{"id":19519,"date":"2019-01-17T11:18:21","date_gmt":"2019-01-17T16:18:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=19519"},"modified":"2025-09-25T15:39:44","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T19:39:44","slug":"a-rose-by-any-other-name-mcfair_58","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=19519","title":{"rendered":"A Rose By Any Other Name (by McFair_58)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary:\u00a0The ending of the pilot episode of Bonanza has always bothered me. Would Alphaeus Troy and the mine owners really<\/em>\u00a0have given up that easily?\u00a0 What if the fight in Chinatown had ended differently and Little Joe never made that dinner date with Lotta Crabtree…?<\/p>\n

Rated: PG-13 for Western violence and brutality<\/p>\n

Word Count: 21,226<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

PROLOGUE<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Seventeen-year-old Little Joe Cartwright paused on the porch of Hop Lings\u2019 Chinese laundry to wipe a sooty hand across his sootier brow as he stared at a city on fire.\u00a0 Well, not the whole of the city, but the part of it that was called \u2018China Town\u2019 by the white men who lived, worked, drank and whored in the growing metropolis that had only recently come to be called \u2018Virginia City\u2019.\u00a0 Everywhere around him there were Chinese men and women shouting and running and carrying buckets of water; \u00a0fighting to save what was left of their lives and livelihoods.\u00a0 He\u2019d been helping out, but had run out of energy and taken a break.<\/p>\n

It had been quite <\/em>a day.<\/p>\n

A slight smile curled Little Joe\u2019s lips.\u00a0 The day had started out well enough with Miss Lotta Crabtree plowing a course along the tall grasses of the Ponderosa in her fine carriage.\u00a0 Pa\u2019d put on his best \u2018I\u2019ll kill you if you trespass on my land\u2019 performance, scarin\u2019 the pants off of the little weasel of a man driving it.\u00a0 His Pa had killed before, when he had to, but unless there\u00a0 was a threat that couldn\u2019t be handled by what was called the \u2018local constabulary\u2019 \u2013 which was really a couple of men volunteering to try to keep the law in a lawless town \u2013 his Pa was really a pretty peaceable man.\u00a0 Ben Cartwright would listen, weigh the facts, and then take \u2018appropriate\u2019 action.\u00a0 Unless, of course, he or his brothers were threatened and then, well, no <\/em>man would want to cross his pa\u2019s path.<\/p>\n

No man would and live.<\/p>\n

Joe shifted so his shoulder was braced by the slightly singed pole holding up the roof on Hop Ling\u2019s place.\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t realized what was goin\u2019 on until Lotta ran for the door of her hotel room and locked it.\u00a0 After that, it hadn\u2019t taken him very long to figure out that she hadn\u2019t invited him up to her rooms for supper and a little light-hearted romance.\u00a0 She kept asking him questions, like she was searching for something.\u00a0 Then, when she asked about the trees, well, he\u2019d known his number was up.<\/p>\n

It was well-known by just about every one settled east of the Truckee that Alpheus Troy and his mining cronies had it out for them.\u00a0 \u00a0Pa owned near every seed, sapling, and tree in the territory of Nevada.\u00a0 Little Joe snorted.\u00a0\u00a0 Well, maybe not every<\/em> one, but it was close.\u00a0 Workin\u2019 side by side with Adam, when older brother was barely knee-high to a grasshopper, Pa had forged an empire and owned six hundred thousand acres of land.<\/p>\n

He should know, he\u2019d had to make the grand swing with Pa a few years back.\u00a0 It had taken his backside about a month to be comfortable in a chair again.<\/p>\n

A sense of movement at his elbow caused Joe to pivot.\u00a0 Hop Sing\u2019s pa was standing there with a pitcher of water in one hand and a full glass in the other.<\/p>\n

\u201cLittle Joe drink.\u00a0 Breathe much smoke.\u00a0 Not good for boy\u2019s lungs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe shook his head as his eyes returned to the tents and domiciles still on fire.\u00a0 \u201cYou better save that.\u00a0 There\u2019s others who need it more.\u00a0 Thank you anyway, Hop Ling, I\u2019m fine.\u201d\u00a0 And then, just to prove his point, he coughed.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoy not know what best for him.\u00a0 You drink!\u201d<\/p>\n

The curly-haired young man knew how far arguing would get him with Hop Ling \u2013 exactly nowhere \u2013 so he took the glass and sipped the cool water in it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you,. That does feel good.\u201d<\/p>\n

They stood there for a moment in companionable silence and then the older man asked, \u201cLittle Joe take rose earlier.\u00a0 No have time to ask if lady like it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019 lips pursed with chagrin.\u00a0 Lotta had liked it all right.\u00a0 Right up until the time she\u2019d betrayed him.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe thought it was right pretty,\u201d he said, not wanting to say more.<\/p>\n

Hop Ling set the pitcher and glass on a small table pressed up against the store front.\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cYou drink more.\u00a0 All you can.\u201d\u00a0 As he nodded, the older man went on, \u201cBad men chase Little Joe.\u00a0 Want to hurt him.\u00a0 Little Joe know why?\u201d<\/p>\n

He was pretty sure he did.\u00a0 From what Lotta asked, this was about the trees and the mine owners need for timber \u2013 which his father was not willing to sell.\u00a0 The area the greedy men had picked out was pretty new.\u00a0 The trees weren\u2019t ready.\u00a0 \u00a0On top of that, cutting them down would affect the watershed and that was just something his pa wouldn\u2019t do.<\/p>\n

Besides, Pa detested Alpheus Troy and with good reason.<\/p>\n

It hadn\u2019t been all that long ago that Troy had organized a bunch of yahoos to come out to the Ponderosa and try to shoot and burn them out. \u00a0Oh, no one could pin it on the wealthy man, but a little investigating by older brother Adam \u2013 and money from Pa to buy a few rounds of drinks and loosen tongues at the Bucket of Blood \u2013 had pretty much sealed the deal.\u00a0 Apparently Troy had no idea how many men were on Pa\u2019s payroll and how loyal they were to him.\u00a0 It had taken them no time to raise their own army of nearly a hundred and send Troy\u2019s yellow-bellied goons back home with their tales between their legs!<\/p>\n

Joe snorted, which made Hop Ling ask, \u201cWhat Little Joe find funny?\u201d<\/p>\n

Seein\u2019 as he was looking at the destruction of just about everything Hop Ling and Hop Sing held dear, he supposed it was a right callous thing to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry, Hop Ling.\u00a0 I was just thinking how funny it was that that city slicker of a mine owner, Alpheus Troy, thought he could make my pa give up that timber.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTrees important.\u00a0 Number One son say so.\u201d<\/p>\n

He was sure he had!\u00a0 Hop Sing wasn\u2019t a servant as most of the town\u2019s people called him. \u00a0He was no one\u2019s Chink or Coolie or Ching-Chong.\u00a0\u00a0 He was a member of their family.\u00a0 Hop Sing was always there for them, and especially for him.\u00a0 Since his ma died when he was so young, Hop Sing had stepped in to fill her shoes in a lot of ways.<\/p>\n

Joe sniffed and ran a finger casually under his eye. \u201cMust have got some soot in it,\u201d he said, slightly embarrassed at how easily he was moved to emotion.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith true friends, even water drunk together is sweet enough,\u201d the older man said softly.<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s lips curled up at one end as he nodded.\u00a0 \u201cIt sure is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLittle Joe should go find father and brothers.\u00a0 They look for him all<\/em> day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess I should, but first I gotta stop over at Robert Olin\u2019s office.\u00a0 He wants to talk to me about that pair your cousins took over to him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Olin acted as their sheriff. \u00a0It was a pretty new thing.\u00a0 Before that, anyone who lived in the area and had a wrong done to them had just taken the law into their own hands \u2013 including Pa.\u00a0 Pa said Virginia City was beginning to grow civilized.\u00a0 He said that there were wives and children comin\u2019 from the East\u00a0 and settling in now,\u00a0 and that one day it would be a proper place to live and raise a family.\u00a0 Joe eyed the destruction again, caused by the greed of unscrupulous men whose chief desire was to own the city and everything surrounding it.<\/p>\n

Seemed to him that was gonna be a long <\/em>time in coming.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoy go alone to office?\u201d Hop Ling asked, worry in his tone.<\/p>\n

Little Joe smiled.\u00a0 \u201cIt ain\u2019t all that far away. \u00a0\u00a0Seems like, if I outran and out-thought that pair of toughs Troy hired, I should be able to make it to the other side of town.\u201d\u00a0 The grin broadened.\u00a0 \u201c \u2018Sides, I might stop by the International on the way and see if Miss Crabtree would still like to have supper.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hop Ling was frowning.\u00a0 \u201cBoy remember, a fall into a ditch make you wiser.\u201d<\/p>\n

He laughed this time.\u00a0 \u201cWell, I\u2019m not planning on fallin\u2019 into no ditches.\u00a0 Seems to me that\u2019s what a feller would call going to a \u2018school of hard knocks!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The older man touched his arm.\u00a0 \u201cBoy have hard head, but maybe not hard enough when it come to man like Troy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe brushed his finger\u2019s over those of Hop Sing\u2019s pa and then stepped into the street.\u00a0 \u201cI promise I\u2019ll be careful.\u00a0 \u00a0But you know, I already paid for that supper and I\u2019m thinking I need to grab Miss Crabtree and go.\u00a0 I\u2019m thinking I\u2019ve got time for a whirl around the floor with an beautiful older woman before my Pa finds me.\u201d\u00a0 He winked and finished with, \u201cNow that\u2019s <\/em>what I call an education!\u201d<\/p>\n

Hop Ling was still shaking his head as he walked away.\u00a0 He felt sorry for the older man \u2013 and for all the inhabitants of China town.\u00a0 He was gonna ask his pa if he could come back into town tomorrow to help with the clean-up.\u00a0 Once Hop Sing heard, he\u2019d want to come too.\u00a0 Together they could put his pa\u2019s shop back to rights so he could get back to business.<\/p>\n

There was gonna be plenty of clothing to clean after tonight!<\/p>\n

As Little Joe Cartwright started down the street, headed for the main part of town where Robert Olin had set up what he called his \u2018office\u2019, he began to whistle.\u00a0 In spite of everything, it had been a good day.\u00a0 He\u2019d gotten to escort a beautiful mature woman to the house and then to town. \u00a0He\u2019d watched her perform that \u2018wicked\u2019 dance.\u00a0 He\u2019d been wined \u2013 well, champagne\u2019d \u2013 <\/em>and dined in her room at the hotel , and he\u2019d outsmarted a couple of thugs who had been hired to work him over in an attempt to threaten his pa.\u00a0 He still couldn\u2019t believe Miss Crabtree drank that stuff.\u00a0 It was pretty weak and he had yet to feel the \u2018kick\u2019 she\u2019d said it would have in time.\u00a0 Whoo-ee!\u00a0 Fifty dollars a bottle!<\/p>\n

Hell, he could buy a saddle and tack \u2013 probably with the horse thrown in \u2013 for that amount!\u00a0 If he lived to be one hundred, he\u2019d never understand women.\u00a0 The settee in their house had been his ma\u2019s idea and he\u2019d be the first to know that it wasn\u2019t the most comfortable or serviceable thing.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d spent enough hours lying on it after gettin\u2019 in a fight, or when he was sick.<\/p>\n

Pa kept it, of course, \u2018cause his ma had ordered it and loved it. \u00a0Still, it was a funny thing to have in a household of all men.<\/p>\n

As he left Chinatown and headed into the main part of Virginia City, Joe began to keep an eye out for his family.\u00a0 Most likely they would have found Cooch by now and be hauling the paint along with them, so it shouldn\u2019t be hard.\u00a0 There weren\u2019t too many paints in the area since most people thought of them as Indian ponies, but he wouldn\u2019t have it any other way.\u00a0 Cochise was as much his friend as Mitch or Seth or any of the other young bucks he ran around with.\u00a0 His pa had gotten Cooch for him when he was a kid and his brothers teased him all the time that he wasn\u2019t ever gonna have a girl since none of them could live up to his first love.<\/p>\n

So far, they\u2019d been right.<\/p>\n

Joe laughed at his own joke, stuck his hands in the pockets of his slightly soiled suit coat, and picked up his pace.\u00a0 He could see there was a light in the window of Olin\u2019s office, so someone was there.\u00a0 There was a make-shift jail cell in the back and he figured that\u2019s where Troy\u2019s goons were being held.<\/p>\n

A half a minute later, he knew for sure that he was wrong.<\/p>\n

Marcus McCutcheon and Jake Ferrell, the two men who worked for Aaron Hooper\u2019s Yellow Jacket Mine and were the ones that had been sent to beat him up, were standin\u2019 in the middle of the street blocking his way.<\/p>\n

\u201cSurprised to see us?\u201d McCutcheon asked.<\/p>\n

Joe tried not to look surprised.\u00a0 \u201cI imagine the stink of you was too much for Sheriff Olin to take,\u201d he replied as he affected a casual air, when in reality he was tensed and ready to move.\u00a0 \u201cProbably needs to fumigate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ferrell started for him, but McCutcheon \u2013 the older of the two \u2013 held him back.\u00a0 Both were of medium height, but thicker and broader than him even if Ferrell was skinny as a wet rat.\u00a0 The trouble was, they also had way <\/em>more muscle than him.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what happened to a man when he spent his days in a mine.<\/p>\n

\u201cBet you\u2019re wonderin\u2019 how we got out so quick.\u201d<\/p>\n

He had been, but then it dawned on him.\u00a0 \u201cTroy paid the bail.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d Ferrell replied.\u00a0 \u201cSeems all we was accused of was disturbin\u2019 the peace.\u00a0 Weren\u2019t enough to keep us behind bars for long.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since he hadn\u2019t given a statement yet, Olin didn\u2019t know any better.\u00a0 Of course, neither did he.\u00a0 He just assumed<\/em> these two had been sent to rough him up and send a message to his father about what would happen if he didn\u2019t cave to the mine owner\u2019s demands.\u00a0 \u00a0Lotta had said something about them killing him, but he\u2019d put that down to an over-excited woman.<\/p>\n

Troy couldn\u2019t be that<\/em> stupid.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know how it is, pretty boy,\u201d McCutcheon said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMoney buys everything, even a sheriff.\u201d<\/p>\n

He knew Robert Olin and he knew that was a lie.\u00a0 \u201cOkay, so \u2018daddy\u2019 sprung you from jail,\u201d he replied.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s got nothin\u2019 to do with me.\u00a0 Why don\u2019t you two just get out of my way and we can all go about our business.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two men exchanged a glance before Ferrell said,\u201d Sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s mobile brows leapt toward the curls dangling down on his forehead.\u00a0 \u201cSorry?\u00a0 About what?\u201d<\/p>\n

From within his coat McCutcheon produced a service revolver.\u00a0 It was pointed straight at his middle.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are <\/em>our business.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

ONE<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lotta Crabtree was still shaking.\u00a0 The events of the evening had left her…unsettled…to put it mildly.\u00a0 As she\u2019d told Little Joe Cartwright, money was what was important to her.\u00a0 She supposed it might be due to the fact that she had been used as a money-making machine from the age of six.\u00a0 When Lola Montez \u2013 an actress and singer herself \u2013 had spotted her while she and her parents were living in Grass Valley, she had encouraged her mother and father to groom her for show business.\u00a0 Her first professional appearance had been in a tavern, and from there she\u2019d begun to tour California and the Nevada Territory, making a name for herself as a dancer, singer, and banjo player in the mining camps.\u00a0 As she grew, her act changed \u2013 of course \u2013 and she was known now as \u2018Miss\u2019 Lotta, the San Francisco Favorite\u2019.\u00a0 If the truth were known, she was becoming a little tired of it all, and that was why, when Alpheus Troy\u2019s letter came with its unusual proposal, she\u2019d considered it.<\/p>\n

After all, what harm could there be in romancing one of Ben Cartwright\u2019s sons and getting him to bring her to town?<\/p>\n

Of course, at the time she\u2019d had no inkling of who the Cartwrights were.\u00a0 She\u2019d done a little research before leaving San Francisco and found out that Benjamin and his three sons were well-known there \u2013 especially the oldest; the dark and brooding, handsome Adam Cartwright. \u00a0It had been a tough choice earlier when he\u2019d taken her by the arm, demanding to know what her part was in the scheme to kidnap and perhaps harm his little brother.<\/p>\n

She hadn\u2019t known whether to strike him or kiss him.<\/p>\n

Now that she knew and understood that the Cartwrights were outsiders \u2013 a band of strong, honest men who held themselves aloof, who cared deeply for one another and for the land they were shepherding \u2013 she felt a twinge of guilt at what she\u2019d done.\u00a0 Sadly, she was jaded enough that it was just<\/em> a twinge.\u00a0 After all, she\u2019d done what she\u2019d agreed to do and that first ten thousand dollars was already in her bank account in San Francisco.\u00a0 With ten thousand dollars she could retire if she wanted to.<\/p>\n

