{"id":3367,"date":"2008-09-19T13:36:48","date_gmt":"2008-09-19T17:36:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=3367"},"modified":"2026-09-17T10:52:43","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T14:52:43","slug":"safe-harbour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=3367","title":{"rendered":"Safe Harbour (by karilyn)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary: \u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Adam joins the Nevada Rangers to protect Nevada Territory against violent drifters fleeing the dying Southern Confederacy during the Civil War.<\/p>\n

Rated:\u00a0 T (17,325 words)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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

 <\/p>\n

Author’s Chapter Notes:<\/p>\n

Although in history there were no Nevada Rangers, there were Arizona and Texas Rangers.\u00a0 I have borrowed that model for this story.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: All publicly recognized characters and settings are the property of their respective owners.\u00a0 Original characters and plots are the property of the author.\u00a0 The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators or producers of any media franchse.\u00a0 No copyright infringement is intended.<\/p>\n

Summary<\/strong>:\u00a0 Adam joins the Nevada Rangers to help protect Nevadans from violent drifters from the dying Confederate States of America.\u00a0 Note<\/strong>:\u00a0 Although there were no Nevada Rangers, there were Arizona and Texas Rangers, and I modeled the Nevada Rangers after them.\u00a0 James Nye was Nevada\u2019s last territorial governor, immediately preceding its first state governor, Henry Blasdel.<\/p>\n

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

Adam Cartwright smiled to himself, but it was a mirthless smile.\u00a0 He pulled the collar of his jacket tighter around his neck; the black night was getting chilly.\u00a0 His partners were late for their rendezvous.\u00a0 The smile was a self-mocking one.\u00a0 What<\/em> had he been thinking when he had gotten himself involved in this scheme?\u00a0 Oh yes, his ego.\u00a0 The \u201chonor\u201d of having Nevada\u2019s territorial governor, James Nye, personally requesting his services in securing the safety of their state.\u00a0 And of course, Adam\u2019s noble ideals.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So here he was in Roach, Nevada, a brand spanking new Nevada Ranger, on his first assignment, waiting to meet his as-yet-unknown partners smack dab in the middle of nowhere.\u00a0 A big part of him wanted to head directly back to the Ponderosa, but he couldn\u2019t even do that now.\u00a0 He had accepted this job, and his family had a reputation to live up to.\u00a0 He was stuck in this Godforsaken place, Roach or Toad or Snakebite,– whatever they called this miserable place at the extreme southwest tip of the state, not far from Death Valley in California.\u00a0 It was desert for as far as the eye could see.\u00a0 Hot during the day, cool at night.\u00a0 Water wherever you were lucky enough to find it; if<\/em> you found it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When Governor Nye had contacted Adam, he appealed to him at a vulnerable point in his life.\u00a0 It was 1864 and the Civil War had been a source of tension and antagonism between Adam and Little Joe for four years.\u00a0 Even though they were thousands of miles from where the conflict was taking place, both brothers had strong feelings about what was happening so far east of the Ponderosa.\u00a0 Adam\u2019s New England blood gave him Union sympathies, and Joe\u2019s Southern Creole blood gave him rebel sympathies.\u00a0 And this was true even though Joe had been born in Nevada and Adam and reached the new, pristine territory as a young boy.\u00a0 At one point, Adam had been ready to leave the family simply to silence the arguments between them.\u00a0 Ben Cartwright had tried mightily to keep the war out of their home, and eventually had succeeded, but tensions sometimes roiled below the radar.\u00a0 Both Adam and Joe were passionate about their feelings on the issue of state\u2019s rights.\u00a0 Adam held as sacred the blood that had been shed in the 1770\u2019s in the effort to create the United States and he couldn\u2019t bear to see it torn apart.\u00a0 Joe believed just as strongly that Louisiana or Alabama, for example, should never be told how to conduct their individual affairs as states.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So now, in 1864, the war was winding down.\u00a0 The South was being defeated, steadily pummeled down.\u00a0 The destruction and death toll had been horrific and beyond imagination. Surrender was deemed to be only a short matter of time away.\u00a0 Rebel deserters, changed forever by the hellish battles they had lived through, were heading west.\u00a0 They were leaving behind their scorched homeland and homes that had been burned to ash and cinders.\u00a0 With them they brought rage, shock and bitterness, sometimes war-induced dementia, and lawlessness. Although some drifted alone, others traveled in packs and wreaked havoc on towns and communities that had worked for years to bring a sense of law and order to their newly settled territory, farms and businesses.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Gov. Nye had hastily established the Nevada Rangers, in the tradition of the Texas and Arizona Rangers.\u00a0 He had recruited those considered to be the cream of Nevada\u2019s strongest and best, and Adam\u2019s name had been on that list.\u00a0 His job, along with his cohorts, was to keep Nevadans safe, to rid Nevada of crime and drive the outlaws away.\u00a0 They had been given broad leeway.\u00a0 An elaborate underground communication system had been established so that the Rangers could pass along information and make plans.\u00a0 There was a commander, Col. Sam Wagner, but there were no uniforms and no badges.\u00a0 These particular troops were to blend in with the general populace whenever possible.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Technically, Adam was Sgt. Major Cartwright, but that didn\u2019t mean much of anything to him.\u00a0 And he certainly hoped it stayed that way.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t want to be promoted to any position that put him in charge of plans or rangers.\u00a0 If things became sticky anywhere, he\u2019d rather have someone else calling the shots.\u00a0 He had signed on for a six month stint, but he wasn\u2019t fooling himself.\u00a0 Six months might not even see the end of the Civil War, and until it was over, there would only be a trickle of deserters heading west. In his estimation, it would take at least a year before any significant numbers of ex-soldiers reached the west.\u00a0 And then watch out, he thought.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

His thoughts turned from the Rangers to his horse.\u00a0 He was riding a sturdy and serviceable mount, a brown gelding named George.\u00a0 There was no comparison between George and his beautiful horse, Sport, back at the Ponderosa.\u00a0 There was no way he would have brought Sport with him to serve under the conditions he was expecting to encounter.\u00a0 That sleek horse was safe in the barn at home, where his brothers had promised to exercise him until Adam returned home.\u00a0 In the meantime, George would do the job.\u00a0 Lost in horse thoughts, the sound of another horse snorting in the distance caught him by surprise.\u00a0 Adam quickly drew his gun.\u00a0 He was waiting near some scrub brush on the hard dirt surface of the arid desert, outside the town of Roach.\u00a0 Within moments he heard the hoof beats of several horses.\u00a0 They stopped some distance away from him and a match was lit.\u00a0 That was the signal.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cCartwright?\u201d\u00a0 A voice called out in the inky darkness.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYeah.\u00a0 Davis?\u201d\u00a0 He heard the horses move forward toward him.\u00a0 When they were close, someone lit a piece of fatwood that better illuminated the circle of men.\u00a0 There were five, including Adam.\u00a0 One man was missing.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m Rob Davis, these men are Tom Berger, Paul Tucker, and Jay Wellman,\u201d Davis reached out to shake Adam\u2019s hand and the others nodded at him.\u00a0 They weren\u2019t much older than Adam, except maybe Davis, who was the senior man on the team.\u00a0 He looked to be about forty and it appeared that all those years had been spent outdoors.\u00a0 \u201cSorry we\u2019re late.\u00a0 We left from Barclay early this morning.\u00a0 It\u2019s a rough ride.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhere\u2019s Springer?\u201d\u00a0 Adam asked, referring to the last man, Hank Springer.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t know.\u00a0 He was supposed to meet us here.\u00a0 He should\u2019ve been here by now.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been here about an hour.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t hear anything,\u201d Adam offered.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWell, we better wait a spell.\u00a0 Better start out on the right foot,\u201d Davis said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhy are they starting us in Roach?\u201d\u00a0 This question came from Wellman.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam laughed ruefully, \u201cI was wondering the exact same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWell, the Arizona Rangers were after a group of deserters in their territory.\u00a0 There was a gunfight and they captured some, but some also got away.\u00a0 The word I got is that they were headed into Nevada, and probably up to Carson City.\u00a0 They were a pretty tough group; did a lot of damage in Arizona, both to people and property.\u00a0 So we\u2019re on their trail as soon as we find Springer.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHow many are we looking for?\u201d Adam asked.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThe group\u2019s down to about a dozen now,\u201d Davis answered.\u00a0 \u201cOn the way to meet you here, we rode through Roach and didn\u2019t see any signs of them, but that was just ridin\u2019 through.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The newly minted Rangers waited almost another hour, shivering in the night.\u00a0 They didn\u2019t want to light a fire which would notify anyone else in the desert of their presence.\u00a0 When Hank Springer did not appear, Davis finally decided to head back to Roach.\u00a0 It was about a twenty minute ride into the town, which was definitely rolled up and put to bed by the time they got there.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no inn here, but I did stop by and ask the livery owner if we could bed down in a couple of the empty stalls, and he agreed,\u201d Davis explained, turning his horse down an alley behind the livery.\u00a0 Thus it was that five worn out Nevada Rangers gave their horses a fast rub down before they unrolled their own bedrolls and collapsed in the straw.\u00a0 Adam could not help but think about his bed at home, but it was a fleeting thought, because sleep captured him while he was still thinking about what clean sheets felt like.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Morning came much sooner that it should have, when the livery stable owner arrived and opened up his business.\u00a0 To Adam, it felt like he had just dropped into the hay.\u00a0 He wanted to groan out loud but he didn\u2019t.\u00a0 Neither did the others, but they all looked like Adam felt.\u00a0 Silently they packed up their bedrolls.\u00a0 The stable owner approached them to say there was a caf\u00e9 down the street where a hot breakfast was available.\u00a0 This was like a gift since dinner the night before had been tough beef jerky eaten in the saddle.\u00a0 Most of them took time to shave, and then they walked over to the caf\u00e9.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWell, no one ever said this was going to be a plum job,\u201d Adam commented wryly.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

That comment evoked a couple of chuckles.\u00a0 Rob Davis, who had served with the Texas Rangers as a young man, just shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cThat it ain\u2019t,\u201d he agreed.\u00a0 \u201cBut, you get used to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When they were sitting in the caf\u00e9 drinking steaming mugs of coffee, Berger looked at Davis.\u00a0 \u201cSo why\u2019d you stick it out?\u00a0 The pay\u2019s bad, the conditions are worse, and chances are you\u2019ll get shot or even die.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Davis moved his coffee from where he had been steadily feeding it into his mouth.\u00a0 \u201cEvery Ranger everywhere fundamentally has a cast iron sense of right and wrong.\u00a0 And somewhere inside he can\u2019t live with wrong getting the better of right.\u00a0 It\u2019s that simple,\u201d and then he put the coffee back in place.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam, leaning back nursing his coffee, raised his eyebrows.\u00a0 Each of the others got a unique expression on his face that confirmed Davis\u2019 comment.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are noble men,\u201d Adam said with a slight smile, but then stopped talking and sat up straight as their food arrived and everything else was forgotten.\u00a0 There were platters of scrambled eggs, flapjacks, bacon, sausage and fried potatoes.\u00a0 They ate like starving men, following Davis\u2019 advice to eat hearty whenever they could.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

