\u201d she shot back.<\/p>\n

He snorted.\u00a0 \u201cYou have to sleep some time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carrie was torn. \u00a0She knew Joe needed minding.\u00a0 On top of being shot, she had no idea how long he had laid out by the lake in the cold.\u00a0 Still, she wasn\u2019t quite comfortable with the man standing before her.<\/p>\n

\u201cTake off that there hat, so\u2019s I can see your face.\u00a0 Now, no sudden movements, mind you.\u201d<\/p>\n

The man reached up and began to unravel the scarf.\u00a0 When he was finished he removed his gloves and then took off his coat.\u00a0 He was simply dressed in a worn flannel shirt and a pair of jeans.\u00a0 His hair was dark brown, like Joe\u2019s, but that was the end of the likeness.\u00a0 She\u2019s met Joe\u2019s brother Hoss.\u00a0 This man was half-again his size.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho are ya?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cBallard Peak, ma\u2019am.\u00a0 And you might be?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNever you mind that.\u00a0 You just sit yourself down at that table and stay there while I check on Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

The large man did as he was told.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll help if you\u2019ll let me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carrie frowned.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ll see about that later.\u00a0 Just don\u2019t you go makin\u2019 any fast moves,\u201d she said as she moved to the bed.\u00a0 Aiming the gun in the man\u2019s general direction, she sat down by Joe and looked at him. The left side of his face, like the collar of Amos\u2019 coat, was covered in blood, some fresh but more dry.\u00a0 She reached out and parted the brown curly locks cascading onto his forehead and found a nasty gash with jagged grooves. So far he hadn\u2019t moved or made a sound.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re going to need both hands if you want to help him.\u00a0 And maybe a third,\u201d Ballard said.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust you shush!\u201d she snapped and then turned back to the man on the bed.\u00a0 \u201cJoe?\u00a0 Joe, can you hear me?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s long dark eyelashes fluttered against skin gone gray as paste.\u00a0 He moaned and tried to shift his body.\u00a0 One eye opened and then the other and he winced.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019d you do?\u00a0 Hit me with another pan?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe!\u00a0 You\u2019re alive!\u201d<\/p>\n

He reached up toward his forehead.\u00a0 \u201cFrom the pain I\u2019m feeling, I think you\u2019re right.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a bad gash,\u201d the man in the chair said.\u00a0 \u201cDirt\u2019s been driven into it.\u00a0 You need to clean that soon as you can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carrie watched Joe react to the male voice first with surprise and then a wary sort of fear.\u00a0 \u201cCarrie?\u00a0 Who?\u201d\u00a0 He tried to rise but groaned the minute his head was off the pillow and fell back.\u00a0 Panting, he asked, \u201cWho\u2019s here?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the man what shot you. Thought you was a deer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d the man said.\u00a0 \u201cI was following a deer.\u00a0 I saw movement by the lake and took a shot.\u00a0 What with the snow coming down….\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe seemed to steel himself.\u00a0 \u201cCarrie, help me up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, Joe.\u00a0 You need to rest!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I don\u2019t, I need to get up.\u00a0 Now help me.\u201d<\/p>\n

His voice was as firm as Amos\u2019 had been.\u00a0 She didn\u2019t argue any further but slipped her free arm about his waist and helped him to sit up.<\/p>\n

What little color was left drained out of his handsome face.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re going to kill yourself, friend,\u201d Ballard said.\u00a0 \u201cI told the woman you have nothing to fear from me, and I meant it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWho are you?\u201d Joe demanded of the stranger.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis name\u2019s Ballard Peak.\u201d \u00a0Carrie paused. \u201cFunny kind of name, if you ask me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSeems the folks back in Derbyshire lived near a mountain,\u201d the man said with a wry twist to the words.\u00a0 \u201cNow where Ballard came from, I can\u2019t tell you, other than my mother liked it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe wiggled his fingers.\u00a0 \u201cCarrie, give me the gun.\u00a0 That way you can get me a dressing to keep the blood from running into my eye.\u201d\u00a0 He blinked as he said it, trying to clear some of it away. \u00a0As she did what he said, he added, \u201cYou said you were hunting.\u00a0 Where\u2019d you come from?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy place is about four miles from here as the crow flies.\u00a0 I set off the day before yesterday to lay in some meat for the winter.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have a family?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSure do.\u00a0 Wife, two girls, and a baby boy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carrie had found some bandages and returned to sit by him.\u00a0 As Joe questioned the stranger, she inspected his wound.\u00a0 The man had been right.\u00a0 Dirt and debris had been driven into it, most likely from when Joe fell.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe, we gotta get that there wound cleaned.\u00a0 If you ain\u2019t careful, it\u2019ll be me riding out to fetch Doc Belden this time.\u201d<\/p>\n

He nodded, his face stoic.\u00a0 \u201cGet some soap and water.\u00a0 And that bottle of whiskey Amos had.\u201d<\/p>\n

As she went to the cupboard, she heard Joe\u2019s feet hit the floor.\u00a0 Haltingly, he walked over to the other man.\u00a0 With a shake of his head, he said, \u201cI don\u2019t know how I can trust you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ballard shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know how you can\u2019t.\u00a0 If I wanted to, I could have overpowered the lady there before you woke up.\u00a0\u00a0 And I could certainly take you now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carrie stopped with the wash basin in her hands.<\/p>\n

He was right.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe,\u201d she said, drawing his attention, \u201cthe good Lord\u2019s watched over me all these years.\u00a0 I think we\u2019re just gonna hafta trust Him to do that now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s finger was on the trigger.\u00a0 She saw it relax.\u00a0 \u201cYeah,\u201d he said, \u201cI guess you\u2019re right.\u00a0 I can\u2019t….\u201d\u00a0 He swayed and then headed for the floor.<\/p>\n

Ballard caught him before he hit it.\u00a0 The large man picked Joe up like he was a child and returned him to the bed.\u00a0 Once there, he took a seat beside him and then turned and looked at her and held out a hand.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll clean the wound and bandage it, Ma\u2019am, if you\u2019ll warm up some of whatever you have in that cook pot on the stove.\u00a0 I haven\u2019t eaten since noon.\u201d<\/p>\n

She studied him.\u00a0 He seemed a good enough man and now that she could see him better, had a right kind face.\u00a0 \u201cThe name\u2019s Carrie.\u00a0 Carrie Pickett.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks, Carrie Pickett, for your hospitality.\u00a0 Now, let\u2019s see what I can do for your friend.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThere<\/em> you are, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss Cartwright had been searching for his father.\u00a0 He\u2019d finally found him out in the stable, brushing Buck.\u00a0 He knew the older man was right worried about Little Joe.\u00a0 It had been their plan for him to ride after his baby brother, but the storm had moved in so quickly it hadn\u2019t been possible.\u00a0 From the look of it, it would be another day before he could ride out and then another one at least before he could make contact with Joe.<\/p>\n

His father had been bending, working on the area around the Buckskin\u2019s knees.\u00a0 He looked up.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry, son.\u00a0 I just felt the need to move.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, Pa, you know Joe can take care of hisself.\u201d<\/p>\n

The older man stood.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s not that.\u00a0 I know Joseph is more than capable.\u00a0 It\u2019s just, well, I don\u2019t trust Jason Milburn.\u00a0 I can\u2019t believe he\u2019s given up on Carrie Pickett\u2019s land, or that he has forgotten it was Joe who kept him from getting it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDid Joe say he saw anythin\u2019 funny last spring when he went up?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u00a0 Nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen \u2013 if you don\u2019t mind my sayin\u2019 so, Pa \u2013 maybe you\u2019re just borrowin\u2019 trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n

He laughed.\u00a0 \u201cWell, I certainly don\u2019t need to do that!\u00a0 I have enough trouble of my own.\u201d\u00a0 His pa shook his white head.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s just, well, you know Joe.\u00a0 That boy can find trouble faster than a bee stung stallion.\u00a0 And if he<\/em> doesn\u2019t find it, it<\/em> finds him!\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss nodded, thoughtful.\u00a0 He\u2019d tried once on two hands to count all the times his little brother had been beat up or shot, but found he needed all of his toes and Joe\u2019s and his pa\u2019s too.\u00a0 Of course, Joe always came out on top \u2013 eventually.<\/p>\n

The big man walked to the stable door and looked out.\u00a0 The snow was still coming down and the wind was whipping it up like a woman did cream in a bowl.\u00a0 He could just make out the ranch house and only then because of the light spilling out of the windows.<\/p>\n

Up at Crescent it would be even worse.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wonder how that Mrs. Landes is doing?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can only hope they either made their destination in record time or found a place to hole up.\u00a0 She was a most determined young woman.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat \u2018ya reckon so\u2019s all fired important up that way that it was worth risking her life to do?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard to say, son.\u00a0 Anyhow, it\u2019s not our place to judge or even guess.\u201d\u00a0 The older man walked to a nearby table and laid the brushes down.\u00a0 He shivered then and pulled his coat close about his throat.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s getting colder.\u00a0 How about you and I go in and make a pot of coffee and warm up some of that dried apple pie Hop Sing made for supper?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t gotta twist my arm, Pa.\u00a0 I\u2019ll put Buck back in his stall and then follow you in.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the older man headed for the house, Hoss did just that, putting his father\u2019s horse in the stall and making sure Buck had plenty of straw to bed down in and hay to eat.\u00a0 Then he blew out the lamp on the table and took hold of the lantern beside it and headed for the door.\u00a0 Once there he paused and looked up north, thinking about his baby brother.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou watch over that little cuss, God, you hear?\u00a0 Bring him home safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

With that, Hoss headed into the blinding snow and made his way to the house.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

THREE<\/p>\n

Joe opened his eyes and then closed them.\u00a0 After waiting a moment, he tried again.\u00a0 This time the stars were gone even though the stampeding horses were still there.\u00a0 He lay still, trying to remember what had happened.\u00a0 He and Carrie had been dancing.\u00a0 Then he\u2019d gone out to do some chores.\u00a0 The last thing he remembered was carrying two buckets toward the lake.\u00a0 Then….<\/p>\n

His hand flew to his forehead.\u00a0 It was bandaged and in one place, wet with fresh blood.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s right.\u00a0 He\u2019d been shot.\u00a0 Someone had shot him.\u00a0\u00a0 He remembered waking before and thought he had met the man, but it was all a jumble and he wasn\u2019t sure what was real and what might have been a dream.\u00a0 Cautiously Joe rose into a seated position and then stood swaying like a sapling in the wind before finding his feet and moving into the common room of Carrie\u2019s cabin.\u00a0 She was seated in her rocking chair before the fire, sound asleep.<\/p>\n

There was no one else in sight.<\/p>\n

Moving as silently as he could he went over to check on her.\u00a0 When it was clear she was sleeping peacefully, he turned and headed for the door.\u00a0 He could hear the wind howling and knew the storm had worsened.\u00a0 No one had seen to the few animals Carrie had and he wanted to make certain they were fed and had plenty of straw.\u00a0 Before he headed out, he put Amos\u2019 coat back on and tied one of Miss Carrie\u2019s scarves around his hat and chin.\u00a0 Then he opened the door a crack.\u00a0 After a second he opened it wide enough to step out and then quickly pulled it to behind him.\u00a0 To his surprise, there was a light in the small barn he had built the spring before that housed Carrie\u2019s cow and sheep.<\/p>\n

His hand went to his hip and it was then he realized he didn\u2019t have his gun.\u00a0 Carrie must have taken it off of him when she tended his wound.\u00a0 He thought about going back in the house, but then decided against it as he didn\u2019t want to wake her.\u00a0 There were pitchforks and other tools in the barn and he knew how to use them to do more than plant.\u00a0 As Joe approached the barn, he heard an unexpected sound.<\/p>\n

Someone was singing.<\/p>\n

He caught hold of the door and pulled it back and stepped in.<\/p>\n

A large brown-haired man was seated on the floor. \u00a0He had a lamb in his arms.\u00a0 As he closed the door, the man looked up.\u00a0 \u201cMister Cartwright, if you don\u2019t mind my saying so, you look like something the cat dragged in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe frowned.\u00a0 \u201cBallard, isn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n

The man nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m surprised you remembered.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, it is a little cloudy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ballard winced.\u00a0 \u201cSorry about your head.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe snorted as he headed for a nearby bundle of hay.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s okay.\u00a0 It matches the lump on the other side Miss Carrie gave me,\u201d\u00a0 he said as he sat down.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou shouldn\u2019t be out of bed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNeither should you, but here we are.\u201d<\/p>\n

The other man shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cI saw the animals when I brought you in and knew they needed tending.\u00a0 Once Mrs. Pickett fell asleep, I slipped out.\u00a0 I hope I didn\u2019t wake you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNah.\u00a0 I woke up on my own.\u00a0 It\u2019s kind of hard to sleep when you have a herd pounding through your head.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs it bad?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve had worse.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I know you have no reason to believe me, Mister Cartwright, but I\u2019ve never shot a man before \u2013 and hope never to again!\u201d<\/p>\n

Ballard looked to be about forty.\u00a0 That would put him in his early thirties when the war broke out.\u00a0 \u201cYou didn\u2019t see any fighting?\u201d<\/p>\n

The brown-haired man was looking down, stroking the lamb\u2019s head.\u00a0 \u201cNo.\u00a0 I stayed on the family farm, but both of my younger brothers went off to fight.\u201d\u00a0 He paused.\u00a0 \u201cBoth of them died.\u201d<\/p>\n

He felt like a louse.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t mean to bring up painful memories.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ballard looked at him, a tired smile on his face.\u00a0 \u201cIf I don\u2019t talk about them then they never lived.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t lost a brother in that way, but my older one \u2013 Adam \u2013 he went off to sea about four years ago.\u00a0 I know the ache that\u2019s left.\u201d<\/p>\n

The other man nodded and then rose to his feet with the lamb in his arms.\u00a0 \u201cThis little one was frightened by the howling wind.\u00a0 I\u2019ve got her calmed down now.\u00a0 I\u2019ll just put her with her mother and then we\u2019d better get you back inside.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ballard finished and then turned back to look at him.\u00a0 \u201cYou may be, but that wound isn\u2019t.\u00a0 It\u2019s bleeding again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe reached up to touch it and pulled away bloody fingers.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Neville Greaves reined in his horse and looked back the way he had come.\u00a0 When the morning dawned the storm had taken a breather and so Nonie had insisted they start out again.\u00a0 The woman was bound and determined to get them both killed.\u00a0 The snow was knee-high to the horse and it was impossible to tell where the road began and ended.\u00a0 Fortunately, he had some experience in this part of the country \u2013 at least enough to keep them from plunging over the edge of the ridge they were climbing.\u00a0 As far as he could tell they were about two-thirds of the way to their destination.\u00a0 On a normal day the remainder of the journey would have been only a few hours.\u00a0 As it was, he doubted they would make it before sundown and that was only if the storm abated and didn\u2019t return.<\/p>\n

When he\u2019d taken this job he\u2019d promised Nonie Landes to see her to her people\u2019s land and to bring her, along with whoever she found there, back to civilization.\u00a0 He was doing it for Robert, who had been his business partner and who, when he knew he was going to die, had made him pledge to look out for his young wife.\u00a0 He\u2019d agreed heartily as he\u2019d always had a soft spot for the beautiful blonde even if he believed Robert should have taken her over his knee a few hundred times.\u00a0 She was a spitfire, that one.\u00a0 It was all dressed up in fine silks and fancy manners, but Nonie Landes had a backbone of steel when it came to getting her own way.\u00a0 She\u2019d wrapped Robert around her little finger.\u00a0 He\u2019d given her everything \u2013 a fancy house, carriages, trips to Europe.\u00a0 Everything except the one thing she wanted most.<\/p>\n

Family.<\/p>\n

So here they were, slogging up a high rise, taking on a mountain and a storm, just so she could find someone to call her own.<\/p>\n

Neville snorted.\u00a0 He, of course, was chopped meat.<\/p>\n

It had been several minutes and Nonie still hadn\u2019t caught up. He was just beginning to worry when her horse appeared, rising like a ghost out of the light fall of snow.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere have you been?\u201d he asked as she drew alongside him.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy horse got in too deep.\u00a0 I had to work with him to get free.\u00a0 Mister Cartwright was correct.\u00a0 They are good animals.\u201d\u00a0 She indicated the path before them with a nod.\u00a0 \u201cHow far do you think we have to go?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShould be about six hours, but with the snow I\u2019d make it ten.\u00a0 I figure we\u2019ll get there about the time the sun goes down barring anything unforeseen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nonie shivered.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m ready to be inside.\u00a0 I suppose it was stupid to attempt this before winter.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou had your reasons.\u00a0 You couldn\u2019t know the sky would spit out a foot of snow.\u00a0 It\u2019s early this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know.\u201d\u00a0 She hesitated and then added, \u201cThank you for being such a good friend, Neville.\u201d<\/p>\n

If his hat hadn\u2019t been tied to his chin, he would have tipped it.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re welcome.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know you promised Robert you would take care of me.\u00a0 He told me before he…died.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUntil you meet some handsome young man and don\u2019t need me anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

She stiffened in the saddle.\u00a0 \u201cI have no intention of looking.\u00a0 There\u2019s no one could measure up to Robert.\u00a0 No one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Neville held up his hands in a gesture of surrender.\u00a0 \u201cWell, then, I guess you\u2019ll just have to put up with me until we\u2019re both<\/em> old and gray.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nonie fixed him with her deep brown eyes and nodded.\u00a0 Then, with a click of her tongue she started her horse moving and took the lead.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe winced, both from the tending Carrie was giving his wound and from the tongue lashing he was getting while she did it.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe Cartwright, if you aren\u2019t the most bullheaded man I ever seen!\u00a0 What was you thinkin\u2019 gettin\u2019 out of bed and goin\u2019 outside?\u00a0 You think I cain\u2019t take care of my own animals?\u00a0 Why I been doin\u2019 it for four years now since I lost my Amos!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCarrie.\u00a0 Ouch!\u00a0 Carrie!\u201d\u00a0 He put a hand up to stop her.\u00a0 She was pulling the bandage away where the blood had plastered it to his hair.<\/p>\n

She smacked his shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cYou want me to go get my wool scissors?\u00a0 We\u2019ll see what those pretty girls think when you come home sheared!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I don\u2019t want scissors, but can\u2019t you…\u201d\u00a0 He batted her hand away.\u00a0 \u201cLet me do it!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd here I thought you was a man\u2019s<\/em> man,\u201d she said, hands on hips and a wry smile twisting her thin lips.\u00a0 \u201cCan\u2019t take a little pain.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt ain\u2019t<\/em> a little!\u201d\u00a0 Thrusting out his hand and indicating the table beside the bed, he said, \u201cGive me that mirror.\u00a0 I\u2019ll get it out myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Carrie handed it to him the door opened.\u00a0 It was late in the day and Ballard had gone out to fetch more firewood.\u00a0 After applying a fresh dressing to his wound upon his return to the cabin, Joe\u2019d slept for about five hours and then he and the other man had labored as long as there was light to patch the burned out section of the cabin wall.\u00a0 For the first part of the day the snow had relented.\u00a0 Now, near sundown, the wind was rising again and a new batch of white flakes had begun to fall.\u00a0 By the look of the sky this round could be even worse than the first.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, give me that wet cloth,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

As she did, she huffed.\u00a0 \u201cIf\u2019n you\u2019d stayed put you wouldn\u2019t have broken that open again.\u00a0 You mind me, Joe Cartwright, you\u2019re gonna make yourself sick!\u201d<\/p>\n

He lowered the mirror to the bed and began to pull the wet cloth through his hair to loosen it from the bandage.\u00a0 Every tug hurt, but he wasn\u2019t going to let her know that.\u00a0 \u201cCarrie, I didn\u2019t come here to sit and trade stories with you.\u00a0 Winter\u2019s coming and you ain\u2019t ready!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI been ready every other year,\u201d she said, crossing her arms over her chest and raising her chin.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, you ain\u2019t<\/em> this year.\u00a0 Your barn needs mending.\u00a0 Snow\u2019s blowing in through the chinks in the logs.\u00a0 You haven\u2019t got enough firewood, and the only<\/em> reason you have enough food is because I brought it!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t need your food.\u00a0 You can just go, Joe Cartwright, and take your food with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tossing the bloody rag on top of the mirror, he rose to his feet and looked down at her, careful to hide the fact that he wanted to topple back into the bed.\u00a0 \u201cI would do <\/em>that if there wasn\u2019t a storm the size of the state of Texas brewing out there. \u00a0As it is, I\u2019m stuck here with you and your constant badgering!\u201d<\/p>\n

The sound of laughter made them both turn.\u00a0 Ballard Peak was seated at the table, his fingers wrapped around a steaming mug.\u00a0 When he saw them looking, he sobered and then asked, \u201cHas anyone ever told you two that you sound like an old married couple?\u201d<\/p>\n

Carrie snickered first.\u00a0 Then he did.\u00a0 Then they both started laughing.<\/p>\n

A second later Joe put a hand to his head.\u00a0 \u201cOoh.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe, I\u2019m sorry,\u201d the older woman said.\u00a0 \u201cYou just sit yourself down and I\u2019ll be real gentle and get that there bandage off.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCarrie, I can do it \u2013 \u201d\u00a0 Joe stopped.\u00a0 He looked at her and smiled.\u00a0 \u201cAll right.\u201d<\/p>\n

When she pulled the bandage free a short time later, he heard her suck in air.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s lookin\u2019 right angry, Joe.\u00a0 How are you feelin\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA little tired, but then I should be after all the work Ballard and I did.\u201d\u00a0 He looked at the other man.\u00a0 \u201cWe were sure lucky you came along.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know if I could have gotten everything done for Miss Carrie before I have to go back to the Ponderosa without you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLucky?\u201d the other man snorted.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re lucky<\/em> I didn\u2019t kill you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carrie caught his attention.\u00a0 \u201cI gotta swab it with some whiskey, Joe.\u00a0 You ready?\u201d<\/p>\n

He winced and nodded and then held his breath as the touch of the liquor ignited every nerve in his body.\u00a0 A second later relief came in the form of a folded up cloth dipped in cold water.\u00a0 The older woman held it in place for a minute and then removed it and began to wind a new bandage around his head.\u00a0 When she was done, he rose to his feet and headed for the door.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow just where in Tarnation <\/em>do you think you\u2019re goin\u2019, Joe Cartwright?\u201d<\/p>\n

He had pulled his coat on and had his hand on the latch.\u00a0 \u201cOut to check the stock.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLet me do that,\u201d Ballard said rising.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u00a0 No.\u201d\u00a0 Joe raised a hand and his eyebrows as well.\u00a0 \u201cI need to give Carrie something else to badger me about.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll come with you then,\u201d the other man said as he rose and reached for his own coat that had been tossed over the back of a chair.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right.\u00a0 It shouldn\u2019t take too long with the two of us,\u201d Joe said as he opened the door. When he looked out, he was surprised to find a man standing on the stoop.\u00a0 He was covered in snow from head to toe.<\/p>\n

Reaching out, the man caught his arm.\u00a0 \u201cYou have to help me.\u00a0 Nonie\u2019s out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ballard came up beside him.\u00a0 \u201cNonie?\u201d<\/p>\n

The man nodded.\u00a0 \u201cHer horse threw her, back about a half mile.\u00a0 Her leg\u2019s hurt.\u00a0 She couldn\u2019t walk.\u201d\u00a0 He was breathing hard and obviously distressed.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ve got to go get her!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe turned and looked at the older woman.\u00a0 \u201cCarrie, get the fire stoked and warm some blankets.\u00a0 Looks like you won\u2019t get to sleep in your bed tonight after all.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Within minutes the three of them \u2013 Ballard, him, and Neville \u2013 were headed back to the place where the stranger had left the woman named Nonie.\u00a0\u00a0 They said very little as they worked their way through the blinding snow, each one concentrating on keeping himself alive.\u00a0 At one point Neville nearly tumbled off an unseen edge.\u00a0 Ballard seemed very accustomed to the weather and navigated it as well as he did \u2013 or as well as he would<\/em> have if his head hadn\u2019t been howling in tune with the wind.\u00a0 As he trudged through the near knee-high banks of white, Joe kept up a steady conversation with himself.<\/p>\n

There isn\u2019t any infection.\u00a0 There can\u2019t be any infection.\u00a0 You\u2019re not <\/em>gonna be sick.\u00a0 –<\/p>\n

Maybe if he said it often enough it would be true.<\/p>\n

The situation had grown even more tenuous with the arrival of Neville and his Nonie.\u00a0 Already there was an unknown digit.\u00a0 Ballard Peak seemed nice enough and appeared to offer no threat, but then Joe\u2019d lived long enough to know that \u2018seeming\u2019 and \u2018appearing\u2019 were not necessarily truth.\u00a0 He was taking Peak at face value now, but always with an eye to the fact that, at any minute, Ballard might turn.<\/p>\n

And then there were these two newcomers.\u00a0 Neville was obviously a city feller.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t dressed right for the weather.\u00a0 His polished boots were for street walking and not slogging through snow.\u00a0 His coat was right for a cool October night, but was probably doing very little to keep the stiff winter wind out.\u00a0 Most likely he\u2019d be dealing with frostbite if this took too long.\u00a0 He was afraid, if Nonie was as poorly prepared as Neville for the weather, that they might find a frozen corpse instead of a live woman at the end of the line. He had to wonder what in God\u2019s green earth the pair were doing, traveling up this way at the beginning of December.\u00a0 It was sheer foolishness to chance the weather this time of year.\u00a0\u00a0 Joe looked about and snorted.<\/p>\n

So, that made him a fool<\/em> too, he guessed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere!\u201d\u00a0 Neville had lowered his scarf and was calling out from just in front of him.\u00a0 \u201cThere!\u00a0 That\u2019s where I left her!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe looked.\u00a0 \u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a depression in the rock wall, almost a cave.\u00a0 I built a small fire at the back out of the wind and left her there bundled as well as I could.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ballard exchanged a glance with him as Neville moved forward.\u00a0 No light was coming from within the crevice, so the fire had gone out.<\/p>\n

It all depended on how long ago.<\/p>\n

When they got there, they found Neville kneeling on the ground.\u00a0 He had pulled the woman forward and was holding her tightly, partly to lend her body warmth and partly, it seemed, out of fear.\u00a0 The face the older man turned toward them was decorated with partially frozen tears.\u00a0 \u201cI can\u2019t tell!\u201d he shouted over the wind.\u00a0 \u201cI can\u2019t tell if she\u2019s breathing or not!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe squatted down beside them.\u00a0 He pulled a knife out of his pocket and reached for the woman\u2019s blouse.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d<\/p>\n

With the knife Joe sliced through the thin fabric.\u00a0 He pocketed the knife, pulled one glove off and then, in a very ungentlemanly fashion pressed his palm to the woman\u2019s bare chest.\u00a0 After a second he nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cHeart\u2019s beating, but slow.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank God!\u201d Neville breathed.<\/p>\n

Joe continued to examine the woman.\u00a0 It was hard to tell in the moonlight, but her skin seemed to show the typical signs: it was blue-white and was beginning to go rubbery so it felt stiff to the touch.\u00a0 He looked at Ballard.\u00a0 \u201cI think it\u2019s frost nip, but it\u2019s going to be more soon.\u00a0 We need to get her back to the cabin.\u201d\u00a0 He paused, hesitant to project that he was feeling any weakness.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet me carry her,\u201d Ballard offered, saving him from doing so.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m bigger than you and you\u2019re still dealing with the effects of that head wound.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe nodded and backed out of the way.\u00a0 As he did, he caught Neville\u2019s arm and drew him upward.\u00a0 \u201cCome on, Neville, let Ballard in.\u00a0 If you want to help your friend, you need to get out of the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

He watched Ballard wrap the woman in the blankets that lay around her and then rise easy as if he was carrying a child, and turn around.\u00a0 With a nod, the large brown-haired man began to move back toward Carrie\u2019s cabin \u2013 back toward light and warmth.<\/p>\n

Joe followed with Neville.\u00a0 The older man was moving slowly, as if he had spent the last bit of his strength long before he got to them and had been living on sheer will power ever since.\u00a0 About halfway back, he stumbled and almost fell.\u00a0 Joe caught him and lifted him up and, placing an arm around his waist, half-carried the man back to Carrie\u2019s cabin.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hoss shook his head.\u00a0 He was seated at the supper table and had just watched his pa walk to the front door and open it and look out for the umpteenth time.\u00a0 Every time he did, a shower of snowflakes came in with the wind.\u00a0 With the coming in of the wind the fire in the hearth flickered and spit and nearly went out, and then Hop Sing would shout that the house was going to be \u2018velly velly<\/em> cold\u2019 if someone didn\u2019t stop opening the door.<\/p>\n

It would have been funny if all of them hadn\u2019t been so dang <\/em>worried about Joe.<\/p>\n

\u201cLeave it to little brother,\u201d he muttered to no one in particular, \u201cto pick the one week when a blizzard comes in to go visitin\u2019!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you say something, Hoss?\u201d his father asked as he fought against the wind to close the door.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust talkin\u2019 to myself, Pa.\u201d\u00a0 The big man put his napkin down and rose and left the table.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s it like out there?\u201d<\/p>\n

His father shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cThe snow\u2019s let up, but the wind is still gusting.\u00a0 Let\u2019s hope that by morning both have stopped.\u201d<\/p>\n

He crossed over to his father\u2019s side.\u00a0 \u201cYou still thinkin\u2019 about tryin\u2019 to go up and see how it is with Little Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n

The older man pursed his lips and then nodded his head.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m thinking that, even if everything is okay, with this turn in the weather Joe is going to need help getting Carrie Pickett ready for winter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cIt ain\u2019t gonna be a pretty trip, that\u2019s for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, I don\u2019t know…invigorating air, the crisp clean scent of pine, a million stars above in a clear blue sky and a white carpet beneath.\u00a0 There are worse \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is it, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cListen.\u00a0 Do you hear that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI ain\u2019t hearin\u2019 nothin\u2019, Pa.\u00a0 No, wait…\u00a0 There, I got it too.\u201d\u00a0 He looked at the older man.\u00a0 \u201cDanged if that ain\u2019t someone ridin\u2019 in?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou think it could be your brother?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know, Pa,\u201d he replied, reaching for his coat.\u00a0 \u201cLet\u2019s go see.\u201d<\/p>\n

After his father had donned his coat, he opened the door again, only this time they both stepped out onto the porch.\u00a0 To their amazement someone was tethering their horse to the rail.\u00a0 Hoss glanced at his pa and knew he was thinking the same thing.<\/p>\n

Whoever it was, they was nuts!<\/p>\n

The man finished with his horse and then turned into the wind, nearly losing his hat as he approached.\u00a0 As he came closer and Hoss realized who it was, his amazement turned to apprehension.<\/p>\n

The lawman was bundled up so most nothing much showed but his face.\u00a0 When Roy Coffee tipped his hat, it caused a snowfall.\u00a0 \u201cEvening, Ben.\u00a0 Hoss.\u201d<\/p>\n

His father stepped forward and took him by the arm. \u201cRoy!\u00a0 For goodness sake, come inside!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMuch obliged, Ben,\u201d Roy said as he followed behind the older man.<\/p>\n

