Summary: \u00a0Adam has overcome the ordeal that nearly broke him and now sets out to find the woman he loves – and then try to set things straight with his father. A flock of sheep gets in the way and sparks off a bitter power struggle between father and son. Adam won’t give in anymore, and Ben cannot accept that his son isn’t a boy any longer. And in the background, Adam’s unknown foe is pulling some strings of his own.<\/p>\n
Rated:\u00a0 T (132,835 words)<\/p>\n
‘Spreading Wings<\/em>\u00a0is the third part of the trilogy, following\u00a0As It Began<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0‘Through <\/em>the Shadows’<\/em>. The chapter numbering continues from the previous parts, so this story starts with chapter 60. Still the single parts might be read each for itself, but all three together tell the whole story.<\/p>\n Timeframe: End of the sixth season, here set in 1864<\/p>\n It wasn’t easy to post this last story, and I wouldn’t have done so if it wouldn’t happen to be the third part of a trilogy. As awkward and obsolete as it might seem for me to plaster yet another story into here, the Dreaming Eagle wouldn’t be truly complete without it, so it was either post it or delete the previous two parts. The latter wouldn’t have been very fair, there might be someone who wanted to read the rest. It’s an awkward situation, and a painful one, as well. The Dreaming Eagle was my first fan fiction story, so please cut me some slack. I’ve learned my lesson by now.<\/em><\/p>\n The Dreaming Eagle Series:<\/strong><\/p>\n As it Began<\/a> The Dreaming Eagle — Book 3 — Spreading Wings<\/strong><\/p>\n Love imposes impossible tasks <\/p>\n From afar,<\/strong>\u00a0the way station could be barely made out in the endless sea of grey. The flat building seemed to cower into the crooked sagebrush bushes; its roof, covered by a crude mixture of straw and earth and littered with coarse gravel to keep the sod in place, melted seamlessly into the surroundings. Everything was coated in the thick dust languidly floating in the air, wavering far and wide across the plains like a giant layer of dry fog, obscuring the distant horizon to a blur. Even the dozen or so horses in the adjacent corral had taken on the grey tint; merely their phlegmatic, tired movements revealed that they were actually living creatures and not bizarre pottery baking in the relentless sun.<\/p>\n And it would go on like this. Way station after way station, one every twelve to fifteen miles, and they all would look the same. Certainly for as long as the grey plains lasted with this sheer endless width of sagebrush and greasewood, barely a crooked tree between, and scarcely a shimmer of even the most greyish, dirtied green anywhere. And each way station would be one farther away from Adam. Each way station would eat out another piece of her heart.<\/p>\n Lilyah pressed her lips together. Had it been like this for her mother, so many years ago? Being taken away from the man she loved? Covering mile after mile, knowing each one took her even farther away from a dream that had been so close to coming true? Hurting over something that had ended before it had begun? Had her mother been sitting on a horse and… Lilyah’s brow crinkled. She could not even imagine her mother sitting on a horse. Her mother had loathed horses, she had hated to ride. The only animals she had despised even more than horses had been her daughter’s goats that used to eat her English roses. But how had she travelled from Algiers to Morocco? She must have been sitting on a horse, considering that the sheikh had been a fast and passionate horse rider who wouldn’t bother with camels unless he was travelling straight through the Sahara. They likely had taken the route via Oujda and Fes… Lilyah had taken that trip with her father, a challenging 700-mile-ride from Agadir to Oujda, across deserts and the Atlas mountains, and the same distance back. She had vastly enjoyed it – a splendid endeavour for an adventurous young girl, so proud that her father had taken her along – and she had never spared a thought that her mother must have taken the same long, hard ride many years before. Only for her mother it had been a ride into sadness and misery.<\/p>\n And now she was about to ride into sadness and misery. Yet she would return to a country she called home, and she would have at least the horses to love. Lilyah closed her eyes, trying to hold back the tears. Was she really doing this? Riding away from Adam? Leaving him behind, leaving her heart, her soul, her happiness behind? Unable to fight it, just like her mother had been?<\/p>\n And Adam? Would he simply shake off the hurt and resume his life like nothing had happened? What about his heart, so deeply hidden beneath his stoic surface, so reluctant to open up, always on guard that it would not get exposed? She knew so well how soft and vulnerable it really was. How lonely he had been inside…<\/p>\n And why had he sent her away? It had hurt him… she knew it had hurt him! He had barely gotten the words out, his eyes full of pain. He was ill, still shaken by his ordeal, still sore for his deeply hurt pride. In this condition, all the complications their relationship had brought into his life probably had been to much for him. But how would he feel about it once he had recovered? Would he just shove all pain and regret inside, like he had probably done all his life? Another scar on his soul? Another broken dream? How would he live on? Lile the eagle in the fairy tale, dreaming of flight while sitting in his cage?<\/p>\n Lilyah drew a deep breath and slowly turned her head as she heard the approaching racket of the stagecoach. As usual, Charlie Watkins made an awful lot of noise, yelling at his team and probably the whole world, fidgeting around on his seat as if he wanted to set his noisy liveliness against the silent, dull and grey tristesse of the area. Yet from the distance, his stagecoach was but a bizarre grey contraption, pulled by dust-covered grey horses; even his yelling sounded thin as if the dust-filled air would suck up its resonances. Lilyah knew that he wouldn’t waste much time at the station; he and his companion were fast as lightning when they changed the teams. Before long, the stagecoach would be on its way again.<\/p>\n No!<\/p>\n She would not give up so easily! She would not succumb to her fate like her mother did before her. She would fight! Adam would have to send her away again if he really wanted to, but he would have to explain it to her – calmly, collected and first of all, when he was well. He and she alone, eye to eye, and he would have to come up with some solid explanation.<\/p>\n Chai’s dancing tore her out of her thoughts. Without knowing, she had clutched the reins, transferring her agitation on the sensitive horse.<\/p>\n “No, Chai! He’s not getting rid of us so easily!” She nudged the Arabian into a canter, her insides suddenly flurrying with bursting emotions. She could not possibly return to the Ponderosa, but maybe she could take a hotel room in Carson City. Or even better – she could try and find Old Grumpy’s cabin. He and Walking Deer certainly would not turn her down when she asked for a short refuge. She could tend to the goats in exchange.<\/p>\n “Mister Charlie! Mister Charlie!” she called out even before Chai came to a sliding halt next to the stagecoach. “Mister Charlie!”<\/p>\n “Ho, young Miss!” the driver laughed. “What’s the hurry? Seems to me I won this section big time!”<\/p>\n “Mister Charlie, I want to ride back!” Her face was glowing with the sudden urge.<\/p>\n “What?” He scratched his temple. “But you’ve paid for St. Louis and I can’t refund!”<\/p>\n “I don’t care!” She had to rein in the stallion who danced a circle, riled up by his mistress’ excitement. “Please, can I leave my luggage here? I can’t take all of it with me.”<\/p>\n Charlie Watkins exchanged a puzzled look with his co-driver.<\/p>\n “Better here than anywhere else,” the man remarked. “Old Josh here is’n honest feller, straight to the bone. Wouldn’t ever touch anything that ain’t his.”<\/p>\n “Yeah…” Watkins nodded and squinted at his unusual passenger. “If you’re really sure ya want to ride back, I can’t hold ya.”<\/p>\n “Oh, I am sure!” Lilyah barely could conceal her elation. She would see Adam again and she was sure that he would not send her away again. Not if he was given time to think it over, not when he was well, back to his usual, confident self. He loved her… he had told her so and he had not lied.<\/p>\n The unloading of her luggage was a matter of minutes; the old man who ran the station promised to keep it safe until she came back for it. She hastily gave him a few dollars without regarding his protest and packed up a smaller bag with a couple of robes, gladly accepting the help of Charlie Watkins who proffered a piece of leather to fasten it to her saddle. Her fingers trembled with the hurry, she was brimming now.<\/p>\n “Ya stay on the road and it will lead ya straight to Carson!” Watkins advised her as she mounted. “Can’t miss it. It’s littered with carcasses all along, damn drought’s to blame!”<\/p>\n “Thank you, Mister Charlie! Peace be upon you, and may Allah protect you on your way!” Lilyah didn’t hear his answer anymore as she kicked Chai into a gallop and stormed off.<\/p>\n Only after a couple of furlongs she halted the stallion to have a good look at the wide plains stretching before her. They still were all grey, as bleak and barren as before, but she didn’t see the sadness anymore.<\/p>\n “Well, Chai…” She patted the Arabian’s neck as she rode on. “Welcome to New Morocco!”<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n Adam took a thirsty sip from his canteen. The water had gotten warm in the heat, yet it was refreshing and brought back some energy. He had ridden only a couple of hours, but he felt as exhausted as if he had been on a cattle trail for days or even weeks. Much as he hated to admit it, he was still far from a full recovery. Wetting his hands, he rubbed his face to try and ease the fatigue before he stashed the canteen away.<\/p>\n “Come on, girl!” He nudged the chestnut mare into a leisurely trot, considerate to give her some rest after an excessively long gallop. Mariah pranced along with bouyant ease and Adam thankfully patted her neck. A small smile played on his lips as he contemplated the thought that Lilyah had provided him with the horse he needed now to catch up with her.<\/p>\n Lilyah… His smile faded. What had he done to her, sending her away, causing her so much pain? What must she have thought of him? It had taken her so long to open up to him, to give him her heart – and he had pushed it away so rudely. Adam pressed his lips together. He would beg her forgiveness, beg her to come back to him… and to trust him again. Would she ever be able to trust him again? Would she even be willing to come back to him again? What should he do if she wouldn’t? What?<\/p>\n He bit his lower lip and forced himself to not kick Mariah into another gallop. As stalwart as the mare was, she had run harder and longer than ever before. Any other horse would have broken down by now. Adam reminded himself that the stagecoach did not drive during the night due to the war, that it was likely to stop after it had gotten dark. He would catch up in the night.<\/p>\n Just as he was about to urge Mariah to a canter, a movement in the distance caught his attention.<\/p>\n A rider.<\/p>\n Adam halted the mare and rose in the stirrups, squinting at the distant figure. He was still hours from where the stagecoach could be possibly supposed to be, and yet… The motion of the horse, cantering along with its head held high, flowing robes…<\/p>\n His heart skipped a beat.\u00a0“Lilyah!”<\/em><\/p>\n There was no reaction. Far from the road, the rider cantered straight into the wasteland. Adam took a deep breath and called out at the top of his lungs. “LILYAH!”<\/p>\n He knew it was her. She couldn’t hear him from the distance. His excitement even caused the calm mare to dance. With trembling lips and flurrying fingers, Adam drew his gun and fired three shots into the air.<\/p>\n And finally, he was heard.<\/p>\n Lilyah pulled up and turned in the saddle at the shots, spotting the other rider far away. A little cry escaped her lips as she tried to focus on the figure. The ever present dust rendered all colors grey, and yet she was positive she saw a black clad rider on a chestnut horse. For one fleeting moment she thought of a mirage, an image born from a desperate wish – but her heart realized who it was before her eyes could really be sure of it.<\/p>\n “Adam!” She swung the stallion around and kicked him into his fastest gallop.\u00a0“Adam!”<\/em><\/p>\n The chestnut mare raced across the plains. Adam rapidly pulled her up as she reached the Arabian; he jumped from the saddle before she came to a halt. He fell, but was back on his feet in a split second, just to be nearly thrown again as Lilyah flew into his arms, crying and laughing at the same time. Only an instinctive step back saved him.<\/p>\n “Adam!” Lilyah clung to him with all she had. “Oh, Adam, you’re here… Adam, I could not leave you!”<\/p>\n He closed his arms around her, nearly lifting her off her feet, pressing her to his chest. His hands tightened the grip on her again and again, tears formed in his eyes as he coarsely whispered, “I never wanted you to leave… never… Lil…” He swallowed. “I don’t know what’s gotten into me…”<\/p>\n “The pain…” She had to struggle to win enough freedom to lift her head, the tears still freely flowing down her cheeks as she clasped his face. “You’ve been in so much pain… you’ve been through so much.”<\/p>\n “That’s no exc…”<\/p>\n “Don’t!” Her fingers closed his lips. “Don’t blame yourself for the pain you’ve suffered. Adam, you’re here… all that counts is that you’re here…”<\/p>\n “Lilyah…” His hands brushed over her face and head, inadvertently pushing back the veil, stroking her hair with nervous, almost desperate tenderness. “In the desert… all I longed for was your love… your nearness, your warmth… I longed for it so badly, but…” He took a deep breath, his gaze clinging to her eyes that looked at him with so much overflowing love. “I felt so… so useless… I thought I just wasn’t worth…”<\/p>\n “No!” She brought her lips close to his, balancing on her toes, almost climbing up on him. “Adam, no, don’t say this! What kind of a woman would I be if I only loved you when you’re strong and healthy? You wouldn’t want me to be such a woman, would you?”<\/p>\n “No…” His thumbs caressed her cheeks. “Lil, all this time… I never stopped loving you. Not for one moment. Not then, not now…”<\/p>\n “I know…” She smiled through her tears. “I know, Adam, just as sure as I know that I love you…”<\/p>\n He pressed her tiny frame even closer against his chest, his hands rubbing over the dusty silks of her robes so intensely that she felt her skin burning beneath. She gasped as his mouth closed hers, kissing her with a passion that set her inside on fire. Her hands glided over his hair, not noticing that she pushed off his hat. It had been so long… it had been so terribly long since they had last kissed each other. And in the vast and barren dryness of the plains, the haunting memories of the horrors past melted into a sea of tenderness.<\/p>\n “Lilyah…” He had to catch his breath. “Lil, will you marry me? Right now… today! First chance we get, first justice of the peace we can find… and no more waiting…” His lips touched her forehead. “No more waiting…”<\/p>\n “Yes! Yes…” She responded to his new kiss, pressing herself against him to savor his warmth and nearness when she suddenly felt him wavering. “Adam…” Her hands clasped his shoulders as she tried to get a look at his face. “Adam, you’re not well…”<\/p>\n “It’s nothing…” He took a breath.<\/p>\n Her eyes became attentive as she looked him over. Even though the happiness of the moment shone in his eyes and softened his features, his face still betrayed his exhaustion, his weakened condition, and she thought of all the torment he had been forced to endure. Her hands that up to then had clasped him with all she had eased their grip, lest she would hurt any of his numerous wounds that lay hidden beneath the black shirt. “Adam, you need to rest.”<\/p>\n Adam opened his mouth and closed it again when it ocurred to him that he was just about to brush off her concern, to tell her that he, of course, was all fine and well. He caught her look and a slightly bashful smile stole over his lips. “You might be right. I’m… quite tired.”<\/p>\n Lilyah’s eyes warmed up as she softly stroked over his face. “We should look for a place to camp.”<\/p>\n “Yeah, but not here in the dust.” Adam inconspicuously straightened his legs to secure his stand. “We head southwest for the mountains to find a more suitable place. Morris Flats is quite close, we can reach it before nightfall and stock up our supplies there.”<\/p>\n “Yes…” Something in her heart threatened to overflow, filming her eyes with new tears – tears of joy. This was her old Adam, the Adam she loved so dearly and had missed so badly. Still a little battered and bruised was he, but back to his confident self, so matter-of-fact in deciding where they had to go, as he had always been on all their many journeys together. Her eyes caressed every bit of his features, relished in his clothing that, in spite of being covered with the dust from the long ride, made him look so strong and whole again, chasing away the memory of his bloodied body wrapped in bloodstained rags. He was clad in his usual black, he wore the gun belt that showed that he could fight and defend himself. And he was clean shaven! The black beard that seemed to have symbolized the growing distance between them was gone for good. She sobbed a little with sheer bliss when she watched him picking up his hat and putting it back on – a black hat that looked every bit like his old one.<\/p>\n “Hey…” he murmured softly, pulling her into his warm embrace once again. “No more tears, hm?”<\/p>\n Lilyah looked up to him and saw that his own eyes were moist. Her finger gently touched his lid, feeling the tiny little drop in his lashes. She swallowed. “No more tears…”<\/p>\n He gently helped her fasten the upper veil, his fingers gliding over the dust covered silk, the small golden seams. Even though the black robes were rather austere compared to the playful sumptuousness of some of her other gowns, he still savored the richness of the many veils and drapings, the thought that her sensitive skin was well protected beneath the shimmering fabrics. His fingers gently caressed the silk covering her arms that had been so badly sunburned and he had to blink away the wetness in his eyes. Her small face still showed the fading traces of cuts and bruises, but never had she been more beautiful than at this very moment. It took him some effort to force his hands to lie still, to direct his thoughts into more pragmatic lines. The sun was already standing low and they better reached Morris Flats before it turned dark. He felt that his strength was on its last legs, and Lilyah had been in the saddle all day as well, longer even than he.<\/p>\n “We should ride…” He couldn’t take his eyes from her face. “It’ll take us close to two hours to reach Morris Flats. We can take a hotel room there and have a good dinner.”<\/p>\n Lilyah nodded her head, her heart too full to speak. Her fingers lovingly caressed his chest, touching the curly hair above the open button, suppressing the urge to check on the wounds.<\/p>\n “Now look at them.” Adam had to clear his throat, his chin pointing to their horses. “Even they are happy to be together again!”<\/p>\n “Yes…” Her eyes smiled as she regarded Chai and Mariah, standing close together with the mare having hung her head affectionately over the stallion’s crest. Yet both horses were covered in dust, they both looked tired and were doubtlessly thirsty. “We should give them something to drink.”<\/p>\n “Yeah.” Adam’s heart warmed. Still his sweet old Lil – thinking of the wellbeing of the horses. He walked her over to them, smiling as both horses moved apart and stretched their heads. They sure knew something good was coming their way.<\/p>\n “Give them some first,” he said as Lilyah offered him her goat skin bag. “The water would stick in my throat with their disappointed looks on me.”<\/p>\n For one moment Lilyah held her breath, her heart making such a joyous leap upon his little quip that she felt like it was close to bursting. How she had missed this… how she had missed this! She hastily wiped another tear from her eye and concentrated on the two thirsty muzzles pushing her hands. Slowly pouring water into her cupped hand, she had to take care that the horses didn’t push too hard and cause her to spill it.<\/p>\n Adam watched and bit his lip before he hesitantly pulled off his hat. “It’s… easier with this.” He took a breath and offered it to her.<\/p>\n At first Lilyah didn’t think anything of it, pouring the water into the hat, having her hands full to keep Chai from toppling it out of Adam’s hands, softly scolding the stallion for being so greedy when there was enough for both him and the patient Mariah. But then she realized that Adam’s eyes had lost the twinkle, that his features were strangely rigid. He didn’t look at her, he stared at the hat.<\/p>\n “Adam?”<\/p>\n His lower lip tensed a little. “It’s nothing…” He shook off the memory. “Where’s your luggage? Still on the stagecoach?”<\/p>\n “No, I’ve left it at a way station.” She patted Chai’s nose, diverting the stallion’s attention from the water and allowing Mariah to drink. Adam still held the hat, but his features had eased, his eyes resting on Lilyah.<\/p>\n “Which one?”<\/p>\n “Err…” She wrinkled her brow. “I don’t know… There was an old man, and a corral with horses…”<\/p>\n “Good description…” Adam chuckled. “When did you leave it?”<\/p>\n She shrugged her shoulders. “A couple of hours ago, I guess…”<\/p>\n Adam’s smile had reached his eyes again. It would likely be a search for the needle in the haystack to find that particular way station later on, but oh, the notion of her dropping off her luggage to ride back to him! It chased away the painful image in his memory which was gone quicker than it had jumped him. The mare had finished drinking and Adam brushed over her face before he shook out his hat and put it back on. He had a life to live – his eyes warmed up even more as he lovingly scanned over Lilyah’s small figure.<\/p>\n But Lilyah’s eyes had become thoughtful as he turned to his saddle to retrieve his own canteen, offering it to her before he drank himself. Maybe it had just been a glimpse of exhaustion, given that he had such a hard and long ride behind him, doubtlessly straining him after having been so badly wounded and ill on both body and soul. She also noticed that his canteen was almost empty, clearly indicating that he had drunk more during his ride than he had planned for, that he had suffered more thirst than he would have normally had. His movements were a little stiff, less smooth that they used to be, and she worriedly thought about his sore feet. It couldn’t have been easy for him to put his boots on.<\/p>\n “We’ll retrieve your luggage later…” Adam stashed his canteen away and turned around to her. “For now, I’d say we head for Morris Flats. Sun’s standing low, it’ll be getting dark in about two hours.”<\/p>\n “Yes.” Lilyah nodded her head and had a look at the horizon. She had not even been aware how many hours had passed. The heat was still relentless, baking the hot and dusty ground of the wide plains, causing the air in the distance to flicker and blur. The sooner he got out of there into some shaded place, the better it would be.<\/p>\n Adam closed in on her and offered his cupped hand as a mounting help. For one moment their eyes met, both shining in the joy of sharing this so dear and familiar habit between them, before she put her foot in his hand to let him lift her into her saddle.<\/p>\n Lilyah still noticed that he had to strain to get in the saddle himself and yet her soul started to sing again at the sight of him taking the reins. He wouldn’t need long to recover to his full strength. The light was back in his eyes, his spirit was back, he had literally taken the reins of his life again. And that was all he would need!<\/p>\n Her heart swelled close to bursting as he clicked his tongue and took the lead.<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 61. Little Obstacles\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n “Ho…” Adam halted the mare and wiped the sweat from his face. He knew he had drunk too much water, but his thirst had afflicted him more than it should have. He felt tired and exhausted, but while his body ached from the strain, his spirits were as high as they could possibly be. All he needed to do to give his heart another warming boost was to look at the delicate rider at his side. Well aware that her dark eyes scanned him with increasing worry, he cast her a reassuring smile – and he didn’t even have to fake it. His inside was brimming with waves of tenderness whenever he looked at her.<\/p>\n “We’re almost there,” he said softly. “Morris Flats is only a little more than a mile from here.”<\/p>\n “Good!” She returned his smile, fairly relieved. He soon would be able to rest, maybe have a warm bath and later a recuperating, long sleep. “And the first thing we’ll do is find a good, big meal for you!”<\/p>\n “Ah, no…” He chuckled. “First thing we’ll do is find a justice of the peace!”<\/p>\n “For what?”<\/p>\n He arched an eyebrow. “To marry us.”<\/p>\n Lilyah opened her mouth and closed it again, her eyes avoiding his look, gliding across the landscape which had changed from the flat plains to a more rocky terrain, sparsely dotted with dried out trees. It had been a wonderful ride, a rather leisurely one to give their tired horses some rest. They had maneuvered their mounts close to each other, savoring each other’s company, and in spite of the barren and dusty surroundings it had felt like they had been riding through heavenly clouds. Lilyah pressed her lips together. She hadn’t thought of it all day, but now that the disturbing words had popped up in her head she couldn’t push them away anymore.<\/p>\n “Lil, what is it?” Adam stretched out his hand, touching her shoulder. “Don’t tell me you’ve changed your mind.”<\/p>\n “No…” She didn’t look up, uncomfortably playing with her reins. How she loathed it to spoil the blissful mood they had been in, to say anything that could hurt him, would remind him of all the problems he so longed to leave behind. But she had to… what, if he would be harmed? Pulling her upper veil closer around her, she scrambled for words. “I just think… about this law…”<\/p>\n “What law?”<\/p>\n She took a deep breath, still not looking up. “That law that… that says you cannot marry a mulatto…”<\/p>\n “What?” Adam reached over to turn her face to him. “What kind of nonsense is this? Lil, who put those silly thoughts into your head? Besides, you’re not a mulatto!”<\/p>\n She squirmed under his look and her voice was but a timid whisper. “But… my great-grandmother was from Mauritania… she was a Negress, and those men… one of those men…”<\/p>\n “What<\/em>\u00a0men?” He tried to keep his voice calm, but deep inside of him something started to boil. “Lilyah, what men? Where did you meet those men?”<\/p>\n “They came to the ranch yesterday, and…” She stopped as she saw his eyes turning black, felt the sudden outburst of anger in him that he visibly forced himself to fight down. The effort pulled his lower lip from his teeth and he ground them as if to bite back a curse. But there also was a strange tint of pain to the forcibly suppressed rage. “Adam… your father… I think he wasn’t content about what the men said. He… he even seemed angry to me…”<\/p>\n He gave her a dark look. “He certainly was content about you and me parting, wasn’t he?”<\/p>\n She didn’t know what to reply and it took a while until she shyly asked, “Adam, what could happen to you if you marry me? Could they put you in jail for it?”<\/p>\n He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. “No. And Lilyah, you’re not a mulatto, you’re an Arab! You’re a citizen from the Kingdom of Morocco, a country which still has formal diplomatic relations with America. As a matter of fact, the Moroccan-American Treaty of Friendship has been in effect since 1787. It’s the oldest such treaty we have, with Morocco being the first foreign country that ever acknowledged the sovereignty of the United States.” His finger slid under her chin, lifting her face to him. “And whatever law those men were talking about, I’d think it very unlikely that it forbids an American citizen to marry the citizen of a friendly nation.”<\/p>\n She looked up to him, drinking his words, taking comfort in his secure resolve. He knew so much. He knew this country and its laws and he certainly knew how to deal with them. And he surely was much more intelligent than all those men who had seen his father rolled up in one. And still… could not even lions fall when the dogs were too many?<\/p>\n She swallowed. “You’re sure?”<\/p>\n “I’m sure!” Adam softly caressed her face with his thumb. “And even if I weren’t, it wouldn’t make a difference. We\u00a0will<\/em>\u00a0marry, and if we really cannot marry in this country, which I still don’t believe, we’ll marry in another one.” A first smile showed on his lips, his anger had subsided. She loved him – what else should he care about? That his father would do just about anything to drive them apart wasn’t exactly a surprise. He would have to live with it. His hand lovingly stroked her cheek. As long as she loved him, nothing else should bother him.<\/p>\n Lilyah pressed her face in his cupped hand, savoring the tenderness, regretting it as he withdrew it to take up his reins again. Picking up her own, her gaze fell on the Indian bow bound to her saddle. She would use the first chance she got to practise with it. No one would touch and hurt Adam ever again.<\/p>\n “Oh, Lil…” Adam had cocked his head as he gave her a sidelong glance. “Do you happen to have anything to throw on you?”<\/p>\n “Err…” Slightly confused, she looked up, question marks all written across her face. “No…”<\/p>\n “Good!” He flashed her a boyish smile. “Then would you just leave the problems up to me, alright?”<\/p>\n For one moment she sat dumbfounded, then she heard his chuckle, saw the twinkle in his eyes and her face broke into a smile. Oh yes, Adam was back! Her eyes lovingly glided over his figure as he nudged his mare into a slow trot, and with newfound comfort she set Chai in motion to follow him.<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n It was already getting dark as they rode down the main street of Morris Flats, passing the scrambled lines of wooden, two storied buildings left and right. The town wasn’t very big and it was quite clear that its main street was its only street worth the name; the few trodden alleys leading away from it were too small to even allow a buckboard to pass.<\/p>\n Lilyah’s eyes were drawn to a building whose big-lettered sign declared itself a hotel, but Adam passed it by to head for the sheriff’s office presiding over a little plaza. A lonesome figure was dozing in the chair in front of it, visibly starting awake as Adam rapidly pulled up his mare and dismounted as quickly.<\/p>\n Lilyah stayed seated, holding Chai back. She had often observed how Adam always dismounted as soon as his horse had stopped, very unlike the Arab habit to stay in the saddle until someone showed up with a cup of tea. Yet for the first time, she was disquieted by it, cautiously scanning across the place for any dangers that might lurk in the darkening shades between the houses.<\/p>\n Adam however felt quite at ease. “Howdy, Cyril!”<\/p>\n Clambering to his feet, the man nearly toppled his chair that had been balancing on two legs leaning against the wall. “Uhm… Mister Cartwright… ehm… howdy! Why, nice to see you back in Morris Flats!” He extended his hand to shake Adam’s. “I sure hope you’re not having that King Arthur with you once again!”<\/p>\n “No, no.” Adam shook his head and confidentially drew closer, lowering his voice. “This time, I have the great honor of accompanying Queen Cleopatra.”<\/p>\n “Queen Cleopatra…” Cyril regarded him with a mixture of skepticism and hesitant awe, then he squinted at the veiled rider a few yards apart. There wasn’t much he could see, except for exuberant veils, flickers of gold and a very unusual horse decorated with expensive looking tassles and fineries. A very exotic sight indeed. “Uhm… the\u00a0real<\/em>\u00a0one…?”<\/p>\n Adam nodded his head with utmost seriousness. “The one and only!”<\/p>\n “Aww…” Cyril rearranged his bearing to appear a little more authoritative, pulling up his pants and brushing down his sloppy vest. After all, one could never know, and stranger things have been told to have happened. It could be a real queen all the same. Collecting himself, he did a few rather stiff steps forward and performed an awkward bow. “Your Majesty…”<\/p>\n Adam clasped his hands behind his back and donned an innocent face.<\/p>\n “Uhm… I welcome you… uhm,\u00a0thee<\/em>\u00a0to the munciality… munciapiliti… municialipality of Morris Flats in… uhm… as the official representative of the sheriff… uhm… in absence…” He broke a little sweat, trying to gather what he knew about the famous queen. It wasn’t much. “I hope you…\u00a0thee<\/em>… enjoy your stay… uhm… your Royal Mightyness, even, ehm… if it’s not as fancy as Egypt ’round here… uhm…”<\/p>\n “Egypt?” Lilyah fluttered her lashes in bewilderment.<\/p>\n Adam dismissingly waved his hand and stepped up. “A common error in the history books. Rather widespread, unfortunately… tell me, Cyril, where do we find the justice of the peace?”<\/p>\n “He’s out of town, took the stagecoach to Virginia City this afternoon.” Cyril noted that his answer wasn’t well received. “Reckon he’ll be back in a couple of days. Anything happened?”<\/p>\n Adam gave a dissatisfied grumble and shook his head, his face darkening. “And Sheriff Munsey?”<\/p>\n “The sheriff’s visiting his sister. She’s got a baby.” A broad beam spread across his face. “It’s the ninth!”<\/p>\n “He must be so proud.” Adam couldn’t hide his disappointment, but Cyril didn’t notice the exasperated tone.<\/p>\n “He sure is. Even though it’s a girl… again.” His beam grew even wider. “All nine are girls.”<\/p>\n “Such is life,” Adam quipped without much humour. “When d’you expect him back?”<\/p>\n Cyril shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe tonight, maybe tomorrow. One can never tell with family and stuff.”<\/p>\n “Yah.” Adam mounted rather stiffly and turned the mare around. “Thanks!”<\/p>\n “You’re welcome.” Cyril performed another clumsy bow to Lilyah. “Your Majesty!”<\/p>\n Lilyah didn’t quite know how to reply and hastened to reach Adam’s side again. She had well noticed his disappointment and the question of what on earth he had told the man before didn’t seem important anymore. Adam’s cheekiness was gone, his brow knitted into doubting folds as he halted the mare after merely a few yards.<\/p>\n “Adam, what’s the matter?”<\/p>\n He drew a breath and twisted his lower lip. “It would take us at least six or seven hours to ride to Virginia…”<\/p>\n “Adam, we’re both tired.”<\/p>\n “Yah…” He pressed his lips together. “Sheriff Munsey can wed us. As a sheriff, he’s got the authority to do it.”<\/p>\n Lilyah shifted in the saddle. As much as she loved the thought of getting married to him, something in his demeanour didn’t quite sit right with her. She slowly reached out to place her hand on his. “Adam, do you really want to marry in such a haste? Without your family?”<\/p>\n He threw her an unwilling look. “You’ll also have to marry without your family.”<\/p>\n “My family is far away. Your family is here.”<\/p>\n He blew an almost contemptuous breath without looking at her. “Lilyah, I hate to tell you, but I’m afraid my father isn’t exactly looking forward to our marriage. And I doubt he’d rejoice at the event.” He took another deep breath. “Besides, I have no intention of going back any time soon.”<\/p>\n “And your brothers?”<\/p>\n He opened his mouth and closed it, his brow darkening even further. Visibly searching for words, he averted her eyes until he finally said, “They’ll understand.”<\/p>\n A sad smile played around her lips. It had taken him so long to finally break away from his father, to shake off the firm grip that didn’t want to let him go. But it had not been weakness that had made this step so excruciatingly hard for him, nor had it been any lack of resolve or courage. It wasn’t all about his loyalty or his sense of responsibility, either. He loved his family. He loved his father.<\/p>\n “Adam…” Her voice was low, almost shy. “Did you… leave your father in anger?”<\/p>\n He finally looked at her, his eyes still darkened. “Lilyah, you shouldn’t care about my father. He never cared about you.” He didn’t notice how bitter his words sounded.<\/p>\n “I don’t care about him. It’s you I care about!” Her hand started caressing his. “Adam, you’re angry, you’re bitter, but those feelings will fade. One day you’ll look back and you’ll regret it. And you’re not a man to brush off such a regret lightly, you will suffer for it. It will always stick in a corner of your heart and hurt.”<\/p>\n Adam did not reply, but she saw his jaw working, his lips moving.<\/p>\n Lilyah softly stroked his wrists. They still were scarred from the ropes that had cut into them and for one moment she was doubtful if she really suggested the right thing to him. He would need peace to heal, and peace was the last thing he had found on the Ponderosa lately. She didn’t even know what his last encounter with his father had been like. In fact, she hardly knew how any of their encounters had been like, when he had always made sure she wasn’t present. All she could tell was that he usually came out of them embittered and hurt and he really didn’t need any more of that. She looked into his face, saw the anger and the stubbornness in it. He was about to burn bridges behind him – and once burned down, his pride would not allow him to make any amends. And he would never blame anyone but himself for it.<\/p>\n “Adam, let us take a few days to prepare for the marriage, and let us talk to your father before. Together, side by side, both of us and not you alone. If he’s still opposed to us, we can’t change it and we will go away. But then you will always know that you tried to make your peace with him.”<\/p>\n “Lilyah…” He twisted his lower lips, searching for words – words that came hard to him. “It’s not just my father… it’s…” He looked down on his hands. “Lil, all my life I’ve tried to fill my place in this world, be of use for those who count on me, try to do what was expected from me, to do what was best for everybody… but I hardly ever asked anything for me. I had chances come my way and let them slip, I never acted, not for me… Lil, I almost let you slip away.” He gingerly touched her small hand that still caressed his wrist. “But not any longer. Lil, I want to live, I want to live with you, and I want you to be my wife. I don’t want to wait any longer.”<\/p>\n Her hand glided up to his face. “There is nothing you’d have to wait for, Adam. Nothing. This sheriff, the justice of the peace, even if we would find an imam, all any of them will do is to sign a mere formality. Because Allah has wed us long before.” She returned his gaze as he looked up and their eyes locked. “Adam, in my heart I’ve been married to you ever since I kissed you on the Indian Needle.”<\/p>\n Adam swallowed, losing himself in her eyes, feeling her love so intensely that his heart swelled. Overwhelmed and at a loss for words, he bowed forward to kiss her when she suddenly pulled back, blushing, bashfully covering her face with the veil. It was just then that it occurred to him that they were sitting on their horses in the middle of the street, while the townsfolk of Morris Flats had assembled on the boardwalks left and right. He reluctantly turned his head and met the emotional smile of an elderly lady that had her hands clasped over her bosom and audibly sighed in dreamy pleasure. A few cowboys grinned from one ear to the other.<\/p>\n “Uhm…” A sheepish smile crossed his face while he awkwardly picked up his reins and felt his ears just slightly warming up. “We… I guess we should look for the livery stable.” He pulled his hat deeper into his face. “And the hotel… yes.” He resolutely nudged his mare in motion.<\/p>\n Lilyah followed him down the street, smiling behind her veil.<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n Adam halted his step as a very loud crash sounded up from the livery stable they had just left and an incomprehensible mumble escaped his lips.<\/p>\n Lilyah put her hand on his arm. “Just ignore him. He’ll calm down, he’s just offended.”<\/p>\n Adam sighed and half expected the owner of the livery stable to come running after them. But maybe the poor man was too distraught for that. His face had been telling enough as he had watched Lilyah admonishing her stallion for at least five minutes to be a good boy, to behave himself and to please, please, please stay in the box, even if it wasn’t exactly to his liking. His look of utter bewilderment had changed to hesitant amusement and then to barely concealed pity. The expression had lastly transformed to dumbfounded shock as Adam had instructed him that in order to keep the stallion in the box, he should neither tie him down nor shut the gate, stressing the value of the Arabian and describing the truly serious consequences should anything happen to the horse. He had cautiously taken the money from Adam’s hand at arm’s length.