After breakfast, instead of starting out toward Carson City, Davis wanted to go south a way since that was the direction that Springer was planning to come from.\u00a0 The men spread out with instructions to fire two shots if they found anything, wait a few moments and fire two shots again.\u00a0 In the bright daylight on the flat desert, it seemed as though a man could see for miles.\u00a0 Sage grew here and there, along with scrub brush and the occasional cactus.\u00a0 The sun was bright, and it wasn\u2019t long before Adam had rolled up the sleeves of his black shirt.\u00a0 The riders were separated by at least a half mile each.\u00a0 Adam wondered briefly how in his huge desert they find a trace of Springer, but the circling birds did that for them.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Without a notification shot being fired, the men converged at the spot where the birds were focused.\u00a0 There were two cacti at the edge of a small pond of algae covered water, and in that water lay a man with a bullet hole in the back of his head.\u00a0 Davis made an angry sound and brought his horse up short.\u00a0 Swinging down, he pulled the man out of the water and turned him over.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t pretty.\u00a0 Davis felt his body for a wallet or identification.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t know what Springer looked like, but he suspected this was him.\u00a0 He eventually found an empty wallet, but that was all.\u00a0 It was Tucker who noticed a scrap of paper caught in the brush growing between the two cacti. Retrieving it, he could tell it was a piece torn from a larger piece of paper.\u00a0 He looked at both sides and handed it to Davis.\u00a0 The scrap had some writing on it, \u201cHen__ ______er.\u201d\u00a0 It had been wet and much of the ink was smeared. Davis passed the scrap around.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI bet his name was Henry and this is the same certificate we all got from the governor, appointing us Rangers,\u201d Davis said tersely.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam swung down, and crouching by the small pond, dragged his hand through the shallow water to see whether anything else was in it.\u00a0 He extracted two more scraps that each only had an ornate border on them, but they matched the border on their own certificates.\u00a0 For the five men, this was enough proof that they had found Hank Springer.\u00a0 Whether he had destroyed the certificate himself when he encountered his murderers or they had done it, was not known. \u00a0A Ranger wanted to remain anonymous if at all possible.\u00a0 There were men who would kill a Ranger just for being a Ranger, and there were also those who would make his death worse than it had to be.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Wellman looked a little green.\u00a0 \u201cThey murdered him in cold blood,\u201d he said hoarsely<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam averted his eyes, thinking that if the group of deserters had come upon Springer while traveling north from Arizona, they may have passed him at some point the day before.\u00a0 That thought sent a chill through him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Davis knew they were all carrying their Ranger identification certificates on them.\u00a0 Sometimes they were needed.\u00a0 They also carried badges that almost no one wore for the same reason they didn\u2019t want the certificates seen.\u00a0 \u201cMen, don\u2019t carry your certificates in your wallets, in your saddlebags or on your person.\u00a0 For now, put them in your boot or sock.\u00a0 When we get a chance, we\u2019ll sew a pocket on our saddle blankets for them.\u00a0 That should be inconspicuous.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He stood up and looked around him, knowing it was pointless to do so.\u00a0 There was so sign of Springer\u2019s horse of or any other scraps of paper, which had long ago blown away.\u00a0 Springer\u2019s holster was also missing.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Davis shook his head, \u201cHelp me get him up over my horse.\u00a0 We\u2019ll take him to the undertaker in Roach and I\u2019ll need to telegraph Gov. Nye\u2019s office.\u00a0 The Ranger headquarters are there.\u00a0 They\u2019ll need to send us another man.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

Chapter 2:<\/p>\n

It was a long and quiet ride back to Roach.\u00a0 Davis rode at the end of the line of riders so the others didn\u2019t have to look at the body draped over his saddle.\u00a0 No one had been expecting to start their mission this way.\u00a0 But it did accomplish one thing: their blood was boiling.\u00a0 They were like bloodhounds which had caught a scent, ready to track.\u00a0 It was like Davis said at breakfast; they couldn\u2019t live with wrong getting the best of right.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It was fully noon by the time their business in Roach had been conducted.\u00a0 They were finally moving north toward Carson City.\u00a0 Instructions had come through that they were to meet their new partner in two days in Mount Montgomery.\u00a0 Adam had been worried the new man would come in on the Virginia City stage.\u00a0 Other than his father, Ben Cartwright, he had told no one about this assignment.\u00a0 Even his brothers Joe and Hoss thought he was spending several months in the east, where he went to college.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t want to be seen in Virginia City with his group of Rangers, meeting a new man.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The group rode hard, sleeping on the desert floor at night, building only the smallest of fires to cook with and see by.\u00a0 They reached Mount Montgomery earlier than expected, to find much of it charred, in burned ruins, still smoking.\u00a0 Townspeople were wandering the streets in shock.\u00a0 Some were homeless.\u00a0 There was a line at the undertaker\u2019s.\u00a0 The deserters had been there the night before.\u00a0 They had broken into homes.\u00a0 They had routed people out of bed, murdering some outright. They had slaughtered livestock.\u00a0 Their acts were random, outrageous and intolerable.\u00a0 The sheriff had been killed, so the Rangers could only speak with the deputy, who gave them facts in bits and pieces as they occurred to him in his stunned state of mind.\u00a0 The telegraph office had been destroyed, so no wire could be sent to Carson City letting the governor know they needed more than six men to deal with the insanity the Southern rebels were doling out.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Davis surveyed the scene on Main Street with hard, steely eyes.\u00a0 He sent his Rangers out to talk with the people to find out everything they could.\u00a0 They would identify themselves as officials with the governor\u2019s office.\u00a0 One man told Adam that in the midst of the destruction, which struck just after midnight, all that could be heard throughout the town was the bloodcurdling sound of the infamous Rebel yell.\u00a0 The saloon, the last place to be hit, was left standing, but the marauders either smashed every bottle or took it with them.\u00a0 Tucker discovered that at least one woman had been taken away with the men.\u00a0 Wellman heard a story told by a Rebel who had broken into a private home.\u00a0 The intruder calmly and eerily explained that if his homeland had been destroyed, then he would personally destroy as many other homelands as he could.\u00a0 And then he set the house on fire.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Berger learned that the livery stable had been raided and all horses had been taken away.\u00a0 Davis saw for himself that the church and school house had been burned to the ground.\u00a0 It was random, senseless violence, fueled by the inexorable demons that four years of war had scarred these ex-soldiers with.\u00a0 Almost like a human mutation.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amazingly, the stage arrived in town on time.\u00a0 It was an act of normalcy in a world gone mad.\u00a0 Adam happened to be the closest person to the stage office when the conveyance pulled in, so he greeted their new Ranger partner, Rudy Webb.\u00a0 What a baptism by fire, Adam thought to himself, and Webb stood rooted in place, taking in his surroundings with horror.\u00a0 They didn\u2019t even have a horse for him.\u00a0 They had counted on obtaining one from the livery.\u00a0 Adam and Webb set about checking at private residences for a suitable mount.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mount Montgomery was not that far from the Ponderosa.\u00a0 Adam was beginning to be concerned for the safety of his family and the ranch.\u00a0 People who could wreak this kind of destruction for the mere satisfaction of doing it would relish repeating it on a well-to-do, successful spread.\u00a0 Bring it to its knees.\u00a0 Cause human injury.\u00a0 Or death. \u00a0Adam was becoming less and less concerned about being seen in Virginia City.\u00a0 He was beginning to think they needed to head there, and fast.\u00a0 When he and Webb ran across Davis, Adam expressed his concerns and suggested that the Rangers continue moving north where they would discover where their quarry was, had been, and what damage they had left in their wake. Davis agreed.\u00a0 He traveled to the farthest edges of the town, away from Main Street, where damage had been less devastating.\u00a0 He found a residence with a barn that housed three horses.\u00a0 Showing his Ranger badge, he was able to procure a mount for Webb, promising the owner that the state would replace the animal.\u00a0 He also wrote out a receipt for the man and gave him his name.\u00a0 Riding out, he acknowledged the owner\u2019s exhortation to \u201ccatch them murderin\u2019 thieves.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It was too late now to ride any further as night was falling.\u00a0 The Rangers made themselves useful to the people of Mount Montgomery in any way they could, from assisting with the dead and wounded to tearing down and hauling away charred lumber.\u00a0 Fortunately the sawmill was still intact, so late into the night it operated, cutting innumerable planks that would rebuild lost homes and businesses. The town had organized itself well, and planned to divide itself up into groups to get buildings up quickly.\u00a0 The entire town was up until well past midnight, still too stunned by their fate to sleep.\u00a0 When everyone was ready to drop in their tracks, the citizens made sure that the Rangers each had a home to sleep in for the night, which they gratefully accepted.\u00a0 After a hot breakfast the following morning, they wished each other farewell, and the Rangers departed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

With his Nevada Rangers team now intact, Davis continued heading north. As the crow flew, they were not far from Virginia City and the Ponderosa.\u00a0 However, not being winged creatures put several significant obstacles in their way, specifically the interconnected mountain ranges, Silver Peak, Monte Cristo, Gabbs Valley, Gillis and Wassuk. Fortunately Adam knew of several passes that kept them close to ground level and helped them short cut through the mountains, so he took the lead.\u00a0 All the men watched their surroundings carefully, as these mountain ranges offered excellent hiding places for anyone who wanted to hide or prey upon other travelers.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cCartwright, I suppose folks live in these mountains?\u201d\u00a0 Davis questioned.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNot in large numbers, but if you wanted to find yourself a mountain cabin, you\u2019d be able to do it,\u201d Adam answered.\u00a0 They were all thinking about the Rebels, remembering the comment about the Rebel yells that had accompanied the destruction in Mount Montgomery.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

They kept up a rapid pace, even through the mountain ranges, all day.\u00a0 They reached Virginia City in the late afternoon, saddle weary but alert.\u00a0 The town appeared normal, which gave Adam great comfort.\u00a0 He had been dreading a sight such as he had seen in Mount Montgomery.\u00a0 He showed Rob Davis to the telegraph office first thing.\u00a0 Davis had several orders of business there.\u00a0 He wired the governor that he needed reinforcements immediately and briefly described the destruction they had encountered.\u00a0 He believed he needed to double the team he now had.\u00a0 He also needed to send word about the horse that needed to be returned to Mount Montgomery.\u00a0 Adam stopped him there, and suggested that they pick up a horse at the Ponderosa, and the donated horse could be returned to his owner by one of the ranch hands.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Just as Davis was agreeing to that idea, a hatless rider raced into town from the direction of the Ponderosa.\u00a0 Adam recognized him as a ranch hand of many years\u2019 standing.\u00a0 Bob Barnes jumped off his horse outside the sheriff\u2019s office.\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t seen Adam, who followed him with Davis.\u00a0 The other Rangers had headed toward the saloon for a beer when they arrived in town.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cAttack on the Ponderosa!\u201d Barnes was gulping in air.\u00a0 \u201cThe house is on fire and there\u2019s a gun fight.\u00a0 There was a cattle stampede earlier and the log flume was dynamited.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Roy Coffee was on his feet and buckling his gun belt.\u00a0 \u201cAny injuries?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYes, on each side.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Roy looked at Adam as if it were perfectly normal to see a man in Virginia City who was actually visiting in Boston.\u00a0 \u201cAny idea what\u2019s going on?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u00a0 We think it\u2019s a marauding party of deserters from the Confederate Army.\u00a0 They destroy as they go.\u00a0 They could be headed here next, and then certainly to Carson City.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Davis had already gone running for the Rangers in the saloon, and Sheriff Coffee told Barnes to recruit as much help as he could and return to the Ponderosa immediately. Adam ran for the saloon where the horses were hitched.\u00a0 Without thinking about it, he leaped into the saddle without using the stirrups, the way his brother Joe mounted his horse.\u00a0 The other Rangers were ready almost as fast, and Adam headed out of town at top speed with his partners on his heels.<\/p>\n

