{"id":14894,"date":"2017-08-12T20:48:52","date_gmt":"2017-08-13T00:48:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=14894"},"modified":"2025-09-25T15:41:06","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T19:41:06","slug":"hello-darkness-or-the-sounds-of-silence-by-psw","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=14894","title":{"rendered":"Hello Darkness — or, the Sounds of Silence (by PSW)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary<\/strong>: Written for the Missing Man Challenge — Add Adam into any Season 7-14 episode as if he never left. \u00a0My story is a WHI for ‘To Die In Darkness’ — Season 9.<\/p>\n

Rating<\/strong>: K+ \u00a0Word Count<\/strong>: 14,737<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: \u00a0All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. \u00a0The original characters and plot are the property of the author. \u00a0The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.<\/p>\n

In the original episode<\/strong>, the scene opens upon the Nevada State prison. \u00a0There we learn of the release of John Postley after serving 1&1\/2 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. \u00a0Later at the Ponderosa, a discussion reveals that the jury convicted Postley upon Ben’s testimony — Ben saw him near the site of the crime on the night in question. \u00a0Ben feels terrible about this, and Joe tries to convince him that there was nothing else he could have done, as he accurately reported what he saw.<\/p>\n

Postley comes by the Ponderosa later to see Ben, and tells him that he holds no hard feelings. \u00a0They visit for a short time, and when Ben offers help to Postley if needed, Postley indicates that he would appreciate a dinner invitation. \u00a0Hop Sing is away but Ben obliges, and tells Hoss, Joe, and Candy that they will need to cook a great dinner for Postley — chicken, dumplings, the works.<\/p>\n

(In the original, Hoss and Joe are sent to check the line camps and must miss dinner. \u00a0Ben’s original co-detainee is Candy, and I would like to include a shout-out for David Canary before beginning. \u00a0He did a bang-up job in this episode.)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hello, Darkness<\/strong><\/p>\n

(or, The Sounds of Silence)+<\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Prologue<\/strong><\/p>\n

Adam let Hoss mourn the lost chicken and dumplings for nearly a full minute and a half before his middle brother\u2019s disappointed pout overcame his desire to draw things out.\u00a0 Laughing, he leaned back into his chair and stretched his legs.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa, I think I can take care of those line camps.\u00a0 No need for Hoss to miss a chance at dumplings.\u201d\u00a0 Ben Cartwright didn\u2019t cook many things well, but their pa had learned dumplings at Inger\u2019s hand and they were generally exceptional.\u00a0 Adam would be a little disappointed to miss them, himself\u2014but he\u2019d been feeling crowded lately, as he did every now and again, and a couple of days\u2019 solitary riding really did seem like just the thing.\u00a0 Hoss brightened.<\/p>\n

\u201cYa mean it, Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Adam,\u201d their father intoned around his pipe, frowning.\u00a0 \u201cAre you certain?\u00a0 You went the last time, if you remember.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss frowned anxiously, but Adam only grinned.\u00a0 \u201cYeah, I\u2019m sure.\u00a0 Wouldn\u2019t mind a chance to get out on my own for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYour own?\u201d\u00a0 Joe, who had been slumped across the settee chewing morosely at a thumbnail, straightened. \u201cDoes that mean I get to stay too?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoseph \u2026\u201d Ben started, but Adam nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t see why not.\u201d<\/p>\n

This time, it was Adam pinned by the dark gaze.\u00a0 \u201cThis is usually a two man job.\u00a0 I don\u2019t\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019ll be fine, Pa.\u201d\u00a0 Adam waved away his father\u2019s concern.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s not a hard ride.\u00a0 Weather\u2019s been good, I don\u2019t expect any trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben hesitated only another few seconds, then shrugged and settled back into his chair, taking another long draw on his pipe.\u00a0 \u201cAll right, son.\u00a0 If that\u2019s what you want.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI do, thanks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYippee!\u201d Hoss crowed, bouncing on the settee and squashing Little Joe against the far corner.\u00a0 \u201cChicken and dumplings!\u201d\u00a0 He grinned across the room.\u00a0 \u201cThanks, Adam, I sure owe you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam offered a half-smile in response, as Joe used his feet to shove Hoss back onto his side.\u00a0 \u201cYeah, thanks, big brother.\u201d\u00a0 The youngest Cartwright\u2019s grin flashed.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019d offer to save you some, but with Hoss at the table there probably won\u2019t be any left \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss chuckled, fending off Joe\u2019s feet.\u00a0 \u201cNow, Shortshanks, that wouldn\u2019t be sportin\u2019 of me, would it\u2014not after older brother here offered to take my place an\u2019 all.\u00a0 We can put some back for him in one of the coffee cups before we eat.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks,\u201d Adam murmured dryly, peering at the dainty china cup in his hand before taking another swallow of coffee.\u00a0 Ben leaned forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoseph, get your feet off the couch!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t!\u00a0 Pa, he won\u2019t\u2014\u201d\u00a0 Hoss had trapped both of Joe\u2019s booted feet in one hand, and was in the process of slowly shoving his younger brother headfirst over the arm of the settee.\u00a0 Joe yelped, trying to brace himself.\u00a0 \u201cPa!\u00a0 Get him off me!\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam closed his eyes, wishing that would block out Joe\u2019s distinctive cackle as well.\u00a0 He loved his brothers, but they made so much noise<\/em> \u2026\u00a0 Ben Cartwright snorted softly, shook his head, and reached for his own coffee cup.\u00a0 \u201cSon,\u201d he murmured to Adam, taking a sip, \u201cif I didn\u2019t have a dinner guest tomorrow night, I\u2019d consider joining you.\u201d<\/p>\n

He favored his pa with a rueful grin, and continued their previous conversation beneath the racket of his brothers\u2019 play.\u00a0 \u201cActually, I thought I\u2019d take Candy along.\u00a0 See what I can find out.\u201d\u00a0 In truth, that plan had only just occurred to him \u2026 but now that it had, he couldn\u2019t dismiss it, no matter how much he\u2019d been anticipating some time to himself.\u00a0 Their foreman was a good man, but he had a restless streak that made Adam feel positively settled\u2014and by all accounts, seemed lately as though he was ready to drift again any day.\u00a0 Ben nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, good idea.\u201d\u00a0 The elder Cartwright hesitated.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s an excellent hand, I don\u2019t want to lose him permanently.\u00a0 If you do manage to get him talking, and you think a couple of months off would help matters \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

He had been thinking the same.\u00a0 \u201cThanks, Pa.\u00a0 I think it might.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe finally hit the ground with an indignant yelp, landing hard enough that the room shuddered and set the chandelier to jingling.\u00a0 Hoss\u2019s loud guffaws echoed against the walls around them.\u00a0 Ben retreated into his chair, muttering around the stem of his pipe.<\/p>\n

Adam closed his eyes, took another long sip, and ignored them all.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Chapter One<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cYou said you had some encouraging ore samples?\u201d^<\/p>\n

Ben took a sip of coffee and watched with satisfaction as John Postley continued to plow his way through the pile of chicken drumsticks, dumplings, and mashed potatoes on the man\u2019s plate.\u00a0 A good meal couldn\u2019t make up for nearly two years of suffering\u2014Ben cringed inwardly again at the thought that he had helped, unwittingly though it had been, to put an innocent man in a prison cell\u2014but it did his heart good to see Postley enjoying his food.\u00a0 Having known other men who had spent a length of time confined, Ben knew that pleasures such as a good meal were not to be had there, and with Postley cooking for himself out at the mine now, the man probably didn\u2019t have much but jerky and beans on any given day of the week.\u00a0 If Postley was willing (and it seemed that he was), Ben would have to see to it that he was invited to eat at the Ponderosa on a somewhat regular basis.<\/p>\n

Was he trying to salve his own conscience?\u00a0 Possibly.\u00a0 His feelings of guilt regarding his own part in this mess were still fresh, no matter how many times Little Joe pointed out that Ben had only told the truth of what he had seen that night.\u00a0 The jury had made the final decision that had sent Postley to prison.\u00a0 Surely, though, Ben could not be faulted for offering a good meal every now and again,\u00a0 no matter what the motive.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe.\u201d\u00a0 Postley shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cKinda hard to tell, really.\u00a0 Looks good to me, but it ain\u2019t like I\u2019ve ever done this before.\u201d<\/p>\n

That was true enough.\u00a0 \u201cYou could have somebody come in, get another opinion.\u201d\u00a0 Such things cost money, of course \u2026 but in the long run, it would surely be better for Postley to know now if he was throwing time and money into a spot that would never yield him anything in return.\u00a0 Ben hated to think that Postley might find out too late he\u2019d wasted even more years of his life.<\/p>\n

The man had turned down that little piece of land Ben had offered him, but Ben would hang onto it for now.\u00a0 It might be that Postley would change his mind.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, but you never know.\u00a0 If things do look good, I might end up fightin\u2019 off claim jumpers.\u00a0 It\u2019s just me up there, I ain\u2019t got the manpower or the ammunition for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

That was true enough, and an unfortunate risk that any man took in asking for outside help with this kind of thing.\u00a0 There were honest men to be found in the Comstock, certainly, but just as many reprobates who would stoop to dishonest means to get their hands on a valuable vein\u2014including claim jumping and worse.\u00a0 Ben nodded and returned to his coffee.\u00a0 Postley made to dig in again, but stopped suddenly, looking up.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou<\/em> know mining, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben chuckled.\u00a0 \u2018Mining\u2019 was stretching it.\u00a0 Digging around in a hole in the ground would be closer to the truth, and it had never been his primary concern \u2026\u00a0 He shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cOnly a little.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStill, though.\u201d\u00a0 Postley\u2019s shoulders straightened, and he turned hopeful eyes toward the head of the table.\u00a0 \u201cWhat about you come on out?\u00a0 See what you think I\u2019ve got.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a long time \u2026\u201d Ben started to demur.\u00a0 Joe leaned in from his spot to Ben\u2019s right and thumped his father\u2019s shoulder, cutting off the protest.<\/p>\n

\u201cCouldn\u2019t hurt to take a look, though, could it, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, Pa.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss paused his attack upon the chicken and dumplings.\u00a0 \u201cAnd if ya can\u2019t say after you\u2019ve had a look, well, then<\/em> Mr. Postley can think about bringin\u2019 in an expert.\u201d<\/p>\n

It made sense\u2014and if he could save the man any money or trouble, Ben supposed he owed Postley that much.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, sure, I\u2019ll come out if you like.\u201d<\/p>\n

Postley grinned.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019d sure appreciate that, Ben.\u00a0 I surely would.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was hard not to respond in kind, and Ben grinned back.\u00a0 \u201cAll right, then.\u00a0 Just let me know when, and I\u2019ll be there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAin\u2019t no time like the present.\u201d\u00a0 Postley wiped his mouth and stood.\u00a0 Ben stared.\u00a0 \u201cIt won\u2019t be dark for a while yet, would ya come out tonight?\u201d<\/p>\n

The man was surely anxious to get going.\u00a0 Still, Ben couldn\u2019t blame him.\u00a0 There was no time like the present, indeed.\u00a0 Besides, an evening ride and a few minutes poking around an old mine didn\u2019t sound like the worst way to pass his time.\u00a0 \u201cWell, why not?\u201d<\/p>\n

Postley nodded.\u00a0 \u201cThank ya, Ben.\u201d\u00a0 He pinned Joe and Hoss with his enthusiastic gaze.\u00a0 \u201cWhat about you boys?\u00a0 You want to come along?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWouldn\u2019t miss it!\u201d\u00a0 Joe grinned, wiped his mouth, and dropped the napkin onto the table.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ll get the horses saddled.\u201d\u00a0 He rose, slapping Hoss\u2019s broad shoulder as he passed.\u00a0 \u201cCome on, brother.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss stuffed a last forkful of dumplings into his mouth, eyed the still half-full serving dish sadly, and then followed.<\/p>\n

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~<\/strong><\/p>\n

How had Postley manipulated him so easily?\u00a0 Was he really as gullible as all that?<\/p>\n