Lotta laughed.\u00a0 At least for a few years!<\/p>\n

With a sigh the beautiful actress turned and looked around her room. \u00a0Though she\u2019d righted a few chairs and tidied a bit, it was still a mess from what had happened.\u00a0 She really should call room service and have them put it to rights!\u00a0 She had one more day to stay before moving on to Carson City for several performances, and then it would be another long stage ride to her next engagement since this backwater excuse for a territory didn\u2019t have the railroad yet.\u00a0\u00a0 With a sigh, Lotta walked to the window and looked out, imagining again the determined faces of the two men she\u2019d seen who were headed for her rooms and Ben Cartwright\u2019s youngest son.\u00a0 She\u2019d been a long way from them but, as an actress, she had learned to read faces, and in spite of Troy\u2019s assurances that no harm would come to Little Joe, she had known better.<\/p>\n

The pair had had murder in their eyes.<\/p>\n

Bending, she retrieved the umbrella from where it had fallen to the floor.\u00a0 In her mind\u2019s eye she could see the Cartwright boy wielding it like an \u00e9p\u00e9e.\u00a0 Considering he had been born and bred on a ranch, she had to wonder where that skill had come from.\u00a0 Joe said his mother died before he was five, so it couldn\u2019t have been from her.\u00a0 Perhaps, just perhaps, it was simply the boy\u2019s nature.<\/p>\n

What a shame he\u2019d had to go.\u00a0 Little Joe just might <\/em>have had a chance on the stage.<\/p>\n

A sharp rap on her door turned her back into the room.\u00a0 With what had happened, it also set her heart to pounding.\u00a0 When it came again, she advanced a few steps.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho is it?\u201d she called out.<\/p>\n

\u201cMiss Crabtree, it\u2019s Adam Cartwright.\u00a0 I\u2019d like to speak with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

That rapid heartbeat increased two-fold.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter our…last encounter, Mister Cartwright, I am not sure I should let you in.\u201d\u00a0 She was near the door now with every intention of opening it.\u00a0 \u201cIt seems your father failed to teach you how to properly treat a lady.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was a pause.\u00a0 She imagined he was struggling with some contemptible comment like, \u2018If there was a lady here, then I would have behaved differently\u2019 or some such thing.<\/p>\n

\u201cMiss Crabtree, I…apologize for my outburst earlier.\u00a0 I was…am <\/em>worried about my brother.\u201d\u00a0 Another pause.\u00a0 \u201cWill you please<\/em> open the door so I can speak to you?\u201d<\/p>\n

A second later, he was standing on the threshold of her suite.\u00a0 Lotta drew in a breath as she looked at Adam Cartwright \u2013 really<\/em> looked at him.\u00a0 The time before was a bit of a blur with all the chaos and uncertainty.\u00a0 \u00a0Adam was a tall man, around six feet, and well-muscled from the work he did.\u00a0 She\u2019d heard Ben Cartwright made his boys work and paid them wages and she believed it now.\u00a0 This was no pampered son of wealth, but a self-assured man<\/em>.\u00a0\u00a0 His hair was black as the jet beads on her dress and glistened blue in the lamp light.\u00a0 His eyes weren\u2019t green, but they weren\u2019t brown either.\u00a0 The centers were the color of whiskey, while their surrounds were the color of ocean waves.\u00a0 And he was handsome. So handsome it nearly took her breath away.<\/p>\n

Nearly.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid I hear you right?\u201d she asked with trepidation.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re still worried about Little Joe?\u00a0 You mean you haven\u2019t located him yet?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam\u2019s lips were pursed.\u00a0 She could see he was fighting with himself to remain cordial. \u201c…no.\u00a0 His horse was in the stable, but so far there is no sign of Little Joe.\u00a0\u00a0 I was thinking…hoping, actually, that Joe might have said something to you that would give us a clue to his whereabouts.\u201d\u00a0 He paused.\u00a0 \u201cAfter all, you are the last one who saw him.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was a lot <\/em>written into those last ten words.<\/p>\n

Lotta drew in a breath and put on the charm.\u00a0 \u201cYou have to be tired after all your…searching.\u00a0 Would you care to sit down and have a glass of champagne while I tell you what I…saw?\u201d<\/p>\n

He thought it over.\u00a0 Then he nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll sit, but no champagne.\u00a0 I need my wits about me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cVery well,\u201d she said as she turned her back on him and went over to sit on the chair his little brother had vacated only hours before.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst of all,\u201d Adam said as he took a seat, \u201ctell me…\u201d\u00a0 He paused and rephrased, obviously concerned he would antagonize her.\u00a0 \u201c…would you tell me what Alpheus Troy hired you to do in the first place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Always the actress, she repeated what she had told him before.\u00a0 \u201cFor a lark.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those hazel eyes bored into her.\u00a0 \u201cThe truth.\u00a0 Please<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is<\/em> the truth,\u201d she insisted.\u00a0 \u201cI can show you the letter.\u00a0 I was hired to charm one of Ben Cartwright\u2019s sons and get them to bring me to town.\u00a0 End of story.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you didn\u2019t think to ask why?\u201d he all but snapped.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t care to.\u00a0 As an actress I am hired to play a part,\u201d she replied, a bit defensively.\u00a0 \u201cThis was no different.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI see.\u00a0 It never occurred to you that there could be a…less than decent reason for this request?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, Heavens, no!\u00a0\u00a0 Adam \u2013 may I call you \u2018Adam\u2019?\u201d\u00a0 At his nod, she continued, \u201cAdam, in nearly thirty years of performing, I have been paid to do many things.\u00a0 I simply take the money and do what is asked.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo it was <\/em>for the money?\u201d he asked quickly.<\/p>\n

Oops.\u00a0 She\u2019d forgotten she\u2019d told him different before.\u00a0 \u201cNot \u2018for\u2019 the money, but I was paid,\u201d she admitted.\u00a0 \u201cAs I am paid for all my performances.\u00a0 It\u2019s in the contract.\u201d<\/p>\n

She could see the wheels turning behind those enchanting eyes.\u00a0 \u201cDid your \u2018contract\u2019 include getting my kid brother to come up to your rooms so Troy\u2019s men could take him?\u201d he asked, a trace of anger coming into his tone.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 And she wasn\u2019t lying.\u00a0 The first contract had definitely not contained that and she had never signed a second \u2013 just agreed to it and that was something Adam Cartwright never need know.<\/p>\n

The handsome man leaned back in his chair and tipped his hat back so more of the waves showed.\u00a0 \u201cI can believe that.\u00a0 Little Joe has an…eye for older woman.\u00a0 I\u2019m not surprised he would have come here, probably with an invitation to dinner.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh?\u00a0 He\u2019s so very young.\u201d<\/p>\n

The anger made it to his eyes.\u00a0 \u201cYes, he is. Little Joe\u2019s only seventeen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSeventeen!\u00a0 Good Lord!\u201d she declared and meant it.\u00a0 \u201cI had no idea. I knew he was a boy, but….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to realize Little Joe\u2019s grown up with the three of us \u2013 Pa, Hoss and me.\u00a0 Hoss is six years older. I\u2019m twelve.\u00a0 Joe\u2019s wanted to be a man since he could say the word.\u00a0 Add to that the fact that he has his mother\u2019s…spirit…and you have a recipe for trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n

She could see that in the way the boy just sat there waiting for Troy\u2019s hooligan\u2019s to break in \u2013 almost like he was looking forward to the fight.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook, Adam, I\u2019ll be honest with you.\u00a0 I should have asked questions.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t.\u00a0 But even if I had, Alpheus Troy and his friends lied to me.\u00a0 They promised no harm would come to Little Joe, or whichever of you brought me to town.\u00a0 Then, suddenly, everything changed.\u201d \u00a0She rose and went to the window.\u00a0 \u201cI didn\u2019t realize until I saw those two men in the street who were headed this way, that they meant to harm him.\u201d<\/p>\n

He followed her.\u00a0 \u201cTwo men?\u00a0 Can you describe them?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLet me think.\u00a0 Yes.\u201d\u00a0 She could see them in her mind\u2019s eye.\u00a0 \u201cOne wore a light hat and the other a dark.\u00a0 One was beefier than the other, with\u00a0 jowly face.\u00a0 He had a wine-colored shirt on and light colored pants.\u00a0 The other man, well, he was the one who, frankly, scared me.\u00a0 He had a gangrel look about him and was slender.\u00a0 He held his body taut as a bowstring.\u201d<\/p>\n

She could see him thinking.\u00a0 \u201cSounds like a couple of Aaron Hooper\u2019s boys from the Yellow Jacket we\u2019ve had trouble with before.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMiners?\u201d\u00a0 She considered it.\u00a0 \u201cThey were rather pale and looked well-muscled.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam looked right at her.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s quite a description for a second or two sighting.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou forget I\u2019m an actress,\u201d she replied.\u00a0 \u201cStudying people and figuring out what makes them tick is my profession.\u201d<\/p>\n

Without warning, his hand caught her arm again \u2013 gently, this time.\u00a0 \u201cAnd what do you think makes me<\/em> tick?\u201d Adam asked.<\/p>\n

She looked at him and thought of everything she had observed so far.\u00a0 \u201cFamily.\u00a0 But there\u2019s something else.\u00a0 While Little Joe is spontaneous \u2013 like a wild colt set free \u2013 you are…cautious.\u00a0 You never act without thinking it through, perhaps more than once.\u00a0 But when you come to a decision, there is no going back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam blinked.\u00a0 A slight smile curled his lips.\u00a0 \u201cAnything else?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re a bit of a peacock,\u201d she replied, smiling as well.\u00a0 \u201cMeticulous about your appearance and, I might say, quite aware of its effect on women.\u201d<\/p>\n

This time he laughed.\u00a0 Then he did what she\u2019d been waiting for \u2013 Adam Cartwright crushed her to his chest and kissed her on the mouth \u2013<\/p>\n

And took her breath away.<\/p>\n

As he released her, he tipped his hat.\u00a0 \u201cThank you for the information, Miss <\/em>Crabtree.\u00a0 If you happen to think of anything else, please let us know.\u00a0 You can leave word with the barkeep here at the International or Robert Olin.\u201d\u00a0 Taking a step toward the door, the handsome man added, \u201cI have to get back to looking for my little brother.\u201d<\/p>\n

When he reached the door, she halted him by calling his name.\u00a0 \u201cAdam?\u201d<\/p>\n

His hand was on the knob.\u00a0 \u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWill I…see you again?\u201d<\/p>\n

His lips curled up again and this time a pair of dimples popped out.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll be sure to come by and tell you that we\u2019ve found him.\u00a0 And then, I just might take you up on that glass of champagne.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He hurt everywhere.<\/em><\/p>\n

Joe groaned as he righted himself and opened his eyes onto darkness.\u00a0\u00a0 He\u2019d started walking like McCutcheon and Ferrell had ordered, but then he\u2019d bolted, knowing he was faster and had outrun them before.\u00a0 He\u2019d counted too on the fact that if they shot their guns off within the town limits, it would bring half of the city down on them.<\/p>\n

What he hadn\u2019t counted on was the fact that one of them had a knife and was willing to use it.<\/p>\n

He couldn\u2019t see it, but he could feel the wound in his leg just above the leather rim of his all-but-ruined dress boot.\u00a0\u00a0 It was his left leg and the knife had sliced into the flesh causing him to stumble and then fall.\u00a0 He\u2019d gotten back up.\u00a0 Fear had driven him to his feet.\u00a0 But wounded, he was no match for the two men who worked in Hooper\u2019s mine and were tough as the rock they picked the ore out of. \u00a0And when they caught him, well, they\u2019d let him know they were none too happy with him by beatin\u2019 the living daylights out of him.<\/p>\n

Like he thought before \u2013 everything<\/em> he had hurt.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d passed out, of course, and just woke up here \u2013 wherever \u2018here\u2019 was.\u00a0 It was dark and cold and smelled of earth.\u00a0 He could hear water dripping and, far in the distance, the rumble of carts rolling down tracks.\u00a0 Considering all of that, he figured he was in one of the mines of the men who wanted his pa\u2019s timber \u2013 either the Golden Curry, the Diablo, or the Yellow Jacket.\u00a0 Odds were, with McCutcheon and Ferrell involved, that it was the Yellow Jacket, but then again, that\u2019d be pretty obvious.\u00a0 He might not be in any of them, but in some other mine owned by one of the lesser of Virginia City\u2019s mining barons.<\/p>\n

That was what he<\/em> would have done anyhow, if he was gonna kidnap and hold someone hostage.<\/p>\n

He hated that.\u00a0 It had happened before.\u00a0 After all, Pa was just\u00a0 about as rich as the mine owners and everyone knew it.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 They knew too that he had sons he loved and they knew he was the youngest and \u2013 Joe winced \u2013 most vulnerable.\u00a0 It was part of the reason he\u2019d worked so hard to learn to fight so well. \u00a0After the first time he\u2019d been beaten, when he was a little kid, Adam and Hoss had taken him out to the barn and told him that \u2013 \u2018cause he was \u2018little\u2019 Joe \u2013 he was gonna have to learn to fight big.\u00a0 Virginia City was over two-thirds men and most of them were tough as nails and about as righteous as a red light gal.\u00a0 They\u2019d warned him too that there were men who didn\u2019t care where they found their pleasure and if there wasn\u2019t a woman within a mile, well….<\/p>\n

He\u2019d learned to deck his older, bigger brothers right quick.<\/p>\n

And so it shamed him that the Yellow Jacket boys had got the best of him.\u00a0 Here he was like some damsel in one of the Grimm Brothers\u2019 stories all tied up and waitin\u2019 for some knight to come rescue him.\u00a0 Well, he\u2019d be damned if he let that happen!\u00a0 He was gonna escape and go into town and tell the sheriff, and then find his pa and brothers and set them on Troy and Hooper and…..<\/p>\n

Joe pulled on the ropes binding his wrists and felt his feet move as well.\u00a0 He was trussed up like a prize steer with the ropes around his hands being tied to the ones around his feet \u2013 and the one circling his neck.<\/p>\n

He\u00a0 was gonna escape if he could get free.\u00a0 And right now that wasn\u2019t lookin\u2019 too promising.<\/p>\n

\u201cCartwright!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s head turned in every direction.\u00a0 There was no light and his name was bouncing off the walls like the cave liked the sound of it.\u00a0 A second later a lamp was unshuttered and the light that spilled out of it struck his eyes, making him gasp.<\/p>\n

A snort alerted him to the fact that whoever it was had moved closer.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot movin\u2019 so fast now, are you, Little<\/em> Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n

He sure <\/em>wished his mama had never called him that.<\/p>\n

\u201cUntie these ropes,\u201d he growled, his voice sounding ragged to his own ears.\u00a0 \u201cAnd I\u2019ll…show you how fast I can run.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, now,\u201d the man said as he came even closer, \u201cthat wouldn\u2019t be right.\u00a0 One of Ben Cartwright\u2019s sons is my guest and I intend to make him feel quite at home.\u201d<\/p>\n

He recognized that fancy, well-clipped city-slicker tone.\u00a0 \u201cAlpheus Troy,\u201d Joe snarled.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt your service, young Cartwright.\u201d\u00a0 The mining lamp\u2019s shutter opened wider and he was able to see the thin white-haired man.\u00a0 Troy was attired in a San Francisco suit cut of an expensive cloth with a white shirt and black string tie.\u00a0 Kind of like his suit, only it came out of Carson City and, at the moment, was more brown and black than gray.<\/p>\n

And blood-red, at least on the pants\u2019 leg.<\/p>\n

\u201cI trust my men have made you…comfortable,\u201d the mine owner sneered.<\/p>\n

Joe tried his hands again.\u00a0 The rope choked his throat this time.\u00a0 \u201cI ain\u2019t complainin\u2019,\u201d he managed to rasp out.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood.\u00a0 Because you are going to be here for some time.\u201d\u00a0 Troy paused.\u00a0 \u201cPerhaps forever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s body went rigid with fear.\u00a0 He\u2019d supposed he was being held against his father providing timber for the mines, but that sounded more like he\u2019d been taken and might be…killed…instead.\u00a0\u00a0 After all, Pa still had two more sons.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou kill me and my pa will be sure to return the favor,\u201d Joe said with forced bravado.<\/p>\n

Alpheus Troy knelt before him.\u00a0 In the orange-red glow of the mining lamp, with the darkness all around them, the mine owner looked like a creature from the pit of Dante\u2019s hellish vision.\u00a0 With his free hand, Troy reached out and caught his chin, pinching it between his fingers.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know what, boy?\u00a0 This isn\u2019t just about that timber, this is about hate.<\/em>\u00a0 I hate that bastard you call \u2018Pa\u2019 nearly as much as I hate the fact that Benjamin Cartwright \u2013 that uncouth, arrogant excuse for a businessman \u2013 owns nearly half the territory of Nevada and everything it contains.\u201d\u00a0 The mine owner\u2019s fingers pressed in, bruising his skin, and then Troy snapped his head free, causing the back of it to strike the rough rock wall.\u00a0 \u201cYour father controls me and Alpheus Troy is not a man to be controlled!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe shrank back in the face of his hate.\u00a0 \u201cAnd…how\u2019s killin\u2019 me gonna make that any different?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy, you young scallywag, don\u2019t you see?\u00a0 Your father thinks he is the master of everything.\u00a0 I\u2019m…going to educate\u00a0 him.\u00a0 I\u2019m going to take you apart piece by piece and send Ben Cartwright a parcel.\u00a0 He\u2019ll soon know<\/em> what it is to want something you can\u2019t have.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Troy spoke, Joe heard the sound of other men approaching.\u00a0 More lamps were opened and he saw McCutcheon and Ferrell, and two other men whose names he didn\u2019t know.<\/p>\n