Hoss brought up the rear and closed the door.<\/p>\n

\u201cHop Sing!\u201d his father bellowed.\u00a0 As their Chinese cook appeared near the dining table, he added, \u201cGet Roy some hot coffee and warm up a couple of cloths for his feet and hands.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, Ben, there\u2019s no need to fuss.\u00a0 I been out in worse.\u201d\u00a0 The lawman was peeling away layers.\u00a0 \u201cThese young people nowadays don\u2019t know nothin\u2019 about how a feller keeps warm.\u00a0 Nothing nipped on me but my nose and that\u2019s a\u2019cause it\u2019s too long!\u201d<\/p>\n

Hop Sing came into the room carrying a tray with three mugs on it, plus a pot.\u00a0 The cloths were draped over his arm.\u00a0 \u201cMen sit down,\u201d he said, \u201cHop Sing serve.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, Hop Sing,\u201d his father said, accepting the hot cloths and laying them aside before taking the pot.\u00a0 \u201cI can pour.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay, Mister Cartwright.\u00a0 You make sure Sheriff \u00a0Roy puts cloth on feet and not coffee!\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Hoss watched until their cook had disappeared into the kitchen area.\u00a0 He turned back just as his father asked, \u201cRoy, what brings you out in weather like this?\u201d<\/p>\n

The sheriff was flexing his fingers, belying the fact that he wasn\u2019t feeling the cold.\u00a0 He stopped and reached into his pocket and produced a telegram.\u00a0 \u201cThis here wire came today.\u00a0 I mused over it for an hour or two and then thought I\u2019d better bring it out, no matter what the weather.\u201d\u00a0 He looked around.\u00a0 \u201cSay, where\u2019s Joe?\u00a0 Is that boy crazy enough to be workin\u2019 outside?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe\u2019s not here, Roy.\u00a0 He headed northeast toward Crescent about two days ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCrescent?\u00a0 What\u2019s he doin\u2019 up there.\u201d\u00a0 Roy frowned and then snapped his fingers.\u00a0 \u201cHe didn\u2019t go up there to visit that old woman, did he?\u00a0 What was her name?\u00a0 Pickett?\u201d<\/p>\n

When Joe had been called on to testify against Jason Milburn and his hired thug, Jacob Marks, Roy had gone with him to the meet with the circuit judge.\u00a0 Milburn had been slippery than a snake, of course, and nothing had stuck.\u00a0 Marks had gone to jail, not only for what he did that day at Carrie Pickett\u2019s house, but for other crimes including battery and theft.\u00a0 He\u2019d gotten two years in prison.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, he went to see Carrie.\u00a0 Why?\u201d<\/p>\n

Roy was shaking his head.\u00a0 \u201cNow I know why I felt I had to bring this out to you.\u00a0 I\u2019m just sorry it\u2019s too late to stop Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

He and his father exchanged glances.\u00a0 Then the older man accepted the telegram.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s from Jenks,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Richard Jenks had been the agent at the Carson City Land Office who had helped them to get Carrie Pickett\u2019s claim filed, thus beating Milburn out of the land.<\/p>\n

\u201cGo ahead.\u00a0 Read it, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

The older man cleared his throat.\u00a0 \u201cTo Roy Coffee, Virginia City, Sheriff\u2019s office.\u00a0 Important news to convey to Ben Cartwright.\u00a0 Someone checking into Mrs. Pickett\u2019s land claim.\u00a0 Think Milburn involved though all appears legal.\u00a0 Warn Joe.\u00a0 Marks released early.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMarks?\u201d\u00a0 Hoss thought a moment.\u00a0 \u201cSay, Pa, ain\u2019t that the man what tried to beat Joe to death?\u201d<\/p>\n

His father nodded.\u00a0 \u201cMilburn\u2019s henchman.\u00a0 If we hadn\u2019t gotten there when we did, he would have broken Joe\u2019s ribs or worse.\u201d\u00a0 He folded over the telegram and placed it in his pocket.\u00a0 \u201cAny idea why Marks was released?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know about Marks in specific, Ben, but Jason Milburn\u2019s a mighty powerful man with a lot of money.\u00a0 Ain\u2019t hard to guess what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe paid someone off.\u201d\u00a0 His father rose and began to pace.\u00a0 \u201cI knew <\/em>Milburn wouldn\u2019t let it go.\u00a0 That track of land was too important<\/em> to him.\u00a0 All that stands between him now and everything he wanted is one feisty old woman.\u201d\u00a0 He turned to Roy.\u00a0 \u201cAnd my son.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roy looked from his pa to him.\u00a0 \u201cYou ain\u2019t thinkin\u2019 of goin\u2019 after him?\u00a0 In this weather?\u201d\u00a0 The sheriff rose to his feet.\u00a0 \u201cBen, there\u2019s no proof Milburn is up to anythin\u2019, or that Marks and him are anywhere around Carrie Pickett\u2019s place.\u00a0 The odds that they were up there before the snow hit are mighty small.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSmall or not, Roy, Joe\u2019s all alone with Carrie and that\u2019s trouble no matter how you look at it.\u201d\u00a0 At Roy\u2019s look, he went on.\u00a0 \u201cIf Joe was by himself, it would be one thing.\u00a0 He\u2019s a grown man and capable of looking out for himself.\u00a0 But he\u2019s not<\/em> alone.\u00a0 He\u2019s with a woman, and not only a woman but an older, independent one with a mind of her own.\u00a0 Carrie will be his first priority, not<\/em> watching out for himself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roy\u2019s smile was wry and affectionate.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s a ladies\u2019 man, that youngest of yours, no matter how<\/em> you look at it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss rose too.\u00a0 \u201cYou lookin\u2019 at takin\u2019 off in the mornin\u2019, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u00a0 As early as we can. With this weather travel will be slow.\u00a0 It\u2019s going to take us two days at the very least to get up there.\u201d\u00a0 The older man turned toward the window.\u00a0 Outside the snow was falling and the wind was even stronger than before.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd two days is a very<\/em> long time.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Carrie Pickett stared out of the window for a moment longer and then turned and went to her chair by the fire.\u00a0 She\u2019d spent the last three winters of her life alone in the Piney Woods and it had never scared her.<\/p>\n

Till now, that was.<\/p>\n

Maybe it was having a man around again \u2013 it made her feel like she needed looking after.\u00a0 When Amos had been alive, he\u2019d treated her like a lady and had insisted on doing all the hard, heavy work himself.\u00a0 \u2018Course she usually paid him no nevermind and had helped to put the cabin up with her own hands.\u00a0 But in the winter, he was quietly insistent and had always made her stay close to the hearth where she was safe and warm.<\/p>\n

She sure<\/em> missed Amos.<\/p>\n

Carrie rose from the chair.\u00a0 She was restless as the howling wind outside.\u00a0 The men had been gone for near an hour and she was worried.\u00a0 Most of all, she was worried about Joe.\u00a0 She didn\u2019t know the others fellers well as she knew him.\u00a0 Oh, she would\u2019ve been sad if they died, but sad in a proper expected sort of way.\u00a0 If something happened to that young, handsome Joe Cartwright, well, it would break her heart. He was the sweetest, gentlest, most bull-headed and strong-minded man she\u2019d met since Amos had passed.\u00a0 Why, Joe even looked a little bit like Amos.\u00a0 Mostly around the eyes.\u00a0 Amos.\u00a0 She hadn\u2019t seen him in more than three years.<\/p>\n

\u2018Course, that was because she hadn\u2019t looked<\/em> in more than three years.<\/p>\n

Turning, she looked to the left of the alcove that held her bed.\u00a0 There was a hole there, near the kitchen and under the floor.\u00a0 It was the same one she\u2019d hid the contents of her larder in when she\u2019d tried to keep Joe from riding away the year before.\u00a0 It was empty now with the exception of one item \u2013 a wooden box.\u00a0 A memory box.<\/p>\n

A box of sadness and joy.<\/p>\n

Carrie pursed her lips and blew out a snort.\u00a0 Hands on hips she fought with herself and then, deciding she was a foolish, weak and silly old woman, she marched over to the spot and bent and lifted the floorboards.\u00a0 Gently, like it was a child, she took hold of the box and lifted it out and carried it to her bed.\u00a0 Sitting down, she placed her hands on it and then, slowly, opened the lid.<\/p>\n

There weren\u2019t much inside.\u00a0 Just a few oddments.\u00a0 A ribbon she had worn in her hair the day she got married.\u00a0 Some pressed flowers from her bouquet.\u00a0 A broken piece of a pretty plate she\u2019d picked up after the first time she\u2019d thrown one at Amos and he\u2019d ducked so\u2019s it hit the wall instead of him.\u00a0 Their anger had gone and they\u2019d laughed and laughed after it flew into a thousand pieces.\u00a0 She kept it to remember never to get so angry at him again.\u00a0 Under the china were a number of papers.\u00a0 The one on top was her marriage license.\u00a0 Miss Carrie Bell, daughter of Lucius and Caroline Bell, marrying Amos Job Pickett.\u00a0 Groom, twenty-one years old, and his bride, sixteen.\u00a0 Barely more than children either of them.<\/p>\n

Children.<\/p>\n

Carrie\u2019s fingers shook as she lifted the contents out of the box right down to the marriage certificate.\u00a0 Under it all were two more things \u2013 two precious <\/em>things preserved for eternity. Two of them there photographs with the funny name, fur or ferro-something.\u00a0 They were made of metal and were still in good shape all these years later.<\/p>\n

All these long<\/em> years.<\/p>\n

Drawing a breath and holding it, she turned the top one over.\u00a0 It was one of her and Amos on their wedding day.\u00a0 Looking at the brash young man with pride beaming out of his eyes, she hardly knew him.\u00a0 The Amos she knew had whiskers and thinning hair, more gray than brown.\u00a0 His eyes had been narrowed by hard years of determination, doubt, and even despair.\u00a0 But that smile was still there.\u00a0 Even as an older man it ran along his lips and rode right on up into his eyes, like Joe Cartwright\u2019s did.\u00a0 And when Amos laughed, well, there weren\u2019t no one who didn\u2019t laugh with him.<\/p>\n

She missed laughing.<\/p>\n

Carrie ran a finger over the face she had loved and lost and then sat that likeness aside.\u00a0 Her hand trembled as she lifted the next one. \u00a0She was in it.\u00a0 She was a good bit older, somewhere between forty and forty-five.\u00a0 She couldn\u2019t remember exactly.\u00a0 Nor could she remember the age of the little girl standing beside her.\u00a0 Or the sound of her voice.\u00a0 Or her touch.<\/p>\n

All she remembered was that day Eleazar came to take her away.\u00a0 She and Amos had talked it over.\u00a0 His brother\u2019s offer was generous.\u00a0 Anne would have things with him and his wife she could never have here in the Piney Woods \u2013 an education, a fine home, prospects for a future and a better life.\u00a0 They weren\u2019t enough food for a young\u2019un.\u00a0 They were too old, too like too die….<\/p>\n

Twelve years, that\u2019s how long they\u2019d had her, twelve years.<\/p>\n

And that was more almost fifteen years ago.<\/p>\n

As Carrie sat looking at the likeness of her girl, wondering where she was and what had become of her, she heard voices beyond the door.\u00a0 Almost instantly there came a strong knock.<\/p>\n

\u201cCarrie!\u00a0 Carrie, it\u2019s Joe!\u00a0 Open up!\u201d<\/p>\n

Carrie hurried and replaced the items in the box and then put it in the floor and drew the rug over it.\u00a0 Then, as Joe called again, she lifted the bar and the latch and let him and the others in.\u00a0 Joe came first and the man named Neville after him.\u00a0 Ballard Peak was last and he wasn\u2019t alone.\u00a0 He was carrying a bundle with a lady\u2019s feet sticking out \u2013 fine, tiny feet shod in dyed leather boots that had been hand-tooled.<\/p>\n

\u201cPut her on the bed,\u201d Joe ordered as he began to peel off the layers of clothes he had donned before they left.\u00a0 First came Amos\u2019 coat and then his own, and then he began to unwind the scarf that had kept his hat on his head.<\/p>\n

Carrie looked at it as he flung it aside.\u00a0 \u201cJoe!\u201d she said\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re bleedin\u2019 again.\u201d<\/p>\n

He stared at her as if he had no idea what she was talking about, and then reached up and touched his forehead.\u00a0 The bandage had come away with the scarf.\u00a0 What was left was an angry red jagged line oozing blood.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe…\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll deal with it later, Carrie.\u00a0 Did you warm the blankets like I asked?\u201d<\/p>\n

She went to her chair.\u00a0 There were several laying on the hearth beside it.\u00a0 \u201cGot \u2018em right here.\u201d<\/p>\n

He strode over to her and took them.\u00a0 As he approached the bed, Joe said, \u201cNeville, I know you\u2019re worried about Nonie, but you need to get out of the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the city man backed up, Joe sat on the bed beside the woman and began to pull the warm blankets over her slight form.\u00a0 \u201cThis is Nonie Landes, Carrie.\u00a0 She\u2019s frost-nipped, but I think she\u2019s going to be all right.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carrie went to his side and looked down.\u00a0 Her hand went to her chest.\u00a0 She didn\u2019t know how <\/em>she knew, but she did know.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t Nonie.<\/p>\n

It was Anne.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

FOUR<\/p>\n

Joe awoke early, stiff and sore.\u00a0 Unlike when he had arrived, Carrie had a full house and he had opted to sleep on the floor.\u00a0 Ballard and Neville had decided to work a few hours and make the small barn a fit place for living.\u00a0 They\u2019d asked him to go with them, but the look out of Carrie\u2019s eyes told him she didn\u2019t want to be alone any more than he wanted<\/em> her to be alone.<\/p>\n

For a lonely cabin way up on the side of a mountain in the middle of a big wild wood, an awful lot of things were happening.<\/p>\n

Too<\/em> many things were happening.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d tried to talk to Carrie about it before turning in, but she\u2019d been strangely distracted and just plain not herself.\u00a0 He\u2019d asked her if she was sick.\u00a0 That was the one time she did<\/em> seem normal. She\u2019d snapped and told him to look in a mirror.\u00a0 He had, by accident, as he washed his hands and face at her washstand.\u00a0 The trail the bullet had left was ugly.\u00a0 The edges were a deep red, almost black, and the wound was hot to the touch.\u00a0 He\u2019d had enough bullet wounds to know that foreign matter must have been driven into it when he fell.\u00a0 He was by the water and the ground had all kinds of dead and dying plant matter around it, plus dung from the animals who drank there.\u00a0 He\u2019d meant to wash the gash out with soap and water and dose it with alcohol again.\u00a0 Before doing so, he had sat down to rest and that had been the end of that.<\/p>\n

At the moment all he had was a persistent headache, though he knew it could get worse.\u00a0 What worried him was that a growing infection would rob him of that \u2018edge\u2019 a man needed to survive in the West. The wilderness was an unforgiving mistress.\u00a0 One mistake.\u00a0 Just one.\u00a0 That\u2019s all it took and a man was dead.<\/p>\n

A man or those he loved.<\/p>\n

Carrie was asleep beside the fire.\u00a0 He walked over to her and tugged the blanket that covered her up to her chin.\u00a0 The older woman shifted but didn\u2019t wake up.\u00a0 Next, he went to check on the woman they had all risked their necks for the night before, the one called Nonie Landes.\u00a0 Joe sat on the bed beside her.\u00a0 He reached out and touched her face with his fingers.\u00a0 The skin was soft and elastic now.\u00a0 All signs of the frost nip were gone.\u00a0 She was breathing normally and seemed to be sleeping naturally as well.\u00a0 She\u2019d be groggy and weak for a day or so from the exposure, but after that should return to normal.<\/p>\n

Whatever \u2018normal\u2019 was for Nonie Landes.<\/p>\n

As he made a motion to rise, Nonie stirred.\u00a0 She shifted and moaned and then her eyes opened.\u00a0 They were clouded with pain.\u00a0 There was a reason for that.\u00a0 When Ballard had placed her in the bed and unwrapped her and they had checked her over, they found that Neville had been right.\u00a0 Her left leg was badly twisted.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t find any broken bones, but that didn\u2019t mean they weren\u2019t there.<\/p>\n

Joe cupped her face in his hand and waited until her eyes focused on him.\u00a0 \u201cHey, there, Mrs. Landes,\u201d he soothed, \u201cyou\u2019re safe.\u00a0 There\u2019s nothing to worry about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her eyes opened and closed languidly. \u00a0\u201cWho…?\u201d \u00a0\u00a0It came out as a dry whisper.<\/p>\n

Joe reached over to the bedside table.\u00a0 They\u2019d pulled it over and put a pitcher of water on it the night before, just in case she woke and asked for it.\u00a0 He picked up the cup, filled it, and then gently lifted her head and fed the cool liquid to her.<\/p>\n

When he let her down, he asked, \u201cBetter?\u201d<\/p>\n

She nodded.\u00a0 A second later, she tried again, \u201cWho…are you?\u201d<\/p>\n

He smiled.\u00a0 \u201cName\u2019s Joe Cartwright.\u00a0 But don\u2019t you worry about who I am, you need to rest.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe…Cartwright?\u201d\u00a0 She said it in a funny way, almost like she knew it.<\/p>\n

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

Her eyes roamed about the space she was in and then moved to the cabin\u2019s interior.\u00a0 \u201cWhere…\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLike I said, you\u2019re safe.\u00a0 Now, you need to get some sleep.\u00a0 You\u2019ll feel better later and then I can answer your questions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel…fine…now,\u201d she said, her voice gaining strength.\u00a0 \u201cStop…treating me like…I\u2019m a child.\u00a0 Tell me…where…I am!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s brown eyebrows did a little dance.\u00a0 He pursed his lips and pulled a hand over them.\u00a0 Then he said, \u201cIn the middle of a snowstorm, in a bed in a cabin in the middle of a million trees, arguing with the man who just risked his life to save you.\u201d<\/p>\n

She blinked and looked right at him.\u00a0 \u201cCartwright?\u201d<\/p>\n

Again, he sensed it wasn\u2019t new to her.\u00a0 \u201cYeah.\u00a0 Something wrong with that?\u201d<\/p>\n

Her eyes flicked to the bandage on his head.\u00a0 \u201cWhat…happened?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, this?\u201d\u00a0 He touched it.\u00a0 \u201cSomeone mistook me for a deer.\u00a0 I bet you can see the resemblance.\u201d\u00a0 His brows peaked.\u00a0 \u201cNo?\u201d<\/p>\n

She sighed and turned her head into the pillow.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re…an…idiot….\u201d<\/p>\n

A second later, she was asleep.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t exactly the first encounter he\u2019d hoped for.<\/p>\n

Rising to his feet, Joe pulled the covers up again and then stood there looking at Nonie Landes.\u00a0 Her hair was amber as a stone set around a lady\u2019s neck and glinted like its golden housing.\u00a0 The waves curled naturally like his. \u00a0She had a pale complexion that the color was just returning to.\u00a0 Her face was heart-shaped with rose petal lips and long black lashes, and the eyes they hid \u2013 that had looked at him with something like disdain \u2013 were brown as his pa\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Whoever he was, Mister Landes was a lucky man.<\/p>\n

Turning, he looked out the window by the door.\u00a0 The sun was up.\u00a0 It was time to go to work.\u00a0 He\u2019d already used up four out of the seven or eight days he had told his pa it would take to help Carrie prepare for the winter.\u00a0 From the look of it the snow had fallen off and the wind died down, so hopefully between them \u2013 him, Neville, and Ballard \u2013 they could make up for the time he\u2019d lost.\u00a0 There was still time enough to get the wall finished, to lay in hay and straw for the animals, to strengthen the barn, and make sure Carrie had enough food to carry her through.\u00a0 He was sorry he hadn\u2019t been able to get the well fixed before the snow flew.\u00a0 The more he thought about it, the more it seemed to him that there was simply nothing wrong with it.\u00a0 That, maybe, it had been tampered with.<\/p>\n

Who knew what Jason Milburn was capable of?<\/p>\n

Joe crossed to the table and caught the coat Carrie had loaned him off the back of the chair.\u00a0 He pulled it on and then wound the scarf around his throat and put his hat on his bandaged head.\u00a0 There was nothing but to get to it.<\/p>\n

Hard work never hurt anyone, after all.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When he got to the barn, Joe found Neville was alone.\u00a0 The city slicker was trying to block the chinks in the log wall with split wood chips and failing miserably. \u00a0There was plenty of dung on the floor in the stalls.\u00a0 He\u2019d have to show him how to use it.<\/p>\n

\u201cNeville,\u201d Joe said in greeting.\u00a0 \u201cWhere\u2019s Ballard?\u201d<\/p>\n

The older man glanced at him as the wood chips fell through to the outside.\u00a0 \u201cHunting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe winced.\u00a0 \u201cA real deer this time, I hope.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI heard about that.\u00a0 How\u2019s your head?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHard as ever,\u201d Joe replied with a smile.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s good to see you<\/em> hard at work.\u201d\u2019<\/p>\n

The city slicker scowled.\u00a0 \u201cIt keeps my mind off…other things.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLike Mrs. Landes?\u201d\u00a0 Joe gauged Neville\u2019s reaction.\u00a0 It was something less than paternal.\u00a0 If he had to guess, he\u2019d say the man was in love with the woman in his charge.\u00a0 \u201cI talked to her a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Neville dropped the chips.\u00a0 \u201cYou what?\u00a0 I have to see her!\u201d<\/p>\n

As he brushed past Joe caught his arm.\u00a0 \u201cShe\u2019s sleeping.\u00a0 Let her be for a bit. The next time she wakes up she\u2019ll know who you are.\u201d\u00a0 He paused.\u00a0 \u201cAm I making something out of nothing, or is she a bit of a spitfire?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMrs. Landes?\u00a0 Why, she comes from one of the finest New York families.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s been to the finest finishing schools and is heir to a great estate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe grinned.\u00a0 \u201cStill waiting.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd…yes, she\u2019s a hell<\/em> of a spitfire. I\u2019ve never met a woman more headstrong and determined.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I have,\u201d Joe said as he moved into the barn.\u00a0 \u201cShe\u2019s sitting in there by the fire.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe old woman?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMiss Carrie ain\u2019t old,\u201d he said with a smile, \u201cshe\u2019s well-seasoned<\/em> and don\u2019t you forget it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Neville straightened his gloves.\u00a0 \u201cIs she a relation of yours?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCarrie?\u00a0 No.\u00a0 We\u2019re just friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you don\u2019t mind my saying so, it seems an…odd pairing.\u201d<\/p>\n

He laughed.\u00a0 \u201cNo, I don\u2019t mind you saying so.\u00a0 Actually, I have to agree.\u00a0 There\u2019s just something about that old woman. They don\u2019t make \u2018em like that anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

Neville glanced in the direction of the house. \u201cWell, there might be one<\/em> more….\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe grabbed the tool he needed from the bench located on the right side of the barn. \u00a0As he passed Neville, he slapped his arm.<\/p>\n

\u201cComing?\u201d<\/p>\n

Neville stuttered. \u201cW…where?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo fix the wall in that stubborn old woman\u2019s cabin so she won\u2019t scare the snow away when it comes to call.\u201d<\/p>\n

Neville looked up as they stepped out of the barn.\u00a0 It had almost stopped snowing.<\/p>\n

He made a face.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe it knows Nonie is here.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hoss found his pa in the barn early the next morning saddling Buck.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was gonna do that, Pa.\u00a0 How come you\u2019re up so dad-burned <\/em>early?\u201d<\/p>\n

The older man pulled on his saddle strap.\u00a0 \u201cI couldn\u2019t sleep.\u00a0 I kept thinking about Jason Milburn.\u00a0 I know his kind. \u00a0How could I have thought he would give up so easily?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou think he\u2019s the one lookin\u2019 into Miss Carrie\u2019s affairs?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJenks seemed to think so,\u201d he said as he fastened the buckle.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat you suppose he\u2019s tryin\u2019 to do, Pa?\u00a0 That old woman ain\u2019t ever gonna sell that land of hers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, so he will have to find some way to drive her off\u00a0 it, or make her want to leave it.\u00a0 Or….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou think he\u2019d hurt her?\u201d<\/p>\n

The older man rested his hands on the saddle and looked at him.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know what I think, son, other than we need to get there to help Joe as quickly as we can.\u00a0 Jason Milburn doesn\u2019t care who he hurts just so long as he gets what he wants.\u201d\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cYou think he\u2019d hurt Joe, I mean, really<\/em> hurt him?\u00a0 He\u2019s got to know that he\u2019s the first one the sheriff would go after.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why he\u2019ll be subtle.\u00a0 He has Marks back and that man knows how to do things so they don\u2019t show.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMarks is clever as Doc Belden said.\u00a0 A cabin burns in the middle of the night.\u00a0 The people inside are killed.\u201d\u00a0 His pa mounted Buck and turned his nose toward the road.\u00a0 \u201cWho\u2019s to say whether it was murder or an accident?\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss nodded.\u00a0 \u201cSure thing, Pa.\u00a0 But you gotta count on little brother.\u00a0 He\u2019s right smart.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure he\u2019d thought of the same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure Joe has too.\u00a0 And I\u2019m sure he would stop it if he saw it coming.\u00a0 Marks is a snake.\u00a0 He\u2019ll hide in the grass and strike when your brother least suspects it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The big man sighed.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re sure those bad men are there, aren\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCall it parents\u2019 intuition or the whisper of God.\u00a0 Call it what you will, son, it\u2019s shouting at me that time is running out.\u201d\u00a0 His pa nodded toward his horse.\u00a0 \u201cGet your things, Hoss. \u00a0I want to ride as soon as you\u2019re ready.\u201d<\/p>\n

The big man nodded.\u00a0 \u201cAll I needs my gear, Pa.\u00a0 I\u2019ll be back out in five.\u201d<\/p>\n

True to his word, Hoss was back in under five minutes.\u00a0 As he mounted his horse, he looked at the older man beside him.\u00a0 Every muscle in his pa\u2019s frame was aimed forward, toward Crescent Mountain.<\/p>\n

Aimed toward Little Joe.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Nonie Landes awakened to the scent of coffee and cereal cooking in a pot.\u00a0 She lay there, her eyes closed, breathing it in and remembering.\u00a0 She\u2019d been here before \u2013 long<\/em> before.\u00a0 It was hard to believe it now, she\u2019d spent so many years in New York.\u00a0 She\u2019d come to call her father\u2019s brother \u2018Pa\u2019, and Aunt Ruth, \u2018Ma\u2019 before the formal life they led changed it as she grew into \u2018Honored Father\u2019 and \u2018Dear Mother\u2019.\u00a0 She had very few memories of her natural parents.\u00a0 Through a little girl\u2019s eyes her pa had been handsome and strong, with a wry smile and a way of handling her ma that made the stern woman with the dark blonde hair crumple with laughter and love.\u00a0 As a child she remembered running wild in the woods with some kind of a well-muscled pup trailing after her.\u00a0 She\u2019d spent a lot of time with her pa since her ma was always working, and had her mother tell her often enough that she needed to stop being a Tom Boy and learn to be a lady.\u00a0 That last day, when she left, her ma had bid her goodbye and then turned away, going back to her chores; back to her back-breaking labor.\u00a0 She hadn\u2019t even returned her wave as she rode off in the carriage with the representative of her wealthy uncle, headed for Virginia City where they would catch the coach to New York.\u00a0\u00a0 She should hate her, but she didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Carrie Pickett was why she was here, and why she had done…what she had done.<\/p>\n

She\u2019d written her ma over the years.\u00a0 In the beginning a letter or two would come back every month or so.\u00a0 When she went away to college, the letters ceased and there had been none in the last ten years.\u00a0 She\u2019d thought the older woman was dead.\u00a0 Finally, a private investigator she hired had found a reference to Carrie Pickett.\u00a0 It had to do with a land claim.\u00a0 Neville confirmed that it was not an old claim, but freshly made within the last year.\u00a0 She\u2019d contacted the Carson City Land Office and exchanged telegrams with a man named Jenks.\u00a0 He explained that another man \u2013 Jason Milburn \u2013 had tried to buy the claim and there had been some kind of trouble involving a man named Cartwright.<\/p>\n

Joe Cartwright.<\/p>\n

She, of course, had sought out Mister Milburn and he had filled her in on everything.\u00a0 Though he put a bad spin on the young man who had been with her mother at the time the claim was filed \u2013 saying he was violent and not to be trusted \u2013 she\u2019d figured out quickly enough that Cartwright and Milburn were business \u2018enemies\u2019.\u00a0 Spending time at the Ponderosa had confirmed it.\u00a0 Joe Cartwright\u2019s pa was a wealthy man with the largest spread in Nevada.\u00a0 They\u2019d wanted the land too. but her mother had won.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately.<\/p>\n

She\u2019d met Jason Milburn in New York about half a year back.\u00a0 He\u2019d been in the city to conduct some international business.\u00a0 He was a nice enough man, if a bit fawning, and had been excited when she made her proposal to him.\u00a0 He wanted the land.\u00a0 She hinted that she would sell it to him once it was hers \u2013 if<\/em> he could convince her mother to leave the Piney Woods and return to New York City with her.\u00a0 She had her own home now and it was so empty since Robert had died.\u00a0 She wanted her mother with her.<\/p>\n

She gave Milburn permission to do whatever it would take so long as no one was hurt.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d sent her a few reports with minimal details of the campaign that had started at the end of the summer.\u00a0 Milburn said he had begun to harass her mother in little ways \u2013 removing tools, opening the corral and letting the animals out; making sure her dry well would never see water.\u00a0 He said he was slowly wearing her down and that soon the older woman would be relieved to turn the land over to her.\u00a0 Milburn was an avaricious opportunist.\u00a0 She would have had nothing to do with him had it not been for her need.\u00a0 She\u2019d considered contacting the Cartwrights but from what she found out about them, she knew they would be no part of her tricking her mother off the land her father had worked.\u00a0 No, she\u2019d needed a crook and a crook was what she got.<\/p>\n

Which was why she had decided to come out West.<\/p>\n

She\u2019d always planned to come, after college ended she thought, but then she had met Robert and they had married and his business was in New York and it simply never happened.\u00a0 Then, Robert took ill and died.\u00a0 She was like her mother now, widowed, alone, and in need of family.<\/p>\n

Carrie Pickett was<\/em> her family.<\/p>\n

Nonie heard the door open and cracked an eye to see who it was.\u00a0 Her breath caught at the sight.\u00a0 The older, no, old<\/em> woman who came in the door was bent with age and the weight of the large piece of firewood she was carrying.\u00a0 Her thinning hair, which was a mixture of gray and a dirty blond, was pulled back tightly around her face and wrapped in a bun.\u00a0 She wore simple clothing \u2013 homespun, no doubt \u2013 that consisted of a rust-colored petticoat with a heavy long-waisted forest green shirt over the top.\u00a0 It was held in place by a cream colored apron that had seen many years of service.\u00a0 Her once pretty face had a faraway look on it as she labored across the room and carefully laid the wood beside the fire.<\/p>\n

Nonie drew a deep breath.\u00a0 She opened her eyes and said, \u201cI\u2019m awake.\u00a0 Mother.\u201d<\/p>\n

The old woman stiffened.\u00a0 A shaking hand went to her breast.\u00a0 She didn\u2019t turn but said, \u201cI rightly thought that was you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nonie shifted.\u00a0 Her left leg complained, but the pain wasn\u2019t anything she couldn\u2019t take.\u00a0 Tossing the coverlet aside, she sat up in the bed and noticed that her blouse had been changed.\u00a0 As she wondered why, her eyes took in the cabin where she had been born, noting how tiny it seemed compared to the one in her memory.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre we alone?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n