Adam began to see smoke when he reached the halfway point, and his heart was in his throat.\u00a0 Shortly he began to hear gunfire.\u00a0 What on earth would they find when they got there?\u00a0 He guessed that his family would be in the house, if it wasn\u2019t burning, and the Rebels would be in the barn or bunkhouse.\u00a0 He led the men behind some trees, stopping some distance behind the house.\u00a0 The bunkhouse was totally engulfed in flames and he heard constant gunfire as well as the shrill cries from the horses in the barn.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Staying low, Adam entered the house by the kitchen door.\u00a0 The kitchen was empty and when he reached the doorway to the rest of the house, he crouched and just barely turned his head around the corner.\u00a0 There was his family, posted at separate windows, shooting toward the barn.\u00a0 Crawling on his belly, he approached his father, who was shooting steadily out of a broken window.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cPa, I\u2019m here and I\u2019ve brought reinforcements.\u00a0 When did this begin and how many of them are there?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ben didn\u2019t take his eyes off the window.\u00a0 \u201cThank goodness, Adam.\u00a0 Began after lunch and there\u2019s at least 10, maybe more.\u00a0 Hard to tell.\u00a0 The torched the bunkhouse about an hour ago.\u00a0 Some of the hands are still out in the North pasture.\u00a0 Joe and Hop Sing are upstairs.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam looked over to Hoss who manned the next window over from Ben.\u00a0 There were two men down in the dirt yard between the house and barn.\u00a0 Based on clothing, Adam guessed one was a Rebel and the other a ranch hand.\u00a0 He moved back outside and rejoined the Rangers, explaining the situation.\u00a0 They decided to start inside the ranch house.\u00a0 When Barnes returned with more men, they could work on getting the horses out of the barn, but that was the trickiest angle since it appeared that\u2019s where the Rebels were.\u00a0 Adam had to force himself not to think about losing the horses his family cared so much about; they were the most vulnerable right now.\u00a0 The house was vulnerable, too, because the bunkhouse was burning right next to it and it was completely impossible to work on the fire; they\u2019d be picked off one by one.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Rangers began to move toward the house.\u00a0 Suddenly Adam halted, noticing two men standing on the roof.\u00a0 He assumed they would try to enter through an upper window.\u00a0 Pulling his rifle from its scabbard, he motioned toward Davis, who pulled out his own rifle and they both aimed and shot at the men, bringing them down.\u00a0 Then the whole group continued moving forward to the house, following the path Adam had earlier used.\u00a0 Once inside, Adam used Wellman and Berger to temporarily relieve Ben and Hoss so they could reload their weapons.\u00a0 Then he guided Davis and Tucker upstairs and posted them near Joe and Hop Sing.\u00a0 Joe was astonished to see his brother, but there was no time to ask questions.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t have picked a better time to show up. Making sure everyone had enough ammunition, Adam moved carefully back downstairs.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He found his father in the kitchen, sitting in shock.\u00a0 This attack had hit out of the clear blue, unprovoked.\u00a0 Adam briefly explained who they were and what their mission was.\u00a0 More important, he stressed that more help was on the way and that they needed a strategy to save what they had.\u00a0 But he quickly saw that Ben was too dazed just then to plan a strategy.\u00a0 Adam had an idea and he made his way back upstairs to talk it over with Davis.\u00a0 It was daring and highly risky.\u00a0 Davis might expel him from the Rangers for even suggesting it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He crept over to where Davis was shooting at the barn.\u00a0 Adam pulled him aside and put Webb in his place.\u00a0 After explaining his idea, he was surprised that Davis didn\u2019t stare at him as though he had two heads.\u00a0 Instead, he made a couple of suggestions to make Adam\u2019s plan more effective, and after a few more brief remarks, they both nodded and went back to the defense of the Ponderosa.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So far, Adam had yet to see any of the ex-soldiers, save the one who lay, presumably dead, in the yard and the two who had been shot off the roof.\u00a0 He wondered if they were assuming too much to think the rest were all in the barn.\u00a0 He moved back downstairs, and was relieved to see that his father had recovered sufficiently to resume a defense position at one of the windows.\u00a0 Moving through the kitchen, he checked behind the house and was rewarded by the sight of Bob Barnes returning with at least a dozen men, including Roy Coffee.\u00a0 Now that they were here, Adam\u2019s audacious plan to attack the barn and save the horses could be executed.\u00a0 Pulling Little Joe, Rob Davis and Tom Berger from their positions inside the house, Adam assembled the men and explained what he wanted to do.\u00a0 Seeing for themselves the gravity of the situation, the men agreed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam divided them into two groups.\u00a0 Both were told that when they shot their guns, shoot to kill.\u00a0 Then he sent them together to assemble the supplies they would need.\u00a0 This was a daunting task since the tools they really needed were in the barn or had been in the bunkhouse.\u00a0 At a point which he had established, they would split into two groups covering the front and back of the barn.\u00a0 For one of these groups he had selected the best shots he knew. \u00a0Funny, he thought, he didn\u2019t know much about the skills of the new Nevada Rangers.\u00a0 They were supposed to be the best, but they had never been in action together before.\u00a0 Now they would be for the first time, and there was much at stake.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Flames from the bunkhouse were beginning to scorch the side of the ranch house when the men were ready to put their plan into effect.\u00a0 Throughout this time, the shooting between the barn and the house had continued, but Adam and Davis had noticed that shots from the Rebels weren\u2019t as continuous as they had been earlier.\u00a0 This could be a very good sign for them if it meant that they were running low on ammunition.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The men readied themselves behind the barn, laying flat in the tall grass.\u00a0 Adam began by shooting an outline in the back barn wall.\u00a0 Once the outline was clear, all fifteen men began reinforcing the pattern he had made.\u00a0 They were perforating the barn wall, and it was accomplished sooner than expected.\u00a0 The men then grabbed strong planks or poles they had collected and began ramming the wall section they had outlined.\u00a0 The wall began to give way, and this was when the second group left, running low to reach the front of the barn.\u00a0 Inside the house, Davis had earlier warned everyone not to shoot at them.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Once the barn wall fell in, there was general confusion.\u00a0 Some men had been trapped beneath it.\u00a0 Simultaneously, Joe and Roy Coffee pulled open the front barn doors.\u00a0 Now it was open at both ends, and shooting began in earnest.\u00a0 The Rebels were exposed as clear targets, and several of them were shot down right away.\u00a0 Some were trying to crawl out from under the collapsed barn wall and others tried to return fire.\u00a0 What no one expected was that they had their own horses in the barn along with the Ponderosa horses.\u00a0 With the overcrowded space and the whizzing bullets, the horses were hysterical and this added to the chaos of the battle.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Little Joe, with his temper, shot relentlessly and saw four men fall from his bullets, unable to shoot back.\u00a0 When he saw a man approach the stall where his father\u2019s horse was kept, he increased his efforts and realized that he had help.\u00a0 That man was killed within seconds.\u00a0 With at least half their men down, and three down outside the barn, the enemy began to flee.\u00a0 They mounted horses and kicked them into full gallops out toward Virginia City.\u00a0 At least one more man was shot escaping this way.\u00a0 About five men had ridden out of the barn.\u00a0 Roy Coffee and his group pursued them.\u00a0\u00a0 For Adam and his group, it was time to turn their attention to the fire.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A bucket brigade was formed and the side of the ranch house and its roof was soaked first.\u00a0 Then they threw water over the bunkhouse remains, which were a complete loss.\u00a0 Afterward, they stood, hot and sooty, pouring water on themselves. Ben and Hoss ran outside to inventory the wounded.\u00a0 One ranch hand was dead in the yard, a victim of the beginning of the attack.\u00a0 Bob Barnes had taken a bullet to the shoulder.\u00a0 Amazingly, those were the worst of the casualties.\u00a0 The rest amounted to scrapes and minor burns.\u00a0 Among the deserters, three were dead and three were alive but critically injured.\u00a0 The Rebel dead were put behind the barn to be taken care of later.\u00a0 The injured were laid on the porch.\u00a0 The Rangers would take them into town when they left.\u00a0 The ranch hand would be taken to the undertaker in Virginia City until it was known what his family wanted done with his remains.\u00a0 And Hop Sing had been able to remove the bullet from Barnes\u2019 shoulder and bandage it until Dr. Martin could examine him, which might be a day or so.\u00a0 It was a clean wound, so chances were good for a full recovery.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Cartwright men weren\u2019t saying anything, but each of them was very grateful that his horse had not been stolen or shot.\u00a0 They were all very fond of their horses, and losing one would be like losing a family member.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hop Sing, despite being pressed into service as a soldier and doctor all in one day, still insisted on heading into the kitchen to make dinner for the hungry men.\u00a0 Adam realized that his brothers would now have to know about his position as a Ranger; there was no help for it.\u00a0 They would just have to be sworn to secrecy, knowing that Adam\u2019s life depended on it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Davis wanted the Rangers to spend the night in Virginia City, even though Ben had offered them Ponderosa hospitality.\u00a0 He was concerned that more deserters than they knew about could be lurking, waiting to wreak the same havoc on Virginia City that Mount Montgomery had been inflicted with.\u00a0 And in the morning he wanted to be off early to Carson City, where he expected more trouble and likely more Rebels.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

After being fed, the Rangers mounted their horses to be on their way.\u00a0 Adam apologized to his father for leaving so much behind.\u00a0 A new bunkhouse would have to be built right away.\u00a0 Ben assured his son that there plenty of hands on the ranch to get the task done; he knew that Adam\u2019s priority as a Nevada Ranger was to eliminate the scorch and destroy policy the misguided deserters were employing.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As the Rangers rode out, Ben, Hoss and Joe called out their thanks.\u00a0 Without their help, the outcome for the Ponderosa might have been far worse. Davis\u2019 men carried the dead and wounded from the battle in a wagon that would be returned to the Cartwrights.\u00a0 The dead would be taken to the undertaker in Virginia City, and the wounded to Dr. Martin or Roy Coffee, in whatever order the sheriff deemed best.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The ride into town was uneventful and unimpeded.\u00a0 Any activity regarding the Rebels who had escaped had already occurred with the sheriff\u2019s pursuit, or there had been no interception.\u00a0 However, the Rangers were watching carefully all the way, especially because the wagon slowed them down and made reactions, if necessary, more cumbersome.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Upon reaching Virginia City, they parceled out their charges as had previously been determined.\u00a0 Roy reported that they had not caught up with the four Rebels who escaped from the Ponderosa barn.\u00a0 His best guess is that they had headed north to Carson City. The Rangers absorbed this news silently inasmuch as they were expecting a confrontation there. Then got themselves double rooms at the International House for the night.\u00a0 They were all tired, and most of them took time only to pull off their boots before stretching out on their beds. They were not awakened during the night by cries for help or fire bells.\u00a0 It was a normal night in Virginia City.<\/p>\n

\n

Chapter 3:<\/p>\n

Davis got them up just after dawn and following a quick breakfast, they were on the road to Carson City, which was not far away. In fact, they reached it by noon, having encountered heavy traffic on the main road to the state capital.\u00a0 Davis wanted to see Col. Wagner as soon as he could so he could be briefed on the situation in Carson. \u00a0As always, Adam looked around him and found the city wanting as a state capital.\u00a0 True, it was in its infancy, but in many ways Virginia City seemed a more sophisticated place than Carson City.\u00a0 He knew plans were underway for official government buildings, so he supposed patience was required for the time being.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Davis left to seek Col. Wagner, and the rest of his team casually observed Carson City to see what they could discover.\u00a0 There certainly were plenty of cowboys in Carson, just as there were in Virginia City.\u00a0 As Adam strolled the muddy boardwalks with Rudy Webb, he also noticed a fair number of gaunt looking men who wore gray or butternut jackets that had been patched many times or clothing that simply didn\u2019t match at all, as if its owner had been lucky to find anything to wear at all.\u00a0 Those men matched his idea of what a deserter from an army that could no longer feed or clothe its rank and file would look like.\u00a0 In addition, if those deserters had fled thousands of miles across the country, living hand to mouth off the land, they would look very much like the men he was noticing all over Carson City.\u00a0 He remarked on this grimly to Webb, who agreed with him.\u00a0 Both of them experienced a sinking feeling in the pits of their stomachs because they were seeing far more of these \u201cdesperadoes\u201d\u2014which is what they looked like\u2014than they had counted on.\u00a0 It was like a convention.\u00a0 They had convened here in Carson City for a purpose.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

They walked past the sheriff\u2019s office and a rowdy crowd was gathered there. \u00a0There was pushing and shoving, and loud complaining about justice and different ways it could be served.\u00a0 It was a mixed crowd of all the types of people Adam had seen in town.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Webb nudged a cowboy next to him, \u201cJust got into town. What\u2019s goin\u2019 on here?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The man pushed his hat back on his head and looked at Webb. \u201cSome stragglers in town roughed up a man pretty bad in the saloon last night.\u00a0 Guy died today.\u00a0 Nice man; had a family.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Webb winced sympathetically.\u00a0\u00a0 He and Adam edged away from the crowd and headed for one of several saloons along the main street.\u00a0 Named Sophie\u2019s Palace and decorated outside with painted pictures of dancing ladies in colorful dresses, it was crowded.\u00a0 In fact, standing room only.\u00a0\u00a0 Adam and Webb managed to get a beer and then they moved back into the establishment to watch some card games at various tables.\u00a0 For all intents and purposes, everyone played poker.\u00a0 Adam watched, pretending to be interested, but he was really listening for whatever tidbits he could pick up.\u00a0 The table he had chosen seated mostly cowpokes about his age.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