<\/p>\n Another crash sounded up, the unmistakable sound of angry hind hooves mistreating a wooden box wall.<\/p>\n “You see?” Lilyah remarked, not without content. “He obediently stays in his box, just as I told him. He only vents off a little.”<\/p>\n “Yeah, the ancient art of Arab horse discipline never fails to deeply impress me.” Adam shifted the load of both their saddlebags and the travel bag on his shoulder and put an arm around Lilyah to quickly usher her across the dark street towards the hotel, a twinkle in his eyes. At least he wouldn’t have to sleep with that noise.<\/p>\n The relief didn’t last for long as they neared the hotel. It was located right next to the saloon, and judging from the racket blowing through the double swing doors, the whole population of Morris Flats seemed to be engaged in some sort of screaming contest inside. The sound of roaring men and shrieking saloon girls mingled with the shrill plonking of a piano that obviously had not been tuned since the Declaration of Independence. Just as they stepped up on the boardwalk, the swinging doors flew open to spit out a man who rolled head over heels to a halt right in front of them.<\/p>\n “Sheesh… hicks… th’ss ain’t fair ain’t it…” The cowboy clumsily scrambled to his feet, staring about him with crossed eyes. “Wha’s happenin’ here… hicks…”<\/p>\n Adam felt Lilyah pressing herself closer to him and reassuringly tightened his grip around her shoulder as he quickly walked her to the hotel’s entry. His hope that the thickest wall in the West would part it from the neighboring saloon was disappointed as soon as he looked around. An empty counter, an empty space with a couple of dining tables – and an open passage right into the saloon, merely blocked by a half-closed curtain. Not only the noise passed through unhindered, but also the rather unappetizing aromas of smoke, sweat and warm beer. A dimly flickering lamp on the counter provided the only light, apart from the glow shimmering through the curtain.<\/p>\n Adam sighed again and unloaded the saddlebags from his shoulder, pressing the bell on the counter. Again and again and again.<\/p>\n Lilyah skeptically looked around. “Maybe we should go to another hotel…”<\/p>\n “It’s the only one in town,” Adam replied and raised his voice. “Hey! Customers awaiting! Anyone here?” He hammered on the bell. “Hey Ho!”<\/p>\n “Easy, fellers, easy. I’m comin’!”<\/p>\n Adam turned around as the curtain was pushed back and an elderly man adorned with a long black apron scurried towards the counter. From the looks of it, this was the bar keeper. A rather stressed out bar keeper. Adam nearly sighed a third time.<\/p>\n “Whadd’ya want?” The man turned the lamp a little higher and the light revealed the dust layers on the counter and the shelves behind it. Some of the keys dangling there were rusty – and apparently not one of them was missing.<\/p>\n Adam donned his friendliest face. “We’d appreciate the organization of a box seat for the evening premiere of the new Verdi opera, afterwards we’d enjoy a candle light dinner for two in the best restaurant in town, accompanied by violin music and followed by a romantic trip in one of those wonderful gondolas on those magnificent city canals.”<\/p>\n “Huh?” The man bestowed a dumbfounded look on him and then gaped at Lilyah. Her niqab was a somewhat rare sight in that neck of the woods.<\/p>\n Adam twisted his mouth to a lopsided grin. “A room would do for a start, and a good dinner.”<\/p>\n “One room or two?” The man nervously looked past them to the curtain behind which the yells for whiskey and beer grew louder.<\/p>\n Adam hesitated for one second. “Two rooms connected by a door.”<\/p>\n The bar keeper turned around and studied the keys. It seemed as if he were counting them, which couldn’t take that long considering there were only eight altogether. “Well… it looks like you’re lucky. We’ve got such rooms and they’re still free.”<\/p>\n “Isn’t that a splendid surprise?” Adam drew a breath and scanned across the empty tables. The noise was unbearable. “I think we’ll have our dinner in our rooms. I sure hope you’ve got a couple of good steaks for us.”<\/p>\n “Steaks? I’m afraid…” He broke off as the yelling for beverages from the saloon reached unprecedented levels. “I’M COMIN’!! JUST KEEP YER BRITCHES ON, FELLERS!!” He cleared his throat. “I’m afraid we’ve run out of steaks. But I’ll see what’s in the kitchen. You sign here, Sir.” He proffered a tattered guestbook.<\/p>\n Adam tried but it turned out that the dip pen had its tip broken off, producing a fat black ink spot in the book. After some hassle and repeated yells of ‘I’M COMIN’ the bar keeper unearthed a broken piece of a wood pencil. Adam signed without further hesitation and his growing exasperation eased when he read what he had just written.\u00a0Mr. and Mrs. Adam Cartwright, Virginia City.<\/em>\u00a0His gaze searched for Lilyah’s and he saw the soft shine in her eyes. For one moment they just looked at each other.<\/p>\n “I’M COMIN’!! HEAVEN, HELL AND MANURE, JUST A MOMENT!!!” The bar keeper caught his breath. “Sir, your rooms are the next ones to the stair case on the left, numbers 1 and 2…” He cast Adam a pleading look. “You can’t miss them.”<\/p>\n Adam rolled his eyes. “Yeah, alright. Where do we…” He broke off as the bar keeper beat a hastened departure to disappear behind the curtain. Loud cheering and yodeling indicated that he had been sorely missed in the saloon. Shaking his head, Adam picked up the bags and looked up the staircase. There was no light anywhere. He only hoped that the rooms were better than he feared.<\/p>\n “Come…” He softly touched Lilyah’s back and took up the lamp from the counter before they went upstairs, leaving the lobby below in darkness as he illuminated the way.<\/p>\n The rooms were easy to find but the creaking of the door already lowered even the humblest expectations. Rather musty air engulfed them as they stepped in and the light of the lamp didn’t exactly reveal any comely surroundings. Adam found and lit two other lamps and looked around. An iron bed with dingy covers, two chairs, a wardrobe without doors and a washstand with an empty water pitcher. Sighing once again, he pushed the door to the second room open to look at nearly the same sad misery – while there were doors for the wardrobe, in compensation the water pitcher was missing. Most offensive was the noise hammering through the quivering floorboards. The second room was even worse as it seemed to be located directly above the saloon.<\/p>\n Adam returned to the first room and regarded Lilyah who stood next to their bags, looking about. She had put off her niqab, but her small face still didn’t reveal her thoughts. He had a vague feeling that she was trying to hide them.<\/p>\n “It’s not quite what I’d call a first class hotel,” he probed.<\/p>\n Lilyah looked up to him. She recalled how arduously he had ascended the stairs, how much effort it had cost him. He was exhausted, strained from a hard day. His face was pale, still showing the lines of his ordeal. He badly needed a rest and first of all, he needed a warm meal. Her glance fell on his boots and her heart ached when she thought of how hard it would be for him to take them off. Surely his feet were hurting.<\/p>\n “It’s…” She chewed on the words. “I think… it will do for the night.” Pulling herself together, she took a courageous step towards the bed. “You should lie down for a while until the dinner is served and in the meanwhile I’ll take care of our bags.”<\/p>\n “Hm…” Adam stepped next to her and lifted the cover from the bed. “Nice fellows, eh?”<\/p>\n She stared at the rumpled beddings. “Adam, what is this?”<\/p>\n “Bugs!”<\/p>\n She gasped and hastily pulled back, inadvertently wrapping her robes tighter around her. Adam heard her swallowing and couldn’t help an amused smirk.<\/p>\n “Come on, let’s get out of here.”<\/p>\n Visibly torn apart, she didn’t know what to do. “Adam, you’re so tired… and the dinner…”<\/p>\n “I can’t really imagine that the kitchen distinguishes itself very much from the rest of this noble\u00a0etablissement<\/em>, so I’m not really keen anymore to see what its products might be. And tired I am, but I have my doubts all this noise will allow any rest at all. Not to speak of the bugs, as they have the habit of biting.” He saw her unhappy face and smiled, lovingly touching her cheek. “Lil, since when do we need a hotel?”<\/p>\n She returned his gaze and his smile reflected in her eyes until it finally reached her lips.<\/p>\n “Let’s go.” Adam bowed to pick up their belongings, but she was quicker and grabbed for her saddlebags.<\/p>\n “Let me carry this!”<\/p>\n “Lil, I’m tired, but not an invalid.” He took the bags on him and shouldered them. “You can carry the lamp.”<\/p>\n She did as she was told and turned down the remaining lamps before they left the room. The bar keeper was nowhere to be seen, not upstairs and not downstairs, and neither of them was in any mood to look for him or even operate the bell. Adam pulled the guestbook closer with the intention to cross out his signature, but when his eyes fell on what he had written before he hadn’t the heart to do it. With a cheeky grin, he took the pencil and added a few lines.<\/p>\n Lilyah giggled as she read,\u00a0Mr. and Mrs. Adam Cartwright, Virginia City – are off to better pastures. They graciously donate their dinner to the bugs in room 1 and 2, since the poor creatures were robbed of their meal this night.<\/em><\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 62. The Vow\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n “Take care, Lil, it gets a bit rocky here!” Adam clicked his tongue to urge his mare up a steep slope. “Stay behind me!”<\/p>\n Lilyah nudged Chai forward to follow, torn between conflicting emotions. They were underway for more than an hour since they had left Morris Flats and Adam still showed no intention to slow down or start looking for a possible camp site. She worriedly scrutinized his dark figure in the saddle, anxiously watching every movement, the slightest turn of his head, every little sign that the ride might be too exhausting for him. It had taken him four hops to get in the saddle at all when he usually took just one. He even had hissed a little after putting his foot in the stirrup, trying to get the momentum to mount. She had heard it, even though he had tried to suppress it. Maybe it would have been better had they simply spent the night with the horses in the livery stable.<\/p>\n On the other hand, a sizable part of her heart could not but rejoice in the ride, so trusted and familiar in his company, his presence, she and him together like they had used to ride out so many times before. It was a wonderful and mild night, stars blinking in the clear dark skies, soft moonlight casting a silvery shimmer across the land. Her eyes glided over his figure again and again, shining with love. Adam was in good spirits, smiling whenever he looked at her. She had to rise in the stirrups as Chai fought his way up the slope and immediately she worried again about how hurtful this must have been for Adam.<\/p>\n Yet, when she reached the top of the slope and pulled up at Adam’s side, she saw the smile on his face as he turned around to her.<\/p>\n “Isn’t it beautiful?” His hand made a sweeping movement at the plains below them.<\/p>\n “Oh yes, Adam, it is!” For one moment all her worries were gone, her eyes drinking in the dark tranquility of the nocturnal landscape and her heart swelling with joy and love upon his nearness, their togetherness.<\/p>\n “It’s a special night.” Adam nudged the mare so close to the stallion that his leg touched Lilyah’s. “It’s our night.”<\/p>\n She looked up to him when his hand touched her shoulder, but his eyes rested on the land. A warm smile lay on his lips and his features were dreamy as he softly began to speak,<\/p>\n “Rose-maiden, no, I do not quarrel Lilyah felt her eyes getting moist and a little blush warming her cheeks. He looked at her now and his gaze went through and through her very inside, arousing something that slowly began to glimmer and glow. Even though the moon only faintly lit his face, she could still see the twinkle in his eye.<\/p>\n “Come on.” Adam winked at her. “Let’s go.”<\/p>\n “How long do you want to ride?”<\/p>\n “Hm… one more hour perhaps.”<\/p>\n “But, Adam, you’re…”<\/p>\n “… tired, I know.” A jovial smirk played on his lips. “I just knew you would say that. But fear not, little Miss Worrywart, I’m not going to fall from my horse.”<\/p>\n “Oh, you…” Her words were silenced as he leaned forward and playfully kissed her on the mouth. His hand brushed over the back of her head, pulling it closer to him, and the kiss became soft and tender, their lips lovingly caressing each other.<\/p>\n “Now come on.” His voice was dark and soft like velvet, his lips breathing another kiss on her cheek. “The sooner we’re there, the sooner we can rest.”<\/p>\n Lilyah nodded her head while her hand glided over his arm and shoulder. His tan jacket was stored rolled up on top of his saddlebags and she wondered if he should put it on. Of course, the night air was mild and certainly a much appreciated refreshment from the heat of the day, but still he…<\/p>\n “I’m not freezing, either,” he said merrily.<\/p>\n Her mouth fell open as she looked up into his face.<\/p>\n Adam started laughing, softly and with a sparkle in his eyes, regarding her with an amused smile as he pulled back to nudge his mare into movement. “As it’s said, the magic works both ways, my sweet nightingale.” Chuckling, he rode on.<\/p>\n For one moment she sat with a thoughtful brow before she picked up her reins to follow him. His eyes were laughing as she reached his side and she couldn’t help but smile.<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n It took rather more than an hour until Adam finally seemed to slow down, taking all kinds of turns through a labyrinth of dark trees, bushes, shrubs and boulders, his eyes thoughtfully scanning their surroundings like they were at long last contemplating a place to stay. Lilyah followed trustfully as he led the way through an area of more thickly growing trees and shrubs where space was so sparse that they were forced to ride one after the other. She held the reins short, noticing that both horses got restless. Chai’s nervousness could well be attributed to the denser vegetation and the stallion’s dislike of the woods, but the calm Mariah never had had any problems with that before. Yet she seemed agitated, but more in anticipation of something good than in any sort of fear. It took a while until Lilyah finally realized what this had to mean. There had to be water somewhere.<\/p>\n “Lil, there’s a steep decline here!” Adam called over his shoulder before he disappeared from her view, having his mare carefully skidding down the deep descent.<\/p>\n “Yes.” She followed, glad when she reached Adam’s side again. And there she finally heard what the horses must have sensed long before.<\/p>\n “Adam, there’s a river ahead of us!”<\/p>\n “Yah.” She could hear the content in his voice. “A little while longer and we can see it.”<\/p>\n “Oh!” Her eyes expectantly tried to squint through the darkness surrounding them as they rode on, but it took a good while until they cautiously climbed down another slope and the thinning foliage at last revealed the flowing waters dimly glittering in the moonlight.<\/p>\n Lilyah beamed with joy. “Oh, Adam, we’re at the Truckee River!”<\/p>\n “Uhm…” Adam cleared his throat, his eyes sparkling with laughter. Her sense of direction truly was a miracle to behold. “It’s the Walker River, dear.”<\/p>\n “But it’s so wonderful!” Lilyah laughed as Chai started dancing about, eagerly urging to the water. She gave him his head and the stallion took a few galloping jumps to the enticing shore. The ground was treacherous and she slid from the saddle, stepping back as he lowered his nose to the water.<\/p>\n Adam followed more slowly, savoring the image in front of him. She was so beautiful… set against the backdrop of the flowing river, the moonlight so enchantingly shimmering on the silks of her gown, and the silks themselves so alluringly flowing around her lithe features. His eyes clung to her as she gracefully bowed down to get herself a handful of water. He suddenly felt like Marlowe’s passionate shepherd, longing for the love of a nymph, offering all he could give to her –\u00a0Come live with me and be my love…<\/em>\u00a0According to Sir Walter Raleigh, the nymph had turned the poor fellow down. But he, Adam, wasn’t turned down. His nymph had come back to him.<\/p>\n Mariah’s nicker ripped him out of his thoughts and he felt the mare shifting restlessly beneath him. “Aw, sorry, big girl…” Adam patted her neck and dismounted, unfastening both his canteens before the mare went off to drink. And still he had only eyes for Lilyah who covered the few steps parting them. So beautiful…<\/p>\n “We better walk the last yards.” He couldn’t take his eyes off her face. “It’s not so safe to ride alongside the brink at night.”<\/p>\n Her hands glided over his arms as she looked up to him. “So we’re there where you wanted to go?”<\/p>\n “Yes, we’re there…” Adam pulled her closer and bowed his head to kiss her forehead. “We’re there where I wanted to go…”<\/p>\n She closed her eyes when his lips touched hers, rising on her toes to respond to his gentle kiss. Adam’s hands smoothed over the soft fabrics of her robes, feeling the contour of her body beneath them. She was so small… so soft… so fragile… so delicate. His own hands suddenly appeared big and rough to him, bound to break this ethereal little frame that seemed so tiny against his own. But the notion sank to the back of his mind when her hands clasped his face and her lips hungrily probed for another kiss, when a wave of tenderness and passion swept away every conscious thought.<\/p>\n It took a long, long while until their lips parted, their eyes lovingly caressing each other. Adam’s hand swept across her back, under the veil, feeling the soft flow of her hair beneath it, his fingers playfully fondling the locks.<\/p>\n “We should get going…” It came hard to him to force his fingers to lie still. “I think… we both need a rest.”<\/p>\n “Yes…”<\/p>\n Adam’s face softened to a smile as he noticed the little worryline building between her brows, the watchful gaze with which she looked him over. It touched and amused him the same time – but more than everything, it warmed his heart. And what a weird couple they were, when it should be him worrying about her, after leading her so far into the wild. This stretch of land probably was the remotest spot in the whole territory, far from any settlement, any road, far even from any half forgotten path. He had deliberately sought the loneliness of this place, the absolute solitude. This night had no use for the rest of the world.<\/p>\n “Let’s fill our canteens before we go.” Adam brushed over her shoulders. “We’ll rest at the river bank, but we can as well fill them here.”<\/p>\n “Alright.” Lilyah got her goat skin bag from her saddle and went to refill it, watching him as he crouched at the waterside with his canteens. It visibly took him some effort to get up again, but her worries gave room for renewed confidence. He would soon be able to rest, to sleep, to recover. He would also have a meal since they both had their saddlebags filled with food supplies. Her eyes shone as he returned and took Mariah’s reins.<\/p>\n “We better lead them along,” he said. “And make sure they’re not roaming about or try to walk side by side. There’s not enough space for that.”<\/p>\n “Yes…” She gathered Chai and waited until Adam had taken the lead. The bank alongside the river was steep, littered with loose rocks and gravel. The dim light of the moon was not bright enough to expose all the ditches and cracks in the slippery ground. Worrying about Adam’s feet, she tried to make him out in the dark, but all she saw was Mariah’s backend; and she had to concentrate on the ground. For quite some time, the clip-clop of the horses’ hooves was the only sound mingling with the rustling of the river.<\/p>\n “It’s getting better here!” Adam called out from the dark in front.<\/p>\n Indeed the narrow path broadened, the treacherous gravel got less and less until the hooves hit solid earth. Adam waited for Lilyah to catch up, extending his hand as she reached him. She willingly let him have hers, enjoying the warm grip enclosing it.<\/p>\n “Just a few more yards.” He turned and walked on, still holding her hand, taking comfort in the trusted touch. He wasn’t alone anymore.<\/p>\n They didn’t have to walk very long until they reached a small glade. It wasn’t as large as the one they had shared at the Truckee, it didn’t have the rich grass and there wasn’t a bend in the river offering the waters a calm respite. But it lay so peaceful under the soft moonlight that it appeared to her like the most beautiful place she had ever seen. She hastened to turn Chai away from Adam, to take off her saddlebags and saddle before Adam would strain himself with it, took off the bridle and carried it all to where he had unsaddled his mare. She had noticed how stiffly he had walked, she felt so clearly that he was now truly exhausted.<\/p>\n “I don’t think we’ll have to groom them,” she remarked as casually as possible. “I mean, we groomed them in Morris Flats. Maybe just have a look at the hooves…” Her eyes wandered to the mare’s head but Adam had already removed the bridle. “I think I should look for some firewood while you unpack your saddlebags. I have eyes like a cat in the dark. Besides, in Bedouin custom the lighting of the fire is the traditional task of the woman.”<\/p>\n “On your command, my queen.” Adam suppressed a chuckle. He saw through her so well, but he let her have her way. Her worry touched him and a part of him was ready to admit that he actually had some problems keeping on his legs. He probably wouldn’t have lasted another hour in the saddle, let alone another mile walking. And wasn’t it time to share his life? Truly\u00a0share<\/em>\u00a0it? Yet his eyes cautiously watched her every step as she scavenged the fringes of the glade for firewood. The last time she had praised her eyesight in the dark she had run against a chair. Smiling into himself, he turned to the saddlebags, contemplating the thought that the drought on the land was at least good for something: the ground was replete with bone-dry wood.<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n It wasn’t long before that they peacefully sat at a lowly glimming fire, hungrily indulging in beans and canned meat. They even had tea to drink, which made Adam wonder whether it had been Hoss or, more probably, Hop Sing who had thought of this special item. Given that his saddlebags had also contained a big loaf of cheese, it seemed likely that Hop Sing had at least had a hand in the packing. Adam felt a warm feeling inside. It was quite clear that neither tea nor cheese were meant for him as he never had had any special use for such things when underway. But Lilyah loved them both. His eyes wandered over her beloved features and his heart warmed even more. She had taken off most of her upper veils and drapings, showing her small face, the flood of her hair flowing over her back, and revealing that beneath the black silks she wore her brown and golden robe that had always been his favorite. She was so lovely, so precious…<\/p>\n “Here…” Lilyah had long since discovered the brown bottles and meticulously poured some of the thick liquid into a cup. “You should take some more of your medicine.”<\/p>\n “Yes, Mama.” A ring of laughter swung in his voice, his eyes glittered.<\/p>\n She cast him a look of feigned admonishment, but couldn’t help a smile upon his cheeky grin. The meal had visibly done him good and he appeared relaxed and at ease, comfortably leaning against his saddle, his legs stretched out. His hat and his gun belt lay beside him. Watching him down the medicine, she chuckled as he crunched his face at the taste and quickly washed it down with some tea.<\/p>\n “That serves you right!”<\/p>\n “Now would you listen to this!” He cocked his head, his lips twitching. “Methinks we’ll soon discover the ancient art of Arab husband discipline.”<\/p>\n She laughed and leaned over to him to kiss his cheek. “Let me have a look at your feet.”<\/p>\n “Quod erat demonstrandum…” Adam twisted his lips and moved his burning feet. They were hurting badly and felt like they must have been swollen to double their size. He cast her a skeptical look. “Lil, if I take my boots off, I’ll never get them back on again.”<\/p>\n “Then we cut them open and make sandals from them.” She gently brushed over his face. “Adam, you shouldn’t keep those boots on all night. They must be hurting!”<\/p>\n “The boots?” he asked with an impish look and chuckled as she tapped his nose. Yet he relented and reluctantly started to pull off his boots. It was a hard and painful piece of work and he did his best to not give any sign of pain. She was already worried enough and the compassion on her small face was pitiable to watch.<\/p>\n “Oh, Adam…” She crouched next to his feet, hissing through her teeth as she discovered the bloody smear. Her fingers helplessly touched them. “You should’ve put socks on…”<\/p>\n “I had socks on.” Adam had a miffed look into one of the boots. “Lil, it’s just a few scratches.”<\/p>\n “Wait!” She rose to her feet. “And don’t get up!”<\/p>\n He pulled a rather sheepish face and watched from under knitted brows as she rummaged his saddlebags for the pot, then pulled a veil from her own bag and scurried off to the river. Blowing a slightly frustrated breath, he bowed to probe his aching feet. Not exactly his idea of a romantic night. A lop-sided, slightly bedraggled grin passed his lips.\u00a0Poor Mr. Perfect…<\/em><\/p>\n Lilyah returned from the river and knelt beside his feet, placing the filled pot next to her. Adam watched silently as she began to wash his feet, cooling the burning, swollen skin. He opened his mouth to protest when she resolvedly ripped the veil in two, but he couldn’t get a word out. He suddenly felt ashamed.<\/p>\n “That’s… that’s good.” He took a breath. “They really were hurting… it’s just a pity about the beautiful veil.”<\/p>\n She looked up to him with a sudden shine in her eyes and he realized that she had not expected him to say anything at all, at least not something appreciative. It gave him a little stab.<\/p>\n Smiling, she shook her head. “Never mind. I picked one that I didn’t like so much. I mean, the color is not very nice.” She rinsed out the pieces of veil and began bandaging his feet, her fine brow wrinkling. “We could use some sturdier fabric so you can walk around with it.” She bit her lip, thinking.<\/p>\n “Look in my saddlebags,” Adam suggested. “I’ve got a small piece of suede rolled up. It should do for some makeshift moccasins.”<\/p>\n “I’ll get it!”<\/p>\n “And give me your dagger!”<\/p>\n She brought everything and watched him cutting the suede in broad strips. “Wait, I have some ribbons to fix them!” She jumped up to get the bands from her travel bag.<\/p>\n Adam chuckled as she wrapped the suede strips around his feet and then fastened them with golden shimmering ribbons. “If I may humbly ask one favor… don’t make bows!”<\/p>\n She giggled and looked up to his face, met his smiling eyes and her heart just wanted to burst, even more so when he bowed to pull her up, enclosing her in his warm embrace. She closed her arms around him and kissed his cheek, felt his lips gliding across her temple so soft and hot. She gasped as they met hers and for a long while the world sank into an ocean of passion. Their eyes met, drowning in one another. Their laughter was gone. They both knew what would happen in this night.<\/p>\n “We should prepare for the night…” His voice sounded hoarse, his eyes were still resting on her.<\/p>\n “Yes…” She couldn’t take her gaze of him. “I… I’ll just wash the dishes…”<\/p>\n He nodded his head. It took them both some difficulty to move apart.<\/p>\n Lilyah picked up the dishes and carried them to the river, noticing from the corner of her eyes that Adam had also gotten up. After some rumbling in his saddlebags, he lit what seemed to be the stump of a candle and crouched before it. Lilyah felt her cheeks blushing as she finally realized what he was doing. He was shaving. And still a loving smile played around her lips while her hands mechanically cleaned the pan and the plates. That he even thought of that…<\/p>\n She carried the dishes back to the fireplace and pulled his socks from the boots in which they were stuck. Their bottoms were wet with blood.<\/p>\n “Lilyah…” Adam looked up. “You shouldn’t do that!”<\/p>\n “Why not?” Her cheeks blushed a little. “I can wash them. I mean, as a wife I will have to learn all those household things.”<\/p>\n “Oh…” His eyebrow rose up. “Uhm… yes, I reckon… it’s a good start.”<\/p>\n She gave him a smile and turned to the river.<\/p>\n They both took their time and Lilyah watched him walking over to the horses after he had spread out the blankets for the sleeping place. It wasn’t really necessary to check on the horses again as they already had cleaned out their hooves before. The animals had access to the river and even though there wasn’t much grass around, they still had enough to feed on. But Adam did not seem to do anything particular, he just stood there, absently stroking Mariah’s neck. And Lilyah understood.<\/p>\n She walked over to the blankets and sat down, her legs bent beneath her. Her fingers trembled a bit when she unfastened her hair jewelry to put it aside, took off her earrings and necklaces, all her jewelry, the combs and clips that held her hair. When she was done, she rested her hands in her lap, not looking up. It took a while until she heard his step, heard him lowering himself beside her. She slowly lifted her head and looked straight into his eyes. They were serious, dark – and strangely shy.<\/p>\n “Lil, you’re sure?” His voice was barely audible.<\/p>\n She silently nodded her head.<\/p>\n Adam took a deep breath, swallowing. A bashful smile stole over his lips, he lifted a hand and let it fall again. “Lil…” He collected himself. “You know we’ll have a legal marriage, first chance we get…”<\/p>\n Her face softened and she slowly put her hand on his. “I know.”<\/p>\n His fingers gently caressed hers and for a while he didn’t look up. When he finally raised his head and sought her gaze, his eyes were even darker then before, but they had a tenderness shining in them that touched her heart.<\/p>\n He took another deep breath and softly began to speak, “I, Adam Cartwright, pledge my love to you, Lilyah Al-Sharieh, to have and to hold from this day forward, in good and in bad times, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love you without reservation, to honor and respect you, provide for your needs as best I can, and cherish you for as long as I shall live.” He swallowed. “And I ask you, Lilyah, the question that you will be asked: will you take me, Adam, as your wedded husband, to love me and to live with me, to stand by my side, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, for as long as we both shall live?”<\/p>\n Her eyes were swimming in tears and she nodded her head, her lips trembling between a smile and a sob.<\/p>\n Adam tenderly touched her cheek. “Then say ‘I do’…”<\/p>\n “I do!” Her fingers touched his and she smiled through her tears. “And I, Lilyah Sharayah bint Rashid ibn Hassan Al-Sharieh, I pledge my love to you, Adam Cartwright, to love you with all my heart, in good and in bad times, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love you without reservation, to honor and respect you, provide for your happiness as best as I can, I will love and cherish you for as long as I live. And I ask you, Adam, will you take me, Lilyah, as your wedded wife, to love me and to live with me, will you stand by my side, trust in me and confide in me, for better for worse, in sickness and in health, for as long as we both shall live?”<\/p>\n His eyes had gotten moist during her speech. “I do!”<\/p>\n Lilyah felt like her heart was bursting and it took her some effort to keep her voice from trembling. “And so, in the name of the one God that some call Allah and some call Lord, in the name of his prophet Muhammed and his prophet Jesus, in the sacredness of the nature that he created, I will be your wife.”<\/p>\n “And I will be your husband.” Adam had to blink away the wetness in his eyes, but his face lit with a shy smile. “May I kiss the bride?”<\/p>\n “Oh, yes…” She closed her arms around him. “Yes…”<\/p>\n He pulled her closer to his chest, his lips caressing her face until they touched hers, gently opening her mouth. And yet the kiss was laced with a soft tenderness, savoring their togetherness, their nearness, their promise that was still echoing in both their hearts. His hand fondling her hair was almost timid, hesitant as it glided over the silk of her robes. Quietly following the laced seams, his fingers shyly probed what was beneath. He swallowed as he carefully pushed back the fabric, exposing her shoulder, kissing the golden skin while he felt her hands on his own shoulder, as hesitant and demure as his own as they gingerly touched him beneath the shirt. He looked into her eyes that seemed even darker and larger than they used to be, so innocent, so pure, so trustful. He opened his mouth to say something, but no word came out; she silently nodded her head as if she had heard the unspoken words anyway.<\/p>\n Adam hesitated for only one moment before he pulled off his shirt, not taking his eyes from hers. Her fingers slowly glided over his chest and shoulders, softly caressing the welts she could feel, the smooth skin between them, slowly moving back to his chest, running through the curly hair, sending rays of warmth through his skin right into his heart. Adam’s breathing got deeper as something started to burn inside of him, his hands got firmer. And still she looked up to him with so much trust.<\/p>\n Lilyah did not even notice that her last undergarment slid off her shoulders, barely noticed that she was softly laid down; all she realized was that he lay beside her, his hands caressing her body, touching and warming her skin, her soul, her whole being. Careful to not hurt his wounds and still longing to explore his body, she continued to fondle him, brushing over his skin that was so much softer than she had thought it would be, caressing his curls as he looked down on what had always been covered and veiled before. She held her breath as his hand touched her breasts, gasped as he lowered his head to kiss her there, so tender, so soft.<\/p>\n “Lil…” He choked as he raised his head to look into her face, suddenly shy again. His voice was but a whisper. “Lil, I don’t want to hurt you…”<\/p>\n She gingerly touched his cheek and whispered back, “You won’t…”<\/p>\n And she glowed inside as his body pressed against hers.<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 63. A New Morning\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Adam awakened from a sound sleep, with a faint notion of disbelief rising up inside of him before he had even half regained his senses. For the first time since his ordeal, his sleep had not been marred with bad dreams, had he not stirred feeling battered and beaten as if he had just broken down in the desert, his skin wasn’t clammy with cold sweat. His skin… there was a wonderful warmth, a gentle pressure against his body that seemed to caress his very inside, a silent breathing so close to him, velvety softness grazing his arm. He smiled… he had likely smiled in his sleep. His lips parted as the memory of the night came back, filling his whole consciousness with its images, its scent, its sensations. He savored the realization of her small body cuddled up next to his, her head nestled into his arm, her little hand resting at his chest, one of her legs touching one of his. For one heartbeat he stopped breathing, not daring to move an eyelid lest anything would wake her up, cause her to withdraw.<\/p>\n Slowly, very slowly, he moved his head, opening his eyes. His smile deepened as he gazed at her, sleeping so softly at his side, her face buried in the tousled mass of her hair like a little bird sleeping in its nest. Her eyes closed, her lashes resting on her cheeks, she smiled in her slumber. Adam swallowed as something very strong and powerful rose inside of him and he had to catch his breath. She was his. All his. Truly and forever his…<\/p>\n It took him an enormous effort to keep his chest from heaving too deep a breath, to suppress the overwhelming urge to pull her closer, to search her lips, to give in to the passion that threatened to flame up once again, nurtured by the memory of those precious moments in which they had been one.<\/p>\n One…<\/p>\n Adam listened into himself, enchanted by the echo of this one word resounding in his soul.\u00a0One…<\/em>\u00a0And slowly, a slight wonderment mixed into his sentiment, bewilderment about what he could\u00a0not<\/em>\u00a0find inside. Shouldn’t he have doubts? Nagging thoughts about if it had been right? Even regrets? Misgivings of what his father might say if he knew his son didn’t wait until he was legally married? Worries about damaging the honor of the woman he loved? Shame to have started their life together under the open skies in the wilderness? He cocked his head, his brow rising in surprise. There were no such thoughts. Not even thinking of the possibility of any such thoughts hiding inside brought any trace of them to light. There was a rare tranquility inside of him, he was at peace with himself.<\/p>\n His content grew even more as he focused on her sleeping face again. Lilyah was right – they had long been married. She had been his wife for a long time. Her ride through the desert, her desperate fight to save him – could there ever be a greater proof of love, a truer promise, a deeper bond? His eyes caressed every line in her face. He still could see a slight discoloration on her cheekbone, even though it had faded to near invisibility. Her eyebrow that had been cracked open still showed a little scar, disrupting the fine black arc of the brow. A thin white line crossing her upper lip betrayed the cut she had suffered there. Each one of these little wounds was a wedding ring on his finger. They would remain in his memory long after time had erased them from her skin.<\/p>\n Adam raised his hand, cautiously stroking over her hair with his fingertips, gently touching her temple to brush away a long lock. He watched her lids fluttering, noticed the movement at his skin as she shifted her body, waited in silent happiness until she finally opened her eyes. For one moment her glance was unfocused, still entangled in the webs of her sleep, but then she looked up to his face. He lost himself in the tenderness of those dark velvet eyes. So much love…<\/p>\n “Good morning…” His finger caressed her cheek, her lips.<\/p>\n “Good morning…” Lilyah couldn’t take her eyes off his face. He looked so peaceful, so content, so relaxed, there was a shine in his hazel eyes like she had never seen before. The brown rays in the greenish irises seemed to shimmer. She suddenly became aware of how close they lay together, how their bodies touched each other beneath the blankets. For the fragment of a heartbeat she held her breath, but then a smile softened her lips. It was good… it was all good just as it was. Her fingers softly ran through the hair on his chest, halting when they touched the crusts on the welts that the ropes had left there. She caressed the rough cuts so lightly that her fingertips barely touched them. They were healing. All his wounds were healing now.<\/p>\n Raising her eyes to his face again, she was silenced by the intense warmth she saw in them, silenced when his hands pulled her closer to him and his lips touched hers.<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n “You should take your medicine!” Lilyah determinedly made her way to the rock at the river bank on which Adam was sitting with his bare feet dangling in the water. Even though it was still fairly early in the morning, the heat was already stinging, hot enough that he hadn’t even put his shirt on yet, and the mild water was a refreshing comfort for his sore soles.<\/p>\n “Isn’t it truly a miracle, a phenomenon that most men won’t grasp until it’s too late?” He watched with knitted brows as she poured some of the thick stuff for him. “As soon as a little woman is transformed to a wife, the sweetest maiden, alas, once so humble and oh, so demure, turns into the fiercest tyrant!”<\/p>\n “Oh, it shouldn’t come\u00a0that<\/em>\u00a0unexpectedly.” She proffered the cup to him with an innocent smile. “For as far as I remember, you lamented the plight and the chains already yesterday.”<\/p>\n Adam started laughing, with his eyes glittering and his shoulders shaking. “Well…” He gave her a sidelong glance while his laughter still twitched his lips. “A great many men have sought solace in the art of poetry when faced with the unspeakable plight that is the yoke of marriage, and… LIL!” He almost dropped the cup with the medicine when a big splash of water hit him.