The old woman started bustling about, stoking the fire and laying on the new log.\u00a0 \u201cAll the men folk are out workin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nonie hesitated, making an effort to curb the anger that was rising in her.\u00a0 What had she expected \u2013 open arms and a warm kiss on the cheek?\u00a0 That would have ill-suited the severe woman from her memory.<\/p>\n

Swinging her legs over the bed, she rose to a seated position.\u00a0 \u201cI hoped you would be happy to see me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her mother stopped.\u00a0 Then she wilted like a flower in summer heat.\u00a0 \u201cSorry to say, child, I ain\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

That<\/em> was like a slap across the face. \u00a0\u00a0\u201cOh?\u201d<\/p>\n

The older woman pivoted sharply on her heel.\u00a0 She took a step and rested one hand on the back of a chair.\u00a0 \u201cWhatever are you doin\u2019 here, child?\u00a0 This ain\u2019t no place for the likes of you.\u00a0 Look at you!\u00a0 You\u2019re a lady.\u201d\u00a0 Both her look and her voice softened.\u00a0 \u201cJust like I always dreamed you was.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her jaw tightened.\u00a0 \u201cWhat about my <\/em>dreams?\u201d<\/p>\n

A frown made the wrinkles even deeper on her mother\u2019s forehead.\u00a0 \u201cYour<\/em> dreams?\u201d<\/p>\n

Nonie stepped down.\u00a0 She tried her leg and found it wasn\u2019t too bad, so she took a few steps forward.\u00a0 \u201cYes, my<\/em> dreams.\u00a0 When you and Pa sent me off to live with Uncle Eleazar, did you ever consider I had dreams of my own about my future?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou was a child,\u201d she said, dismissing her and her dreams with a gesture of her aged hand.\u00a0 \u201cWhat would you a knowed?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew <\/em>this place,\u201d she said, her voice hushed with memory.\u00a0 \u201cThe tall pines, the wind talking to them; the days of sunshine and shadow.\u00a0 And I knew what I wanted, to be here with you and pa, not in New York.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWeren\u2019t no future for you here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSince when does finding some hard-working local boy and settling down to homestead mean a woman doesn\u2019t have a future?\u201d\u00a0 Her voice and her temper were rising.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s what you<\/em> did!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd look at what I got!\u00a0 My Amos gone.\u00a0 Nothing but hard labor and years of loneliness to come.\u00a0 Look at these hands!\u201d\u00a0 Her mother approached her, holding her hands out.\u00a0 \u201cLook at the calluses and scars.\u00a0 My fingers are so bent with age it\u2019s hard to \u2018do\u2019, and \u2018do\u2019 is what I have to if I want to stay alive.\u201d\u00a0 The older woman reached out and caught one of her hands in her own. The touch was electric.\u00a0 \u201cNow, look at your\u2019n.\u00a0 They\u2019re\u00a0 soft and white.\u00a0 The hands of a lady.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd a widow,\u201d she said, her tone short, \u201clooking at years of loneliness, only in a town full of strangers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cW-widow?\u201d her mother echoed.<\/p>\n

She drew a little breath and nodded.\u00a0 \u201cLast year.\u00a0 His name was Robert.\u201d\u00a0 She squeezed the hand that held hers.\u00a0 \u201cI wish you could have known him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo little ones?\u201d<\/p>\n

The anger knocked at the door of her heart again.\u00a0 \u201cNo.\u00a0 I won\u2019t have any.\u00a0 I will never<\/em> have any!\u201d<\/p>\n

Her mother released her.\u00a0 She walked, haltingly, wearily over to the chair in front of the fire and sat down.\u00a0 \u201cDid I hurt you so much?\u201d<\/p>\n

She couldn\u2019t resist the urge to drive the knife in deeper.\u00a0 \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The older woman was looking at the fire.\u00a0 \u201cWe talked about it right here, your pa and me.\u00a0 Right before this here fire.\u00a0 Eleazar and his wife couldn\u2019t have children, and we couldn\u2019t provide for you. We knew he\u2019d take care of you, give you a home, food, an education….\u201d\u00a0 She paused.\u00a0 \u201cIt near\u00a0 broke your pa\u2019s heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

She walked to her mother\u2019s side and looked down.\u00a0 \u201cWell, it did<\/em> break mine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cChild….\u201d<\/p>\n

Nonie drew a breath.\u00a0 Then she knelt before her mother and took her hand.\u00a0 \u201cI know you meant well.\u00a0 From the world\u2019s perspective, you did right.\u00a0 But not from the perspective of a little girl who wanted nothing but to remain in the Piney Woods.\u00a0 So, you see, I understand why <\/em>you are still here.\u00a0 But, mother, it\u2019s time to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her mother\u2019s eyes flicked to her face.\u00a0 \u201cWhat are you talkin\u2019 about? I ain\u2019t never leavin\u2019 here.\u00a0 I\u2019m gonna be buried by my Amos down by the lake grove.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMother, I\u2019ve come to take you back to New York with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

She could see the anger rising in the older woman, painting her mother\u2019s cheeks a rosy red and putting the fire in her eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s no different from what you wanted for me.\u00a0 There\u2019s no one to provide for you here.\u00a0 I know you have to struggle for food and to survive.\u00a0 Look at those hands you showed me!\u00a0 They\u2019re bent and arthritic.\u00a0 Soon you won\u2019t be able to hold a shotgun or carry a pail.\u00a0 Who will bring you water?\u00a0 Who will chase the wolves away,\u00a0 Mother, who?!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI got friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLike Joe Cartwright?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow don\u2019t you go sayin\u2019 nothin\u2019 bad about that boy,\u201d she warned.<\/p>\n

\u201cI learned about the Cartwrights, Mother.\u00a0 Joe\u2019s father has hundreds of thousands of acres of land.\u00a0 His sons work it with him.\u00a0 Joe doesn\u2019t have time to take care of you.\u00a0 How many times have you seen him in the last year?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTwice,\u201d the old woman muttered.<\/p>\n

\u201cTwo times, for maybe seven days.\u00a0 That\u2019s two <\/em>weeks out of fifty-two in a year.\u00a0 He\u2019s not here in the spring when the floods come.\u00a0 He\u2019s not here through the winter. \u00a0He\u2019s not here for planting and harvesting. \u00a0\u00a0Mother, you are only one woman and you simply can\u2019t do this alone!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can do anythin\u2019 I rightly put my mind to, and don\u2019t you go sayin\u2019 different, girl!\u201d<\/p>\n

She released her hand and rose to her feet.\u00a0 \u201cMother, no, you can\u2019t.\u00a0 Not anymore.\u00a0 You\u2019re going to come back to New York with me!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow you listen here, child \u2013 \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am not <\/em>a child!\u00a0 And I will not listen to you<\/em>.\u00a0 Why should I?\u00a0 You gave up any right to tell me what to do when you sold <\/em>me to Aunt Ruth and Uncle Eleazar!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSold you….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, what else would you call it?\u00a0 They<\/em> couldn\u2019t have a child.\u00a0 You had one you didn\u2019t want<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 She was shaking with rage.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sure it was a very<\/em> profitable deal.\u201d<\/p>\n

She didn\u2019t see it coming.\u00a0 Her mother slapped her.<\/p>\n

At that moment the door opened and, along with a cold wind, Joe Cartwright blew in.\u00a0 His gaze went to Carrie first, and then to her.\u00a0 There was a fierce protective light in them.<\/p>\n

A second later he tipped his hat and said, \u201cMrs. Landes.\u00a0 Good to see you up and moving, Ma\u2019am.\u201d<\/p>\n

It sounded funny coming from him.\u00a0 Mrs.<\/em> Landes.\u00a0 Joe might<\/em> be a year or two older than her, but then again that could be the rancher\u2019s life he led.\u00a0 He could be younger.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cMister Cartwright,\u201d she returned.<\/p>\n

He grinned.\u00a0 If she had to admit it, a charming grin.\u00a0 He tossed his hat on the table and then removed his black gloves and did the same with them. \u201cCall me Joe.\u00a0 You make me feel like my father.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe.\u201d\u00a0 She hesitated, concerned that such a permission would make him too familiar too quickly, but finally she said, \u201cAnd you may called me Nonie.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNonie.\u00a0 Is that a nickname or what your parents named you?\u201d<\/p>\n

She stiffened.\u00a0 \u201cNeither.\u00a0 I chose it myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh.\u201d\u00a0 His expression showed he knew he had stepped on toes.\u00a0 \u201cWell, it sure is a pretty one.\u00a0 And how are you Miss Carrie,\u201d he asked as he rounded the table and planted a kiss on the older woman\u2019s head.\u00a0 \u201cFeisty as ever, I hope.\u201d<\/p>\n

The older woman didn\u2019t look up.\u00a0 She was staring at her hands.\u00a0 \u201cI ain\u2019t feelin\u2019 so well, Joe,\u201d her mother said, her voice small.<\/p>\n

He touched her forehead.\u00a0 \u201cNo fever.\u201d\u00a0 Joe paused and then asked, \u201cThat hand isn\u2019t bothering you again, is it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong with her hand?\u201d Nonie asked.<\/p>\n

Joe looked at her, but before he could answer her mother spoke.\u00a0 \u201cNow, don\u2019t you go tellin\u2019 her nothin\u2019, Joe Cartwright.\u00a0 It ain\u2019t none of her business!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe frowned as he scratched back of his head.\u00a0 \u201cWhy do I get the feeling you two know each other?\u201d<\/p>\n

He mother was shaking her head.\u00a0 \u201cNo, Joe.\u00a0 No.\u00a0 We don\u2019t rightly know each other at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, Miss Carrie, you\u2019ve been known to tell tales now and then.\u201d\u00a0 The handsome young man turned and looked her.\u00a0 \u201cIs that true?\u00a0 You don\u2019t know each other?\u201d<\/p>\n

Nonie\u2019s jaw was set.\u00a0 Her eyes flint striking steel.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot anymore.\u201d\u00a0 She reached for her coat where it lay at the end of the bed.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m going to go find Neville.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe watched the stranger go and then dropped to his knees in front of Carrie.\u00a0 He could see she was in pain.\u00a0 The older woman\u2019s hands were locked around her midriff and her slender shoulders shook with stifled sobs.<\/p>\n

Placing his hand over hers, he asked, \u201cCarrie, what\u2019s wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEverythin\u2019, Joe,\u201d she wailed.\u00a0 \u201cEverythin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you\u2019re not sick?\u201d<\/p>\n

She shook her head.<\/p>\n

He looked toward the door.\u00a0 \u201cDoes it have something to do with Nonie Landes?\u201d<\/p>\n

She moaned again and tears began to flow.\u00a0 He was at a loss as to what to do, so he just pulled her close and held her while\u00a0 she cried.\u00a0 It took a few minutes, but finally she stopped and straightened up and looked at him.<\/p>\n

Joe reached out to chase one last tear from her cheek.\u00a0 \u201cNow, will you tell me what this is about?\u201d<\/p>\n

Her voice was small.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know as I can, Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, then, let me guess.\u00a0 Nonie\u2019s related to you somehow.\u00a0 Maybe a niece?\u201d<\/p>\n

A little of the old Carrie surfaced in the wary look on her face.\u00a0 \u201cHow\u2019d you figure that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no missing the resemblance.\u00a0 So, she\u2019s not a niece.\u201d\u00a0 He paused, thinking about the high-spirited woman who had just walked out the door.\u00a0 And then, he made an intuitive leap.\u00a0 \u201cShe\u2019s not your daughter.\u00a0 Is she?\u201d\u00a0 When she said nothing, he went on, astonished. \u201cCarrie, you never said you had any other family.\u00a0 This is wonderful!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, it ain\u2019t, Joe.\u00a0 No.\u00a0 It ain\u2019t!\u00a0 She\u2019s come here to take me away from my Piney Woods!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo live with her?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe wants me to go to that there New York and live in one of them big cities full of noise and smoke and strangers.\u00a0 There ain\u2019t no pines there, Joe.\u00a0 No a sight or scent of them. Why, I\u2019d just curl up and die!\u201d The older woman shot to her feet.\u00a0 \u201cI ain\u2019t goin\u2019 nowhere!\u00a0 I\u2019m dyin\u2019 here and bein\u2019 buried next to my Amos!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe knew the older woman wouldn\u2019t listen to reason, but he had to try anyway.\u00a0 \u201cCarrie, listen to me.\u00a0 I was going to ask you to come back to the Ponderosa with me,\u201d he held up a finger to silence her, \u201cjust for the winter.\u00a0 Maybe you could go with her, just to try it out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou <\/em>was gonna take me from my Piney Woods?\u201d she asked, disbelieving.\u00a0 \u201cYou<\/em>, Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, Carrie, I was going to ask you to visit<\/em>, just until the weather broke.\u00a0 You\u2019d be safe \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

With each question she poked him in the chest to emphasize her point.\u00a0 \u201cWhere was you when Amos died and I weathered my first winter?\u00a0 Where was you, boy, <\/em>when I labored over that sick cow day and night and brought her through?\u00a0 Where was you when the well went dry and I had\u2019ta make it through a hot summer haulin\u2019 water all the day and night long?\u201d<\/p>\n

The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her feelings.\u00a0 \u201cCarrie, you\u2019re strong, I know that, and so long as nothing goes wrong, you can handle just about anything.\u00a0 But look at what happened when we first met.\u00a0 If I hadn\u2019t come along, you would have died from that infected bite.\u201d<\/p>\n

She turned away from him and crossed her arms.\u00a0 \u201cMaybe, maybe not.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Nonie came all the way out here from New York, she must love you a lot.\u00a0 Can\u2019t you do it for her?\u201d<\/p>\n

She shot him a look.\u00a0 He would\u2019ve been dead if the barrel had been loaded.\u00a0 \u201cShe don\u2019t love me.\u00a0 She\u2019s just here to get my Piney Woods.\u201d<\/p>\n

He threw his hands up in the air.\u00a0 \u201cNot this<\/em> again!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, \u2018this\u2019 again.\u00a0 That there young\u2019un will get me off this land and then find a way to sell it.\u00a0 You mark my words.\u00a0 Her pa layin\u2019 there in the ground don\u2019t mean nothin\u2019 to her.\u201d\u00a0 Carrie\u2019s shoulders sank and her voice fell to nothing.\u00a0 \u201cI <\/em>don\u2019t mean nothin\u2019 to her.\u00a0 And why should I?\u00a0 I sent her away.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou what?\u201d\u00a0 Joe couldn\u2019t believe what he heard.\u00a0 \u201cSent<\/em> her away?\u00a0 Why?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLook around, Joe.\u00a0 There ain\u2019t nothin\u2019 here.\u00a0 Truth be told, my Amos failed at everythin\u2019 he tried \u2018cept bein\u2019 a mountain man.\u00a0 What hope did the child have of growin\u2019 up to be anythin\u2019 other than a barefoot savage?\u201d\u00a0 The older woman drew a deep breath.\u00a0 \u201cAmos\u2019 brother had money and his wife had no child.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe couldn\u2019t imagine.\u00a0 If he understood the depth of love a parent had for a child at all from his pa\u2019s example, he just couldn\u2019t imagine the sacrifice Carrie had made to give hers a chance at a better life.<\/p>\n

He walked over to her and put his hands on her shoulders.\u00a0 \u201cNonie doesn\u2019t understand, does she?\u201d<\/p>\n

A fresh tear trailed down the older woman\u2019s face.<\/p>\n

\u201cCarrie?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat ain\u2019t her name.\u00a0 It\u2019s Anne.\u00a0 She don\u2019t use her name, Joe.\u00a0 Like she don\u2019t want nothin\u2019 to do with what she was.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCarrie Pickett, you look at me.\u201d\u00a0 He waited until she did.\u00a0 \u201cAnne\u2019s here.\u00a0 She\u2019s asking you to go with her.\u00a0 She loves<\/em> you.\u201d\u00a0 He stopped her protest with a look.\u00a0 \u201cAnd don\u2019t you go saying that she\u2019s only here to take your land.\u00a0 You know how well that worked the last time when you tried it with me.\u00a0 Carrie, I think what you have to understand is that by refusing to go with her, you are saying this land is more important to you than she is.\u201d<\/p>\n

She wouldn\u2019t meet his eyes.\u00a0 \u201cIt ain\u2019t that, Joe.\u00a0 It ain\u2019t that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is it then?\u201d<\/p>\n

She looked toward the door.\u00a0 \u201cAnne\u2019s a lady.\u00a0 What would she do with an old mountain woman like me?\u00a0 I cain\u2019t talk right.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know the first thing about proper manners.\u00a0 I\u2019d just shame her.\u201d\u00a0 She looked up at him, more unspent tears in her eyes.\u00a0 \u201cNo, the best thing I can do for Anne is stay right here with my Amos and let her go.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Carrie walked away, she looked like she had aged a good ten years.\u00a0 Her shoulders were bent with the burden of the choice she had made so long ago, and the choice she was making today.\u00a0 Joe didn\u2019t know if it was right or wrong, but he did know one thing.<\/p>\n

He needed to talk to Anne.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

FIVE<\/p>\n

He and Hoss had traveled from sunup to sundown. \u00a0Normally they would have been near Crescent Mountain by now.\u00a0 As it was, they had just arrived in Elko, which was a little more than halfway there.\u00a0 Though the snowstorm had abated, snow was still falling and the paths through the mountainous country were treacherous.\u00a0 They had stopped to sleep in a warm hotel for the night and could only hope the next day that the sun would come out and the snow would begin to melt.<\/p>\n

In the years since his children\u2019s births, Ben Cartwright had developed a finely tuned sense where his boys were concerned.\u00a0 There was something that tied him to them that was hard to explain.\u00a0 The thread to Adam was stretched too thin now.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t \u2018feel\u2019 him anymore.\u00a0 The place where his eldest had been was a hole in his soul that would never be filled until his wandering child returned \u2013 if Adam ever did.\u00a0 But the ties to Hoss and Joe were there and they were strong and vibrant.\u00a0 He could always sense when they were in danger.<\/p>\n

He had that sense about Joe now.<\/p>\n

The older man reached into his pocket and removed the telegram Roy Coffee had delivered.\u00a0 Unfolding it, he read it again.\u00a0 There were five words that jumped off the page.\u00a0 Five little words that stabbed the heart of a father separated by such impossible circumstances from his son.<\/p>\n

\u2018Warn Joe.\u00a0 Marks released early.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cOur table\u2019s ready,\u201d Hoss said as he approached.\u00a0 When he saw the telegram and the look on his face, his middle son shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cNow, Pa, ain\u2019t nothin\u2019 say Marks is anywhere near Little Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re wrong, Hoss.\u201d\u00a0 Ben tapped his chest.\u00a0 \u201cSomething in here<\/em> says that he is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy don\u2019t you come get somethin\u2019 to eat, Pa?\u00a0 Worryin\u2019 ain\u2019t gonna change it one way or the other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben replaced the wired letter in his pocket.\u00a0 \u201cI just wish we didn\u2019t have to delay.\u00a0 That we could go on now.\u201d<\/p>\n

The big man shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cWe could, but it ain\u2019t wise, Pa.\u00a0 Between the snow and the terrain there just ain\u2019t no sense in travelin\u2019 after nightfall.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know.\u201d\u00a0 The older man drew a deep steadying breath and tried to release the worry.\u00a0 \u201cSo, where\u2019s this table?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s in the corner, tucked out of the way.\u201d\u00a0 His son removed his hat and ran a hand through his thinning hair.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know about you, Pa, but I am plumb<\/em> tuckered out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Good Lord knew a man would push himself until he dropped unless something stopped him.\u00a0 Hunger\u2019s one way He does it, being \u2018plumb tuckered out\u2019 is another,\u201d he agreed with a small smile.<\/p>\n

A shout stout man with graying black hair, a mustache, and a white cook\u2019s apron walked up to them as they sat down. \u201cEvening, Gents.\u00a0 Name\u2019s Mulligan.\u201d\u00a0 He gestured toward a blackboard that hung on the other side of the room.\u00a0 \u201cMenu\u2019s on the wall.\u00a0 What can I rustle up for you?\u201d<\/p>\n

After they ordered, Ben caught the man\u2019s attention and asked him, \u201cDid you see a young fellow come through a few days back?\u00a0 Green eyes, curly brown hair, later twenties; wearing a tan hat and a green jacket?\u201d<\/p>\n

He thought a moment.\u00a0 \u201cCan\u2019t say as I have, but then I\u2019m usually in the back.\u00a0 Once the supper trade ends, the owner goes home.\u00a0 You could check with him tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cNo.\u00a0 It\u2019s all right.\u00a0 I was just hoping for word.\u201d<\/p>\n

The man\u2019s eyes flicked to Hoss.\u00a0 \u201cAnother son?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u00a0 Joseph.\u00a0 He came up this way a few days back to help out a friend name of Carrie Pickett.\u00a0 She lives up on Crescent Mountain.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPickett?\u00a0 Well, now, that\u2019s a coincidence,\u201d the man said.\u00a0 \u201cYou know I heard that name, must have been day before yesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben was instantly alert.\u00a0 \u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSeems to me I was a the telegraph office.\u201d\u00a0 Mulligan thought a moment. \u201cYeah, that\u2019s right.\u00a0 I was at the telegraph office and a man there was dictating a wire to be sent.\u00a0 He mentioned someone named Pickett.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat did the man look like?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I wasn\u2019t really paying attention.\u00a0 Medium height and build.\u00a0 Stocky.\u00a0 Medium-dark brown hair and a surly look.\u00a0 Had a swagger when he walked.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben saw the truth dawn in Hoss\u2019 eyes.\u00a0 \u201cThat sounds like Marks,\u201d his son said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomeone you know?\u201d the cook asked.<\/p>\n

Ben looked directly at him.\u00a0 \u201cIf it\u2019s the man we think, he tried to kill my son a year ago.\u00a0 Do you know where this man is now?\u201d<\/p>\n

As the cook shook his head, the bartender moved to join them.\u00a0 \u201cI wasn\u2019t really eavesdropping, fellers.\u00a0 It\u2019s a small inn.\u00a0 I saw that same man.\u00a0 He stayed here and headed out last night.\u00a0 Had another man with him.\u00a0 He was of a good size.\u201d\u00a0 He shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cI wouldn\u2019t want to tangle with either of them in a dark alley.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLooks like you were right, Pa,\u201d Hoss said.\u00a0 \u201cMarks was here and most like, he\u2019s gone lookin\u2019 for Little Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOr gone to try to drive Carrie Pickett off her land, which comes to the same thing since Joe is with her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou say he left last night ?\u201d\u00a0 As the barkeep nodded,\u00a0 he turned to his son.\u00a0 \u201cHoss?\u201d<\/p>\n

The big man agreed.\u00a0 \u201cI say we try it, Pa.\u00a0 Marks is already a full day ahead of us.\u00a0 Joe may need our help.\u201d<\/p>\n

A full day, and there was no way they could shorten the time it would take them to reach Carrie Pickett\u2019s home.\u00a0 Even if they left tonight, they would only gain a few hours as the going would be so slow.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s eat first, son.\u00a0 That way we can travel straight through tomorrow and get there as quickly as possible.\u201d As Hoss nodded, Ben had a thought.\u00a0 \u201cSay…\u201d\u00a0 He motioned to the cook and called him over to the table.\u00a0 \u201cDo you remember anything that Marks sent in that telegram?\u00a0 Anything he said?\u201d<\/p>\n

Mulligan thought a moment.\u00a0 \u201cSeems to me there was mention of a young woman.\u00a0 Someone come from back East that this man was upset about.\u00a0 And, of course, the name Pickett.\u00a0 Other than that I can\u2019t remember….\u201d\u00a0 He snapped his fingers.\u00a0 \u201cNo, wait, there was one more thing.\u00a0 Something like, \u2018will do what has to be done\u2019.\u00a0 Does that make any sense?\u201d<\/p>\n

Oh, yes, it made sense.\u00a0 It meant that Jason Milburn had hired Marks once again to drive Carrie Pickett off her land and had given his henchman permission to do whatever it took to make it happen.<\/p>\n

Even murder.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe found Nonie Landes outside.\u00a0 He had checked the barn first \u2013 upsetting Neville when he did \u2013 and then followed the young woman\u2019s tracks through the snow.\u00a0 Neville had wanted to come with him, but he had talked him out of it.\u00a0 He needed to talk to Carrie\u2019s daughter alone.\u00a0 He had to make her understand her mother.\u00a0 It had taken him a while to get past all the barbed wire the old woman laid out to keep others away and to protect herself, but once he had, he had found a strong caring woman who loved her husband with a passion deeper than that she felt for the land that was her home.<\/p>\n

She could have loved her daughter no less.<\/p>\n

The tracks led him into a natural bower of pine branches that resembled the arched ceiling of one of the cathedrals in Europe his pa had shown him pictures of.\u00a0 The stars were brilliant, piercing a near black sky.\u00a0 The moon was up and its silver light lit the snow-covered branches.\u00a0 It glittered like silver tinsel on a Christmas tree.\u00a0 Nonie stood in the middle of all of it, her arms wrapped tightly about her chest and her head tilted up.\u00a0 She was still dressed in her riding outfit, but had tossed a thick cloak over the top.\u00a0 The hood hid most of her amber-colored hair, though a few long curls escaped to trail on the breeze. \u00a0Carrie\u2019s daughter was standing completely still and was oblivious of his approach until he was within three yards.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh!\u201d she said, jumping a bit and turning toward him.\u00a0 \u201cMister Cartwright, I didn\u2019t hear you coming.\u201d<\/p>\n

He smiled.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s Joe, remember?\u201d<\/p>\n

She nodded.\u00a0 \u201cJoe.\u201d<\/p>\n

He wasn\u2019t sure how to broach the subject so he did what his Pa would have done and just came out with it.\u00a0 \u201cCarrie tells me you\u2019re her daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n

It startled her, but she regained her composure with the ease of a debutant brushing off an unwanted beau.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s right.\u201d<\/p>\n

She wasn\u2019t about to give him anything.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019d like to talk to you about your mother, if that\u2019s all right with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t see that my relationship with my mother is any concern of yours.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe drew a breath.\u00a0 \u201cIt is, because Carrie is my friend and I don\u2019t want to see her hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, and you think I<\/em> am going to hurt her?\u201d\u00a0 Nonie turned into the light.\u00a0 It highlighted her face, which was beautiful but hard.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s good to know that you are so judgmental that you have made up your mind about me when we have exchanged no more than ten words.\u00a0 I\u2019ll know to be wary in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHey.\u00a0 That\u2019s not what I meant.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen what exactly did you mean \u2013 Joe?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

He could feel his temper rising.\u00a0 He wrassled it down like a wayward steer.\u00a0 \u201cWhen I first met Carrie she was, well, about the orneriest, most stubborn and cantankerous old woman I\u2019d ever met.\u00a0 It took some time, but I came to see that it was her fear talking \u2013 fear that she\u2019d lose her home and be taken from the land she loved.\u201d\u00a0 He paused, searching for words.\u00a0 \u201cShe\u2019s really a remarkable woman.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nonie was silent a moment.\u00a0 \u201cSorry to say, I can\u2019t agree.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cAs far back as I can remember my mother was a stern woman.\u00a0 Once she made up her mind, there was no moving her.\u201d\u00a0 She paused, and he thought he heard a little scoff.\u00a0 \u201cOh, Pa could get around her when he had a mind to, but most of the time it was my mother who wore the pants in this family.\u00a0 All I can remember is her looking down on me with disapproval.\u00a0 That\u2019s why she sent me away.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s \u2018why\u2019?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe never loved me.\u201d<\/p>\n

He knew Carrie and he knew what he had witnessed not an hour before.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s not true.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, so you<\/em> know?\u00a0 Were you here when I was a child?\u00a0 Did you know her as a strong, willful-minded woman in her thirties?\u00a0 Did you stand there and hear your mother tell you that you were being handed over to your father\u2019s brother because there wasn\u2019t enough food for her and<\/em> you!\u201d\u00a0 Nonie\u2019s jaw was tight.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t get me wrong, Joe, I love my mother.\u00a0 But that doesn\u2019t mean I have to like her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI do,\u201d he shrugged.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, that would matter if I liked you<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 Her tone was curt.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t.\u00a0 I don\u2019t even know you.\u00a0 And, if the truth be known, I\u2019m not sure I want to.\u201d\u00a0 She looked straight at him.\u00a0 \u201cIf it was up to me, I would ask you to leave.\u201d<\/p>\n

He shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cWell, it\u2019s a good thing then that it\u2019s not <\/em>up to you.\u00a0\u00a0 Things have been happening here.\u00a0 Someone is trying to drive your mother off her land again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThings?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fire that burned the cabin wall, the dry well \u2013 the animals released from their pens.\u00a0 Someone is trying to make it so hard for Carrie to stay that she\u2019ll give up and go.\u201d\u00a0 He paused.\u00a0 \u201cAbout a year\u00a0 ago there was this man \u2013 \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJason Milburn?\u201d<\/p>\n

It was his turn to be startled.\u00a0 \u201cYes.\u00a0 How did you know?\u201d<\/p>\n

She hesitated as if considering her answer.\u00a0 Finally she said, \u201cMister Milburn sought me out and contacted me about mother and the land.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe what?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cHe wanted me to declare her mentally unfit.\u00a0 I refused.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs that why you\u2019re here?\u00a0 To take Carrie off her land so Milburn can have it?\u201d<\/p>\n

She glared at him.\u00a0 \u201cNot that I think it is any of your business, but yes, I have come to take mother back East with me.\u00a0 This is no life for an older woman alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd Milburn?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have….\u00a0 I implied<\/em> I would sell the land to him.\u00a0 I meant to.\u201d\u00a0 She turned and looked at the bower of leaves, the starlight, the snow.\u00a0 \u201cNow that I have returned home, I\u2019m not sure I can let it go.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you know what Milburn wants to do with this land?\u201d<\/p>\n

Nonie frowned.\u00a0 \u201cHe told me it had something to do with logging.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe snorted.\u00a0 \u201cMilburn wants to strip it bare.\u00a0 He only cares about making a profit.\u00a0 Nonie, at least twenty ranchers will lose their spreads and the watershed will be compromised if not destroyed.\u201d<\/p>\n

She blinked.\u00a0 \u201cAnd I would care because?\u201d<\/p>\n

His temper flared again.\u00a0 He was less successful in corralling it this time.\u00a0 \u201cYou know, if I had to guess what Carrie Pickett\u2019s daughter would be like, I would have expected a headstrong woman with a stubborn streak longer than the Ruby Mountain Range.\u00a0 Maybe even a temper so quick that she\u2019d say things she regretted.\u00a0 But you, I wouldn\u2019t have expected you.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd by that<\/em> you are implying?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat you are a sullen, selfish, spoiled brat<\/em> that should be taken over someone\u2019s knee!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow dare you!\u201d\u00a0 She came toward him, with her hands extended and fire in her eyes.\u00a0 \u201cHow dare<\/em> you!\u201d<\/p>\n

He caught her wrists and held them firmly as she fought against him.\u00a0 \u201cI dare<\/em> because I care about Carrie and, I promise you, daughter or not I am not going to let you hurt her!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have no right!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have every<\/em> right.\u00a0 Nonie \u2013 Anne \u2013 you made your mind up before you came here what you would find.\u00a0 You were looking for a stern uncaring selfish woman and you know what, you found her \u2013 just look in a mirror!\u201d<\/p>\n

She kicked at him with her feet.\u00a0 \u201cI hate <\/em>you!\u00a0 Let me go!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe held her a moment more and then released her so quickly the momentum of her tantrum threw her face-down in the snow.\u00a0 He was just about to reach down and help her up when he heard someone shouting.\u00a0 Turning back toward the cabin he realized two things.\u00a0 Ballard Peak was calling him \u2013 and something was on fire.<\/p>\n