They played mechanically as they kept up a riding dialogue about recent events in town. Occasionally they looked at each other, but mostly they stared at their cards.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIf you ask me, it\u2019s been nothing but trouble since these stragglers shuffled into town last couple weeks,\u201d one commented, chewing on a toothpick.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSeems that way, but I\u2019m staying out of it.\u00a0 Don\u2019t wanna end up like Granger.\u00a0 It ain\u2019t worth it.\u00a0 I ain\u2019t arguin\u2019 \u2018bout a war that\u2019s not even here in these parts.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, but did you see that fella just up and draw on Granger?\u00a0 And for nuthin\u2019!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThink they\u2019ll hang him?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWell, Granger died today.\u00a0 Circuit judge will come through and there\u2019ll be a trial.\u00a0 Good chance he\u2019ll hang.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe, if his buddies don\u2019t bust him out first.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cMeanin\u2019 what?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cLook around.\u00a0 There\u2019s a ton of men around town look just like him.\u00a0 They\u2019re like a huge gang an\u2019 they got mean politics.\u00a0 Wouldn\u2019t wanna be the sheriff right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIt is strange at that.\u00a0 Wonder what else they\u2019re up to.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam took his leave then, wandering over to another table.\u00a0 He wondered what else they were up to, also.\u00a0 He saw that Webb had joined a poker game.\u00a0 Two of the players looked like Rebels.\u00a0 He went to stand behind Webb.\u00a0 \u201cI wondered where you\u2019d gotten off to,\u201d he told him.\u00a0 \u201cYou sure you oughta be playing when we got supplies to pick up?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWe got plenty of time,\u201d he drawled.\u00a0 \u201cLemme play this hand.\u201d\u00a0 He played it out, and it was a dud.\u00a0 He finally threw it down on the table.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m out, boys.\u00a0 Better luck next time,\u201d he pushed his chair back from the table, leaving his money in the pile, not attempting to withdraw it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

One the scruffy drifters, a slight man with a chip on his shoulder jumped to his feet.\u00a0 \u201cYou can\u2019t just go in and out of a game hand to hand like that.\u00a0 Either you play or you don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Webb managed to look sheepish.\u00a0 \u201cMy mistake, boys.\u00a0 I really didn\u2019t have enough time to play.\u00a0 You can split my take there.\u201d\u00a0 There really wasn\u2019t much left to do.\u00a0 Webb was being reasonable.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But his opponent wasn\u2019t having any.\u00a0 \u201cEither you sit down and play or you fight,\u201d his hand had moved to the butt of his pistol.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The other drifter at the table looked up at his buddy.\u00a0 \u201cC\u2019mon, Peters, it isn\u2019t worth it.\u00a0 He\u2019s leaving his money.\u00a0 Let it go.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cCould be a trick,\u201d Peters said suspiciously.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam, who had been preparing to draw if he had to, was relieved to see Davis walking toward them.\u00a0 He stopped at the table and fixed Adam and Webb with a long stare.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cCan\u2019t I leave you boys for fifteen minutes without you finding trouble?\u00a0 Did you get the supplies or not?\u201d\u00a0 When no response was forthcoming, Davis continued, \u201cI didn\u2019t think so.\u00a0 Get yourself over to the general store and pick up my order.\u201d\u00a0 His tone brooked no quibbling.\u00a0 He threw a five dollar gold piece onto the table.\u00a0 \u201cSorry my boys interfered with your game.\u00a0 G\u2019night,\u201d and he followed Adam and Webb out of the saloon.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Out on the street, Webb let out a low whistle.\u00a0 \u201cI hope that\u2019s over,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cI was just trying to pick up information.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cDid you find Wagner?\u201d\u00a0 Adam asked Davis.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, and something is definitely up.\u00a0 This town is crawling with Rebel drifters.\u00a0 There was a murder last night and a lot of tension.\u00a0 Everyone\u2019s nerves are on edge.\u00a0 Wagner thinks something is planned, but he doesn\u2019t have any details.\u00a0 He\u2019s looking for someone to infiltrate the Rebels.\u00a0 By the way, a lot of the cowboys you see around here are actually Rangers.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd if we\u2019re trying to infiltrate the Rebels, they\u2019re probably trying to infiltrate us,\u201d Adam said dryly.\u00a0 This was becoming a complicated game of cat and mouse.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cExactly, Cartwright,\u201d Davis agreed.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s why we can\u2019t be too careful.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The team spent the next few minutes comparing notes about what they had observed around town. Berger had overheard a conversation in a different saloon about \u201cblowing the town wide open.\u201d\u00a0 Tucker offered that his mother had been raised in Georgia, and even though he had grown up in Nevada, he could perfectly mimic the accent she had never lost.\u00a0 Therefore, he was a potentially useful infiltrator. Davis immediately sent him off to find clothing that would help him blend in, and to find out any information he could about attack plans.\u00a0 The governor and other state officials had already been moved to another location, as had money from the two banks\u2019 biggest vaults.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWell, they\u2019ve bought the Civil War here,\u201d said Davis, voicing a sentiment that Adam was suddenly feeling.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

By early evening many of the deserter types had disappeared from the streets and public buildings.\u00a0 Adam interpreted this as an ominous sign and suspected that their attack deadline was drawing near. Many Rangers were sent walking the streets, closely examining private residences for signs of large public gatherings.\u00a0 Two brought back reports of a large gathering in a two story house, and another in a local church away from the main street.\u00a0 Paul Tucker found Davis shortly after the first two reports came in.\u00a0 He looked markedly different, wearing an old gray coat with holes in it, black boots with the soles half gone, and brown pants with split seams.\u00a0 He had attended the meeting at the church.\u00a0 He had been given an assignment too: blow up the Carson City Bank that night at 1:30.\u00a0 He showed Davis the sticks of dynamite he was carrying inside his coat.\u00a0 He had more information, too.\u00a0 Davis dragged him over to Col. Wagner\u2019s office so he could reveal it privately.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The attack was to take place in the middle of the coming night.\u00a0 Dynamite had been obtained from several mining sites nearby.\u00a0 Each of Carson City\u2019s banks was to be blown up.\u00a0 Also on the dynamite list was the governor\u2019s office, the sheriff\u2019s office, the general store, and the livery–but only after the horses had been removed.\u00a0 Three of the largest houses were to be torched as well as the saw mill and telegraph office.\u00a0 An oversize bonfire was to be set at each end of the main street to create havoc and block the main exits from town.\u00a0 All of the Rebels had been given specific assignments by a man named Peters.\u00a0 Adam\u2019s head bobbed up at the sound of that name.\u00a0 Peters was the angry man at the poker table in the saloon.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Davis sat stroking his chin momentarily.\u00a0 \u201cWe have to let Col. Wagner know immediately, and there has to be a plan to let the rest of the Rangers know about this.\u00a0 Wellman, will you find Wagner and bring him back here?\u201d\u00a0 Jay Wellman was out the door in a flash.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam asked for a closer look at the dynamite.\u00a0 It was the same kind used on the Ponderosa, which was not far from Carson City.\u00a0 It could be the same supply.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cPaul, was all the dynamite distributed or is there a stash of it somewhere?\u201d\u00a0 Adam asked.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSome of both,\u201d Tucker answered.\u00a0 \u201cI took this much and others took some, but a fairly good size pile was still inside the church.\u00a0 Why?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWell, the more of it we pour water on, the fewer explosions we\u2019ll have,\u201d Adam explained.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI think I can take care of that,\u201d Tucker answered.\u00a0 \u201cI can get back inside the church and wait until it\u2019s clear.\u00a0 Then I\u2019ll soak the dynamite,\u201d and he headed out the door.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

About five minutes later Col. Wagner returned with Wellman.\u00a0 Davis explained the entire plan to him.\u00a0 It was more elaborate than Wagner, or any of them, had thought.\u00a0 Col. Wagner said he would find each team\u2019s senior leader and explain the plan to him.\u00a0 Then the senior leader could inform his team.\u00a0 After Wagner made his exit, Davis went over everything with his team.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re all set then, aren\u2019t we?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are as long everyone who gave us information was who he said he was,\u201d replied Adam, the eternal cynic.<\/p>\n

Davis looked at him carefully. \u201cDo you have doubts, Cartwright?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI always have doubts,\u201d Adam answered truthfully.\u00a0 Then he got up to make sure he had enough ammunition for his guns.\u00a0 He was also ready for some food.\u00a0 No point in doing battle on an empty stomach.\u00a0 Berger and Wellman trudged along with him to a small diner on the main street.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you worried about, Cartwright?\u201d\u00a0 Wellman asked him once they were seated.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSomething doesn\u2019t feel right about this.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cBut look around you.\u00a0 There are deserters everywhere,\u201d Wellman persisted.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s true, but look how easy it was for Tucker to get a gray jacket and all the details of the plans.\u00a0 That\u2019s what\u2019s bothering me.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou think Tucker\u2019s an infiltrator?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThe thought crossed my mind.\u00a0 He told us 1:30.\u00a0 I\u2019d put my money on something happening sooner.\u00a0 When we\u2019re done here, I\u2019m going to find Wagner.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The clock on the diner wall read 9:35.\u00a0 They ate chicken pot pie, green beans and chocolate cake with coffee.\u00a0 At 10:01 Adam walked out of the diner and headed for the last place he had seen Davis and Wagner, in Wagner\u2019s office.\u00a0 Empty.\u00a0 He left and headed for the main street, his mind racing.\u00a0 If he was right and the attack time was earlier, he had no idea how much time they had to coordinate a response, much less how to do it.\u00a0 He poked his head into three saloons, which weren\u2019t as crowded as they should have been for the time of night.\u00a0 Then, walking down the boardwalk, he came across Davis and Wagner near the sheriff\u2019s office.\u00a0 A crowd still waited there, still buzzing, same as earlier in the day.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The two men were with some other men, whom Adam assumed were also Ranger senior team leaders like Davis.\u00a0 He managed to pull the two aside and told them his suspicions regarding Tucker and the timing of the attack.\u00a0 They both eyed him steadily, and then looked at each other.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cCartwright, I think you may have put something together here.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go in the talk to the sheriff,\u201d Wagner said and drew both men with him into the sheriff\u2019s office.\u00a0 On hearing the theory, the sheriff, a man named Lemler, insisted that the other senior Rangers come inside to hear Adam\u2019s idea.\u00a0 Once this had been accomplished, teams were assigned to each of the vulnerable areas around Carson City that Tucker had identified.\u00a0 They were to stand watch and stop any destructive activity before it was successfully achieved.\u00a0 Adam himself was assigned the Carson City Bank, the same location that Tucker had been assigned to dynamite.\u00a0 Looking at Davis, Adam knew he was going to need more than one man.\u00a0 Davis put a hand on his shoulder and told him not to worry; he would send Berger and Webb over, possibly even Wellman, to help him safeguard the bank.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

By 11:10 Adam was at the bank, and could see that some low level lighting had been put in place.\u00a0 He saw the shadow of one man, whom he assumed to be Tucker, moving around inside the bank.\u00a0 He moved to the back of the building, and found a window jimmied and standing open.\u00a0 Like a cat, he climbed soundlessly through the opening and waited, keeping low.\u00a0 Tucker seemed to be focusing his efforts more in the lobby of the bank, which was closer to the vault.\u00a0 Minutes passed and no backup appeared for Adam.\u00a0 Maybe Davis was having trouble locating Berger, Webb or Wellman in the deluge of men moving about Carson City.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam stayed put, and at almost midnight exactly, Tucker lit a match for the bundle of dynamite sticks he had laid in the center of bank floor.\u00a0 He had obviously not drenched it with water.\u00a0 As he moved the flame toward the fuses he was prepared to light, Adam moved, gun drawn.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t do it, Tucker,\u201d he warned, moving into the bank proper and around Tucker, never taking his eyes off him, his gun pointed at the man constantly.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cCartwright, aren\u2019t you quick minded,\u201d Tucker chuckled appreciatively.\u00a0 \u201cYou put two and two together and came up with the right answer.\u00a0 I can\u2019t begin to tell you the trouble\u2026\u201d he stopped suddenly and Adam saw the match fall to the floor at the same time Tucker\u2019s hand reached for his own gun.\u00a0 But there was more than that.\u00a0 The expression on his face turned to one of horror as his eyes widened in ghastly amazement and he screamed, \u201cCartwright<\/em>!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam didn\u2019t wait. He fired two shots, knowing that both hit their target.\u00a0 As he knew that Tucker had fallen, he turned his head to identify what had caused the dead man\u2019s final reaction and saw the bank\u2019s floor-to-ceiling cabinet of shelves and endless cubbyholes falling toward him.\u00a0 He tried desperately to dodge it, but due to its weight, it was falling too fast.\u00a0 He had no more turned his body 45 degrees when he felt the cabinet start to press against him, and as it fell completely to the floor, pressing Adam down with it, he was aware for a millisecond that he was gravely injured, and then all the world was nothing but black silence.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Chapter 4:<\/p>\n