The mine owner rose and stepped back.\u00a0 He pointed a finger.<\/p>\n

\u201cStrip him down to his long-johns, boys, and bring me his suit.\u00a0 We have a delivery to make.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TWO<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou did what!??\u201d\u00a0 Ben demanded, striking his hand down on the well-worn desk situated against the wall of what served as Virginia City\u2019s jail.\u00a0 \u201cYou let them go??\u201d<\/p>\n

Robert Olin, a slender, shrewd man with a slender ration of patience, looked at him and sighed.\u00a0 \u201cWhat was I supposed to do, Ben?\u00a0 They were accused of disturbing the peace, which carried a bond of $20.\u00a0 Aaron Hooper paid it.\u00a0 You know I don\u2019t have space to hold onto troublemakers until the circuit judge shows up in a month, if at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTroublemakers!\u00a0 Those men were sent to kill my boy!\u201d the rancher thundered.<\/p>\n

\u201cf you have proof of that, Ben,\u201d Olin said evenly, \u201cthen I\u2019ll put on a badge and go after them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben sputtered.\u00a0 \u201cWell, of course, I don\u2019t have any proof.\u00a0 I just have….\u201d\u00a0 He whirled to look at his eldest who had accompanied him to the makeshift jail.\u00a0 Hoss was still out searching for Little Joe.\u00a0 \u201cI have Adam\u2019s word that Miss Crabtree said so.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSecond hand hearsay, that\u2019s what the judge will tell you.\u00a0 You know that, Ben.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam moved forward.\u00a0 \u201cI told you this was pointless, Pa,\u201d his son said.\u00a0 When Robert started to protest, Adam held up a hand.\u00a0 \u201cNothing against you, Robert, but this time we will have to take things into our hands.\u201d<\/p>\n

Olin was sizing them both up.\u00a0 \u201cI have an empty cell and there\u2019s room for two in it, you remember that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben sucked in his temper and tried to speak in a normal tone.\u00a0 \u201cRobert, you have a son.\u00a0 What would you do if someone took him and held him against you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Olin\u2019s son was a teen, just like Joe, but a little younger.\u00a0\u00a0 The lawman shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cI suppose I wouldn\u2019t know until it happened.\u00a0 Regardless of that, Ben, I can\u2019t let you take the law into your own hands.\u00a0 If you kill those men \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWho said anything about killing?\u201d Adam asked, all innocence.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019re just going to…talk to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWith your fists, I suppose?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam shrugged.\u00a0 His fingers caressed the handle of his gun.\u00a0 \u201cThat, and other things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Robert Olin ran a hand over his face.\u00a0 \u201cLook, Ben…Adam…I know most of it is talk \u2013 you threatening to kill those who come on your land or do you wrong.\u00a0\u00a0 You\u2019re both good men.\u00a0 So are Hoss and Little Joe, though that boy\u2019s got a bit of growing to do. \u00a0I know as well that, before there was a representative of the law here, you\u2019ve enacted your own justice.\u00a0 The time for that is over.\u00a0 If McCutcheon or Ferrell come in telling me you threatened them bodily harm or worse, did<\/em> them bodily harm, you\u2019ll be waiting for a chance to talk to the circuit judge yourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben returned to the desk and leaned on it, placing his face close to Robert\u2019s.\u00a0 \u201cI will be happy to do that.\u00a0 More<\/em> than happy.\u00a0 I will tell that judge how Alpheus Troy schemed to take my son and hold him against me in order to force my hand into selling him that timber.\u00a0 I will tell him how he hired a gunfighter to go up against us.\u201d\u00a0 The rancher straightened up, every inch of him shrieking righteous indignation.\u00a0 \u201cI will tell the judge what Miss Crabtree told my son Adam, that Troy wasn\u2019t going to stop there \u2013 that he means to murder<\/em> my youngest as a threat and if…\u201d\u00a0 The silver-haired man drew a deep breath.\u00a0 \u201c…if<\/em> that happens, then I will <\/em>take justice into my own hands and you can put me in your cell or damn me to Hell!\u00a0 Either way Alpheus Troy and his cronies will pay!\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam\u2019s hand was on his arm.\u00a0 \u201cCome on, Pa,\u201d he said softly.\u00a0 \u201cWe need to go.\u00a0 There\u2019s things to tend to at the ranch before tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben nodded.\u00a0 He drew a shuddering breath and held it for a full five seconds before addressing the lawman again.\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cWe\u2019ll be back in town tomorrow morning as the sun breaks to begin the search again.\u00a0 We\u2019ll check in with you first thing and I expect you to tell me if you know anything new.\u201d<\/p>\n

Robert\u2019s face held a mixture of anger and sympathy.\u00a0 \u201cBen, I\u2019d do that as a friend even if I wasn\u2019t the law in town.\u00a0 I\u2019m as worried about Little Joe as you are and will do everything I can to find him.\u00a0 I just want…ask<\/em> you and your boys to keep within the limits of the law.\u00a0 Ending up in prison would be a sad way of honoring your son\u2019s memory.\u201d<\/p>\n

The words took Ben off-guard, as if it were all in the past and Little Joe was dead and buried.\u00a0\u00a0 The rancher opened his mouth again, but no words came out.\u00a0 With a nod, he headed for the door.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, Robert,\u201d Adam said for him and then he followed him out into the street.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The ride home was long and silent and pregnant with what they might face the next day.\u00a0 Every so often, he\u2019d turn back and look at his pa.\u00a0 The older man was trailing behind them, lost in his own world of silent fear.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou think Pa\u2019s all right?\u201d Hoss asked him as he pulled his black alongside.\u00a0 \u201cI mean, as \u2018all right\u2019 as he can be given….\u201d<\/p>\n

Given that Little Joe might be dead.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou and I both know that Joe is half of Pa\u2019s heart.\u00a0 Maybe more than half,\u201d Adam replied.\u00a0 It was true.\u00a0 Though their pa loved them equally, Little Joe was the baby and, as such, closer in a lot of ways to Pa.\u00a0 While the two of them had had to grow up and assume a man\u2019s role at a very young age, Joe reaped the benefits of all their hard work.\u00a0 Oh, little brother worked hard too, but being the youngest, it was just naturally easier for their father to excuse Joe\u2019s boyish indiscretions and indulge his…excesses.\u00a0 It didn\u2019t really bother either of them that <\/em>much, though he and Joe had a tendency to knock heads more often than their even-tempered middle brother.<\/p>\n

Well, if he was truthful, with regularity.<\/p>\n

Adam let out a sigh, which brought the question.\u00a0 \u201cSomethin\u2019 wrong, Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n

He shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cI was just thinking.\u00a0 You know, when Marie…died, how Pa nearly didn\u2019t make it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam!\u201d\u00a0 Hoss was horrified.\u00a0 \u201cYou don\u2019t think Little Joe is…dead?\u00a0 Do you?\u201d<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t want to, but Lotta Crabtree\u2019s words had left little room for doubt as to the mine owners\u2019 intentions.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m holding out hope that Joe is okay, Hoss.\u00a0 I have to.\u00a0 But….\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Adam glanced at their father again who was riding with his head down.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not sure that \u2013 if the worst happens \u2013 Pa can take it. \u00a0He\u2019s not that young, you know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss was looking back too.\u00a0 The light of the setting sun struck his brother, setting off the red highlights in his dark blond hair.\u00a0 Hoss hung his head to for a minute before speaking.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou know, Adam, I ain\u2019t so sure I <\/em>could \u2018take\u2019 it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Little Joe\u2019s death could be the ruin of their family.\u00a0 They all knew it.<\/p>\n

He and Hoss were riding close enough that he could reach out and touch the other man\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0 Adam did so as he said, \u201cHoss, we don\u2019t even know that Joe\u2019s been taken, though we have pretty good reason to think it.\u00a0 We may find him at home playing around with that \u00e9p\u00e9e again.\u201d\u00a0 The black-haired man forced a smile.\u00a0 \u201cProbably with Hop Sing screaming in Chinese that he get his boots off the furniture.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss smiled as he\u2019d hoped he would.\u00a0 \u201cYeah, I can see it \u2013 and just about hear it!\u201d<\/p>\n

Suddenly, their father was at their side.\u00a0 He\u2019d been so preoccupied he hadn\u2019t heard the older man\u2019s approach.\u00a0 \u201cI can see the house, boys,\u201d Pa \u00a0announced.\u00a0 \u201cLet\u2019s get there and get done what needs to be done so we can head out at first light tomorrow to find your brother.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPa,\u201d Hoss said.\u00a0 \u201cAdam here thinks we might find little brother at home.\u00a0 Maybe Little Joe just up and left town after all the trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was no hope in their father\u2019s eyes, but the older man went along with it.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWell, if he is, I can tell you that after I hug that boy hard enough to take away his breath, he and I will have a \u2018little talk\u2019 and he won\u2019t be able to sit down for a month of Sundays!\u201d\u00a0 Their father paused.\u00a0 \u00a0Joe was too old, of course, to be thrashed, but it was an old joke.\u00a0 \u201cAnd no bringing the young scamp pillows!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, sir,\u201d Hoss said, but his heart wasn\u2019t in it anymore than Pa\u2019s or his was.<\/p>\n

Their hearts were back in Virginia City with Joe.<\/p>\n

\u201cCome on, sons,\u201d the older man said as he put his knees to Buck\u2019s sides and pressed in, demanding more speed.\u00a0 \u201cLet\u2019s get home.\u201d<\/p>\n

It only took a couple of minutes.\u00a0 Pa dismounted quickly and headed straight inside, yelling for Hop Sing.\u00a0 It would be his duty to tell their cook and friend that the number three son the Chinese man had raised and loved so well was missing and in danger.\u00a0 Both he and Hoss waited, but when they heard nothing else they knew their hopes were dashed and Joe hadn\u2019t come home.<\/p>\n

Hoss let out a sigh as he looped Chubby\u2019 reins over the rail.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m gonna go inside for a minute \u2018fore puttin\u2019 Chubb up, Adam.\u00a0 You comin\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll take him in along with the others.\u201d\u00a0 Adam\u2019s eyes flicked to the paint who had been trailing behind their pa, his lead tied to Pa\u2019s saddle horn.\u00a0 \u201cCochise looks like he needs a little extra special treatment, so I\u2019ll take him first.\u201d<\/p>\n

His giant of a brother eyed the paint.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s pinin\u2019 for Joe.\u00a0 Ol\u2019 Cooch knows there\u2019s somethin\u2019 wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pair were<\/em> tied at the…cinch strap, so to speak.\u00a0 \u201cI imagine he does.\u00a0 I\u2019ll bed him down and then come back for Chubb and Sport.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou sure you want to do that, Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n

He nodded.\u00a0 Unlike Hoss who needed companionship, his need was solitude.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sure.\u00a0 I\u2019ll be in, in a half-hour or so.\u201d<\/p>\n

His brother stared at him before placing his hand on his shoulder for a moment.\u00a0 Then Hoss turned on his boot heel s and went inside without a word.<\/p>\n

Adam caressed Cochise\u2019s neck and spoke a few soothing words. Then he turned toward the stable.<\/p>\n

That was when he saw it.\u00a0 Out of the corner of his eye.\u00a0 They kept a wood box on the porch, to the right of the main door and between it and the entry to the kitchen.\u00a0 There was something on top of the box \u2013 a package wrapped in a pale paper or cloth.\u00a0 After returning Cochise to the rail and tying his reins off, the black-haired man \u00a0headed for it.\u00a0 As he got closer he could see that the exterior wrapping was indeed cloth \u2013 a fine light, blue-gray cloth.<\/p>\n

Adam\u2019s stomach sank to his toes.<\/p>\n

Without moving or touching the bundle, he shouted, \u201cPa!\u00a0 Hoss!\u00a0 Come out here!\u00a0 Come out here now!\u201d<\/p>\n

A second later the door opened and Hoss stepped out.\u00a0 He must have been close by.\u00a0 His father and a distraught looking Hop Sing followed close on his heels.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is it, boy?\u201d the older man demanded.\u00a0 \u201cIs it your brother?\u201d\u00a0 His pa looked beyond him to the yard.\u00a0 \u201cDid Little Joe come home?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam shook his head and then lifted a hand and pointed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s that?\u201d his father asked, taking a step toward the parcel and then stopping.\u00a0 \u201cGood Lord!\u201d he exclaimed softly.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is it, Pa?\u201d middle brother asked as the older man picked up the folded cloth tied with a string.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s Joe\u2019s jacket, isn\u2019t it?\u201d Adam asked just as softly.<\/p>\n

Their father had undone the knot and was staring at the open bundle.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s Little Joe\u2019s,\u201d he said, the agony on his face registering in his voice and nearly choking it.\u00a0 \u201cBut it\u2019s not just his jacket.\u00a0 His shirt and pants are here too, and Adam….\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Joe\u2019s pants leg was covered in blood.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It was early morning, barely dawn really.\u00a0 Lotta Crabtree had arisen and begun to pack her belongings.\u00a0 The sooner she saw the backside of Virginia City the better!\u00a0 She was to take the stage tonight, but had sent one if the hotel\u2019s boys to see if she could take an earlier coach.\u00a0 While she hesitated to leave before learning of the youngest Cartwright\u2019s fate, her own part in his disappearance was gnawing at her.\u00a0 She\u2019d had a hand in it, there was no denying that.\u00a0 If she\u2019d refused the boy\u2019s advances and told him in no uncertain terms to go home where he belonged, Joe would have been safe in the bosom of his overly-protective family.\u00a0\u00a0 But that other <\/em>ten thousand dollars had wooed her as sure as a slick lover.\u00a0\u00a0 She knew when she stood at that door and said she would help \u2013 when the mine owners promised Joe would not be harmed \u2013 that it was a lie.\u00a0 She\u2019d known they meant the boy no good.\u00a0 She\u2019d just… fooled herself …in order to soothe her own conscience and absolve herself of any guilt in the matter.<\/p>\n

It hadn\u2019t worked.<\/p>\n

Maybe getting away would.\u00a0 She was sure as soon as she put this backwater hovel behind her, she would forget Little Joe Cartwright and his handsome brother; forget that cherubic face that had looked at her so innocently and trustingly.\u00a0 Forget his older brother\u2019s scowl of disapproval and…Adam\u2019s kiss.<\/p>\n

Lotta touched her lips with the tips of her fingers.\u00a0 That last one was a tall <\/em>order.<\/p>\n

A knock on the door brought her back to the present.\u00a0 She glanced at her trunks and cases and then went to the door.\u00a0 She had sent for a bell hop to take them down to the main floor in anticipation of leaving.<\/p>\n

And so, she was surprised when the door opened on an older man with silver hair turning white, who was dressed in a black shirt and gray pants with a heavy leather coat tossed over both.\u00a0 His near-black eyes took in the luggage behind her, and then returned to her face with an intensity that caused her to take a step back.\u00a0 As she did, she saw Adam Cartwright standing in the hallway with another…large…man.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you going somewhere, Miss Crabtree?\u201d the older man, whom she assumed to be the legendary Benjamin Cartwright, asked.<\/p>\n

She straightened her back and lifted her chin.\u00a0 \u201cAs a matter of fact, I am, if it is any business of yours.\u00a0 I have an engagement in Carson City tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s true, Pa,\u201d Adam said, cementing the man\u2019s identity.<\/p>\n

\u201cMister Cartwright, is it?\u201d she inquired.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d he rumbled.<\/p>\n

Lotta put on a smile.\u00a0 \u201cIs there…something you wanted?\u201d<\/p>\n

The older man removed his gray felt hat.\u00a0 \u201cMay I come in, Miss Crabtree?\u00a0 I\u2019d like to ask you a few questions concerning my youngest son.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her eyes flicked to the hallway.\u00a0 Was the large young man another son, she wondered?\u00a0 She knew this man had three; though three sons such as Adam, Little Joe, and this one were such as she had never seen before.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve already told Adam all I know,\u201d she replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see,\u201d the rancher said, although his eyes said something else entirely.\u00a0 \u201cStill, I would like to hear it for myself.\u00a0 You see, there\u2019s been a new development overnight.\u201d\u00a0 The older man turned and held out his hand.\u00a0 \u201cHoss.\u201d<\/p>\n

So\u00a0 this was<\/em> the other son.\u00a0 She knew his name.\u00a0 And then she remembered Joe\u2019s kidding that his brother Hoss had \u2018weighed in at fifty pounds at just a couple of months old\u2019.<\/p>\n

She wasn\u2019t so sure she didn\u2019t believe it now!<\/p>\n

The big man stepped forward and held out a bundle.\u00a0 There was pain in his eyes \u2013 so deep it made her ache for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere, you go, Pa,\u201d Hoss said, reluctantly releasing the odd collection.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think you know these,\u201d the older man added, holding the clothing out.<\/p>\n