\u201cOw!\u00a0 Joe, you\u2019re steppin\u2019 on my\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, if you\u2019d quite movin\u2019 around so much\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI got to, or you\u2019d step plumb offa me!\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben couldn\u2019t see his sons, trapped in the pitch black as they were, but their bickering didn\u2019t give him much hope that Joe was making any headway in climbing out.\u00a0 He closed his eyes, hoping to ease some of the strain and dusty dryness, and leaned his head back against the side of the shaft.\u00a0 Yes, he was, apparently.\u00a0 Postley had planned this from the start, and he\u2019d walked right into it.\u00a0 Not only that, but he\u2019d dragged two of his sons along with him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, what about it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAh, it\u2019s no use.\u201d\u00a0 Joe\u2019s voice was both angry and defeated.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s nothin\u2019 to get a grip on.\u00a0 Postley sure did a good job with this shaft.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCome on down, then, \u2018fore ya cut my shoulder completely off with them boot heels of yours.\u00a0 I\u2019da never thought, just from lookin\u2019, you\u2019d weigh as much as a\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHold on<\/em>, would you!\u201d<\/p>\n

It hadn\u2019t seemed so odd, Postley telling them to go ahead while he went for another lantern.\u00a0 Joe had gone first, then Ben, and finally Hoss, muttering all the way about rope ladders and dark places.\u00a0 His middle son had never been fond of dark places \u2026<\/p>\n

And here they were.\u00a0 Down a shaft without a ladder.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe, hang on a second, I ain\u2019t got\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

A startled yelp sent Ben bolting upright.\u00a0 \u201cJoe?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, Pa, I\u2019m \u2026\u201d\u00a0 Joe coughed, unable to finish, but even those words from his son calmed Ben\u2019s racing heart.\u00a0 Hoss\u2019s voice completed the thought.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe slipped off, but I got him before he hit.\u00a0 Mostly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMostly,\u201d Joe gasped, and Ben heard the scuffling of his sons settling onto the ground.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou hurt?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNah.\u201d\u00a0 Joe released a loud breath, and then came a thud and a grunt, as if his youngest had thumped or punched his brother\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cScraped the side, is all.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

A silence, and then, \u201cDon\u2019t think so.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was no way to know if Joe was lying, but Ben chose to take him at his word.\u00a0 \u201cGood.\u201d\u00a0 He rubbed his jaw.\u00a0 \u201cThe last thing we need is an infection setting in down here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou think we\u2019re gonna be here that long?\u201d\u00a0 Hoss\u2019s tone was both hopeful and apprehensive, and Ben hated that his response would do nothing but feed his son\u2019s nerves.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one knows we\u2019re here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam\u2019ll be looking for us, eventually.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, but Joe, why would he even come out this way?\u00a0 We\u2019re not on Ponderosa land, there\u2019s nobody out this direction we visit or do any business with.\u00a0 It\u2019s not on the way anywhere.\u00a0 There\u2019s no reason at all for us to be here other than Postley.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, and he<\/em> ain\u2019t gonna be no help,\u201d Hoss muttered darkly.<\/p>\n

No, it didn\u2019t seem that way.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut once he can\u2019t find us \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah.\u00a0 Once he can\u2019t find us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben fell silent, wondering what his oldest son would think when he returned to an empty house\u2014Hop Sing still in San Francisco, the bunkhouse empty for the moment, and none of the family to be found.\u00a0 How long would it take for Adam to realize that something was wrong?\u00a0 That his father and brothers were not out working, or in Virginia City, but missing?\u00a0 How long would he look for them himself before getting Roy involved, rounding up the hands and the nearby ranchers and maybe even some of the townsfolk for a broader search?<\/p>\n

What were the chances that Adam or anyone else would actually find them, tucked away in this little hole on the backside of an out-of-the-way ridge nowhere near anything?<\/p>\n

How would his son cope with the knowledge that his entire family was simply gone?\u00a0 Adam was good in a tight spot, calm and a thinker and not easily distracted by emotion or outside influence \u2026 but it was all<\/em> of them.\u00a0 How long could any man hold himself together in such a scenario?<\/p>\n

\u201cPostley \u2026\u201d Ben growled, clenching his fists.\u00a0 It had been a terrible thing, a terrible mistake, and maybe John Postley was justified in seeking his retribution, but he was not<\/em> justified in including Ben\u2019s sons\u2014not the two with him in this pit, not the one left behind.\u00a0 His boys had no hand in the trial, hadn\u2019t been witnesses.\u00a0 They hadn\u2019t even been in town on the night in question.<\/p>\n

In no way was this their fault, and yet they would suffer along with him.<\/p>\n

Ben didn\u2019t realize he had spoken aloud until a scrape sounded nearby and Joe\u2019s hand gripped his shoulder.\u00a0 He jumped, and Joe laughed without humor.\u00a0 \u201cSorry.\u00a0 But Pa \u2026 you know this isn\u2019t your fault.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow is it not<\/em> my fault?\u201d Ben bit off.\u00a0 \u201cI gave the evidence that sent the man to prison for a year and half, innocent though he was.\u00a0 Can you blame him for being bitter?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, Pa.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss was still against the far wall, then.\u00a0 Ben hated<\/em> not being able to see his sons.\u00a0 \u201cThat ain\u2019t fair.\u00a0 You didn\u2019t\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter, though, does it?\u00a0 In the end?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPa, stop it!\u201d Joe snapped.\u00a0 His youngest thumped down beside him.\u00a0 \u201cAll right \u2026 no, I can\u2019t<\/em> blame him for being bitter.\u00a0 I can\u2019t even imagine what he must be feeling.\u201d \u00a0Joe shook him, fingers digging into Ben\u2019s arm. \u00a0\u201cBut I can<\/em> blame him for this<\/em>.\u00a0 This isn\u2019t the act of any sane man.\u201d<\/p>\n

The words dropped into the darkness like a rock, and their truth nearly strangled him.\u00a0 He and his sons were at the mercy of a madman.\u00a0 Even if Postley was perfectly sane in every other way, even if the man never broke the law again in his life \u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam\u2019s gonna find us, ain\u2019t he, Pa?\u201d\u00a0 Hoss\u2019s voice was more that of the little boy he\u2019d been than the man he\u2019d become.<\/p>\n

Would he?\u00a0 If Ben was brutally honest with himself, he just wasn\u2019t sure of Adam\u2019s chances.<\/p>\n

All right, then.\u00a0 There was only one thing that they could do, one help they could offer.\u00a0 Ben drew in a long breath, and lifted his eyes to the sky they could not see.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019d do well to ask the Lord to guide your brother\u2019s steps.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Chapter Two<\/strong><\/p>\n

He returned home alone, as he had expected.\u00a0 In fact, Candy had readily admitted that he was considering moving on.\u00a0 It hadn\u2019t been as difficult as Adam had feared, though, to convince him to return after a couple of months\u2019 leave\u2014no matter the pull of drifting, Adam got the distinct impression that the pull of having someplace to go when he got tired of it held almost equal sway for Candy.\u00a0 Maybe things had always been that way, or maybe his time at the Ponderosa had started to give him roots.\u00a0 Whatever the reason, Candy had left him after the last line camp (\u2018Nah, there\u2019s nothing back at the house I really need.\u2019) and Adam had gotten the nice long solitary ride that he\u2019d wanted from the beginning.\u00a0 All in all, he was feeling satisfied with himself when he entered the house, hung up his hat, and placed his rolled up gun belt on the credenza.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnybody home?\u00a0 Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019d been a little surprised by the lack of lights when he rode into the yard.\u00a0 It was late in the day and getting dark.\u00a0 Everyone was usually back home by this time.\u00a0 Buck, Chubb, and Cochise were all stabled up nice and tight, though\u2014a little low on feed and water, which was odd, but Adam had filled them up along with Sport before heading for the house\u2014so he expected to find at least someone home regardless of the dark house.<\/p>\n

No one answered.<\/p>\n

Adam poked his head around the corner, and finding no one in the alcove at his father\u2019s desk, he walked over to the foot of the stairs.\u00a0 \u201cJoe?\u00a0 Hoss?\u201d\u00a0 No response, but Adam went upstairs anyway, taking the steps two at a time.\u00a0 The upper hallway was deserted, and the bedrooms empty.<\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t necessarily mean anything\u2014there were other places that they could be\u2014but his gut tightened as he jogged back down the stairs and toward the kitchen.\u00a0 There were other places they could be \u2026 but this was odd<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Halfway through the room, he found something a little more than odd.<\/p>\n

There were used dinner dishes still on the table.\u00a0 In all his years, Adam had never known Ben Cartwright to leave meal dishes untended.\u00a0 And \u2026 that was leftover chicken and dumplings\u2014the meal from two<\/em> nights ago, unless something had changed after he rode out.\u00a0 He noted absently only three sets of dishes on the table (Postley hadn\u2019t come?\u00a0 One of his brothers had to miss after all?), but ignored them on his way through to the kitchen.\u00a0 He was disappointed but unsurprised to find it, too, vacant.<\/p>\n

They weren\u2019t home.\u00a0 But the horses were.<\/p>\n

Well \u2026 it was unusual that all three would take a wagon out, either for ranch purposes or to Virginia City, without at least one of them riding alongside, but not impossible.\u00a0 Adam went back to the alcove to check Ben\u2019s desk for notes.\u00a0 Nothing.\u00a0 He placed his hands on his hips, blew out a long breath, and stared down at the empty desk.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t like his father (or his brothers, Pa had taught them all to follow his lead in this as in so many other things) to allow a son to come home to an empty house without some sort of explanation\u2014especially when that empty house was unexpected.<\/p>\n

So.\u00a0 No one home.\u00a0 Horses stabled.\u00a0 Old dinner dishes.\u00a0 No note.<\/p>\n

He was starting to be genuinely worried.<\/p>\n

He went back outside, grabbing his hat and (after a moment\u2019s hesitation) his gun belt before stepping out into a yard that was now deep in twilight.\u00a0 A quick check accounted for all the wagons and the buggy, and another twenty minutes\u2019 searching accounted for all of the harness horses and the extra saddle horses. \u00a0If they had gone somewhere, they had done it without taking a single one of their animals along with them.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t believe that.\u00a0 Adam couldn\u2019t think back on any time when the entire family had been gone and all of their stock had remained.<\/p>\n

Unless they didn\u2019t go of their own free will \u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

The thought came from nowhere, and though Adam chided himself for jumping directly to ridiculous conclusions, it still unsettled him.\u00a0 He stuffed it into a back corner of his mind and returned his thoughts to something constructive.\u00a0 There were a few more outbuildings within walking distance that he could check yet tonight\u2014though he didn\u2019t have much hope that all three of them were really crammed into one of those, having a brandy or playing checkers\u2014and there was always the chance they were in Virginia City overnight.\u00a0 He considered riding in tonight yet if the outbuildings didn\u2019t turn them up, but decided against it.\u00a0 He was tired, Sport was tired, and by the time he reached the city the only people still awake would be drunk or gambling (or providing booze for the drunk and gambling crowd).\u00a0 He\u2019d have better luck trying to track them down in the morning, when people were out and about with a clear head and he wouldn\u2019t be forced to roust Roy from his bed.<\/p>\n

Not that everything in him wouldn\u2019t rather ride out now and start checking saloons and hotels until he found his wayward family and gave them a piece of his mind.<\/p>\n

Still, time enough for that tomorrow.<\/p>\n

At least, that\u2019s what he desperately hoped would happen.<\/p>\n

It was going to be a long night.<\/p>\n

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~<\/p>\n

\u201cHow long you think we been down here?\u201d<\/p>\n

It was a good question.\u00a0 Ben had thought a little light might trickle in from the mine entrance during the day, but they were far enough back (and around a corner) that they had no such luck.\u00a0 If only Postley had been starting from scratch \u2026 but he hadn\u2019t.\u00a0 He\u2019d picked up an old, established mine with plenty enough tunnel to make sure they might never see the light of day again.<\/p>\n

Ben shivered, and returned his attention to Hoss\u2019s question.\u00a0 \u201cI doubt it\u2019s been as long as it seems.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSeems like forever.\u201d\u00a0 His middle son\u2019s voice was gloomy, and who could blame the boy?<\/p>\n