From a great distance away he heard saws and axes fighting against wood.\u00a0 He heard wood hitting wood after it had been flung through the air into a pile. Buzzing in the background he heard the angry voices of a mob.\u00a0 Closer, an angry voice would occasionally demand that everyone hurry to move the debris \u201cso we can get him out of here.\u201d\u00a0 Somewhere before he had heard that voice, but where?\u00a0 Then more demands, for a stretcher, for a wagon, and, with a little more respect, \u201cDoc, is he alive?\u201d\u00a0 This last would usually be followed by silence and by a gentle hand feeling and touching and inflicting great pain\u2026great beyond bearing, and followed again by blackness.\u00a0 Then more relentless repetitions of the same.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A bitter liquid was forced between his lips.\u00a0 He protested mightily, much to his regret, but it kept coming.\u00a0 After he no longer resisted it, the friendly blackness came around again.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Finally, Davis told Berger and Wellman to get the stretcher.\u00a0 The doctor supervised their movement of him onto it and out into the night where the wagon waited, cushioned with layers of quilts.\u00a0 The crowd pressed, but Davis fired his pistol into the air and his toughs moved the people back.\u00a0 The stretcher was moved into the wagon and the doctor climbed in next to it.\u00a0 The wagon began rolling.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t have stood the bumping in his condition, which is why they had put him out.\u00a0 A man sitting next to the driver held a pistol, and Davis, riding behind, did too.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cDavis, where\u2026\u201d\u00a0 Webb began to ask.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cTo a safe house.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Webb and his partners exchanged looks.\u00a0 Then they kicked their horses lightly and followed Davis.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

He was lucky.\u00a0 Everyone said so.\u00a0 But to his own way of thinking, it was probably worse than death.\u00a0 At least death ended.\u00a0 This never did.\u00a0 The doctor, who came by daily, said he had a skull fracture, broken collarbone, a broken arm and crushed hand, four broken ribs–two of which had punctured his lung\u2014a broken hip and a broken leg.\u00a0 Then, in addition, every muscle in his body hurt and virtually his entire skin surface was bruised.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

His hip and leg were in a single plaster cast, as was his arm and hand.\u00a0 His head was wrapped (and shaved) around the fracture, as were his ribs, although in addition, his side had a flutter valve cut in it to allow his lung to re-inflate.\u00a0 He was not to be left alone under any circumstance lest he develop breathing difficulties, which would require immediate attention.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

They kept him asleep a lot, but when he was awake he was aware of two things: his head hurt like the devil, and very often Webb or Wellman or Berger was in his room with him.\u00a0 The attending nurse didn\u2019t like that, but they stayed put nevertheless.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Once when he was awake, he was alone in his room with a woman whose bright red hair and striking green dress almost hurt his eyes.\u00a0 The hair was a complicated labyrinth of curlicues and pinned-up ringlets and the dress looked expensive.\u00a0 She had a bowl of hot broth and she was determined to get it inside him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhere am I?\u201d\u00a0 The words sounded so weak to him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re at Safe Harbor.\u00a0 It\u2019s a safe house,\u201d she was older than he, but attractive to look at once the eyes adjusted to the raucous colors.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhy are you at a safe house?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWell, my dear boy, you ruined all their plans, and you didn\u2019t die, and no one knows where a safe house is, and Safe Harbor was the closest one to get you to.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He gave up then because she came at him with broth and then more, and he kept swallowing it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Another day while the nurse sat disapprovingly in a straight chair, he awoke to see Rob Davis looking at him carefully.\u00a0 He gave Adam a half smile once his eyes opened.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWell, you been through the war, all right.\u00a0 You were right about everything, but no one can figure how that blasted thing fell on you.\u00a0 I was on my way in to meet Berger and Webb when I heard the crash.\u00a0 I heard Tucker yell your name, and I heard you shoot.\u00a0 We all figured you backed into the shelf unit and toppled it.\u00a0 Don\u2019t know, but I can tell you this: the powers that be were furious that their plans were waylaid.\u00a0 That\u2019s why we took you to this safe house to recover.\u00a0 They wanted you in the worst way, but seeing as how we put a headstone for you in the cemetery, at the moment they think you\u2019re dead.\u00a0 Little do they know that Miss Emmaline is taking good care of you.\u201d\u00a0 When he saw Adam\u2019s eyes dart to the nurse, he chuckled.\u00a0 \u201cNo, not her.\u00a0 You\u2019ll know Miss Emmaline when you see her.\u00a0 Not too many ladies like her around here. I\u2019ll be back to see you, Cartwright.\u201d Before he turned to leave, he reached out a hand as though he wanted to place it comfortingly somewhere on Adam\u2019s body, but he stopped and retracted it when he realized there probably was no place he would set it where it wouldn\u2019t cause pain.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The days passed.\u00a0 That\u2019s all he could say for them.\u00a0 He was aware at times, and unaware at others.\u00a0 There was a point when he could say to himself that didn\u2019t feel as close to death has he had on previous days.\u00a0 That had to be a good sign.\u00a0 Miss Emmaline began to spend more time with him.\u00a0 She was an accomplished nurse herself, and would keep up a steady stream of conversation while she changed bandages.\u00a0 The doctor, Martin Bentley, still came every day and checked his injuries, especially the flutter valve.\u00a0 He told Adam that his lung appeared to be re-inflating rather well.\u00a0 This was often a problem in collapsed lungs.\u00a0 In larger cities surgery was sometimes performed, but this Carson City doctor readily admitted he was not the man to attempt that type of procedure. Even better, Adam was breathing well on his own. His ribs hurt if he breathed too deeply, but he had learned how to manage that.\u00a0 Dr. Bentley told him he had a minimum of six weeks to recover before he could be moved, and that was after at least a two week stay.\u00a0 Adam\u2019s heart dropped at that news.\u00a0 He was starting to feel uncomfortable.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t sure where he was, and he was most definitely defenseless.\u00a0 He was glad that Berger, Webb and Wellman visited him, but he wasn\u2019t completely sure what side they were on.\u00a0 After all, Tucker had fooled them, hadn\u2019t he?<\/p>\n

End of Chapter V<\/strong><\/p>\n

One day Adam questioned Miss Emmaline.\u00a0 \u201cWhere are we?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI told you, silly, this is Safe Harbor.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I mean, where is Safe Harbor located?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

She put her needlework in her lap and looked at him, feigning exasperation.\u00a0 \u201cI told you, safe house locations are secret.\u00a0 That\u2019s why they\u2019re safe houses.\u00a0 But this is between Carson and Reno.\u00a0 That\u2019s all I\u2019ll tell you.\u201d\u00a0 Adam sighed and contemplated the ceiling as he had been doing so often in recent weeks.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Miss Emmaline had been spending more and more time with him over the past week.\u00a0 It was she who sat with him more than the white uniformed nurse who never spoke unless it was necessary for his care.\u00a0 Miss Emmaline, however, believed that talking was therapeutic.\u00a0 She talked as she knitted, mended, or did other needlework. She told him about her childhood in Colorado where her parents had settled with their four daughters, who had now scattered to the four winds. She told him about the many and varied jobs she had held, from seamstress to saloon girl to nurse.\u00a0 He learned that she had had one short marriage a long time ago, and a lovely daughter from that marriage, who had died in a flu epidemic at age two.\u00a0 She talked of broken hearts, compassion, healing, and helping humanity because it was so badly needed.\u00a0 That led her to the topic of Safe Harbor, and he heard about how she had come in contact with Gov. Nye when the Nevada Rangers were being formed, and how the governor asked her to establish the first safe house.\u00a0 Emmaline talked to Adam for hours and hours over several days.\u00a0 She began bringing her meals in to eat with him at lunch and dinner.\u00a0 When she asked him about himself, he answered her questions briefly and to the point.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

One day, however, she found his soft spot, reading and education.\u00a0 Once she began to pepper him with questions about books he had read, she found the cork that opened the bottle and let the wine pour freely. She didn\u2019t have a perfect education, but she could read and she had a romantic nature, so she warmly embraced every character and author he mentioned.\u00a0 One evening he told her the story of the Odyssey in such detail she felt as though she had read it.\u00a0 He told her enough about Shakespeare that she vowed to buy herself some volumes the next time she went to town.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

One day after lunch, she had wheedled him into talking about his beloved horse, Sport.\u00a0 He said much more about a personal topic than he had ever said to anyone.\u00a0 And he must have fallen asleep, too, because the next thing he was aware of was Miss Emmaline coming into his room with a small tub of water, along with towels and soap. It was time for his bath, she said.\u00a0 He kept looking at the doorway for the white uniformed nurse to follow her in.\u00a0 This nurse, who disapproved of most things, was the one who always performed such tasks, and Adam never thought about it.\u00a0 But she never appeared, and Miss Emmaline moved briskly around the rooms, setting up his bath.\u00a0 She made him nervous.\u00a0 Surely she wasn\u2019t thinking that she would bathe him?\u00a0 That would be too personal.\u00a0 They had talked about too many things for her to bathe him.\u00a0 He knew her too well by now.\u00a0 But her red hair was pinned up rather severely and she was wearing a plain white blouse with a navy blue skirt.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He started to protest, but she was humming as she worked, and she wasn\u2019t listening.\u00a0 She pulled up a chair close to the bed, along with the towels and the water. She started by shaving the heavy beard that grew every few days.\u00a0 He looked entirely different with a clean shaven face.\u00a0 Then she pulled the bedclothes down to his waist and lathered up a smaller hand towel with soap.\u00a0 She moved with no wasted movements, washing his face, his neck, his arms, his chest, his stomach, always avoiding bandages.\u00a0 She rinsed and dried him, and then turned him gently just enough so she could wash his back.\u00a0 She even managed to wash that part of his hair that wasn\u2019t covered by bandages.\u00a0 Her fingers working gently through his hair felt wonderful.\u00a0 He began to relax.\u00a0 The soap smelled good.\u00a0 When she had carefully removed the soap from his hair and towel dried it, she pulled the covers all the way to the end of the bed. Half of the lower part of his body was in a cast, but she efficiently bathed his available leg, waist, hip, and everything else that was available, front and back.\u00a0 Adam felt himself react to her touch, but Miss Emmaline said nothing and her demeanor did not change.\u00a0 She hummed.\u00a0 She rinsed him and patted his skin dry gently.\u00a0 She was done.\u00a0 She pulled the covers up over him and sat back, smiling.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re done, young man.\u00a0 I bet that feels better.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYoung man, my foot,\u201d he snorted.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

She crossed her arms.\u00a0 \u201cWell you are, from my point of view, and a very handsome one, too.\u00a0 I\u2019ll bet you\u2019re a sight for sore eyes when your bones aren\u2019t broken, and your skin isn\u2019t purple and green.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He smiled slightly.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m a regular heartbreaker.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I don\u2019t think you are,\u201d she returned.\u00a0 \u201cI think you\u2019re very careful with your relationships.\u201d\u00a0 Her hand reached out to brush back some of his damp hair, and she allowed it to slide down to his cheek, where it lay for several moments while she looked into his eyes.\u00a0 She leaned forward slowly, looking at his mouth.\u00a0 She touched her lips to his gently.\u00a0 They were soft and warm.\u00a0 She kept hers in place for several moments, and he didn\u2019t fight her.\u00a0 When she sat back in her chair, they both looked at each other without words.\u00a0 She sighed and began to gather her supplies up.\u00a0 Moving to the door, she put her hand on the knob and turned to look at him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIf only I were ten years younger, Adam Cartwright\u2026\u201d she said wistfully.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He smiled.\u00a0 It was she first time she\u2019d seen him do it and it was like looking at a completely different person.\u00a0 \u201cYou know as well as I do, that is complete hogwash, Miss Emmaline,\u201d he told her softly.<\/p>\n