<\/p>\n “You’re babbling!” She meticulously dried her hand, cheeky triumph on her features. “Don’t drop the medicine!”<\/p>\n Adam pursed his lips, moving his feet. The river was calm at this place, with no dangerous undercurrents lurking in its depths. Indeed, it was very inviting. Suppressing a chuckle, he put the cup away and grinned as he watched her turning to the camp site.<\/p>\n “ADAM!!” Lilyah shrieked as she was suddenly lifted up, taken by complete surprise. “What are you…\u00a0ooooh!<\/em>” She gasped as he made two quick jumps right into the river; her initial attempt to get down immediately changed into desperate clasping to his neck. Luckily the water was shallow at this spot, barely reaching to a hand below his navel. Pulling up her legs, she wriggled and struggled to try and save herself from getting wet. “Adam…\u00a0Adam, don’t!<\/em>”<\/p>\n He made a few steps away from the shore, yet holding her high enough so she didn’t touch the water. Merely the seams of her underdress were swimming in the flood. “Why should I take this medicine all the time? It doesn’t taste very good. In fact, it’s downright awful!”<\/p>\n “It will give you back your strength! You told me that’s why Hoss packed it for you!”<\/p>\n “You mean my strength is in tatters and badly in need of this medicine?”<\/p>\n “Yes!” She shifted in his arms, holding onto him with all she had, trying to pull herself up on his shoulders. “Adam, go back to the shore! Your feet… there are sharp rocks in the river! You could hurt yourself!”<\/p>\n “Oh!” He raised his brow. “Yes… I guess you’re absolutely right. I really should take this medicine as I can feel very clearly now my strength is already leaving me. And I probably shouldn’t stand on my sore feet. They’re hurting.”<\/p>\n “Oh, Adam…” Lilyah realized with relief that he had stopped and didn’t move deeper into the water. “Go back to the shore! You can sit down there.”<\/p>\n “I haven’t taken my medicine yet.” He gave her a puppy look from under his brows. “I’m too weak.”<\/p>\n She started and her mouth fell open upon the sparkles exploding in his eyes. “Adam… no… no…\u00a0Adam<\/em>… ADAM!”<\/p>\n Adam burst out laughing, simply letting himself fall on his back. Yet in the big splash resulting, he took care to not let her slip away.<\/p>\n “Adam!! Oooooh!<\/em>\u00a0MY HAIR!” Struggling to her feet, she hit both her hands into the water, splashing as much of it on him as she could. “Oooooh!<\/em>\u00a0YOU!\u00a0Youuuu… sheytan!!<\/em>”<\/p>\n Adam laughed and splashed back, needing only one of his hands to match the amount of water she was able to shovel up. She kept on ranting and raving, about her hair, her dress, her shawl, her cheeks turning red with agitation, and still she couldn’t help herself but starting to laugh. Dodging another big splash of water, she squinted and aimed at the one spot where she knew she could get him.<\/p>\n “Lil, no!”<\/em>\u00a0Still laughing, Adam doubled over to save his ticklish belly. “Lil, that’s unfair! I’m sick and weak and…”<\/p>\n “Oooh, yes?<\/em>\u00a0All of a sudden, huh?\u00a0Ooooh, you just wait!<\/em>” Unperturbed, she kept on tickling him until they both fell in the flood, puffing and blowing when they came up, romping about like little children until they were panting with laughter and exhaustion.<\/p>\n “Oh, look! Look what you’ve done!!” Steadying herself with one hand at his shoulder, Lilyah remembered her protest, holding up her soaking wet shawl whose exuberant width had shrunk to a thin crumple.\u00a0“Now look!!”<\/em><\/p>\n “I’m absolutely devastated,” Adam assured, barely keeping back the laughter at her fruitless attempts to unfold the crinkled fabric. Not only the shawl had lost its volume – her light silken underdress whose rich folds used to hide so well what was beneath stuck to her skin like a layer of paint, hiding nothing anymore. Her long hair floated in the water surrounding her. His eyes warmed as he gazed at her breasts that were just above the waterline. He couldn’t resist gingerly touching them, allowing his fingers to caress the soft flesh.<\/p>\n Lilyah lifted her eyes, saw the dreamy smile lingering on his lips, and she couldn’t keep her own hands from wandering up his chest. The shawl was all but forgotten as their lips met and his arms pulled her closer to himself. She clung to him with overwhelming emotion, her hands tousling his wet hair as their tongues explored each other’s mouths, in a kiss so passionate that it seemed to halt the flow of time.<\/p>\n “Adam…” she gasped, catching her breath while his lips still glided across her face. A little laugh rose in her bosom. “We’re soaking wet…”<\/p>\n “Ah, yah…” His brow crinkled. “Must have something to do with all that water here…” He kissed her nose, her cheeks, her brow, his hands tenderly rubbing her back beneath the waterline.<\/p>\n “You think so?” Her lips caressed his chin.<\/p>\n “I’m positive.”<\/p>\n They simultaneously started laughing, each one’s eyes lovingly resting on the other, both enjoying the soft draw from the river’s mild current. Adam caught a strand of her hair in the water and swirled it around his fingers, while she tried to retrieve her shawl that somehow had wound itself around Adam’s waist and shoulders.<\/p>\n “That’s my shawl…” Lilyah giggled and pulled at the crumpled accessory, using only one hand as her other clasped at his arm for support.<\/p>\n Adam chuckled and helped her unwind the piece. “Can you swim?”<\/p>\n “Of course… I mean… I don’t know… a little perhaps.” She gazed across the river. They still were at a spot where she could safely stand. “I’ve only been to grand-uncle Abu Mustafa’s swimming room a couple of times, with my aunts… I guess that was different…”<\/p>\n “Let’s see.” Adam took the shawl and swung it into a low hanging branch. “Come on, I’m with you and I’ll hold you.”<\/p>\n She looked up to him. His eyes still were twinkling and his smile had resurrected the long-missed dimples in his cheeks. His wet curls hung in his face and made him look so young, so carefree. The water was pleasantly warm. It was the first day of their new life. Without her knowing, his smile reflected on her face and she trustingly followed him into deeper water, until her feet lost touch to the ground and only his hands held her.<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n “Adam, that was wonderful!” Lilyah cuddled up to his side, into the blankets that warmly covered them both while their clothes were hanging over rocks and branches to dry.<\/p>\n “It sure was.” Smiling into himself, Adam kissed her head and continued to brush through her wet hair with his fingers, spreading strand after strand out to help drying it. Her swimming skills had been less than stellar at first, but she quickly had improved once she had overcome her insecurity in the deep water. In the end, she had enjoyed it so much that he had to put an end to it after noticing that the skin on her fingers had already begun to prune up. Savoring the feeling of her small body nestled so close into his, he contemplated the thought of staying a few days. The idea was enticing, promising a wonderful time of love and happiness, yet he dismissed it again. While she had a few dresses to change, he only had the clothes he wore on him. Grass for the horses was sparse. But first of all and most important, they had to legalize their marriage.<\/p>\n Their marriage… His heart swelled when he thought of it, felt the proof that she was truly his at his side, the warmth of her skin next to his. His little Queen Cleopatra… his little Arab spitfire who once had sworn to never be touched by a man, to never marry because she had secured that in a horse race, who once had thrown the complete decoration of the upstairs hallway after him for kissing her. A chuckle formed deep in his throat.<\/p>\n “Adam?”<\/p>\n “Hmm…” He rubbed his cheek at her head. “I’m thinking of our first kiss.”<\/p>\n “Aw…” Lilyah smiled and lifted her head to kiss his neck. “At the Indian Needle…”<\/p>\n Adam pursed his lips. “That was our\u00a0third<\/em>\u00a0kiss…”<\/p>\n “Err…” She started and felt the shaking of his chest as Adam quietly began laughing. Her cheeks turned a little red.<\/p>\n “I love you, Lil…” He slid a finger under her chin to lift his face to him. “I guess I’ve loved you from the first moment I saw you.” He bowed his head and kissed her.<\/p>\n Lilyah responded to his kiss, her hand gliding over his neck and cheek. So much had happened, so much… had there really been a time once in which she could have figured a life without him? Without his love? She did not notice that the blanket slid from her shoulder, but she felt his tenderness as he put it back up. How safe and secure she was in his arms, and how natural and right it felt to sit so close by him, naked skin against naked skin. It should be such a new sensation, even a shocking one, and yet it seemed so familiar, so well-trusted, as if it had always been this way. As if it had always meant to be this way.<\/p>\n “And I think you’re right,” he murmured, his lips still caressing hers.<\/p>\n “Right about what?” She softly kissed his lips.<\/p>\n “Our wedding… the legal wedding.” His hand cupped her face. “I don’t want it to be done in haste anymore. It should be a special day, and I want to share it with my family.” His smile intensified. “And I want Hoss to be my best man!”<\/p>\n Her fingers lovingly glided over his sideburns. She had so much to thank the big man for. “And Joe?”<\/p>\n “Hmmm…” The sparks started dancing in his eyes. “We’ll make him your bridesmaid.”<\/p>\n She blew an amused breath. “I’m not sure if he’d like that…”<\/p>\n “Yeah…” Adam feigned a deeply thoughtful face. “He might look funny in pink.”<\/p>\n Lilyah giggled while her heart laughed with joy. She was well aware what a big step this was for Adam, and what a change to his stance the day before. What a difference a night could make… A night in which he had everything that was rightfully his, knowing that no one could ever take any of it away from him. Her giggle ceased as a strange sense of responsibility rose inside her. It would be her responsibility as his wife to make sure that his happiness would last, his confidence, his trust. She would have to protect all this. She would have to protect him.<\/p>\n “When do you want to ride?”<\/p>\n “Today.” He glanced over the rocky hills at the other side of the river. “We’d reach the Ponderosa by nightfall…” For one moment his lightness faded, but he caught himself quickly. Thoughtfully moving his head, he continued, “We’ll get legally married on Sunday. And that stubborn and thickheaded father of mine will have the choice to attend or stay away.”<\/p>\n Lilyah remained silent. His ironic undertone could not hide that deep inside, he dreaded the confrontation with his father. It could well be the last one and he knew it. But Adam also was a man used to tackling the matters in front of him. It had rather been unlike him to run away once and for all.<\/p>\n “Lilyah…” He cocked his head to seek her gaze. “Don’t let him spoil your mood!”<\/p>\n A small smile played around her lips. “He can’t spoil my mood – not as long as we’re together. And Adam, we should face him together. I want to be at your side when you talk to him.”<\/p>\n Adam seemed to hesitate. “It might not be most pleasant encounter.”<\/p>\n “I don’t care. Adam…” She brushed over his cheek. “Your father loves you. He wants to see you happy, so we should show him that you’re happy. Let us show him that we belong together, that we love each other. He thinks we are too different, let us show him that this is not so.”<\/p>\n “And he will skip through the great room flapping his arms like a merry little hobgoblin, clapping his hands to the sprightly little song tinkling from his laughing lips!” His voice was dripping with irony, but the look he gave her was good-natured and he continued in a normal tone, “Lil, my father is probably the most stubborn man that has ever walked the earth. Once he has rammed his head into something, it takes more than reason and good proof to shake him out of it. And if only I’d known what it takes, my life would have been a whole lot easier.” He shook his head. “It might get ugly, Lil, and it would be hard for you to watch. I don’t want you to be disappointed, I don’t want this whole thing to hurt you, I don’t even want him to give you as much as a queer look.”<\/p>\n “Adam, we both know your father is a problem for us. But the only thing that is really hard for me is when you shut me out. When you leave me behind and send me away to face things on your own that we should face together.” She saw his brow knitting and extended her hand to smooth it with her fingers. “And Adam, we’ve faced more together than a grouchy father, haven’t we?”<\/p>\n He took a deep breath, his eyes locked with hers. “Yah…” he finally said. “We have.”<\/p>\n Lilyah smiled as she raised her head to softly kiss him, her hands fondling his hair as he embraced her to tenderly respond to her kiss.<\/p>\n “And you’re right again.” He gingerly kissed her nose. “Don’t let it become a habit.\u00a0I’m<\/em>\u00a0used to being the intelligent one in the family.”<\/p>\n She laughed and closed her arms around him, kissing him again with endless relief and growing passion. His little quips proved so well that he was back to his old confident self. He could face anything – and she would do whatever she could to make sure that nothing would hurt him.<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n The few hours to their decampment went much too fast for Lilyah’s liking. The clothes had dried quickly in the glowing sun; her hair, usually a source of frustration for its slow drying, seemed to have dried even quicker. Lilyah felt a pang of regret inside as she reached for her saddle and bridle. She could have spent months at a peaceful and lonely place like this – with nothing around that could spoil Adam’s good spirits. Without really wanting it, she thought of all the times before when they had returned from blissful solitude to the Ponderosa, only to run into shadows and sorrows. But this time was different. They were one now, welded together in a bond that could not ever be broken up. Nothing could get between them anymore. And she would be there to shield his heart.<\/p>\n She glanced over to Adam and in spite of her watchful eyes, she still enjoyed the sight of him as he saddled his mare. He was well rested and hauled the heavy saddle onto Mariah’s back without any visible effort. Only a very sharp eye would have detected an occasional limp, a slight lag in his steps, and Lilyah wasn’t even sure if her worries did not cause her to see a stiffness where there was none. On the surface, Adam seemed every inch his usual, strong self. But most important was his relaxed, almost joyful demeanour. There was no trace of the underlying resignation that she had sensed so often before. He would return as a free man determined to make his stand once and for all and accept the result. And first and foremost, he was cheerfully looking forward to what he called ‘legalizing the marriage’ and sharing his happiness with his brothers.<\/p>\n “Lil! Are you dreaming?” A cheeky smile lit Adam’s face as he looked over to her.<\/p>\n “No…” She didn’t get any further when she received a hearty nudge to her side. “Chai! Can’t you just wait?”<\/p>\n The stallion nickered and kicked out with both hind legs to vent off his excitement. Of course he couldn’t wait when the saddle so vividly promised a happy ride.<\/p>\n Lilyah couldn’t help but laugh and began to bridle and saddle her horse. It came hard to her to take her eyes off Adam; she could have watched him for hours. And suddenly she didn’t dread the encounter with his father anymore. Ben Cartwright loved his son. He almost had lost him and he sure had not forgotten how miserable Adam had been in the days after his ordeal. Shouldn’t his heart rejoice upon seeing his son so happy again? Seeing him walk about so strong and confident? Seeing him smile like this?<\/p>\n Adam had picked up her travel bag. “Should I take this with me?”<\/p>\n “Ah, no, Mariah is already carrying so much!” Lilyah took the bag from his hands and attached it to her saddle.<\/p>\n “Wait, you’ll lose it that way.” Adam helped her fasten it with Charlie Watkins’ piece of leather, wrapping it tight. “Seems to me Chai’s impatient once again. You better keep him very short when we ride along the brink.”<\/p>\n “I will.” She felt his nearness so intensely, smiling as his hands pulled her closer and turned her around to him. His hazel eyes were warm and loving.<\/p>\n “Lil, we’re not merely riding back – we’ll be riding into our new life. I might not be quite sure yet where it will lead us, but it will be\u00a0our<\/em>\u00a0life!”<\/p>\n “Our life together!” Her eyes clung to his, her hand touched his face.<\/p>\n “Side by side and hand in hand!” he confirmed, a little twitch playing around the corner of his mouth. “Even when we face that terrible roaring dragon residing in the myth-enshrouded Washoe mountains.”<\/p>\n Lilyah chuckled, all her remaining worries evaporating one by one, flying away without leaving a trace. She affectionately responded to his kiss and felt her anticipation rising as he offered her his cupped hand to lift her into the saddle. While it wasn’t exactly an\u00a0early morning ride<\/em>, given that the sun was already climbing up in the sky, it came so wonderfully close to that dear familiar habit of theirs. Her heart sang out when Adam mounted his mare and adjusted his hat, her eyes shone as she returned his bright smile.<\/p>\n “Come on, Mrs. Cartwright!” Adam winked at her and clicked his tongue to set his mare into motion.<\/p>\n Lilyah followed. “Did you know that Arab women keep their surnames even after marriage?”<\/p>\n “Not when they marry American men!” Adam laughed. “But if you insist on it, Mrs. Cartwright, you will from now on have to walk about with a big billboard on your back and front, from chin to toes, with big letters on it screaming in shrill colors:\u00a0Legally married to Mr. Adam Cartwright!<\/em>” He gave her a look of mocking seriousness. “I’d think it over again, Mrs. Cartwright. Those boards might interfere with your sense of fashion and turn out to be a real nuisance while riding.”<\/p>\n “I’m married to a tyrant!” she called out.<\/p>\n “That makes two of us.”<\/p>\n “Ooooh!\u00a0You!<\/em>”<\/p>\n They both laughed until their focus became occupied with the slippery brink of the river that forced them to concentrate on their horses’ footing. As usual, Mariah calmly walked ahead while Chai followed with more impatience; yet the stallion’s instincts prevented him from dancing too much on such treacherous ground. His flickering ears still betrayed his eagerness for a long, unrestricted run.<\/p>\n He didn’t have to wait long. The ride through the woods seemed to be much shorter than it had appeared in the night, and before long the wide plains opened before them. Chai neighed out his excitement and even Mariah started to dance.<\/p>\n Adam laughed as he pressed his hat tighter on his head. “Hey, Lil! Race?”<\/p>\n Her heart sheer wanted to burst. “Race!”<\/p>\n They exchanged a look of loving understanding before they kicked their horses into a gallop, storming ahead, yelling with joy.<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 64. The Sheep\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n “I should’ve thrown those bottles into the river…” Adam remarked with a half amused frown. Relaxing in the saddle, one hand on Mariah’s backend, he watched as Lilyah poured a portion of the dreaded medicine into the cup. “How come that Chai never bucks when it would be a splendid idea to do so?”<\/p>\n “So you’re\u00a0that mean<\/em>?” Lilyah gave him a sidelong glance. “Hoping my horse would dump me just so you wouldn’t have to take your medicine?”<\/p>\n “But of course not! Besides, you’re too good a rider to fall so easily.” Adam cocked his head. “Just enough of a little bucking to spill that stuff.”<\/p>\n “Adam, you’re still so pale!” She proffered the cup to him.<\/p>\n “You’re misinterpreting the situation. I’ve paled in horror watching you take that bottle out.”<\/p>\n She just smiled and held the cup a little higher. “Nice try…”<\/p>\n Adam chuckled and took the cup, swallowed the sour stuff and hastened to reach out for his canteen. What an irony that her obsession with the medicine bottle resembled that of his father, with both of them obviously sharing the faithful belief that this dubious liquid would somehow provide for a miraculous recovery – something that Adam had his doubts about after having been forced to consume what seemed to be the annual production of Doc Martin’s favorite snake oil supplier. Rinsing his mouth to dissolve the bad taste, he inconspicuously stretched his back. The various little reminders of his past injuries were more of a nuisance than anything else, and he couldn’t wait to finally get rid of them.<\/p>\n Lilyah carefully stashed the cup and the bottle away. She could well sense his impatience with his own recovery, but she also saw that he was closing in on his strength’s limits, even though he was far from admitting it and certainly wouldn’t want to hear anything about it. A fine smile played around her lips. He would get a good rest at the Ponderosa, Hop Sing would make a fine meal for him – and Ben Cartwright would probably learn a thing or two about not pestering a tired man while\u00a0his wife<\/em>\u00a0was watching!<\/p>\n “What martial thoughts are now brewing in your sweet little head?” There was a distinctive chuckle in Adam’s voice.<\/p>\n “Ah, nothing…” She picked up her reins. “How long do we have to ride?”<\/p>\n “A few hours.” His hand pointed forward to the distant horizon. “You can already see the mountains. We’ll be cutting the open range at its southern edge and proceeding to the hillsides. Ponderosa land begins there.”<\/p>\n She strained her eyes to detect the mountains, but it took awhile until she finally made out their rugged outlines through the dustlayers wavering in the blurring heat. “We better get going…”<\/p>\n “Yeah.” Adam nudged his mare into a relaxed trot, once again feeling the warmth inside of him as the stallion joined and kept the pace. Side by side…<\/p>\n “By the way…” A mischievous smirk crossed his face. “Did it ever occur to you what an eerie resemblance there is between the words ‘martial’ and ‘marital’? In fact, they only differ by the seemingly innocuous exchange of the ‘t’ and the ‘i’. I’m not sure if this is only a linguistic accident. I’m rather positive there is a deeper meaning to it. A hidden etymologic warning even…”<\/p>\n “Maybe one you should heed…” She just loved the happy dimples in his cheeks that even stayed when he contorted his features to a frown of feigned, worried thoughtfulness.<\/p>\n “Yah.” He nodded his head. “Maybe I should join a lodge or some other of those organisations where battered husbands smoke cigars and exchange the shattering accounts of their manifold woes.”<\/p>\n “And this after only a few hours of marriage!” Lilyah started laughing and noticed from the corner of her eye that he had some trouble to keep his own amusement back.<\/p>\n “I’m just practising! I’m always trying to be prepared for the worst.” His hand reached over to get a hold of her reins and he halted both horses. “It might be a good idea for you to remind me of the good sides of marriage every now and then…”<\/p>\n “Ah!” She looked up into twinkling hazel eyes. “And how would I do that?”<\/p>\n “Hmm…” He pretended to think hard while one eyebrow climbed up. “You probably could kiss me more often.”<\/p>\n “I knew you had a hidden plan.”<\/p>\n “Sure thing.” His dimples had grown so deep that his cheeks began shining through the dust layer on his face.<\/p>\n Still laughing, Lilyah leaned over and closed her arms around him, kissing his all too hungry lips, feeling his hands gliding over her back. Her fingers softly caressed his temple as far as his hat allowed.<\/p>\n “Are your manifold woes a little easier to bear now?” She lovingly touched his cheek.<\/p>\n “Hmmm…” Adam pursed his lips, his brow folding. “Not quite… maybe, a little bit more here…” He pointed to his mouth.<\/p>\n “Oooh, you’re such a bandit!” She pulled his hat into his face. “And an insatiable one, as that!”<\/p>\n “Guilty on all accounts!” Grinning from ear to ear, he pushed his hat back in place and watched her nudging her horse to an extended trot. He urged his mare to a canter to catch up and ride alongside again. Her dark eyes sparkled as she met his glance and they both started laughing.<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n “Adam, wait!” Lilyah halted her stallion. “Shouldn’t we rest a little?”<\/p>\n Adam pulled up and looked back to her. “Lil, we’re already on Ponderosa land. Little more than two hours and we’ll reach the ranch house. We might be there before sunset.”<\/p>\n “Just a bit, for a drop of water and a bite of cheese.” Her hand made a sweeping movement around her. “And it’s a beautiful place!”<\/p>\n “Could be a little greener for my taste.” Adam’s eyes glided over the yellowish grass to the rather dry looking leaves hanging from the few deciduous trees. Quite a sorry sight when considering that those little gorges in the hills used to be oases of green due to the water the surrounding rocks usually held in the ground. It didn’t help to think that the open range had looked even worse. Yet he turned his mare around to cover the few yards back to where Lilyah was waiting.<\/p>\n “It’s greener than the dusty plains,” she remarked. “And those trees provide shadow.”<\/p>\n A small smile stole across his lips as he regarded her pleading look. The thought of relaxing in the shade of the trees for a while was indeed enticing. Deep inside, he admitted that the long ride had taken its toll on him and there was no doubt that she had noticed it as well. He was tired, the sweat was standing on his forehead and he was certain he felt each and every bone in his body. Worst of all was the fatigue that stuck to him like glue.<\/p>\n “A coffee would be good,” he finally said. “The Ponderosa won’t run away.”<\/p>\n Her eyes lit up. “I’ll look for firewood!”<\/p>\n She was about to dismount when she stopped mid-movement. Adam tensed. The ugly sounds suddenly disrupting the silence of the late evening were unmistakable.<\/p>\n Quite a distance away, but close enough to put Adam on alert. This was Ponderosa land.<\/p>\n “You stay behind me!” He hauled the mare around and kicked her into a gallop. Hearing the stallion’s hooves trailing him so close did nothing to ease his mind, but he could not possibly have told Lilyah to stay put – given the risk that whoever was on rampage in this area could well come upon her when she was alone.<\/p>\n The wild gallop came to an abrupt halt when they reached the end of a wide crag from which only a narrow path led down to the small valley below. It was crowded with sheep – and obviously the site of a fierce battle. Adam caught a glimpse of a chuck wagon and a group of riders hustling about, shooting all around them. The sheep ran back and forth in a panic and it was clear that they were the targets the riders shot at. From somewhere, the frantic barking of a dog could be heard. He barely had a split second to get the whole picture when Lilyah pulled up at his side, reining in her snorting stallion.<\/p>\n “Adam…” Her voice was aghast, her eyes glued to the scene below. “They… they are shooting the sheep! Adam, they can’t do that!!”<\/p>\n “Lil,\u00a0no!<\/em>” He reached out for her reins, but it was too late. Deaf and blind to his word, she had urged the stallion forward to jump down the small path.<\/p>\n “Lilyah!”<\/em>\u00a0Biting down a curse, Adam followed. He had recognized several men among the riders – Clem Foster, William Simmons, Bill Morley, Frank Miller, a couple of ranch hands from both the Ponderosa and the Miller ranch. Some of the cowboys belonged to Simmons, others were smaller ranchers from the area. He scowled when he spotted Billy Buckley among them. The shepherds had apparently taken cover behind their wagon. Both parties were firing. Adam could see a dead man on the ground among dozens of dead sheep and his fear erupted as he saw Lilyah storming straight into the middle of the battlefield. Forgetting every caution, he forced Mariah to take risky leaps over several boulders to shorten the way, readying his rifle at the same time.<\/p>\n “STOP THE SHOOTING!” He pulled up so abruptly that the mare half reared, firing several rounds in both directions, yet aiming over everybody’s heads. “STOP IT NOW!!”<\/p>\n Lilyah had jumped from her horse and bowed over a dead sheep, horror on her face.\u00a0“You murderers!!”<\/em><\/p>\n The shooting stopped.<\/p>\n Adam slowly lowered his rifle, his features still tense, eyes narrowed. A musky smell rose in his nose coming from the sheep. It was an odor many cattle ranchers believed to spoil feed and water for cattle, and Adam began to get a first idea of what was going on.<\/p>\n “Adam!” That was William Simmon’s voice. “Get that woman out of here! We’re only doing our job!”<\/p>\n “What job?” Adam squinted from one to another until his gaze fell on Lilyah who still stood next to the dead sheep. Apparently the ewe had two little lambs, one of which had already found refuge in Lilyah’s arms. The other one pressed itself against the folds of her robe. Adam omitted a sigh and forced his face to an unrevealing mask.<\/p>\n “The dirty job of killing innocent people and animals!” a deep female voice made itself heard. It sounded like a rusty fog horn.<\/p>\n Adam moved his head to eye the truly formidable figure that had built itself up like a brick wall, an ancient double barrel shotgun held threateningly in her hands. The lady had the proportions of a buffalo, her rather adventurous, albeit colorful outfit looked like it was composed from a rag picker’s monthly findings. Not even the giant golden earrings shimmering through shaggy grey hair beneath a polka dotted head scarf could soften the impression that she would likely be able to make a good living as a prize boxer. Or a scarecrow.<\/p>\n “You’ve gotten warnings enough!” Simmons snapped. “Fair warnings!”<\/p>\n “Sorry my sheep couldn’t fly over your land, stupid!” she retorted in a heavy accent with deeply rolled r’s. “And your so called fair warnings were nothing but mindless threats. This is a free land and we’re passing through!”<\/p>\n Simmons puffed himself up until the sole button on his fine vest threatened to fly off. “This land is not free for sheep! It’s cattle land!”<\/p>\n “It’s Ponderosa land!” Adam dryly cut in. “And with all due respect, Mister Simmons, it’s not yours to decide who can pass through it and who cannot.”<\/p>\n Simmons snorted. “Well, your father obviously has a different view on this!”<\/p>\n “I’m not my father, Mister Simmons. And for the time being, you’ll have to accept my word on the matter.”<\/p>\n The wealthy rancher cast him a disparaging look. “You apparently have no idea what you’re talking about! Those sheep have anthrax!”<\/p>\n “They don’t have anthrax!” The deep voiced woman snarled like an old grizzly bear, and yet the words came out almost bored, as if she was tired to state a simple fact to people who wouldn’t listen, anyway.<\/p>\n Adam scanned the sheep, not one muscle moving in his face to betray his thoughts, not the slightest flinch upon the alarming word that was dreaded by everyone dealing with livestock. The sheep did indeed not look very well; they appeared malnourished and exhausted, their fleece looked shaggy and dirtied. But this was to be expected, given the state of the drought-stricken land on which they likely were not given much chance to stay anywhere long enough to get properly fed. And it wouldn’t have been the first time that the scare of anthrax or any other much feared disease was readily seen as a most convenient reason to chase them off.<\/p>\n Lilyah was much more vocal. Putting down the lamb, she moved through the animals, probing a head here and a head there, looking in the animal’s eyes and nostrils, even opening their mouths. “They don’t have anthrax! I know what it looks like!” She whirled about, her eyes flaming. “They’re underfed and thirsty. That’s all!”<\/p>\n “Ah, come on, Adam, get her out of here!” Simmons barked. “You’re not going to take that seriously, are you?”<\/p>\n Adam did not look at him, his eyes rested on Lilyah who just had had a closer look on another sheep. “You’re sure, Lil?”<\/p>\n “I’m sure!” She turned around to him. “They lack food and water, and they’re spent and weakened, but they are not ill. Anthrax not only affects sheep and cattle, but also goats and horses. I wouldn’t let Chai stand here if I had any doubt!” She bowed down to pick up the lamb again. “And I wouldn’t touch this lamb if I had.”<\/p>\n “Adam!” Clem Foster nudged his horse a few steps forward, handling the reins with one hand for one of his arms was fixed in a sling. “They do have anthrax, that’s a proven fact already established by the authorities of Lobdells when they passed through that area. And we’ve got to kill them to protect the…”<\/p>\n “We passed through that sorry joke of Lobdells more than four weeks ago!” The snarling lady threw in, still holding her mammoth double barrel shotgun ready to shoot. “If those sheep had anthrax back then, they would be dead by now, you luminary.”<\/p>\n “The ladies have some good points here, wouldn’t you say so?” Adam focused on the deputy. “Who exactly established this\u00a0proven fact<\/em>? Was there a veterinarian in Lobdells?”<\/p>\n “We’ve got a telegraph from Homer Barrett!”<\/p>\n “Oh.” One of Adam’s eyebrows climbed up. “Barrett’s the biggest cattle rancher in the Lobdells area, am I right?”<\/p>\n “That’s his brother Julius!” Foster replied. “Homer’s the sheriff of Lobdells.”<\/p>\n “I see…”<\/p>\n “Why are we talking?” Simmons called out, rising in the saddle and shooting encouraging looks all about him. “We know what we’ve gotta do, men, so I’d say: get it done!” He readied his rifle. but froze in place when Adam raised his.<\/p>\n “Adam, you’ve got no right to…”<\/p>\n “Wrong!” Adam bluntly cut him off. “This is Ponderosa land and you’re not going to do any more shooting here!”<\/p>\n Simmons noisily drew the air through his nose. “Adam, we’re here on your father’s behalf!”<\/p>\n “Adam, he’s right.” Frank Miller chimed in. “Ben sent us here to get rid of those sheep once and for all before they can venture any further into Cartwright land. I’m sorry, but… you better let us do our job.”<\/p>\n “It’s the truth, Adam.” Foster cast an unfathomable look at the black stallion. “Your father has called on the law to get these sheep off his land with no delay. Since they refuse and just move on, putting all the Ponderosa livestock at risk, we’re legally justified to shoot them.”<\/p>\n Adam did not move, his face revealed no thought. “Where is my father now? And where are my brothers?”<\/p>\n “I saw your father and Little Joe in Virginia City this morning; guess they had some business to do,” Foster replied. “They had also stopped at the sheriff’s office to request the removal of those sheep.”<\/p>\n “I think they should be back on the Ponderosa by now.” Frank sought the look of Bill Morley who nodded his head, and continued, “Hoss is in the lumber camp, as far as I know.”<\/p>\n “I think that should answer your questions!” William Simmons was quite obviously losing his patience. “Those sheep have caused enough trouble already and it’s going to end right here!” He looked all around him once more to seek the affirmation of his peers. “Come on, men!”<\/p>\n A loud mechanical scratch came from the battered double barrel shotgun as the corpulent woman readied her weapon. Standing broadlegged and with her face to a fist, she looked like she was ready to take it up with the devil’s legions.<\/p>\n Adam met Lilyah’s eyes. She still stood there with the lamb in her arms. Her gaze was worried and a little sad. He took a deep breath. “There’ll be no more shooting!”<\/p>\n “Adam…” Simmons did not get any further.<\/p>\n “Mister Simmons.” A fleeting smile passed Adam’s lips. “I don’t want to appear impolite, but these sheep are not on your land and therefore they are not your business. And I’d appreciate it if…”<\/p>\n “Not my business?”<\/em>\u00a0The wealthy rancher nearly jumped in the saddle. “I’m a leading member of the Cattlemen’s Association, and it was ME AND your father who brought forth this decision. The vote was unanimous! And\u00a0this makes<\/em>\u00a0it my business!”<\/p>\n “The Cattlemen’s Association…” Adam nodded his head in a slightly deriding manner, just enough to ruffle Simmons’ feathers even more. “Mister Simmons, I’d appreciate it if you’d put your gun away and just leave.” He raised his voice to considerable sharpness as he looked about the men. “That goes for all of you!”<\/p>\n “You’re throwing us off the land?” Simmons turned red in the face.<\/p>\n “I wouldn’t put it quite as harshly.” Adam kept his calm. “I’m merely pointing out that there is nothing left to do here for you and your… posse.”<\/p>\n “YOUR father…”<\/p>\n “My father is not here, Mister Simmons. I am here. And I’m asking you – very kindly – to leave. Now.”<\/p>\n A disagreeing murmur rose up and Simmons turned left and right so rapidly that his horse began dancing about. The Ponderosa hands kept themselves back, exchanging uneasy looks with each other. The Miller hands glanced at Frank Miller who sat motionless in the saddle, not looking at anything particular. The rest were seemingly riled up and just waited for the biggest and wealthiest rancher among them – William Simmons – to call them to action. Clem Foster appeared a tad overstrained in his apparent attempt to figure a solution to the brewing mess.<\/p>\n “These sheep are threatening our existence!” a hysterical voice overpowered the increasing rumble. “They destroy the grass! They spread the disease and it will kill\u00a0all<\/em>\u00a0our livestock!”<\/p>\n Everybody frantically spluttered out in agreement.<\/p>\n Adam’s eyes pierced the caller, a scrawny fellow who was no stranger to him. “Ah, Prescott. Since your ranch is about twenty miles from here, your livestock should be quite safe with those sheep on the Ponderosa, shouldn’t it?”<\/p>\n “And what about OUR livestock?” someone else shrilled. “He’s going to chase them sheep off his big fat spread the minute we turn our back and then they’ll be ALL OVER our land again!”<\/p>\n “Yeah! Those rich folks care nothin’ for us!”<\/p>\n “Men! MEN!” Simmons waved his rifle through the air. “Don’t you forget that it was Ben Cartwright, Henry Miller and me who took that matter in our hands after none of you was able to protect his land on his own! The Cattlemen’s Association stands for all of you! Adam Cartwright is NOT a member, he has NO SAY whatsoever! BEN Cartwright gave a very clear order and we will…”<\/p>\n “And I reverse that order!” Adam was not shouting and yet his voice cut like a knife into Simmons’ rant. His eyes had darkened, narrowed to slits. “And I suggest you better leavenow<\/em>\u00a0before things get real ugly!”<\/p>\n “We’re not leaving!” Prescott snapped. “We’re gonna rid the land of that plague right here and now!”<\/p>\n “Yes, men!” Simmons rode forward and readied his rifle, but pulled up in haste when Adam fired a warning shot into the air – uncomfortably close over his head. The rancher’s horse spooked and his attempts to rein in the skittish bay put a temporary stop to his belligerence. But Adam had not been the only one firing.<\/p>\n A thundering crash drowned out the echo of Adam’s shot when the double barrel shotgun of the snarling lady spat its load over the men’s heads. The sound was reminiscent of an exploding blunderbuss and proved too much for Simmons’ horse which reared and finally dumped its rider.<\/p>\n Prescott immediately began yelling, “Mister Simmons is shot!” He tore his rifle to his cheek and turned his horse to shoot, the barrel of his gun dangerously close to pointing right at the spot where Lilyah stood. He pulled the trigger.<\/p>\n Adam shot in a reflex, without even thinking. Yet the bullet was well aimed, merely grazing Prescott’s shoulder. The caliber of the Spencer round still was enough to throw the man off his horse, or maybe the shock made him fall since he was screaming as if he were dying from the rather harmless flesh wound.<\/p>\n In an instant everybody was hollering and yelling, horses reared and neighed, men were firing each other up with agitated shouts.<\/p>\n “It’s just him and that old hag! Let’s get ’em!”<\/p>\n “Put an end to this!”<\/p>\n “Fix’em good once and for all!”<\/p>\n Adam fired the last two rounds of his Spencer over the men’s heads to keep them at bay. Shoving the emptied rifle into its scabbard and getting out his revolver was the matter of a split second. He tried to get through to Lilyah, but the panicking sheep ran into Mariah’s way and nearly caused the mare to stumble. Just as he was about to call her name he saw that Lilyah was not holding the lamb anymore. Instead, she held her Indian bow, an arrow ready on the limb – and the tip of the arrow pointed straight at William Simmons who still sat on the ground.<\/p>\n “If anyone shoots at Adam, I’ll kill\u00a0you!