The man.\u00a0 Ben knew well that his sons were men\u2014and good ones\u2014but old habits died hard.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe can\u2019t keep us down here forever,\u201d Joe snapped, and Ben suppressed a sigh.\u00a0 How the boy (man) could pace in pitch darkness was a mystery to him, but somehow his youngest had figured it out\u2014and was driving Ben far nearer the brink of insanity than the dark mine shaft had so far managed.<\/p>\n

He scrubbed a hand along his jaw.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019d say it\u2019s been two or three days.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNaw,\u201d Hoss protested.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s been way longer than that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCheck your beard, son.\u00a0 Two or three days.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss fell silent for a long moment, then a vague muttering that Ben couldn\u2019t quite make out drifted from that corner of the shaft.\u00a0 The echo of Joe\u2019s footfalls increased.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe can\u2019t keep us here forever.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe.\u201d\u00a0 This time, Ben allowed the sigh\u2014and huffed it loud enough to be heard.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s to stop him?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam!\u201d Joe snarled.\u00a0 \u201cAdam\u2019s<\/em> to stop him!\u201d<\/p>\n

Quite possibly, and he was Ben\u2019s great hope as well.\u00a0 Still \u2026\u00a0 \u201cAnd if he can\u2019t find us?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPa \u2026\u201d Hoss groaned.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not saying he won\u2019t, or even that it\u2019s likely<\/em> he won\u2019t.\u00a0 But realistically\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf he doesn\u2019t, there\u2019s gotta be something<\/em> we can do!\u201d Joe burst out.\u00a0 Ben ignored the fact that his youngest had just cut him off.\u00a0 They were all under a lot of strain.<\/p>\n

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

Joe must have reached the far side, because his voice and footsteps drifted closer again.\u00a0 \u201cWell, we\u2019ve got nothin\u2019 but time to think, do we?\u201d<\/p>\n

That was certainly true enough.<\/p>\n

\u201cSure seems like we been down here a lot longer than two days,\u201d Hoss muttered.<\/p>\n

Ben sealed his lips tight before he could say something to either of his sons that he might regret.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Chapter Three<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cAdam!\u201d\u00a0 Roy stood as Adam entered the sheriff\u2019s office, coming around his desk to shake hands.\u00a0 \u201cAin\u2019t seen you in a while.\u00a0 You just get in?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam nodded briefly.\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t slept well last night, jumping at every noise\u2014hoping against hope that his pa and brothers might come stumbling in late, that they would laugh and tell him it was all a misunderstanding and that his worry had been a stupid overreaction.\u00a0 It hadn\u2019t happened, and when he\u2019d ridden out before first light his head had been pounding with the stress and fatigue.\u00a0 Roy seemed to notice something off, because he leaned back against his desk, folding his arms.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis ain\u2019t a social call?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam shook his head, removing his hat and running the brim through his hands.\u00a0 It was a strange, uncomfortable feeling , this lingering uncertainty.\u00a0 Adam Cartwright wasn\u2019t a man who usually wasted time second guessing himself.\u00a0 His instincts were good.\u00a0 He was proud of them, he trusted them, and he acted accordingly\u2014even when he stood alone.\u00a0 He\u2019d rarely had reason to regret that.<\/p>\n

And he wouldn\u2019t regret it now.\u00a0 Adam settled his hat firmly back into place, crossed his arms, and leaned onto one leg.\u00a0 Whatever was going on, it was darned irregular and he didn\u2019t like it.<\/p>\n

If he was being an overprotective maiden aunt, Roy Coffee wouldn\u2019t be shy about telling him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re gone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roy frowned.\u00a0 \u201cWho\u2019s gone?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPa and the boys.\u00a0 I was out for a couple, three days checking on line camps with Candy, and when I got in last night they were just \u2026 gone.\u201d\u00a0 Adam shrugged.\u00a0 Roy shifted, frown sharpening.\u00a0 Adam took his friend\u2019s silence as invitation to continue.\u00a0 \u201cTheir saddle horses are there, all the wagons are there, all the stock is there.\u00a0 There\u2019s no note about them being out overnight.\u00a0 The dinner dishes from two nights ago are all still sitting on the table.\u201d<\/p>\n

The sheriff scrubbed at his chin.\u00a0 \u201cYou, uh \u2026 know what they had goin\u2019 on while you were gone?\u00a0 Anything out o\u2019 the ordinary?\u00a0 They headed out anywhere?\u00a0 Any visitors comin\u2019 in?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBusiness as usual.\u00a0 John Postley was supposed to come over to dinner.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPostley!\u201d\u00a0 Roy straightened, surprised.\u00a0 \u201cHow\u2019d that happen?\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019d been a little surprised himself, in truth \u2026 but Adam had seen his pa make peace with a startling variety of men and women, of all different walks and backgrounds, and in far more onerous circumstances than these.\u00a0 He\u2019d learned, over time, not to question it.\u00a0 \u201cHe and Pa seem to have made their peace with each other.\u00a0 At least, Pa said they\u2019d talked and Postley got a dinner invite.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roy shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cWell, your pa sure don\u2019t fail to surprise, I\u2019ll say that much.\u00a0 I wouldn\u2019ta thought it, not after it was Ben\u2019s testimony put Postley in prison like that \u2026 but I guess stranger things have happened.\u201d\u00a0 Adam nodded curtly, feeling that they were wandering slightly far afield.\u00a0 In the next breath, Roy returned to the task at hand.\u00a0 \u201cAll right.\u00a0 Why don\u2019t we ask around at a few places, find out if anyone\u2019s seen them recently.\u00a0 Then we can ride out to the house and I\u2019ll take a look around.\u00a0 After that we\u2019ll see about tracking down Postley.\u00a0 You know how to get to that mine of his?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, me either.\u00a0 Well, we\u2019ll see what we can do.\u00a0 He ain\u2019t been in town for a while, not that I seen anyway\u2014could be he\u2019ll come in for supplies and save us the trouble.\u00a0 In any case, maybe Postley saw something while he was out to the Ponderosa for dinner, or your pa might\u2019ve mentioned somethin\u2019 that\u2019ll clear things up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maybe.\u00a0 It was a place to start, anyway.\u00a0 \u201cIf he was even out to dinner.\u201d\u00a0 Adam strode after Roy into the hot morning sun, relieved to be taken seriously\u2014especially after his own doubts.\u00a0 Roy lifted one eyebrow in his direction.\u00a0 \u201cNot enough plates for them all.\u00a0 Of course, Pa probably made enough for two days\u2014we\u2019ve been cooking a lot at once and eating leftovers, with Hop Sing out.\u00a0 They could be last night\u2019s dishes, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, we\u2019ll just ask around and see what we find out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam blew out a long breath, clapping the sheriff on the shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cThanks, Roy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t you worry.\u00a0 We\u2019ll find that family of yours.\u201d<\/p>\n

They didn\u2019t, though.\u00a0 The general store, the bank, the hotels, the livery, the lawyer, three restaurants, and ten saloons (it would have taken hours to check all one hundred forty-three*, so in order to save time they agreed to stick to C Street) all agreed that neither Ben, Hoss, nor Joe Cartwright had been seen in Virginia City for nearly a week.\u00a0 This was nothing particularly out of the ordinary.\u00a0 Although Ben grumbled that it sometimes seemed they rode to Virginia City and back twice a day\u2014\u201cHow are we supposed to get any work done around here with everyone always on their way into or back from town?\u201d<\/em>\u2014the truth was that they often spent long stretches of time without leaving the Ponderosa.\u00a0 Given the work currently facing them at home, it was more than possible that none of them had ventured in while Adam was away.<\/p>\n

He was disappointed, then, but not surprised.<\/p>\n

Their trip to the house did not turn up anything new either.\u00a0 Roy nodded silently and with grave attention as Adam pointed out his findings, then poked around some himself, but came up with nothing more.\u00a0 \u201cWell, I don\u2019t see any signs of a struggle or a fight, at least\u2014no bullet holes or blood anyplace.\u201d\u00a0 Adam favored the lawman with a sour glare, and Roy lifted his hands.\u00a0 \u201cAdam, that\u2019s a good thing, believe it or not.\u201d<\/p>\n

He did, but it also didn\u2019t get them anywhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat now?\u201d\u00a0 They were standing in the yard beside their horses, the silence of defeat and of a hot summer afternoon pressing in on them.\u00a0 \u201cPostley?\u201d<\/p>\n

Roy chewed his lip for a moment, then shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll tell you, Adam \u2026 I think you ought ta get back out to those line camps, rustle up your men, and get them out there lookin\u2019.\u00a0 I don\u2019t have any idea what\u2019s goin\u2019 on here, but I don\u2019t like it.\u201d\u00a0 He forestalled Adam\u2019s protest before it was spoken.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll chase down Postley on my own\u2014I\u2019m gonna head back to town and see if anybody knows anything about where that mine of his might be.\u00a0 I\u2019ll send some more men out this way, but I think we need to get some search parties out there sooner rather than later.\u201d<\/p>\n

Somehow, that made it more real.\u00a0 His family was actually<\/em> missing\u2014it wasn\u2019t just some overblown concern in his own head.\u00a0 Adam hesitated for a bare instant, then nodded.\u00a0 \u201cAll right, Roy.\u00a0 If you think that\u2019s best.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI do.\u201d\u00a0 Roy swung into the saddle.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll let you know if I manage to\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

The thud of packed dirt beneath hooves drew their attention, and Adam huffed out a surprised breath as John Postley himself rode into the yard on an elderly mule.\u00a0 The little man pulled up near them, nodded to Roy, and directed his attention to Adam.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfternoon, Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cI, uh \u2026\u201d\u00a0 Postley hesitated, glancing between Adam and Roy as if he sensed something amiss, then continued.\u00a0 \u201cI wanted to see your pa.\u00a0 Is he around?\u201d<\/p>\n

The spark of hope that Adam had barely allowed himself to acknowledge withered and died.\u00a0 He scrubbed at his aching eyes, leaned heavily against Sport, and crossed his arms over the top of the saddle.\u00a0 \u201cNo, he\u2019s not.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roy pulled his own horse around.\u00a0 \u201cJohn, when you were out here to dinner the other night, did Ben or the boys happen ta say anything about what they had planned for the next couple of days?\u201d<\/p>\n

The bushy grey eyebrows dipped.\u00a0 \u201cActually, I come to apologize because I never did even make it out to dinner.\u00a0 Got busy at the mine and plumb forgot.\u00a0 Was feelin\u2019 bad about it, Ben bein\u2019 so generous about invitin\u2019 me out and all, and I wanted to stop by and make it right.\u201d\u00a0 Postley\u2019s eyes strayed between them again.\u00a0 \u201cSomething goin\u2019 on?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, we don\u2019t rightly know.\u201d\u00a0 Roy sat back.\u00a0 \u201cBen, Hoss, and Joe weren\u2019t here when Adam got home last night, and we ain\u2019t seen no sign of \u2018em today neither.\u00a0 We was hopin\u2019 you might know somethin\u2019, but it don\u2019t seem like that\u2019s the case.\u201d<\/p>\n

John Postley\u2019s lined features sagged with distress.\u00a0 \u201cWell hey, I\u2019m right sorry to hear that.\u201d\u00a0 He looked back to Adam.\u00a0 \u201cYou gettin\u2019 a search party up?\u00a0 I could join up for a while, help out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI appreciate that, Mr. Postley.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roy nodded.\u00a0 \u201cTell you what, John.\u00a0 Why don\u2019t you ride on into Virginia City with me, and we\u2019ll see what we\u2019ve got, how many parties we can manage.\u201d\u00a0 He looked back down at Adam.\u00a0 \u201cYou go get those hands of yours on the hunt, you hear?\u201d\u00a0 Adam nodded, suddenly bone tired.\u00a0 It was too surreal\u2014he could barely believe this was happening.\u00a0 \u201cMeet me back here this evening.\u00a0 We\u2019ll get things organized, make sure we\u2019re coverin\u2019 ground and not just goin\u2019 in circles.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSure, Roy.\u00a0 Thanks.\u201d<\/p>\n

The sheriff reached down to grip his friend\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ll find \u2018em, Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

