Summary:\u00a0 What happens between the eleventh and the twelfth stroke of the clock on All Hallows Eve?\u00a0 Beware!\u00a0 Twelve-year-old Little Joe and his big brother Adam are about to find out.\u00a0 Written for the 2021 Bonanza Brand Boo-nanza challenge.<\/p>\n
Rated: PG for spookiness<\/p>\n
Word count: 6,574<\/p>\n
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Midnight\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Twenty-four year old Adam Cartwright scratched his head.\u00a0 Then he pulled at his chin, regretting \u2013 not for the first time \u2013 that it was hairless.\u00a0 The action of tugging one\u2019s beard seemed to him a far more fitting expression of frustration and bewilderment than swiping fingers over bare skin.\u00a0 He\u2019d recently toyed with the idea of growing a goatee.\u00a0 His current flame, Linda, encouraged him.\u00a0 She was of the opinion that it would make him appear \u2018dashing\u2019.<\/p>\n His father was not \u2013 of that opinion, that was.<\/p>\n Now Pa was a man among men, but when it came to the subject of hair there was something about the older man that was, well, a bit odd.\u00a0 He could hear his father\u2019s stentorian tone resounding from the ranch house rafters even now.<\/p>\n \u2018Adam, son, you need a shave.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018Hoss, have you forgotten your pomade? <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018Joseph, get a haircut.\u00a0 You look like a river boat gambler!\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n Adam sighed.\u00a0 \u2018But I digress\u2026.\u2019<\/p>\n His attention once more on the matter at hand, Adam\u2019s gaze returned to the one whose actions had prompted that digression \u2013 namely, his twelve-year-old brother, Little Joe.\u00a0 The kid was supposed to be cleaning out the barn.\u00a0 Instead \u2013 lantern in hand \u2013 Joe was moving between the stalls, leaving a trail of heartfelt sighs behind him.\u00a0 Now and again he would stop, stoop, and shift the straw as if he\u2019d spied whatever it was he was looking for.\u00a0 Then, with a shrug of his narrow shoulders, he would rise and move on.<\/p>\n Adam\u2019s keen gaze moved from Sport to Chubb and then onto Cadfan, his youngest brother\u2019s current ride.\u00a0 Whatever motivated Joe\u2019s quest, the kid\u2019s edginess was rubbing off on the horses.\u00a0 The one in the stall next to where Joe was kneeling snorted and shied.<\/p>\n Time to intervene.<\/p>\n Adam called his brother\u2019s name.\u00a0 When that failed to elicit a response, he cleared his throat and tried \u00a0again \u2013 only louder this time.<\/p>\n \u201cAhem\u2026LITTLE JOE?!\u201d<\/p>\n Joe jumped and shrieked.\u00a0 So did the horse.\u00a0 Thank God the two went in different directions!<\/p>\n Adam waited.\u00a0 Silently, he counted to three.<\/p>\n As expected, the explosion came on four.<\/p>\n \u201cFor gosh sakes, Adam!\u00a0 What do you mean scarin\u2019 me like that?! \u00a0I could have dropped the lantern and set the barn on fire!!\u201d<\/p>\n Or gotten stomped on by a horse.<\/p>\n Adam studied his brother.\u00a0 Joe\u2019s eyes were wide, his nostrils flared and his curly hair standing on end. \u00a0The kid was really spooked!\u00a0 Why, he wondered?\u00a0 Then he remembered that his other <\/em>younger brother \u2013 the eighteen-year-old he\u2019d left in the house \u2013 had been equally on edge.\u00a0 He\u2019d asked Hoss about it, but the teenager had steadfastly refused to \u2018give\u2019.\u00a0 In fact, it had taken Hop Sing to clear up the mystery.\u00a0 The Asian man came out of the kitchen carrying a tray of fresh cookies.\u00a0 When Hoss went to take one \u2013 or four \u2013 his reward was getting his fingers smacked.<\/p>\n \u2018You no eat!\u00a0 Cookies for ancestors!\u2019 Hop Sing proclaimed indignantly.\u00a0 \u201cYou want they watch over family tonight or let spirits carry them away?!\u2019<\/p>\n Adam suppressed a sigh.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t only Hop Sing.\u00a0 By midnight, there would be plates of goodies gracing wooden thresholds and causing people to stumble on steps all over the settlement \u2013 and not only in China Town.\u00a0 Before heading to the barn, he\u2019d done a little research.\u00a0 The superstition of putting out sweets to appease the spirits was actually more Occidental than Oriental, tracing its roots back to the British Isles.\u00a0 Hop Sing\u2019s people did<\/em>, however, celebrate several festivals known as the \u2018Days of the Dead\u2019.<\/p>\n Apparently a little cross-pollination had taken place.<\/p>\n Tonight was All Hallows Eve.\u00a0 The night of spirits.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m grateful you didn\u2019t set the barn on fire, buddy.\u00a0 So are the horses,\u201d he replied. \u00a0The black-haired man inclined his head toward the stall Joe had vacated.\u00a0 \u201cWhat were you looking for?\u201d<\/p>\n The kid\u2019s green eyes narrowed and he looked away \u2013 both sure<\/em> signs that what he was about to say was anything but<\/em> the truth.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2026er\u2026dropped my knife.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI saw you searching the other stalls earlier.\u00a0 Were you in all <\/em>of them tonight?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSure I was!\u201d \u00a0Joe\u2019s pert nose twitched \u2013 more<\/em> evidence.\u00a0 \u201cI had to clean them all, didn\u2019t I?\u201d<\/p>\n Adam winced.\u00a0 Hoss couldn\u2019t help Joe because Hoss was in the house laid up and it was his fault.\u00a0 Older <\/em>younger brother had gone with him \u2013 against Pa\u2019s wishes \u2013 to rope and bring in a wild horse he\u2019d become\u2026well\u2026obsessed with.\u00a0 The magnificent dove-gray stallion had appeared from out of nowhere and was simply the most striking thing he\u2019d ever seen.