\u201cDear Lord!\u201d he breathed and with no further thought for Anne Pickett Landes began to run.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

To Joe\u2019s relief he found when he arrived that it was not the cabin that was on fire, but the barn.\u00a0 A smoke and soot covered Ballard Peaks stood nearby with Carrie\u2019s cow in hand.\u00a0 The few other animals she had were running around the barn yard while the chickens squawked and clucked.\u00a0 The barn he had labored the spring before to build \u2013 and where Neville and Ballard had been sleeping \u2013 was engulfed in flames.\u00a0 With the wind as brisk as it was, there was a chance the cabin would catch as well and he saw that Carrie was already hauling buckets of water up from the lake to douse it with.\u00a0 Neville Greaves looked stunned.<\/p>\n

Joe caught him the elbow and shook him.\u00a0 \u201cGreaves!\u00a0 Neville, get hold of yourself.\u00a0 Carrie needs you!\u00a0 Help her bring water up from the lake!\u201d<\/p>\n

For a second the older man said nothing.\u00a0 Then, \u201cWe could have been inside.\u00a0 We might have died.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut you didn\u2019t!<\/em>\u00a0 Say a quick thanks and get moving!\u00a0 We can save the cabin if we get it wet enough.\u201d\u00a0 He put pressure on the other man\u2019s arm and then shoved.\u00a0 \u201cNeville, get moving!\u201d<\/p>\n

Ballard had tied the cow to a nearby rail.\u00a0 He hastened over and asked, \u201cWhat do you want me to do?\u00a0 Try to put out the barn or work toward saving the cabin?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe looked at the barn.\u00a0 Most likely, it was going to be a total loss.\u00a0 \u201cHelp Carrie with the cabin.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think there\u2019s anything can be done with the barn, but I\u2019ll look.\u00a0 Are all the animals out?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo far as we could tell.\u201d<\/p>\n

He nodded.\u00a0 \u201cNeville?\u201d<\/p>\n

The older man stumbled and then looked at him.<\/p>\n

\u201cGo with Ballard,\u201d Joe ordered.<\/p>\n

As the two men headed for the water, he<\/em> headed for Carrie.\u00a0 \u201cCan you manage?\u201d<\/p>\n

Her hair was flying wild and she was covered with soot, but Carrie Pickett was as determined as ever.\u00a0 \u201cJoe Cartwright, what are you even doin\u2019 askin\u2019?\u00a0 \u2018Course, I can manage.\u00a0 Now you get yourself over there and see if any of this water can save my barn!\u201d<\/p>\n

He caught her shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t take any chances.\u201d<\/p>\n

She covered his hand with her own.\u00a0 \u201cYou too, Joe.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know what I\u2019d do if anythin\u2019 happened to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe nodded and then turned and ran toward the barn.<\/p>\n

In the end there was nothing he could do.\u00a0 The barn was a total loss.\u00a0 An hour later he was at the ruin, kicking through the ash-blackened snow, searching for a sign of what had happened.\u00a0 The fire had been bright and hot and the building had been consumed in a matter of minutes.\u00a0 That suggested someone had used something like Kerosene or lamp oil to accelerate it.\u00a0 He was looking for some piece of evidence to prove his theory when a tired and disheveled Neville Greaves stepped out of the cabin and walked to his side.<\/p>\n

Rising, Joe turned toward him.\u00a0 When he saw the city slicker was distressed, he asked, \u201cWhat is it, Neville?\u201d<\/p>\n

The man looked uncomfortable.\u00a0 \u201cHave you seen Nonie?\u201d<\/p>\n

He hadn\u2019t even thought about it.\u00a0 \u201cI was talking to her when I saw the flames .\u00a0 You mean she\u2019s not in the cabin?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s not anywhere<\/em>, Cartwright.\u00a0 No one has seen her since before the fire started other than you.\u00a0 What were you talking about?\u00a0 Did you upset her?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u00a0 Well…maybe.\u00a0 I tried to get her to see that she wasn\u2019t giving Carrie a chance.\u201d\u00a0 Joe paused.\u00a0 \u201cMaybe I said one or two things I shouldn\u2019t have.\u201d<\/p>\n

The older man paled.\u00a0 \u201cOh, God.\u00a0 She\u2019s run away.\u201d<\/p>\n

He frowned.\u00a0 \u201cWhy would you think that?\u201d<\/p>\n

Neville shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cMister Cartwright, I have known Nonie since she was a child.\u00a0 She is incapable of facing things that go contrary to what she believes \u2013 at least at first.\u00a0 One time when she and Robert had a fight, it took him two days to find her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe looked at the surrounding countryside, at the fields of snow and the ice dangling from the tree branches.\u00a0 \u201cYou think she went off into \u2013 that?\u201d<\/p>\n

He nodded.<\/p>\n

The brown-haired man drew in a breath and let it out slowly and noisily.\u00a0 \u201cYou stay with Carrie.\u00a0 I know the territory and am used to navigating in the snow.\u00a0 I\u2019ll go look for her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll come with you, Joe.\u201d\u00a0 It was Ballard, freshly returned from housing the cow on the other side of the house.<\/p>\n

He nodded his thanks.\u00a0 \u201cTell Carrie not to worry.\u00a0 We\u2019ll find Nonie and bring her back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Neville caught his arm.\u00a0 \u201cSafe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe agreed. \u00a0\u201cSafe.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Neville moved toward the cabin, Ballard asked, \u201cWhere do we start?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe pointed toward the bower of pines.\u00a0 \u201cWhere I left her.\u00a0 There, on the edge of the lake.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

She had run as far as fast as she could, moving along the edge of the lake, headed nowhere, until her heart felt like it would burst out of her chest.\u00a0 Nonie paused to catch her breath, breathing in the cold crisp air that burnt her nose and lungs, and then she took off again.\u00a0 She didn\u2019t know where she was running to, she only knew why<\/em> \u2013 she had to escape.\u00a0 She had to escape both the memories that had driven her for nearly fifteen years and the reality they had driven her toward<\/em>.\u00a0 She didn\u2019t know what to do.\u00a0 She loved her mother and wanted her with her.\u00a0 She hated the old woman and wanted nothing more than to get as far away from her as she could.\u00a0 This land was part and parcel of her heart, but she hated it too because it had been more important to her mother and her father than her desire to stay with them.\u00a0 She wanted to sell it as quickly as she could \u2013 to be rid of it and everything it represented \u2013 \u00a0and she wanted to stay on it forever.\u00a0 Nonie lifted her gloved hands and placed them against her head to stop it from spinning off.<\/p>\n

Most of all, she hated <\/em>Joe Cartwright for making her face herself, warts and all.<\/p>\n

But she thought \u2013 maybe \u2013 \u00a0she loved him a little bit too, and that frightened her.<\/p>\n

Her life in New York had trained her to be a lady and to bed a man who mattered.\u00a0 As her aunt and uncle\u2019s sole heir, she stood to inherit hundreds of thousands of dollars and they wanted to make sure the man she married was the right kind <\/em>of man.\u00a0 Robert had barely passed muster.\u00a0 He was a businessman and, as such, showed potential, but he was not landed or set up in a lucrative concern or any such thing.\u00a0 She had met him at a social gathering staged by the mayor of the great city and had been drawn to his quiet steady personality and his devotion to his work.\u00a0 When they married, all thought of going home \u2013 back to where she had been born \u2013 faded away.\u00a0 But when Robert died something had been awakened in her and she had felt the need of family<\/em>.\u00a0 So she had hired the private detective and found out that her mother was alive and decided to come out to the Piney Woods….\u00a0 Well, she wasn\u2019t sure what for.\u00a0 She told herself it was to bring her mother back to New York, to give her a better life.<\/p>\n

Joe Cartwright\u2019s words shamed her.\u00a0 \u2018Just look in a mirror,\u2019 he\u2019d said. Wasn\u2019t she, by making this choice for<\/em> her mother, doing exactly what she accused the older woman of doing to her?<\/em>\u00a0 If she took Carrie Pickett off of her mountain and away from the grave of her beloved Amos for her own good, how was that any different than her mother sending her away for hers?<\/em><\/p>\n

Nonie stopped.\u00a0 She leaned her head back against the bole of a tree and looked at the sky.\u00a0 The wide open spaces, the brilliant stars and the silver moon made her feel small and insignificant.\u00a0 Joe was right, she was<\/em> a spoiled brat.\u00a0 She\u2019d been gone several hours.\u00a0 No doubt the others were hunting her.\u00a0 She had risked her life and put theirs in jeopardy by her childish prank and it was time to go back to the cabin. \u00a0She shivered and then straightened up and turned in a tight circle.\u00a0 Unfortunately, she had no idea which direction the cabin lay in.<\/p>\n

She was completely lost.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe pushed through the snow and the trees, following the tracks of Nonie Landes\u2019 boots.\u00a0 They were unmistakable with their narrow shanks and tiny precise heels.\u00a0 The woman from New York wasn\u2019t dressed for the weather and had to be cold and even more likely, miserable.\u00a0 He had gone to the cabin and found an extra coat and carried it with him.\u00a0 The last thing he needed was for her to develop frostbite.\u00a0 Added to the aftereffects of the frost nip from the day before, it could leave her with permanent damage.<\/p>\n

Joe halted and bent to examine the tracks.\u00a0 The snow was blowing and drifting and doing its best to erase any sign of her passage.\u00a0 It looked like Nonie had continued to follow the edge of the lake.\u00a0 Rising, Joe did the same, pressing into the wind even as it rose and began to howl again heralding, regrettably, a return of the storm.<\/p>\n

Before he moved on, he cupped his gloved hands around his mouth and called, \u201cNonie!\u00a0 Nonie, it\u2019s Joe Cartwright!\u00a0 If you can hear me, answer me!\u00a0 Nonie!\u201d<\/p>\n

He and Ballard had split about a half mile back, Ballard moving deeper into the trees.\u00a0 He wondered if the other man realized yet that he was on the wrong track and if he had turned back.\u00a0 If he returned, the two of them could walk apace twenty feet or so apart and cover the ground more quickly. \u00a0Another hour or two\u2019s exposure wouldn\u2019t do any of them any good.\u00a0 The temperature was dropping as the night deepened.\u00a0 It would soon be cold enough to freeze any exposed skin.\u00a0 Nonie, in her fashionable riding jacket and pants would stand little chance.<\/p>\n

Joe moved another hundred feet or so forward and called again, knowing that the howling wind might have eclipsed his voice before.<\/p>\n

\u201cNonie?\u201d<\/p>\n

This time he got a reply.\u00a0 \u201cJoe?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adrenaline pushed him forward.\u00a0 In places the snow was piled knee-deep.\u00a0 \u201cNonie?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe,\u201d her voice was weak.\u00a0 \u201cOver here….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cKeep talking.\u00a0 Nonie, come on, say something!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m over here, by the bent over tree.\u201d<\/p>\n

He stopped and looked in all directions, and then he thought he spotted it.\u00a0 A tall tree, partially destroyed by lightning, with the dead half bending down like an old man picking up sticks.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see it!\u00a0 Stay where you are.\u00a0 I\u2019m coming!\u201d<\/p>\n

When Joe reached the tree, he found her sitting under it, half-buried by blowing snow.\u00a0 Nonie\u2019s teeth were chattering and she was shaking like a leaf in a strong October wind.\u00a0 Kneeling beside her, he lifted her to her feet and wrapped her in the heavy coat he had carried with him.\u00a0 Then he removed her gloves and began to chafe her hands.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d he said as he did.\u00a0 \u201cI shouldn\u2019t have said those things to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, you were right.\u00a0 I am <\/em>selfish and spoiled and \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHurting.\u00a0 Just like your mother.\u201d\u00a0 Joe frowned as he looked at her fingertips.\u00a0 The lightweight gloves she had been wearing did little to protect them.\u00a0 Reaching down, he opened his jacket and then took hold of her hands and shoved them inside.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d she asked, going stiff.<\/p>\n

\u201cBody heat,\u201d he grinned.\u00a0 \u201cNothing like it.\u00a0 If you want to keep the tips of those pretty fingers, don\u2019t complain.\u201d<\/p>\n

She nodded and then, a moment later, rested her head on his chest.\u00a0 The words were quiet when they came.\u00a0 \u201cJoe, tell me what to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAbout what?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything<\/em>,\u201d she sighed.\u00a0 \u201cMother.\u00a0 Jason Milburn.\u00a0 The Piney Woods.\u201d<\/p>\n

He lifted one hand and cupped it around her head.\u00a0 \u201cYou know<\/em> what to do, Nonie.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u00a0 No,<\/em> I don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe added his other hand.\u00a0 He forced her head up so she had to meet his eyes.\u00a0 \u201cYes, you do<\/em>.\u00a0 Do what\u2019s right by you \u2013 and<\/em> your mother.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her arms shifted inward, reaching around his back, drawing him in closer.\u00a0 She looked up with tears in her eyes.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m tired of making decisions.\u00a0 It\u2019s all I\u2019ve done since Robert died.\u00a0 Joe, you make it for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t do that,\u201d he said, stroking her hair, struck by the way its amber color turned a deep teal in the moonlight.\u00a0 \u201cMy Pa taught me that we shape our own lives and that the choices we make\u00a0 in the end are our own responsibility.\u00a0 Nonie, I….\u201d<\/p>\n

Her face was close to his.\u00a0 Her lips, open and inviting.\u00a0 Her fingers spread wide, encompassing his back as she pulled him into the embrace.\u00a0 Even as he bent to kiss her, he asked himself why \u2013 she was cantankerous and stubborn, had nearly bit his head off, and could have gotten him killed.<\/p>\n

\u2018Joe Cartwright, if I had me twenty years….\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

That was why.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019 a you think, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

They\u2019d traveled for several hours by the moon and had reached a pass where the snow was piled up to their horse\u2019s forearms.\u00a0 The going was tough.\u00a0 Ben knew they should stop, but something pressed him on.\u00a0 He hoped, when they got to Carrie Pickett\u2019s, that he would be proven wrong and that he would walk in the cabin and find his son sitting with the old woman enjoying a hot meal.\u00a0 Joe would look at him, laughter crinkling the edges of those green eyes, not angry but understanding.\u00a0 His youngest boy had mellowed over the years.\u00a0 Joe knew he thought him a man now, and so Joe also knew that any time he followed him, or tracked him down, it was not out of the fear that he could not take care of himself, but out of a need of his own.<\/p>\n

Pulling back on the reins, he walked Buck out of the drift he had pushed into.\u00a0 \u201cI think we should let the horses rest, maybe get an hour or two of shut-eye, and then move on.\u00a0 Dawn can\u2019t be too far away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss indicated the north with a nod.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t like the look of that there sky, Pa.\u00a0 It\u2019s angry as a bear nosed out of its honey.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI see it.\u00a0 The storm looks to be a few hours away.\u00a0 \u201cHopefully we\u2019ll make it to Joe before it hits.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRight.\u201d\u00a0 The big man swung out of the saddle.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll get a fire goin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPut on some coffee, son.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019re you gonna do, Pa, stick your feet and fingers in it?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben glanced at his son and smiled.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just might.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A noise made Joe pull back from the embrace.\u00a0 Nonie turned with him toward the source.\u00a0 A moment later Ballard Peak appeared, stepping out from between two snow-covered pines, his rifle in his hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see you found her!\u201d he called as he waved.<\/p>\n

Joe looked down and then gently disengaged her hands. \u00a0\u00a0He smiled as he gave her gloves back. \u201cYou better put those on.\u201d<\/p>\n

She nodded and did what he said.\u00a0 A moment later, looking at Ballard she apologized.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry for dragging you out here.\u00a0 I was very foolish.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, we found you and we\u2019re all alive, so no harm done.\u201d\u00a0 The large man nodded toward the area of the cabin.\u00a0 \u201cI say we get in before that storm hits.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI agree,\u201d Joe said.\u00a0 He looked at Nonie.\u00a0 She had taken a step forward and then stopped.\u00a0 \u201cAre you going to be okay?\u201d<\/p>\n

She was frowning.\u00a0 \u201cMy feet hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n

He looked again at her boots.\u00a0 They were definitely not made for snow.\u00a0 Joe glanced at Ballard and then said softly, \u201cIt could be frostbite.\u00a0 We need to get you back.\u00a0 Can you walk?\u201d<\/p>\n

Putting on a brave front, she said, \u201cOf course, I can walk.\u00a0 What kind of question is that?\u201d<\/p>\n

The normal fire just wasn\u2019t there.<\/p>\n

Moving quickly, and before she could stop him, Joe caught her in his arms and lifted her up.\u00a0 He expected her to protest more and when she didn\u2019t, knew she was in trouble.<\/p>\n

\u201cCome on, Ballard, let\u2019s get her back to where its warm.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll take the rear,\u201d the other man said, hefting his rifle.\u00a0 \u201cLet me know if you need me to take her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe nodded his thanks and they began to walk.<\/p>\n

It took them nearly an hour to get back.\u00a0 By the time they reached Carrie\u2019s cabin he was exhausted.\u00a0 Nonie had grown very quiet and he had carried her the entire way, stopping only a few times to catch his breath.\u00a0 When he\u2019d left the Ponderosa four days before he couldn\u2019t have guessed what this visit to the old woman would bring \u2013 an early snowstorm, the threats to Carrie and her land, Ballard Peak accidentally shooting him, Nonie and Neville, the fire, and the walk through the snow.\u00a0 He believed in the hand of God.\u00a0 His father had told him before how many times he had seen things line up so God\u2019s purpose would be fulfilled.\u00a0 He wondered now if this was one of those times \u2013 if his<\/em> being here was the pivot that events were turning on.<\/p>\n

He just wondered what outcome the Almighty had in mind.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see it, Joe,\u201d Ballard remarked as the cabin itself came into view.\u00a0 \u201cWhy don\u2019t you let me take her?\u201d<\/p>\n

He halted and stood there, holding her.\u00a0 Nonie had been with him so long, it almost felt like he was surrendering a part of himself.\u00a0 She was not much of a burden \u2013 probably only a little over one hundred pounds \u2013 but his head wound was throbbing and he had begun to shake, so he knew he was near exhausted himself.<\/p>\n

When he nodded, Ballard strapped his gun on and reached out.\u00a0 He took Nonie in his arms and then turned and headed for the cabin.\u00a0 There was a light burning in the window.\u00a0 Hard as it was to be the one who was missing, Joe knew from experience it was even harder to be the one waiting for news.\u00a0 As he watched, the door opened and Carrie appeared, followed closely by Neville.\u00a0 They stood aside as Ballard entered, bearing Nonie in his arms.\u00a0 Neville followed.<\/p>\n

Carrie remained behind, waiting for him.<\/p>\n

Concern radiated out of her eyes when she looked at him.\u00a0 \u201cJoe.\u00a0 How are you, boy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTired,\u201d he had to admit. \u00a0Then with a snort he added, \u201cReally<\/em> tired.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou need to come on in and get yourself some rest.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI will, after I check the animals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her hands went to her hips.\u00a0 \u201cDoes your pa drive you as hard as you drive yourself?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI had to learn it somewhere,\u201d he replied with a half-smile.\u00a0 After a pause Joe said, \u201cYou haven\u2019t asked about your daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n

She looked away.\u00a0 \u201cYou would \u2018a told me if somethin\u2019 was wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe may have frostbite.\u201d\u00a0 When she turned toward him, he added, \u201cYou\u2019re going to have to watch her fingers and toes.\u00a0 I kept her as warm as I could, but Nonie \u2013 Anne \u2013 \u00a0was out there and in city clothes for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou might as well call her Nonie, Joe.\u00a0 I think my Anne is dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

He laid a hand on her shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cShe\u2019s only dead if you want her to be, Carrie.\u00a0 Anne\u2019s a lot like you.\u00a0 She\u2019s stubborn and quick-tempered and a little bit selfish.\u201d\u00a0 He waited for her to bristle and then smiled.\u00a0 \u201cBecause she is also quick to be hurt and cares so deeply that she has to protect herself.\u201d\u00a0 He leaned over and planted a kiss on her hair.\u00a0 \u201cIn other words, Carrie Pickett, your daughter is just like you.\u201d<\/p>\n

She smacked him.\u00a0 \u201cYou go get those chores done, boy, or you won\u2019t get any supper.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe saluted.\u00a0 \u201cYes, Ma\u2019am.\u00a0 I won\u2019t be long.\u201d<\/p>\n

As he rounded the left side of the cabin to check on the cow, Joe fished in his pocket for treats.\u00a0 He\u2019d make his rounds, finishing up at the corral.\u00a0 He\u2019d built a kind of lean-to there the spring before and all of their horses were stabled in it.\u00a0 He wanted to make sure Cochise was okay.\u00a0 The Paint wasn\u2019t used to being out in the cold.<\/p>\n

It took him about fifteen minutes.\u00a0 Some of the chickens had escaped their temporary housing.\u00a0 If it hadn\u2019t been so cold, he would have left them to forage on their own.\u00a0 With the snow on the ground their pickings were going to be slim and so he chased them down, feeling for all the world like a little boy again sent out by pa to do a simple chore.\u00a0 When the last of the independent fowl were back in their shelter, he headed for the corral and the horses.\u00a0 As he drew near he heard Cochise snort.\u00a0 At first he thought it was because the Paint was happy to catch his scent but, as he drew closer, Joe saw the shadow of a man moving among the animals.<\/p>\n

He watched a moment and then shouted, \u201cHey!\u00a0 What do you think you\u2019re doing?\u201d<\/p>\n

The shadow halted and then turned his way.\u00a0 He sensed almost more than saw the movement of their hand toward their belt.\u00a0 Quicker than lightning Joe dropped just as a bullet cut through the air where he had been standing.\u00a0 He lay in the snow, panting.\u00a0 There was no way of knowing what kind of gun the man had.\u00a0 It probably had at least six shots.\u00a0 Joe looked around.\u00a0 The closest shelter was the well.\u00a0 He hesitated a second and then scrambled for it.\u00a0 Another bullet struck the snow just past his boots.\u00a0 With the second one, a shout went up from the house and a moment later Ballard appeared in the door with his gun drawn.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe, you okay?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSomeone\u2019s in the corral!\u201d<\/p>\n

Even as he shouted it Joe heard what he had feared \u2013 the corral gate opened, the gun went off again and, skittish and scared, the horses ran out into the cold, snow-blown night.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

SIX<\/p>\n

The morning dawned brilliant, crisp and clear.\u00a0 The threatened storm of the night before failed to materialize and it looked like the early snow might be over.\u00a0 Ben Cartwright shifted in his saddle.\u00a0 He was waiting for Hoss to return from a trip to the trees.\u00a0 Luck or God was with them because the trail ahead, leading to Carrie Pickett\u2019s land, was fairly clear.\u00a0 It all depended on the direction of the wind and the snow.\u00a0 The horses still had to pick their way through ankle-deep piles and the going was almost unbearably slow, but there were no more knee or elbow-high drifts to work their way through.<\/p>\n

Ben looked up at the sun.\u00a0 It was a little past noon.\u00a0 They\u2019d traveled as hard and as fast as their own and their animal\u2019s strength would allow.\u00a0 He figured they were about four hours out, maybe less if the path before them remained clear.\u00a0 Four hours.\u00a0 A lot could happen in four hours if it hadn\u2019t happened already.\u00a0 Jason Milburn\u2019s henchman, Marks, would have arrived at the cabin the night before and that was plenty of time for a man like him to work mischief.<\/p>\n

Or worse.<\/p>\n

Hoss was taking his seat on Chubb.\u00a0 \u201cReady, Pa,\u201d his son said as he settled into the saddle.\u00a0 \u201cLet\u2019s go find Little Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben nodded as he pressed his heels into Buck\u2019s side.<\/p>\n

Yes, indeed, four hours was a long <\/em>time.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The sleeping arrangements had been interesting to say the least. With the barn gone, all of them were confined in Carrie\u2019s cabin.\u00a0 Nonie, who was recovering nicely, occupied Carrie\u2019s bed, while the older woman slept in the chair by the fire.\u00a0 Neville had positioned himself on the floor beside the bed, as if seeking to protect the young woman it was obvious he loved.\u00a0 Ballard had pulled a chair over to the door and sat in it, keeping watch, while Joe had crawled into the corner on the opposite side of the cabin, near the blanket that still covered the portion of the burnt-out wall he had not had time to replace, and fallen asleep even before he could remove his hat.<\/p>\n

When Joe awoke, half the day was gone.<\/p>\n

It was the scent of coffee and cooking that did it.\u00a0 He pried his eyelids open and looked and found Carrie serving the midday meal to Ballard and Neville.\u00a0 Nonie was awake, but still in bed.\u00a0 When he stirred, the older woman put the dishes down on the table and crossed over to him.<\/p>\n

As he started to rise, she said, \u201cNow you just sit yourself back down, Joe Cartwright, and let me look at that wound.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m fine, Carrie.\u201d<\/p>\n

A hand on his shoulder held him down.\u00a0 \u201cYou let me be the judge of that, boy.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0She parted his hair with her fingers and shoved the portion that dangled on his forehead back.\u00a0 A second later she pressed a finger to the gash.<\/p>\n

He said \u2018Ouch!\u201d before she had time to ask if it hurt.<\/p>\n

Carried made a clucking noise with her tongue. \u201cYou need a doctor to be lookin\u2019 at that, Joe.\u00a0 It\u2019s angry.\u201d<\/p>\n

He pushed her hand away.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m all right.\u201d<\/p>\n

She looked at him and softly chided, \u201cNow look who\u2019s bein\u2019 stubborn.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe laughed as he rose.\u00a0 \u201cI promise you, Carrie, the minute I\u2019m no longer needed on my feet, I\u2019ll get off of them and rest.\u00a0 But right now, I need to get outside and see if I can accomplish at least one task I came here to do before I have to head back to the Ponderosa.\u201d<\/p>\n

She shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m gonna hate to see you go, Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe offer still stands, Carrie.\u00a0 You can come with me and spend the winter at the ranch house with us.\u00a0 We\u2019d love to have you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow what would you men do with a disagreeable old woman like me?\u201d<\/p>\n

He touched her cheek.\u00a0 \u201cMake you feel like one of the family.\u00a0 Although, you\u2019d have to stay out of the kitchen,\u201d he added as removed his hand.\u00a0 \u201cHop Sing would skin me alive if I brought anyone home to do the cooking.\u00a0 You\u2019d just have to make your mind up that you could stand being treated like a queen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA queen,\u201d she sighed.\u00a0 Then she looked toward the bed.\u00a0 \u201cIf\u2019n I were a queen, my Anne wouldn\u2019t be ashamed of me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, Carrie Pickett, you listen to me.\u00a0 Anne is not ashamed<\/em> of you.\u00a0 She\u2019s scared, \u00a0just like you are. \u00a0And if one of you doesn\u2019t back down, you\u2019re gonna miss what time you could have left together.\u201d\u00a0 He touched her nose with his finger.\u00a0 \u201cNow just you think about that<\/em>, old woman!\u201d<\/p>\n

A hand went to her hip.\u00a0 \u201cYou lookin\u2019 to be smacked again, boy?\u201d<\/p>\n

He raised his hands in surrender.\u00a0 \u201cNot me.\u00a0 I\u2019ll just go out and get \u00a0kicked by the cow or something.\u00a0 It will hurt less.\u201d<\/p>\n

As he crossed the room, he noticed Nonie raise a hand.\u00a0 It took a second, but he realized she was beckoning him.\u00a0 When he got there, he perched on the side of the bed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat can I do for you?\u201d<\/p>\n

She looked at her hands and then up at him.\u00a0 \u201cI wanted to…thank you for what you said last night.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd what was that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat I was doing the same thing my mother did to me \u2013 making a choice for her without consulting her because I thought it was for the best.\u201d<\/p>\n

He smiled.\u00a0 \u201cSee.\u00a0 I knew Carrie Pickett\u2019s child would be right smart.\u201d<\/p>\n

She returned it, weakly.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve decided…. Well, I told Neville this morning while you were sleeping that I can\u2019t go through with it.\u00a0 The moment I get back to civilization, I\u2019ll wire Mister Milburn and tell him the deal of off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s smile turned into a puzzled frown.\u00a0 He knew Nonie had been communicating with Milburn \u2013 but a deal?\u00a0 \u201cAnd what deal is that?\u201d he asked, wary.\u00a0 \u201cDoes this have to do with what you told me about \u2018implying\u2019 you would sell him the land?\u201d<\/p>\n

She drew a breath and let it out slowly.\u00a0 \u201cI….\u00a0 I gave Mister Milburn permission to have his men harass my mother, so she would decide she could no longer live here alone and would come with me when I asked her too.\u201d\u00a0 Her face pinched.\u00a0 \u201cYou know how she is.\u00a0 I knew she wouldn\u2019t go with me voluntarily.\u201d<\/p>\n

He kept his voice level.\u00a0 \u201cAnd then<\/em> he could have the land.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLike I said, it wasn\u2019t a part of the deal, still, I all but promised him he could<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 She shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cWhat was I going to do with it, living in New York?\u201d<\/p>\n

It all started to fall in place.\u00a0 The dry well that couldn\u2019t be fixed, the fire that burned one side of the house, the animals let out of their pens, and the fire of the night before.\u00a0 There was someone, owing to or owned <\/em>by Jason Millburn, who was here on Carrie\u2019s property causing \u2018accidents\u2019.<\/p>\n

He shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cNonie, I think it\u2019s already too late.\u201d<\/p>\n

She frowned.\u00a0 \u201cWhat do you mean, Joe?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cI think \u2013 no, I know<\/em> someone working for Milburn is here, right now.\u00a0 There\u2019s no other explanation for the burning of the barn last night.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt could have started by accident.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u00a0 It burned too quickly.\u00a0 That fire was set.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe, no!\u00a0 I told him I didn\u2019t want anyone hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n

He took hold of her hand.\u00a0 \u201cJason Milburn wants this land and he doesn\u2019t care what it takes to get it.\u00a0 He threatened personally to kill me last year to get another man to do what he wanted, and then he sicked his dog of a henchman on me and would have let Marks beat me to death if my pa hadn\u2019t arrived.\u201d\u00a0 Joe squeezed her fingers.\u00a0 \u201cNonie, these are evil<\/em> men.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her voice was small.\u00a0 \u201cOh God, what have I done?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe thought furiously.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ll just have to hold on.\u00a0 If I\u2019m not back day after tomorrow, my pa will start worrying and be on his way.\u00a0 It takes a day from the Ponderosa to here.\u201d\u00a0 He frowned.\u00a0 \u201cMaybe two with this weather.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re sure he\u2019ll come?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPa\u2019s got this inner sense when it comes to me and my brothers.\u00a0 It\u2019s like he\u2019s sitting on coals.\u201d\u00a0 He laughed.\u00a0 \u201cTrust me, he\u2019ll come.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nonie looked out into the room.\u00a0 Neville was rising from the table and Ballard was by the washstand tossing water on his face and chasing it with a towel.\u00a0 \u201cShould we tell the others?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot Neville.\u00a0 He\u2019s frightened enough.\u201d\u00a0 Joe looked toward the door.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll take Ballard outside and fill him in.\u00a0 Between the two of us, we ought to be able to keep watch.\u201d<\/p>\n