At first she didn\u2019t.\u00a0 Then a little moan escaped her lips a she recognized the tailored suit the youngest Cartwright had been wearing the night before.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere…?\u201d she breathed.<\/p>\n

Adam stepped forward.\u00a0 \u201cShow her, Pa,\u201d the handsome man said, his tone solemn and slightly accusatory.<\/p>\n

Ben Cartwright\u2019s hand trembled as he turned the suit over.\u00a0 A pants leg flapped down, loose, and \u2013 as it did \u2013 she saw it.<\/p>\n

Blood.<\/p>\n

\u201cMiss Crabtree,\u201d the rancher said.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know if this means my son is alive or dead, but I do <\/em>know that you had a hand in whatever has happened to him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI…I didn\u2019t….\u201d\u00a0 She swallowed hard.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m…sorry.\u00a0 I never meant Little Joe any harm.\u00a0 Those men, they….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMay I come in?\u201d Ben Cartwright asked again.<\/p>\n

She nodded and made room for the three of them to enter.\u00a0 Then she went to a chair and sat down and indicated they should do the same.<\/p>\n

Once the older man had taken a seat, he said, \u201cMiss Crabtree \u2013 \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLotta,\u201d she replied, and then added, \u201cplease.\u201d<\/p>\n

He thought a minute and then nodded.\u00a0 \u201cLotta.\u00a0 I have known Alpheus Troy for as many years as my youngest has walked the earth.\u00a0\u00a0 Troy came here when silver was discovered and made it a point to possess every mine he could.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery mine?\u00a0 I understood he had only one.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHis one was once many,\u201d\u00a0 the rancher continued.\u00a0 \u201cTroy came to town and began to strong-arm the merchants in the settlement.\u00a0 His men threatened to burn them out if they sold to the owners of several of the lesser mines that were struggling to get on their feet.\u201d\u00a0 The older man settled back into the chair.\u00a0 \u201cWhen they failed, Troy bought them out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe bought his wealth on the back of broken families,\u201d Adam added as he sat as well.\u00a0 Hoss remained standing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u00a0 I had no idea.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot the kind of \u2018research\u2019 you do as an actress, eh?\u201d the eldest Cartwright son queried, his tone pointed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, no, not really,\u201d she admitted.\u00a0 \u201cLook, Mister Cartwright, I\u2019m an actress, as Adam said.\u00a0 I don\u2019t ask where the money comes from, I just do my job and take the pay.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben Cartwright nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI accept that as truth, but this time that…indifference…has a high price.\u201d\u00a0 The older man ran his hand along the blood-stained pants leg.\u00a0 \u201cIt may have cost my boy his life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her jaw grew tight.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s not my fault \u2013 if it has happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPa we\u2019re wastin\u2019 our time,\u201d the big man said.\u00a0 \u201cShe\u2019 colder than hell on a stoker\u2019s holiday.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rancher turned toward his son. \u00a0\u201cHoss, I will not have you disrespecting a woman \u2013 no matter what she has done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss hung his head.\u00a0 \u201cSorry, Ma\u2019am,\u201d he mumbled.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s all right,\u201d she said.\u00a0 Then she looked Ben Cartwright square in the face.\u00a0 \u201cYou came here for some reason.\u00a0 I assume there is something you want of me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cActually,\u201d Adam said, \u201cwe came here because of something we thought we could offer you.\u201d<\/p>\n

She looked from one man to the other. They looked less than…altruistic.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhich is?\u201d she asked, wary.<\/p>\n

This time it was Adam who faced her down.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbsolution.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

THREE<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

She had to have lost her mind and yet, as she continued to remind herself, she was an actress and one of long standing.<\/p>\n

She could pull this off.<\/p>\n

Lotta drew in a deep breath, put on her most charming smile, and brought her hand down on the expensive garishly carved wooden door that was the entryway to Alpheus Troy\u2019s elegant and slightly vulgar three story frame home.<\/p>\n

The door opened five seconds later and a young Chinese woman said, \u201cMister Troy not home.\u201d<\/p>\n

She knew otherwise.\u00a0 She\u2019d been watching the home and seen Troy enter.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, I see. \u00a0Well, then, may I come in and wait for him?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMister Troy not see anyone today.\u00a0 You come back tomorrow,\u201d the girl replied as she began to close the door.<\/p>\n

Lotta put the toe of her silk boot in the gap that remained. \u00a0\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m sure Mister Troy would make an exception for me.\u00a0 I\u2019m an…associate.\u201d\u00a0 The girl was staring at her.\u00a0 Trying to figure out if she had seen her before, she imagined.\u00a0 She opened her matching silk reticule and pulled out a carte-de-visite with her likeness and name on it and said, \u201cPlease take this to Mister Troy.\u00a0 He\u2019ll know me and…my business.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMister Troy not home.\u00a0 He say….\u201d\u00a0 The girl stopped as she saw what she held out, which was Little Joe Cartwright\u2019s bloody suit pants.<\/p>\n

\u201cTake this along with the card.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure <\/em>he\u2019ll be home once he sees it.\u201d<\/p>\n

And with that, she removed her boot.<\/p>\n

The door closed \u2013 with a little more vigor than was needed \u2013 and the wait began.\u00a0 It lasted several minutes and then the door opened again to show the same Chinese girl.<\/p>\n

Who looked decidedly upset.<\/p>\n

\u201cMister Troy come in back door.\u00a0 He home and will see you now.\u201d\u00a0 The girl moved aside.\u00a0 Careful to keep her head bowed and her eyes averted, she said, \u201cPlease come this way, Miss Crabtree.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you,\u201d she replied.<\/p>\n

As she stepped into the house, Lotta nearly stopped.\u00a0 She had expected elegance \u2013 after all Alpheus Troy was the owner of one of the biggest mines, if not the<\/em> biggest mine, in the Virginia City area \u2013 but she had not expected opulence.\u00a0 She had never seen so many leaded glass crystals, fine Chinese textiles, and silver and gilt pieces in one place in her life.\u00a0\u00a0 And that was saying a lot considering where all she\u2019d been!<\/p>\n

Everything, well, dripped.<\/p>\n

\u201cAh!\u00a0 Miss Crabtree,\u201d Troy said as he entered the front hall, coming in from a side room she assumed to be his office.\u00a0 \u201cI apologize for the confusion. I \u2013 \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCame in the back door.\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 Your girl told me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI had just returned from a…business…meeting and was a bit peckish and went straight into the kitchen.<\/p>\n

She noted the slight hesitation \u2013 just like she noted the mud on his shoes and the cuffs of his high-priced trousers.\u00a0 Where, she wondered, had that \u2018business\u2019 meeting taken place?\u00a0 In a mud hole, perhaps?<\/p>\n

It was, after all, where a man like Troy belonged.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy all means, finish your supper,\u201d she said in pretend politeness.\u00a0 \u201cI can wait.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, no.\u00a0 No.\u00a0 I wouldn\u2019t be a gentleman if I kept a lady \u2013 especially one of your standing \u2013 waiting.\u00a0 Please, come into my office.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, she had been right.\u00a0 Chalk another one up to an actress\u2019 powers of observation.\u00a0 She\u2019d have to remember to rub Adam Cartwright\u2019s nose in that one \u2013 if she ever saw him again.<\/p>\n

Troy indicated she should sit in the chair opposite his just-as-garish mahogany desk and then took a seat behind it.\u00a0 Linking his fingers together on its top, he asked, \u201cAnd to what do I owe this…pleasure?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI imagine you know,\u201d she said, sure to use a smug tone.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, these?\u201d he said, indicating Little Joe\u2019s pants, which were on his desk top.\u00a0 \u201cShould I know to whom they belong?\u201d<\/p>\n

Lotta drew in a breath and launched into it.\u00a0 \u201cLook, Mister Troy, both<\/em> you and I know to whom those pants belong.\u00a0 I assume by the bloodstains that you have what you want. \u00a0I\u2019m here for my money \u2013 and due to certain…circumstances….\u201d\u00a0 Her eyes went to the pants.\u00a0 \u201cI think you might include a…sizeable bonus?\u201d<\/p>\n

His face had changed.\u00a0 It had the look of a caged animal \u2013 a dangerous one.\u00a0 \u201cHow did you come by them?\u201d<\/p>\n

She laughed.\u00a0 \u201cThey were\u00a0 present from Benjamin Cartwright.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCartwright?\u00a0 Why would Benjamin Cartwright show these to you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI assume by that statement that you knew he had them?\u201d she asked, all innocence.<\/p>\n

Suspicion crept into that look, changing it from wary to warning.\u00a0 \u201cAre you implying that I had something to do with…this?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am \u2018implying\u2019 no such thing,\u201d she said sweetly.\u00a0 Then she added, pitching her voice low, \u201cI\u2019m telling<\/em> you that I know you did.\u00a0 You had me lure that poor boy to his death and now Benjamin Cartwright holds me to blame.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat did he say when he came to see you?\u201d<\/p>\n

The question was quick \u2013 too<\/em> quick \u2013 showing his fear.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat he found this bundle waiting for him when he got home. \u00a0That he knew you and the other mine owners had his son and intended it as a warning.\u201d\u00a0 She paused dramatically.\u00a0 \u201cAnd that he would tear you limb from limb the next time he saw you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCartwright won\u2019t risk the law,\u201d he countered.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh?\u201d she chuckled.\u00a0 \u201cApparently you don\u2019t know Ben Cartwright as well as you think.\u00a0 Accept it, Alpheus,\u201d she said, using his first name for effect, \u201cyou crossed over the line. \u00a0If you had just held the boy, maybe hurt him a little, and then let him go after his father capitulated….\u00a0 But to kill him \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s not dead!\u201d he blurted out..\u00a0 She noted how he instantly regretted it.\u00a0 Troy took a moment to compose himself before speaking again.\u00a0 \u201cAt least he wasn\u2019t when I left him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lotta\u2019s slight form had gone rigid.\u00a0 \u201cWhat do you mean \u2013 when you left him?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right,\u201d the mine owner said, rising to his feet.\u00a0 \u201cI admit we took the boy.\u00a0 Serves that old man right with his high-handed ways!\u00a0 We were going to hold him for as long as it took to get Ben Cartwright to sign over the rights to cut that timber!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about the blood?\u201d<\/p>\n

Troy\u2019s eyes went to the sullied pants where they lay on his desk. \u00a0\u201cThe boy was, shall we say, less than cooperative?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Good for you, Joe!<\/em>\u2019, Lotta thought, but then thought better of it as she remembered the two evil men she had seen on the street, advancing on the hotel.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou didn\u2019t answer my question.\u00a0 What did you mean by \u2018when I left him\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n

Troy lit a cigar.\u00a0 He puffed on it a few times before answering.\u00a0 \u201cI left McCutcheon and Ferrell in charge of him. \u00a0They have, shall we say, a limited amount of patience?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo if the boy dies, it will be their<\/em> fault and not yours?\u201d \u00a0Lotta paused and then added in a sultry tone. \u201cClever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Troy\u2019s white eyebrows popped. \u00a0\u201cYou approve?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, I don\u2019t know if I approve, but I do applaud your audacity.\u201d\u00a0 She folded her hands over her reticule and then met his stare.\u00a0 \u201cNow, about the remainder of my pay…?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, the ten thousand,\u201d he said, rounding his desk.<\/p>\n

\u201cTwenty.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTwenty?\u00a0 What?\u00a0 Madame, that\u2019s highway robbery!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, I don\u2019t know.\u00a0 It seems a cheap price compared to what you would pay at the end of a rope.\u201d<\/p>\n

He scowled.\u00a0 \u201cI told you the boy is alive!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I should believe you because of your sterling character and inability to tell a falsehood?\u201d she asked while batting her lashes.<\/p>\n

The mine owner growled.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ll just have to take my word.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMister Troy,\u201d she said as she rose to her feet.\u00a0 \u201cI am only an actress and have, well, perhaps a tenth of your business savvy, but I can tell you that I have learned to look a gift horse in the mouth.\u00a0 You show me the boy is alive and we\u2019ll settle on, say, fifteen thousand?\u00a0 If not, well, my little feet will just carry me across the street to Sheriff Olin\u2019s office and I\u2019ll let him decide if you\u2019re telling the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy are you doing this?\u201d he demanded.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause, Mister Troy, I have done some things in my life that I am not proud of, but I have never \u2013 and I repeat never <\/em>\u2013 brought harm to another human being and especially not a child!\u201d\u00a0 <\/em>She was breathing hard and it was not an act.\u00a0 <\/em>\u201cUnlike you, that is not something I could live with on my conscience.\u201d<\/p>\n

He was looking at her, weighing it out.\u00a0 Perhaps he thought she was in on this with the Cartwrights.<\/p>\n

Wouldn\u2019t he like to know?<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right,\u201d he said with a sigh.\u00a0 \u201cBut not until dark.\u00a0 I know Ben Cartwright is in town looking for the boy.\u00a0 I\u2019ll have my men keep watch.\u00a0 Once Cartwright leaves town we\u2019ll go and I\u2019ll show you your precious \u2018child\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAlive,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Troy\u2019s eyes went to the pants.\u00a0 He picked them up and fingered the area with the blood stain and then looked at her.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs much as it is in my power \u2013 yes.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cLook at him, Ferrell. \u00a0He ain\u2019t so high-and-mighty now, is he?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe roused at the voice and instantly regretted it as pain pounded through his leg and then radiated out to every inch of his battered frame.\u00a0 Alpheus Troy had left, he didn\u2019t know how many hours back, hurling over his shoulder the dubious instruction to \u2018take care of him, boys\u2019.<\/p>\n

They\u2019d taken care of him all right.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d been beaten before, of course, most times at his own choosing.\u00a0 Adam and Hoss had trained him to come out on top and sometimes, well, he just felt like usin\u2019 that education.\u00a0 Then there were the times when he got into fights because of the things men said about his pa \u2013 and his mama.\u00a0 Those were the worst ones \u2018cause he saw red and, just like when he used to bury his head in his ma\u2019s crimson skirts, he was blinded to just about everything else \u2013 including the fact that he could die.<\/p>\n

He wanted to die now.<\/p>\n

You\u2019d think McCutcheon, since he was the big one, would have been the man to fear, but he stood by while Ferrell attacked with what his pa would have called \u2018military precision\u2019, making tactical strikes at the soft places where there was no bone to protect what was underneath.\u00a0 Since he was in his long-johns \u2013 and there wasn\u2019t much left of them \u2013 his middle was exposed. \u00a0Even in the dim light of the lantern his tormentor carried, he could see the dark bruise spreading across his abdomen.\u00a0 He\u2019d been in enough fights and chastised by Pa\u2019s friend Paul Martin enough to know what that meant.\u00a0 Most likely, internal bleeding.\u00a0 \u00a0A man could survive it, but it could also kill him.<\/p>\n

He really didn\u2019t want to die here, in the dark, alone, with no one but the men who had killed him.<\/p>\n

\u2018Please, God….\u2019<\/p>\n

Joe closed his eyes as he waited on the next punch or kick that would come out of the dark and come unexpected.\u00a0 His\u00a0 ma and pa had taught him to pray and he prayed near every day of his life.\u00a0 He\u2019d learned though, that terrible day when his mama fell from her horse, that even if God answered prayers, sometimes the answer was \u2018no\u2019. \u00a0He remembered sittin\u2019 on the settee beside Hoss, his little hands linked, whispering over and over, \u201cPlease God, don\u2019t let my mama die.\u00a0 I need her.\u00a0 Please don\u2019t let her die.\u00a0 Please….\u201d<\/p>\n

Mama died anyway.<\/p>\n

And then Pa went away too and Adam grew mad and Hoss sad and he had no one but Hop Sing who cried when he was cuttin\u2019 carrots and potatoes, and he\u2019d decided right there and then that even if God was in control of everything and that meant everything was for his good, he didn\u2019t like it.\u00a0 God was like Pa only he didn\u2019t listen. \u00a0God did what He<\/em> wanted and he didn\u2019t care what one little boy wanted or needed and so \u2013 and he\u2019d never ever told Pa this \u2013 he decided he didn\u2019t care about God.<\/p>\n

Of course, he was older now and understood better, but there was still a little of that little boy in him and it came out at times like this.<\/p>\n

Maybe this was <\/em>it.\u00a0 Maybe God was gonna let him die no matter how much his pa or Adam or Hoss pleaded that he wouldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Just like mama.<\/p>\n

The kick came, just over his kidneys, bringing Joe sharply back to the reality he was in.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook\u2019at the cry baby.\u201d\u00a0 McCutcheon, the noisy one, knelt before him and took hold of his hair and lifted his head up so he had to look into his eyes.\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cHow old are you, boy?\u201d he snickered.\u00a0 \u201cYou been breeched yet?\u00a0 I don\u2019t see no pants!\u201d<\/p>\n

Unwisely, Joe spit in his eye.<\/p>\n

That<\/em> turned the terror loose.\u00a0 Ferrell moved in and by the time the beating was over, he was laying on the floor in a pool of his own blood.\u00a0 It ran from his nose and a cut on his head, but from the knife wound in his leg as well, which a well-placed kick had reopened.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re just beggin\u2019 to die, aren\u2019t you, Cartwright?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe tried to snort and failed.<\/p>\n