\u00a0 Hoss understood and Pa didn\u2019t, because Pa couldn\u2019t think about anything other than the fact that one of them might get hurt while trying to capture it.\u00a0 Voices and tempers flared and, in the end, Pa forbid either of them to go.<\/p>\n That didn\u2019t stop him, of course.<\/p>\n He\u2019d laid in his bed fully dressed until his father went to sleep, and then crept down the stairs and headed for the door.\u00a0 He shouldn\u2019t have been surprised \u2013 but he was \u2013 to find middle brother waiting for him there.\u00a0 Things went well. \u00a0They almost had the stallion when an unexpected sound spooked the feral creature, causing it to rear and strike out.\u00a0 A hoof caught Hoss high on his leg.\u00a0 Paul Martin said the wound wasn\u2019t too bad and that Hoss could do light work around the yard, but Pa would have none of it. \u00a0Pa forbid Hoss to leave the house, saying he was worried about infection.<\/p>\n Adam chuckled.\u00a0 Imagine that, Ben Cartwright worried.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat are you laughin\u2019 at?\u201d Joe demanded, his jaw rigid.<\/p>\n Joseph Francis Cartwright was a handsome kid.\u00a0 Already \u2013 at twelve, for God\u2019s sake! \u2013 he had women trailing after him.\u00a0 Joe was smarter than he thought and about as able-bodied as they came.\u00a0 Though small in stature, he could take on a full grown man in a fair fight and come out the winner.\u00a0 Yes, Little Joe had everything going for him \u2013 with one exception.<\/p>\n Belief in himself.<\/p>\n \u201cSorry, Joe.\u00a0 It\u2019s nothing to do with you.\u201d\u00a0 At his younger brother\u2019s dubious look, he continued, \u201cReally.\u00a0 I was thinking about Hop Sing.\u00a0 He\u2019s been baking cookies all day so he can put them out to appease the ancestors.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe frowned as his gaze moved to the barn door.<\/p>\n Adam noted the crumbs driven into the dirt just past the threshold.\u00a0 Had he trounced the baked goods when he came in?<\/p>\n \u201cGood Lord!\u201d he exclaimed.\u00a0 \u201cNot here too?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah.\u00a0 At both<\/em> doors.\u201d\u00a0 The youngster grinned. \u00a0\u201cThose are gonna be some mighty<\/em> happy ancestors.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAm I right to guess that the \u2018ancestors\u2019 are going to get a few less cookies than Hop Sing put out?\u201d He pointed.\u00a0 \u201cHow many did you pinch?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWho me?\u201d Joe asked while brushing a crumb from his lips.<\/p>\n Adam leaned on the barn wall and crossed his arms.\u00a0 \u201cFess up, Kid.\u00a0 And not just about the cookies.\u00a0 What were you really<\/em> looking for?\u201d<\/p>\n His brother\u2019s demeanor changed in an instant.\u00a0 The kid frowned, glanced around, and then moved in closer.\u00a0 \u201cYou ain\u2019t\u2026haven\u2019t seen any\u2026strange cats around here lately, have you?\u201d<\/p>\n The black-haired man smiled at the grammatical correction. \u00a0Perhaps his constant nagging was <\/em>having an effect after all.<\/p>\n \u201cStray cats?\u00a0 Of course, I have.\u00a0 There\u2019s always one or two in the barn.\u00a0 That\u2019s why we don\u2019t have mice, buddy.\u00a0 Is it a big one?\u201d \u00a0Adam looked around. \u00a0If so, the animal presented a danger not only to the horses but to them.<\/p>\n His brother sighed.\u00a0 \u201cYou aren\u2019t listening, Adam.\u00a0 Like usual.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t say a \u2018stray\u2019 cat.\u00a0 I said \u2018strange\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow \u2018strange\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re gonna laugh.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam crossed his chest with a finger.\u00a0 \u201cPromise.\u00a0 I won\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell\u2026.first off, she\u2019s black.\u201d<\/p>\n He waited.\u00a0 \u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n Joe\u2019s lips screwed from side to side.\u00a0 \u201cYou know what they say about black cats.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey?\u201d<\/p>\n Baby brother shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cEverybody.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam resisted the urge to roll his eyes.\u00a0 \u201cEverybody<\/em> being your friends at school, the local yokels, and\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 The sigh came out.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t help it.\u00a0 \u201cHop Sing.\u201d<\/p>\n It was a fact that, as the youngest member of the family, Joe had spent far more time with their Chinese housekeeper than the rest of them.\u00a0 When Hoss was in school \u2013 and he and Pa were working \u2013 Little Joe spent his days peeling potatoes and chopping vegetables, all the while chatting incessantly with the Asian man.\u00a0 He remembered how surprised he\u2019d been one day to discover \u2013 during one of Joe\u2019s notorious temper tantrums \u2013 that the kid knew fluent Chinese!<\/p>\n It seemed little brother had picked up some of Hop Sing\u2019s rather unconventional beliefs as well.<\/p>\n \u201cLook, Joe,\u201d he said in a reasonable tone, \u201cyou\u2019ve got a good mind.\u00a0 A cat is a cat, black or white.\u00a0 People are afraid of the dark, and that translates to being afraid of anything that is<\/em> dark.\u00a0 Black cats are no more harbingers of doom, or witches, or witches familiars, than you or I.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut Hop Sing said\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n He placed a hand on his brother\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cI love Hop Sing.\u00a0 He\u2019s a smart man in many ways.