As he rose, she caught his hand.\u00a0 \u201cBe careful, Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Again, he squeezed her fingers.\u00a0 \u201cAlways.\u201d\u00a0 Then he turned and called\u00a0 \u201cHey, Ballard!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is it, Joe?\u201d the other man replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to see what I can do about finishing up this wall.\u00a0 You want to come help?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSure.\u00a0 Let me get my coat.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe hadn\u2019t really paid attention to the time of day he had awakened, though he thought it was around noon.\u00a0 He was surprised to find that the sun was already heading for the horizon and the temperature had moderated enough he was too hot in Amos\u2019 heavy coat.\u00a0 He pulled it off and placed it on a peg next to the traps hanging by Carrie\u2019s door and then followed Ballard around the house to the burned-out side.\u00a0 All around them the snow glinted and glistened.\u00a0 The top layer of it was melting and water dripped from the sod roof of the cabin.\u00a0 It felt good.\u00a0 Though wild wintry days had their charm, there was nothing like sunshine and fresh air to make a body feel refreshed and ready for whatever was to come.<\/p>\n

Or so he thought.<\/p>\n

As he came around the corner, Joe heard a rifle hammer cock.\u00a0 It took him a moment to realize that it was Ballard and he had his gun up and ready and pointed in his direction.<\/p>\n

Joe looked behind.\u00a0 \u201cYou see something?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ballard waited until he turned back.\u00a0 \u201cYeah. \u00a0You<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

It took him a split second too long to clue into what was happening.\u00a0 By the time Joe thought to move, the other man had the barrel of the rifle pointed at his midsection where a bullet would do the most damage.\u00a0 His next thought was to shout, but he realized he couldn\u2019t do that \u2013 it would bring Carrie and maybe Nonie out.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t put the women in jeopardy, and from he had seen of Neville, the man would be more trouble than help.<\/p>\n

\u201cBack there when you first shot me, that wasn\u2019t an accident, was it?\u201d he asked softly.<\/p>\n

Ballard shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cIt was an accident that I missed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo why didn\u2019t you kill me sooner?\u201d<\/p>\n

The other man sneered.\u00a0 \u201cWho says I want to kill you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe frowned.\u00a0 \u201cI suppose you\u2019re working for Jason Milburn.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019d suppose wrong, Cartwright.\u00a0 He\u2019s working for me,\u201d a new voice said.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t have to turn around.\u00a0 He knew who it was.<\/p>\n

Victor Marks.<\/p>\n

Several options flew through Joe\u2019s mind as he turned toward Milburn\u2019s henchman.\u00a0 He could rush him, but then Ballard was behind him with an already primed and loaded gun.\u00a0 He could goad Ballard into shooting and hope he could get out of the way fast enough that the bullet would take Marks instead of him.\u00a0 He could make a frontal attack on Ballard, taking out the rifle and then run as fast as he could for cover.\u00a0 But then that presupposed that Marks didn\u2019t also have a weapon primed and loaded. \u00a0He would have a clear shot.\u00a0 He could wait, talk to them, buy time until someone came out of the cabin. That, of course, put whoever came out in peril of their lives.<\/p>\n

Or, he could try to get Marks to turn on Jason Milburn.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t understand, Marks. Why are you working for Milburn again?\u201d he asked, his hands still raised. \u201cHe didn\u2019t care enough to keep you out of jail.\u00a0 What do you care whether he gets this land or not?\u00a0 I bet he\u2019s not cutting you in on the profits from the sale of the timber.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marks came closer.\u00a0 Joe remembered the man\u2019s face.\u00a0 His eyes were cold and the only lines around his mouth were ones formed by cruel laughter.\u00a0 The henchman swaggered up to him and held his gaze.\u00a0 \u201cOh, Milburn\u2019s payin\u2019 me \u00a0right enough, Cartwright.\u00a0 He\u2019s payin\u2019 me well.\u00a0 And Jason promised me a bonus for getting the old woman off her land.\u00a0 You want to know what it is?\u201d<\/p>\n

There was liquor on the man\u2019s breath.\u00a0 That made him even more dangerous.<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay,\u201d Joe said, buying time, \u201cwhat bonus did Milburn promise you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Marks reached out and took him by the throat.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat I get to kill you real <\/em>slow.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Nonie Picket Landes had crossed over to where her mother was working and stood behind her. The older woman was concentrating on what she was doing and didn\u2019t know she was there.\u00a0 It amazed her to find that she was taller than her mother and had to look down.\u00a0 She remembered looking up<\/em> at the stern blond woman before and thinking she\u2019d never grow so tall.\u00a0 The older woman\u2019s shoulders were stooped with age and her skin \u2013 that pale perfect skin she remembered \u2013 was spotty and so thin the veins showed through.\u00a0 Her hair was no longer blond but an odd combination of straw yellow, white and gray.<\/p>\n

So many years had gone by.<\/p>\n

Her hand reached out to touch her, but she hesitated, unsure of the reception she would receive.\u00a0 Instead she said quietly, \u201cMother….\u00a0 Mama, I think we need to talk.\u201d<\/p>\n

She watched her stiffen.\u00a0 \u201cWe ain\u2019t got nothin\u2019 to talk about,\u201d the old woman replied, her voice slightly sulky.<\/p>\n

Nonie drew a breath.\u00a0 She had decided that she<\/em> had to be the adult in this.\u00a0 Her mother was trying to drive her away and to avoid talking by being intractable.<\/p>\n

She should know, she\u2019d employed the same tool often enough.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet me put it another way.\u00a0 I need you<\/em> to listen to me.\u00a0 I would like to apologize.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her mother halted what she was doing for a second as if surprised.\u00a0 As she started to stir whatever she was cooking again, she asked, \u201cWhat you got to apologize for?\u201d<\/p>\n

The woman with the amber-colored hair paused. This was hard.<\/em>\u00a0 \u201cFor trying to make a choice for you without considering your feelings or your wishes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The older woman\u2019s eyes flicked to her face and then back to the food.\u00a0 \u201cWhat choice?\u201d<\/p>\n

She wasn\u2019t going to make this easy.\u00a0 \u201cTo go back East with me. I….\u201d\u00a0 Again, a breath.\u00a0 \u201cI thought I wanted you with me \u2013 and I do \u2013 but I realize now that I wanted to take you away from this place even more, because I always believed that it meant more <\/em>to you than I did.\u00a0 I wanted to…hurt you like you and Papa hurt me by sending me away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her mother swung about to look at her.\u00a0 She looked tired and very old.\u00a0 There were tears in her eyes.\u00a0 \u201cThat weren\u2019t it, child. That weren\u2019t it.\u00a0 Your pa and me, we wanted…more<\/em> for you.\u00a0 More than we could give you.\u201d\u00a0 The older woman smiled.\u00a0 \u201cLook at you.\u00a0 You\u2019re a lady, all clean and gussied up in fancy clothes.\u00a0 You talk right good and don\u2019t smell like a month of Sundays spent with the hogs.\u201d\u00a0 She paused.\u00a0 \u201cWe couldn\u2019t give you nothin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nonie\u2019s eyes brimmed with tears.\u00a0 \u201cNothing but love<\/em>.\u00a0 Mama, Uncle Eleazar and Aunt Ruth gave me money, but…they never<\/em> gave me love.\u00a0 They never let me forget I was the poor relation taken in as charity, or that I had to repay them by marrying well.\u00a0 By marrying into society.\u00a0 They…grudgingly approved of Robert, but they never made him feel like a son.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat be your husband? \u00a0Robert?\u201d<\/p>\n

She reached out and took hold of the older woman\u2019s hand.\u00a0 \u201cWas, Mama.\u00a0 Was<\/em>.\u00a0 Remember, Robert\u2019s dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, child, how\u00a0 could I forget….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were only married a few years.\u00a0 It was a cancer,\u201d she said, choking back tears.\u00a0 \u201cThe thing is, I didn\u2019t realize I had my own cancer eating away at me, slowly destroying me from within.\u201d\u00a0 She drew in a breath that turned into a sob.\u00a0 \u201cI wanted so<\/em> to be with you, but all I could see was this land, this Piney Wood and the house Papa built.\u00a0 And all I could think was that they had both been more important than me.\u201d<\/p>\n

The older woman just stared at her \u2013 and opened her arms.<\/p>\n

Nonie fell into them.\u00a0 \u201cOh, mama….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHush, child.\u00a0 Hush.\u00a0 There\u2019s no harm done.\u00a0 I\u2019m here and I ain\u2019t goin\u2019 nowheres.\u00a0 You let it out.\u201d<\/p>\n

She did.\u00a0 She cried until her body was wracked with sobs, and then cried more until they fell off to simple tears.\u00a0 Pulling back at last, she used her sleeve to wipe her eyes and nose and then smiled like a little girl who felt very, very foolish.<\/p>\n

The older woman took her hands.\u00a0 \u201cLet me look at you.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t have your Pa\u2019s eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow long ago…how long ago did he die?\u201d<\/p>\n

Her mother\u2019s face grew wistful.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s been three years and more my Amos left me.\u00a0 He took ill and weren\u2019t no doctor to look after him.\u00a0 I…tried my best….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure you did all you could, Mama.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure Papa knew that.\u201d<\/p>\n

She nodded.\u00a0 \u201cIt seems you and me got sorrow in common, child.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNonie?\u201d a tentative voice called.<\/p>\n

She turned, still holding her mother\u2019s hands.\u00a0 \u201cYes, Neville?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to see if Ballard and Mister Cartwright need any help.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right.\u00a0 Oh, Neville?\u201d<\/p>\n

He turned back.\u00a0 \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTell Joe \u2018thank you\u2019 for me. He\u2019ll know what it\u2019s for.\u201d<\/p>\n

When she turned back, her mother was eyeing her strangely.\u00a0 \u201cYou like that boy, don\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n

She blinked.\u00a0 \u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat Joe Cartwright.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been…kind to me.\u201d\u00a0 Nonie paused and then laughed.\u00a0 \u201cNo, he hasn\u2019t.\u00a0 He told me I was a spoiled brat who needed spanking!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe said that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was right too.\u00a0 Oh, maybe not about the spanking part \u2013 I don\u2019t think he was serious about that \u2013 but he opened my eyes to just how childish I was being, clinging to a past and an idea of why it happened that had nothing to do with reality.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a keeper<\/em>, that boy.\u00a0 I ain\u2019t met anyone like him since you Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nonie looked toward the door.\u00a0 The late afternoon sun was streaming in the window.\u00a0 It must be about four o\u2019clock.\u00a0 \u201cHaven\u2019t Joe and Mister Ballard been gone a long time?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know men folk.\u00a0 They\u2019ll drive themselves into the dirt to prove a job can be done.\u00a0 I imagine they\u2019ll be gettin\u2019 hungry soon and we\u2019ll see \u2018em then.\u201d\u00a0 Her mother paused.\u00a0 \u201cThere.\u00a0 Hear that?\u00a0 That\u2019s one of \u2018em comin\u2019 now.<\/p>\n

A second later the door flew open.\u00a0 Neville Greaves ran inside and slammed it and dropped the bar into place.<\/p>\n

Nonie moved toward him. \u201cNeville, what is it?\u201d<\/p>\n

He was breathing hard.\u00a0 \u201cBallard…and another man…they have Mister Cartwright.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Ballard?\u00a0 What do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMrs. Pickett!\u201d a voice called from without the cabin.\u00a0 \u201cMrs. Pickett, can you hear me?\u201d<\/p>\n

Nonie exchanged a glance with her mother and then followed the older woman over to the window beside the door.\u00a0 Her mother shifted the curtain aside.\u00a0 She couldn\u2019t see anything.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m here!\u201d the older woman called back.\u00a0 \u201cWhat do you scum want?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want anything, Mrs. Pickett, but your friend Joe Cartwright might.\u00a0 He might want you to open that door, otherwise he\u2019s going to lose his brains to a bullet.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Nonie watched Ballard Peak and then another dark-haired man moved into view.\u00a0\u00a0 A man dangled between them, obviously unconscious.\u00a0 The second man pointed his gun at their victim\u2019s curly brown head.<\/p>\n

She gripped her mother\u2019s arm.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s Joe!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not a patient man, Mrs. Pickett.\u00a0 I\u2019m going to give you to a count of five.\u00a0 One….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMama, you have to open the door!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTwo….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo!\u201d\u00a0 Neville shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cThey\u2019ll kill all of us!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThree….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ll kill Joe<\/em>, Mama!\u00a0 You can\u2019t let them do that!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFour….\u201d<\/p>\n

Her mother stared Neville down and went to the door and opened it even as the man outside shouted, \u201cFive!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s open, you scoundrel.\u00a0 Now you let that boy alone!\u201d<\/p>\n

Nonie crowded into the doorway beside her.\u00a0 Joe\u2019s head was hanging down, his chin resting on his chest.\u00a0 She couldn\u2019t tell if he was alive or dead.\u00a0 Glancing at her mother she said, \u201cMama, I have go to him!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou stay put, child. Those rascals are comin\u2019 our way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her mother was right.\u00a0 Ballard and the other man were advancing toward them, dragging Joe through the fallen snow.\u00a0 The two of them fell back as the men entered the cabin.\u00a0 The man with Ballard released his grip and the big man \u2013 the man whom she had thought of as a friend \u2013 pitched Joe into the cabin like a sack of potatoes.\u00a0 Joe\u2019s body hit with a thud<\/em> and he lay still.<\/p>\n

Her mother moved to stand between him and the pair.\u00a0 \u201cYou didn\u2019t have to hurt the boy!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, I\u2019m going to do far more <\/em>than hurt him,\u201d Ballard\u2019s companion promised.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m just going to do it slowly and enjoy every minute of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know you, don\u2019t I?\u201d the older woman asked.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re Marks, that scum Jason Milburn hired last year to throw me off of my land!\u201d<\/p>\n

He tipped his hat.\u00a0 \u201cVictor Marks, at your service, Miss Carrie.\u00a0 And yours, Miss Landes.\u00a0 I understand my salary is coming from you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her mother rounded on her, astonished.\u00a0 \u201cSay it ain\u2019t so, Anne.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nonie\u2019s jaw tightened.\u00a0 \u201cI made a mistake.\u00a0 I told Mister Milburn to do what he had to do to get you off of your land.\u00a0 But I made him promise no one would be hurt!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cChild, no….\u201d<\/p>\n

Nonie walked up to the villain.\u00a0 \u201cMister Marks, whatever Jason Milburn is paying you, I will pay you twice as much if you will leave now and give my mother no more trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n

He considered it and then shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m afraid I can\u2019t do that, Ma\u2019am.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy not?\u201d she snapped.\u00a0 \u201cI understood that with men like you money was everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAlmost <\/em>everything.\u201d\u00a0 Marks shoved his hat back on his head.\u00a0 \u201cI may be \u2018scum\u2019 but I have a reputation to maintain.\u00a0 Now, if I was to take your money and go, I doubt you\u2019d let me finish off young Cartwright here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s Joe done to you?\u201d she demanded.<\/p>\n

The look out of his eyes truly frightened her.\u00a0 \u201cMade me lose.\u00a0 And I don\u2019t like <\/em>to lose.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLeave him alone and I will give you three <\/em>times as much.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marks sneered.\u00a0 \u201cA man can only spend so much money.\u00a0 You keep it and buy Cartwright here a fancy stone for his grave.\u201d\u00a0 Turning then, he ordered, \u201cBallard, get him up!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo!\u201d she shouted as she ran to stop him.<\/p>\n

Ballard Peak, a foot taller and five times as strong, back-handed her, knocking her out of the way.<\/p>\n

Neville had been standing by, watching everything unfold.\u00a0 Nonie hadn\u2019t given him much thought, knowing he wasn\u2019t the type to intervene.<\/p>\n

She was wrong.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou leave her alone, you brigand!\u201d Neville shouted as he rushed the villain by the door.<\/p>\n

There was a shot.\u00a0 Neville crumpled to the floor.<\/p>\n

Nonie forgot to breathe.<\/p>\n

The barrel of Marks\u2019 gun swung from her mother to her and back.\u00a0 \u201cNow, are either of you ladies going to try anything foolish?\u201d\u00a0 He waited.\u00a0 \u201cVery wise.\u201d\u00a0 Turning slightly, Milburn\u2019s henchman said, \u201cDrag Cartwright outside, Ballard, and then come back here and take over.\u00a0 He and I have some unfinished business that\u2019s going to be finished now!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe fought to keep quiet.\u00a0 Marks had worked him over, punching him hard in the stomach several times while Ballard held him.\u00a0 He had actually winked out for a few minutes, but had come to as they dragged him toward the cabin and was only pretending to be unconscious.\u00a0\u00a0 It had been all he could do not to react when Ballard struck Nonie and drove her to the ground, but he knew \u2013 he knew<\/em> he had to remain on the defensive if he intended to keep on living.<\/p>\n

Marks meant to kill him.<\/p>\n

From under lidded eyes he\u2019d watched Neville Greaves first charge Ballard and then fall with a bullet from Marks\u2019 gun in his belly.\u00a0 The older man had gurgled once or twice and fallen silent.\u00a0 Joe had no doubt he was dead.\u00a0 That left him and two defenseless women against Marks and Ballard and who knew how many more men they might have outside.<\/p>\n

He had to keep his wits about him or they would all<\/em> end up dead.<\/p>\n

Nonie had begun to cry.\u00a0 Marks had forced her and her mother over to the bed where they sat huddled together.\u00a0 Nonie leaned her head on Carrie\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0 At least, if he died, he had lived to see that.\u00a0 Carrie would be okay.\u00a0 Her Anne would take care of her.<\/p>\n

He could rest in peace.<\/p>\n

Joe felt Ballard catch hold of his ankles.\u00a0 A second later the man began to drag him to the door.\u00a0 He\u2019d have to wait until they were outside to make a move.\u00a0 If one man remained in the cabin, they could use the women as a hostage.\u00a0 He needed to think of some way to get them both<\/em> outside.<\/p>\n

Ballard had reached the door.\u00a0 Joe\u2019s head thunked against the wooden threshold as the tall man dragged him over it.\u00a0 The action caused it to throb with pain and made it difficult to think. \u00a0What could he do?\u00a0 Marks intended to change places with Ballard once the big man had him in the yard.\u00a0 If he ran, they\u2019d kill the women.\u00a0 If he tried to fight back, it would be the same thing.<\/p>\n

Joe had a flash of playing chess with Adam.<\/p>\n

Checkmate.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cPa, how close do you think we are?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben looked at the horizon.\u00a0 The sun was beginning to set.\u00a0 The path had grown more treacherous the higher they climbed, and they were running several hours behind when he thought they would arrive.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019d say maybe a half to a whole hour out.\u00a0 It\u2019s hard to say in this weather.\u201d\u00a0 Their horses were growing weary just as he and his son were.\u00a0 Still, he had a sense there was no time to waste \u2013 no time to rest.\u00a0 They had<\/em> to press on.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re right sure somethin\u2019s wrong, ain\u2019t you, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

He nodded.\u00a0 He could feel it in his bones.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, then, what\u2019re we waitin\u2019 for?\u00a0 Let\u2019s go get Little Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

As his son and his mount pressed past him, Ben lifted his head up and looked to Heaven.<\/p>\n

\u201cKeep Joe until we get there, Lord.\u00a0 Keep him safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe reeled from a blow to the head that set his teeth to rattling.\u00a0 Ballard Peak stood halfway in and halfway out the door, keeping an eye to the women but enjoying the beating he was taking at Marks\u2019 hands.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t understand how he\u2019d been so wrong about Ballard.\u00a0 He\u2019d seemed a trustworthy sort.\u00a0 But then again, he\u2019d learned the lesson years ago that people were often something other than they seemed.<\/p>\n

Though it appeared he had not learned it well enough.<\/p>\n

Another blow, this time to the back with a thick branch drove him face forward into the snow.\u00a0 He\u2019d tried to fight back but found \u2013 at the last minute and the worst time \u2013 that his strength was ebbing.\u00a0 The night in the open carrying Nonie had taken a lot out of him.\u00a0 Coupled with the head wound and a lack of food, he found it was nearly impossible to fight off Marks\u2019 relentless attack.\u00a0 There were also the women to think about.\u00a0 One time, when it seemed he might get the upper hand, Marks had sent Ballard into the house and he had returned with Nonie.\u00a0 Ballard had waited until he looked and then placed a gun against her head before taking her back inside.<\/p>\n

The threat was clear.<\/p>\n

And so, there was nothing he could do but take it \u2013 take the blows to the head, to his side, to his back and legs, the unending, unrelenting brutal blows that were withering.\u00a0 He was on his knees now, fighting to stand, to continue to fight, to be<\/em> a man.\u00a0 In his mind he knew he was.\u00a0 In his mind he could fight forever.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the spirit was stronger than the flesh.<\/p>\n

Joe lay flat out in the snow, the blood pouring from his reopened head wound running free and staining it.\u00a0 He lay there, spent, unmoving, unable to respond when Marks took his foot and turned him over and placed the barrel of his gun against his head.<\/p>\n

The villain sneered.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019d like that, wouldn\u2019t you, Cartwright?\u00a0 Clean and quick.\u00a0 Well, you ain\u2019t gonna get it.\u201d\u00a0 Marks leaned in and lifted his head by his hair and whispered, \u201cI got other plans for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe grunted and knew no more.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Nonie had pressed her hands against her ears to shut out the sound of hands, of feet, of wood striking flesh.\u00a0 Near the end Joe had cried out and she\u2019d run to the open door, only to be caught by Ballard Peaks and restrained.\u00a0 She\u2019d seen him fall.\u00a0 Seen the blood running away from his head wound, coloring the snow.\u00a0 Seen Marks kneel and press the barrel of his pistol into that curly brown hair.<\/p>\n

Marks said something and then rose and looked at her.\u00a0 \u201cShe wants to see him so bad, let her come, Ballard. \u00a0Let them both come.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her mother spoke a word of caution, but Nonie ignored it.\u00a0 She ran out of the house and straight to Joe\u2019s side.\u00a0 He lay silent and still as the snow that surrounded him.\u00a0 Touching his back, she felt the beat of life, though it was slow and the thread that tied him to Earth was stretched thin.<\/p>\n

\u201cBastard!\u201d she snarled.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, well, Miss Carrie.\u00a0 It seems your little girl has gone and found herself a new man.\u00a0 Too bad this one\u2019s gonna die just like the last one.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou let Joe go, you vermin!\u201d her mother shouted.<\/p>\n

Marks\u2019 gaze went to Ballard.<\/p>\n

\u201cShut the old woman up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nonie turned just in time to see her mother backhanded into the cabin.\u00a0 Torn, she waited only a moment, and then sprang to her feet and ran toward her.\u00a0 Ballard caught her easily in one arm and held her with her feet off the ground.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat should I do with this one?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

Marks walked over to her.\u00a0 \u201cYou offered me three times what Jason Milburn was paying me, Mrs. Landes.\u00a0 You know, I just think we\u2019ll take it all<\/em>.\u00a0 I bet that rich uncle of yours would pay anything to get you back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nonie struggled in the large man\u2019s arms.\u00a0 \u201cYou let me go!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTie her up, Ballard.\u00a0 And stop that mouth!\u201d<\/p>\n

As the man she had thought was her friend bound her hands and then tore a strip off the edge of her blouse to gag her with, Nonie watched Victor Marks grab Joe by the collar and haul him over to the dry well.\u00a0 While Joe was laying on the ground, Marks wrapped the well rope around him and then lifted him up and balanced the semi-unconscious man on the edge of the wooden surround.<\/p>\n

\u201cHave a good trip, Cartwright,\u201d he sneered as he put a hand to his chest and shoved.<\/p>\n

Nonie stared in horror as the rope played out and then jerked to a halt.\u00a0 Marks raised his gun and shot clean through it and then tossed the frayed end in after Joe.<\/p>\n

\u201cSee you in Hell!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou hear that, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben stiffened in the saddle.\u00a0 \u201cIt sounded like a shot.\u201d<\/p>\n

They were nearing Carrie\u2019s place.\u00a0 They were maybe twenty minutes away.\u00a0 \u201cIt sure did.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCould be someone huntin\u2019,\u201d Hoss suggested.<\/p>\n

He nodded.\u00a0 \u201cCould be.\u00a0 Or it could be your brother, fighting for his life.\u00a0 Come on, Hoss.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

SEVEN<\/p>\n

Joe swam in and out of consciousness.\u00a0 He was aware that he was in a cold dark place and that his right arm was bent unnaturally beneath him.\u00a0 There was something around his chest, constricting his breathing, and his mouth was full of the taste of blood.<\/p>\n

His<\/em> blood.<\/p>\n

Images swam before his eyes \u2013 his pa, worried, bending over him and telling him he had his \u2018gift<\/em>\u2019.\u00a0 Adam, leaning over him too, apologizing, \u2018Joe, I didn\u2019t mean it.\u00a0 Joe.\u2019 <\/em>\u00a0Hoss calling \u2018little brother!<\/em>\u2019 looking for him, worried that he might be dead \u2013 all mixed with pictures from his past, visions of another time and a small boy with curly brown hair who was walking hand in hand with his ma.<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s pretty here, Ma<\/em>,\u2019 the little boy said.<\/p>\n

She looked down at him, her beautiful face glowing like the sun and surrounded by a halo of golden hair that billowed gently in the wind.\u00a0 Her fingers reached out and touched his face.\u00a0 \u2018Petit Joseph, has your Maman told you lately how much she loves you?\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018You\u2019ve been away, Ma.\u00a0 I missed you so much.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

She knelt before him and took his shoulders in her hands. \u00a0\u2018Joseph, I have missed you too, more than you can know, but you must go back.\u00a0 Your Papa needs you.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018Pa\u2019s got Adam and Hoss.\u00a0 He doesn\u2019t need me.\u2019\u00a0 <\/em>Joe lifted one gloved hand, reaching for this woman he had known so briefly and loved so much. When he spoke again, it was with the voice of a man.\u00a0 \u2018It\u2019s so peaceful here, Ma.\u00a0 Let me stay with you.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

Her hand moved to his cheek.\u00a0 The whisper of her kiss followed.\u00a0 \u201cYour task is not done.\u00a0 You must return and cling to life.\u00a0 Never forget I love you, Joseph.\u00a0 Never forget, your Papa does too and he needs you \u2013 you, not Adam, not Hoss.\u00a0 You.\u2019\u00a0 <\/em>His mother stood and took a step back, her hand still extended.\u00a0 \u2018One day, Joseph, we will meet again….\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

Joe struggled to catch hold of her hand.\u00a0 He felt her slipping away. \u00a0\u00a0\u2018Ma.\u00a0 Ma…\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cMa!\u201d Joe gasped as he came back to a world of pain.<\/p>\n

He was laying somewhere damp, his back pressed up against cold hard stone.\u00a0 He could feel the warmth being leeched from him as surely as if he was buried in ice.\u00a0 His arm felt like it was broken and his teeth were chattering.\u00a0 Shock was setting in.\u00a0 It wouldn\u2019t be long \u2013 not long at all until he returned to his mother\u2019s arms.<\/p>\n

As he lost consciousness again, he had a thought.<\/p>\n

He hoped she wouldn\u2019t be cross.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hoss reined his horse in and looked at his pa.\u00a0 They had just arrived at Carrie Pickett\u2019s place.\u00a0 The door to the cabin was open and behind the cabin lay the smoldering wreck of what must have been a barn.\u00a0 There were chickens running loose in the yard and a cow bawling somewhere out of sight.\u00a0\u00a0 His father returned his look, only the one out of the older man\u2019s eyes was colored with fear.<\/p>\n

\u201cCheck the cabin,\u201d he ordered.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m going to check out what\u2019s left of the barn.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss nodded as he dismounted and headed for the open door.\u00a0 Halfway there he stopped.\u00a0 \u201cPa.\u201d<\/p>\n

His father turned to look at him.<\/p>\n

\u201cBlood, Pa.\u00a0 A lot of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The older man was at his side in seconds.\u00a0 He knelt and ran his fingers through the red snow.\u00a0 \u201cGood Lord!\u201d his pa breathed and then stood up abruptly.\u00a0 \u201cJoe!\u00a0 Joseph!\u00a0 If you can hear me, answer!\u00a0 Joe!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

They remained where they were, listening.\u00a0 His father was about to call again, but Hoss caught his arm.\u00a0 \u201cPa, hush.\u00a0 Listen!\u201d<\/p>\n

The older man heard it too.\u00a0 A weak reply.\u00a0 It came from inside the cabin.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe!\u201d his father cried and ran.<\/p>\n

Hoss followed close on his heels.\u00a0 He was just as shocked by what they found inside as the older man.\u00a0 A man\u2019s body lay just beyond the threshold.\u00a0 The big man \u00a0knelt and turned him over and saw that it was the stranger who had come visitin\u2019 at the Ponderosa.\u00a0 There was a hole in Neville\u00a0 Greave\u2019s middle and he was stone cold dead.<\/p>\n

Thank God, it wasn\u2019t Joe!<\/p>\n

To one side, near the hearth, lay Carrie Pickett.<\/p>\n

His father bent and rolled the older woman over.\u00a0 To his relief, she moaned as he did.\u00a0 \u201cHoss, get me some water!\u201d he ordered.\u00a0 \u201cCarrie.\u00a0 Carrie, can you hear me?\u201d<\/p>\n

She feebly lifted a hand.\u00a0 \u201cJoe…?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, Carrie, it\u2019s Joe\u2019s father, Ben.\u00a0 Where is Joe?\u00a0 Can you tell me?\u201d<\/p>\n

Tears streamed down her aged cheeks.\u00a0 \u201cThey took him.\u201d<\/p>\n

His father glanced at him.\u00a0 \u201cThey?\u00a0 Carrie, can you tell me who?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cBallard,\u201d she said, \u201cand…Marks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss watched his father war with himself, caught between the need to find out what happened to Joe and pushing a weak, wounded older woman who needed most to rest to talk.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere\u2019s the water, Pa,\u201d he said as he handed him a cup.<\/p>\n

His father shifted so he could lift Carrie up.\u00a0 He touched the cup to her lips and then helped her to drink.\u00a0 After a moment, she nodded her head.<\/p>\n

\u201cCarrie, can you answer a few more questions?\u201d the older man asked.<\/p>\n

She nodded again.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere?\u00a0 Where did they take Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n

This time her head shook.\u00a0 \u201c…don\u2019t know. They beat him.\u00a0 They beat him somethin\u2019 awful….\u201d<\/p>\n

They both knew what that meant.\u00a0 Joe had humiliated Victor Marks the year before when he failed to muscle the land away from Carrie for Jason Milburn.\u00a0 Marks had meant to kill Joe.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d come back now to finish what he started then.<\/p>\n

\u201cCarrie, we didn\u2019t find him anywhere outside,\u201d his father said.\u00a0 \u201cDid they take Joe somewhere?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey took Anne….\u201d she wailed.<\/p>\n

They looked at each other.\u00a0 \u201cAnne, Miss Carrie?\u201d Hoss asked.\u00a0 \u201cWho\u2019s Anne?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust found the…girl again….\u00a0 Now she\u2019s lost….\u201d<\/p>\n

His father looked up at him.\u00a0 \u201cShe\u2019s unconscious.\u00a0 Help me get her to the bed and fetch me some more water so I can clean the wound.\u00a0 Someone struck her hard.\u00a0 Her skin\u2019s fragile and there\u2019s a nasty gash.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss nodded and went back to the table where he\u2019d found the pitcher with water in it.\u00a0 He found a basin and poured what was left of it in the bowl.\u00a0 It couldn\u2019t have been more than a cup.\u00a0 \u201cAin\u2019t much water here, Pa.\u00a0 Is this enough?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about the wash stand?\u201d<\/p>\n