He hoped so.<\/p>\n

Adam leaned against Sport and watched Roy and Postley ride away.\u00a0 His chest ached as if a boulder sat on it, and his brain whirled.\u00a0 How was this possible?\u00a0 How could he leave for less than three days, and return to find that everything looked the same but had changed completely?<\/p>\n

How could three grown men just disappear into thin air?\u00a0 How?<\/p>\n

Adam pulled in a long breath, let it out slowly, and then heaved himself into the saddle.\u00a0 Standing here asking himself questions with no answers wasn\u2019t doing his family any good.\u00a0 No.\u00a0 The sooner he reached the Ponderosa hands, the sooner the search could begin in earnest.<\/p>\n

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~<\/p>\n

Even the dim lantern light sent a spike of pain into his head.\u00a0 Ben squeezed his eyes shut and wished vaguely that he presented a better image than the one Postley must actually be seeing, exhausted and disheveled and cowering from the light.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey there, fellas.\u00a0 How\u2019re the accommodations workin\u2019 out?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe lunged before Ben could get a hand on him\u2014either the boy\u2019s eyes adjusted more quickly or his youngest was working blind.\u00a0 \u201cPostley, let us out of here!\u201d<\/p>\n

A chuckle drifted down.\u00a0 It held real humor, and Ben wondered sourly just what about this whole mess the man found so funny.\u00a0 \u201cIs that any way to talk to the man bringin\u2019 your food and water, boy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPostley!\u201d\u00a0 Ben forced his eyes open and lurched to his feet.\u00a0 His first quick glance was for his sons, a sight for which he had longed in the hours of darkness.\u00a0 Joe, true to his nature, glared up at their captor with rigid fury, fists and jaw clenched.\u00a0 Hoss was dragging himself upright as sluggishly as if the whole weight of the mine pressed down on him, and Ben spared a second worried glance for his middle son before returning \u00a0his attention above.\u00a0 \u201cPostley, this is madness.\u00a0 Let us out!\u201d<\/p>\n

Postley settled on the edge of the shaft, legs dangling.\u00a0 \u201cBen, I already told you I couldn\u2019t do it.\u201d\u00a0 His tone was conversational, as if the two of them were drinking coffee on the porch at the Ponderosa rather than buried in the bowels of an old mine.\u00a0 \u201cYou gotta see.\u00a0 You gotta understand what it was like, bein\u2019 shut away all that time for no reason.\u201d<\/p>\n

No amount of arguing had convinced Postley when he\u2019d first trapped them down here\u2014though in truth, the man had walked away before they\u2019d had much of a chance to try\u2014and Ben knew that nothing he said now would do any better.<\/p>\n

That didn\u2019t mean he wasn\u2019t going to make the attempt.<\/p>\n

\u201cPostley, we talked about this!\u00a0 It was all just a terrible case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.\u00a0 Even you don\u2019t dispute that you were in that alley, right where I said I saw you!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNope, I don\u2019t dispute it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen you know I had to tell them, when they asked!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSuppose so.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut Mr. Postley\u2014\u201d Hoss started.\u00a0 The little man cut him off.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes we have to learn lessons we wish we didn\u2019t.\u201d\u00a0 Postley\u2019s tone had lost its congenial edge.\u00a0 \u201cI learned that our system of law fails us, and now you\u2019ll learn the consequences of that failure, too.\u00a0 It\u2019s only fair, don\u2019t you think, Ben?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u00a0 I don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPostley!\u201d Joe bellowed again.\u00a0 \u201cYou can\u2019t\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben grabbed his son\u2019s shoulder, cutting him off mid-stride.\u00a0 \u201cPostley, at least let my sons go.\u201d<\/p>\n

John Postley laughed.\u00a0 A double protest rose up from either side of Ben.\u00a0 \u201cPa, you can\u2019t\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCan\u2019t do it, Ben.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course he couldn\u2019t.\u00a0 Once Hoss and Joe were free, they would go directly for help.\u00a0 Ben couldn\u2019t bear to think of his boys, though, rotting away down here with him.\u00a0 He tried again.\u00a0 \u201cMy sons don\u2019t have anything to do with this!\u00a0 This is not their fault.\u00a0 How is that fair<\/em>, in your estimation?\u201d<\/p>\n

Their captor sighed.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s not, and I\u2019m right sorry about that, Ben.\u00a0 I am.\u00a0 Weren\u2019t no way around it, though.\u201d\u00a0 Incredibly, his regret sounded genuine.\u00a0 Ben forced back a snort of exasperated laughter, reminding himself that Postley was at least partly insane.\u00a0 There was no telling what<\/em> was going on inside the man\u2019s head \u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cPa, we wouldn\u2019t leave you here,\u201d Joe snapped.\u00a0 As the entire argument was academic\u2014Postley would not release his sons, so what they would or wouldn\u2019t do in that eventuality didn\u2019t really matter anyway\u2014Ben didn\u2019t bother to respond.\u00a0 His youngest swung back around.\u00a0 \u201cAdam\u2019s still out there.\u00a0 He\u2019ll be lookin\u2019 for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Postley nodded.\u00a0 \u201cHe is.\u201d Ben\u2019s heart leaped.\u00a0 Adam was searching for them \u2026 \u201cI rode in one of the search parties for a while, even\u2014helped them look.\u201d\u00a0 One bushy eyebrow lifted.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s a bit prickly, that oldest boy of yours.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam.\u00a0 Although he, Joe, and Hoss were the ones trapped here, his absent son was being dragged through this ordeal as well.\u00a0 The anger and frustration roiled in Ben\u2019s gut.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t imagine what Adam must be going through.\u00a0 To return home and find them all missing \u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cHe knows you came out to dinner.\u00a0 They\u2019ll\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI washed up my dishes that first night, told him and the sheriff I never made it out.\u00a0 Besides that, so what if I was?\u00a0 Don\u2019t mean I had anything to do with anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was true.\u00a0 Ben stared up at him in mute frustration.\u00a0 Not only was there nothing (to his knowledge) to connect Postley to their disappearance, but the man was going so far as to help with the search efforts!\u00a0 Even if Adam or Roy or the any of the others did stumble across Postley\u2019s mine, there would be no reason for them to enter it\u2014not with Postley offering assistance as he was.<\/p>\n

A thump at Ben\u2019s feet jerked his thoughts back to the present, and he saw that Postley had tossed a bag down.\u00a0 \u201cFood and water.\u00a0 Make it last.\u201d\u00a0 The man stood, turned, and shuffled back from the edge.\u00a0 The lantern light dimmed as it went with him.<\/p>\n

\u201cPostley!\u201d Ben snapped, but their captor did not return.<\/p>\n

\u201cPostley!\u201d Joe howled, to no avail.<\/p>\n

Hoss sighed and settled himself back into a corner of the shaft.<\/p>\n

Once again, the light failed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Chapter Four<\/strong><\/p>\n

Adam rode slowly into the yard, his gaze skimming the house and the porch and the stable without actually seeing any of it.\u00a0 Two weeks and three days.\u00a0 Two weeks and three days since he had come home to an empty house.\u00a0 One week and three days since the greater number of the searchers had gone back to their own homes and businesses.\u00a0 One week since he had sent most of the Ponderosa hands back to work.\u00a0 Three days since Roy had called off the official search.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t justify it anymore, Adam.\u00a0 We\u2019ve looked everyplace we can think of\u2014most of \u2018em twice.\u00a0 Lookin\u2019 in \u2018em a third time ain\u2019t gonna get us anywhere.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cRoy \u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve wired every sheriff\u2019s office from here to San Francisco.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThey have to be somewhere.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cYour reward notices are in the papers.\u00a0 For a thousand dollars, if anyone does see anything they\u2019re sure ta let us know.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd just what do you suggest in the meantime, Roy?\u00a0 Sit at home and wait?\u00a0 Run cattle and sell timber like nothing\u2019s changed?\u00a0 Hope that in a year or two, somebody might find a body in a creek or a gorge and at least let me know, even though it\u2019s too late to do anything?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cAdam \u2026 your pa\u2019s been my friend for a lot of years, but \u2026 chances are it\u2019s already too late.\u00a0 You know that, right son?\u201d\u00a0 For some reason, his friend\u2019s compassion made him angry.\u00a0 Of course, everything right now made Adam angry.\u00a0 Roy sighed.\u00a0 \u201cYou pray, boy, and you go back to work, and you let me know if you come across anything new.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

He couldn\u2019t give it up yet, though.<\/p>\n

Roy knew that.\u00a0 The sheriff no doubt understood even as he rode out of the yard that Adam would be out on his own the next day, and the next.\u00a0 There was nothing the other man could do about it, though, and he didn\u2019t try.\u00a0 In the end, Adam decided it was just as well.\u00a0 Without Roy and the other searchers, he could begin earlier, take shorter breaks, stay out later.\u00a0 Cover more ground.\u00a0 And for three days now he had done just that, from before sunup until after sundown.\u00a0 He\u2019d be out still today, had he not discovered a crack in Buck\u2019s shoe and been forced to bring the gelding home.<\/p>\n

The problem was, Roy was right.\u00a0 There was no limit to the number of nooks and crannies tucked throughout the Sierras, and no way for him to search them all.\u00a0 There was no telling whether his family remained in the area.\u00a0 And there was no assurance that they were even still alive\u2014no guarantee that Pa and the boys weren\u2019t all three lying in shallow graves he\u2019d never see.<\/p>\n

In fact, that was the mostly likely scenario, if he was honest with himself.<\/p>\n

Adam\u2019s gut lurched, and he shoved that vision firmly away.\u00a0 The time to deal with that reality was coming.\u00a0 Soon enough, he would be forced to face facts, halt his search, and return his attention to the Ponderosa\u2019s neglected needs\u2014but not yet.\u00a0 Not. quite. yet.\u00a0 He dismounted and led Buck into the stable, patting Chubby and Cochise absently on the way past.\u00a0 Sport snorted from across the aisle and he dug up a shallow grin, scratching the chestnut behind the ears before untacking his pa\u2019s buckskin.\u00a0 \u201cJealousy does not become you, boy.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019d been switching between the four horses on a daily basis, to keep all of them exercised and to ensure himself a fresh and rested mount.\u00a0 It was proving less easy to keep himself fresh and rested.\u00a0 There just didn\u2019t seem any point in wasting time on cooking and personal grooming, not when the search was so much more urgent.\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t shaved or bathed in over a week.\u00a0 He\u2019d been eating trail rations and little else since the search began\u2014beans, jerky, coffee.\u00a0 His body ached from long days in the saddle.\u00a0 He was able to sleep only briefly at any given time, and what he did manage left him as tired as when he\u2019d started out.<\/p>\n

Fear and rage had risen close to the surface during these days of silence and fatigue.\u00a0 His manner and appearance would have startled anyone who knew Adam Cartwright\u2014usually so calm, cool, implacable\u2014but it didn\u2019t matter now.<\/p>\n

He was alone.\u00a0 There was no one else to see.<\/p>\n

Anger surged, spilling fresh energy into his limbs.<\/p>\n

They had left him alone.<\/p>\n

It was ironic\u2014funny, almost.\u00a0 He had craved the solitude, when he\u2019d volunteered to check those line camps for Hoss.\u00a0 Less noise.\u00a0 Some time to himself.<\/p>\n

Be careful what you wish for \u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

Shuddering, Adam looked down and found his knuckles white around the pitchfork.\u00a0 He blew out a long, slow breath, dropped the forkful of hay into Buck\u2019s stall, and set the tool carefully aside. \u00a0No.\u00a0 This was not his family\u2019s fault.\u00a0 They had not done this to him.\u00a0 In fact, nothing had been done to him<\/em> at all.\u00a0 They<\/em> were the ones in danger\u2014Pa, Hoss, Little Joe.\u00a0 They<\/em> were the ones who were missing.\u00a0 Who were probably hurt.\u00a0 Probably dead.<\/p>\n

He had no right to be angry with them.<\/p>\n

He was<\/em> angry, though.<\/p>\n

It was \u2026 difficult, with no target.<\/p>\n

Right, then.\u00a0 Adam took a long breath and shook his head, clearing the cobwebs from his brain.\u00a0 There were several hours of daylight left.\u00a0 He would grab a quick snack, if there was anything to be found in the kitchen, then take Sport out again until dark.\u00a0 Adam rubbed Buck\u2019s nose, swung around, and nearly plowed over Hop Sing in the stable doorway.<\/p>\n