\u00a0 The trouble is, he comes from a country steeped in superstition, with belief in mythical creatures and \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA country that is thousands of years older than our<\/em> country!\u201d Joe countered sharply.\u00a0 \u201cHow come we\u2019re <\/em>right and he\u2019s wrong?\u00a0 Maybe the Chinese know more than we do!\u00a0 You ever think of that?\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe was fiercely loyal to anyone he loved.\u00a0 It was one of his best qualities \u2013 except when it led to blind faith.<\/p>\n \u201cAll right.\u00a0 You tell me then.\u00a0 This \u2018strange\u2019 black cat, what do you <\/em>think it is?\u201d<\/p>\n That stopped him.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not sure,\u201d Joe admitted.\u00a0 \u201cI just keep seeing her \u2013 like she\u2019s following me around.\u00a0 Everywhere I turn, she\u2019s there!\u201d<\/p>\n Adam looked again.\u00a0 The barn was empty except for the two of them and a half-dozen horses.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, where is she now?\u201d<\/p>\n His brother regarded him as if he didn\u2019t have a brain in his head.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know!\u00a0 Why do you think I was looking?!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAre you sure it\u2019s not just your imagination?\u00a0 That you\u2019re not simply \u2018spooked\u2019?\u201d he asked.\u00a0 \u201cAfter all, it is<\/em> All Hallows Eve.\u201d<\/p>\n The look on his young face testified to his sincerity.\u00a0 \u201cOh, no!\u00a0 I saw it clear as day!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhen did you see the cat for the first <\/em>time?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLast night when I came out to check on Cadfan.\u00a0 It was in his stall.\u201d<\/p>\n He\u2019d been with his brother when Joe did his last \u2018check-up\u2019 on Cadfan or so he\u2019d thought.\u00a0 \u201cAnd just what time <\/em>was this?\u201d<\/p>\n Joe swallowed.\u00a0 \u201cAfter midnight.\u00a0 Don\u2019t tell Pa I was up!\u00a0 You know Cadfan hurt his leg the other day.\u00a0 I wanted to make sure he was all right.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam dismissed his brother\u2019s concern with a wave of his hand.\u00a0 \u201cSo, you saw the cat last night after <\/em>midnight, and\u2026.?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe was there \u2013 here \u2013 everywhere<\/em>.\u00a0 She has been all day long!\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t matter whether I\u2019m mending fences, white-washing the shed, or cleaning out stalls.\u201d\u00a0 Joe shivered.\u00a0 \u201cThat cat\u2019s always there, watching me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo you think it\u2019s here now?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know it is!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThen why can\u2019t we see it?\u201d<\/p>\n Again, that look \u2013 like he was an idiot.\u00a0 \u201cThe cat\u2019s black, Adam!\u00a0 All she\u2019s got to do is shut her eyes and she\u2019s gone!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLike I said, Joe, a cat is a cat.\u00a0 Nothing more.\u00a0 Nothing less.\u00a0 You know it and I know it.\u00a0 And as to your mysterious feminine friend being black\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 He smiled.\u00a0 \u201cDid You know that some Chinese actually believe black cats are lucky?\u00a0 So you can see how ridiculous this is.\u00a0 Listen to your older brother.\u00a0 Have I ever steered you wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n As he watched the kid process what he\u2019d said, Adam tried to remember what it was like to be twelve.\u00a0 It was a stretch.\u00a0 Pa was already hard at work establishing his empire.\u00a0 Hoss was six and Marie was with child \u2013 \u2018with\u2019 Little Joe.\u00a0 The black-haired man started as he recalled catching the beautiful woman hanging a mirror outside of the front door on All Hallows Eve.\u00a0 When he asked her \u2018why\u2019, his Creole stepmother explained it was for Satan. \u00a0\u2018When the Devil looks into the mirror,\u2019 she said, \u2018he will be so caught up with his own vain-glorious image that he will stay outside!\u2019<\/p>\n The black-haired man ran a hand over his eyes.<\/p>\n Maybe Joe inherited it.<\/p>\n \u201cSo,\u201d Adam asked his brother, \u201cdo you still<\/em> need to look for the cat?\u201d<\/p>\n Joe kicked a clod of dirt with the toe of his boot.\u00a0 \u201cI guess not.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBecause a cat is just a cat, right?\u201d<\/p>\n The kid\u2019s gaze returned to the stalls.\u00a0 \u201cOkay,\u201d he said with little conviction.<\/p>\n On a very still night such as this, from the barn you could hear the tall case clock in the house chiming out the hour.\u00a0 Adam heard it strike eight.\u00a0 Only four hours to go and it would be All Saints Day, and all of this nonsense would be over for another year.<\/p>\n Adam circled his little brother\u2019s shoulders with an arm.\u00a0 \u201cI happen to know that Hop Sing has another batch of those cookies just about ready.\u00a0 How about we sneak into the kitchen and snatch a handful before he commits them to the dirt?\u201d<\/p>\n For just a second Little Joe looked afraid \u2013 then he beamed.<\/p>\n \u201cSure thing!\u00a0 I never could understand how a spirit could eat a cookie anyhow.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n TWO<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe\u2019s bedtime this time of year was around nine.\u00a0 He\u2019d argued up and down with his pa about it, but it got him nowhere.\u00a0 If he had school the next day, it was even earlier.\u00a0 \u2018You have a four hour ride into town, young man, and you need your sleep!<\/em>\u2019 Pa would say in that stern voice of his.