<\/em>” Her voice cut loud and clear through the noise.<\/p>\n Simmons just stared and ducked when he realized how close the aggressively stomping black horse with the outlandish tack was. The hooves hammered the ground much too close for his liking. He heard the growling snorts of the agitated stallion and didn’t dare to get up.<\/p>\n Adam did not know whether to laugh or to curse, more leaning to the latter when he figured that he could not reach her without averting his attention from the mounting tension. One wrong step, one wrong word, even the slightest wrong movement – and all hell would break loose. He fired another shot into the air and raised his voice to a thundering loudness. “The first one who fires his gun will get a bullet!”<\/p>\n “That’s enough already!” Clem Foster had finally rediscovered his official authority. “Lady, please…. Adam!”<\/p>\n “He’s only one man!” someone blurted from behind. “He can’t get us all!”<\/p>\n “Two men!!”<\/em>\u00a0a thin voice called out from the chuck wagon and Adam noticed a little raggedy boy jumping up, a small squirrel gun resolutely pressed to his cheek.<\/p>\n The lady gave a sound that resembled a gruff bark and the boy disappeared as quickly as lightning.<\/p>\n She pointed her double barrel shotgun at the men. “This little darling here has a wide range!” she declared calmly, but loud enough for anyone to hear. “It might not kill you all, but it will surely beautify\u00a0all<\/em>\u00a0your sorry mugs!”<\/p>\n “Everybody calm down now!” Clem Foster nudged his horse to the front. “Adam, you’ve been away for quite some time and you just don’t know what’s been going on in the area. Those sheep pose a serious risk, and a risk to the Ponderosa, as well! Your father saw all of that very clearly!”<\/p>\n “I don’t see a risk,” Adam retorted. “I’m a Cartwright. I allow these sheep to be on the Ponderosa and I’m willing to stand up for it. You’re the deputy, Clem. You know as well as I do that if any of you go against me now, I have every right to defend myself and shoot any of you for trespassing.”<\/p>\n “Oh, come on! Enough of that wishy-washy already!” someone yelled in the background. “Let’s get’im out of the way!”<\/p>\n Several voices rose in the affirmation.<\/p>\n “Men…\u00a0men<\/em>!” Frank Miller raised his voice and maneuvered his palomino close to Adam. “Men, listen to me! Adam’s right on this! He’s a Cartwright, we can’t fight him on his own land!”<\/p>\n Adam raised an eyebrow. Even though he couldn’t really tell why, Frank’s reaction surprised him. Yet he had little time to study the young Miller’s face when he had to rein in Mariah who suddenly started stomping. Still holding his gun ready, he assuringly patted her with his left hand. As calm as she had been all through the ruckus, the heated tension of the dangerous situation finally seemed to have gotten to her. “Easy, girl…” he murmured.<\/p>\n Mariah shook her mane, but she relaxed and stood still again.<\/p>\n “Frank, what are you talking about?” William Simmons still sat on the ground, his hands clasped around his ankle, eyes darting back and forth between young Miller and the tip of the arrow that was pointed at him. “You know what Ben Cartwright said. You’ve told him you’d be looking after this when we had our meeting! Heck, you’ve told your OWN father you’d look after this, that you’d take care of this, that he could rely on you!”<\/p>\n “I know,” Frank replied. “But the situation’s obviously changed. We cannot fight a Cartwright on his own land. If Adam insists on us leaving, we have to leave – anything else would be against the law and we can’t do that!”<\/p>\n “He’s right, men!” Foster cast a look in the round. “We’ll have to see what Ben Cartwright has to say to this. There’s nothing we can do right now.”<\/p>\n An angry murmur rose up, but Adam could feel that the biggest danger was over. The men shot sinister looks at him, but they lowered their guns, and some of them were already stashing them away. He saw the relief on both Bill Morley’s and Clem Foster’s faces.<\/p>\n “Oh, tell her to put that down!\u00a0Adam!<\/em>” Simmons still sat on his behind, looking as if he were on the verge of exploding, his face glowing red with anger.<\/p>\n Adam caught Lilyah’s gaze and nodded his head, noticing with some relief that she lowered the bow.<\/p>\n “You know, Adam,” Frank Miller began. “I’d change my mind if I were you.”<\/p>\n “Yah.” Adam turned his head to him. “Thanks anyway, Frank.”<\/p>\n “Any time!”<\/p>\n The posse began to withdraw which didn’t go too smoothly, as it turned out that William Simmons had sprained or broken his ankle when falling from his horse. It took three men to heave the wealthy rancher onto his saddle and all the while he kept on ranting.<\/p>\n “I’ll talk to your FATHER about this, boy, and we’ll see what HE’LL have to say! You’ve just ruined our chance to clean up this mess once and for all, and you’ve done us ALL a great disservice! You’ll see what it’ll get you!”<\/p>\n “And we’ll be on guard where they’ll be going!” someone close to Prescott swore.<\/p>\n Adam did not even react, he merely watched the men turning their horses and ride off one after one. He had uncocked his gun, but still held it in his hand, ready to slightly raise the barrel whenever someone stopped to consider a change of mind. Only after the last rider had disappeared between the dry trees, and the sound of hoofbeats had vanished in the distance, did he exhale a deep breath and stashed his gun away.<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 65. A Song for Daisy\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n “Lil, that was reckless!” Adam had dismounted close to her.<\/p>\n She pressed her lips together and fastened the Indian bow to her saddle. “I’m not looking on when you are in danger!”<\/p>\n “And what about your storming ahead?” He bowed his head to seek her eyes. “Lil, when I tell you to stay behind me, I expect you to do just that!”<\/p>\n She bit her lip and lowered her gaze. Her temper had gotten the better of her and she knew that it could have gone awfully wrong. “I’m sorry…” It came out much fainter than her previous words.<\/p>\n “It’s alright.” A slight smile stole across his face as he gently brushed over her shoulder. “That sight of Simmons sitting in front of your arrow was well worth the trouble.”<\/p>\n She looked up to him, relieved by the little twinkle in his eyes. But both their faces sobered when they regarded the strident woman who just got up from kneeling next to the dead man who lay surrounded by dead sheep. Adam gave Lilyah a curt nod and approached the lady who did not look up.<\/p>\n “Your son?” he asked tentatively. The dead man was young and his worn out clothes didn’t look as if he had done a lot of riding, but was rather used to walking with the flock. He had been shot in the chest, his gun still lay beside him. He wore no gun belt; likely had carried his gun in his normal belt like many people did who were not used to having it ready all time. He couldn’t have been much of a match for the men under Simmons.<\/p>\n The grey-haired woman blew a breath, still looking down at the dead. “No. We only picked him up near Lobdells. A drifter with an empty belly, looking for a warm meal and a little sense in his life. A good boy, but never with much luck on his hands. Poor kid!”<\/p>\n Adam nodded his head. “I’ll bury him.”<\/p>\n “I can do that myself.” She turned her face to him and Adam saw that she was much older than he had initially thought. Her swarthy face was a landscape of wrinkles and faded pockmarks, but there was a strangely youthful resilience to her that seemed to defy any age. Her pitch black eyes were sharp and alert, surrounded by laugh lines. “This is not your fight, shabaro. I’d hate to bury you as well.”<\/p>\n “Don’t you worry, I don’t plan on getting buried any time soon.” Adam extended his hand. “I’m Adam Cartwright.”<\/p>\n “Esma Dobrachev.” She shook his hand and for a moment Adam was perplexed at the strength of her grip.<\/p>\n “Hopla!” Her eyes glided to Lilyah who had stopped a few yards behind Adam, shy to approach the dead man. “Why, salam alaikum, beautiful one!”<\/p>\n “Oh!” A shy, but still delighted smile showed on Lilyah’s face and she put her hands together to a greeting gesture, politely bowing her head. “Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatu!”<\/p>\n “Uhm!” For the first time a smile glided over Esma Dobrachev’s rugged features. “I don’t speak Arabic, child, I just picked up a few bits when I was in Tangiers.” She winked at Lilyah. “But I thank you for the nice greeting.”<\/p>\n “You’ve been to Morocco?” Lilyah’s eyes grew big.<\/p>\n “Only to Tangiers, and only a few times. We travelled a lot when we were young, my Goran and me.” She turned to the dead man again and bowed down with the apparent intention to pick him up.<\/p>\n Adam touched her shoulder. “Mrs. Dobrachev, let…”<\/p>\n “Esma!”<\/p>\n “Esma… let me do this.”<\/p>\n “You?” She looked him up and down. “Shabaro, you look like you barely manage to drag your own weight around! Better sit down and catch a breath before you perform an embarrassing belly-plunge in front of your sweetheart.”<\/p>\n For a moment Adam was at a loss for words.<\/p>\n “He was very ill!” Lilyah hastened to say. “He’s still not fully recovered.”<\/p>\n “Yeah, I’ll see what I can do. Maybe all he’ll need is a good meal and a rest. But first let me take care of this poor kid.” She bowed down and picked the dead man up as if he was a child.<\/p>\n Lilyah timidly made a few steps towards Adam. She felt deeply uncomfortable near dead people.<\/p>\n Esma Dobrachev gave her a smile. “Don’t fear nothing, child. He was a good, guileless soul, and if his death has produced any jinns, they’ll be tiny and harmless and won’t even think of anything evil. And they fear you more than you fear them.” She shifted the weight on her arms and marched off.<\/p>\n Adam and Lilyah exchanged a look.<\/p>\n “What does ‘shabaro’ mean?” he asked in a subdued voice.<\/p>\n Lilyah shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know… it’s not an Arabic word.”<\/p>\n An incomprehensible mumble escaped his lips. He still felt a bit embarrassed by the rebuke, even more so because he knew very well he was exhausted and pretty much on his last legs. It wasn’t particularly soothing to realize that it was so obvious. Putting a hand on Lilyah’s shoulder, he slowly followed the woman. He could at least assist in digging the grave, or gather the stones to cover it.<\/p>\n Their way led them past the battered chuck wagon. The vehicle more resembled a gypsy caravan than a normal wagon and apparently had seen better days long ago. Adam pressed his lips together as he noticed two children lurking behind the wagon – the boy he had seen before and a girl that was only slightly older, maybe eleven or twelve years. There seemed to be no men… or rather, no more men. Adam didn’t dare think what these children must have been through; how many such shootouts they had witnessed, how many dead they had seen on their hazardous journey through arrogated cattle land. There was no love lost between cattle ranchers and sheep herders, and it looked as if the sheep herders had once again pulled the short straw.<\/p>\n Esma Dobrachev halted her step and squinted at the boy. She sure was an intimidating sight carrying the dead man, and her voice rumbled like thunder.<\/p>\n “What did I tell you about invisible children?”<\/p>\n “But, Grandma…” The boy bravely stood up against the fierce glower. “You were in danger and you needed men to…”<\/p>\n “If I ever need a man to protect me, Pico, I’ll call on you first!” she cut him off and added with an even deeper growl, “But I didn’t!”<\/p>\n The boy shrunk a little. “Yes, Grandma…”<\/p>\n She nodded her head. “Go and get the flock together; and then collect some stones for poor Manolito. See to it that you find nice ones, he deserves it.”<\/p>\n “Yes, Grandma!” The children ran off.<\/p>\n “I can help with the sheep!” Lilyah made herself heard. “I used to herd goats when I was a young girl.”<\/p>\n “And what are you now, child? A stone old grandmother?” A flicker of laughter stole over Esma’s face as she turned to continue her way with her ghastly load.<\/p>\n “Mrs Dobr… ehm… Esma…” Adam caught up with her. “Do you have a shovel for me?”<\/p>\n Esma turned around again, but her eyes rested on Lilyah. “He’s a stubborn one, isn’t he?”<\/p>\n “Oh yes, he is!” Lilyah nodded her head. She still looked uncomfortable with the dead man so close, but she apparently hadn’t taken Esma’s previous remark amiss. She rather seemed to have taken a liking to the older woman.<\/p>\n “The shovels are in the tool box at the rear of the wagon. Bring one for me, too, shabaro!”<\/p>\n “Yes, Ma’am…” Adam couldn’t keep his eyes from rolling as he turned to the chuck wagon. But maybe the lady was right and it was better to bury the man quickly, if only for the children’s and Lilyah’s sake. He would doubtless find an undisturbed moment to talk to Esma while they were digging the grave.<\/p>\n Just as he was rumbling through the toolbox to retrieve the shovels from its bottom, all hell broke lose. Shrill neighing, wild barking, a massive crash against the wagon that shook the vehicle to its very foundations.<\/p>\n “CHAI!!” Adam dropped everything on the spot and hastened around the chuck wagon that was now beginning to slide. The brakes were set, but the two little horses harnessed to it were spooking and trying to get away. From the corner of his eye he saw that Esma had dropped the dead man and scurried to her team to calm down the frightened horses.<\/p>\n The black Arabian whinnied again, bucking up next to the chuck wagon and whirling around to crash his hind hooves against the wooden planks. The source of his anger hid beneath the wagon and barked hysterically, just showing a grey nose.<\/p>\n “Chai!”<\/em>\u00a0Lilyah came running across the small place. “Chai, stop it! Come here!”<\/p>\n “Titus! Titus!!” The children ran after her.<\/p>\n Adam caught the reins of the stallion and attempted to pull him back. “Chai, stop it!”<\/p>\n “Chai! Behave yourself!” Lilyah had grabbed a hold of his bridle and forced him back. The Arabian bucked and snorted and tossed his head such that her hands lost hold of the leathers.<\/p>\n For the first time ever, Adam feared that she had lost control over her horse. “CHAI, STOP IT!” His hands caught the bridle and forced the stallion’s head down, his muscles burning with the strain.\u00a0“Behave yourself!”<\/em><\/p>\n “Titus!” Both children had dived under the chuck wagon. “Oh, poor Titus!”<\/p>\n Chai gradually calmed down, yet his ears were still aggressively pinned back, his sinews kept on twitching nervously. Adam slowly released his grip as he saw that Lilyah had the upper hand again.<\/p>\n It lasted only until the children had dragged the dog from under the wagon.<\/p>\n Chai jumped backwards and reared, neighing out his anger as he sought for some space between his humans to get to the perceived enemy. The dog immediately started barking again.<\/p>\n “Titus, shut up! And come here!” Esma had succeeded to calm her team and slowly came around the wagon.<\/p>\n The dog went silent and trotted up to her. Adam saw that it limped badly on a bandaged leg. At least Chai couldn’t be responsible for that. Not really trusting the stomping stallion, he still kept a hold of the reins.<\/p>\n “I’m sorry…” Lilyah held the bridle again, pressing herself against her horse. “He hates dogs and everything that looks like a dog. He was bitten by a dog when he was little, and he later used to fight off jackals when we had our goats.”<\/p>\n “He’s evil!” the girl blurted out. “Beautiful, but evil! Titus is our friend!”<\/p>\n “No animal is ever evil, Ruby!” Esma seemed completely unfazed by the whole ruckus. “Men can be evil, but animals never. And if he has learned to protect goats from jackals, he sure is a very special horse. He’ll just have to learn the difference between a shepherd dog and a jackal. Come here, child. Show your horsie that the dog is good.”<\/p>\n Lilyah hesitated. “I’m… I’m afraid of dogs…”<\/p>\n The old woman chuckled. “And then you wonder why your horse won’t calm down? He’s clever, he knows you’re afraid. And that’s why he still thinks the dog is a danger. Now come on. Titus is a sweet one, he won’t harm you.”<\/p>\n Lilyah pressed her lips together and searched Adam’s eyes.<\/p>\n “Go.” He gave her a smile. “I’ll hold Chai.”<\/p>\n She took a deep breath and carefully approached the dog that sat next to Esma. Hearing Chai’s angry snort behind her, she knew that she should not hesitate, not show any insecurity for it would only rile him up even more. The dog was big and it looked massive with its thick, shaggy fur. The color was a brownish grey with white blotches, the tail round and bushy. The long hairy ears hanging down from its head looked almost funny, like it wore a fur cap with long flaps. Still she could not decide to touch it.<\/p>\n “Don’t mind the bandaged leg, child,” Esma remarked casually. “Titus was shot down by one of those cow freaks last week when he tried to protect the flock.”<\/p>\n “Ooh…” Lilyah’s heart flew out to the dog and she finally mustered the courage to touch its head. “You poor dog…”<\/p>\n The dog began to wag its tail and looked up to her with big, brown eyes, causing her heart to melt even more. “His fur is so soft… I always thought dogs were…” She broke off.<\/p>\n “Unclean?” Esma smiled. “No, child.”<\/p>\n “Can I touch his ears?”<\/p>\n “He loves it when you scratch his ears!”<\/p>\n Lilyah continued to pet the dog, relaxing more and more until she finally turned around. “Look, Chai – this is Titus!”<\/p>\n Adam rubbed his nose while still holding the reins, smiling behind his hand. He knew the procedure that would now start. His eyes warmed when his mind wandered into the past, to the day when he had first found her. Little had he known on that day that he had stumbled upon the love of his life. His wife…<\/p>\n Listening to Lilyah lengthily declaring the dog a friend to the rather reluctant horse and Esma’s short instructions to the dog, he still held the reins until he felt that the stallion would not try to attack again. His eyes glided over the two children breathlessly following the process. Their clothes were as ragged as those of their grandmother and the boy apparently had not had a hair cut for a very long time. He could not be much older than seven or eight years, the girl no more than thirteen. Yet their small faces showed a hardiness that seemed to defy their age, revealing that they had been forced to grow beyond their years. And the worst was probably yet to come.<\/p>\n Adam pressed his lips together as he cast a short look at the sheep who still looked traumatized, bleating with no end. Dozens of them were shot, but there were a good 300 left, aimlessly moving about the barren place. They couldn’t have picked a worse time to show up on drought-stricken cattle land…<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n “What are you going to do now, Esma?” Adam hauled the last shovel of earth on the flat grave and wiped the sweat from his face. His eyes routinely glided over to where Lilyah was still busy gathering sheep, leading Chai along to make sure the truce with the dog would last. As beautiful as the picture was, it did little to soothe his growing restlessness. “You cannot stay at this place for long, there’s no grass for your flock.”<\/p>\n “There’s a small water hole less than a mile ahead, and some grass to fill their bellies!” Esma smoothed the earth on the shallow grave and began to cover it with the rocks the children had gathered.<\/p>\n Adam’s brow crinkled. He knew the spot she was talking about and an unsettling foreboding rose in him. “Esma, it would only last a day or two…”<\/p>\n “I know. Oh, Ruby, that’s a very nice stone you have there! Put it on the top so it will shine.”<\/p>\n “It has real glimmer on it, Grandma!” The girl took the seam of her apron to polish over the stone. “It will catch the sun for Manolito.”<\/p>\n “I have one with red stripes!” The boy came running. “I believe Manolito liked red, didn’t he, Grandma?”<\/p>\n “Oh, yes, Pico, he did.”<\/p>\n Adam was strangely touched as he watched how the stones were placed on the grave. To him, they all just looked the same – ordinary rocks and stones that littered the ground everywhere around. But the children apparently saw great differences between them and sorted them accordingly. It probably helped them to overcome the pain they felt with the carnage all around. He had noticed that especially the girl had shed tears over the dead sheep. The boy had fought his own tears down.<\/p>\n Yet he felt an increasing tension inside, a strong sense of upcoming danger, the urge to spring into action. They could not possibly stay at this place. The spot Esma had in mind wasn’t the best choice, either, but there were no alternates as long as the sheep weren’t fed and watered. Adam bit his lip. The men would come back – and no matter how he tried, the thought of his father did not exactly fill him with confidence.<\/p>\n “Esma, we should…”<\/p>\n “We’ll sing a song for Manolito now!” Esma rose to her feet.<\/p>\n “And for Daisy!” the boy called out.<\/p>\n “And for Daisy, of course, and all the others, darling.” She smiled at the boy.<\/p>\n “Esma, there’s no time for…” Adam did not get any further.<\/p>\n “We always sing a song when someone has died!” The girl bestowed a reproachful look on him. “Just as it is right and proper!”<\/p>\n “Uhm…” A helpless smile stole over his lips. “Of course… It’s just that…”<\/p>\n “You better not mess with Grandma!” the boy exclaimed with an air of someone who knew what he was talking about.<\/p>\n Adam took a slightly exasperated breath, searching for words. “You see, those men that were here will…”<\/p>\n “There’s time for that later on, shabaro!” Esma cut him off. “Manolito died for us, we owe him that much!”<\/p>\n “And Daisy!” the boy reminded with a serious face.<\/p>\n “And Daisy!” She nodded her head.<\/p>\n “Esma…” Adam started another attempt. “If those men…”<\/p>\n “Poor Daisy…” The girl wiped a tear, but still cast a sinister look at Adam. “She deserves a song! It’s already bad enough that we don’t have anyone for the guitar anymore, so we should at least sing a beautiful song for Daisy!”<\/p>\n “And Manolito.” The boy added.<\/p>\n “Adam can play a guitar!” Lilyah who up to then had silently kept herself back, came closer, still leading Chai along. “He’s a wonderful guitarist!”<\/p>\n “Oh please, Lil, no…” Adam broke off as the children’s faces suddenly lit up; he raised his hands as if he had to defend himself. “Uhm… there’s really no time for that… and… and I don’t have my guitar with me… we really should think of…”<\/p>\n He couldn’t look as fast as the boy had dashed off to the chuck wagon. Adam sighed. “Esma, I understand that you want to pay your respects to Manolito, but…”<\/p>\n “And Daisy!” the girl chimed in.<\/p>\n “Uhm, yah… and Daisy, but the situation at hand is quite serious, and…”<\/p>\n “Here it is!” The boy returned with a battered guitar and proffered it as expectantly as demandingly to Adam.<\/p>\n Adam took it almost against his will, with hardly a choice as it was literally forced into his hands. “Esma, if the men ride fast, they’ll need less than two hours to reach…”<\/p>\n “Shabaro, everything in this life has its time,” she declared with dignity. “Now is the time to sing for Manolito, …”<\/p>\n “And Daisy!”<\/p>\n “… and Daisy, and then it will be time to care about your worries and see what we can do! One thing after the other, each at its own time!”<\/p>\n “My worries…” Adam exhaled in apparent frustration. “Esma, I’m afraid you don’t quite…”<\/p>\n “You better sit down, shabaro, before you fall on your nose. You’ve just lost your last bit of color.”<\/p>\n “Adam, she’s right, please sit down!” Lilyah took a hold of his arm and ushered him to one of the numerous boulders.<\/p>\n He blew his last breath of resistance and sat down, looking up at her from under knitted brows as she caringly helped to place the guitar on his lap. Her eyes were warm and with an unmistakable shine of expectation in them. His gaze glided over to Esma who gave him an encouraging nod. Adam sighed and scratched his neck. Somewhere in his inside the question rose up who Daisy had been. There was no other dead person except the young sheep herder, so maybe she had been a dog. Most shepherds had more than just one. He did not want to think that she might have been a girl or a woman that had been killed before.<\/p>\n “What shall I play?” he asked resignedly. The sheep continued to bleat in the background.<\/p>\n “Just follow along, shabaro,” Esma replied with apparent content. “Listen and your fingers will let you know!”<\/p>\n Adam nodded his head, more a gesture of succumbing to an inevitable fate than anything else. Rolling his eyes, he began tuning the strings, but inadvertently flinched when Esma started singing. Her deep, rough voice had reminded him of a fog horn before and it didn’t become any softer as she sang. Forcing his face to a mask to not show an unflattering grimace, he strummed the guitar and tried his best to ignore the bleating of the sheep. It was a slow and sad song with a simple melody and it wasn’t very hard for him to tune in on it. To his utmost surprise, the old, well worn instrument had a wonderful tone. It sounded much richer and better than his own guitar ever had.<\/p>\n The children started to sing along with their grandmother. The girl had a very nice voice, the boy not so much, but both sang with a lot of feeling. And by and by, Adam’s initial reaction faded. As crude as Esma’s voice was, there was a genuine soulful passion to it, a melancholy that seemed to come straight from her heart; and slowly, but steadily it revealed a strange fascination that began to touch his own soul. He could not understand one word of the foreign language and yet the song spoke to him, began to arouse an echo in his heart that moved him deeper than he would have thought possible. With slight wonderment about himself, his fingers played the melody as if he had known it for a long time.<\/p>\n His enchantment grew even more when Lilyah joined in with her soft, dark soprano. At first it seemed as if she would know the language of the song, but then Adam realized that she was merely adlibbing, using her melismatic voice to accompany the melody. It provided a strange but mesmerizing contrast to Esma’s rough deeper-than-alto organ. And Adam suddenly found that he had to control his facial expression again, although this time to keep his eyes from getting moist.<\/p>\n And a part of his heart regretted it when the song came to an end.<\/p>\n “You’ve got a lot inside of you, shabaro!” Esma regarded him with a strange glance. “But you better learn to let it out. No bird can fly in a cage.”<\/p>\n Adam looked up, a puzzled look on his face and completely at a loss for an answer.<\/p>\n “Child, you sing beautifully.” Esma turned to Lilyah. “Manolito will go into the netherlands as a happy man after you sang for him.”<\/p>\n “And for Daisy!” the boy reminded.<\/p>\n “And for Daisy!” Esma confirmed.<\/p>\n Adam finally shook off the strange captivation that had taken him during the song. Carefully placing the guitar against the rock, he got up.<\/p>\n “Esma, we really should talk now! It’s serious, and it’s important.”<\/p>\n “We will talk now. Pico, put Grandpa’s guitar away!”<\/p>\n “Yes, Grandma!” The boy snatched the guitar and carried it back to the chuck wagon.<\/p>\n Adam had little time to contemplate the touching thought that this guitar must have a special meaning for the small family. At long last, the old woman was willing to listen.<\/p>\n “Esma, that place where you…”<\/p>\n The frantic barking of the dog interrupted him. Chai gave an angry snort and started dancing at the rein, but remained peaceful while the dog excitedly jumped from one to another, barking his soul out.<\/p>\n “Grandma, look at Titus! He must’ve found something!” The children were galvanized. “Show us, Titus! Show us!”<\/p>\n “Wait!”<\/em>\u00a0Adam hissed a sharp breath as the children ignored him to run after the agitated dog. Pulling his gun, he turned to Lilyah, “You stay here!”<\/p>\n “Don’t worry, shabaro!” Esma seemed amused. “It’s not his emergency bark. It’s his ‘I’ve-found-something’-bark. Let’s have a look at what it is!”<\/p>\n Adam nearly grimaced, rolling his eyes in mounting impatience and growing frustration. By now, the posse under Simmons must have reached the Ponderosa…<\/p>\n “Esma…”<\/p>\n “Grandma! Grandma<\/em>, IT’S DAISY!!”<\/p>\n “Oh, Adam, it’s Daisy!” Still leading Chai along, Lilyah hastened to keep up with the old woman who had sped up her steps. While she had no idea who Daisy was, the obvious joy in the children’s call was enough to lighten her features.<\/p>\n “Daisy…” Adam blew a breath and followed.<\/p>\n The children squatted between the boulders a little more than a furlong from the small valley, where the ground began to steeply rise against the surrounding hills. At first sight it looked like they were studying the earth, but it soon became clear that they were gazing into a deep cleavage that had ruptured the rocky ground. The dog still barked into the hole.<\/p>\n “Lil, stay here!” Adam touched her shoulder. “It’s not safe for the horse to go there.”<\/p>\n She nodded her head, watching him as he climbed up to the spot. Esma followed, apparently having no problems to absolve the steep ascent.<\/p>\n “Daisy, hold out! We’re coming!” The boy nearly slid into the hole himself and Adam came just in time to grab a hold of his shirt.<\/p>\n “Daisy, we’ll rescue you!” The girl was more careful, her hands clutching the sharp, rocky edges. “Don’t be afraid! We’re here! We’ll get you out of there!”<\/p>\n Adam had a look into the hole and sighed. Daisy was a sheep. An obviously wounded sheep with blood stained wool, lying at the bottom of a pit that reached a good six or seven yards into the ground. The blood indicated that she must have been shot, and it wasn’t very likely that the deep plunge into the hole had not caused further harm. The animal struggled futilely to get on its feet, letting out a desolate bleat. Adam met Esma’s gaze and saw her pressing her lips together.<\/p>\n “Daisy, Grandma’s here! She’ll know what to do!” The boy’s faith in his grandmother seemed to know no boundaries.<\/p>\n “Grandma?” the girl asked, suddenly with a ring of fear in her voice. “We’ll get Daisy out of there, won’t we?”<\/p>\n For the first time, the resolute Esma seemed at a loss for an answer. “Oh, Titus, shut up!”<\/p>\n The dog that had been barking without pause immediately went mute.<\/p>\n Adam drew a deep breath. “I’ll get the lariat. Maybe we can do something with it…”<\/p>\n “And how would you get the ewe at the lariat, shabaro?”<\/p>\n “Uhm…” Adam tried to measure the size of the hole. “Maybe I can get down there…”<\/p>\n “You’re too big.”<\/p>\n “But I’m not big!” Pico hastily threw in, but seemed to find a fault in his own words at once. “I mean, I’m not quite as big as he is! I can go down there! Please, Grandma!”<\/p>\n For a short moment Esma seemed to waver, but then she nodded her head. Adam caught her look and understood. It wasn’t any danger for the boy that made her hesitate. It was the thought of pulling up an animal that likely was so severely injured that they might be forced to destroy it. It would be so cruel after the children had so much hope.<\/p>\n Adam climbed down again and found that Lilyah had already called Mariah to her to get his lasso from his saddle.<\/p>\n “Daisy’s a sheep!” he informed her in a voice low enough to only reach her ears.<\/p>\n Lilyah smiled. “I guessed as much…” She saw his look and added, “I also used to have my favorites when I was little. My father always called them\u00a0the Holy Goats of Ras Madeeh<\/em>because I would not allow to have them slaughtered. They usually lived out their age plundering the gardens.”<\/p>\n For a split second, a forlorn shade passed his brow, the fragment of a memory, the long forgotten image of a little boy and a decrepit old mule that was too old to earn its keep any longer, useless on the long way west. Adam unwillingly shook off the notion and took his lasso to return to the hole.<\/p>\n Pico literally jumped at him, brimming in his sudden importance. “I can climb down on the rope! I used to climb up on trees that way!”<\/p>\n “Oh no, you won’t climb!” Adam smiled. “You will float down there!”<\/p>\n “Float??” The boy gave him a deeply skeptical look. “Hey, what are you doing? Grandma!”<\/p>\n “He’s doing the right thing, Pico!” A small smile passed Esma’s lips as she watched Adam tying the rope around the boy. “We’ll let you down on the rope, you tie it around Daisy and we can lift her up. And once she’s up here, we let the rope down again to pick you up.”<\/p>\n “Or not,” the girl quipped.<\/p>\n “Pffft!” Pico showed his tongue to her.<\/p>\n Adam chuckled. “Can you undo the knot when you’re down?”<\/p>\n “Of course I can! Grandpa taught me all about knots!”<\/p>\n “Show me!”<\/p>\n The boy began fumbling with the knot and got it open in no time.<\/p>\n “Good! And can you make a safe knot again?”<\/p>\n “Of course! Grandpa showed me how to do it!” He quickly tied the rope around himself again.<\/p>\n “Very good!” Adam controlled the knot and searched Esma’s eyes. “We’ll have to make sure the rope won’t scrape along the edge.”<\/p>\n “Yeah.” She closed in on him and had a solemn look at the boy. “Don’t you fidget around when you’re hanging from the rope. Be still and don’t move much – Daisy’s rescue depends on you!”<\/p>\n “Yes, Grandma!” He seriously nodded his head.<\/p>\n “Alright, we’re ready!” Adam held the rope tight as Pico began to climb down the hole and finally hung in the rope. The boy did not weigh much, but the task of keeping the rope from scraping over the sharp edges of the rocky pit while smoothly lowering the boy inch by inch required a lot of strength. He felt his muscles straining and the sweat building up on his brow, another painful reminder that he was still a far cry from his usual stamina. He normally could have done this alone without even exerting himself, but now he was genuinely glad for Esma’s help. She was an amazingly strong woman, and together they kept the rope safe and steady.<\/p>\n “I’m at the bottom!” Pico called out while the rope slackened. His light voice sounded hollow from the depth below. “I’m with Daisy!”<\/p>\n “How is she?” The girl tried to see what was going on.<\/p>\n “I think she’s ill! She’s bleeding! Grandma, you’ve gotta look after her! I’m tying her to the rope now!”<\/p>\n “Be careful and don’t hurt her!” Ruby admonished. “And make good knots so she won’t fall when she’s lifted up!”<\/p>\n “I know everything about knots! I can make better knots than you!”<\/p>\n “Alright then!” Adam’s call ended the exchange. “Tell us when you’re ready, Pico!”<\/p>\n At the bottom of the pit, the boy seemed to climb all over the sheep while looping and tying the rope securely. There barely was enough space down there for both him and the animal. He finally pressed himself against the rocky wall.<\/p>\n “Ready!”<\/p>\n Adam collected himself and focused on the lasso again to pull up the sheep. A miserable bleat came from below as the rope tensed.<\/p>\n “Be careful!” The girl nearly cried with excitement. “Be careful!!”<\/p>\n The sheep was finally lifted over the edge. It bleated once more and tried to get up, only to nearly fall into the cleavage again. Adam grabbed a hold of the wool and pulled it to safety.<\/p>\n “Oh, Daisy! Poor, poor Daisy!” Ruby hastened to fling both her arms around the ewe. “I’m so glad you’re not dead, Daisy!”<\/p>\n “How is she?” Pico hopped up and down at the bottom. “Grandma, how is she?”<\/p>\n “I’ll have a look when you are up!” Esma called back. “And tie the rope around yourself properly, you hear me? DON’T climb up on it!”<\/p>\n “Yes, Grandma!”<\/p>\n They let the rope down again and the boy was up in a minute, just to throw himself over the sheep. “Oh, Daisy!”<\/p>\n Adam sank on one of the bigger rocks to catch his breath. He was truly spent now, his arms and legs feeling like he had lead weights hanging from them. If he would lie down, he’d most likely fall to sleep like a stone. And yet he watched as Esma examined the ewe, with almost the same anxiety as the children did. He vaguely remembered the forgotten hurt again he had felt so long ago and he wished for the children’s sake that their pet would somehow make it.<\/p>\n Esma looked from one to another. “It’s not looking very good!” Her dark voice rumbled. “I can bandage the wounds and fix the leg, but I won’t have the time to properly care for her. That will be up to you!”<\/p>\n “Oh yes, Grandma!”<\/p>\n “Of course, Grandma!”<\/p>\n The children nearly fell over themselves in their eagerness to assure that they would, of course, take care of Daisy, look after her and certainly not neglect their duties over her. She, Grandma, wouldn’t even notice that the sheep was there.<\/p>\n Adam smiled to himself, suddenly feeling much better than before. He noticed the grateful looks the children gave him before the sheep occupied their full attention again. They literally clung to their grandmother’s skirts as she picked the animal up and began the descent back to the camp. He swallowed down the slight embarrassment at the thought that he should have been the one carrying the ewe and strenuously got on his feet again. It probably would have gotten him nothing but another less than flattering remark, not to think of the even more embarrassing possibility that he could have had visible difficulties with the load.<\/p>\n “Adam!” Lilyah had come towards him as far as she could lead Chai along. “Adam, you really should rest a little! You look tired!”<\/p>\n “Yah.” He brushed over her face, enjoying her loving hands. “But I’ll have to talk to Esma first.”<\/p>\n “Adam, can’t that wait?”<\/p>\n “No. Lilyah, those men will come back. We should be prepared for that.”<\/p>\n Lilyah pressed her lips together, her fine brow furrowing.<\/p>\n “Lil, don’t worry – my father will be with them this time, so it won’t get dangerous again. But I’ll have to talk to Esma, anyway.”<\/p>\n She slid her hand into his as they walked back to the chuck wagon. Deep inside, in spite of his words, her worries rose, almost to the amount of fear.<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 66. Trapped\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n “He – did – WHAT??” Ben Cartwright looked as if he was struck by a thunder bolt. His relief to hear that his son was spotted well and sound had not lasted very long, and his initial anger about the men showing up without any positive reports regarding the pestering sheep matter got the upper hand again. “He chased you\u00a0off the land<\/em>\u00a0AT GUNPOINT?”<\/p>\n “Yes! Oh…\u00a0ooh… ouch…<\/em>\u00a0careful, men!” William Simmons hopped along on one foot, supported by two cowboys. “My ankle!”<\/p>\n “William, you’re hurt?” Ben swallowed the next roar and worriedly closed in on the rancher. “What happened to you?”<\/p>\n “Cartwright shot at him!” Billy Buckley called out from the background.<\/p>\n “What??”<\/em>\u00a0Ben’s mouth fell open. “That’s not true…”<\/p>\n “He didn’t hit him, though!” Frank Miller had dismounted and tied his palomino to the post. “Mister Simmons’ horse spooked and threw him off, that’s why he sprained his ankle.”<\/p>\n “But he didn’t miss Prescott!” One of the men helping the groaning Prescott from his horse angrily barked out. “Almost killed him!”<\/p>\n Ben didn’t know where to turn first, circling around himself to be everywhere at the same time. “He SHOT at him? Bring him into the house, quick… What exactly happened? I can’t believe Adam would do that… Joe, tell Hop Sing we have wounded! … William, let me help you! … Didn’t you tell him you were after those sheep? That you were there onmy behalf?<\/em>”<\/p>\n “Of course we did! But he wouldn’t listen!” Simmons leaned hard on Ben’s arm. “Ben, he sided up with those sheep herders! That boy of yours – he’s always had a thick skull, but this time he’s gone too far!\u00a0Way too far!<\/em>”<\/p>\n Ben stared at the wealthy rancher as the pieces slowly began to fall in place. A slight anger towards himself also crept in. He should have ridden with the men, it would have been his duty after he had initiated the order to get rid of those sheep that had been plaguing the land for so long. It had been clear they were already dangerously close to Ponderosa land at the time of his meeting with Henry Miller and William Simmons, and he should have been the one leading the men and riding in front, just like every other time when his land was in peril. Instead, and inexcusably so, he had simply left it up to Simmons and young Miller to take care of things on his behalf. He had wanted to stay home, hoping for Adam to come back, all the while wasting his time reading useless, boring Shakespeare plays just to try and make some sense of what\u00a0might<\/em>\u00a0be going on in Adam’s stubborn head. Oh, that boy had made a\u00a0real fool<\/em>\u00a0out of him!<\/p>\n “And those sheep are now on the Ponderosa?”<\/p>\n “Yes, they are!” Simmons drew an angry breath. “Ben, he\u00a0allowed<\/em>\u00a0them to be there, and he turned against US! With a GUN IN HIS HANDS!”