He went to look.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s plenty there, but it ain\u2019t clean.\u201d<\/p>\n

His father had been sitting beside Carrie on the bed.\u00a0 He stood up and walked over to his side.\u00a0 \u201cI saw a well out there. With the sun today, you might be able to break the ice and get something out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cJoe said the well\u2019s dry.\u00a0 Has been since before he met Carrie.\u201d<\/p>\n

His father frowned.\u00a0 \u201cMaybe some snow, then?\u00a0 We can melt it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSure thing, Pa.\u201d\u00a0 He turned and looked at the dead man lying in the middle of the floor.\u00a0 \u201cPa!\u201d<\/p>\n

He pivoted.\u00a0 \u201cYes, son?<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you see, Pa?\u00a0 It\u2019s that man what came to the house.\u00a0 Name of Neville.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben walked over and looked.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re right son,\u00a0 So maybe this Nonie and Anne are one and the same.\u00a0 I think Nonie is a nickname.\u201d\u00a0 His pa frowned as he contemplated the meaning of it all.\u00a0 \u201cTake Neville out.\u00a0 Bury him deep in a drift.\u00a0 It will keep his body until we can find time to give him a proper burial.\u00a0 Then bring back a pail of snow.\u201d\u00a0 The white-haired man moved to the bed.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll try to make Mrs. Pickett as comfortable as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe gonna be okay, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think so.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss returned to the dead man.\u00a0 Taking him by the heels, he pulled Neville out of the cabin and up into a deeply drifted snowbank.\u00a0 In spite of the cold, he was sweating by the time he was done.\u00a0 Moving back into the yard, the big man stopped to remove his hat and run a handkerchief over his forehead.\u00a0 As he did, his eyes fell on Miss Carrie\u2019s dry well.\u00a0 Last spring Joe had said something about wanting to fix it for the old woman.\u00a0 He said everything was in place, it just didn\u2019t have no water.\u00a0 Hoss frowned as he concentrated on the wooden structure surrounding the stone circle.\u00a0 Something wasn\u2019t right.\u00a0 Walking over to it, he stood and looked at the well for a moment before he had it.\u00a0 The bucket was missing and the rope that held it was frayed and burned black.\u00a0 He fingered it and then looked at the wooden surround.\u00a0 There was no sign of a fire there, but there was something…something that looked like….<\/p>\n

Blood.<\/p>\n

The big man drew a sharp breath and looked into the well.<\/p>\n

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

 <\/p>\n

Ben\u2019s head came up.\u00a0 He had heard that kind of cry only a few times in his life \u2013 at the scene of an accident, on the battlefield.\u00a0 It held not only fear and horror, but the sure promise of loss.<\/p>\n

Springing up from the bed, he ran to the door and threw it open.\u00a0 It took a moment, but he located Hoss.\u00a0 His middle son was at Carrie Pickett\u2019s well.\u00a0 Hoss was leaning over, his large form precariously perched on the wooden edge of the surround.\u00a0 He could hear him talking, but couldn\u2019t make out the words.<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss?\u201d he called, even as he headed his way.<\/p>\n

The big man straightened up.\u00a0 He was white as the snow.\u00a0 \u201cPa,\u201d he said, \u201cit\u2019s Joe.\u00a0 He\u2019s….\u00a0 He\u2019s at the bottom of the well.\u201d<\/p>\n

It took a moment for the words to sink in.\u00a0 \u201cAt the…bottom?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSome done throwed him in, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben hesitated.\u00a0 \u201cIs he…moving?\u201d<\/p>\n

His son\u2019s head shook.\u00a0 \u201cI ain\u2019t seen anythin\u2019, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paralyzing fear was something he had experienced only once or twice in his life.\u00a0 When Joe\u2019s mother fell \u2013 and her horse fell on top of her \u2013 there had been that moment of disbelief when he had been unable to move.<\/p>\n

He felt it now.<\/p>\n

Hoss\u2019 hand caught his arm.\u00a0 \u201cPa?\u201d<\/p>\n

He swallowed hard.\u00a0 \u201cGet a rope.\u00a0 I\u2019m going down.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPa, you better let me….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re too heavy, son.\u00a0 I\u2019d never be able to hold you.\u201d<\/p>\n

The big man\u2019s jaw was tight.\u00a0 \u201cDag-blast it, Pa, it\u2019s Joe<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know, son.\u00a0 Now get a rope.\u00a0 I\u2019ll stay here and see if I can get your brother to respond.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Hoss walked away, Ben forced his feet to move.\u00a0 They carried him over to the well surround.\u00a0 On his way, he noticed the trail of blood and then found it on the wooden edge too.\u00a0 Steeling himself, he looked in.\u00a0 Though the sun was still up, what its slanted beams did most was cast shadows into the long narrow channel that had been worked into the earth.\u00a0 He could see a form lying at the bottom \u2013 a man, wearing light gray pants with a mop of curly dark hair.\u00a0 The hand the light touched was wearing a dark glove.\u00a0 Ben shifted so he could see better.\u00a0 The well looked like it was about fifteen feet deep.\u00a0 Joe had said he hoped to make it deeper \u2013 hoped to return water to Carrie\u2019s land so the older woman didn\u2019t have to walk to the lake anymore.<\/p>\n

Ben closed his eyes and said a quick prayer and then called, \u201cJoe.\u00a0 Joe, it\u2019s your Pa.\u00a0 Answer if you can hear me!\u201d<\/p>\n

His voice echoed down the channel but nothing came up.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoseph!\u201d he tried again, using the stern tone that demanded an answer.\u00a0 \u201cJoseph Francis Cartwright, answer me!\u201d<\/p>\n

Then he heard it, the most blessed<\/em> thing he had ever heard.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa….\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben looked to the sky.\u00a0 \u201cThanks,\u201d he breathed.\u00a0 Turning back to his son, he called again, \u201cJoe, are you hurt bad, boy?\u00a0 Can you tell me?\u201d<\/p>\n

Again, there was no reply.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cMy arm\u2019s…broke,\u201d came the pitiful reply.<\/p>\n

That meant, most likely, he was in shock.<\/p>\n

Ben turned, scanning the yard for his other son.\u00a0 \u201cHoss!\u00a0 Where are you?\u00a0 I need to get down to Joe!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cComin\u2019, Pa!\u201d\u00a0 Hoss was huffing.\u00a0 \u201cI couldn\u2019t find a rope long enough.\u00a0 I had to check with Miss Carrie.\u00a0 She told me where to find the one Joe brung.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, she\u2019s holding her own?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s a tough old bird, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe is that.\u201d\u00a0 He nodded toward the rope.\u00a0 \u201cGet that anchored.\u00a0 We need to get your brother out of the cold.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDid he talk to you, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

He forgot Hoss didn\u2019t know.\u00a0 Ben placed a hand on his son\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cYes.\u00a0 Joe\u2019s alive, but I think he\u2019s badly hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m gonna kill <\/em>that Marks and whoever else done this to him!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere will be time for that later, son.\u00a0 First, we have to rescue Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss looked around.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll anchor it on that there tree, Pa.\u00a0 It\u2019ll be just a minute.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was more like five and every one of them was agony.\u00a0 At last the rope and Hoss were in place.\u00a0 Ben looped it around his waist and fastened it and sat on the edge of the well.<\/p>\n

A moment later he slipped in.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cMarks!\u00a0 Marks, what are you doing?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ballard Peak shook his head.\u00a0 He\u2019d been left in charge of the Landes woman while Victor went off into the woods.\u00a0 She was trussed up in the back of a wagon, so he had moved a little ways into the trees to see what the hell the other man was up to.\u00a0 He knew it wasn\u2019t taking a leak as he\u2019d done that shortly before.<\/p>\n

\u201cMarks!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought I told you to watch the girl,\u201d Victor snapped as he appeared from out of the shadows.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe isn\u2019t going anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marks eyed him.\u00a0 Then he nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI suppose not.\u00a0 Turns out I could use your help anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWith what?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m gonna give Joe Cartwright a present and put him out his misery.\u201d\u2019<\/p>\n

Ballard snorted.\u00a0 \u201cAnd how are you going to do that?\u201d<\/p>\n

Marks sneered.\u00a0 \u201cBy unstopping the water supply that feeds the old woman\u2019s well. That was the first thing Milburn tried.\u00a0 It was over a year back.\u00a0 He thought if she didn\u2019t have water, she\u2019d give up and leave.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cApparently, he had never met Mrs. Pickett.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnyhow, the cap\u2019s frozen shut.\u00a0 I can\u2019t move it.\u00a0 Maybe we can together.\u201d\u00a0 Marks sneered.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sure Joe Cartwright could use a bath to wash off all of that blood.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ben carefully worked his way down the icy interior of the well.\u00a0 One slip and he would be on top of Joseph.\u00a0 Not knowing the extent of his son\u2019s injuries, such a thing might well prove fatal, shattering already fractured bones or worse, pushing broken ones into vital organs.\u00a0 He had to land in the small open space beside him.\u00a0 Carrie\u2019s well was slightly larger than the standard, with a nearly four foot diameter.\u00a0 As he approached the bottom he could see his son, laying in a foot of snow, curled up against one side of it.\u00a0 The boy looked like a discarded rag doll.\u00a0 Joe had a rope around his chest, which suggested he had been lowered and not thrown in.\u00a0 That was a small blessing.\u00a0 If he had fallen the full fifteen feet his body might have been broken so badly it couldn\u2019t mend.<\/p>\n

\u201cHang on, Joe.\u00a0 I\u2019m almost there.\u00a0 Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n

Again, there was no reply.\u00a0 He must be going in and out of consciousness.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou there yet, Pa?\u201d Hoss\u2019s concerned voice followed him down.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlmost!\u00a0 Give it a little more slack!\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Ben felt his feet touch bottom.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m down!\u00a0 You can let go.\u201d<\/p>\n

A moment later Hoss\u2019s concerned face appeared at the top of the shaft.\u00a0 \u201cHow is he, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGive me a minute.\u201d\u00a0 Ben drew a breath and then knelt at his boy\u2019s side.\u00a0 The light was low, but even so, he could see how badly swollen Joe\u2019s face was.\u00a0 The blood crusted on it made it black.\u00a0 Reaching out, he gently touched his son\u2019s thigh, figuring that was a safe place.\u00a0 \u201cJoe?\u00a0 Can you hear me, boy?\u00a0 It\u2019s your, Pa.\u00a0 I\u2019m here.\u00a0 Joe, I\u2019m here<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe stirred, ever so slightly.\u00a0 His eyes opened, looked about without focus, and then closed again.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe?\u201d<\/p>\n

It took effort, but his youngest climbed up out of wherever pain had taken him.\u00a0 Joe\u2019s eyes opened and looked for him.\u00a0 \u201cPa?\u201d\u00a0 His son\u2019s hand reached out.\u00a0 \u201cIs it…you?\u201d<\/p>\n

He caught his gloved hand and squeezed it.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s me, son.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNonie, Pa, you…gotta go…after Anne.\u201d\u00a0 Joe shifted and his face lit with pain.\u00a0 \u201cMarks…has her,\u201d he said between gasps.<\/p>\n

Ben started.\u00a0 So Carrie\u2019s Anne was <\/em>the young lady who had been at the house! Marks must have taken her since she was an obvious woman of wealth \u2013 maybe for ransom.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ll get Nonie, Joe, but first we have to get you out of here.\u201d\u00a0 He removed his glove and reached out and touched his son\u2019s forehead. \u00a0Joe\u2019s skin was like ice.\u00a0 \u201cHoss,\u201d he called.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cGet a blanket.\u00a0 Toss it down here.\u00a0 Your brother\u2019s freezing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOn my way,\u201d he said as he disappeared.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe?\u201d<\/p>\n

His eyes were shut again.\u00a0 They opened and attempted to focus on him.\u00a0 \u201cPa….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to have to check you for injuries.\u00a0 We need to tie a rope around you in order to get you out.\u00a0 I have to find out if there is anything we need to avoid.\u201d\u00a0 He looked at Joe again and knew that, beneath his clothing, there had to be more injuries.\u00a0 He had obviously been beaten savagely and could have cracked ribs or worse.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m afraid this is going to hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s nod was feeble.\u00a0 \u201cGo ahead….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s my boy,\u201d Ben soothed.\u00a0 Then, with his right hand, he reached under Joe\u2019s coat and began to probe along his upper torso.\u00a0 His son shifted as if it made him uncomfortable, but didn\u2019t cry out until he took hold of his right shoulder and moved his arm.<\/p>\n

Joe was right.\u00a0 It was broken.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa!\u00a0 Head\u2019s up.\u00a0 Blanket comin\u2019 down!\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben stood and looked upward.\u00a0 He caught the covering as it fell.\u00a0 It was warm.\u00a0 Bending, he placed it over Joe and tucked it in, staving off the chill.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow\u2019s he doing, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYour brother has a broken arm among other injuries.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0He looked at his son.\u00a0 \u201cGetting him out is going to be very painful.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be careful as I can pullin\u2019 him up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know you will.\u201d\u00a0 Ben knelt and touched his son\u2019s face.\u00a0 \u201cJoe, boy, this is going to hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo what you…have to…Pa….\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben eased the rope off of his waist and lifted it over his head.\u00a0 He laid it aside and then reached for Joe.\u00a0 Placing an arm around his son\u2019s good shoulder, he lifted him up as carefully as he could.\u00a0 Joe cried out, but cut it short by planting his teeth in his lip.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s good, son.\u00a0 Just a little more.\u201d\u00a0 Taking hold of the rope, he began to thread it under Joe\u2019s arms.\u00a0 It went well until he actually had to lift the broken one.\u00a0 Joe gasped, his eyes rolled back in his head, and he was out.<\/p>\n

Which was probably for the best.<\/p>\n

Ben finished tying off the rope and then pulled on the knot to make sure it was secure.\u00a0 With a whispered prayer on his lips, he rose and called up to his other son.\u00a0 \u201cJoe\u2019s ready, Hoss!\u00a0 Pull him up!\u201d<\/p>\n

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

As Hoss took up the slack, Joe\u2019s quiet form began to rise.\u00a0 Catching his son about the waist, Ben lifted him, trying to ease the pressure on his injured shoulder and arm as long as he could.\u00a0 Still, in the end, he had to let him go and stand by helplessly as Joe rose into the darkness and vanished.<\/p>\n

\u201cGot him, Pa!\u201d Hoss called a moment later.<\/p>\n

\u201cTake him inside.\u00a0 You can come back for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI ain\u2019t gonna leave you in there. \u00a0I brought more blankets.\u00a0 I\u2019ll get Joe wrapped up all nice and tidy and then have you out of there in two shakes of a lamb\u2019s tail.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben looked around the well shaft.\u00a0 It was cold and dark and like a tomb.<\/p>\n

He wasn\u2019t going to argue.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlmost…there, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

The older man leaned back against the stones and looked up.\u00a0 A moment later, he frowned.\u00a0 The stones were…vibrating.<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss….\u201d<\/p>\n

He appeared above him.\u00a0 \u201cYes, sir?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSomething\u2019s happening.\u00a0 I think you better get me out of here.\u201d<\/p>\n

A second later the rope began to snake down.\u00a0 \u201cLet me know when you got it tied.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben took hold of the line as it reached him and wrapped it around his waist. \u00a0He wasn\u2019t sure what was happening, but he had heard the sound before, deep in a mine shaft.<\/p>\n

Just before it flooded.<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss, now!\u00a0 Start pulling now!\u201d<\/p>\n

Immediately the slack was taken up.\u00a0 Ben braced his legs against the side of the shaft and began to climb even as his son pulled.\u00a0 He was about halfway to the surface when there was a sputter and a spurt below and water began to pour into the well.<\/p>\n

\u201cPull, Hoss!\u00a0 Now!\u00a0 Pull!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

It took another thirty seconds.\u00a0 By the time Ben reached the top and hefted himself onto the edge, the water was a bare foot below his boots.<\/p>\n

Hoss caught his arm and helped him out.\u00a0 He thanked his son with a nod and then moved to Joe\u2019s side.\u00a0 In the light of the waning day, he could see just how brutal Marks\u2019 attack had been.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow bad off is he?\u201d Hoss asked as he came alongside.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s bad, son,\u201d he said as he gently probed Joe\u2019s unconscious form.\u00a0 \u201cBut it looks to me like the Good Lord was watching over him.\u00a0 It seems to me Marks didn\u2019t want to kill him quickly.\u00a0 Most of the blows were mean to inflict the maximum pain, but not prove fatal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss had walked over to the now full well.\u00a0 \u201cLooks to me like he meant to drown him.\u201d\u00a0 The big man remained silent for a moment.\u00a0 \u201cKillin\u2019s <\/em>too good for Marks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSon,\u201d he said, rising and walking to his side, \u201cwe have to be grateful that Joe\u2019s alive.\u00a0 Justice will have to come later.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss looked down.\u00a0 \u201cI know that, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

He clapped a hand on his shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cThe best thing you can do for your brother now is get him out of the cold and into that cabin.\u00a0 We need to get him stabilized.\u00a0 Then, you need to ride to town for Doc Belden.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou gonna be okay alone here, Pa?\u201d Hoss asked as he bent to pick his brother up.\u00a0 \u201cEven when he recovers, Joe ain\u2019t gonna be much help, and all you got otherwise is one hurtin\u2019 old woman.\u00a0 What if Marks is still around?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think he is, son.\u00a0 He thinks Joe is dead, and he has that young woman, the one who came to the Ponderosa.\u00a0 I imagine he\u2019s on his way to where the money is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss had his brother in his arms.\u00a0 He turned a pained face to him.\u00a0 His voice was hushed with worry.\u00a0 \u201cJoe feels like he\u2019s all broken, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGet him inside.\u00a0 We need to undress him and get him warm, and then we\u2019ll see what damage has been done.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The big man lowered his baby brother to the bed and then turned to look at his Pa.\u00a0 He was talking low to Carrie Pickett where she sat in a chair by the fire.\u00a0 The older woman had awakened while they were occupied with Joe and had taken care of her own head wound by treating it and then wrapping a cloth around her wrinkled brow. \u00a0She was pale and weak, but was sitting up under her own power.\u00a0 As the pair continued to talk, he began to remove his little brother\u2019s clothes.\u00a0 He started to unbutton Joe\u2019s shirt, but quickly realized trying to save it wasn\u2019t worth it.\u00a0 Rising, he went to the kitchen and located a knife, and then returned to Joe\u2019s side and used it to slice through the cloth. Then he took hold of both sides and pulled the ruined fabric back, careful to do so gently on the side of his brother\u2019s injured arm.<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s body was a battlefield of bruises and it looked like the other side nearly won.<\/p>\n

As gently as he would have with a baby bird in his hand, Hoss began to run his fingers along Joe\u2019s ribs.\u00a0 There were two times when the path wasn\u2019t smooth.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe\u2019s got a couple of busted ribs, Pa,\u201d he called.\u00a0 Next he turned his attention to Joe\u2019s right arm.\u00a0 It looked like it was bent wrong and seemed to be a half-inch shorter than the other one.\u00a0 The skin was bruised and the arm already swelling.\u00a0 The good news was, there were no bones through the skin.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow\u2019s the arm?\u201d his father asked as he joined him.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s broke about halfway down the forearm, Pa.\u201d\u00a0 The big man winced as he looked up.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019re gonna hafta set it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The older man nodded, understanding his reluctance to do so.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll do that.\u00a0 You need to go get the doctor for both Joe and Carrie.\u201d<\/p>\n

He looked at the older woman.\u00a0 She was leaning her head back and had her eyes closed.\u00a0 \u201cHow is she?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s holding her own physically.\u00a0 It\u2019s mentally <\/em>that I\u2019m worried about. \u00a0Carrie is blaming herself for what happened to Joe and<\/em> Nonie.\u00a0 Hoss,\u201d he waited until he had looked up. \u201cNonie, or Anne, is Carrie\u2019s daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDaughter?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cApparently they\u2019ve been estranged for years.\u00a0 She was partially unconscious when the abduction occurred.\u00a0 Carrie thinks Marks double-crossed Milburn and took Nonie to demand ransom from her aunt and uncle back in New York.\u00a0 They are the ones who raised her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat Victor Marks, Pa, he\u2019s just about the meanest snake in the grass I think I ever come across.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou remember, son, your focus is Joe and getting that doctor out here.\u00a0 So long as the girl is worth money to him, Marks won\u2019t do anything to her.\u00a0 Don\u2019t get distracted.\u00a0 We can hunt down Marks later.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss nodded.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t like it, but he understood.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ben stood in the doorway and watched until Hoss disappeared and then turned back to his wounded son.\u00a0 Sitting at the edge of the bed Joe occupied, he reached out and lifted his injured arm.\u00a0 As he did Joe shifted and moaned.\u00a0 Gently running his hand along Joe\u2019s forearm, he determined it was a simple fracture and wouldn\u2019t take too much exertion to set it.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, with three rough and ready sons, he had experience.<\/p>\n

It only took a minute.\u00a0 Joe came to once from the pain, but then blessedly slipped back into unconsciousness.\u00a0 He was in bad shape.\u00a0 Regrettably, it was nearly impossible to tell just how<\/em> bad.\u00a0 Until the doctor came, there was no way of knowing what was broken or damaged inside.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cHow\u2019s Joe doin\u2019?\u201d a worried voice asked.\u00a0 Ben turned to find Carrie Pickett standing behind him, using the back of a chair to prop herself up.<\/p>\n

He rose.\u00a0 \u201cYou should be resting, Mrs. Pickett.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPshaw!\u00a0 This ain\u2019t nothin\u2019.\u00a0 I\u2019ve had worse when I been on my lonesome and had no worryin\u2019 man to tell me what to do.\u201d\u00a0 She haltingly moved forward.\u00a0 \u201cHow\u2019s Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben considered how much to tell her.\u00a0 \u201cHurting.\u00a0 I\u2019m hoping there\u2019s no permanent damage.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf that\u2019s the case. it\u2019s as close to a miracle as you\u2019re ever gonna see, Ben Cartwright.\u201d\u00a0 She closed her eyes briefly, as if trying to deny the horror of what she\u2019d witnessed.\u00a0 When she opened them, they were lit with the same protective anger that fueled Hoss\u2019 desire for revenge.\u00a0 \u201cIt were a thousand<\/em> times worse than last year.\u00a0 I thought that there vermin, Marks, beat Joe right to death.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben placed his hand over his son\u2019s.\u00a0 \u201cJoe\u2019s strong, Carrie.\u00a0 But then you know that.\u201d<\/p>\n

She nodded, and then added with a tremble in her voice, \u201cI sure hope Anne\u2019s good and strong too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s your daughter.\u00a0 Anne.\u00a0 She goes by Nonie too?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt were the name she chose when she went off to live with Amos\u2019 brother and his wife.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carrie had told him a little bit about it when they talked, before he came over to Joe.\u00a0 \u201cThat was quite a sacrifice you made.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her eyes grew wide.\u00a0 \u201cYou mean, you don\u2019t think what I done was wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n

He rose and crossed over to the table.\u00a0 \u201cI try not to judge, Carrie.\u00a0 No matter how well we know someone, we can\u2019t really know what is in their heart.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure whatever you did was for the welfare and betterment of your child. \u00a0As a parent, it\u2019s what we do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI see now Joe comes naturally by that gentleness,\u201d she said with a smile.\u00a0 \u201cThat other one, the big fellow, Joe\u2019s brother?\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cThat all you got?\u00a0 Just the two of them?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben grew wistful. \u201cNo.\u00a0 My oldest boy left Nevada several years back.\u00a0 I was a sailor once, and it was in Adam\u2019s blood to sail the seas and visit distant lands.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou miss him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like…like a part of me is gone.\u201d\u00a0 He looked at Joe.\u00a0 \u201cThank God, this one is still with me.\u201d\u00a0 As he turned back to the older woman, he added, \u201cI know you understand.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been an ache in my heart for nigh on fifteen years.\u00a0 And to see Anne, to have her now, and then to have that scum<\/em> cart her away….\u201d\u00a0 Her voice was shaking.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve half a mind to find that missin\u2019 horse of mine and ride after them!\u201d<\/p>\n

And he knew she would<\/em>.\u00a0 \u201cCarrie, I need you to help me look after Joe.\u00a0 He shouldn\u2019t be left alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, what\u2019re you<\/em> plannin\u2019 on doin\u2019?\u201d she demanded as if she thought he was going to ride back to Ponderosa and sit by the fire with a brandy and a pipe.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince my son Joseph committed to help you prepare for winter, I think it would be only right that I pitch in and help to get a few things done around here.\u00a0 Hoss will be almost a day getting the doctor. \u00a0Joe will need to be watched carefully for that long, if not longer.\u00a0 I hope the crisis is past, but….\u201d\u00a0 Ben hesitated, knowing well Carrie\u2019s greatest task might be keeping Joe in bed once he awakened.\u00a0 \u201cIf Joseph recovers quickly, you may have to sit on him to get him to stay put.\u201d<\/p>\n

The older woman was shaking her head.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019d I tell Joe?\u00a0 Just like my Amos.\u201d\u00a0 She made a shooing motion with her hands.\u00a0 \u201cYou go get those chickens back where they belong and I\u2019ll rustle us up some grub.\u00a0 I got me a hunk of beef.\u00a0 Think I\u2019ll make me some stew.\u00a0 The boy will need somethin\u2019 to stick to his sides and mend them bones.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you need any help?\u201d<\/p>\n

She threw her hands up in the air.\u00a0 \u201cSince when is any man good with cookin\u2019!\u201d<\/p>\n

As the older woman moved away \u2013 with the thought of Hop Sing and his reaction to her last statement uppermost in his mind \u2013 Ben crossed back over to his son.\u00a0 He sat on the edge of the bed again and reached out to brush Joe\u2019s matted and bloody hair away from his forehead and was surprised to have the boy open his eyes.<\/p>\n

Laying his other hand on top of his son\u2019s, he said, \u201cJoseph.\u00a0 Joseph, it\u2019s Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe winced and moaned.\u00a0 He licked his lips.\u00a0 \u201cWater….\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss had fetched it from the well.\u00a0 There was a bucket by the bed, and cloths so he could begin to clean Joe up.\u00a0 Ben caught a cup from the table, filled it, and then lifted Joe\u2019s head and helped him to drink.
\n\u201cEasy, son, easy.\u00a0 Just a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe nodded, grateful as he eased him back.\u00a0 His long black eyelashes fluttered and he seemed to slip away again.<\/p>\n

Seemed<\/em>, but not quite.<\/p>\n

As Ben hesitated, considering whether to call him back to full wakefulness, Joe roused and looked past him.\u00a0 Puzzled, he asked, \u201cWhere\u2019s Ma?\u201d<\/p>\n

The question disturbed him \u2013 on several levels.\u00a0 \u201cJoseph, your mother isn\u2019t here.\u00a0 She\u2019s been gone a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n

The frown deepened.\u00a0 \u201cBut…I just…talked to her….\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben laid his hand on the boy\u2019s forehead, full flat this time.\u00a0 There was fever there, licking at the edges.\u00a0 Though the beating had been carefully calculated not to kill, coupled with Joe\u2019s other injury and the fact that he had been left outside in a cold damp well and half-buried in snow, the cumulative effect of everything he had suffered had driven him close to dying.<\/p>\n

He squeezed his son\u2019s hand and leaned in. \u201cJoe, listen to me.\u00a0 This is Pa.\u00a0 You\u2019re here with me.\u00a0 Stay with me, boy, stay with me<\/em>.\u00a0 I need you.\u201d<\/p>\n

A slow smile spread across Joe\u2019s lips.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s funny,\u201d his son murmured as he drifted off again.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s just…what Ma…said….\u201d<\/p>\n

As Ben sat there, contemplating his son\u2019s words, he felt a presence behind him.\u00a0 It was followed by the touch of a hand on his shoulder and an impression of words.<\/p>\n

It isn\u2019t over.\u00a0 Protect our petit one.<\/em><\/p>\n

When Ben looked, of course, no one was there.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

EIGHT<\/p>\n

Jason Milburn sat at a table in the back of the tavern, a day old newspaper in his hands.\u00a0 He held it high to mask his face due to the fact that this was the same tavern he had met Victor Marks in a year ago, before the disaster that had led to that old woman Carrie Pickett claiming the most important quarter piece of land on Crescent Mountain.\u00a0 He had lost millions due to the fact that he didn\u2019t own it and couldn\u2019t get his timber out quickly.\u00a0 That determined young man \u2013 Ben Cartwright\u2019s son, Joseph \u2013 was the cause of all his woes.\u00a0 If it hadn\u2019t been for him, the old woman wouldn\u2019t have known any better and he could have bought the land out from under her and shipped her off somewhere to die.<\/p>\n

Milburn snorted.\u00a0 And here he was, waiting to hear that Joe Cartwright was dead.<\/p>\n

What went around, came around.<\/p>\n

Milburn snapped the paper and turned to the next page.\u00a0 He was engaged in reading the futures when a cold wind rattled the sheet and made him look toward the door.\u00a0 It had opened on the new day and a big man had entered.\u00a0 It took a second, but \u2013 with a shock \u2013 he recognized him.\u00a0 He had been the strong silent figure standing behind Ben Cartwright last year, pointing a rifle at his belly while Cartwright knelt in the dust to tend his son whom Marks had beaten.\u00a0 There was little familial resemblance, but at the time he had supposed it was another son.<\/p>\n

What was he <\/em>doing here?<\/p>\n

Milburn shifted down in his seat and listened.<\/p>\n

\u201cI need to know where Doc Belden is and I need to know now!\u201d the big man demanded, slapping a hand on the counter and making the beer mugs jump.<\/p>\n

\u201cMister, I\u2019m tellin\u2019 you all I know,\u201d the barkeep protested.\u00a0 \u201cThe Doc headed out late last night toward the Henry place.\u00a0 Mrs. Henry cut her leg a while back and it got infected.\u00a0 He\u2019s been tryin\u2019 to save it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLast night, you say?\u00a0 Did the Doc say when he\u2019d be back?\u201d<\/p>\n

The evident worry in the big man\u2019s tone made Milburn listen even more closely.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about an hour ride.\u00a0 Probably depends on whether he headed back or spent the night there.\u201d\u00a0 The barkeep put down the glass he had been polishing and hung the towel around his neck.\u00a0 \u201cDid you check his house?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGoldarnit!<\/em>\u00a0 Why didn\u2019t I think of that?\u00a0 Which way\u2019s his house?\u201d<\/p>\n

A man who was walking toward the door halted.\u00a0 \u201cI live right by him, mister. \u00a0I can show you the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

The big man tipped his hat.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s right kindly of you, friend.\u00a0 I can\u2019t thank you enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you need the doc for?\u201d the man asked.\u00a0 \u201cSomeone sick?\u201d<\/p>\n

Cartwright\u2019s son shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cSomeone near beat my little brother to death and left him in the cold to die.\u00a0 We got him up at Carrie Pickett\u2019s place.\u00a0 He\u2019s real bad off.\u00a0 He needs the Doc real<\/em> bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jason Milburn\u2019s fingers tightened on the paper.\u00a0 \u2018Near<\/em> beat?\u2019<\/p>\n