\u00a0 Of course, since they lived on a ranch he had a good two hours work to do before he could take that ride into town, so that meant getting up before the rooster crowed.\u00a0 The kids in the settlement \u2013 and the ones that lived close by \u2013 had no idea how good they had it.<\/p>\n He\u2019d put in a whole day before the new day had even begun!<\/p>\n Joe yawned and turned over in his bed.\u00a0 As he lay there, thinking, he heard the tall case clock by the door strike ten.\u00a0 After playing a couple of games of checkers with Hoss, he\u2019d come upstairs, put on his night shirt, and dropped into bed.\u00a0 He fell asleep right away.<\/p>\n But he couldn\u2019t stay asleep.<\/p>\n Something kept waking him up.\u00a0 This last time, instead of falling back to sleep, he\u2019d stayed awake.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t know what it was unless, maybe, it was the fact that midnight was approaching.\u00a0 Hop Sing had explained how, on All Hallows Eve \u2013 between the eleventh and twelfth strike of the clock \u2013 there was a magical moment when it was neither today nor tomorrow.\u00a0 At that \u2018moment\u2019 a door opened between this world and the next and the spirits of the ancestors could slip through.\u00a0 That moment happened twice, according to his friend, at the stroke of midnight on the 30th<\/sup> and then again on the 31st <\/sup>, right before it became All Souls Day.<\/p>\n In other words, tonight.<\/p>\n Joe\u2019d pondered long and hard, thinking about why an \u2018ancestor\u2019 coming back would be a bad thing.\u00a0 After all, weren\u2019t ancestors kin?\u00a0 When he asked Hop Sing, his friend told him the trouble was that an open door went both ways.\u00a0 There were bad, dark spirits who lurked in the shadows, waiting to take advantage of that magical \u2018moment\u2019 so they could pass into this world to work their mischief and cause harm.\u00a0 That\u2019s why the Asian man baked cookies and put them outside all<\/em> of the ranch house\u2019s doors \u2013 to appease the bad spirits and protect his family.<\/p>\n He wondered if maybe you never got anything to eat in the other world except things like cabbage and prunes.\u00a0 Maybe that\u2019s why those old spirits were so tempted by cookies.<\/p>\n Joe sighed.\u00a0 He punched his pillow and turned back onto his other side \u2013 only to be greeted by a pair of wide green eyes round as the harvest moon hanging outside his window.\u00a0 The twelve-year-old sucked in air and held still.\u00a0 It was the black cat!\u00a0 She was sitting on the table in front of his window, staring at him.\u00a0 As he watched she rose, stretched, and then jumped onto the bed.\u00a0 Each soft fall of her padded feet as she crossed the coverlet echoed one ponderous beat of his heart.<\/p>\n When the cat stopped they were nose to nose!<\/p>\n \u201cHhhh\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 Joe cleared his throat and tried again.\u00a0 \u201cHhhh\u2026hi.\u201d<\/p>\n The cat cocked her head in reply.<\/p>\n \u201cCan\u2026can I help you\u2026with something?\u201d<\/p>\n The cat\u2019s emerald eyes narrowed as if in comprehension.\u00a0 She opened her mouth but nothing came out.\u00a0 Joe stared at her perfect white, pointed teeth, wondering if he was about to feel them sink into his skin.\u00a0 \u00a0Instead, the cat turned and walked the length of the bed.\u00a0 From near the footboard she eyed him again, and then leapt effortlessly onto the windowsill.<\/p>\n Which was open.<\/p>\n \u201cHuh?\u201d Joe sat up.\u00a0 He was sure he\u2019d closed the window before he went to bed.\u00a0 It was cold outside and Pa would have skinned him if he didn\u2019t!\u00a0 \u201cDid you\u2026?\u201d\u00a0 He paused.\u00a0 Nah.\u00a0 A cat couldn\u2019t open a window.<\/p>\n Could it?<\/p>\n The cat was staring right at him.\u00a0 She opened her mouth and this time made a noise.\u00a0 It was a low, guttural cry with a sense of urgency.<\/p>\n He swallowed again.\u00a0 \u201cYou want me to\u2026go with you?\u201d<\/p>\n That look he gave Adam \u2013 the one that questioned every ounce of that learnin\u2019 older brother\u2019d got back East? \u00a0\u00a0The cat was giving it to him now.<\/p>\n \u201cOkay, okay, I get it.\u201d\u00a0 Joe tossed his covers aside and climbed out of bed \u2013 on the side opposite from the black cat.\u00a0 \u201cI gotta get dressed first.\u201d<\/p>\n As if it understood, the cat left the window and settled on his table as he headed for his dresser.\u00a0 Joe glanced at her several times while he pulled on his socks and pants, shirt, and boots.\u00a0 As he thrust his arms into a second heavier shirt \u2013 after all, it was cold outside and he couldn\u2019t exactly go downstairs for his coat \u2013 everything Adam said came back to him.\u00a0 He had to admit, none of it really made sense. \u00a0At supper tonight Pa\u2019d mentioned the fact that sailors thought a black cat was good luck.\u00a0 His father said some seamen believed black cats had miraculous powers that could protect their ships from dangerous weather.\u00a0 A few even thought they could start storms with the magic stored in their tails!<\/p>\n Joe laughed.<\/p>\n It was just an old cat.\u00a0 He was just about as silly as those sailors for getting up, getting dressed, and following it out the window.<\/p>\n Which he\u2019d just done.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben Cartwright paused near the hearth to look at his middle boy, who was laid up with a an unnecessary leg injury.\u00a0 He was angry and rightly so, but Hoss didn\u2019t deserve to bear the brunt of it.<\/p>\n That privilege belonged to his older brother.<\/p>\n \u201cHow are you feeling, son?\u201d he asked gently.<\/p>\n Hoss looked up from the book he was reading.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m fine, Pa.\u00a0 It smarts some, but it ain\u2019t no nevermind.