He just might at that.<\/p>\n

McCutcheon moved back in and took hold of his hair again.\u00a0 The knife was back.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s been twelve hours, cry baby.\u00a0 The boss said to send a new \u2018parcel\u2019. \u00a0\u00a0I\u2019m thinkin\u2019 a nice portion of that thick curly hair of yours and…maybe the tip of an ear?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe closed his eyes as he felt the cold steel touch his scalp.\u00a0 This was it.<\/p>\n

He was gonna die.<\/p>\n

\u201cMcCutcheon!\u201d \u00a0A sharp voice cut though the dank air of the mine and echoed from its walls.\u00a0 \u201cYou down here?\u201d<\/p>\n

The bully growled as he let go \u2013 letting his head slam into the floor \u2013 and\u00a0 turned toward the voice.\u00a0 \u201cYeah. \u00a0Who wants to know?\u201d<\/p>\n

A light appeared, its pale yellow glow stretching out across the uneven stone floor.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s Williams.\u00a0 Got word from the boss.\u00a0 He\u2019s comin\u2019 to see the kid and bringin\u2019 someone with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cHow the hell should I know?\u00a0 The boss don\u2019t explain things to me, he just gives me orders.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe heard McCutcheon sigh.\u00a0 \u201cHe ain\u2019t much to look at.\u00a0 I thought the boss wanted the kid dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought so too, but now it seems otherwise.\u00a0 Rudy told me some dame came to Troy\u2019s house.\u00a0 Maybe it\u2019s her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou think it could be that actress, Mac?\u00a0 The one who helped Troy take the kid?\u201d Ferrell asked.<\/p>\n

Joe moaned.\u00a0 He\u2019d suspected she was involved somehow, but hearing it said out loud was hard to take.<\/p>\n

He really liked Lotta.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe.\u00a0 I heard Troy never paid her the other money \u2013 you know, for gettin\u2019 the kid to her rooms.\u201d\u00a0 There was a pause and a snicker.\u00a0 \u201cBaby boy here probably panicked.\u00a0 That\u2019s why he was runnin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

They all had a good laugh at that.<\/p>\n

Joe didn\u2019t care.\u00a0 At the moment all he could think about was that the stone floor, which had chilled him to the bone a few minutes before when he was sitting upright, but now felt so good on his battered cheek that he thought he could go to sleep.<\/p>\n

That ended when someone grabbed his head and jerked it up.<\/p>\n

\u201cOld Ben Cartwright should have gone himself.\u00a0 Why send a boy to do a man\u2019s job?\u201d<\/p>\n

They were still laughing \u2013 and the steel was touching his skin again.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019re you doin\u2019, McCutcheon.\u00a0 The boss wants him alive.\u00a0 You got that, ain\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, yeah, but the boss said he wanted a little reminder sent to Ben Cartwright too.\u00a0 We gotta follow orders, ain\u2019t we?\u201d<\/p>\n

A length of hair on the side of his head was pulled so taut the skin went with it.\u00a0 Joe cracked one swollen eye open just in time to see the glint of steel as the blade swept down toward his head.<\/p>\n

And then he screamed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you think, Pa?\u201d Adam asked as they watched Lotta Crabtree leave Alpheus Troy\u2019s home arm in arm with the man they were certain had taken Little Joe.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think everything is going according to plan,\u201d his father replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cWomen,\u201d Hoss sighed even as the pair stepped into a closed carriage.\u00a0 \u201cYou never know about them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAt least not a woman of Miss Crabtree\u2019s…ilk,\u201d the rancher agreed.\u00a0\u00a0 Ben ran a hand over his face.\u00a0 It had been a\u00a0 risk \u2013 leaving Little Joe\u2019s clothing with Lotta Crabtree.\u00a0 There would be one of two outcomes.\u00a0 Her conscience would speak to her and she would take the necessary steps to find out what the consequence of her actions had been \u2013 hopefully leading them to Little Joe \u2013 or she would take the money and run, fearful of becoming \u2018involved\u2019 and perhaps facing charges for kidnapping.<\/p>\n

Or worse.<\/p>\n

As the carriage rolled away, he had no way of knowing which it was.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right, boys, you know the plan,\u201d he said, rising from his position behind some crates in the alley opposite Alpheus Troy\u2019s home.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ll follow Troy and the woman,\u201d his eldest said.\u00a0 \u201cHoss and I will get Sheriff Olin and round up any of our men that we can find, and follow in an hour.\u00a0 Pa….\u201d<\/p>\n

He knew what was coming.\u00a0 \u201cYes, Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI still think you should let the two of us come with you.\u00a0 We can send word to Robert \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

His hand came down on his son\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cNo, Adam, no.\u00a0 It will be dangerous enough for one of us to trail them.\u00a0 If Troy realizes he\u2019s being followed \u2013 and your brother is<\/em> still alive \u2013 he might choose to cut his losses and run.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere do you think that bad man\u2019s got Joe holed up, Pa?\u201d Hoss asked.\u00a0 His middle son\u2019s voice was tense with anger and worry.<\/p>\n

\u201cProbably in one of the mines.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t you think that\u2019s a bit obvious?\u201d his eldest asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe, but I don\u2019t think its the Diablo or the Yellow Jacket, or even his own.\u00a0 There are a number of mines\u00a0 Troy bought up in the beginning that are now abandoned.\u201d\u00a0 Ben looked toward the edge of town where the dust was blowing in the wind, tossing sand and scrub.\u00a0 \u201cIt would be like looking for a needle in a haystack to check them all.\u201d<\/p>\n

They\u2019d seen one of Troy\u2019s men leave earlier, riding his horse hell-bent for leather.\u00a0 He\u2019d almost followed him, but there was no way of telling where the man was going with so many of Troy\u2019s various enterprises located close by.\u00a0\u00a0 No, it had been safer to wait for Lotta Crabtree to make her move.<\/p>\n

Hoss was staring at the landscape too, as if by sheer will he could determine where his baby brother was.\u00a0 \u201cI sure hope Miss Crabtree leads us to Joe.\u00a0 I\u2019m….\u201d\u00a0 His middle son turned his crisp blue eyes on him.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m right worried about Joe, Pa.\u00a0 I got me a feelin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

The veracity of Hoss\u2019 \u2018feelin\u2019s\u2019 was well-documented.\u00a0\u00a0 He was seldom wrong, and even less so when it came to his little brother.<\/p>\n

The truth was, he had that \u2018feeling\u2019 too \u2013 like they were running out of time.<\/p>\n

His middle boy was silent for a moment, and then he added, his voice hushed.\u00a0 \u201cYou think, maybe \u2013 well, maybe \u2013 God would take Little Joe…home?\u201d<\/p>\n

It was his fear \u2013 for all his sons \u2013 that God would take one of them \u2018home\u2019 before he himself had walked through the Pearly Gates.<\/p>\n

The rancher put his hand on his son\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cHoss, we have to have faith.\u00a0 I think we are all agreed that we believe Joseph is still alive?\u201d<\/p>\n

The big man nodded without hesitation.\u00a0\u00a0 Adam, a little more slowly.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, all we can do is pray and do our best as men to find and save him.\u201d\u00a0 Ben turned and looked in the direction the carriage had gone.\u00a0 \u201cAnd get to it now!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

FOUR<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lotta\u2019s hand went to her heart as a shrill scream echoed up along the dank corridor they were walking down.\u00a0 \u00a0As an actress, her throat had produced such a sound \u2013 usually when she was making a pretense of being murdered.\u00a0\u00a0 In the light of the lanterns the miners escorting them carried, she saw Alpheus Troy abruptly halt.<\/p>\n

The mine owner blanched near white and then continued walking.<\/p>\n

Looking to the left and right as they progressed, the beautiful woman noted the myriad crystals that dotted the walls, sometimes in bands, but more often alone.\u00a0 They sparkled in the torchlight as it proceeded them, marking their path into the abyss.\u00a0 Who knew?\u00a0 If they continued on long enough, perhaps they would reach the center of the Earth.\u00a0 \u00a0In ancient times man believed he would find a path to the underworld there.<\/p>\n

Noting the point where the darkness swallowed the light, Lotta thought \u2013 perhaps \u2013 the ancients knew best.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs it a lot farther?\u201d she asked in a soft tone.\u00a0 The constant echo of her own words from the wet walls\u00a0 unnerved her for some reason.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot far,\u201d Troy said.\u00a0 \u201cI told the boys to bring Cartwright up a few levels.\u201d\u00a0 He glanced back at her.\u00a0 \u201cI imagined a woman of your…delicate nature…would prefer not to go down too far into the mine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lotta blinked.\u00a0 They were not \u2018far down\u2019 in the mines now?\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

Good Lord!<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you,\u201d she forced out.\u00a0 \u201cThat was most…considerate of you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAlways the gentleman,\u201d he said with a bit of a sneer. \u00a0\u00a0\u201cAh!\u00a0 We have arrived.\u201d<\/p>\n

How he knew she had no idea.\u00a0 The chamber they\u2019d entered looked like every chamber they\u2019d left behind.\u00a0 She peered into its shadows.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t see him,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy men are bringing the boy.\u00a0 There.\u00a0 You hear that?\u00a0 They\u2019re coming.\u201d<\/p>\n

She did indeed hear it.\u00a0 There were men walking and there was also another sound \u2013 like something was being dragged.\u00a0 A moment later light poured into the chamber from an opening on the other side and three men appeared, all of them obviously miners. \u00a0One was in the front with the lantern.\u00a0 The pair behind him bore something between them.\u00a0\u00a0 Lotta let out a little gasp as she recognized the latter as the toughs who had been outside her window and realized just what it was they held between them.\u00a0 Or who.<\/p>\n

He was barely recognizable as a human being.<\/p>\n

As the miners callously dropped Joe Cartwright\u2019s bloodied and battered body to the floor, the image of the handsome young man standing in her hotel room \u2013 dressed to the nines, smelling of bay rum and scented pomade; a smile on his angelic face \u2013 flashed in her mind\u2019s eye.<\/p>\n

She rounded on Troy.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ve killed him!\u201d she declared.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe ain\u2019t dead,\u201d one of the two men said, and to prove it he kicked Little Joe with his boot.\u00a0 As the boy moaned, he added with a sneer, \u201cJust mostly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Troy looked nearly as shocked as she felt.\u00a0 \u201cI told you to take care of him!\u201d he declared.<\/p>\n

The bigger man looked at the thin, rat-like creature beside him.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s what we did, ain\u2019t it, Ferrell?\u201d\u00a0 She saw him wink at the mine owner.\u00a0 \u201cWe took \u2018care\u2019 of Cartwright just like you ordered.\u201d<\/p>\n

She had been stunned into inaction. \u00a0Now, with a look of horror that had nothing <\/em>of acting in it, she moved to Little Joe\u2019s\u00a0 side and knelt beside him.\u00a0 Reaching out, she sought for a place to touch him that might not hurt and finally settled on his left shoulder.\u00a0 It was about the only part of him that was not muddied or bloodied.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe!\u00a0 Little Joe, can you hear me?\u201d Lotta asked and then waited.<\/p>\n

For a moment there was nothing. \u00a0Then the boy stirred and one eye opened.\u00a0 He saw her \u2013 or at least she thought he did \u2013 because a moment later his hand reached toward her.<\/p>\n

And then Joe tore out her heart.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaman…?<\/em>\u201d he breathed before falling unconscious.<\/p>\n

Lotta choked and dissolved into tears.<\/p>\n

Troy lingered close behind her.\u00a0 She heard him turn to the larger of the two men and ask with an almost detached air, \u201cWhere\u2019s all the blood coming from?\u201d<\/p>\n

It was in Joe\u2019s hair and on his face, neck, and shoulders.\u00a0 It seemed to be pooled on the one side more than the other.\u00a0 Reaching out, she took hold of the poor boy\u2019s face and turned it into the light \u2013 and let out a startled little cry.<\/p>\n

Above his ear on that side, his glorious curls were missing.<\/p>\n

She whirled as the vile man chuckled.\u00a0 He was holding something out.\u00a0 With horror, Lotta realized it was a muddy, bloody portion of Little Joe\u2019s hair.<\/p>\n

She was on her feet before she knew it.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlpheus Troy, you are the most vile creature that has ever walked God\u2019s earth!\u00a0 There isn\u2019t enough silver in all <\/em>of your mines to buy my silence!\u00a0 When I get finished with you, I will \u2013 \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMust I remind you, Miss Crabtree that this,\u201d he gestured toward Joe, \u201cis as much your doing as mine?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am not<\/em> responsible \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, but you are,\u201d he insisted, going in for the kill.\u00a0 \u201cIt was you who trespassed on Cartwright land and lured this poor \u2018child\u2019 into town.\u00a0 You, a woman of mature years, taking advantage of a young man who couldn\u2019t possibly know better.\u00a0 And it was you <\/em>who took money for keeping him there when you knew McCutcheon and Ferrell were coming to kidnap him and….\u201d\u00a0 The mine owner paused.\u00a0 \u201c…kill<\/em> him.\u201d\u00a0 Troy sneered.\u00a0 \u201cIf I hang, Miss Crabtree, it will be your pretty neck that is stretched beside me!\u201d<\/p>\n

Her hand went to her throat.\u00a0 \u201cI did no such thing!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps not, but then who will believe an actress?\u00a0 A woman of…dubious reputation.\u00a0 And up against such sterling men as myself, Hooper, and Garvey.\u201d\u00a0 Troy paused to let that sink in.\u00a0 \u201cAnd even Benjamin Cartwright.\u00a0 From what I understand he and his…remaining…sons know what you have done.\u201d<\/p>\n

He had her.\u00a0 She hated to admit it, but he had<\/em> her.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, Miss Crabtree,\u201d the mine owner said as he reached into his pocket, \u201cbefore we left, I had my man draw out a note.\u00a0 You may take this to any bank in Carson City and it will be honored \u2013 which I suggest you do post-haste before one of my men decides to take things into his own hands.\u201d\u00a0 As she glanced at Ferrell and McCutcheon, he finished.\u00a0 \u201cYou see, they don\u2019t trust you as I do and, well, the truth is, if you weren\u2019t so well known I might have let them have their way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhich is?\u201d she squeaked.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, let\u2019s just say it would have been your greatest performance.\u00a0 Juliet and…Little Joe!\u201d<\/p>\n

His laugh was chilling.<\/p>\n

Lotta glared at him and then she snatched the envelope from his hand.\u00a0 \u201cI said it once and I will say it again, Alpheus Troy, you are a vile monster!\u201d\u00a0 She looked at Little Joe Cartwright where he lay silent on the floor and then deliberately turned away from the sight of his suffering.\u00a0 \u201cNow, if one of your…men<\/em>…would care to escort me out?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, of course, my dear.\u00a0 Rudy!\u201d<\/p>\n

The man with the lantern took a step forward.\u00a0 \u201cYes, sir?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEscort Miss Crabtree to the coach and wait for me there.\u201d\u00a0 At her look he added, \u201cIt\u2019s not that I don\u2019t trust you, my dear, but I don\u2019t <\/em>trust you!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have nothing to worry about, you snake!\u201d she snarled.\u00a0 \u201cThat young man\u2019s life is important to me, but not as important as my own.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell spoken, my dear.\u00a0 And you just remember that<\/em> when you read in the papers of the demise of Ben Cartwright\u2019s youngest in a terrible mining accident.\u00a0 It seems the boy\u2019s curiosity got the best of him and he went into a mine long abandoned and, well, the walls chose a most inopportune time to come down.\u201d<\/p>\n

She went as pale as chalk.\u00a0 \u201cYou wouldn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, yes, I most certainly would, just as you will read in that same paper how Miss Lotta Crabtree lured the young man to his death \u2013 should you betray me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lotta\u2019s jaw locked in revulsion.\u00a0 \u201cGet me out of here,\u201d she ordered through clenched teeth.<\/p>\n

\u201cRudy, show the lady out.\u201d<\/p>\n

As she walked away, she heard Alpheus Troy\u2019s order.\u00a0 \u201cBoys, take him deep into the mine and set the charges.\u00a0 We\u2019ve no time to lose.\u201d<\/p>\n

As she followed Rudy to the surface, Lotta started laughing.\u00a0 The man in front of her glanced over his shoulder, shrugged, and then continued on.\u00a0 She was sure he wondered why.\u00a0 It was the irony of the whole thing.\u00a0 Here, she had played her greatest role and no one would ever know about it.<\/p>\n

Lotta Crabtree, murderess.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ben Cartwright had sequestered himself behind a tumble of rocks dotted by gorse in order to watch the comings and goings at the cave mouth of the old abandoned \u2018Lucky Sucker\u2019 mine.\u00a0 The man who had staked the claim had proved more the latter than the first when Alpheus Troy had tricked him into selling what was, for a time, a profitable mine.\u00a0 The silver streak in it had petered out quickly and it had been abandoned near the time his missing son had been born.<\/p>\n