\n

Chapter 5:<\/p>\n

Adam was surprisingly sleepy over the next few days.\u00a0 Emmaline could barely wake him up to eat, and when he did, he fell asleep immediately afterward.\u00a0 On the second day she mentioned it to Dr. Bentley at his daily visit.\u00a0 The doctor took Adam\u2019s temperature and examined his head wound closely.\u00a0 He saw nothing to indicate concern.\u00a0 This man had a lot of healing to do, and he chalked up the sleep to his body doing its work.\u00a0 He took it as a good sign that Emmaline had been able to draw him into extended conversations.\u00a0 That was a good sign that his skull fracture had not damaged his brain.\u00a0 Still, Emmaline frowned.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

She was frowning even more when Adam was still asleep when the doctor returned the following day.\u00a0 He\u2019d skipped breakfast altogether.\u00a0 Davis had stopped by for a quick visit the night before, but left within five minutes when Miss Emmaline explained his extended sleepiness.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s just plain tuckered out,\u201d Davis said.\u00a0 \u201cHeck, just lookin\u2019 at him makes me tired!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Even Dr. Bentley still maintained he was still on track as far as his healing went, but made Miss Emmaline promise to call him if anything else changed, or even if she felt her concern increase.\u00a0 Emmaline thanked him profusely as he left to return to his private practice in Carson City.\u00a0 She sat with Adam for the rest of the day.\u00a0 Toward evening, he began to rouse.\u00a0 Emmaline moved to his side quickly and touched his forehead, stroking his cheeks.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cAdam?\u00a0 Can you hear me?\u00a0 You need to wake up, Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He made a noise and his eyes opened to slits against the dimming light in the room.\u00a0 He knew Miss Emmaline was talking to him.\u00a0 She wanted him to talk to her, too.\u00a0 He was so tired that any movement was an extraordinary effort.\u00a0 Why was that?\u00a0 He had actually been feeling better recently.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHmmm,\u201d it was the best he could do.\u00a0 It seemed that Miss Emmaline accepted that.\u00a0 She pulled her chair close to him, and he could smell food.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cDo you feel ill?\u00a0 You\u2019ve slept all day and you haven\u2019t eaten all day.\u00a0 I want you to eat now if you can.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Did he feel ill?\u00a0 He was just so tired.\u00a0 He was hungry too, he admitted to himself.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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

 <\/p>\n

She froze.\u00a0 He wouldn\u2019t eat?\u00a0 Then she realized she\u2019d been chattering at him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cAdam, do you feel ill?\u201d\u00a0 She started over.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWill you try to eat?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

After a long pause, \u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

She slid her arm beneath his neck, raising his head slightly.\u00a0 She fed him a spoonful of bread pudding, something he could just swallow.\u00a0 He took it, and she gave him more.\u00a0 He ate it all.\u00a0 There were some soft cooked carrots which he also took.\u00a0 There was some tea, which he drank.\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t been taking enough liquid so she was glad.\u00a0 Then he stopped, raised his hand slightly and closed his eyes.\u00a0 Miss Emmaline moved to put his tray on the side table, and when she turned back, he was asleep.\u00a0 She got up to leave the room.\u00a0 She looked at him for a while, and then bent to kiss his forehead.\u00a0 But for the turns of fate, she thought to herself wistfully.\u00a0 Then she took the tray and left the room.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In the middle of the night she heard sounds.\u00a0 She must be dreaming.\u00a0 Safe Harbor was located in a secret location and it was so quiet nothing ever disturbed her sleep.\u00a0 What was this dream about?\u00a0 It wouldn\u2019t come clearly.\u00a0 Then pounding, unceasing pounding.\u00a0 Good heavens!\u00a0 What a bizarre dream.\u00a0 Finally, she was being assaulted.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cMiss Emmaline!\u00a0 Miss Emmaline!\u00a0 Come right away.\u00a0 Mr. Cartwright is bleeding to death!\u201d\u00a0 One of her night nurses, Augusta Quinn, was shaking her shoulder and then pulling her by the arm.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In her bare feet, Emmaline ran, grabbing her wrapper from a chair as she went.\u00a0 She ran down the stairs faster than ever before, heading for the room with the lantern light spilling into the hallway.\u00a0 Four people were in the room working over Adam.\u00a0 A fifth was wiping up the pool of blood on the floor.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Two of the night nurses were wrapping strips of sheeting around his wrist.\u00a0 They were wrapping it as fast as they could.\u00a0 Two others ripped strips for their use.\u00a0 When they had wrapped it snugly, two of them applied strong pressure together.\u00a0 The white sheeting turned red quickly.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Emmaline was taking in the macabre scene before her.\u00a0 Adam was lying on the bed, white faced, eyes closed.\u00a0 The nurses had slipped in the blood coming into the room as evidenced by the bloody swipes on their skirts.\u00a0 The nurse on her hands and knees wiping the floor was just about finished.\u00a0 A knife and a book lay on the floor not far from the bed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cMiss Emmaline, we were making rounds when we heard noises in this room.\u00a0 Two things fell.\u00a0 As we came in here, we noticed it was cold.\u00a0 We lit a lamp and saw it all at once,\u201d Augusta was explaining.\u00a0 \u201cThe knife lay on the floor near the book, and his arm hung down, bleeding.\u00a0 He must not have been able to stand it.\u00a0 He slit his own wrist!\u201d\u00a0 At this last, she clapped both hands over her mouth in horror.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Emmaline stared at her, and then at Adam.\u00a0 \u201cYou heard the knife fall first?\u00a0 What was the second thing that fell?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cOh, the book,\u201d Augusta indicated it lying near the knife.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s ruined now,\u201d she moved it slightly with the toe of her shoe and it left a bloody trail.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Twelfth Night<\/em>.\u00a0 Emmaline recognized its brown fabric cover.\u00a0 She had bought it the other day, thinking to read it to Adam, but they had never gotten started since he had been sleeping so much.\u00a0 She hadn\u2019t left the book on the bed, she knew she hadn\u2019t.\u00a0 She was sure it had been on the bureau near the window.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThe doctor?\u201d She asked, sounding more in control than she felt.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHamilton left immediately to fetch him.\u201d\u00a0 Hamilton was the jack-of-all-trades house man at Safe Harbor.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The sheeting strips around Adam\u2019s wrist had turned completely red and it was dripping blood despite the pressure being applied by the nurses.\u00a0 Without thinking, Emmaline grabbed two strips, folded them each in half, added several more just like them and told the nurses to remove the saturated strips.\u00a0 As soon as they were out of the way, Emmaline slapped her layers of sheeting across the deep cut in his wrist.\u00a0 Then she instructed the nurses to wrap more strips thoroughly and tightly around them.\u00a0 When they had more than doubled the sheeting, they pressed again, hard.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cDoes he have a pulse?\u201d\u00a0 Emmaline hesitated to even ask the question.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYes, ma\u2019am, he\u2019s still alive.\u201d\u00a0 Thank God<\/em>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Noise from the outside signaled the arrival of Hamilton and Dr. Bentley.\u00a0 Hamilton propelled the man into Adam\u2019s room, where he took over for the two shaken nurses.\u00a0 He continued to apply pressure until the bleeding slowed considerably, and then he proceeded to rapidly stitch the wound.\u00a0 When he was finished, he looked around him, stopping at Miss Emmaline.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThis man didn\u2019t slit his own wrist,\u201d he said, indicating his immobile, casted opposite arm and hand.\u00a0 \u201cHe wouldn\u2019t have been able to manipulate the knife.\u201d\u00a0 He bent to pick up the knife.\u00a0 It was a standard kitchen knife.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Augusta spoke up.\u00a0 \u201cWhen we first came into the room, it was cold.\u00a0 Could someone have entered and left through the window?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The doctor raised the window, and holding a lantern out over the ground, he peered out.\u00a0 He pulled his head back in the window.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYep.\u00a0 There are footprints outside.\u00a0 I would say an assailant entered through the window, cut his wrist and left quickly the same way.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

With an immediate chill, Emmaline remembered Adam\u2019s unexplainable sleepiness during the past three days.\u00a0 Her rapid conclusion was that he was being drugged prior to the attempt on his life, and if so, the immunity of her safe house had been breeched.\u00a0 She quickly took a mental count.\u00a0 Adam was one of five residents or patients currently at Safe Harbor.\u00a0 The cook would immediately be relieved of duty and Emmaline herself would prepare all meals, she decided.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When Adam\u2019s bandage had stayed primarily white for an hour, Dr. Bentley took his leave, impressing on Miss Emmaline the importance of placing a 24-hour guard on him and the advisability of moving him to another location as fast as possible. He had also advised her to check her food supplies for contamination, and had warned her what complications to be on the lookout for.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In the middle of the night, Emmaline awoke the cook and asked her to pack and remove herself from Safe Harbor immediately.\u00a0 The cook occasionally took on nursing duties at the safe house, but Emmaline had not put together that the cook was the same, disapproving, white uniformed nurse who had also at times attended Adam. \u00a0Leaving with Hamilton to drive her, she gave Emmaline a sly look that was distinctly unpleasant.\u00a0 But then, she had always disapproved of everything and Emmaline had assumed she was one of the world\u2019s generally unhappy people.\u00a0 Hamilton had been given instructions to drop her off at the sheriff\u2019s office, along with a hastily written note from Miss Emmaline.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When dawn was on the horizon, Emmaline and two nurses were in the kitchen, examining the food supplies.\u00a0 They were especially looking at powdered ingredients and liquid additives.\u00a0 They had checked flour, baking power, baking soda, wines and vinegar.\u00a0 They had tasted samples for bitterness.\u00a0 They checked coffee and tea supplies.\u00a0 Finally, in desperation, Emmaline had them inventory the locked medicine cabinet that was kept near the nurse\u2019s station.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

That morning breakfast was fresh scrambled eggs from the hen house, fresh bread with butter, and fresh milk from the barn, all of which Emmaline tasted herself before feeding the patients.\u00a0 After 30 minutes with no ill effects, she allowed the patients to be fed.\u00a0 She didn\u2019t expect Adam to eat; Dr. Bentley had given him medication to sleep throughout most of the day.\u00a0 He would come by later to change the bandage himself.\u00a0 Emmaline planned to spend the day at his bedside.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In the meantime, she had ordered a search of the released nurse\u2019s room and a complete search of the kitchen for any suspicious substance.\u00a0 Emmaline now wished that she had searched her belongings when she had departed.\u00a0 At mid-morning, Augusta Quinn came to Emmaline in Adam\u2019s room.\u00a0 The held up a small, brown glass vial.\u00a0 Laudanum.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWe found this tucked behind the breadbox, Miss Emmaline.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Emmaline reached out for it.\u00a0 It was about half full.\u00a0 If the cook had been dosing Adam for three days, it would have kept him asleep throughout the entry into his room, and also would have led to little or no reaction to the cut on his wrist.\u00a0 Emmaline met Augusta\u2019s eyes with a troubled look.\u00a0 Who had injured him?\u00a0 Had it been the cook or was there another person or persons involved in this lethal attack?\u00a0 She kept the bottle in her dress pocket and dismissed Augusta.<\/p>\n