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m worried about your older brother,\u201d the rancher said as he took his place in his red chair.\u00a0 \u201cI knew the moment Adam told me about that animal that it would mean trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n The teenager put the book down.\u00a0 \u201cAh, Pa.\u00a0 Adam knows what he\u2019s doin\u2019.\u00a0 He ain\u2019t about to try somethin\u2019 unless he\u2019s sure he can do it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUsually, but this time I\u2019m not so sure.\u201d\u00a0 Ben sighed as he glanced up the stairs.\u00a0 They\u2019d had words again, and his eldest had gone to bed shortly after his little brother.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s almost like he\u2019s obsessed.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOlder brother thinks that horse will make a good stud.\u201d \u00a0Hoss smiled his gap-toothed grin.\u00a0 \u201cHe says he\u2019s got some<\/em> fire in him.\u201d<\/p>\n Of course, he did.\u00a0 His eldest had a propensity for high-strung, independent, and frequently unpredictable animals.<\/p>\n \u201cYour older brother chose Sport.\u00a0 I think that\u2019s enough said.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSport\u2019s a good horse, Pa.\u00a0 You know that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, he is, but only for Adam.\u201d\u00a0 Ben straightened in his chair.\u00a0 \u201cSon, I\u2019ve spent enough years working with horses to think I know best.\u00a0 I admit your brother has a talent for judging horse flesh, but Adam is young.\u00a0 With the young, beauty often wins out over brains.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss whistled.\u00a0 \u201cThat horse sure<\/em> is a beauty.\u201d<\/p>\n The wild gray stallion that had taken a chunk out of his middle boy\u2019s leg had been dubbed \u2018Lion\u2019, short for \u2018Hellion\u2019; a name given to it by the men who had first encountered it.\u00a0 He\u2019d forbidden his eldest to try catching it again after what happened to Hoss.\u00a0 Still, he knew Adam wasn\u2019t about to give in that easily.<\/p>\n \u201cI agree he is superb, but no horse is worth\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 Ben\u2019s voice trailed off as Hop Sing entered the great room bearing yet another tray laden with cookies and headed for the stairs.\u00a0 He let out a sigh as the little man turned the corner at the top.<\/p>\n \u201cI wish my<\/em> belly was as full as those ancestors must be,\u201d his son sighed.\u00a0 \u201cHop Sing\u2019s been so busy bakin\u2019 cookies, he ain\u2019t remembered he\u2019s growin\u2019 boys to feed!\u201d<\/p>\n Ben chuckled.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t think you\u2019ll starve, son.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cI ain\u2019t so sure.\u201d<\/p>\n The older man let out a sigh.\u00a0 \u201cReally, I\u2019m concerned about the influence of Hop Sing\u2019s beliefs on Joseph.\u00a0 Your younger brother spends a great deal of time with him and is very impressionable.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t you worry about Little Joe none, Pa.\u00a0 What Hop Sing believes ain\u2019t ever stopped baby brother from comin\u2019 with me to round up those cookies and give \u2018em a good home!\u201d\u00a0 The boy rubbed his belly for emphasis.<\/p>\n Ben laughed out loud.<\/p>\n Dear Lord!\u00a0 What next?<\/p>\n A second later he knew.\u00a0 Hop Sing came flying around the corner fast as a fox caught in the chicken coop and threw his empty hands in the air.<\/p>\n \u201cMistah Cartwright! Mistah Cartwright! \u00a0Little Joe not in room!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n THREE<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n She was pretty friendly.\u00a0 The black cat, that was.\u00a0 She led the way but, every so often, would come back to wind between his legs.\u00a0 It was kind of reassuring when she did that \u2013 when he felt her sleek, shining form rub against him.\u00a0 Up until then he\u2019d thought, maybe, she was an illusion or a spirit like Hop Sing believed.<\/p>\n But she was just a cat after all.<\/p>\n Joe snorted.<\/p>\n Which begged the question of why he was following her.<\/p>\n Animals were smart.\u00a0 He\u2019d spent enough time with them to know that.\u00a0 Hoss said it had to do with all the thousands of years their ancestors had lived and survived in the wild.\u00a0 Just like his pa said he\u2019d inherited things from his ma \u2013 like his green eyes and his temper \u2013 animals knew things they couldn\u2019t know because they got them from the ones that came before.<\/p>\n Hoss called it \u2018instinct\u2019 and he\u2019d taught him to listen to it.<\/p>\n That<\/em>\u2019s<\/em> why he was following the cat.<\/p>\n Gut instinct.<\/p>\n They\u2019d left the yard behind \u00a0and were headed through the field behind it.\u00a0 Above his head the harvest moon hung pregnant as any woman, big bellied and white; shining her light on the knee-high grass and gorse he passed through.\u00a0 When he climbed out the window, he\u2019d heard the clock in the front hall chime eleven, so it must be going on midnight now.<\/p>\n Midnight.\u00a0 The \u2018magical moment\u2019 when that door opened and the real world and the world of the \u2018ancestors\u2019 collided.<\/p>\n \u201cMidnight,\u201d Joe said out loud.\u00a0 He laughed when the cat turned back to look at him.\u00a0 Maybe that was its name.\u00a0 After all, didn\u2019t nearly every kid who had a black cat name it \u2018Midnight\u2019?\u00a0 \u201cYou like that name, girl?\u00a0 Midnight?\u201d<\/p>\n The cat cocked its head and its green eyes flashed in the darkness.\u00a0 Then, it nodded.<\/p>\n Really, it did.\u00a0 It nodded.<\/p>\n \u201cOkay\u2026Midnight.\u201d\u00a0 Joe laughed.\u00a0 \u201cSince you\u2019ve started talking, can you tell me where we\u2019re going? Please?