<\/p>\n “Didn’t you tell him about our meeting yesterday?” Ben’s anger rose with every word, his left hand wildly gesticulating about while his right supported the rancher. “And that I’ve given a\u00a0clear order<\/em>\u00a0to…”<\/p>\n “Your son reversed your order!” Simmons cut in. “Just like that! He apparently thought he had the right to do that!”<\/p>\n Ben’s face grew dark. “Of course he had\u00a0not!<\/em>\u00a0I don’t know what’s gotten into him, but I will find out! But come in… come on in, your ankle needs to be looked after.”<\/p>\n Almost the whole group poured into the great room, causing the greatest distress to Hop Sing who ran back and forth, looking after Simmons’ ankle and bandaging up Prescott’s wound which looked much worse than it actually was. Still the man kept groaning and moaning, a steady fuel to Ben’s increasing rage. Sheep on the land! Anthrax likely to spread about like wildfire! His friends and neighbors shot at! A rude affront against the Cattlemen’s Association! And to top it off, what utter disrespect towards his own father! What was wrong with that boy??<\/p>\n “Ououch!<\/em>\u00a0Careful, Hop Sing! It’s broken… I’m sure it’s broken!” William Simmons bowed over his ankle, but wasn’t in too much pain for some more spiting. “And that dark skinned woman he’s got himself, she dared threatening ME with an ARROW!”<\/p>\n “Told you she’s an Apache…” Buckley called out from somewhere behind.<\/p>\n Ben made an angry, rapid movement, accidently toppling the water bowl next to Simmons. Hop Sing jumped quick enough to save the bowl from falling, but all the water splashed out and wet Ben’s legs and boots. It didn’t help any to pacify him. He snapped around to the deputy. “Didn’t you tell him that those sheep have ANTHRAX?”<\/p>\n “I told him about it.” Clem Foster didn’t feel very comfortable in his skin. “He didn’t listen.”<\/p>\n “Not to us!” Simmons spat out before Ben could react. “He listened to that exotic oddball of his that told him those half dead critters were just fine!”<\/p>\n Ben stared at his old friend. All his good resolutions to somehow arrange himself with Adam’s choice when his son came back went out of the window within the wink of an eye. His face had turned red as he snapped around to Foster again. “You should have\u00a0showed<\/em>\u00a0him that note from Lobdells to PROVE it to him!” His eyes shot flashes at the deputy, his words came much harsher than he intended, his forefinger waived through the air in front of Foster’s nose. “He’s\u00a0stubborn<\/em>! He won’t believe\u00a0anything<\/em>\u00a0unless he reads it for himself!”<\/p>\n “Don’t blame Clem, Ben!” Simmons threw in. “Had it not been for Clem and young Frank here, that whole thing would have gone badly wrong. That boy of yours was out of control, he could’ve killed someone.”<\/p>\n Ben turned around to Frank Miller who had taken a place in the blue armchair; looking at the young man almost as if hoping Frank might come up with something that could somehow explain, maybe even excuse, Adam’s outrageous behavior. “Frank, what happened?”<\/p>\n “He tried to talk some sense into him!” Simmons felt it incumbent on himself to answer. “And he helped simmer everybody down before things went really out of hand!”<\/p>\n “It was the only thing I could do.” Frank raised his hands and let them fall again. “Ben, I’m sorry. I really tried to talk to him, just like the deputy tried, but… you know him.”<\/p>\n “Oh yes, I do!” Ben nodded his head, his brow furrowed, his lips a sharp line, betraying that by now he was livid with rage. How could Adam possibly dare to stand up against his own father like that? And shooting at their very own neighbors? He and Simmons had been friends for years; they had been one voice in the Cattlemen’s Association ever since it existed!<\/p>\n “Ben…” Frank hesitated. “I know what it means to have those sheep on your land, and I know what I promised you and Dad… I mean…” He collected himself. “Ah, forget it, you have other things on your mind now…”<\/p>\n “What is it, Frank?” Ben scanned him more closely. “Come on, boy, out with it!”<\/p>\n An almost embarrassed smile glided over Frank’s face. “I just mean… it seems that my father was a bit disappointed in me lately and it almost feels like I’ve failed him again now, when you and he have been friends for so long. It… it would be nice if you could tell him that I just did my best…”<\/p>\n “Aw, Frank” In spite of the fury boiling inside him, Ben placed his hand on Frank’s shoulder. “I’m sure your father is not disappointed in you. Why should he? He’s just a bit gruff at times, he’s always been that way. But I’ll talk to him, from father to father!”<\/p>\n “And so will I!” Simmons sounded off. “Besides, Clem and me didn’t get any further with Adam, either. And you prevented a shootout. You did the right thing!”<\/p>\n “Thanks…” Frank gratefully looked from one to another and then spotted Little Joe coming out of the kitchen, balancing a coffee pot and several dangerously unstable piles of cups. “Hey, Joe, let me help you!”<\/p>\n “Thanks, Frank.” Joe gladly accepted the help and unloaded half of the cups into Frank’s hands. Together, they began to serve coffee all around.<\/p>\n “Prescott!” Ben scurried over to the rancher who just had gotten his shoulder bandaged. “I cannot even start to tell you how terribly sorry I am! Please accept my sincere apologies!”<\/p>\n “Wasn’t your fault, Mister Cartwright.” The scrawny rancher tried to put his shirt back on and Ben carefully assisted. “That wouldn’t have happened had you been around.”<\/p>\n “Certainly not!” Ben’s face darkened again. To think that this man had done the neighborly thing and risked his own life to get those blasted sheep off Ponderosa land – and then received a bullet from the son of the man he had tried to help! What had Adam been thinking? Whatever reasons he might have thought he had, there just was NO excuse for that!<\/p>\n “What’re you going to do now, Ben?” Simmons asked. “That boy of yours seems to think he’s the boss.”<\/p>\n “What I’m going to do?” Ben rose to his full height, his hands thrust to his hips. “Talk some sense into that wayward son of mine and set his head straight! It seems to me he needs a reminder about who’s running this ranch! Joseph! Saddle my horse!”<\/p>\n “Yes, Sir…” For one moment it seemed as if Joe wanted to say something more, but one look into his father’s irate face silenced him. Uncomfortably pulling up his shoulders, he left the house.<\/p>\n Ben marched to the credenza and put his gun belt on, turning to the crowd in the room. “Where are those sheep now?”<\/p>\n “Little west of the Oxbow Creek,” Frank Miller replied. “Maybe a mile from the water hole there.”<\/p>\n Ben’s face clouded even more as he drew an angry breath. If those sheep got to the water hole… But Adam probably would have sense enough to prevent at least that. If he had not completely lost his mind…<\/p>\n “I won’t blame anyone of you who doesn’t want to ride with me now after what happened to you,” he began, but didn’t get any further as everyone hastened to assure him of their assistance. And of course it was Simmons again who was loudest.<\/p>\n “Of course we’ll ride with you! It’s a neighborly thing to do, and you would do the same thing for each one of us. Ain’t I right, men?”<\/p>\n Several voices rose in the affirmation.<\/p>\n “William, you better stay here, you can’t ride with your ankle.” Ben turned down Simmons’ half-hearted protest. “Bill, you stay with Mister Simmons and if he wants to go home, take the buggy and drive him! Prescott, you…”<\/p>\n “I can ride, Mister Cartwright! And I have a bone to pick with those sheep!”<\/p>\n A grim smile stole over Ben’s lips, but it faded when he remembered that Prescott had lost two of his hands during one of the earlier shootouts on the open range when the sheep men had first arrived in the area. “We all have.”<\/p>\n He put on his hat and opened the door.<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n “Ho!” Adam pulled up the team and sighed. Once again the bleating sheep had crossed the path of the chuck wagon, threatening to get in the horses’ way, even under the high wheels of the vehicle. Rolling his eyes, he bowed from the seat to check on the wheels to see if he had accidently hit one of the critters. The bleating did sound a lot like something was amiss, but then they had been bleating with no pause ever since they had been set in motion. At least the dog had stopped barking, somewhere behind at the end of the stretched out flock.<\/p>\n “Just drive on, shabaro!” Esma called from afar, her rough, loud voice carrying her laughter over the distance. “They won’t get under the hooves and they won’t get under the wheels! They’re used to it!”<\/p>\n “Yah.” Adam twisted his mouth and dared a slight shake of the reins. The two small horses pulled on and the chuck wagon creaked in every joint, indicating that it was badly in need of some touching up. From the corner of his eye he regarded Mariah who was tied to the outer braces of the seat, looking like she was wading through a heap of wool. Somewhere inside of him the thought rose up that there could be no more wonderful thing but to sit in the saddle and canter alongside a big herd of cattle…<\/p>\n A long bleat sounded up right behind him from the inside of the wagon. The children had managed to secure their wounded ewe a passage there as it was in no shape to run with the flock. Very much like himself who lastly had had difficulties to even stay on his legs without wavering. Adam grudgingly admitted that his leisure place on the driver’s seat helped a lot to ease his exhaustion.<\/p>\n “Well, Daisy…” Raising one eyebrow, he nudged the team to a steadier walk. “Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortune, but great minds rise above them! Washington Irving. You should read some of his writings if you find the time.”<\/p>\n An even longer bleat was the sole answer.<\/p>\n Adam sighed again, his eyes gliding over the flock until they caught themselves on Lilyah who walked along some distance away, holding a shepherd’s crook that Esma had given her. It was almost bigger than she, yet the smile that this lovely sight brought on his lips didn’t last for long and all his attempts to lighten himself up failed.<\/p>\n They were going straight into a trap.<\/p>\n Pressing his lips together, Adam scanned across the boulders they were passing by. They seemed to come closer and closer, the nearer they got to the small valley Esma had in mind to refresh her flock. Adam knew the place well since he and his family used to water their horses there before heading out for the open range. The boulders would come closer, so close indeed that in the end there would be only a relatively small passage into the tiny gorge squashed between steep mountain slopes. Once the flock was in there, a few armed men at the passage would do to keep anyone from getting out of there again.<\/p>\n Adam drew a deep breath. There was no other choice. Malnourished and critically dehydrated as they were, the sheep were badly in need of the little feed and all the water the small valley could provide. They simply wouldn’t last for long enough to allow seeking out another suitable place. Adam had watched Esma butchering a few of the shot animals to save at least some of the meat, and it had been a sorry sight. After crossing the barren plains and the dried out ranges for so long, always being chased off from every chance to get sufficiently fed, there wasn’t much meat left on their bones.<\/p>\n Restlessly shifting on his seat, Adam once again fought down his inward nervousness. Of course one could argue with Esma’s audacity to drive her flock where ever she saw fit, but who could blame her? She would have had every right to graze them on the open range and had been driven away time and again. And it seemed she had lost a lot more on the trail than just the majority of her sheep.<\/p>\n Adam concentrated his attention on the team again to carefully steer the chuck wagon around a giant boulder that lay directly in the way. The sheep had come closer again, many almost being pressed against the wagon due to the narrowing passage. Their constant bleating swelled to a queer concert as they eagerly followed Esma who now walked ahead, leading a big ram along. From his high seat it actually looked like there was a sea of wool between them and he could barely make out the ground he was driving across. Somewhere from behind, the dog started barking again. The passage leading up to the small valley more and more resembled a canyon.<\/p>\n “Adam!” Lilyah’s call interrupted his pondering and he turned his head to watch her making her way through the sheep. The sight softened his lips, smoothed his brow that had been furrowed in thought. Yet he raised an eyebrow as he realized that she was carrying her Indian bow and the quiver of arrows over her shoulder. He had not seen it before.<\/p>\n “Adam, you’re alright?” She had reached the wagon and probed for a handhold to climb up to him. The big shepherd’s crook proved to be a hindrance and she seemed a bit insecure how to best wrap her robes. As elegantly as she used to handle them when mounting a horse, she couldn’t avoid stepping on a seam when trying to get up to his seat. To top it off, bow and quiver slid from her shoulder and got in the way of everything.<\/p>\n “I’m alright.” Adam reached down to secure crook, bow and quiver and helped her up. “Tired of walking, my gallant Artemis?” A soft laughter swung in his voice, his initial discomfort upon seeing her carrying the weapon vanishing.<\/p>\n “No…” She barely squatted at the edge of the seat, turning around to him to worriedly look him over. “Chai’s getting restless, I think he’d better be with Mariah. And I wanted to make sure you are well.”<\/p>\n “I’m just fine,” he assured. “Honestly. It helped a lot to be able to rest my legs a little.”<\/p>\n “That’s good.” She softly brushed over his cheek and smiled when he breathed a little kiss on her lips. “You really needed some rest. And you’ll soon have a good, warm meal. Esma told me she’s got a stew that just needs warming up. And she even has sweet pie!” Her smile intensified while a visibly pleasing thought crossed her mind. “It seems all shepherds make sweet pie, no matter where they are in the world.”<\/p>\n Adam steered the wagon around another crag. “What exactly is sweet pie?”<\/p>\n “It’s mutton fat with raisins, dates, fruit peels and spices,” she explained.<\/p>\n “Sounds absolutely delicious…” His face betrayed the good-natured irony as he regarded her with a sidelong glance.<\/p>\n She gave him a playful tap. “You should taste it before you start mocking. It’s very good and very nutritious! It will give you back your strength…” She broke off, her brow crinkling. “But I don’t think they have dates here in America…”<\/p>\n “No.” Adam pulled a serious face. “And I think that’s a real problem here. You simply cannot make sweet pie without dates. It’s just not the same.”<\/p>\n “Marfa sometimes used figs…” Her eyes widened. “Oh, you!<\/em>\u00a0You didn’t even know what it was!”<\/p>\n Adam started laughing and put his arm around her shoulder. “Get a better seat, love, it’s getting a little rough now!\u00a0Hep!<\/em>\u00a0Go, guys!” He shook the reins to urge the team across a more rocky ascent in the path which caused the creaking chuck wagon to swing and teeter like a vessel on a dark, stormy sea. Feeling Lilyah’s arm clasping at him for a hold warmed his heart.<\/p>\n There was another point to the small gorge – as easily as it could be sealed off from outside, it was as easily defendable from the inside. One man would be enough to protect the narrow access while everyone and everything inside would be safe from any attack. It would give him time to work out an amiable solution with his father and no overzealous gun slinger would be able to cause any harm.<\/p>\n “Oh, Adam, look!” Lilyah rose in her seat. “Isn’t it so wonderful to watch?”<\/p>\n “Yah…” Adam couldn’t quite prevent a vague notion of uneasiness as he watched the bleating flood pouring into the small valley, running for the sparse grass, running for the shallow water hole that was only a third of the size it used to be. The drought had severely diminished the fertility of the gorge and it wouldn’t carry a flock of about 300 half-starved sheep for much longer than a day or two. Adam dared not imagine what the place might look like after all those hungry bellies were filled.<\/p>\n “Adam?” Lilyah looked up to him, still nestled into his side, his arm around her shoulder.<\/p>\n “It’s nothing.” He kissed her hair, his eyes searching for hers. “You like what you see, hm?”<\/p>\n “Oh, yes…” A little smile played around her lips as she looked over the grazing sheep. “I think it’s a herder’s thing you never really get out of you… or maybe just a desert thing. It’s such a good feeling when you’ve found a good grazing spot and then watch the hungry animals eat.” A soft laugh broadened her smile. “Look at the little ones! They’re already checking on their mamas for milk.”<\/p>\n Adam smiled, one finger softly caressing her cheek. He could have spent hours just looking at her, watching her dark velvet eyes shine with so much happiness. It took him some effort to pick up the reins again to drive the vehicle to a spot at the end of the valley, opposite the entrance. Their solitude wouldn’t have lasted anyway, as the children noisily entered the wagon to provide their wounded ewe with freshly plucked grass.<\/p>\n “Ho, shabaro!” Esma approached the wagon as he pulled the brakes. “Not bad for a cowboy!”<\/p>\n Adam laughed and climbed off the seat. “You probably won’t believe me, Esma, but I’ve driven a buckboard before… one or two times or so.” He reached up to lift Lilyah from the wagon.<\/p>\n Esma chuckled and proceeded to unharness the team, calling over her shoulder, “Pico, you gather firewood! Ruby, you care for the fire and prepare the coffee!”<\/p>\n “Yes, Grandma!” The answer came in two voices from the inside of the wagon.<\/p>\n “I can prepare the fire!” Lilyah offered. “I’ll just unsaddle Chai… my horse.”<\/p>\n “Very good, child!”<\/p>\n Lilyah smiled and turned to Adam. “I can care for Mariah, as well. You should sit down and wait for the meal.”<\/p>\n “No. I’ll need to ride her in a little while so I’ll keep her under saddle for the time being. I don’t think it’ll take long for the posse to arrive now.” Adam squinted at the passage. “And I guess I better stand watch.”<\/p>\n Lilyah was about to protest, but Esma’s voice cut in. “You’d better sit down and eat, shabaro, or you won’t be able to climb up on your big horse. Titus can stand watch.”<\/p>\n “Esma…” Adam rolled his eyes. “Titus is a dog…”<\/p>\n “Hopla!” The old woman gave one of her horses a slap so it strolled off. “Now isn’t it funny? All these years we’ve believed him to be a bear. Good thing you’ve happened along, cowboy! Titus! Go and stand guard!”<\/p>\n Adam opened his mouth and closed it again, watching the dog eagerly limping off into the direction of the passage, as if the animal knew that this was the only spot someone could come through.<\/p>\n Slightly dumbfounded, he allowed Lilyah to gently usher him to where Ruby was preparing the fireplace.<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n “They’re gone! Mister Cartwright, they’re gone!”<\/p>\n “Yes, I see.” Ben pulled up his buckskin, darkly glowering over the scene in front of him. It was a depressing sight, dead sheep scattered across dried out, battered ground, dirtied white lumps in the long shadows of the surrounding rocks. There used to be some little grass in this area, but none of it was left. The drought had cracked the earth, leaving its ugly marks beneath a layer of dust. Merely a few greyish shrubs were still fighting for survival, their brittle branches clasping to the rocks and boulders as if hoping for at least some protection from the burning heat that still was baking the ground, even though the sun had almost disappeared behind the horizon.<\/p>\n “Told you he would chase them off!” a frantic voice snapped from somewhere in the background. “Now they’re on the open range again!”<\/p>\n “Nonsense!” Clem Foster had ridden ahead and turned his horse, pointing into the hills. “They’ve been this way – deeper into Ponderosa land! Tracks are clear to be seen.”<\/p>\n Ben looked in the given direction, noticing from the corner of his eye that Little Joe had opened his mouth and closed it again. It bristled him, incensed his anger even more. It was quite clear to him what his youngest had noticed and decided to keep back, almost as if hoping no one else would catch it.<\/p>\n “They’re headed for the water hole.” There was a dark growl in his voice, but also a deep resignation, the sinister acknowledgment of a man who had just realized that things have turned out much worse than he had feared. He had hoped to the last minute that Adam wouldn’t do it, wouldn’t push him that far, would not take a stand against his own father, his own family so openly, so brazenly, so impertinently.<\/p>\n “Maybe not.” Frank Miller had halted his horse next to Ben. “Adam knows as well as all of us how important the water hole is for both the Ponderosa and the Miller ranch. We also need the valley to keep the replacement horses there when we work on the range. I’m positive he’s made sure those sheep won’t touch it.”<\/p>\n Joe drew a sharp breath, for one moment a wave of anger glided over his face as he shot a reproachful look at young Miller. But then his brow rose as he contemplated the words. “Pa, he may be right. Adam could’ve made sure they swerve into the mountains. He knows this area better than anyone else!”<\/p>\n “Into the mountains…” Ben scoffed. “And then what?”<\/p>\n Joe bit his lip. He had no answer for this.<\/p>\n “We should burn the cadavers!” Ben raised his voice so that everyone could hear him. “That’s the only way to prevent any infections from spreading about.”<\/p>\n “But take care to not touch any of them with your bare hands!” Frank Miller called out. “Use cloths or branches to move them and then burn the stuff along with them!” He cast a suddenly apologetic look at Ben. “Sorry, Ben, but…”<\/p>\n “No, no,” Ben swiftly cut in. “You’re absolutely right. We cannot be cautious enough about it.” He gave the young man a favourable nod. “It’s good you thought of it.”<\/p>\n Frank returned the nod and dismounted, heading for one of the shrubs to break off a big branch with grim eagerness.<\/p>\n Little Joe hesitated, but then maneuvered his horse close to his father’s. “Pa, I think… I hope you’ll listen to what Adam has to say before you… uhm, I mean, just hear what’s his take on this…”<\/p>\n “Oh, yes, I will!” Ben stressed every single word, his voice rumbling like growling thunder. “You can be sure that I will!”<\/p>\n Joe inadvertently pulled in his head. It wasn’t the first time this day that he wished he had accompanied Hoss to the lumber camp up north.<\/p>\n “Well, young man?” A trace of mockery mingled with the rumbling. “Wouldn’t you\u00a0just<\/em>\u00a0think it appropriate to assist the men in cleaning those cadavers from our land?”<\/p>\n “Yes, Sir…” Joe hastened to get off his horse.<\/p>\n Ben heaved a grumbling breath and dismounted, to work at the forefront of everybody else, even harder than everybody else, all the while thinking if he just had done this from the very beginning, those blasted sheep would have long been gone. All of them. But he had been slack on the reins, negligent even with his responsibilities, and this was the outcome.<\/p>\n And with every cadaver he dragged to the pile, his anger grew.<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 67. The Standoff\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n “Oh, thank you, Ruby.” Adam gave the girl an absent-minded smile as she spooned another portion of stew onto his plate. He had devoured his first like he had not eaten anything in days; not even the distinct odor of the nearby ram had spoilt his appetite. Each bite had revived his fatigued body, and the strong, black coffee had done its own to restore his tiring senses. He felt much better now – and a whole lot more able to face the encounter that lay before him. Once again his eyes glided over the darkening valley to the passage at the other side, laying in the shades of the surrounding hillsides. The last deep orange rays of the setting sun could be seen on top of the mountains, yet the moon had already begun to rise.<\/p>\n His attempts to listen for any unusual sounds that might betray the expected posse, however, were slightly hampered by the constant bleating. Particularly the ewe inside the wagon proved to have astonishing endurance in letting out a loud bleat every other minute, with quite a lot of the sheep outside eager to answer each one of them. Adam tried not to grimace when another such bleat exchange sounded up, trying to reassure himself that at least the dog would make himself heard.<\/p>\n “Eat in peace, shabaro,” Esma casually remarked while stuffing a pipe with a long, bent stem. Comfortably leaning against the dead trunk of a tree, she looked even more massive in sitting than she did in standing. Her big, golden earrings shimmered in the shine of the fireplace, evoking the image of an old gipsy woman. “Everything in this life has its own time, and everything will come as it comes without your fretting.”<\/p>\n “Uhm…” He drew the air through his teeth, a lop-sided, slightly exasperated grin stealing over his lips. “I’m not\u00a0fretting<\/em>. I’d just think we should be prepared.”<\/p>\n “We are prepared.” Pursing her lips, she lit her pipe, puffing up little clouds of smoke. “We’ve always been.”<\/p>\n Adam couldn’t help a sidelong glance at the old shotgun that leaned against one of the high wheels, well in her reach, doubtlessly ready to shoot. “Oh, I don’t think there will be any problems. My father will be with those men this time, and he owns this land. I’ll talk to him; I’m sure we can work out a good solution that will be acceptable for both sides.”<\/p>\n He suddenly felt a strange discomfort. Esma’s black eyes rested on him while she puffed her pipe, but she didn’t say a word. Nonetheless, it almost was as if he could hear the unspoken question.\u00a0So why are you fretting?<\/em><\/p>\n “Thanks, Lil…” Adam took the coffee cup from Lilyah’s hands and caught a glimpse of her small face. The little worry line between her brows was telling enough and it occurred to him that she had barely spoken a word throughout the meal. She surely was exhausted, having been in the saddle all day, and the encounter with Simmons’ posse doubtless had distressed her.<\/p>\n “Well…” He soldiered on. “My father sure is a stubborn man, quite thick-headed at times, but he’s not unreasonable. And there’s no logical reason why those sheep shouldn’t cut through our land. No one’s ever been turned away from the Ponderosa.” He took a sip of his coffee and continued to eat, his own words echoing on in his mind, like hollow fragments thrown off the steep mountain walls. He could have made them sound a little more convincing, more reassuring…<\/p>\n “Where are you headed?” he asked between two bites, steering away from the subject that increasingly made him feel like he was walking on thin ice.<\/p>\n “Oh…” Esma let out another puff. “California perhaps, or maybe Oregon. It doesn’t really matter as long as we find good grazing grounds.”<\/p>\n “And free air to breathe!” Ruby chimed in. “That’s what Grandpa always said.”<\/p>\n “That’s right.” Esma smiled.<\/p>\n “And I will find the best grazing spots along the way!” Pico blurted out with his mouth full, hastily using his hand to keep bits of stew from following his words. “Because I’m a real good scout, one of the best in the world!” He puffed himself up. “I’ve found this water hole here, didn’t I, Grandma?”<\/p>\n “Pah!” Ruby gave him a haughty look. “You stumbled over it when you ran from those cowboys. And you’re spitting your food again, talking with your mouth full!”<\/p>\n “I didn’t ran from them!” the boy flew up. “I\u00a0outsmarted<\/em>\u00a0them and led them astray, and then I doubled back and found the water. Grandpa taught me\u00a0all<\/em>\u00a0the tricks! Didn’t he, Grandma?”<\/p>\n Esma chuckled. “You sure learned a lot from him. Both of you did.” Her eyes glided from one child to the other. “And he surely is so proud of you, knowing his flock is in the best of hands.”<\/p>\n “Oh, yes!” Both children beamed, their faces shining in the flickering light of the campfire.<\/p>\n “And we’ll bring Grandpa’s ram to the good lands!” Ruby spoke the words like a great vow. “Like we promised Grandpa!”<\/p>\n “Yes!!” Pico nodded his head and turned to Adam. “It’s the best ram in the world! He’s worth more than a\u00a0million dollars<\/em>! And when we’re on good land, he’ll make\u00a0thousands<\/em>\u00a0of lambs and more and we’ll have the biggest flock in the world, all happy, fat and woolly!”<\/p>\n Adam raised an eyebrow and gave the boy a sidelong glance. “A\u00a0million dollars<\/em>?”<\/p>\n “Sure!” Pico affirmed with great imperative. “Grandpa always said he wouldn’t sell him for a million dollars, so he must be worth\u00a0much more<\/em>\u00a0than that. Isn’t he, Grandma?”<\/p>\n Esma laughed, albeit not without a trace of melancholy. “He can’t be measured in money, Pico. Nothing you love and believe in can.” Turning to Adam and Lilyah, she continued, “My Goran had dreamt for a long, long time to have such a ram, and just three years ago, he finally bred him. That ram was the apple of his eye.”<\/p>\n “Oh, I understand.” Lilyah smiled. “It’s just the same in horse breeding. Once you have a stallion that has it all, you wouldn’t trade him for his weight in gold. They are one in a thousand.”<\/p>\n “Is that more than a million, Grandma?” Pico demanded to know.<\/p>\n “In this case, it’s just about the same, darling. It’s the happiness that counts when big dreams fly so much higher than any numbers can ever reach.”<\/p>\n Adam quietly listened and continued eating, almost glad for the conversation distracting his mind from thoughts he dreaded to explore; glad for the little smile it had brought on Lilyah’s serene features. He knew so well that she was worried sick, but he also knew that there wasn’t much he could do about it. Once more he swallowed the question of what had happened to the grandfather, to not disturb the fragile atmosphere of peace and comfort hovering around the campfire, to not summon the hazards that lurked outside the pastoral scenery. He didn’t want to ask about it with the children around, as the answer was quite predictable. After all, it wasn’t very likely that they had started out with only an old woman, two grandchildren and an unfortunate drifter called Manolito – whom they had hired a mere four weeks before. Talking about it would also distress Lilyah even more. She shouldn’t worry so much… Adam bit his lip, but his brow eased when Lilyah’s hand glided on his arm, tenderly brushing over his sleeve. His gaze fell on her small fingers and the ghost of a smile stole over his face. As usual, she wore no rings, in striking contrast to her lavish array of other jewelry. The reason was most likely that she didn’t want any rings getting in the way of handling the reins while riding. He would have to take that into account when getting her\u00a0his<\/em>\u00a0ring…<\/p>\n The sharp barking of the dog sounding up from the passage put an end to his thoughts. Esma let out a loud wolf-whistle and the barking stopped.<\/p>\n Adam swiftly put down his bowl and got to his feet. “Lil, you stay here with Esma. It’s better when I talk to him alone first.”<\/p>\n “Adam…” She had gotten up, as had the children and Esma.<\/p>\n “Please, Lil, there’s no time!” Adam curtly grasped her shoulders. “I know what I said, but there are all the other men. Just stay with Esma!” He gently squeezed her shoulders and turned around. “Esma, you have an eye on her.\u00a0Mariah!<\/em>”<\/p>\n The mare immediately trotted up to him. She was still saddled and bridled – unlike Chai whom Adam had unsaddled himself, with the unspoken intention to keep Lilyah from following him.<\/p>\n Lilyah unhappily watched as he fastened his loosened girth and mounted. Before she even got another word out, he had nudged the mare into a canter and dashed off.<\/p>\n Esma stepped next to her. “That father of his… he doesn’t approve of you, am I right?”<\/p>\n For one moment Lilyah didn’t react, her eyes glued to Adam who now changed the mare’s gait to a gallop, with the sheep jumping out of his way left and right. It was quite reckless to charge through the valley like this, betraying his hurry to reach the passage. But then her brow wrinkled as the words finally got through.<\/p>\n “How… how do you know?” She cast the old woman a bewildered look before she turned her attention to the entrance of the passage again. It was only little more than a furlong away, but the beginning twilight and the shadows of the rocks made it hard to see any details. The urge to call Chai and ride after Adam was tremendous. But, hadn’t her ignoring his word got him into trouble before? Forced him to stand up against armed men? Shouldn’t she do better now, being his devoted wife? And how would Esma react if she tried to follow him? After Adam had asked her to look after her?<\/p>\n “I guessed as much.” Esma bowed down to pat the dog that came limping up to her. “It’s just so often the case when a young man like this marries outside of his own kind.”<\/p>\n Lilyah cast her another short look, her brow furrowing. “And you think this is wrong?” There was a distinct challenge in her voice.<\/p>\n Esma chuckled. “My Goran was such a young man, child. And in all our 42 happy years of marriage, we never found anything wrong with it.”<\/p>\n Lilyah’s lips parted as she looked up to the old woman’s face, for one moment the ghost of a smile showed in her eyes.<\/p>\n “And do you know what I’ve learned in 42 years of being married to a real good man?” Esma went on.<\/p>\n “No…” Lilyah’s attention was more drawn to the passage again. She feared for Adam.<\/p>\n “Don’t listen to everything they say!”<\/p>\n Lilyah flew around, watching with widening eyes as Esma took her shotgun. She saw the smirk on the weathered face and her own features brightened as she flew around again.<\/p>\n “Chai!”<\/em><\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n Adam rapidly pulled up his mare in the middle of the long winding passage that led up to the entrance of the gorge. He had arrived just in time, spotting two riders cantering up the slope as if they were eager to be the first ones storming into the small valley. The sound of many fast approaching hooves indicated that the rest of the posse was not far behind.<\/p>\n “Go, girl!” He hurriedly urged Mariah up a rocky advance from which he could overlook the whole passage and would be in a position to stop anyone trying to get through. The next moment, his voice cut loud and sharp through the air. “Hold your horses right there!”<\/p>\n The two riders came to a sliding halt, but left no doubt that this was not meant to be much more than a temporary pause.<\/p>\n “He ain’t got the right to call us off!”<\/p>\n “Just get past him!”<\/p>\n “I wouldn’t try that!” Adam had pulled his gun, making sure the barrel could be seen. The clearly audible click of the hammer being cocked also helped to greatly diminish the men’s determination to storm ahead. Visibly thrown off track, they turned in the saddle to look for their peers arriving on the scene.<\/p>\n “ADAM!” Ben Cartwright’s thundering voice easily drowned the noise of about two dozen horses being pulled up and scrambling to a halt. “Put your gun away and come down here!”<\/p>\n Adam did not move, merely his eyes narrowed. His father’s first words – a bellowed command. And how sobering to realize that deep down, he wasn’t even much surprised. Biting down the sarcastic remark that jumped on his tongue, he curbed his temper.<\/p>\n “I think we should talk first!”<\/p>\n “With a GUN in your hand?” Ben hollered back, almost standing in the stirrups, his eyes piercing through the twilight to try and get a look at his son’s face. In spite of his seething fury, his worry for his boy still got the upper hand. Adam shouldn’t be out of bed, let alone in the saddle. Inadvertently yanking the reins and causing his buckskin to dance, Ben tried to make out a path up to the crag on which Adam had taken position. But there was none, the crag fell off steeply for nearly three yards on the posse’s side. No one could get up there so easily. “You put that gun away, Adam, and you come DOWN HERE so that I can have a look at you, and THEN we can talk! In private!”<\/p>\n Adam curtly regarded the two riders that still were a couple of yards in front of the others, just waiting for a chance to break through. From his place on the crag he had them well in his shooting range – an advantage he would lose the minute he left that spot. His reply came loud and cutting. “I’m sorry, Pa, but that is not an option!”<\/p>\n Ben literally fell back in the saddle, his lips forming a sharp downward arc. Adam was apparently just fine, sitting straight on his big horse on top of that crag, above everybody else. He still held the gun in his hand, most visibly and provokingly so, as if his father’s order was of no importance for him. Ben sharply drew the air through his nose and felt his anger rising again. “ADAM! This is NOT the time and place for any games and I’m NOT going to discuss this matter in public! You do as I told you, and I’ll be willing to listen to what you’ve got to say!” Raising his voice, he thundered, “But you come down here or else there will be NO talking!”<\/p>\n “And then what?” Adam felt his own anger simmering inside. How often had he backed down at such a moment before, how often had he swallowed his pride and curbed his tongue? Too often… “Fighting it out with the gun?”<\/p>\n Ben rose in the saddle, his forefinger shooting forward. “Son, you are NOT to disobey me!!”<\/p>\n Adam blew a mirthless laugh, his eyes narrowed to slits. “But I am, and I will.” He raised his voice to a sharp loudness. “So I’d suggest you just calm down and talk to me man to man. Now!”<\/p>\n Ben’s mouth fell open, he could not trust his ears. What was wrong with that son of his, seemingly hell bent to fight against his own father? Dragging it all out in the open, instead of keeping it in the family? His gaze fell to his left where Little Joe crouched in the saddle, not looking up, awkwardly picking around in his pinto’s mane. Frank Miller on his right hand gave him a deeply sympathetic look. Clem Foster avoided his gaze and looked very much as if he wished himself far away. Ben got a glimpse of the other men’s faces, saw some of them exchanging looks with each other. He swallowed down the disappointment, the humiliation. Drawing a deep breath, he straightened his back, his eyes shooting flashes at his eldest.<\/p>\n “Alright! Alright, if you wish so, let’s talk! Did you shoot at our neighbors and chase them off our land at gunpoint? Even after knowing that they were there on MY BEHALF?”<\/p>\n Adam sighed, half shaking his head. He knew that routine all too well. His father didn’t ask those questions to get any answers, but merely to get the respondent to admit that he’d done something wrong. “Pa…”<\/p>\n “DID YOU or did you NOT?” Ben propped out his chin, his eyes glowering. “And did you shoot at Mister Prescott here who volunteered to HELP US get those sheep off our land? An honest, hardworking man who sacrificed his spare time to do the neighborly thing and help prevent further damage being done to OUR land? And you SHOT at him? DID YOU?”<\/p>\n “Methinks you’re already in on\u00a0all<\/em>\u00a0the gory details.” Adam couldn’t prevent his sarcasm tainting his words; and yet he preferred his sarcasm to shine through rather than his hurt at realizing that his father was still not seeing him as an equal – but merely as a disobedient boy that had to be put in his place. “So I’d say we skip that part and get to the core of the matter.”<\/p>\n Ben’s eyes nearly bulged from their sockets. “How\u00a0dare<\/em>\u00a0you? How DARE you talk to me like that?” His forefinger stabbed forward, waving through the air to accentuate every word. “Now you listen to me, young man, and you listen good! I’m still your father, you’re still my son, and when I ask you a question, I expect you to answer it! AND I’m NOT putting up with that disrespect of yours ANY LONGER!”<\/p>\n “So what are you going to do? Tan me?” Adam tried what he could to keep his growing anger at bay, to not lose his temper. Leaning forward in the saddle, he went on before his father had a chance to shoot off a reply, “Now let me ask you a question for a change. Would you just tell me why on earth you’re sending a mob of triggerhappy dimwits after a harmless flock of sheep?”<\/p>\n “A… MOB?” Ben’s hands clutched the reins as he stared at his eldest son. “You have the IMPERTINENCE to call OUR friends and neighbors a MOB??”<\/p>\n “Yes, I have the impertinence to call our friends and neighbors a mob!” Adam scoffed in a biting lampoonery, his eyes had narrowed to slits. “Because that’s just what they behaved like. And that it was you on whose behalf they were acting wasn’t particularly uplifting to learn about.”