\n

Chapter 6:<\/p>\n

Sighing, she thought over possibilities that occurred to her.\u00a0 Somehow, across all those miles, the high-strung and deadly emotions of the Civil War had reached Nevada.\u00a0 No one could be trusted, she realized.\u00a0 Cook may have been acting on her own or with accomplices.\u00a0 Adam had received several visitors from his Nevada Rangers team since he had been here, so at least a handful of people knew where the safe house was.\u00a0 How did anyone go through life without trusting someone, she wondered.\u00a0 It might be possible, but it would be a very solitary life.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Late that afternoon, Adam\u2019s three fellow Rangers, Berger, Wellman and Webb, came calling, expecting to see their colleague well on the mend.\u00a0 Instead, they were aghast to hear about the previous night\u2019s incident.\u00a0 Emmaline watched them closely when she described what happened.\u00a0 She thought it would be difficult to feign the horror she read on their faces.\u00a0 It seemed most genuine.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Jay Wellman stepped forward and took her by the shoulders.\u00a0 \u201cListen, Miss Emmaline.\u00a0 After this, you can\u2019t keep Cartwright here anymore.\u00a0 He\u2019s in danger.\u00a0 Whoever missed last night will try again.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know who to trust anymore!\u201d Emmaline cried out in frustration.\u00a0 \u201cWhere would I send him?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWell, you could ask Col. Wagner.\u00a0 He\u2019s in charge of the Nevada Rangers.\u00a0 But, if it were up to me under these circumstances, I would send him home to his family.\u00a0 It\u2019s a big spread.\u00a0 They can protect him.\u00a0 Just send a wire to Ben Cartwright on the Ponderosa Ranch, Virginia City,\u201d Wellman urged her.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Emmaline must have done a double take.\u00a0 She had heard of the Ponderosa before, of course.\u00a0 Everyone had.\u00a0 So Adam was that<\/em> Cartwright. The Ponderosa was not far from Carson City and Reno, either.\u00a0 Somehow, she trusted these three men, and Wellman\u2019s advice made all the sense in the world.\u00a0 She kissed his cheek.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThank you.\u00a0 I\u2019ll do it.\u00a0 I think you\u2019re right; it will be the safest thing for him.\u00a0 Anything else happening to him now will kill him.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Wellman had blushed when she kissed him, but he squeezed her shoulders, and then the three men spent a few moments quietly with Adam before they left Safe Harbor. \u00a0Emmaline immediately sat down to write a message to be wired to Adam\u2019s family:<\/p>\n

TO:\u00a0 Ben Cartwright, Ponderosa Ranch, Virginia City, Nevada<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>FROM:\u00a0 Emmaline Gilbert, Carson City, Nevada<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>Have your son Adam in my care.\u00a0 He is injured and in danger.\u00a0 Go to Dr. M. Bentley in Carson City; he will direct you to my home.\u00a0 Come ASAP.<\/em><\/p>\n

She gave the message to Hamilton and sent him off to town to have it wired right away.\u00a0 She also asked him to have Sheriff Lemler stop by to see her as soon as he could.\u00a0 She prayed that the Cartwrights would come quickly.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

After making dinner, she was once again sitting with Adam.\u00a0 She was exhausted.\u00a0 As a precaution she had confiscated the key to the drug cabinet. \u00a0She knew the nurses were not pleased about that, but she felt compelled to take all possible steps to ensure the safety of her patients.\u00a0 The night nurses had been warned to listen for any unusual sounds or any occurrences whatsoever out of the ordinary.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Dr. Bentley had come to re-bandage Adam\u2019s wrist, and Sheriff Lemler had posted four armed guards around the safe house all night.\u00a0 Emmaline blessed them for their assistance.\u00a0 She herself sat in a rocker in Adam\u2019s room, a crocheted blanket tucked around her shoulders.\u00a0 In her hand, under the blanket, she held a loaded derringer pistol.\u00a0 Adam hadn\u2019t stirred yet, and he had to be protected. He wasn\u2019t able to do it for himself.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Late in the night, with Emmaline asleep in the rocker, Adam began to stir.\u00a0 He restlessly shifted those parts of his body he knew he could move, and was surprised to feel a sharp sting of pain travel up his unbroken arm.\u00a0 He tried to hold it up in the darkness to look at it, but he was unable to lift it more than a few inches.\u00a0 The pain was strong.\u00a0 He felt more lucid than he had in days, but his mouth felt like dry cotton.\u00a0 Turning his head, he saw that someone was there with him.\u00a0 Emmaline, sleeping.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He tried to get her attention, but his voice was little more than a croak.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cEmmal\u2026\u201d he stopped because that much effort was exhausting.\u00a0 What was wrong with him?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He lay quietly for some time, dozing and then waking when his stomach growled.\u00a0 He tensed automatically when the doorknob rattled and turned, but it was the night nurse on rounds.\u00a0 She opened the door and entered quietly, holding a lantern.\u00a0 She was surprised to see him awake.\u00a0 She moved close to him and felt his forehead.\u00a0 She seemed satisfied.\u00a0 She finally heard his request for water, barely whispered.\u00a0 She poured it into a beautiful cut crystal glass.\u00a0 It looked better to him than anything he\u2019d ever seen before.\u00a0 She slipped an arm beneath his neck to help him raise his head to drink it, and cautioned him to go slow.\u00a0 Of course he didn\u2019t, and got himself into a coughing fit.\u00a0 This awoke Emmaline, who was instantly at his side with the derringer in her hand.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The night nurse withdrew quietly and Emmaline pulled her chair close to Adam.\u00a0 When he caught his breath, he looked from her to the derringer, clearly confused.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t shoot,\u201d he whispered.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Emmaline smiled and bent to kiss him lightly.\u00a0 Then she told him what had happened at Safe Harbor over the past three, going on four, days.\u00a0 No wonder he felt weak as a kitten; he\u2019d almost bled to death while in a drugged state.\u00a0 Emmaline assured him that all precautions were being taken for him, including the pending arrival of his family.\u00a0 But she made sure he understood that he was in danger.\u00a0 She very gently reached over and grasped the fingers of his \u201cgood\u201d hand, holding them lightly.\u00a0 He badly needed a shave now, she thought absently, but no matter, to her he was beautiful however he looked.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam made the effort to speak.\u00a0 \u201cWhat did Davis say?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cDavis?\u201d\u00a0 Emmaline paused, then stopped.\u00a0 Davis?\u00a0 \u201cDavis hasn\u2019t been here,\u201d she said, suddenly realizing the oddity of that.\u00a0 He had come once after the initial injury, but only Adam\u2019s fellow Rangers had been here since his wrist was cut.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam looked at her steadily for a long time.\u00a0 Finally he whispered, \u201cIt\u2019s Davis.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Emmaline didn\u2019t fully understand everything he meant by that, but there was a sadness in his eyes.\u00a0 He was telling her that Davis was behind everything that had happened.\u00a0 She still didn\u2019t understand, even when he whispered, \u201cTexas Ranger.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam drank more water after that, but couldn\u2019t stay awake to eat anything.\u00a0 Parting the window curtains, Emmaline could see the purple light of dawn coloring the sky.\u00a0 She had a nurse come in to sit with Adam while she went to the kitchen to begin breakfast.\u00a0 The whirlwind of events was running through her head.\u00a0 All the pieces weren\u2019t in place, though.\u00a0 Adam, even in his precarious state, understood it better than she did.\u00a0 Hamilton went to the smokehouse for her to get bacon, and she began to mix batter for flapjacks.\u00a0 Maybe as a treat today, she\u2019d get to change her clothes.<\/p>\n

\n

Ben Cartwright answered the door and took the message that was handed to him.\u00a0 He thanked the boy, and although he would normally have given him a nickel for his trouble, there hadn\u2019t been anything normal about Ben\u2019s life ever since he\u2019d received word that Adam had died in the service of the Nevada Rangers fighting against drifters from the Confederate States of America.\u00a0 His face void of expression, and his eyes dull, he heaved a long sigh and sat down to read the message that had come from Carson City.\u00a0 But as he read it, and then re-read it, he gave a start and jumped to his feet.\u00a0 God bless Emmaline Gilbert.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHoss!\u00a0 Joe!\u00a0 Come quickly.\u00a0 Adam is alive!\u00a0 We\u2019ve got to hurry!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

Emmaline began feeding Adam as soon as he could stay awake long enough to do his part.\u00a0 Dr. Bentley said to begin with broth and slowly add solids.\u00a0 Adam was eager, though and he breezed through broth and directly into solids within a day and a half. There had been no further incidences of food poisoning.\u00a0 Adam was beginning to become irritated by the casts, which Emmaline took as a good sign. He was careful with his bandaged wrist because he didn\u2019t want to start a re-bleed, although the good stitches Dr. Bentley had put in made that unlikely.\u00a0 Without the sabotage that he attributed to Davis, Adam resumed his recovery.\u00a0 Sheriff Lemler kept the guards on duty at night and Emmaline bought a new copy of Twelfth Night<\/em>, which she read to Adam in afternoons and evenings.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ben Cartwright had wired that he and his sons would start out for Carson City immediately, bringing a wagon that would be able to transport Adam home.\u00a0 Emmaline knew that every time he heard the sound of someone coming or going, he held his breath, hoping it was his family arriving for him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Three days after she sent the wire to the Cartwrights, Safe Harbor received visitors.\u00a0 It was right after dinner, and although the nurses on duty tried to discourage it, two visitors for Adam strode determinedly to his room to greet him.\u00a0 Emmaline had been reading Twelfth Night<\/em>, but stopped in mid-sentence and sat up straight when Col. Wagner and Rob Davis appeared cheerily in the room.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cCartwright, good to see you.\u00a0 I\u2019m sorry we haven\u2019t been here to see you sooner.\u00a0 So sorry about everything you\u2019ve suffered,\u201d Col. Wagner began.\u00a0 \u201cAlthough being a Ranger can be dangerous, we certainly didn\u2019t envision this for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Davis grinned.\u00a0 \u201cCartwright\u2019s made of strong stuff, fortunately.\u00a0 How long before you\u2019re back with us?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam smiled slightly.\u00a0 \u201cNot as soon as I\u2019d like.\u00a0 Gotta get out of these casts first.\u201d\u00a0 He was warily watching each man.\u00a0 Was Wagner in on this with Davis?\u00a0 He didn\u2019t know.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWell, we\u2019ll be ready for you as soon as you\u2019re well,\u201d Davis let this vague threat hang in the air between them, although Wagner seemed not to notice it. How had Davis played his part so convincingly for so long, Adam wondered.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWe were amazed to hear about that wrist slashing,\u201d Davis continued, taking a step further into the room.\u00a0 \u201cHard to believe that someone would take a knife and assault you with it when you were already so injured,\u201d Davis reached into his vest and pulled out a knife that was larger than the one used in the first attack.\u00a0 \u201cMaybe someone just needed you out of the way.\u201d\u00a0 He took another step toward Adam, who tried to push himself up in bed even though he knew he\u2019d never be able to escape Davis.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cDavis!\u201d\u00a0 This shout of shock and disapproval came from Col. Wagner behind him.\u00a0 At the sound of Wagner pulling out his pistol and cocking it, Davis swiveled quickly and plunged the knife into the side of Wagner\u2019s neck.\u00a0 Wagner hit the door and slid down it onto the floor, where his hands came up to cover the wound now bleeding in spurts.\u00a0 His eyes on Davis were wide with shock.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou figured everything out, didn\u2019t you, Cartwright?\u00a0 That night you killed Tucker.\u00a0 It was no accident that he \u201cinfiltrated\u201d so easily.\u00a0 You stumbled smoothly onto our plan to completely destroy the capital of Nevada in return for going Union.\u00a0 You absolutely ruined it, and we can\u2019t get it back together again for all the eyes watching us.\u00a0 It was flawless until you killed Tucker, our key man.\u00a0 And you\u2019ve wondered how that huge piece of furniture came crashing down on you, haven\u2019t you?\u201d\u00a0 Davis stopped to smile, looking back in time.\u00a0 \u201cIt had a little help, yes it did.\u00a0 You were supposed to die, though, dammit, and instead you just got crushed.\u00a0 You don\u2019t even die right when your wrist is slashed!\u201d\u00a0 Now Davis was angry and his knife went slicing through the air at his last comment.\u00a0 This caused Emmaline to gasp and move back in her chair.\u00a0 Davis turned to her.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t worry, Miss Gilbert, this time I\u2019ll get you too,\u201d Davis was sneering at her.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat was it, Davis, the Texas part?\u201d\u00a0 Adam\u2019s voice was very quiet.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Well, you\u2019re a smart boy and<\/em> a pretty boy,\u201d Davis drawled.\u00a0 \u201cWhat else would it be?\u00a0 Nevada wants to set up a state Ranger program, so it turns to the state that did it first and did it right, but forgets that state left the Union to join the Confederacy, and as a Union state, it still<\/em> expects help from Texas!\u201d\u00a0 Davis was laughing now, a sound that Emmaline would never forget.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s so simple: the Union destroys the Confederacy, and now the remains of the Confederacy destroy the Union.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Col. Wagner, seriously injured on the floor, was listening to every word Davis spoke.\u00a0 Nurses had come running when they heard Wagner fall, but when they heard Davis\u2019 words, they had stepped back slowly, some heading to see if the Sheriff\u2019s guards had arrived yet for the night.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cDavis, you won\u2019t get away with this.\u00a0 Sheriff Lemler has four guards here every night.\u00a0 Even if you get me, they\u2019ll get you and your plans are over for good,\u201d Adam was speaking in a low, reasonable voice.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSomeone will pick up the standard for me,\u201d Davis said confidently, moving quickly now toward Adam.\u00a0 \u201cPeters doesn\u2019t let much stop him. Now, this will be over quickly.\u00a0 You may feel something, but once your throat is slashed, you\u2019ll\u2026\u201d he stopped abruptly as Emmaline\u2019s derringer was discharged through her pocket and blew a hole into the upper side of his chest.\u00a0 He went down, unmoving, the knife skittering across the floor.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And this was precisely when Dr. Bentley arrived with the Cartwrights.\u00a0 The nurses, hysterical, pulled him over to Col. Wagner, who was moved into a nearby room for examination.\u00a0 Little Joe and Hoss helped carry him.\u00a0 Ben Cartwright hurried into Adam\u2019s room, stepping over Rob Davis and around Emmaline, whose face had dropped into her hands.\u00a0 Ben leaned over Adam, hands on his face, looking at him as one does a person come back from the dead.\u00a0 Adam promised a full explanation, but wanted information about Col. Wagner and he also wanted to look at Emmaline\u2019s face.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He saw her pale face before he heard about Col Wagner.\u00a0 She responded to Ben Cartwright\u2019s gentle, \u201cMiss Gilbert?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Looking up, she appeared dazed, with her eyes wet.\u00a0 She was older, but attractive, with very red hair that was pinned up loosely on her head.\u00a0 Her hands were shaking. \u00a0Adam moved his good arm over slightly, and she reached for his fingers.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou were right, Adam,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cAbout the Texas part. You figured it out.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He was rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb. It was over, at least his participation in it.\u00a0 He wondered what she would do now that her safe house had been exposed.\u00a0 That concerned him.\u00a0 He gave his father a condensed explanation of what had transpired, and then grinned to see his brothers enter the room.\u00a0 Hoss moved Rob Davis\u2019 body so they could get closer to Adam, and Emmaline stood up.\u00a0 All the Cartwrights hugged her.\u00a0 They were very appreciative.\u00a0 But the one she really wanted to hug lay prone on the bed.<\/p>\n