\u201d<\/p>\n The cat blinked, turned away, and started walking again.<\/p>\n Joe shrugged, sighed, and did the same.<\/p>\n It was a crisp October night.\u00a0 Joe smiled as the brown leaves crunched beneath his feet, foreshadowing the hard crusts of ice on the snow to come.\u00a0 He loved October for a lot of reasons.\u00a0 For one thing, it meant school was almost over for the year.\u00a0 November was a time of preparation and most kids were needed at home, so no more book learning until spring.\u00a0 October was also the month of his birth.\u00a0 Because of Hoss being injured, their celebration had been kind of quiet this year \u2013 just him and the family, including Hop Sing.\u00a0 That was okay.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t need a party.\u00a0 He\u2019d learned after his mama died that the best present he could ever have was his family.\u00a0 The twelve-year-old grinned.\u00a0 Still, he sure didn\u2019t mind getting that new saddle Pa and his brothers had gone together to buy for him!\u00a0 Joe halted and looked around him.\u00a0 There was another reason he loved October, but he had a hard time putting it into words.\u00a0 He\u2019d tried once with Hoss, but couldn\u2019t make it come out right.\u00a0 October was when everything died \u2013 but, well, its death was beautiful.\u00a0 All around him burnt orange, deep crimson, and golden leaves punctuated a landscape ever green.\u00a0 It reminded him of what his father had told him about his ma\u2019s passing when he was old enough to understand; that death wasn\u2019t an end, but a new beginning.<\/p>\n A nip on his finger brought Joe\u2019s attention sharply back to the present.\u00a0 The cat dropped from his thigh to the ground and gave him a scolding look before she moved forward again.\u00a0 The twelve-year-old put his finger in his mouth and sucked blood as he followed.\u00a0 They were in a clearing.\u00a0 A circle of tall pine trees stood sentinel about it, backlit by the bloated moon.\u00a0 Its heart was a sea of shadows.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat is it, Midnight?\u201d Joe asked \u2013 and yet, even as he asked, he knew.<\/p>\n It was midnight.<\/p>\n The time of the spirits.<\/p>\n A second later he was startled by a piercing cry.\u00a0 At first he thought it was Midnight, but he could see her and she wasn\u2019t moving.\u00a0 So if it wasn\u2019t the cat, then who\u2026?<\/p>\n Joe gasped.<\/p>\n It was his brother.<\/p>\n Adam was screaming.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhat Mister Ben think?\u201d\u00a0 Hop Sing asked as he joined him on the porch.\u00a0 \u201cWhere naughty boys go?\u201d<\/p>\n On the off-chance, he\u2019d checked Adam\u2019s room before coming outside.\u00a0 As he suspected, his eldest had gone missing as well.\u00a0 Ben frowned as he pulled on his gloves.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t know about \u2018where\u2019, but he had a pretty clear idea\u00a0 of \u2018why\u2019 Adam had left. \u00a0That boy!\u00a0 He\u2019d made it perfectly clear he was to leave that wild horse alone!<\/p>\n But then, he knew how stubborn his oldest could be.<\/p>\n \u201cYou think Adam went after that stallion, Pa?\u201d Hoss asked as he hobbled up beside them.<\/p>\n \u201cI fear it.\u201d\u00a0 The older man admitted. \u00a0\u201cBut to take Joseph with him?\u00a0 I can\u2019t see Adam putting your younger brother in that kind of danger.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI bet he didn\u2019t.\u00a0 I bet Little Joe saw Adam leavin\u2019 and went after him.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss winced at his look.\u00a0 \u201cYou know Joe and horses.\u201d<\/p>\n Yes, he did and, at times, he feared for the future.<\/p>\n \u201cBut where <\/em>did they go?\u201d Ben demanded.\u00a0 \u201cThat horse could be anywhere\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n A touch on his arm made him turn toward Hop Sing.\u00a0 He met the his cook\u2019s gaze, and then followed his extended finger to a large black cat.<\/p>\n The Asian man\u2019s voice was hushed.<\/p>\n \u201cAncestors know.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe ran for all he was worth.\u00a0 He\u2019d passed the cat long before and left it in his wake.\u00a0 They didn\u2019t let him too near the wild horses yet, but he\u2019d been on the edge of the group watching as Pa, or Adam and Hoss drove them into the corral.\u00a0 He had to admit.\u00a0 There was something in the cry of a wild stallion facing capture that stabbed your heart.\u00a0 If there was such a thing as freedom, then these horses knew it and they were willing to fight to keep it.<\/p>\n Or kill.<\/p>\n Joe halted and cried out, terrified for his brother.\u00a0 \u201cAdam?\u00a0 Adam, where are you?\u201d<\/p>\n His brother\u2019s answer was weak \u2013 and expected.\u00a0 \u201cJoe, no! Little\u2026Joe, keep back!\u201d<\/p>\n Right at that moment, that old bloated moon?\u00a0 It crept between two trees and lit up the night.\u00a0 What Joe saw by its light stopped him in his tracks.\u00a0 His brother lay on the ground with one arm raised.\u00a0 Above Adam loomed the giant form of a horse; its hooves deadly and poised to strike.<\/p>\n There was only one way he knew of to save his brother.<\/p>\n Waving his hands, Joe shouted, \u201cHey!\u00a0 Hey, big, gray and ugly!\u00a0 I\u2019m over here!\u201d<\/p>\n The horse shrieked and its hooves struck the ground like thunder, barely missing his brother.\u00a0 Then it turned toward him.<\/p>\n \u201cJoe!\u00a0 No!!\u201d Adam shouted as he tried to stand.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t though.\u00a0 One leg was twisted under him and he fell back to the ground.\u00a0 \u201cDear God, Joe!\u00a0 Run!\u201d<\/p>\n Mesmerized.\u00a0 That\u2019s what they\u2019d called it back in the spring when he saw the fortune teller doing their act at the carnival.