<\/p>\n “Well, I’m sorry to hear that my order didn’t meet your approval!” Ben sarcastically shot back. “And still it wasn’t yours to go against it. NOR is it yours to call these good men ‘triggerhappy dimwits! Adam, that’s PREPOSTEROUS!! The men had every right to be there, and you should’ve asked ME before taking things in your own hands! That way you probably would’ve learned they were there for a REASON!”<\/p>\n “Shooting other people’s sheep?” Adam sharply asked. “I’m sorry, but I cannot see any justification for that!”<\/p>\n “Are you joshing me?” Ben shook his head in sheer disbelief. “Adam, haven’t you spared ONE thought of what those sheep are DOING to our land?”<\/p>\n “They graze on it?”<\/p>\n “They were trespassing!” The ironic undertone in his son’s voice drove Ben’s blood to boiling temperature, his hand went gesticulating through the air again. “Do you expect me to twiddle my thumbs and just look on while they eat our land bare?”<\/p>\n “Pa, you’re exaggerating – as always!”<\/p>\n “Exagg…” Ben nearly choked on the word. “HOW DARE YOU talk to me like THAT?”<\/p>\n “Oh\u00a0come on!<\/em>” Adam felt his own anger threatening to get the better of him. “I just dare, get over it! Maybe you try and come up with some solid arguments for a change instead of throwing around hackneyed phrases!”<\/p>\n Ben hissed through his teeth, nearly trembling inside. The whole situation increasingly felt like a nightmare that could not be real. He couldn’t believe it was Adam who had so brazenly taken the high ground on top of that crag, a gun in his hand, snapping at his own father in such an outrageous manner, in front of everybody listening. He couldn’t believe it had come this far. He and Adam had had arguments before, but never, not ever, had his eldest son questioned his authority like this. He tried to read his son’s face, but the twilight made it hard to see any details; and the brim of Adam’s hat shadowed his features.<\/p>\n “So you want arguments!” Ben shouted, his face a mask of frozen fury. “I’d never thought I would have to explain it to you, SON, but I’ll give you arguments! The Ponderosa is not open for every scavenger passing by to pillage! Maybe you think it’s alright for any sheep herder to ruin the land and then move on, but not I. Adam, not I!! I built this ranch, I cleared this land, I worked it ’til my hands cracked open and the sweat blinded my eyes, I planted that grass and with the Lord’s help it grew, and I’m not going to let any sheep turn this land to DUST! Is THAT argument enough for you?”<\/p>\n “No,” Adam retorted and went on before his father could explode. “With all due respect, but I’m hard pressed to see how a rather small flock of roughly 300 sheep could turn a spread the size of the Ponderosa to dust. In case you’ve forgotten, sheep are those relatively small woolly animals that go baaa, smaller even than young calves – and not the gargantuan firebreathing monsters from hell you seem to have discussed during your meetings with the Cattlemen’s Association.”<\/p>\n Ben grew pale with anger. “Adam, I’ve told you before and I tell you again, I’m NOT going to accept your brazen sarcasm! And I’m NOT…”<\/p>\n “I’m afraid you’ll have to!” Adam snapped back, forcing himself to keep his hands still – the one that still held the gun and the one cramped around his reins. Inhaling slowly and lengthily, he tried to calm down his inward tension. “And your argument falls flat in its glaring discrepancy between the number of sheep and the size of the land. You should come up with something more substantial!”<\/p>\n “MORE SUBSTANTIAL?? HOW D…” Ben broke off and swallowed the rest of his words, realizing that he was repeating himself, almost spitting out the same words again that had already provoked his son’s mockery before. The buckskin began stomping nervously beneath him and he angrily reined him in, unable to prevent the gelding from dancing half a circle and bumping into Joe’s pinto. At the same time he noticed with some vexation that Adam’s huge mare stood calm and proud on top of that crag, like a massive statue wrought of shimmering copper. Squinting his eyes, Ben forced himself to calm down.<\/p>\n “Adam, I’m NOT obliged to discuss ANY of MY decisions with you, as I’m STILL running this ranch as I see fit, and this includes what I will ALLOW on this land and what not!” His face crunched to a fist, his eyes nailed his son at the spot. “But let me recall some things for you that you’ve obviously FORGOTTEN about. There’s a DROUGHT on the land, pasture is sparse and limited, ranchers all over the Comstock are DESPERATELY fighting for SURVIVAL – and you expect us to give up our precious land to feed a herd of sheep that some unscrupulous, scavenging drifters drive wherever they see fit??”<\/p>\n An approving murmur came from the men around him that up to then had followed the heated exchange in silence.<\/p>\n “Hear, hear!” Prescott called out.<\/p>\n Adam did not look at the scrawny rancher, he looked at his father who now sat back in the saddle as if there was no doubt that his latest words had successfully grounded every counterargument his son could come up with.<\/p>\n “I’ve not forgotten about the drought,” Adam finally said, wondering inside at how calm his voice sounded. “I was reminded of it once more after cutting through the open range today…” His baritone rose in volume. “The open range where those sheep would have every legal right to graze – but cannot because\u00a0your<\/em>\u00a0herd of 900 head of cattle, if I may borrow your overly dramatic phrasing from before, are just turning the land to\u00a0dust<\/em>!”<\/p>\n Ben’s eyes flashed in anger. “Now are we at that again?”<\/p>\n “Yeah, we’re at that again!” Adam shouted back. “Because it all goes together. But neither the severity of the drought nor your mismanagement of pasture capacity gives you the moral justification to destroy other people’s livestock!”<\/p>\n Ben pulled back as if he’d gotten a slap to his face. “You DARE accuse ME of… of MISMANAGEMENT?”<\/p>\n “I’m not accusing you, I’m stating a fact!” Adam sat very straight in the saddle. “You’ve overstocked with your recent cattle purchases and now it backfires. And you do have your 900 head on the open range right now, preventing any other livestock from grazing there.”<\/p>\n “Adam…” Frank Miller hesitantly threw in while Ben still fought for words. “Your father’s not\u00a0overstocking<\/em>. Sure, he bought a lot of cattle, just as my father did, but they have the land for it. It’s just normal business to go over the capacity for a little while. And no one here minds the Ponderosa herd on the open range, the land can recover from cattle. But sheep are a different matter entirely.”<\/p>\n Murmurs of approval sounded up in the posse.<\/p>\n “Frank…” Ben had to take another deep breath to fight down his temper. “Frank, I know you mean well, but this is between Adam and me!”<\/p>\n “Sorry, Ben.” Frank half shrugged his shoulder. “I didn’t mean to meddle, I just thought an unbiased view might help somewhat. It’s hard to watch you so at odds with each other, when you should really stand together.”<\/p>\n “Yes, we should…” Ben heavily nodded his head, feeling a painful stab inside. His brow darkened as he bestowed a sinister look on his eldest. “Adam, whatever your views on my ability to run this ranch, it has nothing to do with those sheep right now, and you know it!” He paused, almost as if hoping his son would retract his words. But Adam remained silent and Ben continued, even more aggravated than before, “Those critters will ruin what little is left from the land, their stench alone makes it unsuitable for cattle. AND in case you’ve forgotten about it, they have anthrax and every day they are left roaming about enhances the risk of infecting OUR livestock!”<\/p>\n “Do you have a valid proof for this?” Adam cocked his head, no muscle moving in his face to betray his inner thoughts. “Apart from this telegraph from the sheriff of Lobdells who most likely acted in the interest of his cattle ranching family?”<\/p>\n “You’re putting the LAW in question?” Ben bellowed. “Without even having SEEN this telegraph?”<\/p>\n “I’ve seen the sheep!” Adam retorted. “And I’ve still got sense enough to smell a cock-and-bull story when I come upon one. It’s not the law I put in question, but the qualification of a sheriff to diagnose diseases in livestock. Show me a veterinarian examination report and I’m more likely to take it seriously.” He saw his father open his mouth and added with an acidic tone, “And while we’re talking about cock-and-bull stories, that rumour of sheep odor driving cattle away is ridiculous gossip.”<\/p>\n “That’s enough already!” Ben was fuming, fighting to keep his hands from swishing through the air, lest his buckskin would get even more skittish. “Adam, I don’t know what’s driving you to such unconscionable behaviour, causing you to take a stand against your own family, but I’m done with these fruitless discussions once and for all!” He rose in the saddle. “Those sheep are in there?”<\/p>\n Adam tensed. “They are in there. But, our discussion is not over yet!”<\/p>\n “Oh, yes, it is over!” Ben retorted. “I’m NOT going to put up with your disrespect any longer, son! Nor with your disloyalty, allowing those sheep in there when you know how important that waterhole is!” He did not let his son get a word in, shouting on even louder, “And if you don’t care about the damage done to the Ponderosa, I can’t help it, but, and the Lord is my witness, I WON’T sit idle and watch those sheep ruin the land! I’ll DO something about it!”<\/p>\n “You haven’t even listened to one word I said, have you?” Adam flared up. “You’re just stuck to your usual vainglorious selfrighteousness, just seeing what you want to see! You’re behaving like a stubborn, old FOOL!”<\/p>\n “Adam, that’s ENOUGH!” Livid with rage, Ben’s fist shot up. “Don’t you DARE raise your voice to your own FATHER like this!!”<\/p>\n “I DARE, so get used to it!” For one moment Adam lost his calm, had to catch his breath to force down his bitterness and anger. “And by God, I should’ve done it already five years ago!”<\/p>\n “Adam, I don’t know you anymore!” Ben’s voice trembled with fury as he loudly declaimed,\u00a0“Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.”<\/em><\/p>\n Adam threw up his head, letting out an exasperated hiss. “Is that all you can come up with when you’ve run out of reasonable arguments? Bible quotes?” He abruptly bent foward to eye his father. “You’d better sit down and\u00a0think<\/em>\u00a0about what I’ve told you, then maybe it will dawn in on you that you’re in the WRONG!”<\/p>\n “I’M IN THE WRONG??” Ben nearly jumped in the saddle. “Now let me tell you this, boy! I OWN this land! I PROTECT this land! I will FIGHT for this land, and I have EVERY RIGHT to do so! And I’m acting WITHIN THE LAW!”<\/p>\n “Now what are you going to do? Storm in there and shoot the sheep?”<\/p>\n “I’m doing what NEEDS to be done!” Ben thundered. “And if you don’t find it inside yourself anymore to stand by your father and your family, then step aside and don’t get in my way!!”<\/p>\n Adam stiffened. “But I won’t step aside. And I’m standing in your way until YOU find it inside yourself to take off those blinders and start\u00a0thinking<\/em>\u00a0about what you’re doing!”<\/p>\n Ben gasped, straightening out in the saddle as high as he could, his eyes glowering. “Maybe YOU should be thinking about what YOU are doing! Adam, are those sheep worth it, you fighting your own father? Standing against your own family? BETRAYING everything you’ve ever lived for?? You think about that, son!” He raised his chin and nudged his buckskin to move forward. “We’re coming through!”<\/p>\n It was the signal the men around him had just waited for. Everybody rode on – and came to a rapid halt again when Adam fired his gun into the air. The sound of the shot echoed from the surrounding hills.<\/p>\n “ADAM!” Ben reined in his horse so harshly that the gelding half-reared. “Adam, you’re SHOOTING at your own FATHER?”<\/p>\n “Not at you – and not at my brother.” Adam’s face had frozen to a mask. “But I’ll shoot at anyone else who tries to break through!”<\/p>\n “That would be MURDER!”<\/p>\n “Fine! I hope you’ll have the appropriate Bible quotation for my hanging!”<\/p>\n Ben clutched his reins so violently that his horse’s head was pulled back, causing the gelding to stomp backwards until he bumped into Frank Miller’s palomino. “Adam, I’ve got the LAW on my side! I can have you ARRESTED if you don’t come to your senses! I’ve got those men here to back me up! I have the RIGHT to do what I deem right! YOU have nothing! You stand ALONE!”<\/p>\n Adam did not get to answer as the clip-clop of a single horse drew their attention. It was Lilyah who slowly rode up to the mound of the passage, halting her unsaddled stallion in everybody’s plain sight. She held the bow in her hands, an arrow on the limb, yet the weapon was pointed downwards and not tensed. She did not say one word, she just sat there, a silent shadow in the darkness of the shaded canyon. For the split of a moment Adam closed his eyes, torn between sudden worry, anger, despair and a strange notion of pride, a flight of warmth touching his heart.<\/p>\n “MISS Lilyah!” Ben blew an angry breath. “You shouldn’t be here at all, this is NONE of your business!”<\/p>\n “Don’t you raise your voice against my wife!” Adam sharply cut in. “Lil! Go back in cover!”<\/p>\n She seemingly didn’t react, but nudged the black Arabian to move backwards, to slowly disappear behind the rocks again.<\/p>\n Adam drew a deep breath, darkly watching the shock on his father’s face who visibly had to chew on what he had heard. “What you’d find in there is an old woman and two children who will fight for their property!” He tried to keep his voice calm. “You might have the law on your side, but you don’t have the moral justification to destroy their livelihood, not for reasons as flimsy and meaningless as you cited. And neither I nor my wife will stand by and just watch!”<\/p>\n For long moments, Ben sat motionless on his horse, his lips pressed to a thin line, his eyes staring at the buckskin’s black mane. Only when the men around him began getting restless, his head snapped up.<\/p>\n “Alright, Adam!” His voice came clipped, almost as if he were short of air. “Alright! I’m under no obligation to do this, but I will make you an offer! I’m willing to pay compensation for those sheep! I’ll pay three dollars for every head that we shoot!”<\/p>\n Everybody around him started to murmur, snippets of sentences standing out, saying as much as that three dollars per head were far too much for sick, miserable sheep, that Ben Cartwright was under no obligation to pay anything at all, that it was an extraordinarily generous offer. Little Joe was already cautiously smiling, showing his relief, his eyes clinging to his brother on top of the crag, full of hope that this would settle it.<\/p>\n Adam shifted in the saddle, his gun still in his hand. “Give me the night to think it over!”<\/p>\n “WHAT?” Ben nearly exploded. “That’s the best offer you can get! That whole flock isn’t worth three dollars and I’m offering to pay three dollars PER HEAD!”<\/p>\n Adam’s eyes had narrowed. “I’m not asking for me. It will take some time for the shepherds to contemplate. Also, they have dead to mourn, and there are children present. The sheep are safely here in the gorge, the whole thing can wait until tomorrow!”<\/p>\n Ben squinted to read his son’s face, but in the meanwhile it had gotten so dark that he could not see anything but Adam’s shaded silhouette – and the moonlight shimmering on the barrel of his gun. A bitter taste rose in his throat and he suddenly wished for nothing more than to end this. “Alright! We’ll be back tomorrow at sunup!”<\/p>\n “But, Mister Cartwright!” Prescott couldn’t hold it. “They might use the night to escape!”<\/p>\n Ben turned his buckskin around. “We’ll leave guards to make sure the sheep stay in there! The waterhole is infected already and the gorge lost for us, so what does it matter?” He had spoken loud enough for Adam to hear him. “Come on, men! We’re leaving – for now!”<\/p>\n Adam watched as his father rode out without looking back, watched as the whole posse followed rather unwillingly, with the odd grumble of protest being heard here and there. The last one to leave was Little Joe who waved at his brother. Adam just nodded his head. He felt like frozen, and yet something was trembling inside him. He waited until the sound of hoofbeats had disappeared in the distance before he put his gun back in his holster and turned the mare to leave the crag.<\/p>\n Lilyah was waiting at the entrance of the passage, silently sitting on her stallion.<\/p>\n Adam halted his horse next to her, not saying a word. The mask-like coldness fell from his face as her hand softly brushed over his cheek, as she leaned forward to enclose him in her arms. He flung his arms around her and buried his face in her hair, nestling into her loving embrace for comfort, for solace, for warmth.<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 68. To See a Light\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Adam lifted his head, still looking down. “Guess I ruined it…”<\/p>\n “What?” Lilyah tried to catch his eyes. “Adam, no – you didn’t!”<\/p>\n “Lil…” He raised his hand in a helpless gesture and let it fall again, slowly shaking his head. “I should’ve known he wouldn’t listen. I know him long enough.” He sighed. “Reckon I got carried away.”<\/p>\n Her fingers gently glided over his cheek, trying to turn his face to her. “Adam, it was time for you to stand up to him! He… he bellowed at you like you were a child. You couldn’t accept that…”<\/p>\n “And to what end?” He finally looked at her. “It would’ve helped Esma more had I simply played to his whims, applying to his generosity by pointing out there are children involved. That would’ve changed everything. Instead, I displayed just about the same bad temper as he did, the same foolish stubborness I blame him for. I should’ve known better!”<\/p>\n “Sometimes you can only fight fire with fire.” Her voice was very low. “Adam, he hurt your pride, and I think he had done it so very often before that there are wounds in your inside that never had a chance to heal. You always try to be reasonable and then you give in to keep the peace, but in the end it will only make you bitter. And you would be hurting again.”<\/p>\n “Yah…” He blew a breath and straightened in the saddle, allowing the mare to move away from the stallion. “But tomorrow someone else might be hurting and through my fault.”<\/p>\n “Talking about me?” Esma’s rough voice came from the dark.<\/p>\n Adam tensed and caught his breath before he dismounted, facing the old woman that stepped out from the shadows of the rocks. “Ehm… Esma…”<\/p>\n “I’ve heard it all.” She nodded to herself. “Seems to me that old squalling tinhorn was well in the need for a good shot across the bow. In all honesty, it took me a lot of willpower to not step in and give him a piece of my mind, but I thought that was your axe to grind!” A wry grin played around her lips as she squinted at him. “It was about time, wasn’t it?”<\/p>\n For one heartbeat Adam felt truly helpless and at a loss for words. “Esma…” He spoke slowly and chose his words carefully, feeling guilty regret for each one of them. “You might have realized that the confrontation was merely postponed. It… it might get even worse tomorrow.” The words came harder and harder to him. “You might be forced to sell out.”<\/p>\n “Sell my flock? So they can kill them?” She blew a laugh. “Not in a lifetime, shabaro!”<\/p>\n “But…”<\/p>\n “Ah, come on!” She made a disparaging hand movement. “We’ll find a way. Now ease up and don’t be such a gloom-dripping sourpuss!”<\/p>\n “Gloom-dripping…” Adam let the word trail off, trying to read the old woman’s rugged features. “What do you think you are you going to do?”<\/p>\n “We’ll wait a few hours and then we sneak out of here and scram!” Esma turned to the camp. “Like we always do. In the meanwhile, we will finish our meal!”<\/p>\n “That’s a wonderful idea!” Lilyah threw in before Adam could react. Still mounted, she maneuvered the stallion closer. “Adam hasn’t tasted the sweet pie yet and he’s never had some before.”<\/p>\n “Oha! You’ve missed something good, shabaro! My Goran used to love it. He always said it’d be the best thing ever to refreshen a tired soul. Come on!”<\/p>\n Adam opened his mouth and closed it, his eyes darting from Lilyah’s smile above him to Esma’s massive frame marching off in the direction of the campsite. Was he the only one to understand that they were in real dire straits?<\/p>\n “Esma, there’ll be guards!” he called out, regardless of the fact that she was steadily walking away.<\/p>\n “I know, I’ve heard it.” She didn’t turn around, but there was a distinctive chuckle in her voice.<\/p>\n “Adam!” Lilyah slid from Chai’s back and reached for his arm. “Adam, this confrontation with your father has gotten to you, but don’t let it dampen your spirit. You did what was right for you; and if he ever loved you, he will understand it one day.” Her hands cradled his face. “And I know that he loves you.”<\/p>\n Adam omitted a sigh as he looked into her eyes, so large and black in the darkness, looking so compassionately, imploringly even, into his. His fingers gently brushed a long strand of her hair back over her shoulder while he searched for the right words. “Lil, it’s not that. Whether I can make up with him or not, it most likely won’t happen tomorrow morning – and that will be the very hour when Esma loses her flock, the one way or the other. Right now, my father is madder than a wet hen, and he’ll be sizzling for quite some time to come. He won’t back off an inch. I’m not sure if I can mend anything tomorrow, pacify him, and…” He broke off, his eyes averted hers.<\/p>\n “And?” she finally asked.<\/p>\n He inhaled a long breath. The words came out without him thinking. “And I’m not sure if I even want to.” For one moment, he stood in wonderment at the ease with which he had shared a thought of a kind he usually wouldn’t have allowed himself to entertain even in silence.<\/p>\n “Then don’t.” Her hand brushed over his cheek. “You stood your ground tonight, you shouldn’t give it up.”<\/p>\n The ghost of a smile stole over his lips, but it wasn’t enough to lighten the deep worrylines in his face. Lilyah’s fingertips touched the corner of his mouth, as if she tried to keep the faint trace of his smile from vanishing.<\/p>\n “We’ll do as Esma says,” she continued encouragingly. “And you should use the few hours and sleep a little. You must be so tired.”<\/p>\n “As Esma says…” Adam sighed. “Do you think it’ll be so easy to just sneak out of here? There’ll be guards!”<\/p>\n “We’ll sneak around them!” she retorted. “They can’t be everywhere, can they?”<\/p>\n “They don’t need to be everywhere. There’s only a small passage to this valley and just one way out. I have a good idea where they might be holed up, and there’ll be no sneaking around anything!”<\/p>\n He almost regretted the words as he noticed the little steep line building on her forehead. He didn’t want her to worry, to fret, to fear… In his imagination he saw her dear little face watching the sheep getting shot, and the regret culminated into a sharp pain that tore at his heart. It would be unbearable for her.<\/p>\n But her features smoothed as she looked up to him. “Allah will show us a way, and he will take care of the guards. Maybe they’ll fall asleep later on.”<\/p>\n “Like in the fairytale of the beautiful Amina and her magic camel?” A conflicting tide of amusement and sadness rose in his chest, while the painful regret still lingered on. “This isn’t a fairytale, Lil.”<\/p>\n She smiled. “The beautiful Amina and her magic camel were a fairytale, Adam. But Allah is real!”<\/p>\n Adam swallowed the ironic remark he had on his tongue. He felt her arms around his waist, the warmth of her small body against his, and he placed his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer. “Let’s go back and talk to Esma.”<\/p>\n “Shouldn’t we ride? It’s a couple of furlongs, and you must be tired…”<\/p>\n “And cheat myself out of a moonlight walk with my bride?” he quipped. “That’s the fairytale I want for real!”<\/p>\n Lilyah laughed softly and snuggled even closer to him.<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n Ben Cartwright halted his horse, a sharp eye on his youngest son. “Somebody should look after the herd on the open range before we turn for home.”<\/p>\n Little Joe barely looked up. “Pa, it’s deep dark night, and there are two of our hands there already. What sense would it make?”<\/p>\n “Oh, I can do that!” Frank Miller quickly threw in before Ben could explode. “It’s just a short detour off the way to our ranch, and as Joe says, there’s likely nothing much to see.”<\/p>\n “It would be a little more than a detour for you, Frank.” Ben regarded the young man with a grateful look. Most of the posse had since departed in direction of Carson or Virginia City, Frank was still with them since he shared a good portion of the way.<\/p>\n “But much less than it would be for any of you,” Frank replied. “So don’t make it sound like I’d cross the Sierras for you!”<\/p>\n Ben gave a dry laugh. “I still appreciate it, Frank, thanks! Your father will be back from Sacramento tomorrow?”<\/p>\n “Tomorrow evening, yes. I’d wish we’d have that sheep problem settled by then so he wouldn’t have to worry about it anymore.”<\/p>\n “So do I, my boy, so do I!” Ben nodded to himself and couldn’t help a bitter feeling rising up inside. Adam was less concerned about his father’s worries… His eyes darted over to his youngest son again who seemed to be absentminded and brooding. Ben’s lips formed a thin line. He still hadn’t forgotten that Joe hadn’t exactly been eager to help finding the traces of those darn sheep.<\/p>\n He bid the young Miller a good night and nudged the buckskin into motion. Just as he had reached his son’s horse, Little Joe urged his pinto to a faster trot. Ben let out a throaty grumble but didn’t say anything. There were still some of the Ponderosa ranch hands with them and he already had had one ugly and noisy family war on display for all to see.<\/p>\n They rode in stony silence until they had finally reached the ranch house and the hands had veered off to their quarters. The yard and the house lay in deep darkness, merely the lantern above the door provided a bleak flicker of light. Hoss was still up north at the lumber camp and Hop Sing was likely long asleep. The scenery had something sad and lonely to it, the only sound being the sound of their horses’ hooves, muffled by the dried loam of the ground.<\/p>\n “What?” Ben bellowed as they arrived at the barn’s doorway. He was taken aback at how loud his voice was.<\/p>\n “Nothing, Pa.” Joe dismounted without looking at his father. “I’ll take care of your horse.”<\/p>\n Ben stiffly climbed off his buckskin, but remained standing beside the animal, not letting go of the reins. Joe fumbled with his own tack, obviously waiting for his father to head for the house and leave the horse standing there.<\/p>\n Ben heaved a deep breath. “You think I was too harsh!”<\/p>\n For a while Joe just stood there, his hand on his saddle, eyes fixed on his pinto’s black and white mane.<\/p>\n “Yes.” He turned abruptly to face his father. “I think you were too harsh!”<\/p>\n Ben fought for a severe stare but he couldn’t keep his face from mellowing. Oh, he knew his youngest so well. Even though he could scarcely see him in the near black shadow thrown by the barn, he could easily picture the provocative posture, the stubborn look; he was sure that his son’s green eyes were glittering with determination, well knowing that he made his father angry but still unwavering in his resolve to stick to his guns. And whenever Joe stood there like this, with those glittering eyes, Ben thought of a wild-haired eight-year-old boy who had been standing there with the same fierce determination in order to enforce his father’s permission to ride a big horse. His big brother Adam had been due to come home from back East, and Joe wanted to ride a big horse like a big man, so his long lost brother couldn’t possibly think he was still a little boy riding a pony. And to make his point, he had chosen for himself the biggest horse on the ranch. It has been a great heartache for Ben, confronted with his youngest’s daredevil antics on a horse that he couldn’t mount without the help of a fence, with the fate of his mother still fresh in Ben’s memory. Adam had solved the problem later by finding that small Indian paint pony for Joe, smuggling it into a herd of saddle horses, well knowing that Joe’s eyes would pop out at the sight of a real Indian horse that only a real hero like him could ride – and never telling him that he and Hoss had already broke it for him. Joe had ridden pintos ever since.<\/p>\n Ben shook off the memory, suddenly aware that there was a forlorn smile on his face. He was also aware that Joe was still staring at him, yet as unable to see his face in the dark as he was unable to really see his son.<\/p>\n “Well…” He had to clear his throat. “Things certainly went out off hand… sometimes… things are said in the heat that you don’t really mean… one word gives the other and then all hell breaks loose.” He drew a breath. “Tomorrow is another day, and Adam and I will talk it over again.” He sensed that his son was still waiting and added, a bit awkwardly, “Peacefully.”<\/p>\n “That’s good.” Joe finally relaxed. “There’re women and children involved. Adam was thinking of them and so he just viewed things from their side. He’s always had that sense of justice, and standing up for the outcasts.”<\/p>\n Ben nodded his head. “Yes, yes… It’s been a long night, Joe. Stable the horses and then go to bed. It’ll be a long day tomorrow.”<\/p>\n “Alright, Pa.”<\/p>\n Ben at last let go of the reins and stepped back, watching his youngest gather both horses to lead to the barn’s doorway. Just as he turned to the house, Joe’s voice made him start.<\/p>\n “Adam’s a married man now, Pa. It’s a good thing, if you ask me. They really love each other.”<\/p>\n Ben stood still. “Yes…”<\/p>\n “I only wished they could’ve married on the Ponderosa,” Joe added.<\/p>\n Ben pressed his lips together and walked to the dark house, with heavy steps.<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n “Shabaro, we’ll either scram or we fight it out, it’s that easy and really not hard to understand!” Esma’s tone left no room for doubt. “We have a flock to care for, and that nincompoop isn’t born yet that would take my Goran’s ram from me while I still breathe. You want some more of the sweet pie?”<\/p>\n Adam didn’t even try to keep his eyes from rolling. “No, thanks…” He didn’t know what else to say. All his arguments, all his well thought reasoning had been frazzled to dust at this bulwark of stubbornness that would have even put his father to shame. Esma Dobrachew simply refused to realize that neither of her two choices had any chance of success. Or maybe she knew it and was determined to die fighting. He felt Lilyah sitting close at his side, heard the soft rustling of her silken garments as she moved to pour him a coffee; his eyes glided to Ruby who had settled opposite of them at the campfire, indulging in a big bowl of sweet pie. Pico had gone to look after Daisy, but had failed to come back – a glimpse into the wagon had shown the boy cuddled up to the ewe, soundly asleep. Adam exhaled a frustrated breath and took a sip of his coffee, glad that his hands could hold onto the mug to keep them from pulling his hair out.<\/p>\n Esma watched him through the smoke puffs of her pipe. “I told you it’s not your fight, cowboy!”<\/p>\n “A little late for that, eh?”<\/p>\n She laughed. “You always can go!”<\/p>\n “Adam is not the man to run away!” Lilyah chimed in. “But he really shouldn’t fight, he wouldn’t stand a chance against all those men.” She proudly lifted her head. “But I can!”<\/p>\n Adam coughed into his coffee mug.\u00a0“What??”<\/em><\/p>\n “Only if we really cannot sneak out.” She bowed forward, her dark eyes started to glow. “But\u00a0if<\/em>\u00a0we have to fight, Chai and I will ride forward and stand up against those men! And then we’ll see if they\u00a0dare<\/em>\u00a0shooting at a woman!”<\/p>\n “Yes!!”<\/em>\u00a0Ruby sat up galvanized, nearly dropping her sweet pie. “YES!! And I will ride at your side! We’ll\u00a0show<\/em>\u00a0them!!”<\/p>\n “Now would you just hold it!” Adam raised his voice, his eyes flying from one to another. “You girls’ll do nothing of the sort!”<\/p>\n “And who are you to tell?” Ruby shot back.<\/p>\n Lilyah regally straigthened in her seat. “I’m the daughter of Sheikh Rashid Al-Sharieh, I have the blood of Bedouins running in my veins! I know no fear, and I can fight if need be!”<\/p>\n Adam didn’t get a word in when Ruby sprang to her feet, slamming her fists to her hips.<\/p>\n “It’s time for men like you to learn to take us women seriously, cowboy!” she snapped. “We’re not the meek little mice to be bossed around and hide behind your backs when things get dangerous. We’re as good as any men and better even!”<\/p>\n Adam’s mouth fell open while his brow knitted in bewilderment. The girl couldn’t be much older than maybe thirteen years, fourteen at the most. She should be sleeping next to her brother, with a rag doll in her arms. His eyes wandered to Esma who just sat there in an air of amused content, deliberately puffing her pipe.<\/p>\n “Adam, it would be better this way!” Lilyah placed her hand on his arm, searching his eyes. “If they see that they’re up against women, they might just find the sheep not that important anymore and back off. But if they’d stand against you, another man, they would rely on their numbers and fight you!”<\/p>\n “Have you ever heard of the great Greek Amazon woman warriors?” Ruby asked provocatively, beaming as she went on, “They were famous female warriors and no men ever told them what to do! They wouldn’t even allow any men anywhere near them because they deemed them too weak!”<\/p>\n Adam gave the girl a look from under knitted brows, thoughtfully rubbing his balled hand against his mouth while the further description of the glorious female warriors wavered past his ears. His gaze wandered along the steep mountain walls surrounding the small valley, their sharp rocks dimly lit by the moon, until they caught themselves at the wagon where a very sleepy Pico just stuck his head out, asking if ‘they’ were already coming. His sister’s agitated voice must have awaken him, and apparently also the ewe, as the long, demanding\u00a0baah<\/em>\u00a0from inside the vehicle demonstrated. As usual, the call was promptly answered by several bleats from the dark surrounding the fireplace. Adam smacked his lips, as if a long thought process had just come to an end, and swiftly rose to his feet.<\/p>\n Four pairs of eyes looked up to him, asking.<\/p>\n “I’ll go and check on the guards.” He hesitated for a heartbeat before he added, “Maybe there is another way.”<\/p>\n Esma slowly nodded her head, as if she had expected nothing else. “Now you’re talking.”<\/p>\n “I’m coming with you!” Lilyah stood up.<\/p>\n “No, Lil, you won’t!”<\/p>\n “Oh, I will!” She stuck her chin out, every inch determined resolution. “It might get dangerous and I’m not going to let you go alone!”<\/p>\n Adam shook his head, but his sigh was already a sound of defeat. “Saddle your horse.”<\/p>\n “I don’t need to saddle Chai, I can as well…”<\/p>\n “Oh, yes, you will!” he cut her off. “It might get dangerous and you’ll have a safer seat on a saddled horse!”<\/p>\n A chuckle came from Esma. “That’s a compromise, child!”<\/p>\n Adam was about to shoot off a remark, but then he just picked up his hat and went to call Mariah. At least one female that happily and willingly did as she was told, without putting anything in question.<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n “Ho…”<\/p>\n The word was barely audible, little more than a breathe, but it was enough for Lilyah to pull up next to the big mare. Her attempts to read Adam’s face were futile in the darkness, with the black foliage of the trees above them blocking off whatever light the hazy moon was giving. She felt his touch at her arm and then saw the shadow of his big hand pointing forward, to a spot somewhere across the bit of open space before them. Yet no matter how she strained her eyes, she couldn’t make out anything. There should at least be the shine of a campfire, but there was nothing but shadows and darkness.<\/p>\n Adam leaned over to bring his head close to hers, so close that the brim of his hat brushed against her hair. “Two or three horses behind the bushes,” he whispered almost soundlessly. “A campfire behind the boulder; almost burnt down.”<\/p>\n She squinted, but still couldn’t see anything. How could he even\u00a0tell<\/em>\u00a0there was a campfire\u00a0behind<\/em>\u00a0the boulder?<\/p>\n Adam maneuvered the mare a few steps backwards before he turned her around to slowly ride back where they had come from. Lilyah followed the movement and stayed at his side until he pulled up again.<\/p>\n “They’re farther away than I thought, which is good. They’re well out of earshot.” His voice was very low, but he didn’t whisper anymore. “Seems they’ve burned the cadavers on the clearing, and apparently they didn’t want to camp anywhere near them.”<\/p>\n “You think we…” Lilyah broke off. That much she could tell by herself that there wasn’t any chance to drive a whole flock of bleating sheep past that spot they had just left without those men out there noticing. And even though it was nearly a mile to the small valley where the flock was, the way from it had led through dark canyons and passages, none of which had even remotely shown a trace of an alternate path out.<\/p>\n “… could possibly get past them?” Adam finished her sentence as she remained silent. “No.”<\/p>\n She bit her lip. “Maybe a hidden path along the way…”<\/p>\n “No. They knew quite well they could afford to camp that far off. It’s the only way out of the valley.” A deep chuckle came from his chest as he continued, “Let’s ride back. And put that dagger away.”<\/p>\n Lilyah blushed and stashed the weapon she had clutched back in its sheath. Adam really must have eyes like an eagle, or an owl – or maybe he had a sixth sense. Hadn’t she hidden the blade in the folds of her wrap all the time? Just in case someone would jump them from the dark?<\/p>\n They rode back in silence, each hanging about their own thoughts, and Lilyah trying to overcome her discomfort in the narrowness of the rocky walls. Even though the night was anything but dark, the moonlight didn’t reach into the steep canyons, and more often than not they passed through pitchblack darkness. Once again she was thankful for Mariah’s utter stoicism, for the mare’s calmness rubbed off on the stallion who otherwise would have been harder to handle.<\/p>\n She breathed a deep sigh of relief when they finally reached the small valley again which appeared almost bright in the moonlight, compared to the blackness of the rocky passages. The sheep were whitish spots spread all over the place, most of them lying and sleeping, but a few still walking about, letting out a bleat now and then. The campfire was still lowly burning and the lantern at the wagon provided an additional speck of light. It was a lovely and peaceful scenery and Lilyah felt a sharp pain inside when she thought of the next morning. Her resolve to fight for this flock grew even bigger.<\/p>\n “Lil, wait…” Adam had halted his mare.<\/p>\n Lilyah pulled up again and turned around to him. The brim of his hat still shadowed his face and at a first glance it seemed as if he also was sunken in the sight of the pastoral image in front of them. Yet a closer look revealed that his narrowed eyes had lost themselves somewhere above the valley. He seemed to be churning a problem whose solution was close, but not yet in his reach. His jaw was working, his teeth sucking in parts of his lips, his long fingers kept on fumbling with his nose and his chin, pinching and scratching the beard stubbles which made his lower face appear almost black. When had he shaved the last time?<\/p>\n She suddenly felt an even deeper pain and regret. He must be so utterly exhausted, having been in the saddle all day, with nary a chance to rest, and he still was weakened from his illness. He had to sleep… he had to rest…<\/p>\n “Lil, you once told me about Morocco, about you tending to your goats in an exceptionally dry summer when there was barely any pasture on the ground.”<\/p>\n She wrinkled her brow, trying to figure what he was getting at. “Yes…”<\/p>\n “You said there were spots in the mountains that still had lush grass, thanks to the springs, and that your goats would climb around there like monkeys to get to those spots.” He looked at her. “And that those spots were crawling with goats… and with sheep.”<\/p>\n She skipped a breath, her eyes flew over to the spot at the mountain sides he had watched so intensely before. “You mean…”<\/p>\n He nodded his head. “How well can they climb?”<\/p>\n Lilyah sat back in the saddle, staring at the steep mountain side with its rugged rocks and cliffs. It seemed impossible, even outright lunatic to even consider such an ascent. But her goats wouldn’t have had a problem climbing up there… she hastily tried to scratch together what she knew about sheep.<\/p>\n “Popular opinion around here has it that sheep are clumsy animals,” Adam went on. “It’s said that when you throw a sheep on its back, it cannot get up on its feet again.”