Now, he wondered if it was going to be Little Joe\u2019s tomb.<\/p>\n

It had been hard, but he\u2019d gritted his teeth and done nothing as Alpheus Troy\u2019s man had met the mine owner and Miss Crabtree as they debarked from the carriage.\u00a0 They\u2019d entered the mine with her hanging on his arm.\u00a0 At this moment he had no idea who the real Lotta was \u2013 the woman who seemed so penitent and anxious to help them find Joseph, or this woman, the one who had been complicit in his capture.\u00a0 Lotta was, after all, an actress and had been practicing and honing her craft for thirty-odd years.\u00a0 He had no doubt she could make a man believe anything she wanted him to believe.<\/p>\n

A man, yes, but not a father.<\/p>\n

In truth, he thought she was a woman on the edge, straddling right and wrong and desperately sorry to have been caught in the middle.\u00a0 She seemed genuinely moved by Little Joe\u2019s plight, but then again, it was her choice to take Troy\u2019s money and to lead his boy into the danger that now threatened him.\u00a0\u00a0 Rocking back on his heels, the rancher pulled his watch from his pocket and checked the time.\u00a0 In approximately fifteen minutes his sons would leave Virginia City and begin to follow his trail, bringing the law with them.\u00a0 They would arrive in a few hours.\u00a0 He had to get to Joseph before that.\u00a0 The boy could be caught in the cross-fire or, worse, Troy might order his son killed so there were no witnesses.\u00a0 \u00a0The best way to do that was to talk to Lotta Crabtree.<\/p>\n

She was leaving the mine now.<\/p>\n

If she got back into the carriage, it would make his task more difficult.\u00a0 He\u2019d have to follow her back toward town and try to stop her \u2013 somehow.\u00a0 He needed to catch her now, before she got on board, but he had no idea how he was going to do it.<\/p>\n

Until he saw her step off into the brush.<\/p>\n

With a toss of his eyes to Heaven and a quick whispered prayer of thanks on his lips, Ben began\u00a0 to move through the tall grasses and trees in order to intercept her before her return.\u00a0 Troy\u2019s man had remained with the carriage, which was another blessing.\u00a0 Ben had almost come abreast the place where he\u2019d seen the actress enter the woods when a thought struck him and he halted.<\/p>\n

What if the woman was…well…about her personal business?<\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t matter, he told himself.\u00a0 He\u2019d apologize later if he caught her in an…indiscreet position. \u00a0Little Joe\u2019s life was more important than a woman\u2019s modesty or a man\u2019s propriety.<\/p>\n

In the end he found he needn\u2019t have worried.\u00a0 Lotta Crabtree \u2013 San Francisco\u2019s Favorite and the toast of several continents \u2013 was sitting on a rock with her head in her hands, sobbing like a baby.\u00a0 She heard him coming a moment before he arrived and looked up; her face the picture of despair.\u00a0\u00a0 When she realized who he was, she rose to her feet and ran toward him.\u00a0 He almost went down\u00a0 as she gripped his coat and fell into his arms.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re…going to…kill him!\u201d she sobbed.\u00a0 \u201cOh, God, what…have I done!?\u201d<\/p>\n

He pulled her back.\u00a0 \u201cJoseph?\u00a0 Little Joe?\u00a0 Then he\u2019s alive?\u201d<\/p>\n

Her head nodded, the once finely coiffed brunette hair falling free and masking her eyes.\u00a0 \u201cThey\u2019ve….\u201d\u00a0 She drew in a great gulp of air. \u201cThey\u2019ve beaten him badly, Ben.\u00a0 So…badly….\u201d<\/p>\n

As her voice trailed off, he shook her.\u00a0 \u201cWhere?\u00a0 Where is he?\u00a0 Where\u2019s my boy?\u201d<\/p>\n

Lotta blinked and seemed to come to herself.\u00a0 She sniffed and drew up to her full height.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u00a0 As I left, Troy ordered his men to take him deeper into the mine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTroy?\u00a0 So it was<\/em> him all along.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMister Cartwright, if you had just let him have those trees,\u201d she said, shaking her head.\u00a0 \u201cNone of this would have happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd if you hadn\u2019t been so greedy, my boy\u2019s life would not be in danger!\u201d he snapped back.<\/p>\n

She paled and suddenly, all bravado was gone.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re right,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cI told your son that money was all that mattered to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

He glared at her.\u00a0 \u201cThen I feel sorrier for you than I do for Alpheus Troy.\u00a0 At least his<\/em> greed has a noble purpose \u2013 to build and not to destroy.\u201d<\/p>\n

She placed her head in her hands again.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m the monster,\u201d she breathed softly.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taking her by the shoulders, he commanded her attention.\u00a0 \u201cLotta, I need you to tell me all you can.\u00a0 How many men did you see?\u201d<\/p>\n

She blinked as if slightly stunned.\u00a0 \u201cThree…no, four.\u00a0 Troy, Rudy \u2013 who is by the carriage \u2013 McCutcheon and that nasty thin man, Ferrell.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019d just seen Troy coming out of the mine and heading for the carriage.\u00a0 That left only two within, if Lotta was right.<\/p>\n

\u201cListen to me, I need you to get in that carriage and go back to town with Troy and act as if nothing is wrong.\u00a0 Do you hear me?\u201d<\/p>\n

She was shaking her head.\u00a0 \u201cI can\u2019t…ride with that monster and make nice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re an actress.\u00a0 Yes, you can!\u201d He reached out to cup her cheek in his hand.\u00a0 \u201cDo it for Joseph.\u00a0 You owe him at least that much.\u201d<\/p>\n

It took a moment, but she nodded.\u00a0\u00a0 He handed her his handkerchief and watched as she wiped her face and then transformed how she looked with just a thought.\u00a0 Lotta smiled at him and then turned to go, but before she did, she reached into her reticule and pulled out an envelope and handed it to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo need to open it.\u00a0 Just…hold it for me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is it?\u201d he asked as he tucked it into his coat pocket.<\/p>\n

Lotta gave him an odd look.\u00a0 Then she said….<\/p>\n

\u201cThirty pieces of silver.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t the first time and it wouldn\u2019t be the last.<\/p>\n

They\u2019d disobeyed their father.<\/p>\n

As he finished checking his cinch and gave it a tug, Adam looked over his horse\u2019s back at his middle brother.\u00a0 Hoss was fit to be tied.\u00a0 About five miles out of the city, the big man\u2019s patience had run out.\u00a0 When Robert Olin had suggested they make camp and wait for the men he had deputized to catch up, it had been all he could do to keep Hoss from taking off the lawman\u2019s head.\u00a0 In the end, they had come to a decision.\u00a0 He was sure Olin wasn\u2019t happy with it.<\/p>\n

He and Hoss deserted him.<\/p>\n

Adam turned and looked back the way they had come.\u00a0 If the men arrived when Robert expected, the posse would be a good forty-five minutes behind them, which suited him fine.\u00a0 He\u2019d been in enough posses to know that untrained citizens given the right to shoot anyone in sight tended to do that \u2013 often targeting the wrong men.\u00a0 The last thing they needed, if Joe was alive, was for him to be killed in a firefight between overly zealous townspeople and the criminals who held him.\u00a0 With any luck, Pa had already found Joe and freed him.<\/p>\n

Right.\u00a0 \u00a0And lilacs bloomed in the desert in summertime.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow far do you think it is?\u201d Hoss asked as he took a drink from his canteen.<\/p>\n

They\u2019d discussed it and, from the tracks, decided Joe had been taken to the old Lucky Sucker mine.\u00a0 It belonged to Troy and was just far enough out of town \u2013 and out of mind \u2013 that it would make a good place to hold a hostage.\u00a0 They\u2019d traveled about ten miles, so, \u201cAnother half hour, I\u2019d guess.\u00a0 We\u2019ll have to go slow, though, from here on.\u00a0 Troy might have sentinels posted.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLet me at \u2018em,\u201d Hoss growled as he slammed the lid back onto the canteen.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll tear them apart with my own two hands if they done hurt Little Joe!\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019d had to stop him with Robert.\u00a0 This time, well….<\/p>\n

\u201cPa keeps telling me civilization will come to the West one day,\u201d Adam replied.\u00a0 As he mounted his horse and settled in, he added with a wry grin, \u201cGood thing it hasn\u2019t yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

He wanted to tear those bastards apart with his <\/em>two hands as well.<\/p>\n

Hoss had done the same.\u00a0 From atop Chubb, he said, \u201cLet\u2019s ride, older brother.\u201d<\/p>\n

And they did.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

FIVE<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ben had sneaked up to the mine entrance.\u00a0 He watched Lotta emerge from the\u00a0 trees and smile as Alpheus Troy offered her a hand into the carriage.\u00a0\u00a0 The man, Rudy, watched them go and then moved off into the woods leaving the mouth of the cave unguarded.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t know whether to worry or to see it as the hand of God.<\/p>\n

Choosing the latter, the rancher shifted and then darted into the cave\u2019s entryway.\u00a0 Once inside he hugged the shadows and waited.\u00a0 When no one came and he heard nothing, he looked around for a lantern.\u00a0 Finding one, he used the matches he always carried in his pocket to light it and then shuttered it so that only a thin beam of light bit into the ebony darkness before him.<\/p>\n

And then he began the plunge into the earth.<\/p>\n

As he walked, Ben\u2019s trained eye went by habit to the beams over his head and the struts holding up the tunnel he traversed. \u00a0They were shoddy.\u00a0 Some of the struts were cracked and the beams overhead rained down sawdust on him as he walked, suggesting they were infested with termites or some other such boring insect.\u00a0 It was definitely not a safe place to be, and yet it was where he needed to be if he was going to save his son.\u00a0 Lotta had haltingly told him to be prepared for what he found.\u00a0 Joseph, she said, had been beaten to within an inch of his life.\u00a0 His young son had a slight build, but he was well-muscled and well-trained by his older brothers.\u00a0 In a fair fight, he\u2019d seen him take down men near twice his size.\u00a0 But Lotta said this had been far from a fair fight.\u00a0 Joseph was bound hand and foot.\u00a0 The men had kicked him and…hurt him as she watched.<\/p>\n

He wanted to kill them.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d told Troy he would and he\u2019d meant it and, if it came to it, he would.\u00a0 But not out of vengeance or a need to be God \u2013 out of a need for justice and to rescue his poor boy.<\/p>\n

A sudden noise not too far in front of him made Ben halt and close the lantern, plunging both him and the tunnel into darkness. \u00a0Then, almost as quickly, the light grew.\u00a0 It came from the opening in front of him.\u00a0 Hugging the wall, he advanced slowly, until he was close enough to make out men\u2019s voices.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe we should be merciful.\u00a0 Put a bullet in his head and put him out of his misery, you know?\u201d one said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019ll be out of his misery soon enough when ten ton of rock comes down on him,\u201d the other replied with a snort.\u00a0 Then he went on.\u00a0 \u201cHow the mighty have fallen.\u00a0 You ain\u2019t so pretty now, pretty boy.\u00a0 Ain\u2019t no woman gonna want you lookin\u2019 like you do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben\u2019s blood was boiling.\u00a0 He took another step forward and was startled when his boot encountered something soft and completely out of place.\u00a0\u00a0 He knelt and had just put his fingers on it when the first man spoke again.<\/p>\n

\u201cShame we ain\u2019t gonna get to send Old Man Cartwright his present.\u00a0 What I wouldn\u2019t have given to be there when he opened it up!\u201d<\/p>\n

To the accompaniment of their whoops and hollers, Ben palmed the item and rose to his feet.\u00a0 It puzzled him at first and then he nearly lost his lunch as he realized what it was.<\/p>\n

A mass of blood-soaked curly brown hair.<\/p>\n

How dare <\/em>they!<\/p>\n

\u201cLooks like he\u2019s been scalped, don\u2019t he?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCome on.\u00a0 Rudy\u2019s bound to have those charges set by now.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was a pause and then the first man said, \u201cWe\u2019re okay.\u00a0 We got fifteen minutes yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCartwright\u2019s done.\u00a0 There\u2019s no need to watch him.\u00a0 I say we go now.\u201d<\/p>\n

The scum who was with him replied,\u00a0 \u201cGuess you\u2019re right.\u201d\u00a0 There was a sound, a sort of thumping and then, God be praised, Ben heard his son moan!\u00a0 \u201cNIghty night, cry baby.\u00a0 Say hello to Hell for me when you get there!\u201d<\/p>\n

The two walked past laughing and snorting; taking an unholy joy in his son\u2019s suffering.\u00a0 Ben melted into the shadows.\u00a0 He waited until they were beyond him; then he drew his gun and stepped into the meager light that remained.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s far enough!\u201d he declared.<\/p>\n

Both men froze in their tracks. \u00a0The heavier of the pair \u2013 McCutcheon, he thought \u2013 turned to look first.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, if the baby\u2019s papa ain\u2019t come to take him home.\u201d\u00a0 The man sneered.\u00a0 \u201cYou better hurry, Cartwright, \u2018fore God beats you to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fear for Joe clutched the rancher\u2019s entrails and twisted hard, but he couldn\u2019t be distracted.\u00a0 He had to neutralize these two first.\u00a0 \u201cGive me your guns,\u201d he ordered, eyeing the weapons on their hips.<\/p>\n

\u201cSure, Cartwright,\u201d the second man \u2013 Ferrell said.\u00a0 And then he made a choice he would regret.\u00a0 The bone-thin man threw the weapon and dove to the side as McCutcheon drew his.<\/p>\n

Actually, they both <\/em>came to regret it.<\/p>\n

Ben took McCutcheon out with a single shot to the belly.\u00a0 Ferrell played dirty. \u00a0While he was dealing with Troy\u2019s other man, the little weasel slipped past him and headed straight for Joe, no doubt intending to use his son as a human shield.<\/p>\n

A quick look at McCutcheon showed he was still alive, but the only place he would be going was to Hell.<\/p>\n

Pivoting where he stood, Ben launched himself at Ferrell, catching the man around the legs and taking him down within sight of his son.\u00a0 He caught a quick glance of Little Joe before the fight began in earnest.\u00a0 He had to block the picture from his mind in order to continue.\u00a0 Joe was so pale, so…still….<\/p>\n

It was hard to believe his son was still alive.<\/p>\n

Ferrell was a younger man and fierce as any mountain lion.\u00a0 He fought hard and he fought dirty, but in the end \u2013 by the grace of God \u2013 Ben prevailed.\u00a0 His hand had landed on a stone planted in just the right place and he\u2019d struck the other man\u2019s head with it.<\/p>\n

Perhaps a bit too <\/em>hard.<\/p>\n

Gasping, out of breath and almost spent, the rancher dragged himself to Little Joe\u2019s side.\u00a0 The only light in the chamber was a miner\u2019s lamp, which was laying on the floor and only half-open.\u00a0\u00a0 The light it cast made everything look ghastly, including his young, beautiful, brilliant, feisty and independent son.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t know where to touch him.<\/p>\n

Finally, with trepidation, the older man placed his hand on his son\u2019s bare chest just over his heart.\u00a0 Ben held his breath as he waited.\u00a0 Then, he felt it.\u00a0 Joe\u2019s heart beating.\u00a0 Slowly…<\/p>\n

Much too<\/em> slowly.<\/p>\n

Leaning down, he whispered in his ear, \u201cHang on, son.\u00a0 You hang on for your Pa.\u00a0 You hear me?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 The boy didn\u2019t have a place on him that wasn\u2019t bruised.\u00a0 No matter how he took hold of him, it was going to hurt.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cJoseph, I have to get you out of here.\u00a0\u00a0 This is gonna hurt, boy, but there\u2019s no other way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even from deep within the delirium that claimed him, Little Joe felt it as he lifted him into his arms.\u00a0 The boy cried out, tearing his heart in two, but Ben steeled himself to the sound and began to move, bearing the boy up and out of the dank dark hole that Alpheus Troy had meant to be his tomb.<\/p>\n

They\u2019d gone about a half mile when Ben heard a sound that caused him to pause, and then to begin to run.\u00a0 He was exhausted from the fight and, though Joseph was light-weight, it was almost more than he could do to carry him.\u00a0 As he ran, the rancher glanced back over his shoulder, looking for the spark that would signal a charge had been lit.\u00a0 Unfortunately, he did it one too many times.\u00a0 His foot caught on an upturned rock and both he and Joe went sprawling.\u00a0 As they hit the ground the rancher heard a series of explosions begin to\u00a0 go off deep, down in the precarious depths of the mine where Joe had been held.\u00a0 True to character, Alpheus Troy had lied.\u00a0 It had been, perhaps, ten minutes.<\/p>\n

The crooked mine owner had meant for Ferrell and McCutcheon to die along with his son.<\/p>\n

Beyond exhaustion, Ben staggered to his feet and headed for Joe where the boy lay a few feet in front of him.\u00a0 He had to get them out. \u00a0They had, perhaps a minute \u2013 maybe two \u2013 before the whole place came down on their heads.\u00a0 \u00a0As he reached a trembling hand toward his son, fingers caught his arm.<\/p>\n

\u201cLeave Little Joe to me, Pa.\u00a0 Adam, you get Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben looked up to find Hoss looking down at him.<\/p>\n

He had never seen anything so beautiful as his big, brawny boy.<\/p>\n

Even as the rancher opened his mouth to ask \u2018how\u2019, he felt his eldest son\u2019s strong arm slip about his waist.<\/p>\n