The relief and confusion almost buckled his knees \u2026 but he managed a nod and a steady tone.\u00a0 \u201cHop Sing.\u00a0 What are you doing here?\u201d<\/p>\n

The cook scowled.\u00a0 \u201cLive here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam returned that familiar scowl, glad beyond words for even a small dose of normality.\u00a0 \u201cWhat are you doing back<\/em>, then? \u00a0You had another couple of weeks, didn\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHonorable sheriff contact in San Francisco, ask Hop Sing come home.\u201d\u00a0 Hop Sing crossed his arms.\u00a0 \u201cNot think it good for Mistah Adam to be alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam scrubbed at his face.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d\u00a0 Of course.\u00a0 He really should have known that Roy Coffee wouldn\u2019t be able to resist meddling.\u00a0 \u201cRoy shouldn\u2019t have\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy you<\/em> not contact?\u201d\u00a0 Hop Sing stabbed a finger into Adam\u2019s startled face.\u00a0 \u201cWhy you think Hop Sing not want to know, come home when family missing?\u00a0 Hop Sing not have right?\u201d<\/p>\n

He gaped.\u00a0 \u201cOf course.\u00a0 You know that \u2026 but\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut now Hop Sing see why.\u201d\u00a0 The cook waved a vague hand.\u00a0 \u201cYou not eat, you not sleep.\u201d\u00a0 He sniffed, wrinkling his nose.\u00a0 \u201cYou not wash.\u00a0 It no wonder sheriff worried.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe hasn\u2019t seen me lately \u2026\u201d Adam protested, but Hop Sing had already turned back to the house.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou come.\u00a0 Bath water ready, then hot soup and fresh bread.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hot soup.\u00a0 He\u2019d been freezing for weeks, despite his hours beneath the scorching Nevada sun.\u00a0 How did Hop Sing always know these things?\u00a0 For the first time since life had flipped inside out, Adam was suddenly ravenous.\u00a0 Still \u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going back out for a few hours.\u00a0 I\u2019ll eat after I\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou wash now, then eat.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHop Sing \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Hop Sing spun back toward him.\u00a0 \u201cYou wash now, then eat, then sleep<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 The little cook towered over him, despite Adam\u2019s significantly taller stature.\u00a0 \u201cIt late in day.\u00a0 You not find anything tonight in land you search half-dozen times already, so close to home.\u00a0 Not help father and brothers, not help you<\/em>, not help anybody.\u00a0 You come inside now.\u201d<\/p>\n

And why did Hop Sing always make so much sense?<\/p>\n

He hadn\u2019t spent much time in the house over the past couple of weeks, even when home\u2014it still screamed the presence of Pa and the boys over its suffocating silence.\u00a0 It was another reason (one Adam had barely admitted even to himself) that he had been spending so much time in the saddle lately.\u00a0 It wouldn\u2019t be so quiet anymore, though, not with Hop Sing returned.\u00a0 The emptiness would be overwhelming, but maybe no longer crushing.\u00a0 \u201cI won\u2019t eat in the dining room.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hop Sing nodded once.\u00a0 \u201cHappy to have you at kitchen table.\u201d<\/p>\n

The kitchen.\u00a0 Yes, he could do that.\u00a0 \u201cThanks, Hop Sing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSure, sure.\u00a0 You come now.\u201d\u00a0 The cook tugged gently at his elbow.\u00a0 \u201cYou wash, eat good food, then Hop Sing give you shave before you sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam rubbed at his jaw.\u00a0 It really was<\/em> a bit out of hand.\u00a0 \u201cI can shave myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d\u00a0 The cook was adamant.\u00a0 \u201cYou shave self now, you cut throat.\u201d<\/p>\n

He snorted a laugh\u2014the first, probably, since this had all begun.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re probably right.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course Hop Sing right.\u00a0 Why you surprised?\u201d<\/p>\n

He wasn\u2019t. \u00a0Hop Sing was right about a great many things.\u00a0 Adam closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and realized that at least some measure of his equilibrium had returned. \u00a0\u00a0He owed their cook for a great deal more than hot soup and a good shave \u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right.\u00a0 Lead the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~<\/p>\n

The commotion jolted Ben out of a light doze.<\/p>\n

Ironically, all three had found sleep difficult, buried in unrelieved darkness.\u00a0 Without any difference between night and day their bodies refused to rest on a regular schedule, and the sleep they did happen to catch was shallow, restless.\u00a0 It was also difficult to reorient upon waking.\u00a0 By the time Ben managed to get his feet under him (metaphorically speaking), Joe had scrambled across the tiny shaft and was speaking in a low, steady tone.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s okay, Hoss.\u00a0 You\u2019re okay.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss\u2019s harsh panting came in jolting counterpoint to Joe\u2019s soothing murmur.\u00a0 \u201cCome on, brother, wake up.\u00a0 You\u2019re okay.\u00a0 You can feel me breathing, right? \u00a0That\u2019s right. \u00a0Just breathe along with me.\u00a0 Come on now, nice and deep.\u201d<\/p>\n

The strained, panicked gasps had calmed considerably by the time Ben found his sons.\u00a0 He felt for his middle son\u2019s shoulder and gripped it firmly, addressing Joe.\u00a0 \u201cHow is he?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood.\u00a0 We\u2019re good.\u201d\u00a0 Joe\u2019s voice didn\u2019t break from its calming cadence.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019re just fine, aren\u2019t we, Hoss?\u00a0 Just breathin\u2019 nice and slow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss\u2019s grumble was a relief.\u00a0 \u201cOh, fine as frog\u2019s hair.\u00a0 Sure enough.\u201d\u00a0 A breathless quality still painted his son\u2019s tone, but it was fading fast.<\/p>\n

Joe chuckled, and Ben joined him.\u00a0 \u201cYour sincerity is overwhelming, son.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, tell Little Joe ta stop askin\u2019 me fool questions, then.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe giggled again, a pale imitation of his usual cackle.\u00a0 Ben heard him thump to the ground.\u00a0 \u201cCan\u2019t help it, brother.\u00a0 What else am I supposed to do to pass the time?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCount to a million,\u201d Hoss snapped.\u00a0 Then, \u201cNo, count from<\/em> a million.\u00a0 Backwards.\u00a0 Slowly.\u00a0 Oughta keep ya until at least \u2026 whenever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whenever.<\/p>\n

There was no time here, only blackness.\u00a0 Their one relief was the short, unexpected bursts from Postley\u2019s lantern when their captor appeared with new supplies.\u00a0 Though at times the man stayed to chat, often he simply dropped the bag and then disappeared without a word.<\/p>\n

In truth, Ben far preferred the latter\u2014even if it did mean less light.<\/p>\n

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

Hoss groaned.<\/p>\n

\u201cNine hundred ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred ninety-nine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCount quiet<\/em>, Joseph.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou didn\u2019t say that.\u00a0 Nine hundred ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred ninety-eight.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I meant<\/em> it!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow am I supposed to guess at somethin\u2019 like that?\u00a0 You gotta be clear about these things.\u00a0 Nine hundred ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred ninety-seven.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDadburn it, Joe \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoseph.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was best to nip this in the bud.\u00a0 Their forced proximity had been a source of tension as well as comfort, and Ben had no desire for his two sons to start into each other again.\u00a0 They had enough problems as it was.\u00a0 Add to that Hoss\u2019s new tendency of waking up in a breathless panic\u2014his middle son\u2019s dislike of dark spaces had made itself known in small ways from the beginning, but there was nothing small about these episodes and Ben was worried what this recent development might mean\u2014and the last thing they needed was an all-out fight over something so stupid.<\/p>\n

For a moment both of his sons were silent.\u00a0 Then Hoss heaved a sigh.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do ya think Adam\u2019s gettin\u2019 along?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam.\u00a0 Ben scrubbed at his face.<\/p>\n

His absent son was a subject they had approached only a few times during these dark days.\u00a0 The avoidance had been mostly out of necessity, because any speculation about Adam tended to evolve rapidly into speculation about whatever rescue effort might be underway.\u00a0 That, they had quickly discovered, was a short, quick road to insanity.\u00a0 Still, Adam had never been far from Ben\u2019s thoughts\u2014or, suspected, those of his younger brothers.<\/p>\n

What that oldest boy of his must be going through \u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cOle Adam\u2019s probably just enjoying the peace and quiet,\u201d Joe drawled, and Ben directed a fierce frown toward his son.\u00a0 Even unseen, Joe would hear it.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cPa \u2026\u201d\u00a0 Joe\u2019s wary tone said louder than any words that Ben\u2019s youngest realized he should have kept his mouth shut.\u00a0 \u201cI was only joking.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, it wasn\u2019t funny.\u201d<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t funny for Adam, either, Ben knew\u2014and that was really the source of his anger, not Joe\u2019s admittedly harmless comment.\u00a0 His eldest had come through so much in his lifetime with a grace and dignity Ben often envied.\u00a0 To lose his entire family at once, though, and in such a way \u2026 how could even Adam, who had learned to cope with tragedy at such an early age, cope with this<\/em>?<\/p>\n

\u201cAw, Pa.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t mean nothin\u2019 by it.\u201d<\/p>\n

And how could Hoss, even sunk in the depths as he was, pass up an opportunity to defend his baby brother?\u00a0 Ben chuckled wryly.\u00a0 \u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPa,\u201d Joe offered tentatively.\u00a0 \u201cI didn\u2019t mean that Adam\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe.\u00a0 I know<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 Ben forced as much warmth into his voice as possible, an attempted olive branch.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s just that \u2026 I worry for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah.\u201d\u00a0 Joe\u2019s voice was soft, and sad.\u00a0 \u201cSo do I.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss blew out another long sigh.\u00a0 \u201cSo do we all.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Chapter Five<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some days were worse than others, and paperwork days were among them.<\/p>\n

Adam sat in the alcove at his father\u2019s desk, drank coffee, and stared at the records scattered across its polished surface.\u00a0 He had never been fond of the accounts (no matter what Joe claimed, he didn\u2019t actually enjoy<\/em> boredom), but he understood their necessity and always took them on willingly enough when Ben was absent or unable.\u00a0 Now, though \u2026\u00a0 Now the accounts meant spending a day staring at his father\u2019s handwriting and signature, and often the handwriting and signatures of his brothers as well on some invoice or bill of sale.\u00a0 Oh, that would go away soon enough, as those records were filed in some old cabinet and new ones took their place\u2014but he wasn\u2019t sure that would be any better.<\/p>\n

Their signatures were a reminder that they were missing.<\/p>\n

No<\/em> signatures would be a reminder that they were not coming home.<\/p>\n

Down deep, Adam supposed he already knew that.\u00a0 Pa and the boys had been gone for a month.\u00a0\u00a0 The time for clues or ransom notes, or even for his family to walk back through the front door as if nothing had ever happened, was long past.\u00a0 Everyone else in the area had certainly accepted it and moved on\u2014this week\u2019s papers had pronounced his family \u2018presumed dead\u2019, and a couple of well-meaning ladies had asked him in town yesterday when he planned on holding the memorial service.\u00a0 They would help provide food, so that Hop Sing didn\u2019t have to cook for that number of people on his own.<\/p>\n

He resisted (barely) a blistering set-down, tipped his hat politely, and told them he\u2019d let them know.<\/p>\n

The thing was, Adam had no intention of holding a memorial any time soon.\u00a0 He might accept that they were \u2026 gone, but he didn\u2019t plan to make it official.\u00a0 Not yet.\u00a0 Maybe he was just putting off the inevitable, delaying his own healing along with it, but he wasn\u2019t ready.<\/p>\n

Not yet.<\/p>\n

\u201cRoy and Doc Martin think I\u2019m in denial,\u201d he had told Hop Sing over breakfast that morning, hunched on a stool at the kitchen table.\u00a0 He had not eaten in the dining room since this had all started, not unless some visitor had been out to check up on him.\u00a0 The silence around the table was too loud with memories\u2014Joe\u2019s cackle, Hoss\u2019s appetite, Pa\u2019s booming voice.\u00a0 It was better not to take it on, because he generally came out the loser.\u00a0 As for the visitors\u2014he knew that the sheriff and the doctor and old Mrs. Thompson and the half-dozen others who\u2019d been out meant well, but he wished they wouldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