\n

Chapter 7:<\/p>\n

The next morning, Gov. Nye and some of his staff visited Adam in his room.\u00a0 As it turned out, he had been living at the safe house for security purposes.\u00a0 The governor gave Adam a medal for meritorious service to the State of Nevada.\u00a0 The governor was heading that day for another location until Carson City could be secured.\u00a0 Adam was also visited by Tom Berger, Jay Wellman and Rudy Webb.\u00a0 They were dumbfounded by the story of the previous night, but grateful that Adam had survived.\u00a0 They wished him well and each received open invitations to the Ponderosa with no expiration date.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Col. Wagner had survived the night, which was a good sign.\u00a0 The location of his wound was toward the back of his neck.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t speak and was having some trouble breathing comfortably.\u00a0 Dr. Bentley would have to watch him closely.\u00a0 He had a reasonably good chance of recovering, but would need round the clock nursing care, and was being transported to Dr. Bentley\u2019s office for at least a few weeks.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Cartwrights had brought a sturdy and well padded wagon that Adam could lie in on the trip home.\u00a0 It had sides on it that they had elevated so that he could not be seen in it, just in case anyone was bent on carrying out Davis\u2019 final mission.\u00a0 Just before Joe and Hoss carried him out to the wagon, Emmaline came to his room to say good bye.\u00a0 She smiled at him softly, but there was sadness in her expression.\u00a0 He thanked her for the going home shave she had given him that morning.\u00a0 She wished him a full recovery and hoped she would see him again one day.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam reached up his good hand and the backs of his fingers stroked her cheek.\u00a0 \u201cYou will,\u201d he promised.\u00a0 With hands held longer than necessary, they let go, and then he was gone.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Emmaline took a deep breath.\u00a0 She wasn\u2019t sure what she would do now.\u00a0 She no longer operated a safe house.\u00a0 She would have to give her future some serious thought.\u00a0 But she had reinvented herself before, and she could do it again.<\/p>\n

\n

EPILOGUE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Adam spent months at the Ponderosa recovering under the care of Dr. Paul Martin, the physician who had seen the Cartwrights through many an injury.\u00a0 Dr. Martin did say, however, that he thought Adam\u2019s case here had taken the cake for total number of injuries, most of which could have been fatal.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When he first saw his home again, the bunkhouse was almost rebuilt, smelling of fresh Ponderosa timber.\u00a0 Adam had to shake his head when he remembered that Davis had helped defend the Ponderosa from his own comrades in arms.\u00a0 Had that all been part of the careful deception?\u00a0 He had spent many hours wondering whether Gov. Nye had thought through what he was doing when he asked the Texas Rangers to help Nevada set up a law enforcement program based on its original one, especially since Texas has seceded from the Union in 1861.\u00a0 He would probably never know the answer to that question, he concluded.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam\u2019s bones healed, and one by one, the casts came off.\u00a0 The removal of each leaden cast was cause for celebration and he reveled in the simple movement of an arm, the bending of a knee, the flexing of a hand. The wrist wound healed and left a white scar.\u00a0 Most of the time Adam\u2019s shirt sleeves covered it, but he was surprised by how much its visibility made him uncomfortable.\u00a0 The wound that was the peskiest was the skull fracture, simply because Dr. Martin was so careful about it.\u00a0 He tiptoed around it like eggshells.\u00a0 Although Adam felt fine, Paul Martin didn\u2019t want to authorize any activity that would unduly rattle his brain.\u00a0 Little Joe and Hoss joked that there was no cause to worry about the Yankee granite head, and yet, when a difficult task came along, they made sure they took care of it themselves.\u00a0 Even something as simple as riding his horse was potentially too addling for his head.\u00a0 It was frustrating, and Adam chafed, but in the end, he cooperated and allowed himself to be waited on and catered to. He and his father played endless hours of chess.\u00a0 Eventually even Dr. Martin yielded and agreed that sooner or later Adam would need to resume normal activities because there was no other way to really know if any significant brain injury had occurred, and thus far it appeared that none had.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

At Safe Harbor, Miss Emmaline, now living alone with one nurse and one house maid received an unusual request from Sheriff Lemler.\u00a0 A young woman had been abducted during the raid on Mount Montgomery three months ago.\u00a0 She had been held by the Rebels and had been abused.\u00a0 She had been rescued by the Rangers, and she had a family to return to in Mount Montgomery.\u00a0 But she needed time to rest, recover and heal.\u00a0 Would Miss Emmaline consider allowing her to recover at Safe Harbor?\u00a0 Miss Emmaline needed no time to consider this request.\u00a0 Send her immediately, she responded.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The young woman who appeared was exhausted, abused and terrified.\u00a0 Miss Emmaline fed her well, sat with her during the day, read Shakespeare to her, and talked her ear off while she did various types of needlework.\u00a0 On warm days they walked through the woods together and collected wildflowers.\u00a0 After six weeks, Miss Emmaline accompanied her to Mount Montgomery where she was reunited with her family.\u00a0 It would be a slow adjustment, but a standing invitation to return to Safe Harbor at any time was extended as they parted.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

Four and a half months after returning home, Adam had resumed full activities.\u00a0 The Nevada Rangers continued to grow and perform their duties.\u00a0 The Southern rebels had been driven out of Carson City, the capital they had wanted to destroy out of vengeance.\u00a0 They had lost a lot of their organization when Davis died, but they moved to northern Nevada and continued to cause various woes across the state, led by the bitter Peters.\u00a0 Word had come several weeks after Adam\u2019s return to the Ponderosa that Col. Wagner had died of the neck wound inflicted by Davis.\u00a0 Adam mourned silently.\u00a0 He knew the Colonel had probably fought valiantly to survive, and was glad that in the end Wagner had not turned out to be part of Davis\u2019 scheme.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In September he packed some gear and took Sport for a lone trip to Carson City.\u00a0 He had some unfinished business there, he explained to his family, assuring them it was nonviolent and strictly personal.\u00a0 They would rather that he stayed home, but Adam thought his father understood.\u00a0 Too much had happened to him there to leave any loose ends.\u00a0 He promised them he would be careful and would keep a low profile, just in case any hangers-on wanted to take a pot shot at him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He took his time traveling.\u00a0 Mostly he let Sport meander, and they took a lot of back roads up and down hills.\u00a0 Other times he let out the reins and the horse galloped freely.\u00a0 Adam discovered that his brain stayed where it was supposed to be during those times.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Instead of passing through Carson City, he circled around it and up into the hills.\u00a0 It was very quiet and pretty here.\u00a0 He rode for a day before finding what he was looking for.\u00a0 It was a large, rambling dwelling, made mostly of logs, with a wide front porch and large windows to catch the light and the cool mountain breezes.\u00a0 It would be a challenge for most people to find, he decided.\u00a0 Dismounting, he walked up the porch steps and knocked on the door.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A house maid in a starched white cap answered the door, and looked doubtful when Adam made his request.\u00a0 This was quite unusual.\u00a0 Few people stopped by here.\u00a0 It was quite out of the way.\u00a0 Nevertheless, she opened the door and asked him to wait in the study.\u00a0 He heard her padding up some stairs to see if his request would be successful.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t sit.\u00a0 He leaned against the open archway from the entry to the study.\u00a0 He smiled when he heard voices.\u00a0 He had won.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat on earth\u2026\u201d was the first thing he heard, followed by the explanation from the house maid that she didn\u2019t know anything further.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Then suddenly at the bottom of the stairs, there she stood.\u00a0 Bright red hair done in a labyrinth of curlicues and ringlets that were pinned up, and a startling pink dress that looked as though it had been expensive.\u00a0 Just at first she didn\u2019t recognize him, because she had never seen him standing upright without multiple casts.\u00a0 But there he was, smiling at her like the cat that ate the cream, black hat low on his dark head allowing just enough room for his eyes to appreciate her full figure.\u00a0 She wasn\u2019t used to seeing him freshly shaved, wearing all black, leaning against the archway with one knee bent and his arms crossed, holster slung around his hip, wearing a tan jacket against the early autumn chill.\u00a0 So casual.\u00a0 So elegant.\u00a0 Her breath caught and one hand covered her mouth.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI came to say thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The slightest of smiles turned her lips and she shook her head at him slowly.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cTo someone who saved my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd to ask someone named Miss Emmaline to finish reading me a story called Twelfth<\/em> Night<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

She laughed out loud at that.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd to ask the same Miss Emmaline if I could give her a proper kiss and hold her in my arms.\u201d\u00a0 He paused.\u00a0 \u201cBut only in a safe house.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

She walked a few steps toward him.\u00a0 \u201cWell, I always have known a good offer when I heard one.\u00a0 And the last time I checked, this was the safest place around.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

His arms reached out for her, and hers went around him, underneath his jacket.\u00a0 His head bent down and hers tipped back.\u00a0 Their lips met.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And that was the beginning.<\/p>\n

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

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

Summary: \u00a0\u00a0Adam joins the Nevada Rangers to protect Nevada Territory against violent drifters fleeing the dying Southern Confederacy during the Civil War. \u00a0<\/p>\n

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