\u201cTime for questions later, Pa,\u201d Adam said as he glanced over his shoulder. \u00a0\u201cHoss, get Joe out \u2013 now!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

They emerged just as the force of the blasts ripped through the mine.<\/p>\n

The power of the explosions threw the four of them free of the mountain of rock just as it came crashing down, sealing the Lucky Sucker off forever.\u00a0 Adam Cartwright glanced at his father where he lay beside him.\u00a0 The older man had a gash on his forehead and was out cold.\u00a0 Adam checked his pa\u2019s pulse and found it steady and figured, from the look of the site of impact, that he\u2019d awaken in a few minutes.<\/p>\n

Pa was okay.\u00a0 He had to see to his brothers.<\/p>\n

Peering through the dust that billowed out of the mine\u2019s entryway, Adam spotted Hoss and began to make his way over to him.\u00a0 Middle brother was seated on the ground, bent over something.\u00a0 His hands were moving furiously.<\/p>\n

\u201cDagnabit, Joseph,\u201d Hoss commanded, \u201cyou breathe!\u00a0 You hear me, boy!\u00a0 Breathe!\u201d<\/p>\n

Fear clutched his entrails as he came alongside them.\u00a0 \u201cHoss?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe ain\u2019t breathin\u2019, Adam.\u00a0 Little Joe ain\u2019t breathin\u2019!\u201d<\/p>\n

His giant of a brother \u2013 all two hundred and fifty plus pounds of him \u2013 was sobbing like a little boy over a bird he\u2019d accidentally hit with a rock from his sling.<\/p>\n

\u201cMove aside,\u201d he ordered.<\/p>\n

Hoss stared at him and then did as he said, though he didn\u2019t let go.\u00a0 He continued to hold Joe\u2019s hand.<\/p>\n

His little brother\u2019s lips were turning blue.\u00a0 Joe\u2019s skin was cold and clammy to the touch.\u00a0 Adam reached out and lifted one eyelid and winced at what he found.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo somethin\u2019, Adam.\u00a0 You gotta do somethin\u2019!\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss said it like he was God.<\/p>\n

As he sat there, staring at his kid brother who was dying, Adam\u2019s mind rolled back through all the medical journals he\u2019d borrowed from Doctor Martin.\u00a0 There had been a technique \u2013 used as early as the 17th<\/sup> century.\u00a0 It had been meant for people near drowned.\u00a0 He fought to bring the information up before his eyes.\u00a0 He had a quick mind that was able to do that \u2013 when he wasn\u2019t completely overwrought as he was now.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam….\u201d<\/p>\n

He held a hand up.\u00a0 \u201cQuiet.\u00a0 I..have to think.\u201d\u00a0 The black-haired man looked down at his little brother.\u00a0 Joe was practically naked; what was left of his long-johns in shreds.\u00a0 \u201cGet one of the blankets off the horses \u2013 or both.\u00a0 We need to warm him up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss was gone before he could repeat his instructions.<\/p>\n

What else?\u00a0 What else had there been?<\/p>\n

Apply manual pressure to the abdomen.\u00a0 Yes, he remembered that.\u00a0 It was the first step.\u00a0 Adam looked at his brother\u2019s bruised and battered flesh and winced.\u00a0 The bruising was bad around his stomach.<\/p>\n

Still, excruciating pain was better than dying \u2013 and Little Joe probably wouldn\u2019t feel it anyhow.<\/p>\n

At least, not until later.<\/p>\n

The blanket dropped over Joe just as he began to apply pressure.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019re you doin\u2019, Adam?\u00a0 You\u2019re hurtin\u2019 him.\u00a0 Look!\u201d<\/p>\n

He did.\u00a0 Joe was moaning and beginning to move. \u00a0There was a tear trailing down his cheek.<\/p>\n

Good!<\/p>\n

\u201cTickle his throat, Hoss, and then…kiss him.\u201d<\/p>\n

His brother\u2019s blue eyes went wide.\u00a0 \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLike you would a girl.\u00a0 Breathe air into his mouth.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

A shaken voice spoke from behind them.\u00a0 \u201cDo as he says, Hoss.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam looked up to find his father watching him.\u00a0 \u201cPa?\u201d<\/p>\n

The older man nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve seen it before.\u00a0 In England, when I sailed the seas. \u201c Their pa crouched down beside Little Joe and took his other hand.\u00a0 \u201cSon, you can\u2019t hurt him and you might just save him.\u201d<\/p>\n

The other things the book had recommended they couldn\u2019t do, partly because Joe wasn\u2019t half-drowned, and partly because they didn\u2019t have the tools.<\/p>\n

Hoss came up for air.\u00a0 He turned pleading eyes on their father.\u00a0 \u201cIt ain\u2019t doin\u2019 nothin\u2019. Pa.\u00a0 He\u2019s slippin\u2019 away from us.\u00a0 I can feel it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tears were streaming down the big man\u2019s face \u2013 down all their faces.\u00a0 \u201cCome on, Joe,\u201d Adam told his oh-oh-still brother as he continued to work his lower muscles like a pump, \u201cfight!\u00a0 Damn you, fight!\u201d<\/p>\n

It was, perhaps a minute later, that he felt his father\u2019s hand on his.\u00a0 He looked up into a face so stricken that it had the power to stop his own heart.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet him go, Adam.\u00a0 God\u2019s will be done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, Little Joe \u2013 ornery cuss that he was \u2013 waited until they had lost all <\/em>hope and fallen into despair \u00a0to draw in a great big gulp of air and start coughing.<\/p>\n

He saw his father look up toward Heaven and then turn to give Hoss a slap on the back even as the big man lifted Joe into his arms and cradled him like a baby.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, isn\u2019t this a charming sight?\u201d a snide voice remarked from out of nowhere.\u00a0 \u201cWhat is it with you Cartwrights that you just won\u2019t die?\u201d<\/p>\n

Pa was on his feet first, placing himself between Alpheus Troy and the three of them.\u00a0\u00a0 Troy was a sight.\u00a0 He looked like he\u2019d taken a dive out of a coach, rolled down a hill into the mud, and then run half a mile.<\/p>\n

Which was probably just what he\u2019d done.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere\u2019s Lotta?\u201d Pa demanded.\u00a0 \u201cWhat have you done with her?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s safe with Sheriff Olin and on her way back to Virginia City.\u201d\u00a0 Troy waved the gun in their direction.\u00a0 \u201cThey were following your boys.\u00a0 We ran into them on the road.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat lie did you tell them?\u201d Hoss asked as he pulled Joe even closer into the circle of his arms.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt seems Miss Crabtree had a slight…accident.\u00a0 She hit her head when we were so rudely halted by the sheriff and his men.\u00a0 I convinced the sheriff that it would be prudent to take her to the doctor.\u00a0 I told him I would check on the three….\u201d\u00a0 His gaze went to Little Joe and there was hatred in it.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201c…the four of you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe let you come alone?\u201d Pa asked, his tone incredulous.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot exactly.\u201d\u00a0 Troy glanced at his pistol.\u00a0 \u201cBut I\u2019m alone now.\u00a0 Luckily I pocketed some spare bullets before leaving home.\u00a0 I thought, under the circumstances, I might need them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t kill all of us, Alpheus Troy,\u201d their pa snarled.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the looks of the boy, all I have to do is leave him where he is and he\u2019ll do the dying on his own.\u00a0 As to the rest of you, everyone in town knows how volatile you are.\u00a0 You came upon me trying to help the boy and jumped to the wrong conclusion.\u00a0 I had to kill you in self-defense.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam stood up beside his father. \u00a0\u00a0\u201cThere\u2019s three of us on our feet and one of you, and we still have our…\u201d\u00a0 His voice trailed off as his fingers brushed an empty holster.\u00a0 He must have lost his gun in the wake of the explosion.\u00a0 Pa\u2019s had been left behind in the cave and was buried under a ton of rock.<\/p>\n

That left Hoss.<\/p>\n

\u201cGo for it, boy,\u201d Troy snarled, \u201cand your old man will be the first to go.\u201d\u00a0 As Hoss\u2019 hand moved away from his side, the mine owner said, \u201cNow, take your weapon out of the holster and toss it to the ground.\u00a0 Then put the boy down and come over here and join your family.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI cain\u2019t leave Joe by his lonesome.\u00a0 He ain\u2019t well!\u201d his middle son protested.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can shoot him now and put him out of his misery if you prefer,\u201d Troy said, his eyes and words cold as the belly of a snake.<\/p>\n

Hoss locked eyes with their father who nodded.\u00a0 He tenderly lowered Joe to the ground, cupping their brother\u2019s bloody head in his hand and easing it down, and then rose to his feet and joined them.<\/p>\n

It was ludicrous.\u00a0 No wonder a gun was thought of as the great equalizer.\u00a0 There were three of them \u2013 all strong, able men \u2013 and there was nothing they could do against a piece of metal loaded with death.<\/p>\n

\u201cTroy,\u2019 their father said, \u201cyou\u2019ll hang for this.\u201d<\/p>\n

The mine owner shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cMost likely, but I will have the satisfaction of watching you die before I do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam winced at the sound of a trigger being pulled.\u00a0 Then, he realized Troy hadn\u2019t moved.<\/p>\n

\u201cDrop it, Troy,\u201d an unsteady but familiar voice said.<\/p>\n

As one they turned to look.\u00a0 Joe was still on the ground.\u00a0 He\u2019d lifted himself up on one elbow and had Hoss\u2019 pistol in his hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said, drop it!\u201d<\/p>\n

His gaze went to his brother\u2019s hand.\u00a0 Joe was just back from the dead and he was shaking like a leaf in a nor\u2019easter.\u00a0\u00a0 It was doubtful he could hit his target.<\/p>\n

But then, Alpheus Troy couldn\u2019t be sure.<\/p>\n

The mine owner stared at Joe for what felt like a full minute before he sighed and reached out as if offering his gun.<\/p>\n

\u2018 As if\u2019 being the operative phrase.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe, look out!\u201d Pa shouted as the horror of what was happening dawned on them all.<\/p>\n

Troy intended to shoot Little Joe.<\/p>\n

A shot went off, freezing them in their tracks.\u00a0 Adam braced himself before he looked, expecting to see a crimson stain blossoming on his baby brother\u2019s bare chest.\u00a0\u00a0 When he did, he met Joe\u2019s eyes, which were as wide as his own.\u00a0 His gaze dropped.<\/p>\n

There was no smoke coming from the weapon his baby brother held.<\/p>\n

Adam glanced at his father, who was as mystified as he was, and then back to Alpheus Troy \u2013 just in time to see the mine owner fall to his knees and pitch over onto his face. \u00a0\u00a0Blood blossomed on the back of his fine European-cut suit coat.<\/p>\n

As one, all four of them looked beyond the fallen man.<\/p>\n

Lotta Crabtree was standing there with a small snub-nosed derringer in her hand.\u00a0 She blew the smoke away and then lifted her skirts and placed the gun in the garter that circled her slender leg.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I\u2019ve said it once, I\u2019ve said it a hundred times, boys,\u201d she quipped. \u00a0\u201cNever underestimate a woman.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0SIX<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It took them a while to sort out just exactly what had happened.\u00a0 Of course, the fact that Joe lapsed back into unconsciousness and the fever that he was sporting leapt incredibly high had a lot to do with it.\u00a0 By the time they got him back to Virginia City, they were fearing for his life again.\u00a0 While Pa and Hoss stayed with Joe, he took Lotta to the sheriff\u2019s office so she could make a statement.<\/p>\n

And what a statement it was!<\/p>\n

It seemed that, once in the carriage, Alpheus Troy had lost all sense of reality.\u00a0 He had begun to babble about how he was going to kill all of them and take over the Ponderosa and cut down every \u2018damn\u2019 tree on the land to build a mining empire.\u00a0 He said he had plans to do away with both Hooper and Garvey and take over their mines as well, so that \u2013 in the end \u2013 he would control all of the silver.\u00a0 Having been around delusional men before \u2013 after all, Lotta was<\/em> an actress \u2013 she played along with him, fanning his ego and feeding his manic dreams.\u00a0 They\u2019d been at it about an hour when they ran into the posse.\u00a0 It was true the carriage had come to an abrupt halt.\u00a0 Lotta had pretended to hit her head and pass out.\u00a0 She\u2019d listened while Troy spun his yarn and then watched as the crazed mine owner took off with several men.\u00a0 \u00a0Sheriff Olin had been quite insistent that she accompany him back to town.\u00a0 Being<\/em> an actress, and having just about every plot known to men in her head, she\u2019d woven her own tale of how she and Troy had had a lover\u2019s spat and she had to go after him \u2013 alone.\u00a0 She reminded Olin that Troy \u2013 and other men like him \u2013 almost single-handedly funded the city\u2019s coffers, and warned that she would make a public spectacle of it should he drag her back to town.\u00a0\u00a0 In the end between her acting ability and her womanly charms, she won the day.\u00a0 Olin gave her a horse and provisions and wished her good luck.<\/p>\n

And most likely, whispered \u2018good riddance\u2019 as well.<\/p>\n

That had been about an hour back.\u00a0 Lotta had gone to the telegraph office afterward to send a note to the promoter in Carson City, telling him\u00a0 she would be late, and then had \u2018retired\u2019 as she put it to her hotel room to rest.\u00a0 He\u2019d returned to Paul Martin\u2019s newly furbished office to check on his family.\u00a0 Paul wasn\u2019t the official doctor in Virginia City yet, but he was their family doctor.\u00a0 He\u2019d brought Little Joe into the world and Paul had vowed that, sure as Hell, he wasn\u2019t going to be the one to see him out of it.<\/p>\n

The first thing Adam saw when he came into the office was his pa sitting in the waiting room with his head in his hands.<\/p>\n

The sight chilled him to the bone.<\/p>\n

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

It took a moment for the older man\u2019s head to come up.\u00a0 \u201cSon,\u201d he said, \u201cit\u2019s good to see you.\u00a0 Did you get Lotta settled?\u201d<\/p>\n

A casual question.\u00a0 That was a good sign.<\/p>\n

Still….<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cHow\u2019s Little Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n

His father sighed as he straightened up and stretched.\u00a0 \u201cYour brother is holding his own.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut not out of danger?\u201d<\/p>\n

The older man pursed his lips and shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cNo.\u00a0 Paul says it\u2019s touch and go.\u201d<\/p>\n

He took off his hat, hung it on the peg by the door, and then dropped into the seat beside his father.\u00a0 After a moment, he chuckled.\u00a0 \u201cYou know, the Ladies Aid Society was against Lotta Crabtree coming to town.\u201d<\/p>\n

His father snorted.\u00a0 \u201cRemind me to listen to them the next time.\u201d\u00a0 Pa paused and looked toward the room where his baby brother lay, fighting for his life.\u00a0 \u201cIf there is<\/em> a next time….\u201d<\/p>\n

The two of them fell silent for a few heartbeats, then he asked, \u201cWhere\u2019s Hoss?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn with your brother.\u00a0 Paul will only allow one of us in there at a time.\u00a0 Hoss, well, he needed it to be him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs he feeling guilty?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam rose and walked over to the door of the surgery.\u00a0 It had a clouded window in it.\u00a0 He could see Hoss\u2019 giant form sitting right beside the medical bed.\u00a0 He watched him a second and then turned back into the room.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s nothing he could have done to prevent this,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s nothing you<\/em> could have done either, son,\u201d his father replied as he too rose to his feet.\u00a0 He came to his side and placed a hand on his shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cI imagine your brother feels the same as you.\u00a0 You both have to let it go \u2013 whatever happens.\u00a0 You\u2019ve done a good job looking out for your baby brother.\u00a0 Some things are just…beyond our control.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam glanced back at the room before saying, \u201cPa, I mean no disrespect, but sometimes, well, it\u2019s hard to see God\u2019s hand in this kind of thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

His father gave him a startled look.\u00a0 His reply startled him even more.\u00a0 \u201cHard?\u00a0 It\u2019s impossible!?<\/p>\n

\u201cPa, you\u2019re not…doubting….\u201d<\/p>\n

His father lifted his hand and went to take a seat again.\u00a0 This time he perched on the edge of the small desk in the room.\u00a0 \u201cNo, son, but as the Good Book says God\u2019s ways are not our ways.\u00a0 Just as the sky is higher than the earth, so His deeds and plans are superior to ours.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEven when that plan may include a seventeen-year-old boy dying?\u201d he asked and then instantly regretted it.\u00a0 \u201cSorry, Pa.\u00a0 I\u2019m tired.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t mean it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all right, son.\u00a0 God can take your questions.\u201d\u00a0 His father fell silent for a moment.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhen I was young, Adam, and your mother died, I questioned God\u2019s providence \u2013 even His existence.\u00a0 How could a loving God allow such a thing to happen?\u00a0 I was alone, with a baby boy, and no wife.\u00a0\u00a0 I….\u201d\u00a0 The older man paused.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m ashamed to admit this now, but I thought of running away; of leaving you with some loving family who could care for you as your mother would have wanted.\u00a0 I thought about going back to sea….\u201d<\/p>\n