It was odd.\u00a0 The enforced solitude was eating him alive, but he didn\u2019t want their company.<\/p>\n

Probably, because they weren\u2019t the right<\/em> company.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey right?\u201d<\/p>\n

Hop Sing was already puttering with lunch preparations, though noon was hours away and Adam wouldn\u2019t be much hungry when it arrived.\u00a0 He looked and felt better on the outside since Hop Sing had returned, and Adam freely gave credit where it was due.\u00a0 The cook-turned-only-family-member\u2019s aggressive pestering regarding such things as shaving and sleep and mealtimes had been at once annoying and a Godsend.\u00a0 Still, none of it could made him hungry again.\u00a0 As long as he ate at least something at each meal, though, Hop Sing seemed satisfied and help his tongue.\u00a0 That didn\u2019t stop him from going all out with each small dish he prepared, however, in the hopes that this<\/em> would be the one to tempt Mistah Adam\u2019s appetite.<\/p>\n

It was an intricate balancing act, but they were managing.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u00a0 I know they\u2019re not coming back.\u00a0 But I\u2019m also not ready to see my name at the top of the Ponderosa\u2019s deed.\u00a0 Is that so wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot wrong.\u00a0 However Mistah Adam need grieve, not wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

His gut rolled, and Adam pushed back his plate.\u00a0 \u201cSee?\u00a0 Even you can say it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHop Sing not<\/em> say it.\u00a0 Don\u2019t know what you hearing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut you\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot talk about family, talk about Mistah Adam.\u00a0 Hop Sing say you grieving, and is true no matter if Mistah Ben and Mistah Hoss and Little Joe dead or not.\u201d\u00a0 The cook put down his knife, wiped his hands, and approached.\u00a0 \u201cThere big loss in here,\u201d he tapped Adam\u2019s chest gently with one finger, \u201cright now<\/em>, even if family come back tomorrow.\u00a0 Grief not only for death.\u201d<\/p>\n

No, but \u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cBut they are.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hop Sing sighed, looking suddenly twenty years older.\u00a0 The dark head nodded, and he moved back to his chopping block.\u00a0 \u201cSeems probably so.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seems probably so.\u00a0 It was as good a theme for the day as any.<\/p>\n

He was drifting.\u00a0 Adam took another swallow of coffee and was about to dig into the next file when a loud knock pounded at the door.\u00a0 Hop Sing was out back with the laundry, so Adam pushed away from the desk and went to answer.<\/p>\n

Candy stood on the front porch.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just heard.\u201d\u00a0 Their wayward foreman brandished a paper, stepping past Adam into the house.\u00a0 \u201cCame as soon as I could.\u00a0 I don\u2019t \u2026\u201d\u00a0 Candy shook his head, removing his hat to run distracted fingers through his tousled mane.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t even know what to say.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was \u2026 very good to see him.\u00a0 Adam closed the door and motioned Candy toward the great room.\u00a0 \u201cThere isn\u2019t anything to<\/em> say.\u201d<\/p>\n

Candy settled onto the settee, dropped the paper onto the table, and leaned forward.\u00a0 \u201cTell me what\u2019s been happening.\u201d\u00a0 He hesitated.\u00a0 \u201cUnless you don\u2019t want to talk about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, it\u2019s fine.\u201d\u00a0 Adam waved aside Candy\u2019s concern and sank into his own blue chair.\u00a0 \u201cIt might actually be good to go through it all front to back\u2014I haven\u2019t even done that with Hop Sing.\u201d \u00a0He offered a wry grin.\u00a0 \u201cHe just showed back up and jumped in like he\u2019d never left.\u201d<\/p>\n

Candy had always been a good listener.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t offer many interruptions as Adam spun the tale, beginning with his return home from their trip out to the line camps and ending with the present state of affairs.\u00a0 Their foreman shook his head when Adam had finished, stretching his legs and scrubbing thoughtfully at his unshaven jaw.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never heard anything like it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam grimaced.\u00a0 \u201cI only wish I hadn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah.\u201d\u00a0 Candy nodded slowly.\u00a0 \u201cI bet you do.\u201d\u00a0 They were silent for a long while, and then Candy ventured, \u201cYou know I\u2019ve got another month off yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I did know that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Candy flashed that grin, the one that could mean eight different things or nothing.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m thinkin\u2019 maybe about a slow ride through the nearby Sierras.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam looked away, not sure how to feel about that.\u00a0 \u201cWe searched for weeks, and I looked on my own for even longer than that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou said it yourself.\u201d\u00a0 Candy shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cStill a lot of uncovered ground.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCandy, it\u2019s not that I don\u2019t \u2026 but they\u2019re \u2026\u201d\u00a0 Still<\/em>, he couldn\u2019t say it.\u00a0 If he\u2019d been alone, Adam would have growled aloud in frustration.\u00a0 Candy cocked his head to one side, expression unreadable.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, probably.\u00a0 But, it\u2019s my time to spend.\u201d \u00a0He leaned forward again.\u00a0 \u201cLook, will it bother you if I do some lookin\u2019 around?\u201d<\/p>\n

Would it bother him?\u00a0 No, not at all \u2026 and that was the point.\u00a0 Everyone kept telling him that \u00a0it had been a month, that he needed to be facing facts and getting on with life.\u00a0 He knew they were right\u2014he\u2019d probably be telling others the same thing if the situation was reversed\u2014yet still<\/em> all Adam wanted to do was shove the blasted paperwork back into a drawer, saddle Sport, and spend the next week crawling through the wilds of Nevada.<\/p>\n

How was he ever supposed to move forward if he kept looking backward?<\/p>\n

Then again, was \u2018forward\u2019 really looking so great that he needed to rush to get there?<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u00a0 It won\u2019t bother me.\u201d\u00a0 Adam offered a faint grin.\u00a0 \u201cI might even join you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maybe he was<\/em> in denial.\u00a0 Or maybe Hop Sing was just right (Hop Sing usually was), and there was no wrong way for him to grieve.<\/p>\n

At the moment, he was okay with either one.<\/p>\n

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a beautiful mornin\u2019, fellas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben squinted against the lantern light, shading his eyes from the source sitting beside John Postley at the edge of their shaft.\u00a0 He knew the flame was probably turned so low as to be useless to any normal person, but for he and his sons even a tiny flicker was overwhelming.<\/p>\n

He and one son, at least.\u00a0 A quick glance showed him that Hoss hadn\u2019t bothered to look up from his huddle in the far corner, and a headshake from Joe confirmed that Ben\u2019s middle son hadn\u2019t even stirred at Postley\u2019s pronouncement.\u00a0 His youngest remained shoulder to shoulder with Hoss, as he had been since his bigger brother had stopped speaking some time back, and Ben knew that it was only for Hoss\u2019s sake that Joe wasn\u2019t already on his feet railing at Postley.\u00a0 Joe was a hothead, but the boy\u2019s (man\u2019s) love and fear for his brother were both fierce.<\/p>\n

\u201cPostley!\u201d he snapped, stumbling to his feet.\u00a0 \u201cPostley, you have to let us out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their captor sighed.\u00a0 \u201cBen \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLook<\/em> at my son!\u00a0 He\u2019s not even \u2026 he can\u2019t \u2026\u201d\u00a0 This wasn\u2019t going to get him anywhere.\u00a0 \u201cAt least give us some light!\u00a0 Even in your cell, you had some<\/em> light, didn\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI did,\u201d Postley admitted.\u00a0 His conversational tone never broke.\u00a0 \u201cThat I did.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen give us some\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

The man shook out a newspaper.\u00a0 \u201cCartwright and sons missing for \u2026 oops.\u201d\u00a0 Postley grinned wryly down at them.\u00a0 \u201cCan\u2019t tell you that.\u00a0 But, Cartwright and sons missing, presumed dead.\u201d\u00a0 He lifted one bushy eyebrow.\u00a0 \u201cHear that?\u00a0 They think you\u2019re dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oh, Adam \u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t have time for that now.\u00a0 \u201cPostley, we need light!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCourse, it ain\u2019t been made official yet.\u00a0 But that\u2019ll come.\u00a0 Don\u2019t you worry.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was too much for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cPostley, you\u2019re insane!\u00a0 You know that, right?\u00a0 This is insane!<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

The grin disappeared, and Postley slowly closed the newspaper.\u00a0 Joe squinted between his father and their captor, tensing.\u00a0 Even Hoss sluggishly raised his head.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou think that, do you?\u201d\u00a0 Postley pushed back from the edge and stood.\u00a0 \u201cThat I\u2019m a little shy of all there.\u00a0 That I\u2019m missing a few cards from my deck.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was too late to take it back, and Ben couldn\u2019t honestly say he wanted to.\u00a0 It might not have been wise to yell it aloud, but he\u2019d wanted<\/em> to for \u2026 well, for what felt like years.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I am, whose fault is that?\u201d their captor barked.\u00a0 \u201cWhose fault is it that I spent a year and a half in that cell, that I had no one and nothing to \u2026\u201d\u00a0 Postley\u2019s voice faded, and he backed out to sight.\u00a0 Ben exchanged a glance with Joe.\u00a0 What would the man do?\u00a0 Would he just leave?\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t taken the lantern, though, and they\u2019d heard no retreating\u2014<\/p>\n

A sparkling stream of light arced down into the shaft.\u00a0 For a heart stopping second Ben gaped at the lit stick of dynamite lying between him and his sons, then he scrambled after it.<\/p>\n

Too late.\u00a0 Hoss launched away from the wall and scooped it up, ignoring Joe\u2019s startled yelp.\u00a0 For a moment Ben thought his son intended to toss the dynamite back up and out \u2026 but as his middle boy stared at the explosive, dilated eyes fixed raptly on that single spark, Ben knew.<\/p>\n

Hoss did not intend to throw that dynamite anywhere at all.<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss, no!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe sprang forward and wrestled with his brother, trying to pry the dynamite from those big hands.\u00a0 The fuse whipped wildly, leaving a bright, burning glow in its wake.\u00a0 Ben hurried toward them, forcing as much authority as he could muster into a single bellow.<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss, let it go, boy!\u00a0 Now!<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss\u2019s head whipped up.\u00a0 Those blue eyes cleared, and unfeigned horror took his expression as Ben\u2019s son realized what he was doing.\u00a0 Taking advantage, Joe snatched the dynamite away, but it was too late to do more than toss it toward the opposite side of the shaft.\u00a0 He flung himself over Hoss as it landed, and Ben dropped down on top of both his sons \u2026<\/p>\n

Nothing happened.<\/p>\n

Cautiously, Ben looked around.\u00a0 The spark was gone, but the explosive had failed.\u00a0 He exchanged a baffled glance with Joe, then crawled off of his sons.\u00a0 He reached the unexploded dynamite, seized it gingerly, and broke the stick in two.<\/p>\n

\u201cSand,\u201d he gasped hoarsely, as it poured onto the rough stone floor.\u00a0 Ben\u2019s heart pounded, and his hands shook with reaction.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s just sand.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe glanced frantically between his father and Postley, who had reappeared at the edge.\u00a0 \u201cWhy?<\/em>\u00a0 Why would you do that?\u201d<\/p>\n

Postley held Ben\u2019s gaze.\u00a0 \u201cMaybe I am a little insane, but I\u2019m not the only one now.\u201d<\/p>\n

He was too enraged to speak.\u00a0 Words failed utterly.<\/p>\n

Instead, Ben watched Postley shuffle back out of sight, and heard Hoss\u2019s soft sobs, and listened as Joe held his brother tight and whispered words that Ben couldn\u2019t hear.\u00a0 After a moment, he dropped the fake dynamite and crawled slowly back to his sons.\u00a0 He settled against the wall and stroked Hoss\u2019s hair with a shaking hand.\u00a0 His middle son\u2014his strong, kind boy\u2014looked up, face wet with tears.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry, Pa.\u00a0 I\u2019m sorry.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know what I was thinkin\u2019, I just\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all right, boy,\u201d Ben murmured, though it wasn\u2019t and would probably never be again.\u00a0 \u201cYou don\u2019t need to apologize, this is none of it your fault.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t know what I was thinkin\u2019 \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss\u2019s voice trailed away as he buried his head in his arms once again.\u00a0 In that moment of silence, a metallic clatter sounded nearby.\u00a0 Ben looked around, and found a lantern sitting beside him, tied at the end of a long rope.<\/p>\n