Marks had failed again.<\/p>\n

As Ben Cartwright\u2019s son hustled out the door, the timber baron dropped the newspaper on the table.\u00a0 Apparently Victor\u2019s penchant for torture had gotten in the way of the clean, quick kill he had ordered.\u00a0 Marks was a handy man to have around due to his complete lack of moral character, but his penchant for inflicting pain and glorying in the lengthy death of his victims had grown not only tedious, but dangerous.\u00a0 Yes, Victor\u2019s usefulness was about done.\u00a0 After this job, he\u2019d find a new man to do his…delicate…work.\u00a0 Maybe this new man, Ballard.\u00a0 He was a cool customer and, so far at least, had no interest in the \u2018art\u2019 of killing.<\/p>\n

Ballard just wanted to get the job done and get the money.<\/p>\n

Jason had started to rise when the door opened again and both Ballard and Marks walked in.<\/p>\n

Talk about timing.<\/p>\n

Marks walked straight over to the table.\u00a0 \u201cWasn\u2019t that \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBen Cartwright\u2019s other son?\u00a0 Yes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marks exchanged looks with Ballard and then the two of them sat down.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s he<\/em> doing here?\u201d<\/p>\n

Jason shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cVisiting Carrie Pickett, it seems.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf he came lookin\u2019 for his brother,\u201d the vile man scoffed, \u201cI hoped he checked the well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs that what you did?\u00a0 Dumped young Cartwright down Miss Pickett\u2019s dry well?\u201d<\/p>\n

Marks snorted.\u00a0 \u201cIt ain\u2019t dry<\/em> no more.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cReally.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cVictor pulled the plug,\u201d Ballard said, \u201cwith Cartwright at the bottom.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you think the other Cartwright boy was here asking urgently<\/em> for an undertaker?\u201d\u00a0 Milburn\u2019s voice was even, unruffled \u2013 seemingly unperturbed.<\/p>\n

The first look of doubt entered Victor Marks\u2019 eyes.<\/p>\n

Ballard sat up.\u00a0 \u201cVic, that doesn\u2019t seem right.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, it doesn\u2019t does it?\u201d the timber baron asked.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll tell you why Ben Cartwright\u2019s son was here.\u00a0 He was looking for a doctor<\/em>.\u00a0 Now why<\/em> would someone be in such a hurry to find a doctor if the person they were seeking them for was dead?<\/em>\u201d\u00a0 Milburn\u2019s hand came down on the table hard.\u00a0 \u201cI should take you out and dump you <\/em>down that well, Marks!\u00a0 Joe Cartwright is alive!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Marks was shaking his head.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s not possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou couldn\u2019t just kill Cartwright \u2013 shoot him in the head or back \u2013 you have to do it in such a way that he will linger and you can feed on the power of death like some despicable creature of the darkness.\u201d\u00a0 Milburn was shaking.\u00a0 \u201cA \u2018clean, quick kill\u2019 that\u2019s what I paid you for, Marks, because that\u2019s what I wanted!\u201d<\/p>\n

Ballard looked sideways at him.\u00a0 \u201cI told you, Marks.\u00a0 You should have let me take him out that first time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat \u2018first time\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n

The big man turned toward him.\u00a0 \u201cI had Cartwright in my sights, before he even knew we were there.\u00a0 Marks said to wing him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Milburn looked at the surly dark-haired man.\u00a0 \u201cWing<\/em> him?\u201d<\/p>\n

Marks shrugged.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, Victor,\u201d the timber baron said, \u201cif you want what you are owed then you need to go back to Carrie Pickett\u2019s land and finish what you began.\u00a0 I want Joe Cartwright dead.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cHis pa\u2019s probably there,\u201d Marks said.\u00a0 \u201cWhat do I do about Ben Cartwright?\u201d<\/p>\n

Jason Milburn stood.\u00a0 He moved around the table, toward the door.\u00a0 \u201cI would imagine that the old man was overcome with grief when his son died in his arms.\u00a0 No one would question him taking the easy way out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Victor Marks sneered.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo art <\/em>this time, Marks.\u00a0 Just get it done.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ben Cartwright placed a hand against his aching back.\u00a0 He\u2019d spent the greater part of the day working on Carrie\u2019s place, adding more timber to the lean-to porch so it could serve as a barn for her animals until the spring when they could return and build her a proper new one.\u00a0 He\u2019d hunted down the missing horses as well.\u00a0 In a grove, not too far away, he found Cochise.\u00a0 His son\u2019s beloved horse had scratches and bruises and had lost weight, but he thought he would be okay.\u00a0 The Paint, like his rider, was going to need time to heal.\u00a0 Not too far from Cochise he found several other horses including the two he had loaned Nonie Landes. \u00a0The pair were in worse shape than Joe\u2019s mount, but he thought they too would survive.\u00a0 The last horse was the one Joe had just brought to Carrie.\u00a0 The animals were corralled again within the fenced off area beside the well where his youngest son had almost lost his life.<\/p>\n

When he\u2019d worked out the kink, he turned once again to Joe.\u00a0 He\u2019d come in every few hours to check on him.\u00a0 The boy\u2019d not regained consciousness and Joe\u2019s fever was slightly higher. \u00a0He was worried about him.\u00a0 That\u2019s why he\u2019d been standing by the window looking out, his eyes searching the road outside, looking for a sign of Hoss.<\/p>\n

\u201cNothin\u2019 yet?\u201d Carrie asked, coming toward him.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u00a0 I imagine Doc Belden was out on a call.\u00a0 Hoss probably had to fetch him.\u201d<\/p>\n

She walked over to Joe\u2019s side and looked down at him.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019d bet my Piney Woods that he was a beautiful child,\u201d she said, her voice soft.<\/p>\n

Ben closed his eyes. Yes, Joe was a beautiful as his mother.\u00a0 His hair had been dark at birth, like it was now, but as a toddler it had gone golden blond just like Marie\u2019s.\u00a0 Even then, the boy had had mounds of it, and all of it curls.\u00a0 He saw that little face and then he thought of what Joe looked like now.\u00a0 There was barely a place on his son\u2019s body that was not bruised, and the bruises indicated there could be more going on inside.\u00a0 If one of the broken ribs had punctured something underneath….<\/p>\n

\u201cBen….\u201d<\/p>\n

He turned and went to her side quickly.<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s eyes were open and he was frowning.\u00a0 \u201cPa?\u00a0 What are…you…doing here?\u201d<\/p>\n

His son seemed lucid, which was good sign. \u00a0\u00a0He sat beside him and touched his face.\u00a0 \u201cDo you know what happened to you, Joseph?\u201d<\/p>\n

The frown deepened.\u00a0 It took a moment.\u00a0 \u201c…Marks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s right, Joe.\u00a0 Victor Marks beat you and then left you to die.\u201d<\/p>\n

He licked his lips.\u00a0 \u201cIn the well….\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben fought to contain his excitement.\u00a0 While it was a good sign that the boy was speaking and making sense, it didn\u2019t mean he was out of the woods.<\/p>\n

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

His son looked pained. \u00a0\u201cWhat…about Nonie…?\u201d<\/p>\n

His eyes flicked to Carrie.\u00a0 She shook her head ever so slightly.<\/p>\n

Ben hesitated.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t believe in lying to his son.\u00a0 \u201cShe\u2019s not here, son.\u00a0 She\u2019s…gone away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s eyes opened and closed.\u00a0 He seemed to accept that, which told him more than anything else that his son was unwell.\u00a0 \u201cWhat…about Hoss?\u00a0 Is…Adam here too?\u201d<\/p>\n

So much for being lucid.\u00a0 He squeezed his fingers.\u00a0 \u201cNo, son.\u00a0 Adam isn\u2019t here.\u00a0 Hoss has gone for Doc Belden.\u00a0 He should be back any minute.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe smiled. \u201cGood old…Doc…Belden.\u201d<\/p>\n

He was asleep again.<\/p>\n

Ben rose and walked to the door and looked out.\u00a0 Seconds later he felt Carrie Pickett\u2019s hand on his shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cYou have to let the boy, rest, Ben.\u00a0 If Joe knew Anne was missin\u2019, he\u2019d be fightin\u2019 us and<\/em> the doctor.\u201d<\/p>\n

He nodded.\u00a0 It was amazing how a woman who had spent less than three weeks total time with his son could know him so well.<\/p>\n

At that moment, the older man heard the strike of horse\u2019s hooves in the yard.\u00a0 He had left his rifle loaded by the door.\u00a0 Picking it up, Ben opened it and stepped out.<\/p>\n

It was Hoss and the Doc.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Standing behind his pa, hovering with him over the Doc as he examined Joe, Hoss was thrown back to the time John C. Reagan had near beat his little brother to death in an alley while he was in the saloon tossing back a beer.\u00a0 He\u2019d talked to the tall, mean-lookin\u2019 former prizefighter \u2013 even guessed he was agin<\/em> the Cartwrights \u2013 and still he\u2019d stood there, ordering one last beer before he went to look for Joe.\u00a0 The big man ran a hand across his face.\u00a0 He\u2019d never forget what he found.\u00a0 His baby brother, laying there in the dark all alone, unconscious, his face bloody as a side of beef.\u00a0 If guilt was a weight, he would have been ten miles underground.<\/p>\n

That time they thought Joe might have been blinded.\u00a0 This time, they were afraid he would die.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, Doc?\u201d his pa pressed.<\/p>\n

\u201cA moment, Mister Cartwright.\u00a0 I\u2019m almost done with my examination.\u201d\u00a0 He turned on them with a sympathetic look.\u00a0 \u201cI need a little space to complete it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss caught his father by the shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cCome on, Pa.\u00a0 Why don\u2019t you and me take a walk while the Doc finishes up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll come get you when the Doc Belden\u2019s done,\u201d Carried promised.<\/p>\n

His father looked at him, challenging the wisdom of his suggestion.\u00a0 His eyes returned to Joe and then he sighed.\u00a0 \u201cWe can check out the horses.\u00a0 I\u2019m a little worried about Cochise,\u201d he said.\u00a0 Catching his coat off of the back of a chair, the older man headed for the door.<\/p>\n

Hoss caught the old woman\u2019s eye.\u00a0 \u201cThank you, Miss Carrie.\u201d<\/p>\n

She smiled and went to sit by Joe.<\/p>\n

The big man donned his coat and followed his father out the door.\u00a0 He found him standing by the well, looking down into it.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe\u2019s gonna make it, Pa.\u00a0 Don\u2019t you worry.\u00a0 If little brother is anythin\u2019, he\u2019s a scrapper.\u201d<\/p>\n

His father nodded but said nothing.<\/p>\n

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

The older man drew a deep breath and let it out slowly.\u00a0 \u201cYour brother said he saw his mother.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss wasn\u2019t sure he\u2019d heard him right.\u00a0 \u201cWhat?\u00a0 Joe said he saw Marie?\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cPa, he was just out of his head.\u00a0 You know how it is.\u00a0 Little brother\u2019s got a fever.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know.\u201d\u00a0 His father turned and looked out over the snow-covered land, past the corral toward Heaven.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s just that I…well…I felt her presence too.\u00a0 Marie had something to tell me.\u201d<\/p>\n

He could tell his father was serious.\u00a0 \u201cWhat was that, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

The white-haired man turned and looked at him.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not over, son.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are we gonna do with her?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Victor Marks turned to face Ballard Peak.\u00a0 They were in one of Jason Milburn\u2019s line shacks on the land that bordered the Pickett property, two, maybe three miles away.\u00a0 Nonie Landes was there too, bound and gagged and laying on the bunk.\u00a0 He\u2019d kept it from Milburn, of course, that he had her.\u00a0 He\u2019d as soon see Jason Milburn dead as have him profit from the New York woman\u2019s money.\u00a0 He was done with Milburn.\u00a0 Done with the man\u2019s cowardice and conniving.\u00a0 Done with his superiority and his stupid orders.\u00a0 The money Milburn owed him meant nothing.\u00a0 If it wasn\u2019t for Joe Cartwright, he\u2019d take the girl and go.<\/p>\n

Cartwright was like a sliver of wood underneath a fingernail \u2013 an irritation that wouldn\u2019t go away until it was taken out.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll leave her here,\u201d he replied as he strapped on his gun.\u00a0 \u201cWe check her and make sure the ropes are tight, and then we go.\u00a0 She can\u2019t get herself loose, and no one\u2019s gonna come here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you sure of that, Marks?\u00a0 What about Milburn\u2019s workers?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAin\u2019t none out here this time of year.\u00a0 Everything\u2019s shut down on this piece of land until the spring when things thaw.\u201d<\/p>\n

Peak blew out a breath.\u00a0 \u201cVic, why don\u2019t you let it go?\u00a0 If we take the girl and ride out now we can be out of the state in a week and on our way East.\u201d<\/p>\n

He shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cNot \u2018til Cartwright\u2019s dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cExplain it to me, Marks.\u00a0 Explain to me why seeing Joe Cartwright dead <\/em>is worth risking being caught.\u00a0 You know that other son has got the doctor out there by now.\u00a0 And Cartwright\u2019s old man is there.\u00a0 That\u2019s two guns, maybe three, to two.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want out, Ballard.?\u00a0 You can go now<\/em>.\u00a0 Only there won\u2019t be any money, now or later \u2013 and you like money, don\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSure I like money, as much as the next man.\u00a0 Only you can\u2019t spend money if you\u2019re dead.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Marks approached the other man and placed a hand on his shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cThink about it.\u00a0 All we gotta do is get close to the cabin and block up the chimney.\u00a0 They\u2019ll come pouring out and we can pick them off one by one.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about Joe Cartwright?\u201d<\/p>\n

Marks sneered.\u00a0 \u201cIf the smoke doesn\u2019t kill him \u2013 I\u2019ll do it with my bare hands.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Nonie Pickett Landes had lain very still while the men argued.\u00a0 She hoped they would think she was asleep.\u00a0 She listened with horror as Victor Marks buckled on his gun and planned the deaths of everyone in her mother\u2019s cabin as casually as if he was arranging a dinner party.\u00a0 It was her fault.\u00a0 It was all <\/em>her fault.<\/p>\n

Everyone was going to die because she was a self-serving little brat.<\/p>\n

The two men had left the shack a few minutes before.\u00a0 She\u2019d heard the sound of their horses hooves thundering out of the yard.\u00a0 Ballard Peaks had checked the ropes that bound her hands before they left, but he had neglected to check her feet.\u00a0 They were under the cover.\u00a0 She\u2019d been working on the ropes there, stretching them bit by bit, until she could wriggle her left ankle around.\u00a0 She thought if she could just slip off her shoe that she might be able to free her foot and then \u2013 with that done \u2013 hobble over to the cupboard and find something to cut through the ropes that bound her wrists together.\u00a0 She had to get free \u2013 had<\/em> to find a way to warn her mother and the others inside the cabin that their lives were in peril.\u00a0 There had been a number of horses outside.\u00a0 She was hoping Marks and Peak had left at least one of them behind.<\/p>\n

She wasn\u2019t much of a horsewoman, but she was the only hope the people she cared about had and she would damn well break her neck trying to get to them if that was what it took!<\/p>\n

Nonie shifted into a sitting position and then wiggled out of the blanket.\u00a0 As it fell to the floor she looked at her feet.\u00a0 The problem was that her shoes were laced part way up.\u00a0 She\u2019d been troubling the knot on the laces of the left one for some time with the toe of the right, hoping maybe that the lace would break.\u00a0 She tried again, pushing the toe of her other foot against her ankle, pulling down, pulling…down.<\/p>\n

Her smile was triumphant.\u00a0 There!\u00a0 Step number one accomplished.<\/p>\n

Using the toe of her right shoe, Nonie caught the left one\u2019s heel and began to push.\u00a0 She was shaking and sweating by the time it happened, but finally the shoe popped off and fell to the floor.\u00a0 It only took a second to wriggle her bare foot through the ropes.\u00a0 She was free!<\/p>\n

Well, her feet <\/em>were free.<\/p>\n

Rising, she hobbled across the wood floor of the shack, headed for a shelf that held several kitchen tools.\u00a0 There was a knife there, but it only took her a moment to realize that she couldn\u2019t hold it and saw through the ropes at the same time.\u00a0 Looking about, desperate, she spotted a coal scuttle with a sharp edge.\u00a0 Making her way to it, Nonie knelt and placed her bound hands over the edge and began to saw.\u00a0 It took another fifteen minutes of constant motion going back and forth, but finally the ropes binding her wrists broke and the major portion of them fell away.<\/p>\n

She was breathing hard.\u00a0 Her hair was sweat-soaked and hanging in her eyes and there was a thin line of blood on her wrists where the sharp metal had sliced through her skin.\u00a0 She didn\u2019t care.\u00a0 It didn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n

All<\/em> that mattered was mounting that horse and riding and reaching her mother\u2019s cabin in time to warn everyone what the villain was about.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Doc Belden was at the washstand washing his hands when the two of them reentered the cabin.\u00a0 Carrie had called them a minute before.\u00a0 Ben glanced at his son and then went to the physician\u2019s side.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow is he?\u201d<\/p>\n

Belden, a short man with thinning dark hair combed to the side, glanced at him.\u00a0 \u201cLucky.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLucky?\u201d<\/p>\n

The physician straightened up.\u00a0 \u201cBy all rights, he should be dead.\u00a0 You\u2019ve got a strong one there, Ben.\u201d\u00a0 Belden smiled.\u00a0 \u201cBut then we both knew that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, Joe will be all right?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGranted he doesn\u2019t get it in his head to climb out of that bed and go looking for a fight?\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 In time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are his injuries?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSeveral broken ribs.\u00a0 One pressed in perilously close to a vital organ.\u201d\u00a0 Belden winced and glanced at Joe.\u00a0 \u201cI set it.\u00a0 He\u2019s going to be out for some time.\u201d\u00a0 He hung the cloth he had been using to dry his hands on the side of the stand.\u00a0 \u201cFortunately, the beating was calculated to inflict maximum pain but minimum fatal damage.\u00a0 Still, coupled with the head wound and the exposure to the cold.\u00a0 Well, it was almost more than he could take.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben looked toward the door.\u00a0 He still had that feeling \u2013 something was coming.\u00a0 \u201cSo he can\u2019t be moved.\u201d<\/p>\n

Belden shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cI wouldn\u2019t advise it.\u00a0 Not for at least<\/em> two to three days.\u00a0 Why do you ask?\u201d<\/p>\n

He exchanged a glance with Hoss.\u00a0 \u201cDoc, I have a feeling we\u2019re going to be under siege soon.\u201d<\/p>\n

They\u2019d told him who had done this to Joe.\u00a0 \u201cMarks?\u00a0 I thought you said he had taken Carrie\u2019s daughter and was planning on asking for a ransom.\u00a0 Why would he come back here?\u201d<\/p>\n

The older man indicated his sleeping son with a nod.\u00a0 \u201cJoe.\u00a0 My son has thwarted Marks\u2019 plans not once now, but twice.\u00a0 I know that kind of man.\u00a0 He\u2019s driven by something deep inside that needs to hurt and to know the hurting\u2019s done.\u00a0 No, Marks won\u2019t let it go.\u00a0 He\u2019ll come back, if for nothing else, to make sure he finished what he began with Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWon\u2019t he think Joe is dead?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben hesitated.\u00a0 It was hard to explain.\u00a0 \u201cDoc,\u201d he began, \u201cdo you believe in intuition?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a result of multiple incidences and experience, yes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, my intuition is telling me that Marks is on his way back here right now.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He put a hand on the Doc\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cAnd that we better be prepared.\u201d<\/p>\n

The other man shook his head. \u201cWell, pardon me, Mister Cartwright, if I hope you end up looking like a fool.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDoc,\u201d he agreed with a sigh, \u201cI\u2019d like nothing better.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Nonie stood back and looked at the horse she had saddled.\u00a0 It was a powerful animal and was stamping and snorting to get started.\u00a0 The horse was a behemoth compared to the sleek and compact thoroughbred she had at home, but then she wasn\u2019t running a race on a track \u2013 she was running one for her and everyone else\u2019s life.\u00a0 She looked too at the gun she had strapped on her hip.\u00a0 It was one she found in the line shack.\u00a0 There had only been a few bullets, but then that was all right.\u00a0 The only shooting she had ever done was when, as a little girl, her pa took her hunting with him.\u00a0 She thought she\u2019d remembered how to lock and load, but then again, the whole thing might just blow up in her face.<\/p>\n

Her boot was back on her left foot and she put it in the stirrup and raised her body up.\u00a0 Tossing one leg over the saddle, the city woman settled in Western style.\u00a0 Not very ladylike, but definitely a better seat for riding hell-bent over rough terrain.\u00a0 The day had been bright and above freezing and the path to her mother\u2019s house was mostly clear of deeper snow, but she knew underneath was where the danger lay, with water that was turning to ice.<\/p>\n

She nudged the horse forward toward the road.\u00a0 Above her head the stars were emerging from a bank of clouds.\u00a0 Coupled with the moon, they lit the path before her.\u00a0 Nonie leaned down and patted the horse\u2019s withers, speaking a few encouraging words to it, and then she dug her heels in and let it fly.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The sun had set about an hour before and they\u2019d extinguished all light in the house except the fire that was needed to keep Joe warm, so\u2019s anyone approaching would think they\u2019d all bedded down for the night.\u00a0 Hoss sat by the cabin door, gun in hand, fighting nodding off.\u00a0 It had been a long day \u2013 what with finding his baby brother at the bottom of a well and thinking Joe might die \u2013 and he\u2019d finally convinced his pa to grab at least an hour or two of shut-eye.\u00a0 The older man had taken a chair and placed it by Joe\u2019s bed.\u00a0 He was sitting there now, with his head back, snoring quietly.\u00a0 Carrie was in her chair and Doc Belden was laying close beside her on a soft matt made of several thick woolen blankets.\u00a0 The Doc told them he would stay at least twenty-four hours, until he was sure Joe was out of danger, and then he needed to return to the Henry\u2019s place to tend Jed Henry\u2019s ailing wife.<\/p>\n

That meant one less gun.<\/p>\n

As he sat there, watching for a sign of movement, Hoss thought about what his pa had said earlier \u2013 about feeling Marie was near.\u00a0 He\u2019d went to church his whole life and heard about Heaven.\u00a0 He believed in it, but well, it seemed so far away.\u00a0 His ma was there, and Adam\u2019s too.\u00a0 He wondered if they was watching over them like some kind of guardian angels the way it seemed Joe\u2019s was over him.\u00a0 He sure<\/em> did miss his Ma, even though all he had to miss a picture and someone else\u2019s memory.\u00a0 Sometimes she got kind of mixed up with Marie in his mind, since Joe\u2019s Ma was the only one he had ever known \u2013 live, at least.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you see anything, son?\u201d his pa\u2019s voice asked, startling him.<\/p>\n

He looked at the chair \u2013 it was empty \u2013 and then at his father.\u00a0 \u201cHow come you ain\u2019t asleep, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI managed an hour or so.\u00a0 Hard to take more.\u00a0 Too much on my mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss nodded.\u00a0 He looked back out the window.\u00a0 \u201cAin\u2019t seen hide nor hair yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

His father stretched and then ran a hand along his neck.\u00a0 \u201cOf course, they could come in from the rear.\u00a0 It\u2019s too bad Carrie doesn\u2019t have a window looking that way.\u201d\u00a0 He yawned.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m going to splash some water on my face and then see about knocking out some of the chink between the logs to make a watch hole out the back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSounds like a good idea, Pa.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss paused.\u00a0 \u201cPa?\u00a0 Lookee there.\u201d<\/p>\n

His father bent beside him and peered out the window.\u00a0 \u201cDid you see something?\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss pursed his lips and wagged his head.\u00a0 \u201cI ain\u2019t sure, Pa.\u00a0 I thought I did.\u00a0 Out there near the corral.\u201d<\/p>\n

The older man turned back into the cabin.\u00a0 \u201cI wonder if I should wake the others.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAh, Pa, I don\u2019t know.\u00a0 It coulda just been a trick of the light.\u201d\u00a0 He rose to his feet.\u00a0 \u201cI think I should go out and take a look.\u201d<\/p>\n

His father caught him by the arm.\u00a0 \u201cNo, son.\u00a0 It\u2019s an old army trick.\u00a0 Show yourself, draw out the watch and then pick them off.\u00a0 You stay put.\u00a0 I\u2019m going to get started on that hole in the back wall.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss nodded.\u00a0 Instead of sitting back down where he had been, he shifted to the other side of the window and looked out.\u00a0 The moon was high and bright.\u00a0 It struck the white snow turning it to a sort of blue silver.\u00a0 There were stars twinkling over head and he could hear the wind rushing through the pines.<\/p>\n

He wondered what it would blow in.<\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t take him long to find out.\u00a0 Hoss heard someone cough and turned to see that it was Joe.\u00a0 His brother was moving in the bed, shifting from side to side.\u00a0 The big man went to Joe and checked him.\u00a0 He seemed to be having trouble breathing.\u00a0 A second later he smelled it too.\u00a0 Like the canaries they took down into the mines, his ailing baby brother had smelled it before the rest of them \u2013 even before Carrie Pickett who sat close by the fire \u2013 unless, of course, she\u2019d already been overcome.<\/p>\n

Smoke!<\/p>\n

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

The older man turned toward him, a puzzled look on his face.\u00a0 \u201cHoss, what….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSmoke, Pa!\u00a0 They done stopped up the chimney!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood Lord!\u201d the older man breathed as both Carrie Pickett and the Doc awoke to the danger.\u00a0 \u201cGet a wet cloth, Hoss!\u00a0 Place it over Joe\u2019s mouth and nose,\u201d the older man yelled as he headed for the older woman.\u00a0 \u201cAnd then toss one here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll get it, Ben!\u201d Doc Belden called as he headed for the washstand.<\/p>\n

Hoss wet the one he had in the basin by Joe and held it over his brother\u2019s face.\u00a0 Joe\u2019s hands came up in a panic, fighting him.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe.\u00a0 Joe!\u00a0 It\u2019s Hoss.\u00a0 Leave it there, boy.\u00a0 It\u2019s for your own good!\u201d<\/p>\n

Doc Belden had taken a cloth to Carrie.\u00a0 She was sitting up holding it under her own power.\u00a0 He had one over his own face as well.\u00a0 Lowering it, the Doc said, \u201cI\u2019ll take over here.\u00a0 You\u2019re father wants you.\u201d\u00a0 As he pulled away the physician caught his arm.\u00a0 \u201cWe need to get your brother out of here.\u00a0 In his compromised condition, this could kill him!\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss nodded and headed for his father who was standing by the door.\u00a0 He had flung it wide to let some of the smoke out and surprisingly no one had taken a shot.\u00a0 The older man\u2019s face was covered in soot and tears ran down his cheeks.\u00a0 \u201cWhoever it is, they\u2019re waiting for us to come out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo\u2019s they can pick us off.\u201d<\/p>\n

He nodded.\u00a0 \u201cOne of us is going to have to lay down a covering fire while the other one slips through.\u00a0 We have to unplug that chimney!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLet me go, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd risk another son?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry to say, Pa, but climbing up on a roof ain\u2019t no work for a man of your years.\u00a0 Besides, I can move faster.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Doc came up beside them.\u00a0 His look said more than he did.\u00a0 \u201cYour brother is unconscious.\u00a0 I\u2019ll add my gun to that fire.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I ain\u2019t helpless myself,\u201d Carrie Pickett declared between coughs.\u00a0 From somewhere the older woman had produced an ancient flintlock rifle. \u00a0She cocked the hammer back and said, \u201cThis belonged to my Amos and I knows <\/em>how to use it.\u00a0 He taught me how to fire three times a minute.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cYou never fail to surprise me, Carrie.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell then, let me shows you another surprise.\u201d\u00a0 She marched to the back of the house and reached up and pulled out an eight by two inch piece of the log.\u00a0 \u201cAmos always said a cabin ain\u2019t no good if it\u2019s got a blind side.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss saw the older man look at the chimney.\u00a0 Smoke was still rolling out but it was rolling slowly, like the plug was not completely air tight.\u00a0 That might buy them a few minutes.<\/p>\n

His father patted her arm.\u00a0 \u201cGood for Amos!\u00a0 Hoss?\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cGet ready.\u201d<\/p>\n

The big man nodded.\u00a0 Before he got into place, he pulled on his dark coat so his white shirt wouldn\u2019t make him more of a target.<\/p>\n

\u201cReady, Pa!\u201d<\/p>\n

The older man looked at Doc Belden who nodded, and then signaled Carrie.\u00a0 He raised his gun and stepped into the door way and shouted, \u201cNow!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Nonie reined her borrowed mount in.\u00a0 She was getting close.\u00a0 Above the trees she could see the smoke rising from the chimney of her mother\u2019s cabin.\u00a0 Only it looked funny.\u00a0 It was all dispersed instead of rising in a tidy stream.\u00a0 The blond woman thought about what Marks and Ballard had said and feared she knew what that meant.\u00a0 Pressing her knees into the horse\u2019s side, she nudged him forward.\u00a0 She\u2019d followed the path down to where it took off flat before her, rounding the lake and leading to her mother\u2019s front door, when both she and the horse were startled by the sound of a gunshot.\u00a0 The horse shied and snorted and almost threw her. \u00a0She managed to get it under control just as another shot came.\u00a0 And another.\u00a0 And another.<\/p>\n

And another.<\/em><\/p>\n

Soon it was apparent that someone was laying down a volley of shots, probably to protect someone else who was on the move.\u00a0 She remembered that as well from being a child, one time when her father had to help a neighbor escape from a mountain lion.\u00a0 He\u2019d kept the animal busy while the other man ran.<\/p>\n

The cabin must be under attack!<\/p>\n

Nonie dismounted and tied the animal off to a tree and then approached the house on foot.\u00a0 She had the gun in her hand and had it primed and loaded.\u00a0 She wasn\u2019t sure what she was going to do with it \u2013 whether or not she could really shoot <\/em>a man \u2013 but she held it at the ready and would, as her New York uncle liked to say, let the chips fall where they may.<\/p>\n

As she came up to the cabin she saw that it was almost completely dark.\u00a0 Smoke was billowing out of the door.\u00a0 There was a figure in the doorway firing time after time after time and another man moving close to the house and quickly through the dark.<\/p>\n

On the rood there was another figure, standing close by the chimney.\u00a0 He raised a hand and waved.\u00a0 Nonie looked in the direction he was signaling and saw yet another man.\u00a0 The moonlight glinted off the gun in his hand.<\/p>\n

If she\u2019s been a better shot, she might have been able to hit him.\u00a0 As it was, at this range, she\u2019d be lucky to hit the side of the cabin.<\/p>\n

Drawing a deep breath, Nonie steeled herself and crept closer.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hoss Cartwright rose up out of the bank of snow located on the north end of Carrie Pickett\u2019s cabin.\u00a0 He had dived into it as he rounded the house amidst the barrage of gunfire laid down by his pa.\u00a0 There seemed to be only one gunman out front, which was encouraging.\u00a0 If it was just Ballard and Marks they might stand a chance.<\/p>\n

The first thing he had to do, though, was get that chimney unplugged.<\/p>\n

The gunfire had fallen off to a give and take, with shots coming every so many minutes.\u00a0 They had ammunition with them, but it would run out quickly at the rate his pa was firing.\u00a0 He carried his gun, but so far had kept from using it, hoping to keep it in reserve.\u00a0 There was no telling if those two were really the only ones around.\u00a0 Marks could have ordered others to lay in wait.\u00a0 They could be planning on joining the attack any minute.<\/p>\n