<\/p>\n “That’s nonsense!” Lilyah shook her head. “Don’t you know that wild sheep live in the mountains? At least in Morocco!”<\/p>\n A fine smile stole over his lips. “And also in a lot of other countries – I’ve read about it. But I wonder how well they really can climb. The domestic ones.”<\/p>\n “Well, they’re no goats…” She bit her lip, recalling memories of sheep she had seen at home, images of lonesome shepherds in dusty djellabahs, leading their flocks across the rugged hillsides of Ras Madeeh. “I mean, they don’t jump like goats, and as far as I know, they’re not as adventurous and pesky… but they can climb very well. You would find sheep everywhere at home, many people preferred them to goats because they would not ruin the young trees as much. But, Adam…” She hesitated. “The horses…”<\/p>\n “We can’t ride there, so much is clear. But we can walk them up there – not straight ahead, but in zigzag lines. I’ve done it before.” He blew a little laugh, more to counter his own doubts than out of any real amusement. It had been a dangerous, neck-breaking climb – one he never would have thought he’d ever consider trying again. “I’ve been up there once. I had to walk my horse and at times I had to drag it behind me and kick it forward, but we’ve made it.” He extended his hand to point to a spot at the top. “Once we’re up there, we’ll have a pretty rough way across the mountains and another small ascent, albeit not as harsh as this first one. And when we’ve made that part, we’ll reach a fine, grassy promontory on the top of the mountains, with enough pasture to last for months, and a nice little mountain spring to boot.” A dry smirk played around his lips. “Seems my uncounted useless excursions into nature might actually pay off in the end.”<\/p>\n For a while Lilyah sat silent. “It seems to be an awfully rough ascent…” she finally said.<\/p>\n “Yah.” Adam gave her a sidelong glance. “But the alternate is a fight we cannot win, a loss we cannot take, and last but not least the rather sad prospect of two not so reasonable young ladies learning the hard way why the great Greek Amazon woman warriors only survived in legend.”<\/p>\n Lilyah preferred not to answer, but she could see his teeth flashing in the dark.<\/p>\n “Lilyah…” Adam got serious again. “There’s still another option… one that I want you to know that you always have it.” He took a breath before he went on, “We can always leave, if you want us to leave.”<\/p>\n It was her turn to smile. “I don’t think this is an option at all.”<\/p>\n She could feel the warmth in his eyes as he stretched out his hand to touch her shoulder. The horses stood too far apart to allow him more than brushing the silk of her wrap with his fingertips, but there still was all his love in the light carressing.<\/p>\n “Let’s tell Esma.” He clicked his tongue to urge the mare forward.<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n “The wagon…”<\/p>\n Adam regarded the old woman with a sympathetic look. He understood too well that the wagon was as good as a house for Esma and her grandchildren, the closest perhaps they came to a home. “We can’t take the wagon along, Esma. I’m sorry.”<\/p>\n Esma inhaled a long breath as she gazed at the old vehicle. “Small price to pay for the flock, I guess. And the ram.”<\/p>\n “We have four horses.” Adam went on, “We can pack up quite some of your possessions. My only concern is the flock. Lilyah thinks sheep can climb well enough, but she only knows Moroccan sheep, and she’s more familiar with goats. And for my part – all that I could tell for certain is that we’d never have a snowflake’s chance in hell to get even a single cow up there.”<\/p>\n “Don’t worry about the flock, shabaro. They won’t be delighted or skipping about as trilly as goats would, but they can make it. We might have to kick them along a tad, but in the end all we have to do is get the ram going and the ewes will follow.”<\/p>\n “What about Daisy?” Pico called out in sudden alert. “She can’t walk!”<\/p>\n Lilyah answered before anyone else could react. “We put Daisy on a horse, as well!”<\/p>\n The boy gave her a skeptical look. “I don’t know if Daisy can ride…”<\/p>\n “We’ll make sure she won’t fall from her horse,” Adam promised while already pondering the various options to secure the ewe on horseback. The glaring lunacy of the endeavour faded against the realization that they could not possibly leave the children’s beloved pet sheep behind.<\/p>\n “We better get going. We’ve only got a few hours left to sunup, and we should be well out of sight by then.” He rose to his feet, squinting over to the moonlit mountain side. “We would make fine targets clambering up there!”<\/p>\n “Well then!” Esma got up. “Ruby, you go packing up all important things from the wagon. Wrap up the dishes good, you hear? Pico, you get me the ropes and the tack!”<\/p>\n “Yes, Grandma!” The children ran off.<\/p>\n “I want to help, too!” Lilyah offered.<\/p>\n “You can help Ruby pack up, child. She’ll show you everything.”<\/p>\n Adam watched with silent content as Lilyah willingly followed the girl and climbed into the wagon. “I guess I better get the sheep out of there so the girls have more room.”<\/p>\n “I’ll do that, shabaro. You get the horses!” Esma stepped close to him and looked him straight into the eye. Her weathered face was serious and hard to read. “We would’ve lost more than the wagon tomorrow and you know it.”<\/p>\n Adam started for just one moment, but then he simply said, “I know.”<\/p>\n She slowly nodded her head, then her hand reached up and squeezed his shoulder before she turned to the wagon.<\/p>\n Adam silently smiled to himself as he went to fetch the two bays.<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n They didn’t need more than an hour to pack everything up and fasten the loads on the backs of the horses. Chai caused some delay when he obviously considered himself too noble for such profane tasks and protested with rearing and neighing, until he finally gave in to his mistress’s authority, albeit not without much stomping and rolling of eyes and ears. He made no secret of his bad mood, even kicking out at one of the team horses while Adam loaded his back with bags, beddings and hides.<\/p>\n Daisy provided another problem when she kept bleating and struggling so hard that even the placid bay gelding that was chosen to carry her went skittish. His team mate was already loaded with a basket full of tiny lambs too small to be expected to manage the steep ascent, and Chai was out of the question for such delicate cargo. So the consignment finally fell to the patient Mariah, and strangely enough the mare’s gentleness seemed to soothe the agitated ewe who suddenly gave up all resistance as Adam tied her fast between the packs on Mariah’s back.<\/p>\n Pico, minutes ago on the verge of tears, was brimming with joy again. “She likes your horse!”<\/p>\n “Well, you gotta hand it to Daisy…” Adam contentedly patted his mare’s neck. “She sure knows something about horses!”<\/p>\n Pico nodded his head. “And your horse sure knows how to carry a sheep!”<\/p>\n “Her name is Ma…” Adam broke off as he heard Lilyah’s sprinkling laughter behind him, soon joined by Esma’s deep chuckle. With some delay, Ruby burst out laughing as well. With a lopsided grin he half turned around to look from one to another. “What’s so funny?”<\/p>\n The giggling ladies hastily went about their own tasks.<\/p>\n “You call your horse ‘Ma’?” Pico asked, slightly confused why everybody was laughing.<\/p>\n “No, her name is Mariah, and she’s not just a horse – she’s a real lady!” Adam caught Lilyah’s smiling face as she walked Chai around to calm the stallion down and get him used to the load on his back, and called out to her, “We’ll talk about that later, Mrs. Cartwright!”<\/p>\n She laughed out and ran a few steps to make Chai trot.<\/p>\n Pico looked from Adam to Lilyah and back again, drawing a little closer to Adam and motioning him to bow down. “We should team up!” he suggested in a low voice, squinting sideways to the ladies. “You need another man at your side or you won’t stand a chance against them!”<\/p>\n “You’ve got a point there!” Adam squatted down to get on eye level to the boy, extending his hand. “Pardner?”<\/p>\n Pico beamed all over his face as he shook Adam’s hand. “Pardner!”<\/p>\n “We’re ready here!” Esma approached them, dragging her smelly ram behind her. “Pico, you and Titus round up the flock!”<\/p>\n “Yes, Grandma!” The boy jumped off, calling for the dog.<\/p>\n Lilyah followed closely, leading Chai along. “I can help the boy with the flock,” she suggested. “Adam can take Chai along with Mariah, and he’ll have to lead the way, anyway.”<\/p>\n “Yes,” Esma agreed. “I can take our two horses along with the ram, so Ruby can help drive the flock, too.” She squinted up the mountain side. “It won’t be that easy getting the critters up there.”<\/p>\n “No.” Adam shook his head. “Ladies, it’s a rough climb, and on great lengths there won’t be space enough to lead two horses side by side. I suggest I take Mariah and one of the bays, Esma takes the other bay and the ram. Ruby and Pico drive the sheep, and Lilyah follows with Chai at the end.” He saw Lilyah opening her mouth and went on, “Lil, that way you can still look out for sheep falling back, and in the end no one can lead Chai better than you. Particularly when he’s in a sour mood.”<\/p>\n “You’re right…” Lilyah regarded her stallion from the corner of her eye. The heavy load on his back still bristled and irritated him, and while he respected Adam and obeyed him, he still would have used any chance he’d get to take out his anger at the horses following behind him.<\/p>\n “Alright then!” Adam straightened up to look over the small valley, raising his voice so Ruby and Pico could hear him, “Get them rolling, kids! We’re moving out!”<\/p>\n “Giddy’up! Giddy’up!”\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n The children’s calls mingled with the excited barking of the dog and the increased bleating of the sheep as the many white spots in the dark gathered to a wobbling mass. Adam caught a glimpse of Lilyah’s face and saw the bright shine in her dark eyes as she watched the drive up. He could just feel that she would love to skip off and join in, and he realized that she missed tending to a herd of her own animals more than she herself even knew.<\/p>\n Driving the flock across the valley wasn’t much of a problem, but when they reached the spot where Adam planned to start the climb it became apparent that the task that lay before them wasn’t an easy one. Driven forward, the sheep turned off left and right and didn’t even think of going ahead and up the steep, rocky slope. It was easy to understand the animals.<\/p>\n “Oh, Allah…” Lilyah had to bend her head backwards to look up to the top of the giant ascent, to the stars faintly blinking above it. It had looked immense enough from afar, but from close up it was downright intimidating – and frightening. She had never felt so tiny in her life.<\/p>\n “Wow…” Ruby had stepped next to her, looking up the slope with the same shocked expression on her face. “Is it even possible?”<\/p>\n Adam fastened the lead rope of the bay to Mariah’s tack, noticing with some amusement that Lilyah and Ruby were almost the same height. Either Ruby was very big for her age, or Lilyah was very tiny. The delightful thought helped him to mask his own anxiety in the face of the enormous slope – and the nagging concern if he hadn’t taken a bite too big to chew, driven by despair rather than reason.<\/p>\n “Well,” he mused. “I guess the great Greek Amazon woman warriors wouldn’t have had much of a problem with that.”<\/p>\n Ruby noisily drew the air through her nose. “Of course not!”<\/p>\n “Grandpa always said everything is possible if you really want it!” Pico made himself heard. “Didn’t he, Grandma?”<\/p>\n “So he did, Pico!” Esma confirmed. “And you know Grandpa always was right… well, most of the time, anyway.” Her eyes glided from the boy to the girl. “We never asked for easy, children. We asked for a way out, and this is our way out!”<\/p>\n Lilyah still gazed up to the top of the slope. “It leads directly to the stars…”<\/p>\n “Yah…” For one moment Adam allowed himself to savour her beautiful image, to nurture the wish to hold and to kiss her, before he pulled himself together. “Now come on! Giddy’up! We’re moving!”<\/p>\n Leading Mariah along, he took the first hurdle upwards on the tremendous mountain side.<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 69. To the Stars\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n “Careful, Esma!” Adam turned around to the old woman following after him. “Give me your hand!”<\/p>\n “I don’t need your hand, whippersnapper! Keep moving and get that horse out of my way!”<\/p>\n He couldn’t help a smirk. Esma certainly was one remarkable lady, hauling the rather massive ram up the cliff like it was nothing while dragging her second team horse along.<\/p>\n Adam pulled the bay he was leading closer to his mare to give Esma the room for her animals. “Do they have names?”<\/p>\n “Who?”<\/p>\n “Your horses.”<\/p>\n “The children call them Bobby and Socks – Socks being the one you are leading.”<\/p>\n “Ah…” Adam had a look at the bay’s legs. Four white socks. “Got it.”<\/p>\n Esma urged her horse to jump up to the small advance they had reached and checked on the load of boxes, bags and lamb basket on the bay’s back. She finally turned around and straightened up. “Now the real test starts!” she remarked.<\/p>\n Adam nodded his head and followed her gaze to the flock below. The sheep were visibly excited, running crisscross and in circles in front of that first large barrier in their path, their\u00a0baahs<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0meehs<\/em>\u00a0growing to a staggering crescendo as they peered out to where their ram had gone. The ram that Esma held on a short leash answered the fraught calls with long deep bleats, and the lambs stored on the back of Esma’s horse didn’t seem to stop their crying for their mothers long enough to even catch a breath. Combined with the frantic barking of the dog, it was a considerable noise and Adam was once again glad that the guards his father had left behind were too far away to hear any of it. His eyes fell on Lilyah who had left Chai standing to help the children urging the reluctant sheep up the slope.<\/p>\n And finally – just as Adam was about to lose confidence – the first ewe climbed up the ascent to go after them. With the bleating getting even more excited, other sheep scrambled to do likewise.<\/p>\n “They always follow the ram, eh?” He couldn’t really hide the relief in his voice.<\/p>\n “They always follow the ram!” Esma confirmed. “You lead the ram along and the flock will follow, no matter where to.”<\/p>\n “Wish we’d have something like that with cattle.”<\/p>\n She let a short laugh. “Wouldn’t that take the shine out of your cowboy life?”<\/p>\n He broke into a boyish grin. “Not mine.”<\/p>\n “We better get moving, shabaro. If they all come up here, the small space won’t suffice and they start falling off the cliff.”<\/p>\n Adam dipped his head in agreement and turned to his horses. Mariah gave him not the slightest problem, willingly following his lead and trusting his hand even on the most treacherous ground. The bay, Socks, was an entirely different matter. Again and again he balked, refused to go on or backed off from a crag. More often than not Adam had to push and to shove him, or rely on Mariah to drag him along. He couldn’t blame him, though. The poor thing had likely spent his entire life leisurely pulling a wagon and was hopelessly overcharged with the risky climb up a steep mountain side, carrying half his owner’s household on his back. Maybe he even knew what would happen to him if he slipped on that loose gravel.<\/p>\n Adam hastily pushed every thought of the dangers they faced back into the depths of his mind, and yet he couldn’t prevent anxiously looking out for Lilyah. The sheep had since spread into a long line of white woolly spots clambering up the barely treadable path, and she would have to be at the end of that line – with a horse that had the temper of ten. No… Adam shook his head. She had proven time and again that she could handle her horse, and Chai loved her too much to cause her any real trouble. But what if she got carried away looking out for any sheep? She doubtlessly was tired out after the long ride earlier that day… she hadn’t had a minute of rest yet. He could feel his own deep fatigue, how would she fare? If anything happened to her… why, oh why had he made her walk at the end, instead of at his side where he could have watched out for her?<\/p>\n Mariah’s nicker tore him out of his thoughts and he squeezed himself along the rocky wall to get in front of the mare. A steep cliff barred the way, maybe three or four feet in height. It was right at a point where they would have to change from zig to zag on their zigzag course up the slope, and it was understandable that the mare didn’t know where to go when there was nothing but an abyss of several dozen yards down in their old direction.<\/p>\n Adam strenuously climbed up the cliff and turned to the mare. “Come on, girl, you can do it!”<\/p>\n It was all Mariah needed. Her big brown eyes fixed on her master, she fought herself up the slippery cant until she had all four hooves safely on the new level.<\/p>\n “Good girl, good girl…” Adam praised and patted her, but pulled a face when Daisy started bleating. “Now what do\u00a0you<\/em>\u00a0have to complain about? You have the box seat!”<\/p>\n He had to bow to slip under the tensed rope that led from Mariah’s tack to his next problem. With a deep sigh Adam skidded down the cliff again.<\/p>\n “Now come on, Socks! Look at Mariah – she went up there like a charm. What would she think of you if you wouldn’t keep up? Come on, boy, it’s time for you to be a man and impress the lady!”<\/p>\n The bay gave him a pitiable look, and while he didn’t exactly display any desire to impress the mare, Adam’s soothing words by and by helped him to build up some more confidence. Yet his shaky and unsure legs caused Adam’s stomach to slump while he pulled at the bay’s halter to urge him up, and he felt the sweat standing on his forehead when the horse finally scrambled to the spot next to the mare.<\/p>\n “Go, Mariah! Go, girl!” Adam breathed a sigh of relief as the mare obediently moved forward, causing the bay to follow until they both were on a somewhat broader ledge. “Wait here, girl!” Adam patted her again and wiped the sweat from his face before he scurried back to skid down the cliff once more.<\/p>\n “Esma! Throw me the lead of your horse, it’s a tricky spot here!”<\/p>\n “I can handle it. Keep moving!”<\/p>\n “Esma, don’t argue with me! It’s a dangerous corner here!”<\/p>\n “Oh, so? Thanks for the warning.”<\/p>\n Adam felt his last patience slipping off. “Come on, there’s no time for that now! The horses can barely make it through that corner. Now give me the rope!”<\/p>\n “Well, well, that old disease…” Esma slowly drew closer, the ram at her side, the horse following, but she showed no intention of handing over any leads. “All the typical symptoms are there.”<\/p>\n “What??”<\/em><\/p>\n “The symptoms!” She stopped in front of him, regarding him with an almost amused smirk. “That unshakable belief that no one but you can really ascertain a situation at hand; that firm conviction that only you can handle it, the even more indestructible assumption that no one but you can take care of everybody’s problems, and last but not least this incorrigible delusion that everybody else’s sake and fate is resting on your shoulders.” She nodded to herself. “It’s a typical man’s disease. Your father is a particularly sad case, most likely beyond any redemption, but for you I still see some hope.”<\/p>\n Adam stood as if someone had poured a bucket of water over his head. His protest stuck in his throat. He hardly knew where to look.<\/p>\n “Shabaro,” Esma went on. “If I need your help, I won’t be too proud to ask for it, and I will be glad if you grant it to me. But until then, let me take care of my own things. And just between you and me: you’re not quite at the top of your strength. Handle what little you still have wisely, so you’ll have enough of it left in case someone really needs your help!”<\/p>\n Adam helplessly raised his hands and let them fall again, looking everywhere for words. “Esma… it’s just that it’s a very dangerous ascent… and it’s my responsibility that you’re here in the first place…”<\/p>\n “No, it’s not your responsibility,” she retorted. “It was your kindness that showed us this way, and we chose to walk it on our own two feet, and at our own risk. And now skedaddle! The flock is coming close, and apart from that it’s not really smart of you to leave your own horse unwatched just so you can look after someone else’s!”<\/p>\n Adam felt his ears turning hot and he looked down to have his hat hide his face. She was right… and while all her other words still danced around him daring him to look at them, this last remark cut through his senses like a knife. Mariah was an extremely reliable mare, but she was tied to a skittish horse that could be acting up any minute, probably spooking from the sheep on top of her load, and if the bay slipped and fell… What had he been thinking?<\/p>\n “Uhm…” He cleared his throat. “You… you’ll tell me if you need help.”<\/p>\n “I sure will.”<\/p>\n “Good…” Adam made a few steps backwards, seeking for something more to say, but he didn’t know what. He finally turned and hastened back to his mare.<\/p>\n Esma smiled to herself and began to push the ram up the cliff.<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n Lilyah tried futilely to stifle another yawn, but the urge proved to be too strong and she finally gave in, feeling her eyes tearing as the yawn cracked her jaw muscles. She felt so tired and merely trudged after the last sheep in the line, forcing herself not to cling to Chai’s lead rein, not to hang her weight on the stallion whose hooves carefully picked their way from one tilted ledge to the next. They had made it to more than halfway up the slope, and while the moon still lit the rocky cliffs and crags, the small valley deep below seemed to have disappeared in a hole of blackness. She couldn’t even make out the wagon anymore. She didn’t look down much anyway, instinctively avoiding the gaze into the abyss there that hovered about like an unspoken threat beneath them. It was one thing she had learned during her travels through the Atlas Mountains – don’t look down if you don’t need to.<\/p>\n She would much rather look up, her eyes searching for Adam who usually was one or even two levels above her. She could barely see much of him, with dark crags and overhangs blocking her sight, or when his path was wide enough so he could move away from the dangerous edge. Yet she could hear the clip-clop of the horses’ hooves, so very distinctive from the busy clatter of the sheep’s hooves, clearly audible through the endless bleating, and more often than not the sound stirred flares of fear in her heart. While Mariah clearly moved calmly and reliably, he seemed to have enormous trouble with the team horses. Irregular hoofbeats, the scratching of slipping hooves fighting for traction, the sound of a stomping horse backing off, fearful snorts of protest – he had to push and fight that horse every step of the way. And he surely was as exhausted as she was, worse even given his weakened condition, his sore feet. How could he even hold on for so long? Lilyah closed her eyes. She should have given him Chai to lead and taken that unwilling wagon horse instead. The stallion had long since lost his bad mood and given in to his fate, and he was surefooted and courageous enough to take all the climbs and obstacles along the way without hesitation.<\/p>\n The sheep caused surprisingly little trouble as well, much less than her goats would have. They were less inclined to jump off in the boldest of leaps, less eager to outrun each other or fight for position, and for the most part they nicely clambered along one after another. Only on the odd occasion when the steep walls softened to a lower angle would one of them be tempted to try a shortcut to the constantly bawling ram, usually resulting in a haplessly slipping sheep that had to be snatched before it could plunge over the edge. The children outdid themselves in catching any wayward animals, bustling back and forth along the line to keep it smoothly moving. Pico seemed to be everywhere at once, jumping here, running there, climbing up and down the rocks like a goat, always accompanied by Titus, the ever-barking, limping dog, whose feet seemed to be as untiring as his vocal chords.<\/p>\n Yet the greatest dangers lurked at the often breakneck turns in the zigzag course, on spots where rougher cliffs had to be taken, when the forerunners would hesitate or have difficulties to climb on while the trailers would come up one by one, pressing into what little space there was, threatening to push each other from the precariously narrow ledges. Those were moments of highest alert, and Lilyah herself had more than once left Chai standing to hasten along the long procession in order to hold back animals or help the children push and shove the sheep along and keep the line safe and secure.<\/p>\n Lilyah yawned again and reached for her water bag. She had learned to control her thirst from an early age on, always cautious to be sparse with water, but she couldn’t resist the temptation to rub some of it into her face in order to try and fight the debilitating fatigue that stuck to her like glue, threatening to numb down her senses. The liquid was warm and muddy since the sheep had turned the water hole below into a morass, and the particles of dirt rubbed on her skin as she wiped it over her face.<\/p>\n Her head snapped up when she heard the noise from above, the frightened whinny of a horse, Adam’s call, fighting hooves, the heavy thump indicating that something big had fallen down. For one terrible moment she could catch the glimpse of a horse’s hind leg dangling over the edge above, the groaning of the animal and Adam’s suppressed curses as he fought to force the horse back to safety.<\/p>\n And then it rained stones and gravel from above, pelting down on her and her own horse.<\/p>\n “Chai!”<\/em>\u00a0Lilyah froze in shock as she heard the neigh, saw her stallion rearing up. While her first instinct had driven her to press herself against the wall to avoid getting hit, she now leaped forward to hang onto the reins.\u00a0“Chai! Stop it!”<\/em><\/p>\n It was the most unfortunate spot for an incident like this. A ledge no more than two feet wide, with a rocky wall on one side and a precipitous bluff sharply falling away on the other. She saw the stallion’s hind hooves slipping while his front legs were still flailing the air, and she screamed with fear and shock as she desperately tried to pull him down and forward to a wider spot.<\/p>\n Somewhere above she heard Adam yelling her name.<\/p>\n Chai had good instincts. Knowing that there was just one way left for him, he threw himself to safety, his front hooves crashing on the rocky path. Lilyah screamed again as one of his hooves hit her, throwing her to the ground. She sheltered her head with her arms and attempted to roll into a ball as the stallion threatened to trample all over her in his charge forward. A wild joy flamed up in her that he had not fallen, immediately drowned out by the realization that she had to stop him from blindly storming ahead. She sprang to her feet, feeling no pain, no weakness, no fatigue.<\/p>\n “Chai!\u00a0Chai, stop it!<\/em>\u00a0CHAI!”<\/p>\n “LIL, NOOO!”<\/p>\n She did not even hear Adam’s voice anymore. She saw Chai buck and stumble as he had run straight into the last sheep of the line; she heard his neigh and the frenzied screech of the stricken ewe which in turn attempted to run to escape the sudden onslaught. She did not even know and could never tell later how she ever got past the Arabian and in front of him to clutch the reins once again.<\/p>\n “Chai… Chai… easy, boy, easy… that’s my boy… easy, Chai…” She clung to him, wrapping her arms around his neck, feeling the sweat standing on his coat and her tears streaming from her eyes as she buried her face in his mane. “That’s a good boy…”<\/p>\n The stallion stomped and snorted, but he had calmed down.<\/p>\n “LIL! You alright?” Adam’s frantic call cut through the darkness from above.<\/p>\n She didn’t get to answer.<\/p>\n “Heeelp!”<\/em><\/p>\n Lilyah’s head flew around, trying to access what had happened. The panicked ewe had run into the next to last in line, causing that one to storm ahead, triggering a kind of cumulative effect, riling up the whole end of the flock. Ruby had attempted to stop the running sheep and restore the order of the line, and she somehow must have had lost her footing.<\/p>\n “Ruby, I’m coming!” Lilyah ran up to the spot from where the call had come. Ruby had slipped several yards down the steep slope, clutching to a rock to stop her from further sliding down, but unable to get back up again. Lilyah fell to her knees and tried to crawl down herself to reach out to the girl, but they were too far apart and the slope was too treacherous. She almost lost her balance and clasped the edge at the last moment.<\/p>\n A good fifteen yards above the drama another quarrel took place.<\/p>\n “Don’t be a fool, shabaro!” Esma’s fists had a grip like a vice around his arms. “You’ll never make it there in time! Let the girls handle it! They can do it!”<\/p>\n “Esma, I’ve just had about enough of your… ah,\u00a0confound it!<\/em>” Adam hissed in frustration. Of course she was right. While it was fifteen yards straight below, it would be a rough and rocky descent of at least 200 yards for him to get there, climbing all over the steady line of sheep – whose forerunners were coming precariously close already. And the still trembling bay was anything but calm and relaxed.<\/p>\n He stepped as close to the edge as he could. “Lil! Take the rope!”<\/p>\n It was hard telling whether she had heard him or had come to the same conclusion by herself, but she hurried to fetch the lariat he had fastened to Chai’s load and returned to her spot above where Ruby was clinging to the rock.<\/p>\n “Ruby, here comes the rope!” Lilyah began to unravel the lariat, lowering one end to the girl.<\/p>\n “Need my help?” Pico’s bright voice rang through the night.<\/p>\n “No!” Lilyah called back. “Stay with the sheep! Ruby, can you see the end?”<\/p>\n “Yes!”<\/p>\n Adam nearly shivered with the tension inside of him, straining his eyes to see every detail. “Lil! Wrap the rope around your wrist!”<\/p>\n Lilyah did nothing of the sort. She wrapped her end of the rope around her stallion’s neck.<\/p>\n “Clever girl, eh?” Esma commented.<\/p>\n Adam did not react. Dropping to one knee, he watched with bated breath as Lilyah urged the Arabian to move backwards, watched the rope tensing and finally Ruby’s climb to safety. He heard them laughing and giggling with sheer relief as they embraced, still squatting on the ground before they helped each other up, chattering about how thrilling it all had been. Only then was he able to deeply exhale, closing his eyes in a moment of mute restoration.<\/p>\n Esma had stepped to the edge. “Have we lost any sheep?” she hollered out.<\/p>\n Adam raised an eyebrow. She should know that no sheep were lost, they would have noticed it had it happened. But he understood the moment he heard the tremendous pride in Ruby’s cheerful answer.<\/p>\n “Not one, Grandma!\u00a0Not one!!<\/em>”<\/p>\n “Very good!”<\/p>\n Adam slowly got up again and turned around to the old shepherd woman. There was an outright mischievous smirk on her face as she looked him over. He reset his hat. “Flock’s coming up,” he dryly remarked. “We should keep on moving.”<\/p>\n “Right so!” She turned around to gather her horse while keeping the ram from pulling away.<\/p>\n He had a last look below and returned to Mariah and the bay.<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n It took them the best of two hours before they finally reached the top of the slope. The night had begun fading, with the upcoming dawn tinting everything in a reddish twilight that seemed darker than the nocturnal moonlight before. Adam breathed a sigh of relief as he dragged the bay up the last crag. While the dusty plateau littered with rabble and debris didn’t look exactly inviting, it at least offered space enough for the flock to gather and to allow everybody a much needed rest. Most important, it could not be seen from below – whereas during the climb they would have made easy targets for anyone looking up.<\/p>\n Esma panted when she arrived after him, and she did not even protest as he skidded down to unceremoniously take the reins of the second bay. She shoved the bleating ram up the last slope and took a few moments to catch her breath while her eyes scanned over the plateau.<\/p>\n “Doesn’t look much like we’d find any firewood here…”<\/p>\n “We shouldn’t make a fire here, anyway – the smoke could be seen from below.” Adam shrugged his shoulders as he patted the bay’s neck and checked the load. One of the boxes had lost a fastening during that last jump and hung a tad askew. “As much as I’d love a hot coffee now. And I could die for a warm meal!”<\/p>\n “Well, I guess a cold meal will have to do, then,” Esma replied. “I got some fine bread and a good side of bacon!”<\/p>\n “Bacon…” Adam wrinkled his brow. “Pork?”<\/p>\n “Sure, pork… oh!” Esma grinned and tied the ram’s lead to a rock. “Your little Arab wife… She’s strict with religion?”<\/p>\n “No, not really,” he smiled, turning to the horse again to refasten the box. “She just never eats pork.”<\/p>\n “I see. Don’t worry about that. I also have plenty of fine cheese!”<\/p>\n He laughed. “Now that’s what she likes. And I’ll take her share of the bacon!”<\/p>\n She joined in his laugh as they turned to the entrance slope together in order to retrieve the first upcoming sheep and help them manage the last obstacle to the plateau. One after another they came up the narrow path, bleating with excitement as they eagerly fought their way across the rocky edge to finally get to their ram. The ram of course kept on bleating as well, and the lambs stored in the basket on one of the wagon horses seemed to fall into a frenzy baahaa-ing for their mothers. Esma had covered the basket with a net to keep them from jumping out, but with all the wriggling and twitching going on inside it seemed to be a mere matter of minutes until the whole basket would jump off. It didn’t really add to the poise of the horse carrying it.<\/p>\n And with every bleat ringing in his ear, Adam knew that his hopes for a short rest were mute. The animals were simply too loud; they would betray their presence to everyone riding into the valley below.<\/p>\n “Esma, we should skip the rest and move on as soon as everyone is up. Unless there is a way to make them shut up and be quiet.”<\/p>\n “Without a blade of grass anywhere around? Not a chance!” Esma wrinkled her brow. “How far is it to that promontory we’re headed for?”<\/p>\n “Four hours, if we keep a good pace. Maybe five.”<\/p>\n “And good grass there?”<\/p>\n He nodded a confirmation. “Good grass and water.”<\/p>\n “Well then.” She stepped back. “I’ll prepare some food for us to eat on the way. You get along here?”<\/p>\n “I sure do!” After 50 or so sheep he had developed a routine how to best shove them along when their little legs struggled with the slippery gravel of the slope. It were the older and heavier ewes that had the most troubles, while the younger ones and the half grown lambs gaily skipped past him before he could reach out for them. Sheep after sheep – he forced himself to not recall that there were about 300 of them.<\/p>\n And with every sheep, his expectation grew, his eyes glanced down the way with even more impatience. He had friendly words for Pico and Ruby as they came up, even a stroke for Titus, but all his senses were waiting for someone else. And his heart jumped to his throat when she finally appeared.<\/p>\n Adam’s eyes began to shine. The brown robe she wore shimmered red in the reddish twilight of the early dawn, her long hair flowed openly down her sides, more or less unrestricted as her usual hairdo had not survived the night. The veils and the black wrap she had worn when they had started their climb were loosely thrown across Chai’s crest. The Arabian followed her without being led. Adam felt his heart swell with love and with pride.<\/p>\n “Hey, cowboy!” Ruby’s voice tore him out of his enchantment. “Are you sleeping?”<\/p>\n It was just then that Adam noticed the older ewe that struggled with the slope right in front of him, bleating in her predicament as she once again skidded down the gravelly cant she couldn’t climb up. Grumbling to himself, he gave the ewe a mighty push that helped her over the edge. Three more sheep followed that made the slope without his help, and before he knew it, a small hand glided on his arm.<\/p>\n “Adam…”<\/p>\n He looked into the face he loved so dearly, the large eyes that held the world for him, and without a word he pulled her into his arms, pressing her tightly against his chest. His hands brushed all over her small body as he bowed his head to search for her lips. Just as she rose to her toes to kiss him, she suddenly hissed and flinched.<\/p>\n “Lil… Lil, what’s the matter?”<\/p>\n “Nothing…” She abashedly touched her left hip. “I’m afraid I got kicked…”<\/p>\n “Oh…” He stepped back, his fingers gently approaching the spot she indicated. “Let me have a look!”<\/p>\n A small smile stole over her face and it dawned in on him that he couldn’t so easily examine a spot so well and safely hidden.<\/p>\n “It’s only a bruise, Adam. A big one, I’m afraid, but really nothing more.” Her hands glided up his arms and shoulders and she rose to her toes again. “Just be careful with it, will you?” Her lips searched for his.<\/p>\n “Of course I will…” he mumbled into the kiss before his tongue touched hers. It was a soft kiss, a tender kiss, and his hands caressed her frame ever so lightly. “I was so afraid…” he finally whispered. “That moment earlier on…”<\/p>\n “Shsh…” She dotted his mouth with little kisses, her fingers stroking his cheeks. “Nothing has happened…”<\/p>\n “Hey, Grandma has sandwiches!” Pico shot up to them. “What’s keeping you?”<\/p>\n A lopsided grin spread over Adam’s face as he half turned around to the boy. “We’re coming! Don’t eat everything by yourselves!”<\/p>\n Lilyah’s smile didn’t last as she saw how stiffly Adam climbed up the slope and then turned to help her up. His movements were slow and conscientious, as if he were in pain. She could see the strain in his eyes, she could sense his exhaustion, and she noticed how pale his face looked. The black beard stubbles made his bare skin appear even more ashen, and the lines in his features had grown so deep that they made him look ten years older than he was. Her eyes hastily darted across the plateau and she noticed with great relief that the whole flock had assembled and still had space to spare. They could rest here. Maybe Adam could even sleep a little.<\/p>\n “Hop!” Adam laughed as the black Arabian boldly jumped up the slope, unhindered by the bulky load on his back. “If only some of that could rub off on poor old Socks…”<\/p>\n “Adam!” She closed in on him. “We can rest here, can’t we?”<\/p>\n “No…” His eyes took on a rueful look as he glanced down on her. He could sense how tired she was. Her small face was smeared, her hair a tousled mess, her robe dusty and wrinkled. To him she was just as beautiful as ever, maybe even more so with the pride he felt, but he knew well that she herself would be more than unhappy with her appearance and would love to refresh herself. And her bruised hip had to be hurting…<\/p>\n “Why not?”<\/p>\n He explained it to her.<\/p>\n “But, Adam, I don’t understand!” She reached out for his arm. “Wouldn’t they know anyway where we went, whether they can hear the flock or not? You said yourself there is no other way, and surely we’ve left traces!”<\/p>\n “Lil, that’s not the point! It’s one thing if we’re just gone and could’ve been gone the whole night, and quite another if they can hear that we’re still well within earshot.”<\/p>\n She wasn’t about to give up. “And even if, what would it matter? They couldn’t shoot at us across the mountain’s edges and they couldn’t follow us so easily – Adam, it took us half the night to crawl up here!”<\/p>\n “But we’ve made it, haven’t we?” His thumb softly brushed over her cheek. “Lil, if they can still hear us, it would be like dangling a piece of red meat in front of a pack of wolves. But if we’re out of sight and out of earshot, they’ll have no way to tell how far we’re ahead of them or which way we’re headed.”<\/p>\n Lilyah bit her lip. His arguments were solid and hard to refute.<\/p>\n “And we didn’t leave any traces!” Pico who had been leaping about them called out in obvious mischief. “Because I’ve wiped them all!”<\/p>\n Adam started. “You did\u00a0what?<\/em>”<\/p>\n “I’ve wiped them! Just like Grandpa showed me!” The boy triumphantly puffed himself up. “We often wiped our traces when we didn’t want any cowboys to know where the flock went. I even collected the droppings…\u00a0wait!