\u201cAin\u2019t promisin\u2019 another.\u201d<\/p>\n

He couldn\u2019t manage a thank you, and was quite sure Postley didn\u2019t care.\u00a0 Ben worked the knot free, and the rope slithered away.\u00a0 As Postley\u2019s footsteps receded into the darkness, Ben set the lantern between him and his sons, lit it, and trimmed the wick until the flame nearly died.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t much, but it was far better than what they\u2019d had.<\/p>\n

Hoss\u2019s shudders stilled, and he turned his face toward the tiny light.\u00a0 Rather than disentangle himself, Joe merely relaxed where he was, resting his head between his brother\u2019s shoulder blades.\u00a0 Ben stretched his legs, sagging back against the shaft.\u00a0 For a long while they sat silent around the tiny flame, basking as though a bonfire warmed them.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Chapter Six<\/strong><\/p>\n

They found John Postley beneath his wagon near the bottom of a little ravine they had been following for two days.\u00a0 The man had apparently been filling his water barrels in the stream when the wagon had rolled back over him, pinning him half in and half out of the water.\u00a0 There was no way to know how long he\u2019d been trapped there, and what had caused it Adam couldn\u2019t say\u2014maybe the mule had been startled and lost her footing, maybe something else.<\/p>\n

In any event, it didn\u2019t really matter.\u00a0 The damage was done.<\/p>\n

They unloaded the full water barrel, then Candy lifted the back wheel while Adam slowly eased Postley\u2019s broken body out from beneath.\u00a0 Candy came to kneel beside them while Adam peeled the man\u2019s shirt aside to assess the damage.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoc?\u201d Candy whispered, though he could see as well as Adam that there was no point.\u00a0 Adam shook his head.\u00a0 Postley\u2019s chest was damaged beyond repair, and pink froth painted his mouth.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t have much time left.\u00a0 In truth, Adam was surprised the man was still alive now\u2014he had fully expected to be rescuing a corpse.\u00a0 The shallow, rattling breaths and dull eyes had been a shock.<\/p>\n

\u201cJohn.\u00a0 What happened?\u201d<\/p>\n

He knew Postley wouldn\u2019t be able to respond, but wasn\u2019t sure what else to say.\u00a0 It was a shame, Adam thought, for Postley to survive what he had only to die of a stupid, senseless accident less than two hours from civilization.\u00a0 The area was untamed\u2014not much there but rock and scrub and a few trickles of water\u2014but they weren\u2019t that far from either the Ponderosa or Virginia City.<\/p>\n

Postley attempted a response.\u00a0 Adam didn\u2019t catch it at first, and leaned close.\u00a0 \u201cWater,\u201d the man rasped, and Adam looked around.<\/p>\n

\u201cCandy, can you\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d\u00a0 The man batted at his sleeve.\u00a0 \u201cWater.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou were getting water?\u201d\u00a0 Postley nodded sluggishly.\u00a0 \u201cI see.\u201d<\/p>\n

Candy appeared with a canteen.\u00a0 Adam tried to help Postley drink, but the older man pushed the water away.\u00a0 \u201cAll right.\u201d\u00a0 Adam set the canteen aside, reluctant to force water when it might do more harm than good.\u00a0 Already Postley\u2019s breathing was growing more ragged, and he wondered if moving him might have been the final push.<\/p>\n

It couldn\u2019t be helped.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t as if they could have left him there \u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cJohn.\u201d\u00a0 Adam took the trembling hand in his.\u00a0 \u201cI want to say thank you for all you did to try to help find my family.\u201d\u00a0 The rheumy blue eyes flew open, fixing on him.\u00a0 \u201cI know my pa regrets \u2026 regretted<\/em> what happened.\u201d\u00a0 Candy frowned across Postley\u2019s body, and Adam avoided his friend\u2019s eyes.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t so much an admission that Ben Cartwright was dead, he told himself, as an admission that he would need to get used to referring to him\u2014to them all\u2014in the past tense.\u00a0 \u201cYou might have been bitter, but you weren\u2019t, and he was relieved you forgave him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Silence fell then, nothing but the sounds of the water and wind and the birds around them.\u00a0 It was a soothing silence, so unlike those at home for the past weeks, and Adam relaxed into it.\u00a0 Those blue eyes never left his face, though, strangely intense for a dying man, and suddenly the calloused hand seized weakly in his own.\u00a0 \u201cMine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYour what, John?\u201d\u00a0 Adam frowned.\u00a0 \u201cWhat do you need?\u201d<\/p>\n

Postley\u2019s grey head flopped side to side.\u00a0 \u201cIn \u2026 mine.\u201d<\/p>\n

In mine \u2026<\/em>\u00a0 He frowned toward Candy, who shrugged.\u00a0 A moment later, though, the foreman\u2019s head came up.\u00a0 \u201cYou want to be buried in your mine?\u00a0 Is that it, Mr. Postley?\u201d<\/p>\n

The old man seemed to have lost the ability to move, but his eyes looked past them, up the faint trail upon which they rested to a jagged outcropping above.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs that where your mine is, John?\u201d\u00a0 Adam nodded.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ll bury you there.\u00a0 Don\u2019t worry.\u201d<\/p>\n

That was, it seemed, all John Postley had strength for.\u00a0 He slipped into unconsciousness several minutes later, and within half an hour he died.<\/p>\n

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~<\/p>\n

After the fake dynamite incident, Postley didn\u2019t return.\u00a0 It might not have been so long, in truth\u2014none of them could say, and they no longer even tried to guess\u2014but in the commotion of their captor\u2019s last visit he had not left new food or water.\u00a0 None of them were terribly hungry, so the food didn\u2019t really matter, but the water had been gone for some time now.\u00a0 Ben was beginning to suspect that Postley had no intention of returning before they died of dehydration.<\/p>\n

In some ways it was probably for the best, but he had wanted better for his sons \u2026<\/p>\n

They lay together in one corner now, sluggish and parched as the lack of water began to tell.\u00a0 Hoss, who had been already in a weaker state than Ben or Joe, had been unconscious for \u2026 well, for some time.\u00a0 Joe had curled around his brother as Hoss slipped away, sparing a moment to reach blindly for Ben.\u00a0 \u201cThe light, Pa.\u00a0 Turn on the light.\u201d\u00a0 Tears flooded Ben\u2019s eyes as he complied, turning the flame as high as it would go despite his aching eyes, and spilled over as his youngest snuggled into Hoss\u2019s back, whispering, \u201cIt ain\u2019t dark anymore, Hoss.\u00a0 You ain\u2019t gonna die in the dark, brother.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yes.\u00a0 His boys deserved better.<\/p>\n

Ben was \u2026 surprised, to tell the truth.\u00a0 After all this time, after that last conversation\u2014argument, whatever\u2014with Postley, he had not expected the man to just leave them to die.\u00a0 It didn\u2019t seem to Ben what John was after.\u00a0 Another miscalculation on his part, he supposed.<\/p>\n

Another mistake.<\/p>\n

Ben\u2019s life had been full of them\u2014whose wasn\u2019t\u2014but some mattered more than others.<\/p>\n

He settled beside Hoss and Joe, sprawled against the wall within easy reach.\u00a0 One hand stroked Joe\u2019s bushy, overgrown curls, one hand Hoss\u2019s fine, thinning locks.\u00a0 The touch was a comfort to him\u2014and, he hoped, to them as well.<\/p>\n

He was so tired \u2026<\/p>\n

The light flickered and danced, driving away the darkness.<\/p>\n

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~<\/p>\n

They buried Postley right outside the mouth of his mine, piling rocks over the grave to discourage scavengers.\u00a0 It had been a straightforward trek from the creek, with Candy driving the wagon that held the old man\u2019s body and Adam riding alongside, leading Candy\u2019s horse.\u00a0 Candy sat down for a rest and a drink when they had finished, but Adam was too restless to relax.\u00a0 He wandered into the dark cave instead, curious what Postley\u2019s mining efforts had amounted to.\u00a0 The mine was in a good location if a man didn\u2019t want his claim found by others.\u00a0 As far as whether it was good for silver\u2014he doubted it.\u00a0 At least, Adam hadn\u2019t heard of any legitimate strikes in this particular area.<\/p>\n

He wondered if Postley had truly been after silver, though, or if he had just been seeking solitude and wide open spaces, after his time in prison.\u00a0 He wouldn\u2019t have blamed the man.\u00a0 Adam had toured the Nevada State Prison once (where John Postley had been incarcerated) and couldn\u2019t imagine being forced to spend months or years there.<\/p>\n

If only the same thought deterred real criminals.<\/p>\n

He wandered farther back from the entrance.\u00a0 There didn\u2019t seem to be much in the way of support beams or structure, but this mine had been built into a natural cave.\u00a0 The timber wouldn\u2019t be needed until the actually digging began.\u00a0 The passage twisted ahead of him, and Adam realized that he would either need to go find a lantern or just give up this little exploration.\u00a0 He was becoming curious what kind of mine such a cave had produced, though, and had just decided to go find a lantern when he noticed a faint\u2014very faint\u2014glow in the darkness ahead of him.<\/p>\n

Had Postley left a lantern burning?\u00a0 He was surprised it hadn\u2019t run out of fuel by now.<\/p>\n

Adam pushed ahead, and upon rounding the corner found himself staring down upon a large square shaft dug straight into the ground.\u00a0 The flickering light came from within. He shook his head, edging forward for a look.\u00a0 It was deep, that was certain, and had probably come mostly intact with the old claim\u2014surely Postley could not have done all of this on his \u2026<\/p>\n

The full floor of the shaft came into view, and Adam stumbled, almost pitching forward into the looming hole.\u00a0 He caught himself, stared dumbly with his heart in his throat for the space of three long heartbeats, then shook free from the shock and crashed to his knees beside the shaft.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa!\u00a0 Hoss, Joe!\u00a0 Can you hear me?\u201d\u00a0 Ben stirred, but did not respond.\u00a0 Hoss and Joe lay still.\u00a0 Adam scrambled up and yelled toward the mouth of the cave.\u00a0 \u201cCandy!\u00a0 Candy, bring the canteens!\u00a0 Bring water!\u00a0 Candy!\u201d<\/p>\n

His searching eyes landed on a rope ladder tangled beside the shaft.\u00a0 He threw it down, barely waiting for it to straighten before scrambling onto its rungs.\u00a0 As soon as he was close enough, Adam leaped the last few feet to the ground.\u00a0 He was crouching beside his father when rapid footsteps announced Candy\u2019s arrival.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam?\u00a0 What\u2014\u201d\u00a0 The sight below struck their foreman momentarily dumb, but he recovered quickly.\u00a0 \u201cCatch!\u00a0 I\u2019ll go back for the other one.\u201d\u00a0 He tossed his own canteen down and Adam snagged it out of the air, shaking his pa gently as Candy raced back for Adam\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa?\u00a0 Pa, can you hear me?\u201d\u00a0 Ben stirred, and Adam swiped viciously at the wetness suddenly staining his cheeks.\u00a0 Now was not<\/em> the time.\u00a0 \u201cHere, Pa.\u00a0 Have a drink.\u201d\u00a0 He tilted the canteen against Ben\u2019s lips, relieved beyond thought when his father stirred, reaching up to grasp at the canteen.\u00a0 \u201cEasy, Pa, easy,\u201d Adam murmured, tilting just a little more water into Ben\u2019s mouth and over his lips before removing it gently from his father\u2019s grip.\u00a0 \u201cTake it slow.\u00a0 Easy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben\u2019s eyes blinked open, and for a moment he stared.\u00a0 Then, \u201cAdam?\u201d\u00a0 Candy returned, and began his own scramble down the latter.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, Pa.\u00a0 It\u2019s me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben seized the nape of Adam\u2019s neck, squeezing tightly.\u00a0 \u201cAdam.\u201d\u00a0 Tears tracked his own cheeks, into the overgrown beard that spread across his face and down his neck.\u00a0 \u201cAdam, we didn\u2019t \u00a0…\u201d<\/p>\n