\u00a0 He was mesmerized.<\/p>\n The horse came closer.\u00a0 It stopped a few feet away, snorted, and then lifted its great head and stared at him.\u00a0 Something in him told him to stare right back.\u00a0 Remembering the black cat with her emerald-green eyes and how they held you in place as if with a spell, the twelve-year-old planted his feet and stood his ground.<\/p>\n He gulped as he realized his head didn\u2019t come to the stallion\u2019s withers.<\/p>\n \u201cJoe!\u00a0 Please, Joe\u2026 Get out of there!\u201d<\/p>\n Adam\u2019s voice faded as the one in his head increased.\u00a0 This was it, the \u2018moment\u2019 Hop Sing had talked about \u2013 that moment when one day turned to the next and the spirits were able to slip through.\u00a0 Some were good, like Midnight.\u00a0 Some were bad.<\/p>\n Like the one that wanted to kill his brother.<\/p>\n Joe\u2019s jaw grew tight.\u00a0 His fingers formed fists.<\/p>\n No.<\/p>\n \u201cNo,\u201d he said aloud.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re not taking him!\u00a0 You can\u2019t have Adam!\u201d<\/p>\n If anyone passed through that door tonight, it was gonna be him.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMister Cartwright, make much hurry!\u00a0 Come now!\u2019<\/p>\n Ben\u2019s heart pounded hard against his breastbone, partly from running, but mostly with fear.\u00a0 It appeared Adam had<\/em> gone against his wishes after all and gone looking for that wild gray horse he was so enamored of.\u00a0 As he ran, the older man couldn\u2019t help but think that if his youngest had not followed, causing them to search for him as well, his eldest might\u2026.<\/p>\n No.\u00a0 There was no reason to suspect that Adam was in any danger.<\/p>\n No reason but the feeling in his gut.<\/p>\n A tug on his shirt brought Ben back to the present.\u00a0 \u201cCome!\u00a0 Ancestors need you to hurry!\u201d<\/p>\n The rancher\u2019s gaze fell on the large feline that doggedly led them forward.\u00a0 She was a black blot on a field of tall prairie grasses bleached white by the light of the full moon.\u00a0 She\u2019d led them from the yard toward the place where his eldest had first sighted the stallion.\u00a0 The men had brought in some of its brood mares and put them in the corral.\u00a0 It only made sense that it would linger nearby.\u00a0 Always in the West, there was a balance of need and danger.\u00a0 He understood that \u2013 just as he understood how easily that balance could be tipped.<\/p>\n But did his son?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe hadn\u2019t moved.\u00a0 The horse stared at him and he stared at the horse.\u00a0 Something passed between them as they stood there.\u00a0 Something without words. \u00a0He wasn\u2019t sure what it was exactly, but he knew it was important.<\/p>\n \u201cJoe\u2026. Please\u2026move away!\u201d<\/p>\n Joe was worried.\u00a0\u00a0 Adam\u2019s voice was hard to hear.\u00a0\u00a0 He wanted to look at him, but he was afraid to tear his eyes away from the stallion\u2019s.<\/p>\n \u201cWell,\u201d he said, shifting a bit, \u201chere I am.\u00a0 Do your worst!\u201d<\/p>\n The horse blew air out of its nostrils and shook its thick mane.\u00a0 It was in the silence that followed, that Joe heard a sound \u2013 an impossible faraway sound.\u00a0 One he shouldn\u2019t have been able to hear.<\/p>\n The twelfth stroke of the tall case clock back in the ranch house.<\/p>\n \u201cMidnight,\u201d Joe breathed as the black cat suddenly reappeared, rising as if from out of the ground midway between him and the stallion.\u00a0 She cried out sharply.\u00a0 The sound startled him enough that he broke contact.\u00a0 Unbidden, Joe\u2019s gaze flew to Adam.<\/p>\n When he looked back, the stallion was gone.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Adam groaned and opened his eyes.\u00a0 It took him a moment to realize he was in his bed and not on the ground outside, and a moment longer to notice that he had a caretaker.\u00a0 Little Joe was curled up in a chair pulled close alongside the bed.\u00a0 His brother\u2019s curly head was thrown back against the upholstered cushion and he was softly snoring.\u00a0 Someone had tossed a light coverlet over the kid\u2019s lean form and tucked it in around him.<\/p>\n \u201cBoy tired.\u00a0 Sleep deep,\u201d a quiet voice remarked.<\/p>\n Adam turned his head to the side.\u00a0 Hop Sing stood in the doorway; tray in hand.\u00a0 Adam idly wondered just which \u2018boy\u2019 the Asian man was talking about.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat happened?\u201d he asked as he shifted and looked down at his body, noting the casts on his left leg and arm with surprise.<\/p>\n \u201cAncestors come,\u201d the Asian man said, his voice filled with wonder.\u00a0 \u201cHop Sing not keep them away.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAncestors come.\u201d<\/p>\n It was all nonsense, of course.\u00a0 But then, he didn\u2019t want to offend Hop Sing.\u00a0 \u201cWhat did they want?\u201d he asked with a wince as he shifted up on his pillows.<\/p>\n \u201cAncestors want you<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n He looked at their cook.\u00a0 Hop Sing was dead serious.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat are you talking about?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGray horse bewitch Mistah Adam.\u00a0 Want Mister Adam to ride him into other world.\u201d<\/p>\n He resisted rolling his eyes, but he couldn\u2019t quite manage to keep his eyebrows in place.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s right, Adam,\u201d a soft voice said.\u00a0 \u201cThe ancestors came and it\u2019s a good thing they did.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe was awake and sitting up in the chair.\u00a0 Adam looked from him to Hop Sing.\u00a0 \u201cMy head hurts.\u00a0 Would one of you take pity on me and try<\/em> making sense?