<\/em>” He stormed off.<\/p>\n Adam and Lilyah exchanged a look as the boy returned, dragging a big bag behind him. Both vaguely remembered having seen him with that bag before.<\/p>\n “Here, have a look! Just\u00a0look<\/em>\u00a0at this!” Pico proudly opened the bag and Adam felt obliged to at least have a glimpse inside, wishing he could somehow stop his nose from functioning.<\/p>\n “It’s good stuff!” Pico explained. “If we dry it, we can use it for the fire when we’re scarce on wood!”<\/p>\n “Uhm…” Adam inconspicuously pinched his nose. “Good thinking.”<\/p>\n “It really is,” Lilyah agreed. “The Bedouins in the desert do the same. Only they usually use camel droppings!”<\/p>\n “Why?” Pico asked. “Don’t they have any sheep?”<\/p>\n “Ehm…” Lilyah fluttered her lashes. “They have, but… they also have quite a lot of camels.”<\/p>\n “It’s really quite logical,” Adam chimed in. “Camels have the bigger droppings.”<\/p>\n “Ah, I see!” The boy nodded his head. “Camels are big animals, aren’t they? Bigger than horses?”<\/p>\n “Much bigger than horses,” Lilyah confirmed.<\/p>\n “Wow…” Pico exclaimed in awe. “That must be good droppings!” Before anyone could remark on that, he grabbed his bag and jumped off. “Come on now! Grandma has sandwiches!”<\/p>\n Lilyah couldn’t help a soft laugh and drew closer to Adam, her hand touching his side. “One day we’ll have a son like this…”<\/p>\n “Yah…” Adam smiled and put his arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer to him. “Just remind me to make sure we never run out of firewood.”<\/p>\n “Oh, you!” She laughed and brushed over his face.<\/p>\n Adam saw her laughter fading, saw the worry returning into her dark eyes as she looked him over. “Lil…” He softly touched her face. “It’s just four or five hours to the promontory. It’s a good and safe place, and it has good grass and a fine spring. I think we both will rest much better knowing that all the animals have food and water. Besides, we will also rest better when we can lie down for good and have a sound sleep, and not just for an hour or so at a place where we won’t find any peace.”<\/p>\n She reluctantly nodded her head. “It’s just, that…”<\/p>\n “Yeah, I know…” Adam pulled her head to his shoulder and kissed her hair. “But don’t worry about me. I’m much tougher than you think.”<\/p>\n She didn’t answer and snuggled to his chest. She knew how tough he could be. She just didn’t want him to be forced to prove it once again.<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n 70. The Arab Way\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n It was hard to tell what exactly had riled up Hop Sing on this early morning that barely let the first daylight peep through the windows. Somewhere in between the Chinese grumble and mumble, snippets like ‘only two’ and ‘all wlong’ could be made out, and the demeanour with which he tossed a plate of scrambled eggs on the table vividly spoke of utmost upset. Not even waiting for a reaction, the cook threw his hands in the air and stomped back into his kitchen, muttering under his breath.<\/p>\n It didn’t exactly improve Ben’s spirits. Wearily lowering himself onto his seat, he looked over the checkered tablecloth, over the two dishes laid out there for Joe and for him. It wasn’t really a rare occurrence for one or two of his sons to be absent from a meal, particularly Adam who often was gone about business, always a little earlier up than the rest of his family, but still the table looked painfully empty. Ben’s eyes glided over to the staircase. That Joe was inclined to sleep well into the daylight and never really eager to leave his warm bed wasn’t anything unusual, either. And still he missed the busy footfalls coming from above, the sound of heavy knocking against wooden doors and half exasperated, half amused calls like ‘Hey, shortshanks, get up!’ or ‘Rise and shine, little buddy!’.<\/p>\n There was nothing but silence now.<\/p>\n Ben poured himself a coffee. He had not had the best of nights and it still was hard for him to sort his thoughts, to come up with a plan for the day that would look both convenient and promising. He would have to talk to Adam. Again. Hoping that somehow Adam had regained his usual calm resolve, his rational attitude. Listlessly sipping his coffee, Ben tried to convince himself that his eldest had surely come to his senses during the night, had used the time to explain to this shepherd woman that selling her sheep at three dollars per head was the best solution for everyone involved. Three dollars per head was a good offer – it was an excellent offer indeed. Ben pulled the egg plate closer. Maybe he should apologize for his all too harsh tone. Show some understanding. Congratulate his son on his marriage and say something nice about it, about the young lady. Adam’s wife. His daughter in law. Ben sighed and pushed the egg plate back again, without having taken any. He would have to learn to accept it. Maybe he should have done so from the beginning. And hope that Adam wouldn’t get in trouble with that unholy law of cohabitation.<\/p>\n He looked up at the staircase once again, but he didn’t get time to consider going up to stir his youngest. The fast hoofbeats of a galloping horse could be heard from the yard, apparently being ridden in there at great pace, not stopping until the animal was nearly running into the doorway. Alerted, Ben wrinkled his brow and got up. He hadn’t even taken a step when someone frantically hammered against the door.<\/p>\n “Mistah Cartwright! Mistah Cartwright!”<\/p>\n Ben hastened to open and a sturdy cowboy nearly fell into the frame. “Mistah Cartwright! Ya better come quick!”<\/p>\n Ben’s eyes flew from the agitated man, one of the hands assigned to look after the cattle on the open range, to the sweat covered horse and back again. “Gates! What’s up?”<\/p>\n “Them dogies… the herd on the open range.” The man caught his breath. “Mistah Cartwright, they’re dying! They’re just droppin’ dead one after one. Nevah seen anything like it…”<\/p>\n Ben froze, his eyes blackened as he stared at the man.<\/p>\n “Ya better come look, Mistah Cartwright.”<\/p>\n Ben whirled around. “JOSEPH!!!”<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n “And HOP! Now come on! Up with you! GIT!” Adam pushed and shoved, head and shoulders pressed against the ewe’s woolly backside, her tail twitching up and down his face while her short legs struggled with the rocky slope. “UP!”<\/p>\n The ewe bleated, fought and wriggled until she finally made it over the edge, triumphantly pulling away to where the ram was bawling, bleating even louder. Adam picked up his lost hat and saw from the corner of his eye that Lilyah was struggling with another sheep. It was a smaller animal than his ewe, but big enough to cause her to loose her footing while she fought to push it up the slope.<\/p>\n “Lil…” Adam scurried over to her and grabbed a hold of the sheep, pushing it over the edge. His own legs threatened to give way and he almost lost his balance as he tried to help Lilyah up. He saved himself by leaning heavily against the slope, more sitting than standing, while Lilyah steadied herself at his shoulder. For one moment they both just panted, and Adam spat out a few woolly sheep hairs.<\/p>\n “That was the last one…” Lilyah tried to calm her breathing and brushed a long strand of her hair out of her face. “Mash’allah!”<\/p>\n “Yah.” He touched her cheek. “You alright?”<\/p>\n “Yes… And you?”<\/p>\n “Still lasting.”<\/p>\n Their eyes met, smiling, laughing even in the joyous relief of two people who just had accomplished a major feat together, one that had left them spent and exhausted and yet happy to have it done. For one moment this joy even displaced their ever growing worry for each other, and each one felt relieved to see it in the other’s eyes, having felt pained by the sorrow in the other’s heart. And somewhere deep inside, each heart realized that same notion in the other one, and their eyes met again in wondrous sensation.<\/p>\n “Come…” Adam pushed himself off the rock and reached for her arm to help her up the slant. She slipped several times and once stepped on her seams, causing an audible rip in one of the lavish draperies. Hastily wrapping up her robes with one arm, she nearly lost her footing again. Adam took her hand and pulled her up. Chai followed, as valiantly as ever, nickering while he jumped onto the level ground of the small plateau where the others had already assembled.<\/p>\n “Whoa…” Adam stretched his knees to keep his legs straight, inconspicuously reaching out for the stallion to support himself. If he were to fall now, he probably wouldn’t be able to get up again.<\/p>\n “Here, have some water!” Lilyah took her water bag and offered it to him, after wetting her hands to cool his cheeks and temples. Her eyes ruefully wandered across the load on Chai’s back. “If only I could find your medicine! I could swear I’ve put a bottle away for you in my smaller saddlebag, right here…”<\/p>\n “You’ll surely find it later.” Adam felt genuinely sorry for her as she unhappily checked on her saddlebag again. He knew quite well where the medicine was – in a rolled up blanket hidden away in the lowest layers of Chai’s load. After all, he had packed the stallion and used the chance to get the vile concoction out of her immediate reach. Only to help her to not accidently overdose him with the stuff, of course. He returned the water bag. “Have a drink yourself… eh, eh!” He raised a finger. “You first, Chai later!”<\/p>\n She blushed a little and took a few sips before she poured some water into her cupped hand for the stallion to lick it out. “Are there any more of such rough cliffs coming?”<\/p>\n “This was the last one for awhile.” Adam still held on to the horse, but felt the bout of vertigo that had grabbed him slowly vanishing. “Only when we reach the promontory we’ll have to climb a little again, but until then it should be a rather easy trip.”<\/p>\n “And we go higher and higher!” Lilyah turned around herself, glancing over the area. The sun had begun to rise, lightening the scenery with a golden shine, taking the shadows of the night away. The small plateau they had reached extended to a wide, rising stretch, surrounded by even higher hill sides and rocky cliffs, losing itself in advanced mountain slopes. It still was a rough and gravelly trail, yet compared to what lay behind them it seemed downright comfortable to walk. If the horses weren’t packed as they were, they could even ride there. Chai pushed her hand to get more water and she gave him some more. “There’s not much left… when do we get there?”<\/p>\n “Little more than two hours…” Adam squinted, rubbing his nose as if a sudden thought had rose in him. And judging from the darkening of his brow, it wasn’t a good thought.<\/p>\n “Adam, what is it?”<\/p>\n “Nothing…” He bit his lip.<\/p>\n “The water?”<\/p>\n A sudden look from hazel eyes told her that she had hit the nail on the head. Tentatively, she asked, “Do you think it might not be sufficient for all the animals?”<\/p>\n “No.” He blew a laugh. “It’s more than sufficient – the spring is big enough for you to take a bath in. And a short stretch below the promontory it actually builds a little waterfall. You’ll love it if you see it.”<\/p>\n She looked into his face and from the serenity of her dark eyes he could tell that she knew this wasn’t what he had thought of. And while she didn’t say anything, he knew that she was waiting. His wife who had a right to know.<\/p>\n Adam took a breath and let his eyes wander across the flock of sheep that had gathered around where Esma and the children apparently did the same that he and Lilyah did – taking a small break to catch their breaths. “As I said, it’s a large and lush spring,” he finally began. “It runs for miles down the mountains, partially underground, merges with several other, smaller springs and builds pretty much the sole water supply for our Southern pastures down in the valleys, particularly during dry times.”<\/p>\n Lilyah listened, absentmindedly caressing Chai’s muzzle, patiently waiting for Adam to proceed.<\/p>\n “Couple of years ago we had a lot of trouble with some prospectors,” Adam went on. “They had somehow managed to sneak up there, build a camp and start blasting adits into the mountain sides in search of silver and gold. They dug sluices from the source of the spring to wash out the sediment, and the chemicals they used, particularly mercury, polluted the spring water and badly affected our pastures miles below. Took us a good fight to get them out of there.” He looked down on his boots. “I almost forgot about that. This promontory is so far off and so hard to reach that no one ever went up there again.” He pressed his lips together and Lilyah knew that there still was something coming.<\/p>\n Adam met her eye. “Lil, if my father figures out where we’ve gone, he won’t sit down and just forget about us. Not as long as he thinks the sheep have anthrax and might infect the spring.”<\/p>\n “I see…” She glanced over to the flock. “But they look so much better after they’ve been watered and fed in the valley below. They still do! And the mere fact that they made it up here should be proof enough they’re not ill!”<\/p>\n A dry grin stole over his lips. “It’s not any disease that’s the problem here, Lil. It’s the fear of a disease, and a rather irrational fear that won’t listen to reason.”<\/p>\n “Is there another way to the promontory?”<\/p>\n “Only one – a good six-hour-ride from the ranch house, and a rough ride at that. Some time after the fight with the prospectors my brothers and I tried to drive some cattle there and we had to give up. Then one year later we tried to get a buckboard up there because we had the idea to cut the grass and make hay, but nothing came of that, either. We worked like mules but couldn’t get the buckboard even half up the way.” He let a short laugh. “There’s a reason why nobody ever made use of the good grazing ground there.”<\/p>\n She smiled and put a hand on his chest. “So it’s still a good place for us now, isn’t it?”<\/p>\n His fingers caressed hers. “I’m just afraid it might not be the most peaceful place.” He pursed his lips. “Even though it’s a good place to defend – and not at all easy to conquer, as we had to find out back then.”<\/p>\n “That sounds just about perfect…” She brushed over his stubbly cheek. “Why this worried look in your eyes?”<\/p>\n He knitted his brow, his eyes lost themselves in the distance. “Are you aware that this is our honeymoon? Crawling up some godforsaken mountain, holing up on a godforsaken mountaintop, entangled in a range war with a stubborn old man, and still no definite plans for our future anywhere in sight.” He blew the air through his teeth. “I actually had some other honeymoon in mind. Having some wonderful times of leisure, doing some sightseeing, things like that…”<\/p>\n Her smile intensified as she lovingly rubbed his arms. “Adam, if there is so much good grass and water on that mountaintop, it surely isn’t godforsaken – it rather sounds as if Allah has blessed it. The future is ours as it lives in our love; and as long as we’re together, we’ll have plenty of wonderful leisure times, no matter where we go. And as for the sightseeing, you can still show me that waterfall.”<\/p>\n Adam laughed softly, taking her face in his two hands and kissing her on the forehead. “You’re one fine woman, Mrs. Cartwright.”<\/p>\n “And why are there still those worry lines?” Her fingertips gingerly followed the lines in his face.<\/p>\n His laugh lost itself, his eyes averted her look. It took a while until he finally spoke, “Lil, I’m a man who prefers to have things sorted out, to have his affairs in order, or to at least have a plan for the future. I’m a proud man, Lil, proud to have something to give. And I would like to give you so much more than I can now – good land to call yours, a fine house to live in, a safe and secure income to allow you a decent standard of living. Right now… right now I’m not much more than a drifter. My bank account is empty and I don’t have the slightest idea where to go from here, or what will come after this is over. That’s what’s eating me right now.”<\/p>\n She silently nodded her head. “The prophet, peace be upon him, says it’s easy for anyone to look good in riches, but it’s in poverty where real nobility shows. Adam…” Her hand touched his face. “We’ve only just started to live together. We’re young, and we’re strong, and we will build our future by and by – together! And our plans will come as we go, little by little. You have so much to give, and it is all within you.” She smiled and searched his eyes. “And apart from that, now that you’re married to an Arab woman, you probably should learn to view things a little more in the Arab way!”<\/p>\n Adam regarded the twinkle in her eyes. “The Arab way?”<\/p>\n “The Arab way!” she confirmed. “The ancient wisdom of the Arab people, the foundation of Arab philosophy.”<\/p>\n “Ah, yeah…” One of his eyebrows climbed up. “And what exactly is the Arab way?”<\/p>\n A cheeky smile built on her features. “Oh, it’s really very easy. It’s all about getting yourself into the biggest possible mess and then wait for Allah to sort it out!”<\/p>\n For one moment he just looked at her while the deep worry lines in his face gradually dissolved into merry laugh lines, until he finally burst out into a heartfelt belly laugh. “Now that explains a lot!” Still laughing, he pulled her into his arms. “The Arab way! Why, I always had a feeling there’s been a whiff of Oriental sagacity hovering over our heads ever since…”<\/p>\n She joined in his laughter until his lips touched hers and his arms closed around her even firmer. The kiss went from playful passion to a deep tenderness, and her heart swelled as he finally looked down on her, his hazel eyes warm with love.<\/p>\n “I love you…” The words breathed from her lips almost all by themselves.<\/p>\n The shine in his eyes grew deeper. “I love you,” he softly returned.<\/p>\n Lilyah smiled. She could still feel his exhaustion, even more so when he put his arm around her to lead her to where Esma and the children were waiting, she noticed the strenuous limp with which he walked and it still pained her. And yet nothing could take away her joy upon seeing the dimples in his cheeks, the sparkles of laughter still in his eyes, and hearing the deep chuckle coming from his chest as he mumbled to himself in amusement, “The Arab way…”.<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n Ben Cartwright felt a cold rage brewing deep in his guts as he stared at the staggering steer in front of him. The animal had troubles staying on its feet, shivering in spasmodic cramps that suggested intense abdominal pain. A thin line of bloody feces ran down the steer’s hind legs as it bawled out its misery, and slowly, slowly, the front legs gave way and the massive body sank down. The bowels could be seen twitching beneath the coat, and one could only guess the agony the poor beast had to endure. It would die, as others had died before. Ben counted more than two dozen cadavers.<\/p>\n He abruptly turned around and walked back to his horse. He did not look left or right as he ripped his rifle from its scabbard and readied it before he returned to the fallen steer. The shot rang loudly across the open range, caused the horses to throw up their heads, caused some of the cattle to back away and run a couple of yards. They didn’t run far, tired and malnourished as they were, lacking sufficient feed and water on the severely overgrazed range. And some of them couldn’t even run at all. Beautiful Texas Longhorns. So much tougher and hardier than the Herefords, especially in the often harsh Nevada climate. He had hoped to crossbreed them, adding some of their endurance into his herds. Some of their beauty.<\/p>\n “Pa…” Joe shifted uncomfortably in the saddle.<\/p>\n Ben did not listen, he did not even look up as he uncocked and recocked the lever. His face an unmoving mask, he marched to the next animal that was already down on the ground, showing profound muscle fasciculations. A second shot bellowed up. Uncock and recock, the mechanical ratchet of the lever. A calf of maybe ten months. And a third shot. By now, the cattle scarcely stirred at the noise.<\/p>\n One of the two cowboys assigned to watch the herd opened his mouth as his boss passed him by, but one look into the stonelike features caused his words to stick in his throat. The ranch hands who had accompanied father and son from the ranch cowered in their saddles, faces hidden by lowered hat brims.<\/p>\n Ben did not even notice as he approached a wobbly cow. Still standing, but the cramped, uncoordinated movements and the wide opened mouth revealed her doom. He shot without the slightest hesitation. Uncock and recock, his face frozen as his darkened eyes scanned for the next target. He only halted once, in front of a large, blue speckled bull. A beautiful animal. Beautiful horns. At least six-and-a-half feet tip to tip. Yet after that one, mute moment, he did not flinch as he shot the bull in the head, straight between those beautiful horns.<\/p>\n He only stopped when his repeater rifle ran out of ammunition.<\/p>\n “Pa…” Joe had dismounted and approached his father, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Pa, I’m sorry…”<\/p>\n Ben drew a deep breath. “So am I, son. So am I.” His head flew around. “Turner! Gates!”<\/p>\n The two cowboys hastened to come closer, the mounted hands followed more slowly.<\/p>\n “When did this start exactly?”<\/p>\n “Only this morning, Mistah Cartwright.” Gates nervously took off his hat and put it back on. “There warn’t nothin’ wrong with them dogies yesterday. Sure, they’ve been hungry with that meager grass, and that waterhole is muddy as hell, but that’s what they got used to…”<\/p>\n The man called Turner pulled up his shoulders. “Maybe young Miller was right all along. He came by last night, said some of the critters weren’t acting quite right. We checked on them, but found nothing wrong…”<\/p>\n “He warn’t really sure about it,” Gates added. “As Turner said, we went through the whole herd and the critters just seemed fine enough. And that young feller thought he’d maybe just been seeing things in the dark.”<\/p>\n Ben curtly dipped his head. “We’ll have to separate the herd. Drive the healthy ones a little farther off, and shoot the sick ones. No use in letting them suffer.”<\/p>\n “Pa, maybe we could try and…” Little Joe broke off as his father flew around to him, a thunderstorm in his face.<\/p>\n “Joseph, if a herd is stricken with anthrax, there is NOTHING you can try! NOTHING!” His eyes shot flashes, but he caught himself and continued in a calmer tone, “All we can do is pray that we can save at least some of the herd.”<\/p>\n Joe collected himself. “Pa, we don’t know it’s anthrax. Adam’s said the sheep…” He did not get any further.<\/p>\n “DON’T remind me of that brother of yours and his wild, bare-faced brazen smart talk!” Ben’s finger shot up as if he was about to stab his youngest with it. “Your<\/em>\u00a0brother will have to answer for\u00a0that!<\/em>”<\/p>\n Joe drew a breath and noticed that some of the cowboys stealthily signaled him to tread lightly from behind his father’s back. They hastily lowered their hands as Ben turned around again.<\/p>\n “Go to work!”<\/p>\n They hastened to bustle off. No one really wanted to get in the way of Ben Cartwright’s anger at a moment like that.<\/p>\n Joe chewed his lip, desperately thinking of something, anything he could say while his father walked back to his horse to reload his rifle. He wished that Hoss would be there. Hoss always had a better hand with Pa when the flames flared high. Hoss certainly…<\/p>\n “JOSEPH!”<\/p>\n Joe swallowed the sigh and turned around, yet before he could answer, his attention was drawn to two riders approaching in a fast canter. The golden coat of Frank Miller’s palomino was easily recognizable. At least they diverted his father’s attention.<\/p>\n Frank Miller brought his horse to a rapid halt. There was no need to tell him what was up. All around them cattle staggered about, bawling in pain, groaning, showing the same symptoms as those Ben had just shot. And the dead ones bore sad witness to how serious it was.<\/p>\n Frank visibly swallowed. “Outbreak?”<\/p>\n “Outbreak,” Ben confirmed. “I was told that you saw it coming…”<\/p>\n “No.” Frank shook his head, looking about the dead animals. “I mean… I had a hunch, kind of. I wasn’t sure. We checked the cattle, those two men and I, but we found nothing wrong. Ben, if I really had thought it was that bad, I would’ve done something right away.” He pressed his lips together. “But I did have a bad feeling. That’s why I rode to Carson City this morning and asked Thomas to have a look at the herd.”<\/p>\n Ben’s eyes wandered to the second rider, a scrawny man in a black suit, once fashionable but now sadly threadbare. Hair and beard were meticulously groomed, yet his features revealed a certain amount of debauchery.<\/p>\n “Thomas Dawson, Sir, at your service.” The voice was surprisingly pleasant, trustworthy.<\/p>\n “Thomas used to work as a veterinarian in Sacramento,” Frank took over the conversation again. “He does not practice anymore, but I think he can still give a professional opinion.”<\/p>\n “I sure can.” Dawson dismounted and approached some of the shot cattle.<\/p>\n “We’re fairly sure it is anthrax,” Ben called out, watching the man as he bowed over a dead steer.<\/p>\n “Yes, I’ve heard about the epidemic in town,” Dawson replied. “The cowboys call it Blackleg, but it’s pretty much the same. Brought in by a herd of infected sheep, it was said.”<\/p>\n “We’re not really sure of that,” Joe threw in, ignoring his father’s sharp hiss. “My older brother Adam…”<\/p>\n “Joseph, that’s enough!” Ben’s eyes had grown black. “Let the man do his work!”<\/p>\n Joe opened his mouth, but was cut off before he could say a further word.<\/p>\n “I’d appreciate it, young man, if you could mount your horse and help the hands separate the herd.” Ben glowered at his youngest. “Now!”<\/p>\n Joe knew when a battle was lost. “Yes, sir.”<\/p>\n “I’ll join you in a minute, Joe!” Frank had also dismounted and gave the youngest Cartwright an understanding look before he closed in on Ben. “Ben, a word…”<\/p>\n Ben wrinkled his brow at Frank’s lowered voice, but followed as Miller junior led him a few steps back, lowering his tone even more. “Ben, Thomas was a veterinarian, and as far as I’ve heard, a pretty good one, as well.” He glanced over to Dawson, who still looked about at the dead cattle, as if to make sure the man could not hear him.<\/p>\n “And?” Ben asked.<\/p>\n Frank sighed. “Ben, it’s at least ten years since he practiced.” His voice fell to a near-whisper. “But then he took to drinking, gambling, he pretty much lost his footing. I don’t want to gossip, I just want you to know. Maybe he forgot some things… but as it happened, he was the only veterinarian I knew of in the area.”<\/p>\n “I’ll keep that in mind.” Ben placed his hand on Frank’s shoulder. “Frank, I want you to know that I’m really thankful for everything you did. You’re a good friend. Your father can be proud of you.”<\/p>\n “Thanks, Ben.” A small smile stole over the young man’s lips, but it faded fast as he gazed at the herd. “Guess I better help Joe and the others. And I think we’ll have to burn the dead ones.”<\/p>\n Ben nodded his head and his face hardened again. What lay before them wouldn’t be easy.<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 71. On Top of the Mountain\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n “Oh, Adam… Adam, look!” Lilyah had sunk to her knees, thoroughly exhausted after that last, rough climb, but her dark eyes were wide with wonder and her whole face shone as if she had just spotted the greatest, most beautiful miracle in the world. They had finally reached the promontory; and the sea of grass gently waving in the mild wind brushing across the high ridge, radiantly lit by a golden forenoon sun and yet so deeply green, took her breath away. “Just look…”<\/p>\n Adam had allowed himself to unceremoniously fall on his left thigh, too exhausted to even pretend he still had any strength. Supporting himself with one hand and catching his breath, he still smiled – but neither at the sight of the promontory nor at that of the sheep running for the lush grass. All he saw was Lilyah’s face, smeared with dust and sweat, surrounded by tousled strands of hair and disarranged jewelry haplessly dangling out of place, and yet glowing with joy and happiness. She looked like a child under the Christmas tree and his smile intensified as he watched tears of joy forming in her eyes. All he wished for was to capture this lovely image and treasure it for the rest of his life.<\/p>\n “Isn’t it beautiful? Adam, just look at them… look at them munching away… so happily…” A little, delighted laugh broke from her lips before her eyes lost themselves in thought. “And they don’t just disappear…”<\/p>\n Adam questioningly wrinkled his brow, but before he could ask the memory came to him. The strays he had driven back to the main herd a few weeks ago, with Lilyah’s enthusiastic help. When those strays had melted into the mass of cattle on the Northern pasture, Lilyah couldn’t make them out anymore and to her it had been like they had vanished. He also remembered how he had told her that on a ranch as big as the Ponderosa all that would count were the numbers. Adam rubbed his nose, quietly smiling to himself. Maybe he had thought in numbers for too long. Watching her face from under the brim of his hat, he finally said softly, “No, they don’t disappear. And they’re not just numbers.”<\/p>\n She gave him a smile, extending her hand to touch his arm. “And look at all that grass!” She couldn’t keep her eyes from the luscious green stretching out before them, still visibly overwhelmed by the dazzling surprise of finding such bounteous vegetation after miles and miles of barren rock. “Allah truly must have blessed this place. Such a rich pasture so high on a mountaintop… it’s a miracle, Adam, a divine miracle!”<\/p>\n “Not quite.” Adam sat up, his hand pointing forward. “If you look closely, you’ll see that the promontory forms a slight hollow which prevents the earth from getting washed off by rains or snow melts. Then it’s surrounded by trees on two sides whose roots further help to stabilize the ground and keep the fertile earth in place. And lastly, those big mountains over there keep wind and storms at bay.”<\/p>\n Her fingers caressed his shoulder. “But isn’t it a miracle that it has such a form? And that those trees are growing there at all?”<\/p>\n “Uhm…” A dimple formed in his stubbly cheek. “That would be a less geological explanation, of course.”<\/p>\n She smiled at him. “And you brought us here.”<\/p>\n Adam vividly regretted watching her eyes becoming attentive and wary as she looked him over, watching her smile fade to make room for her ever present worry. He would have preferred to see that unrestricted, carefree joy continue on her face that he could have watched for hours on end, even hoping to boost it some more when he showed her the spring at the other end of the promontory. But he also knew that he had gravely overextended himself. He felt each and every muscle in his body burning and aching, he was cold in spite of the steadily rising heat of the day, and he knew that there was no way she wouldn’t notice.<\/p>\n “Lil, I’m alright. I’m just tired.” He tried to look as convincing as possible. “I’m just a little spent. We all are, aren’t we? Just look at him!” His chin pointed to a spot a few yards off where Pico had thrown himself backwards into the grass, stretching his arms and legs wide. Esma and Ruby had found a boulder at the edge of the cliff and sat there as they caught their breaths and rubbed their doubtlessly sore legs. It was true, they all were worn out. That last slope up to the promontory, almost 200 yards of steep and slippery rock and gravel, had been a particularly backbreaking climb.<\/p>\n Lilyah drew closer to him. “But no one else was ill before…”<\/p>\n “Hey, little girl.” He pulled her into his arms. “Has no one ever told you that big men don’t like to be reminded of such measly trifles?”<\/p>\n A weak smile glided over her lips as she took off his hat to feel his sweaty forehead. The smile faded fast. “Adam, you’re feverish…”<\/p>\n “I’ll lie down as soon as we’ve unloaded the horses and built a camp,” he promised. “Those prospectors had a cabin next to the spring. I’m not sure about its condition, it could have collapsed long ago, but I guess I can still make something of it. And some of the adits go deep enough into the rock to be used as caves. I’ll just have to have a look at them.”<\/p>\n Her fine brow wrinkled. “But only after you’ve slept…”<\/p>\n “We should at least make some sort of camp beforehand.” He gave her a sidelong glance. “And you wouldn’t want the poor horses carrying their heavy loads any longer than necessary, would you?”<\/p>\n She pressed her lips together. “Esma and I can unload the horses.”<\/p>\n “Nonsense.” He dabbed her nose with a fingertip. “Don’t you worry so much. I’ve made it up this mountain and I certainly can keep going for a little longer. Now smile, my love, and enjoy the sight of the grass. It’s much richer than I had thought.”<\/p>\n “It’s wonderful…” The green width didn’t fail to bring the light back into her eyes. “It’s like an oasis in the desert, bestowing joy on those who reach it.”<\/p>\n Adam smiled and scanned over the promontory where the sheep had thrown themselves into grazing, filling the air with their excited bleats. The ram was off the leash and proved that he wasn’t the leader of the pack for nothing as he went directly across the meadow towards the spring, drawing quite a lot of the bleating ewes after him. The only one faster on his way to the water was Chai, closely followed by Mariah. Esma’s two cobs seemed to be oblivious of such instincts, standing with their heads hanging down next to their owner. At least they had enough instinct left not to stuff themselves with grass after the profound exertion. Adam straightened his back, but he couldn’t see the spring from his position, or the cabin he knew was there. The meadow suddenly appeared to be a lot wider than he had remembered it, but maybe it just looked like this for a man who deep inside harbored some secret doubts about his ability to get up on his feet once again. From the corner of his eye he saw Esma standing up and he determinedly brushed aside all notions of staying where he was a little longer.<\/p>\n “Adam!” Lilyah hastily scrambled to her feet as he strained to get up.<\/p>\n “It’s alright…” He clambered to his legs and tensed his knees to keep standing, but it was of no use. His right leg gave way and if it hadn’t been for Lilyah bracing her whole weight against him, he would have fallen down again. A wave of heat flushed over his face and he felt the sweat breaking out on his skin.<\/p>\n “Adam, sit down again…”<\/p>\n “Lil, it’s alright… I just need a moment…” He struggled to stay on his feet, struggled to not put all his weight on her.<\/p>\n “Hopla, shabaro!” Esma scurried over in haste and arrived just in time to keep him from falling. “Seems you’ve finally reached the end of your rope, eh?”<\/p>\n Adam twisted his lips and fought off his sudden dizziness. “We should get to the other end of the promontory, where the water is. There we’ll find an old cabin and some adits and can decide where to make camp.” He tried to brush off the helping hands. “I can walk by myself.”<\/p>\n “Sure,” Esma dryly remarked. “And I can dance the Farfalla in the Butterfly ballet. Shabaro, you’ve brought us here. Let that be enough for the day.”<\/p>\n “Adam, she’s right!” Lilyah’s fingers glided over his face, brushing some dampened curls from his temples. “You better sit down again.”<\/p>\n Adam opened his mouth, but didn’t get to say anything.<\/p>\n “He’s right enough that we should get to the water.” Esma took his arm and placed it over her shoulder. “Take his other arm, child.”<\/p>\n Lilyah hastened to do so. “Be careful, Adam.”<\/p>\n “Thanks…” Torn between protest and defeat, Adam reluctantly gave in and accepted the support of both women’s shoulders as they made their way across the meadow. Esma was well his size and the circumference of Hoss, but Lilyah barely reached to his chin. Swallowing his pride, he tried not to drag his feet and not to recall that one woman was likely double his age and the other half his weight, and that both of them had the same backbreaking climb behind them that he did. Yet somewhere deep inside, he had to admit that he wouldn’t have been able to cross the wide meadow without their help. The valiant determination that had kept him going all throughout the long, hard hours of the difficult trail seemed to have bid him farewell after the promontory was reached – not much caring that he still didn’t consider his work complete.<\/p>\n Listening to Lilyah’s and Esma’s lively discussion about whether he should sleep or eat or take his medicine first, he took one stiff step after the other and strained his neck to catch a first glimpse of the cabin half-hidden behind a group of straggling elderberry bushes. While he couldn’t judge the condition of the walls, it was already obvious that the roof was missing, probably fallen in years ago.<\/p>\n “Grandma, look! There’s a house!” Pico shot past them like a little canon ball, unfazed by his sister’s angry call to come back to help with the team horses.<\/p>\n “Pico, be careful!” Adam nearly lost his sensible balance in his attempt to get a better view. “The cabin might not be safe to enter! Wait ’til I’ve had a look!”<\/p>\n “He’ll find out.” Esma did not lose a grain of her calm. “Besides, little boys are indestructible, or else there wouldn’t be any men in this world.”<\/p>\n Adam bit down on his answer and tried to walk a tad faster, gritting his teeth as his legs refused to obey orders. The closer the cabin came, the more decrepit it looked. The door hung merely on a single hinge.<\/p>\n “Grandma, Grandma<\/em>, I’ve found a LAKE!” Pico’s excited voice was followed by a big splash, indicating something the size of an 8-year-old boy being plunged in a pool of water. Loud squeaks and screeches were to be heard, along with even more splashing.<\/p>\n “A lake?” For a moment Esma halted in her tracks.<\/p>\n “Not that I know of…” Adam impatiently urged them forward, worried about the boy’s screams.<\/p>\n “Esma, he’s screaming…” Lilyah nervously gazed in the direction of the noise, but the cabin blocked the view. “Maybe he’s in trouble…”<\/p>\n Esma chuckled. “You wait a couple of years, child, and you’ll learn to tell the difference between screams of terror and screams of fun. But I do want to see that lake!”<\/p>\n The ‘lake’ turned out to be two connected trenches the prospectors years ago had excavated to build their sluices, neither of which was any bigger than maybe four feet by five and not much deeper than a yard. Adam well remembered how he and his brothers had dismantled the wooden constructions and dug out the pits even more to remove all remains of used mercury. They had not bothered to refill the shafts and so the spring water had continued running through them. The result was two waterfilled pools that now provided utmost merriment for a sweaty little boy.<\/p>\n “This is grand!”<\/em>\u00a0Pico wildly hopped up and down in one of the pools, splashing water all about him. “You should join me! It’s so much fun!”<\/p>\n “Some\u00a0lake<\/em>!” Ruby shook her head in teasing mockery and led the two cobs to the second pool to allow them to drink. “Ooh, stop that splashing!”<\/p>\n Esma laughed. “Well, it’s not quite the size of Walker Lake, but it comes close.”<\/p>\n “And it’s equally wet.” Adam couldn’t repress a groan as he lowered himself at the edge of the sink, but the boy’s obvious joy still brought a smile to his face. “Lil…” He sighed as he watched her scurrying to her stallion to retrieve one of her veils in order to wet it in the water. Within moments she was back and squatted at his side, carefully rubbing his neck and face with the wet fabric.<\/p>\n “That’s good…” For a short while he relaxed, enjoying her soft fingers on his skin, but then he spotted Esma and Ruby straining to unload the lamb basket. “Wait…”<\/p>\n Before he could even try to get on his feet, the basket was down and the lambs jumped off, their bright piercing ‘baaahs’ mingling with the never ending bleating that hovered across the promontory. Adam slumped back to his seat, twisting his mouth.<\/p>\n “You stay put, you’ve done enough already.” Lilyah lovingly brushed his tousled hair back with her fingers. “Allah has given you the strength to lead us to this wonderful place, but he won’t like you being so unreasonable with the gift. You\u00a0must<\/em>\u00a0rest now!”<\/p>\n
\nThrough the Shadows<\/a>
\nSpreading Wings<\/a><\/p>\n
\nParsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
\nThough not more than any heart asks
\nAnd I must know a true love of mine<\/em><\/p>\n
\nwith these dear chains, they don’t demean.
\nThe nightingale embushed in laurel,
\nthe sylvan singers’ feathered queen,
\ndoes she not bear the same sweet plight?
\nNear the proud rose’s beauty dwelling,
\nand with her tender anthems thrilling
\nthe dusk of a voluptuous night.”<\/p>\n