When his father fell silent, he asked into the stillness, \u201cWhy didn\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Pa rose and went to the door and opened it.\u00a0 He stood there, staring out at the stars.\u00a0 \u201cIt was a night like this, crystal clear with diamond hard stars glinting in the sky.\u00a0 I stood under those stars cursing my fate when suddenly, the world shifted.\u201d<\/p>\n

He followed him to the door.\u00a0 \u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m still not sure.\u00a0 Not completely.\u00a0 It was as if I had been looking at the back of my hand \u2013 or the underneath of a tapestry \u2013 and, suddenly, I was gazing at the other side.\u00a0 Suddenly I became aware of how all things intertwine, both the good and the bad, and of the fact that God is sovereign\u00a0 over all.\u00a0\u00a0 I don\u2019t know,\u201d Pa choked, cleared his throat, and continued, \u201cI don\u2019t know how I will survive it if your brother dies, but I will survive.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 The older man reached out to cup his face with his hand, a simple but intimate gesture that he knew made him uncomfortable.\u00a0 \u201cSon, we all will.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

They both turned. \u00a0Hoss was in the doorway.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe doc\u2019d like to see you.\u201d<\/p>\n

His brother\u2019s face was so solemn, Adam feared the worst.\u00a0 \u201cLittle Joe?\u00a0 Hoss?\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss inclined his head toward the surgery,\u00a0 \u201cYou better come inside.\u201d<\/p>\n

Together, mentally and spiritually holding each other up, he and his father entered the room fully expecting to see the sheet pulled up over Little Joe\u2019s face.<\/p>\n

Instead that face was smiling at them.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, Pa.\u00a0 Hey, Adam….\u201d<\/p>\n

For a moment, they were both speechless.\u00a0 Not surprisingly his father beat him both to words and to Little Joe\u2019s side.<\/p>\n

\u201cSon!\u201d the older man said as he clasped Joe\u2019s hand in his and with the free one brushed the boy\u2019s ravaged curls off his forehead.\u00a0 \u201cJoseph….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou little scamp,\u201d Adam said, failing to mask the relief in his voice, \u201cwhat do you mean scaring us like that?\u201d<\/p>\n

His father had turned to Paul Martin, \u201cPaul, how is he?\u201d<\/p>\n

The physician\u2019 answer was guarded.\u00a0 \u201cThere are a few trees to go yet.\u00a0 By morning we\u2019ll know whether or not he\u2019s made it out of the woods.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou sure…know how to….make a fellow feel…worse,\u201d Joe cracked.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I will go so far as to say that I can find no internal bleeding, though how the boy escaped it with all the abuse he took, I can\u2019t imagine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou should know by now, Doc,\u201d Adam said, hiding his smile.\u00a0 \u201cMy head may be made out of granite, but that\u2019s Little Joe all over!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt sure is, doc.\u00a0 That there boy is tough as nails,\u201d Hoss exclaimed and then joined in the laughter.<\/p>\n

Adam crossed over to the big man.\u00a0\u00a0 He anchored his hands on his hips and a scowl on his lips.\u00a0 \u201cAnd what about you <\/em>and that stunt you just pulled?\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss looked in no way repentant.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry, Adam.\u00a0 I was just so happy when Joe opened his eyes \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat you felt it necessary to scare Pa and me out of ten years of life?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t…blame him.\u00a0 I…wanted to surprise you too,\u201d Joe said, his voice as feeble as a colt newly born.<\/p>\n

Adam stared at his little brother and then moved to Joe\u2019s side.\u00a0 Reaching out, he fingered the boy\u2019s shorn locks.\u00a0 \u201cYou did, Joe.\u00a0 You do<\/em>, in so many <\/em>ways.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCan anyone join this party, or is it a private affair?\u201d a female voice asked, turning all their heads toward the door.\u00a0\u00a0 Adam didn\u2019t know why it surprised him, but it did.\u00a0 Lotta Crabtree, wearing her deep green velvet traveling coat and hat, was standing in the open door.<\/p>\n

He sensed his pa\u2019s ambivalence, so he went to greet her.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not sure how to answer that,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0 \u201cAfter all you are<\/em> the woman who saved us….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter putting you all in danger.\u201d\u00a0 She looked past him.\u00a0 \u201cAnd Little Joe most of all.\u201d\u00a0 Her gaze went to his father.\u00a0 \u201cMay I?\u00a0 Speak to Joe for a minute, that is?\u00a0 Alone?\u201d<\/p>\n

They all looked at his father and his father looked at the doctor.\u00a0 \u201cPaul?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor a minute or two.\u00a0 No longer.\u00a0 The boy\u2019s tiring.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam checked.\u00a0 It was true.\u00a0 Joe was aware of what was going on around him, but obviously drifting.<\/p>\n

He caught her arm.\u00a0 \u201cPaul says Joe\u2019s not out of danger yet.\u00a0 Don\u2019t upset him.\u201d<\/p>\n

She cocked her head.\u00a0 \u201cI have no intention of upsetting that fine young man.\u00a0 It\u2019s just that I\u2019m…I\u2019m leaving town and I wanted to tell him something before I left.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoseph,\u201d their father said in his commanding voice. \u00a0\u201cIs that all right with you, boy?\u201d<\/p>\n

Little Joe blinked as if he was unsure of what the question pertained to.\u00a0 Then he smiled.\u00a0 \u201cYou know me, Pa.\u00a0 I\u2019ve…never been one to…turn away a pretty lady.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIsn\u2019t that the truth!\u201d Paul exclaimed so quickly it set them all to laughing once more.<\/p>\n

\u201cFive minutes and no more,\u201d Pa said as he pushed past.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m watching the clock.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs an actress I have had to learn, among other things, to be punctual, Mister Cartwright.\u00a0 I shall make my exit at four minutes and fifty-five seconds, if not sooner.\u00a0 Will that suffice?\u201d<\/p>\n

There was something about her.\u00a0 In spite of all she had done.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want one of us to stay, Joe,\u201d the black-haired man asked his brother.<\/p>\n

Joe smiled weakly.\u00a0 \u201cNever…needed a..chaperone either.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYour young man will be quite safe with me, I promise,\u201d Lotta said as she moved to Little Joe\u2019s side and sat in the chair beside his bed.<\/p>\n

\u201cDang,\u201d Joe whispered, setting them all off again.<\/p>\n

As he reached the door, Adam turned back into the room.\u00a0 \u201cLotta?\u201d<\/p>\n

She looked up.\u00a0 \u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be waiting outside.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lotta remained in the seat for a moment and then stood up and perched with one hip on Joe Cartwright\u2019s bed.\u00a0\u00a0 She reached toward him and then drew back, as if unsure of what he would think.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd how are you, young man?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n

Joe coughed and then answered, \u201cWell, according to the doc…I won\u2019t be…taking you to dinner anytime soon.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps on my next visit to Virginia City then.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re comin\u2019 back?\u201d he asked, brightening slightly.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, one never knows where the winds will blow this old ship,\u201d she replied.\u00a0 It was a good thing she was such a consummate actress.\u00a0 Just looking at the boy was painful.\u00a0 Before her lay the consequences of her avarice, wrapped in the battered and bruised form of one young man whose life had almost been lost at the cost of her folly.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou look…kind of sad,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t you want…to come back?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, my dear Joseph, I would return if only to take a spin on the dance floor with you.\u201d\u00a0 She forced herself to look into the washed-out face that had only a few day before been so robust and full of life.\u00a0 Control was a way of life with her, and she mastered \u00a0her shame and grief.\u00a0 \u00a0Leaning in close to his ear, she whispered, \u201cDon\u2019t tell anyone, but I happen to like younger men.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou mean…you like me better than…older brother?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam?\u201d she asked.\u00a0 \u201cWell, he is<\/em> handsome….\u201d\u00a0 As the boy\u2019s face fell, she finished, \u201cBut not half so handsome as you.\u00a0 Now you listen to me, Little Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Ma\u2019am?\u201d<\/p>\n

She smiled.\u00a0 \u2018Ma\u2019am\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you promise to get better, I\u2019ll swing back this way after my Nevada engagements are through \u2013 in say, about a month?\u00a0 And then you and I can sneak out to that French restaurant and have that dinner and dance. \u00a0How does that sound?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLike Heaven, Ma\u2019am,\u201d he breathed as his eyes began to close.<\/p>\n

She leaned in again. \u201cLittle Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n

Those long dark lashes, thick as any girl\u2019s, fluttered, revealing a pair of sleepy emerald-green eyes.\u00a0 \u201cMm-hm?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t tell Adam,\u201d she whispered and then she kissed him on the lips.<\/p>\n

That, and a smile, remained <\/em>on Little Joe\u2019s lips as he fell asleep.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam was waiting for her.\u00a0 Lotta used up her four minutes and fifty-five seconds and emerged as the town clock struck nine.\u00a0 It had been a long day and he was weary to the bone.\u00a0 Pa had gone back in to be with Joe and Hoss was bedded down in one of the spare rooms of Paul Martin\u2019s house.\u00a0 Though Joe wasn\u2019t completely out of danger, they were all optimistic.<\/p>\n

It would take more than one deranged mine owner to take the Cartwrights down.<\/p>\n

And more than one beautiful woman.<\/p>\n

\u201cLotta,\u201d he said as she appeared.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo now it\u2019s \u2018Lotta\u2019, is it?\u201d that beautiful woman said as she came to his side.\u00a0 \u201cWhat happened to \u2018Miss Crabtree’?\u00a0 Didn\u2019t your father teach you manners?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy father taught me a lot of things,\u201d he said as he caught her wrist in his fingers.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood things, I hope?\u201d she asked, her voice betraying just a hint of fear.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry for before, when I manhandled you,\u201d he said and meant it. \u00a0\u201cI was so worried about Little Joe, I \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

Her finger touched his lips.\u00a0 \u201cYou men of the West, there\u2019s something about you.\u00a0 You\u2019re rough and a bit uncouth….\u201d<\/p>\n

He blinked.\u00a0 \u201cI beg your pardon.\u00a0 I\u2019ll have you know I could perform just about any scene in Shakespeare with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

She paused and then said, \u201cHow about Juliet and…Adam Cartwright?\u201d<\/p>\n

He wasn\u2019t sure what she was talking about, but it didn\u2019t really matter.\u00a0\u00a0 He reached out to touch her silken brown hair.\u00a0 \u201cOh, she doth teach the torches to burn bright. \u00a0It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night like a rich jewel in an Ethiope’s ear’.\u00a0 A beauty to rich for use, for Earth to dear.\u201d<\/p>\n

She reached out to cup his cheek with her hand.\u00a0 \u201cDid my heart love \u2018til now, forswear it sight, for I ne\u2019er knew true beauty \u2018til this night.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHey,\u201d he laughed, \u201cthat\u2019s my line.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh dear,\u201d Lotta said.\u00a0 \u201cI must be slipping.\u201d She paused and a pained look overtook her lovely face.\u00a0 \u201cAdam, I hope you all know.\u00a0 I never wanted to hurt Little Joe \u2013 or any of you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPa showed me that envelope you gave him. \u00a0The one with Troy\u2019s bank note.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBlood money,\u201d she said with disgust.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd, you already have<\/em> ten thousand in the bank.\u201d<\/p>\n

She batted her eyelashes.\u00a0 \u201cOh.\u00a0 I do.\u00a0 Silly me, I forgot all about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re incorrigible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lotta \u00a0smiled sweetly. \u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s in the contract.\u201d\u00a0 Then she added, \u201cParting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say goodnight until it be morrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI shall forget thee to have thee still standing there, remembering how I love your company,\u201d he quoted in reply, and, in many ways meant it.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll miss you Lotta, even though you\u2019ve been nothing but trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n

She stood on tip-toe and planted a kiss on his lips.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s a girl for if not to bring a little trouble into a man’s life?\u201d she asked coyly.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis,\u201d Adam replied as he crushed her to him and kissed her with the power to take her breath away.<\/p>\n

At that moment someone cleared their throat.\u00a0 \u201cAdam, sorry to…intrude, but Joe\u2019s awake and he\u2019s askin\u2019 for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was Hoss,\u00a0 Adam turned and waved at him.\u00a0 \u201cComing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

When he turned back, Lotta was gone.<\/p>\n

\u201cA rose by any other name,\u201d he sighed and then followed his brother inside.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tags: \u00a0<\/strong>Adam Cartwright, Ben Cartwright, Family, Hoss Cartwright, Joe \/ Little Joe Cartwright, kidnap, Lotta Crabtree, Paul Martin, revenge, SJS<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

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

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

Summary:\u00a0The ending of the pilot has always bothered me. Would Alphaeus Troy and the mine owners really\u00a0have given up that easily?\u00a0 What if the fight in China town had ended differently and Little Joe never made that dinner date with Lotta Crabtree…?<\/p>\n

Rated: PG-13 <\/p>\n

Word Count: 21,226<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10058,"featured_media":30499,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"template-full-width-post.php","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drama","category-whi","wpcat-23-id","wpcat-27-id"],"a3_pvc":{"activated":true,"total_views":3651,"today_views":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/A-Rose-for-Joe-scaled.jpg?fit=2030%2C2560&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":45739,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=45739","url_meta":{"origin":19519,"position":0},"title":"You Got to Have Heart (by Judy)","author":"Judy","date":"April 17, 2000","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary:\u00a0 Little Joe and trouble seem to go hand in hand. Rated:\u00a0 PG Word Count:\u00a0 36,377","rel":"","context":"In "Action\/Adventure"","block_context":{"text":"Action\/Adventure","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Preserving-Their-Legacy.png?fit=732%2C477&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Preserving-Their-Legacy.png?fit=732%2C477&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Preserving-Their-Legacy.png?fit=732%2C477&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Preserving-Their-Legacy.png?fit=732%2C477&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7505,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=7505","url_meta":{"origin":19519,"position":1},"title":"QiXi: The Seventh Night of the Seventh Moon (by freyakendra)","author":"freyakendra","date":"December 3, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary: A Chinese fairy-tale, an all-too-human Hop Sing and a carefree moment of make-believe usher the Cartwrights into a nightmare involving Chinese assassins and a beautiful, young woman two men will do anything to possess. Rated: T \u00a0(29,000 words)","rel":"","context":"In "Action\/Adventure"","block_context":{"text":"Action\/Adventure","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/QixiNew.jpg?fit=712%2C580&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/QixiNew.jpg?fit=712%2C580&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/QixiNew.jpg?fit=712%2C580&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/QixiNew.jpg?fit=712%2C580&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":49274,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=49274","url_meta":{"origin":19519,"position":2},"title":"Little Joe’s Island (by LindaBl)","author":"Preserving Their Legacy Author","date":"May 22, 2002","format":false,"excerpt":"Synopsis:\u00a0Little Joe has another crazy dream. All the Cartwrights and Hop Sing are aboard the Dixie I when it is shipwrecked. [It is a comedy parody which combines Bonanza and Gilligan's Island]. There's even a song you can sing along :-) Rating:\u00a0 G\u00a0 \u00a0Words: 1730","rel":"","context":"In "Crossover"","block_context":{"text":"Crossover","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=24"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Preserving-Their-Legacy.png?fit=732%2C477&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Preserving-Their-Legacy.png?fit=732%2C477&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Preserving-Their-Legacy.png?fit=732%2C477&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Preserving-Their-Legacy.png?fit=732%2C477&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2626,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=2626","url_meta":{"origin":19519,"position":3},"title":"Frisco (by Helen A)","author":"HelenA","date":"July 23, 2001","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary: \u00a0The boys must take unusual measures to save their father when his life is threatened. \u00a0 Rated:\u00a0T (20,960 words)","rel":"","context":"In "Drama"","block_context":{"text":"Drama","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=23"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/bonanza31.jpg?fit=573%2C389&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/bonanza31.jpg?fit=573%2C389&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/bonanza31.jpg?fit=573%2C389&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12132,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=12132","url_meta":{"origin":19519,"position":4},"title":"Chinese Molasses (by DebbieB)","author":"DebbieB","date":"January 1, 2002","format":false,"excerpt":"DebbieB passed away Christmas 2021. Any reader wishing to read this series should e:mail the Brandsters:\u00a0 Brandsters2020@gmail.com","rel":"","context":"In "Drama"","block_context":{"text":"Drama","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=23"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Joe-copy-7.jpg?fit=594%2C592&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Joe-copy-7.jpg?fit=594%2C592&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Joe-copy-7.jpg?fit=594%2C592&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6179,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=6179","url_meta":{"origin":19519,"position":5},"title":"The Star of the Show (by Wrangler)","author":"Wrangler","date":"December 15, 1999","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary:\u00a0 The town's Christmas pageant brings down the curtains in epic proportions.\u00a0 Will there be Peace on Earth?\u00a0 Rating:\u00a0 K\u00a0 WC 4300","rel":"","context":"In "Ben \/ Joe"","block_context":{"text":"Ben \/ Joe","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=1015"},"img":{"alt_text":"Joe Abigail","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/1999\/12\/Screenshot_20250529_032257_YouTube.jpg?fit=565%2C605&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/1999\/12\/Screenshot_20250529_032257_YouTube.jpg?fit=565%2C605&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/1999\/12\/Screenshot_20250529_032257_YouTube.jpg?fit=565%2C605&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19519","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10058"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19519"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19519\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/30499"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}