\u201d<\/p>\n Hop Sing huffed, then he puffed, and then he slammed the supper tray down on the nightstand with a clang!<\/p>\n \u201cMake sense!\u00a0 Make sense?<\/em>\u00a0 Boy no make sense!\u00a0 Why you go out in the dark to find horse?\u00a0 How Little Joe find you?\u00a0 How father and Hop Sing know where you are? \u00a0Doctor say you lay out all night in cold with leg bone through skin, you go join ancestors quick!\u201d \u00a0The Asian man threw his hands in the air.\u00a0 \u201cBut what Hop Sing know?\u00a0 He just superstitious China man!\u00a0 He just cook and clean.\u00a0 He no go to big school back East like boy, so he know nothing!\u201d<\/p>\n With that \u2013 and a long train of Cantonese curses \u2013 Hop Sing returned downstairs.<\/p>\n Joe stretched and then rose and went over to the tray.\u00a0 He grabbed a sandwich, offered him half and, when he refused, returned to the chair to consume it.<\/p>\n \u201cI think you made him mad,\u201d his brother said as he munched.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think, I know!\u201d\u00a0 Adam sighed.\u00a0 \u201cBut how any reasonable, intelligent individual can believe in such nonsense is \u2013 \u201c<\/p>\n \u201cI believe it.\u201d<\/p>\n He rolled his eyes.\u00a0 \u201cJoe, no.\u00a0 I was stupid, I admit that.\u00a0 I knew better than to go out after that stallion, but I \u2013 \u201c<\/p>\n \u201cSo why <\/em>did you?\u201d\u00a0 Joe swallowed and reached for a glass of water on the bedside table.\u00a0 \u201cI mean, I\u2019m the one you\u2019re always saying doesn\u2019t think things through.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 Adam hesitated.\u00a0 Why had <\/em>he, when he knew better?\u00a0 What reasonable, intelligent answer could he give?\u00a0 \u201cI guess I\u2026.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t help myself.\u201d<\/p>\n Silence fell in the room and lasted for a full dozen heartbeats.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was Midnight, you know?\u201d Joe said, finally breaking it.<\/p>\n \u201cMidnight?\u00a0 What?\u00a0 The time when you found me, you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n Joe shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cMidnight who<\/em> found you. \u00a0The black cat I kept seeing.\u00a0 She led me to you.\u201d\u00a0 His brother took another bite and chewed for a moment.\u00a0 \u201cHop Sing says she\u2019s one of the ancestors.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHop Sing said the stallion that wanted to kill<\/em> me was one of the \u2018ancestors\u2019,\u201d he countered sharply.<\/p>\n Joe let out a sigh.\u00a0 \u201cYou just don\u2019t get it, Adam.\u00a0 That\u2019s what All Hallows Eve is about.\u00a0 The moment when the two worlds \u2013 real and spirit \u2013 collide.\u00a0 A door opens and anything or anyone can slip through.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t see any spirits out there in that field \u2013 just you and me and that blasted horse!\u201d\u00a0 He sucked in a breath as the image appeared before his eyes \u2013 his baby brother, staring down that devil.\u00a0 \u201cDear God, Joe!\u00a0 Don\u2019t ever<\/em> do anything like that again.\u00a0 You frightened me out of ten years of life!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBetter than you losing it,\u201d Joe said as he brushed crumbs off his lap and rose.\u00a0 \u201cThat horse \u2013 Hellion \u2013 he was gonna take someone back with him through that door and it sure as shootin\u2019 wasn\u2019t gonna be you!\u201d\u00a0 The kid paused.\u00a0 When Joe continued, his voice was tinged with awe.\u00a0 \u201cJust like Midnight sure as shootin\u2019 wasn\u2019t gonna let it be me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMidnight.\u00a0 The cat.\u201d<\/p>\n Baby brother was near the door now.\u00a0 \u201cThink about it, Adam.\u00a0 Midnight?\u00a0 Midnight with her great big green<\/em> eyes\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo?\u201d he demanded.\u00a0 \u201cLots of cats have green eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cYou know, older brother, for someone with a college education you can be just plain dumb at times.\u201d\u00a0 Joe picked up a cookie and tossed it to him.\u00a0 \u201cMaybe you should chew on it for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n Left alone in his room Adam did just that while he munched on the chocolate chip cookie.\u00a0 He thought about everything from Hop Sing\u2019s ancestral beliefs to the professors who had debunked them, to his own out-of-character actions and the heroic ones of his young brother; to the strange outcome of the night before.\u00a0 All that thinking wore him out and got him no closer to a solution, so he finally scrunched down in the bed and closed his eyes.\u00a0 After a few moments his breathing evened out and he fell into a light sleep \u2013 so light that he was awakened by the soft fall of padded feet on the coverlet.\u00a0 Cautiously \u2013 lest her frighten her away \u2013 he opened one eye and then the other, and then stared at this mysterious creature that his younger brother was certain was one of their ancestors come to call.<\/p>\n The cat came right up to him.\u00a0 She cocked her head and then placed a paw on his cheek, almost seeming to smile.\u00a0 Then, with a sharp \u2018merow!\u2019, she bounded off the bed and disappeared through the open window.<\/p>\n Open<\/em> window?<\/p>\n \u2018Think about it, Adam.\u00a0 Midnight?\u00a0 Midnight with her big green eyes.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n God help him!\u00a0 He knew those green eyes.\u00a0 They\u2019d looked at him with love for five years.<\/p>\n \u2018Ancestor\u2019 indeed!<\/p>\n Adam blew out a disbelieving breath.<\/p>\n She\u2019d come at midnight.\u00a0 Just in time to save him.<\/p>\n Marie.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n