The big man waited for the next exchange to dash around the back of the cabin.\u00a0 As he rounded it he nearly bowled over the man who was jumping off the roof.\u00a0 Whoever it was, was bigger than him.\u00a0 From Carrie\u2019s description, he thought it might be the man with the unusual name of Ballard Peak.\u00a0 The large man stumbled back a few paces and then dropped into a crouched position and charged, taking him full in the stomach.<\/p>\n

From there on out it was full-fledged war.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

NINE<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ben Cartwright stood just to the side of the open door of Carrie\u2019s cabin.\u00a0 At the moment he was at a stalemate with the man shooting outside.\u00a0 Doc Belden had gone over to be with Joe and concern for his son\u2019s condition was a constant drain on his attention and energy.\u00a0 Opening the door had drawn some of the smoke out of the cabin and before taking up her position at the back, Carrie had managed to damp the fire so the amount rolling into the room was diminishing. \u00a0Still, ash and soot clung to the cabin walls and everything in it including their hair and clothes.\u00a0 His eyes were watering so hard it was difficult to see and coughing racked his tired frame every so many minutes.\u00a0 He\u2019d seen the Doc change out the cloth covering Joe\u2019s face several times, which was a relief.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, he had had no time to worry about one for himself and, if he\u2019d cared to admit it, his chest was feeling constricted.<\/p>\n

So he just didn\u2019t admit it.<\/p>\n

From his position, he shouted, \u201cHow\u2019s Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n

The doctor turned a soot-covered face toward him.\u00a0 \u201cHolding his own, but we need to get him into the fresh air as quickly as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben scowled.\u00a0 The only way to do that was to eliminate the man shooting at them.\u00a0 The white-haired man glanced out the door.\u00a0 He looked back at his son and came to a decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoc, let Carrie watch Joe.\u00a0 I need you.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the two exchanged places, the physician came to his side.\u00a0 \u201cWhat do you want me to do?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got to take out that shooter and I\u2019ve got to get closer to do it.\u00a0 I need you to cover me while I try.\u201d<\/p>\n

Belden looked out the door.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s bright as day out there.\u00a0 You won\u2019t stand a chance.\u201d<\/p>\n

He looked at Joe.\u00a0 \u201cAnd if I don\u2019t try, my boy<\/em> won\u2019t stand a chance.\u201d<\/p>\n

The other man shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not very good with a gun, Ben.\u00a0 In fact, I stink.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe\u2019s father, you let me do it,\u201d Carrie said as she joined them.\u00a0 \u201cMy Amos taught me how to protect myself.\u201d\u00a0 She gripped the barrel of her flintlock with one hand.\u00a0 \u201cI can shoot the eye out of a hawk with this.\u201d<\/p>\n

The doc snorted.\u00a0 \u201cThat is definitely better than I can do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben didn\u2019t hesitate.\u00a0 \u201cAll right.\u00a0 Carrie you get in place.\u00a0 Doc, go back to Joe.\u201d\u00a0 Ben filled his pockets with bullets before holstering his pistol and palming his rifle.\u00a0 \u201cAre you ready, Carrie?\u201d<\/p>\n

She lifted the flintlock and sighted along it.\u00a0 \u201cAs I\u2019ll ever be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben drew a breath.\u00a0 \u201cOkay.\u00a0 Now!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hoss was breathing hard as a race horse that had crossed the finish line.\u00a0 Ballard Peak was as mean a cuss and as dirty a fighter as he\u2019d ever tackled.\u00a0 They were just about equal in strength and had the same injuries \u2013 split lips, skinned faces, and bloodied brows.\u00a0 He ran a hand across his forehead, wiping blood from above his eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s…say…you and me…come to an…agreement,\u201d he panted.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat…agreement would that…be?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat I\u2019m meaner…and stronger…then you are…and I\u2019m gonna…win.\u201d<\/p>\n

Peak snorted.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re…dreaming, Cartwright.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay, how about…this?\u00a0 That\u2019s my little brother…in there…and I\u2019ll be damned…if I\u2019m gonna let him…die.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss wiped away more blood, this time from above his nose.\u00a0 \u201cIf\u2019n you\u2019re bigger…I\u2019m<\/em> more determined.\u201d<\/p>\n

The other man sneered.\u00a0 \u201cYou don\u2019t know…how determined I am… to get that money, Cartwright.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss frowned.\u00a0 \u201cSo\u2019s money\u2019s…more important than…a man\u2019s life?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ballard nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t owe…you or your brother…anything.\u00a0 I could care less…if both of you die….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, then…that settles it,\u201d Hoss said, planting his feet firmly and preparing to launch a new attack.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow you…really made me mad!\u201d
\nNonie stood within a tree line a half-dozen yards from the two men, her pistol raised.\u00a0 She recognized Hoss Cartwright from her time at the Ponderosa.\u00a0 He was nearly as big as Ballard Peak and was obviously good at fighting.\u00a0 Still, she could see him weakening.\u00a0 His movements were growing slower.\u00a0 It wouldn\u2019t be long until Ballard had the upper hand\u00a0 She supposed it might have something to do with the smoke and soot that covered the big man\u2019s clothing and skin.\u00a0 She could see now that the chimney of the cabin had <\/em>been plugged.\u00a0 Smoke and soot had to have filled the interior.\u00a0 Nonie shivered and pulled her coat close about her neck.\u00a0 Whoever was inside might have been overcome.\u00a0 They might be dead.\u00a0 Her mother might be dead.<\/p>\n

Joe Cartwright might be dead.<\/p>\n

Nonie remained where she was for several heartbeats.\u00a0 The men were moving so quickly and were so intertwined she didn\u2019t think she could get a clear shot.\u00a0 At the moment it appeared that the most important thing she could do was clear the chimney.\u00a0 Holstering the gun again, she clung to the shadows that covered the back of the house and, using them for cover, made her way to the log wall and began to climb.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ben ducked as another bullet whizzed past.\u00a0 He had made it to the well and was using it for cover.\u00a0 The man who was shooting had moved.\u00a0 The bullets were coming from slightly to the left of the cabin now.\u00a0 He was going to have to move too if he was going to have a clear shot.\u00a0 Glancing back, he made certain Carrie was still in the doorway and had her husband\u2019s ancient firearm primed and aimed, and then he rolled and ran for the closest cover he could find, which was the lean-to that held the horses.\u00a0 They were jumpy and scattered as far as their tethers would allow them as he entered the corral.\u00a0 He ducked behind one and then came up on the left side of Cochise.\u00a0 Moving between the animals, reluctantly using them for cover, he made his way forward until he had a clear view of the last place he had seen the moonlight glint off of his attacker\u2019s barrel.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the man wasn\u2019t there anymore.\u00a0 Ben frowned and glanced from side to side.\u00a0 He\u2019d lost him.\u00a0 Where \u2013<\/p>\n

There was a crack.\u00a0 <\/em>Ben felt a hot pain in his shoulder.\u00a0 Then he fell into the snow.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

From her perch on the roof Nonie watched the two men continue to circle each other and then butt heads like angry bulls.\u00a0 She had worked a jacket and a horse blanket out of the chimney and freed it so clean air could flow in.\u00a0 After doing so, she lay flat on the roof and snaked forward to see what was happening.\u00a0 Both men were staggering.\u00a0 Nonie reached into her pocket and reloaded her gun.\u00a0 It took her a full minute or more since she was so long out of practice.\u00a0 By the time she turned back, to her relief, she saw that Hoss Cartwright was still on his feet and Ballard Peak was on the ground.\u00a0 She must have moved, because Joe\u2019s older brother looked up at her.\u00a0 A smile curled the end of one lip.<\/p>\n

And then Hoss pitched forward onto the ground.<\/p>\n

Startled, she slipped off the roof and went to his side where she knelt and placed a hand on his chest.\u00a0 His heart was beating solidly.\u00a0 Apparently, he\u2019d just given out.\u00a0 As she sat there contemplating what to do next, she saw a man moving near the corral.\u00a0 He ducked behind the well and then began to work his way toward the cabin. \u00a0With the moon overhead it was like day, so she could see him clearly.<\/p>\n

It was Victor Marks.<\/p>\n

Pistol in hand and, clinging to the shadows, Nonie began to make her way to the door.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Carrie Pickett was reloading.\u00a0 Like she told Ben, her Amos had taught her how to do it three times a minute, but her once young hands were bent and knotted with arthritis now and it had slowed her down to what felt like a baby\u2019s crawl.\u00a0 She had\u00a0 the ramrod back in place and the pan had been primed with fine powder.\u00a0 All she had to do was lower the flash pan and sight along the barrel and \u2013 someone took hold of the gun and jerked the weapon out of her hands. A second later the barrel of a Colt was pointed between her eyes.<\/p>\n

Victor Marks was holding it.<\/p>\n

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Doc Belden go for his gun.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou do that, Doc, and Mrs. Pickett is dead,\u201d the villain threatened.<\/p>\n

The Doc halted.\u00a0 He turned toward Marks and then deliberately placed himself between the piece of vermin threatening her and the bed where Joe Cartwright lay.<\/p>\n

Jason Milburn\u2019s thug moved so quickly she didn\u2019t see it coming.\u00a0 The side of his gun took her along the left side of her face.<\/p>\n

And she saw no more.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Nonie\u2019s breath caught in her throat.\u00a0 Through the chink in the door she saw Marks pistol whip her mother and watched as the older woman fell, sprawling on the floor.\u00a0 The air in the cabin was still smoky, but she could see another man standing by the bed where she had lain not too long before.\u00a0 She thought there was someone in<\/em> the bed, but she couldn\u2019t see clearly.<\/p>\n

Marks was advancing on whoever it was that was in front<\/em> of the bed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is murder!\u201d the man said as he fell back.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, it ain\u2019t Doc.\u00a0 I\u2019m just followin\u2019 Jason Milburn\u2019s orders.\u00a0 He said to make sure Cartwright was dead and that\u2019s what I aim to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

So it was Joe<\/em> in the bed!<\/p>\n

\u201cThink, man!\u00a0 The last time you went to prison it was for extortion and giving the young man a beating.\u00a0 If you kill him, you\u2019ll hang!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOnly if there\u2019s someone left alive to tell them that I was the one who did it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The threat was palpable.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou and me, Doc.\u00a0 We used to be friends.\u201d\u00a0 Marks moved closer.\u00a0 \u201cWhat say you get out of the way and I won\u2019t shoot you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI won\u2019t let you kill the young man.\u00a0 I won\u2019t!\u201d<\/p>\n

Nonie was shaking.\u00a0 The gun was heavy in her hand.\u00a0 When her pa had taken her hunting, she hadn\u2019t been able to pull the trigger.\u00a0 She\u2019d looked at the deer and seen life looking her back in the eye and she simply couldn\u2019t do it.<\/p>\n

Could she kill a man?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNow, Doc.\u00a0 Think about it.\u00a0 What\u2019s Cartwright to you?\u00a0\u00a0 You ain\u2019t seen him more than three times in your life \u2013 is that worth losing it for?\u201d<\/p>\n

Doc Belden pulled himself up straighter.\u00a0 \u201cWhat Joe Cartwright did for me in those few days gave me my life back so, yes, it is.\u00a0 Give it up, Marks.\u00a0 You\u2019ll swing.\u201d<\/p>\n

They were face to face now with Doctor Belden backed up against the bed.\u00a0 Victor Marks was nearly on top of him.\u00a0 Marks shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cYou know, Doc, I like you.\u00a0 You got backbone.\u201d\u00a0 Marks\u2019 fist shot out and took the doctor in the stomach.\u00a0 Then he used the gun butt to hit him over the head.\u00a0 \u201cSorry if I just broke it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marks took his foot and shoved the doctor\u2019s body out of the way.\u00a0 He placed his gun on the bedside table and then reached out and pulled the pillow from under Joe\u2019s head and pressed it against his face.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve waited a long time for this Cartwright….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMarks!\u201d<\/p>\n

Milburn\u2019s hireling turned to look at her.\u00a0 She was standing in the doorway, holding the pistol with both hands to control the shaking.\u00a0 \u201cYou get away from him!\u201d she ordered.<\/p>\n

Marks dropped the pillow and took a step toward her.\u00a0 \u201cWell, what do we have here?\u00a0 The city girl, holding a gun?\u00a0 I bet you ain\u2019t never shot one of those things \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

The gun went off.\u00a0 Marks dropped to the ground.<\/p>\n

Nonie dropped the smoking gun on the floor.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019d lose the bet.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ben Cartwright had made it to his feet when he saw the young woman head into the cabin.\u00a0 He was walking toward it, blood dripping through his fingers from a shoulder wound, when the shot went off, lighting the interior of the wooden structure.\u00a0 As he neared it, he was relieved to see Hoss rounding the cabin, running.\u00a0 He began to run too, unsure of who had triumphed; unsure of whether it was over or about to begin again.\u00a0 Before either of them could reach the door, Doc Belden stumbled out.\u00a0 He had a cloth on his head.\u00a0 It was stained with his blood.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone\u2019s alive,\u201d he said as they reached him and then stepped aside so they could see the body on the floor.\u00a0 \u201cWell, everyone but Marks, that is, thanks to Mrs. Landes.\u201d<\/p>\n

As they stepped into the cabin\u2019s interior the white-haired man nodded toward the bed.\u00a0 \u201cHoss, check your brother.\u201d\u00a0 Then, even though his heart tugged him in the same direction he went to where Nonie Landes was sitting on the floor, cradling her mother\u2019s head in her lap.<\/p>\n

Ben knelt beside her.\u00a0 \u201cHow is she?\u201d<\/p>\n

Nonie looked up through dangling golden curls and with tear-streaked eyes.\u00a0 \u201cThe doctor says she should be all right.\u201d\u00a0 Her eyes flicked to the dead man on the floor.\u00a0 \u201cMister Cartwright, how can a man be<\/em> so evil?\u201d<\/p>\n

He reached out and touched the older woman\u2019s face and looked at the damage Marks had inflicted.\u00a0 She was battle-scarred but beautiful.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t think any of us know, Nonie.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her hand went to her mother\u2019s cheek and then she looked up at him.\u00a0 \u201cCall me Anne.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Ben turned.\u00a0 Hoss was by Joe\u2019s bed.\u00a0 Rising, he went to join him.\u00a0 \u201cHow\u2019s your brother?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Doc says he\u2019ll make it.\u201d\u00a0 He turned to look at Joe and frowned.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s awful weak, Pa.\u00a0 Marks tried to snuff the life out of him.\u201d<\/p>\n

He turned to look again at the young woman from New York.\u00a0 She and Doc Belden were helping her mother to rise. \u201cAnd would have, if it hadn\u2019t been for Anne.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s somethin\u2019, ain\u2019t she, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

He nodded.\u00a0 \u201cYes, just like her mother.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

After Doc Belden had cleaned his wound and set his arm in a sling, Ben pitched in as best he could along with the Doc, Anne, and her mother, to free the cabin of smoke and soot.\u00a0 They took out all of the cloth and shook it, but left what had settled on the floor for fear of stirring it into the air and weakening Joe further.\u00a0 Carrie had blankets and a few braided rugs and they used those to cover what they could.\u00a0 He watched as Carrie unwrapped Joe and removed the ash-stained linens that covered him, replacing them with some she had had in a chest that remained free of soot.\u00a0 While they worked Hoss took Victor Marks body outside and buried it along with Neville Greaves\u2019 in the snow.\u00a0 He\u2019d left Ballard Peak trussed up behind the cabin, so he fetched him and put him on a horse and together the two of them rode into the town to fetch the sheriff.<\/p>\n

It was late now.\u00a0 The sun was setting beyond the trees, casting golden-red rays across the virgin snow.\u00a0 Carrie and Anne were both asleep, laying on the pallet they had prepared sometime before for the doctor.\u00a0 Anne had her hand on her mother\u2019s shoulder, renewing a link long denied.\u00a0 While they had been busy the doctor had seen to Joe, but he was gone now.\u00a0 He\u2019d left to take care of Jed Henry\u2019s wife.\u00a0 Ben reached out and placed a hand on his sleeping son\u2019s arm.\u00a0 The Doc told them they\u2019d have to watch Joe closely for a few days since he\u2019d taken in smoke and had his breathing even more restricted by Marks attempt to suffocate him.<\/p>\n

\u2018How can a man be so evil?<\/em>\u2019 Anne had asked him.\u00a0 He wished he knew the answer.\u00a0 He\u2019d lived more than half a century and had seen his share of immoral men.\u00a0 Victor Marks was among the worst.\u00a0 It was as if something inside the man just went wrong.\u00a0 He\u2019d been born a helpless babe like all others, had been someone\u2019s child once upon a time \u2013 must have loved and maybe lost.\u00a0 What made one man kind, and another, give in to hate and greed?<\/p>\n

He guessed he\u2019d never know.<\/p>\n

Ben leaned his head back and closed his eyes.\u00a0 God<\/em>, he was tired!<\/p>\n

He\u2019d been sitting\u00a0 there, resting, for about a minute when he felt fingers brush his own.\u00a0 When he looked down, he couldn\u2019t help but smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow are you, Joseph?\u201d<\/p>\n

His son smiled too, weakly.\u00a0 When he spoke, his voice was rough.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve been…better.\u201d\u00a0 The sentence was followed by a cough.<\/p>\n

\u201cShh.\u201d He touched Joe\u2019s face.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t try to talk.\u00a0 You breathed in a lot of smoke.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe swallowed and winced.\u00a0 \u201cCan I…have some water?\u201d<\/p>\n

He reached for it as he nodded.\u00a0 Lifting Joe up carefully, he let him take a few sips and then laid him and the cup down.\u00a0 \u201cYou should rest.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s fingers pressed into his sleeve.\u00a0 \u201cI…will.\u201d\u00a0 He coughed again, deeper this time.\u00a0 \u201cAnne…?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

That was Joe.\u00a0 Sick as he was, he was worried about someone else.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s fine.\u00a0 She\u2019s with her mother.\u201d<\/p>\n

His son\u2019s eyes lit.\u00a0 \u201cThey\u2019re together?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, son.\u00a0 Together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some of the tension went out of his boy\u2019s body.\u00a0 He doubted it would be long before he slept again.\u00a0 \u201cSorry…if I…frightened you….\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben frowned.\u00a0 \u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTalking…about Ma.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019d almost forgotten.\u00a0 \u201cYou were out of your head, Joseph.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe was almost asleep.\u00a0 \u201cNo….\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben rose as his son\u2019s hand went limp on his arm. \u00a0He took it and put it under the clean cover and then drew the blanket up to Joe\u2019s chin.\u00a0 After that he walked to the door, opened it, and stepped out.<\/p>\n

The air was crisp.\u00a0 It had been a sunny day and had left an icy sheen on the snow that made it glisten like diamonds.\u00a0 Beyond it more diamonds sparkled, created by the star\u2019s light reflecting on the lake.\u00a0 As he stood there, thinking about it, the older man was struck by a sudden memory. \u00a0He saw himself and Joe\u2019s mother, standing by Lake Tahoe, looking out over the water on a night just like this.\u00a0 It had been cold and he had argued with her about coming.\u00a0 She\u2019d been with child.\u00a0 Marie, being Marie, had insisted and won and they had taken a sturdy buckboard and traveled along the snow-covered road, arriving at the lake just as the moon took possession of the sky.\u00a0 Hand in hand they walked to the water\u2019s edge.\u00a0 It was then she\u2019d told him he would have another son.\u00a0 He\u2019d laughed, of course.\u00a0 There was no way she could know.\u00a0 She\u2019d taken his hand then and placed it, along with her own, on her swollen belly.<\/p>\n

\u2018We will name him Joseph,\u201d<\/em> she said, \u2018after your father.\u2019<\/em>\u00a0 Then she had leaned down and whispered, close to both their hands.\u00a0 \u2018Do you hear that, ma petit Joseph?\u00a0 Your maman and your papa are here.\u00a0 We will care for you always.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

Ben didn\u2019t strike the tears away.\u00a0 He let them fall.<\/p>\n

Marie had been true to her word.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

EPILOGUE<\/p>\n

Joe coughed as he breathed in the crisp winter air.\u00a0 His strength was nearly back to normal thanks to Hop Sing\u2019s cooking and Anne and Carrie\u2019s attention, even though his chest remained weak.\u00a0 He\u2019d talked his pa into letting him saddle up the buggy and take a ride though the air was chill and there were a few flakes coming down.\u00a0 It was near the end of January and the temperature was climbing toward forty and he\u2019d been in so long he thought he\u2019d go plain crazy if he didn\u2019t see something other than the walls of the ranch house.\u00a0 He\u2019d just finished hitching the horses up when the door opened and Anne Pickett Landes stepped out.<\/p>\n

She was coming with him.<\/p>\n

Joe looked at her, shook his head, and said, \u201cMm-mm<\/em>, if you aren\u2019t the prettiest thing this side of the Mississippi.\u201d<\/p>\n

She blushed.<\/p>\n

It had only been in the last week or two that they had really come to know one another.\u00a0 He had no memory of the journey back to the Ponderosa.\u00a0 He remembered being lifted out of Carrie Pickett\u2019s bed and being carried to a wagon where he was smothered in blankets, but the time they spent traveling after that was a blur.\u00a0 Hoss told him he sickened on the road and they\u2019d feared once again for his life.\u00a0 His pa, even though he was wounded, had ridden ahead and gone to Virginia City to fetch Doc Martin.\u00a0 The two men had been waiting for them when they arrived.\u00a0 The Doc had stayed at the house for most of the next week until this last and final crisis had passed.\u00a0 Paul had actually spent Christmas at the ranch house.<\/p>\n

Joe smiled.\u00a0 That was the first thing he remembered.\u00a0 Waking up to find Hoss standing in his room holding a small Christmas tree.<\/p>\n

After that it had been a long road uphill to get to where he was today.\u00a0 Near four more weeks.<\/p>\n

He looked at Anne as she approached.\u00a0 There had been two bright spots amidst the pain and eventual boredom of recovery.\u00a0 One was the fact that Carrie Pickett accepted his father\u2019s invitation to come to the Ponderosa to ride out the winter.<\/p>\n

The other was that Anne came with her.<\/p>\n

It was Anne he had awakened to find sitting with him in the middle of the night. Anne, who had read to him until his eyes closed.\u00a0 And Anne who had been there in the morning opening his window and bringing him the tray of food Hop Sing had prepared.<\/p>\n

She halted beside him and they looked at one another.\u00a0 Neither of them said a thing.\u00a0 The feelings were new but they were deep.<\/p>\n

The trouble was, neither one of them was clear exactly what<\/em> it was they felt.<\/p>\n

His Pa had come to his room late one night a few days before and sat on the edge of his bed.\u00a0 They\u2019d spoken about what happened, ending with Anne\u2019s bravery when she took Victor Marks down.<\/p>\n

\u2018We all feel grateful, Joseph,\u2019 <\/em>he said.\u00a0 \u201cNo one more than I…unless it\u2019s you.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

He\u2019d heard something in his father\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n

\u2018Anne\u2019s a wonderful girl, but be careful, son, that you are not mistaking gratitude for love.\u2019\u00a0 <\/em>The older man had risen then, but paused by the door.\u00a0 \u2018And be certain Anne isn\u2019t doing the same thing.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

That\u2019s what this ride was about.\u00a0 They needed to talk \u2013 somewhere away from prying ears and eyes.\u00a0 His pa knew that.\u00a0 It\u2019s why he had agreed to let him go.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you sure you feel well enough for a ride?\u201d Anne asked as he reached for her hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m fine,\u201d he said, dismissing her fears.<\/p>\n

The beautiful woman with hair the color of Buckwheat honey cocked her head and arched one amber brow.\u00a0 \u201cI think you\u2019re forgetting who it is you\u2019re talking to.\u201d\u00a0 She reached out and brushed an errant curl from his forehead.\u00a0 \u201cJoe, you almost died…and all because of me.\u201d<\/p>\n

He caught her hand and squeezed it. \u201cWe\u2019ve been over this before.\u00a0 It\u2019s not your fault.\u201d<\/p>\n

She drew a sharp breath.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s sweet of you to say \u2013 and your father too \u2013 but Joe, none of this would have happened if I hadn\u2019t been so selfish.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJason Milburn would have found another way.\u00a0 He wanted that land.\u201d\u00a0 Milburn was in jail now awaiting trial along with Ballard Peak, who had turned states\u2019 evidence to get a lighter sentence.\u00a0 \u201cIf you hadn\u2019t come he would have sent Marks anyway and both <\/em>Carrie and I could have died.\u201d<\/p>\n

She touched his face.\u00a0 \u201cYou<\/em> almost did.\u201d<\/p>\n

This was the other thing his pa had warned him about.\u00a0 \u2018Joseph,\u2019 <\/em>he said, \u2018that girl is carrying a heavy load of guilt.\u00a0 That\u2019s no way for a man and woman to start a life together.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

Yes, he\u2019d told his pa he wanted to marry Anne.\u00a0\u00a0 He\u2019d told her too.<\/p>\n

She hadn\u2019t given him an answer.<\/p>\n

Joe squeezed her fingers again.\u00a0 \u201cLet me help you into the buggy.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ben Cartwright had been watching from behind the window.\u00a0 He let the curtain drop and stepped outside as the buggy carrying Joe and Anne drove away.\u00a0 They were headed for the lake.\u00a0 It was a longer drive than he had wanted Joseph to make, but he knew \u2013 as a man \u2013 that Joe had to push the limits of his strength if he was going to come back to what and where he had been.<\/p>\n

It had been close.\u00a0 On the road home Joe\u2019s fever had spiked.\u00a0 The journey had been a long and arduous one and by the time he met them at the ranch with Doc Martin in hand, his son had been out of his head.\u00a0 The long weeks leading up to Christmas had been hard ones.\u00a0 Joe was a grown man now and to see him laid low and helpless as a child had been painful.\u00a0 As his recovery began, it became apparent that Joe brightened whenever Anne was around and so he had stepped aside and let her, in a way, take his place.\u00a0 Anne was a beautiful, bright, intelligent and strong-willed woman.\u00a0 Like her mother, she had a charm about her that made you smile at the same time you wanted to scream.\u00a0 Ben laughed.\u00a0 He remembered Joe\u2019s first description of Carrie Pickett.\u00a0 It had been the same.<\/p>\n

That was another fear of his.\u00a0 That his son saw Carrie in her daughter and was attracted to her because, in a way, Hoss had not been wrong.\u00a0 His brother was<\/em> in love with Carrie Pickett.\u00a0 It was a deep kind of love that had little of attraction in it.\u00a0 Such as a son had for his mother.<\/p>\n

Anne wasn\u2019t Joe\u2019s mother any more than she was her own.\u00a0 She was her own unique creation.\u00a0 If Joseph was going to love her, it had to be for that.<\/p>\n

Ben heard a noise behind him and turned to find Carrie Pickett stepping out of the house.\u00a0 She was a new woman.\u00a0 For Christmas, he and Anne had gone to town and picked out several simply gowns for her, along with everything else she needed for the trip they planned to New York.\u00a0 At first Carrie had been frightened by the idea, but of late it had turned into a kind of nervous excitement.\u00a0 Anne had promised her they would never sell the Piney Woods and that they would return each year to the place where her Amos lay to pass the summer.<\/p>\n

Anne had placed it in their stewardship.<\/p>\n

The older woman was dressed today in a simple linen dress of dark green, the color of her beloved trees.\u00a0 Her hair was washed and combed now and fastened in a tight bun at the nape of her neck.\u00a0 She wore the pink shawl with the embroidered roses that her husband had given her on their wedding day.<\/p>\n

\u201cCarrie,\u201d he said, turning toward her, \u201cit\u2019s chilly out here.\u00a0 Should I go in and get your coat?\u201d<\/p>\n

The older woman shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cAin\u2019t I….\u00a0 Haven\u2019t I told you a thousand times Ben Cartwright that I don\u2019t need a man to tell me when to come in out of the cold?\u201d<\/p>\n

He hid his smile.\u00a0 Anne had been working on her mother\u2019s grammar.\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cWhy, yes, you have.\u201d<\/p>\n

She came to stand beside him.\u00a0 \u201cI see the buggy\u2019s gone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoseph and Anne took off about five minutes ago.\u00a0 They\u2019ll be back mid-afternoon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carrie was silent a moment.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s nothing I\u2019d like better than to see them two children together.\u00a0 I ain\u2019t…\u00a0 I haven\u2019t met the likes of that boy since my Amos.\u201d<\/p>\n

He heard it in her voice.\u00a0 \u201cBut?\u201d<\/p>\n

She shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s gotta be for the right reasons, \u2018cause they love each other.\u00a0 Love\u2019s the only thing that gets you through the hard times.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben was silent a moment.\u00a0 \u201cI feel the same way.\u00a0 Anne, well, in a way she reminds me of Joe\u2019s mother.\u00a0 Her coloring is very much the same, but there\u2019s more \u2013 it\u2019s Anne\u2019s spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou loved her dearly, didn\u2019t you? \u00a0Joe\u2019s ma?\u201d<\/p>\n

He put his arm around the older woman\u2019s shoulders.\u00a0 \u201cJust as much as you loved your Amos.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carrie nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, come on.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go inside.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In the end, they decided to wait.<\/p>\n

Joe looked down at Anne.\u00a0 She sat beside him on the buggy seat.\u00a0 A single blanket covered them.\u00a0 She was leaning her head against his chest.<\/p>\n

She was crying.<\/p>\n

He was sure he loved her, but she<\/em> wasn\u2019t sure he did.\u00a0 She said she was afraid that it was gratitude and thought it best that they spend some time apart.\u00a0 That way, when she returned in the spring \u2013 if their feelings were the same \u2013 then she\u2019d know it was true and she\u2019d say \u2018yes\u2019.<\/p>\n

He understood.\u00a0 He knew as well that if their feelings were<\/em> true, time wouldn\u2019t change them.\u00a0 He\u2019d have plenty to do to keep him busy until she came back.\u00a0 The spring would come and there would be new baby lambs and calves to care for, fresh horses to break, and a thousand acres of timber to see to.<\/p>\n

Giving her shoulders a little squeeze, Joe gently said her name.\u00a0 \u201cAnne….\u201d<\/p>\n

She looked up with those bright dark eyes she had, deep as the night and bright as the sun.\u00a0 \u201cYes, Joe, what is it?\u201d<\/p>\n

He took her chin in his fingers and lifted her face and kissed her long and hard.<\/p>\n

Just that.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tags:\u00a0 Adam Cartwright,\u00a0Ben Cartwright,\u00a0Family,\u00a0Hoss Cartwright,\u00a0Joe \/ Little Joe Cartwright,\u00a0JPM,\u00a0revenge,\u00a0SJS<\/p>\n

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

Summary: This story is a sequel or WHN for the wonderful episode ‘Different Pines Same Wind’. \u00a0As Joe Cartwright helps the old woman Carrie Pickett prepare for winter, the arrival of a beautiful young woman at the Ponderosa spells disaster. Her appearance serves as a catalyst for an unexpected series of events that culminate in a showdown in the Piney Woods in which not only Joe, but Hoss and Ben, must face and overcome Marks deep seated need for revenge .<\/p>\n

Rated PG-13\u00a0\u00a0 Word Count: 50,528<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10058,"featured_media":30565,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"template-full-width-post.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2,23,41,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13465","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-actionadventure","category-drama","category-hurtcomfort","category-whn","wpcat-2-id","wpcat-23-id","wpcat-41-id","wpcat-13-id"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Joe-Carrie-.jpg?fit=576%2C434&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13465","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10058"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13465"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13465\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/30565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13465"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}