Candy had managed to rouse Joe, and was rationing his water in a similar fashion.\u00a0 Adam reached back and pressed his pa\u2019s hand, then gently pulled back.\u00a0 \u201cI need to check on Hoss.\u00a0 How is\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss!\u201d Ben breathed hoarsely, lunging past Adam toward his large son.\u00a0 Adam followed, worry churning his gut.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s not been doing well, he\u2019s been unconscious for \u2026\u201d\u00a0 Ben blinked, his eyes shadowed with a confusion Adam had never seen from his steady, rock-solid father.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u00a0 Son \u2026\u201d\u00a0 He gripped at Adam\u2019s wrist.\u00a0 \u201cHow long has it been?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust over a month.\u201d\u00a0 Adam settled beside Hoss and shook him, not really expecting a response.\u00a0 Ben\u2019s head snapped up, and he stared.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnly a month?\u201d<\/p>\n

It was the way he felt, too, yet he imagined that things had been so much worse for his family, trapped here in Postley\u2019s …\u00a0 John Postley\u2019s mine.<\/p>\n

John Postley.\u00a0 And he had thought \u2026<\/p>\n

They had all thought.<\/p>\n

He had no time for that now\u2014dealing with that news would have to come later.<\/p>\n

\u201cThirty-four days, to be exact.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben sagged.\u00a0 Adam couldn\u2019t do much for him, busy with Hoss as he was, but Candy turned from Joe and caught his employer, settling the older man gently before he could collapse.\u00a0 Adam\u2019s big brother was breathing, and he thanked the good Lord for that, but still unresponsive.\u00a0 He finally managed to coax a little water down Hoss’s throat, and repeated the effort until his brother had taken in several mouthfuls.\u00a0 Joe had revived enough to pull himself over to them, and was dividing his stare between his two brothers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere\u2019d you come from, Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLong story,\u201d he replied, reaching across to grip Joe\u2019s shoulder, \u201cand it\u2019ll wait until we get you all out of here.\u201d\u00a0 He squeezed tight.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s good to see you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHmm,\u201d Joe mumbled, patting vaguely at Adam\u2019s hand.\u00a0 \u201cGood to see you, too.\u00a0 Thought we were gonna \u2026 be in the dark forever.\u00a0 Thought we\u2019d already been<\/em> in the dark forever.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI bet so.\u201d\u00a0 Adam checked Hoss\u2019s heartbeat and breathing again, and decided he was satisfied for the moment.\u00a0 \u201cNo more lanterns for you, though.\u00a0 You\u2019ll be out in the sun again in no time.\u00a0 We might need to shade your\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo lantern most of the time.\u201d\u00a0 Joe fumbled for the canteen again, and Candy rationed him a few more sips of water.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d\u00a0 Adam looked up, startled.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was dark most of the time.\u00a0 He only gave us the lantern the last time he \u2026\u201d\u00a0 Joe squinted.\u00a0 \u201cYou sure it\u2019s only been a month?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDark?\u00a0 You were in the dark<\/em> this whole time?\u201d<\/p>\n

He couldn\u2019t keep the initial horror and anger out of his voice.\u00a0 A second later he forced himself past it, pulling on the calm fa\u00e7ade that had always served him so well.\u00a0 This was definitely<\/em> not the time for a temper tantrum\u2014not while his family was still here, sprawled in the bottom of the mine shaft that had been their prison for so many weeks.<\/p>\n

No.\u00a0 That would have to wait until everyone was safe and he was away from prying eyes.<\/p>\n

Adam caught Candy\u2019s eye, and the foreman moved to help Joe rise.\u00a0 Adam checked Hoss again, ensuring that his unconscious brother would be fine for the moment while they helped the other two up the ladder, then moved around behind Ben.<\/p>\n

\u201cCome on, Pa.\u201d\u00a0 He gripped his father gently, drawing Ben to his feet.\u00a0 \u201cCome on, let\u2019s get you out of here.\u201d^<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Epilogue<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cPaul?\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Martin waved Adam back into his chair as he wearily descended the stairs.\u00a0 Shaking his head, he crossed to the settee and sat, rubbing his face with both hands.\u00a0 Hop Sing appeared on silent feet, leaving a cup of coffee and a slice of apple pie on the table.\u00a0 Paul lifted his head, stared, then snorted softly and lifted the coffee, sipping deeply.<\/p>\n

\u201cHop Sing is a wizard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam smiled faintly.\u00a0 \u201cThat he is.\u201d\u00a0 He took a long breath, then lifted an inquiring brow.\u00a0 \u201cSo?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo.\u201d\u00a0 Dr. Martin shook his head again.\u00a0 \u201cIf I didn\u2019t see if for myself, I wouldn\u2019t believe it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou and me both.\u00a0 But how are they?\u201d<\/p>\n

Paul leaned back.\u00a0 \u201cFirst of all, Adam, understand that most of what I\u2019m about to say is extrapolated from experience with miners who have been trapped underground for some period of time.\u00a0 Never this long, of course, and I can\u2019t guarantee how much of a difference that will make \u2026 but that\u2019s the closest I can come to this situation.\u201d\u00a0 Adam nodded once, and the doctor continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo.\u00a0 I from what I can see, their eyes are undamaged.\u201d\u00a0 Relief flooded him, and it was all Adam could do not to sag back into his seat.\u00a0 In the dark.\u00a0 His family had been in all but complete darkness for a month, and they had all been afraid \u2026\u00a0 But no.\u00a0 Adam offered another curt nod and Paul smiled faintly, as though he understood.\u00a0 Probably, he did.\u00a0 \u201cTheir eyes will tired easily for a while, however, and they will all need to keep some sort of eye shading close to hand\u2014even inside the house.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you tell them that?\u201d Adam asked, trying to imagine forcing eye protection on an unwilling Joe.\u00a0 Dr. Martin laughed aloud.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did \u2026 but good luck to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, you\u2019re most welcome.\u201d\u00a0 The doctor took another long sip from his cup.\u00a0 \u201cI have no idea how long it will take their sleep cycle to naturally adjust.\u00a0 I\u2019ll leave a light overnight sedative for your pa and Joe.\u00a0 Have them take it for the first week, and then we\u2019ll reevaluate.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cHoss.\u201d\u00a0 Paul rubbed at his eyes.\u00a0 \u201cHis case is different.\u00a0 Given his current physical and mental state, I would prefer to forgo the sedatives for a few days.\u00a0 He doesn\u2019t need them for the time being, in any case\u2014he\u2019s still unconscious, and I don\u2019t expect him to wake yet tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, he will<\/em> wake up?\u201d\u00a0 Adam didn\u2019t try to hide his anxiety, not from Paul.\u00a0 They had known each other too long for that.<\/p>\n

The doctor nodded emphatically.\u00a0 \u201cMost definitely.\u00a0 Have no fear of that.\u201d\u00a0 Paul sat back.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ll see where he\u2019s at in the morning.\u00a0 I don\u2019t want to make any decisions about his treatment until then.\u00a0 I have<\/em> left a low light burning in his room.\u00a0 Don\u2019t put it out.\u00a0 From what your pa and Joe have said, I think it will be a good idea to keep it burning overnight for the foreseeable future.\u201d<\/p>\n

He remembered when Hoss had finally overcome his fear of the dark as a child.\u00a0 His brother had been so proud \u2026\u00a0 Adam shook his head fiercely, and nodded toward the spare room.\u00a0 \u201cCandy put your bags in the spare room for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks.\u201d\u00a0 Dr. Martin stood.\u00a0 \u201cI think I\u2019ll go ahead and retire.\u00a0 If anything comes up overnight, you know where to find me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam stood as well, and offered his hand.\u00a0 \u201cThank you, Paul.\u201d<\/p>\n

The doctor shook, smiling briefly.\u00a0 \u201cAdam \u2026 I know it\u2019s a lot to deal with, but I want you to know how much it means to me to find your family is alive and relatively well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, Paul.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Martin hesitated.\u00a0 \u201cAlso \u2026 Joe\u2019s already asleep, but your father wanted to speak to you before taking\u00a0 his sedative.\u00a0 He asked me to send you up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDid he say why?\u201d<\/p>\n

Paul snorted softly.\u00a0 \u201cHe did not, and I expect it\u2019s none of my business.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRight.\u201d\u00a0 Adam quirked a wry grin.\u00a0 \u201cThanks, I\u2019ll head up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood night, Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood night.\u201d<\/p>\n

He did not head up right away, though.\u00a0 Adam stood before the fire for a few long minutes, attempting to sort through the day\u2019s events\u2014the month\u2019s events.\u00a0 He was exhausted, and angry, and confused.\u00a0 Ben and Joe had detailed the bare facts on the way home, and he still couldn\u2019t believe that he had so misjudged John Postley.\u00a0 For now, he would have to be content with his father\u2019s assertion that Postley was an ill, injured man who was not fully in control of his faculties \u2026 but eventually, Adam would have to decide for himself what he truly believed.<\/p>\n

John Postley had seemed quite sane to him.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t want to think about Postley anymore tonight, though.\u00a0 More than anything, he wanted to bask in the knowledge that his pa and brothers were home, and to somehow convince the ache that had not quite left his heart and gut that it was no longer needed.<\/p>\n

The last month did not seem to want to leave him as quickly as he would like.<\/p>\n

His pa was waiting for him.\u00a0 Adam took the steps two at a time, and halted outside each brother\u2019s room as he passed, listening until he heard the steady sound of breathing.\u00a0 That done, he crossed to Ben\u2019s room and knocked softly.<\/p>\n

\u201cCome in, son.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam pushed the door open, slipped inside, and shut it quietly behind him.\u00a0 When he turned toward the bed, he was struck anew by the very impossibility of the sight before him\u2014his father, Benjamin Cartwright, presumed dead, now tucked into his own bed and recovering.\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t wanted to admit that they were dead, but he hadn\u2019t truly believed that they were still alive, either \u2026<\/p>\n

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

He focused.\u00a0 \u201cSorry, Pa.\u00a0 Did you need something?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben just looked at him for a long moment with those piercing eyes that Adam had thought he would never see again, and suddenly he knew that this request wasn\u2019t about his father at all.\u00a0 He shifted uncomfortably, and was considering whether he should attempt to divert the conversation when Ben suddenly opened his arms wide.<\/p>\n

\u201cCome here, son.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam battled with himself only briefly.\u00a0 He was not a touch-oriented person.\u00a0 He had never needed the same hugs and pats and physical signs of approval and affection that his brothers craved. \u00a0It had been such a long month, though.\u00a0 He had missed<\/em> them, and he had been so deeply alone \u2026<\/p>\n

Loosing a shuddering breath, Adam crossed the room in three long steps, sank onto the bed, and allowed himself to be folded into his father\u2019s embrace.<\/p>\n

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~<\/strong><\/p>\n

+<\/sup> Title phrases taken from \u201cThe Sounds of Silence\u201d by Simon and Garfunkel<\/p>\n

^ Quote taken directly from the episode.<\/p>\n

* In 1876, Virginia City was home to roughly 150 saloons.\u00a0 My number of 143 is a rough estimate, based on inexact numbers and a few years\u2019 difference. \ud83d\ude42 \u00a0 [Taken from the Virginia City page of the legendsofamerica.com web site.]<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tags:\u00a0 Adam Cartwright,\u00a0Angst,\u00a0Ben Cartwright,\u00a0Candy Canaday,\u00a0Hop Sing,\u00a0Hoss Cartwright,\u00a0Joe \/ Little Joe Cartwright,\u00a0kidnap,\u00a0Missing Man Challenge,\u00a0Roy Coffee<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summary: WHI for ‘To Die In Darkness’ — Season 9.<\/p>\n

Rating: K+ \u00a0Word Count: 14,737<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10468,"featured_media":14893,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","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":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[27,40],"tags":[774],"class_list":["post-14894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-whi","category-challenges","tag-mmc","wpcat-27-id","wpcat-40-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\/2017\/09\/IMG_2350.jpg?fit=675%2C639&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14894","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\/10468"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14894"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14894\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14893"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}