{"id":39263,"date":"2022-07-07T20:20:26","date_gmt":"2022-07-08T00:20:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=39263"},"modified":"2025-09-25T15:38:03","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T19:38:03","slug":"big-things-mcfair_58","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=39263","title":{"rendered":"Big Things (mcfair_58)"},"content":{"rendered":"
Dedicated to the late Debbie B. or Debbie Beshears and written in her honor.<\/div>\n
Eleven-year-old Little Joe Cartwright is on a mission.\u00a0 His friend, Sarah Winnemucca, needs his help and so, he sets out to find her in the woods.\u00a0 Of course, since this\u00a0is<\/i>\u00a0Little Joe Cartwright, he’s bound to find something else as well – BIG trouble!<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Rated: PG<\/div>\n
Word count: 32,697<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n

 <\/p>\n

Chapter One<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you hear that?\u201d<\/p>\n

Seventeen-year-old Hoss Cartwright paused with his fingers resting on the chess piece he held, glanced at the board to note the other pieces positions, and then looked up at his newly returned and sneakier than ever twenty-two year old college-educated old brother.<\/p>\n

\u201cHuh?\u201d<\/p>\n

Older brother drew in a breath and let it out slowly, managing \u2013 somehow \u2013 to keep it just <\/em>short of a sigh.\u00a0 Adam\u2019d been doin\u2019 that a lot<\/em> since he came back from college.<\/p>\n

\u201cI asked, \u2018Did you hear that?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDid I hear what?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA window opening.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCain\u2019t say as I did.\u201d \u00a0Hoss wrinkled his nose and scratched his head.\u00a0 \u201cYou know, older brother, you must have awful sharp ears, seein\u2019 as how you hear things all the time that no one else hears.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam had been studying the board.\u00a0 One ink-slash eyebrow peaked as he looked up and pinned him with his whiskey-brown stare.\u00a0 \u201cYou mean like the front door opening at eleven o\u2019clock two nights ago?\u201d<\/p>\n

The teenager flushed red.\u00a0 He\u2019d managed to outfox both Little Joe and their pa by tellin\u2019 them he was plumb tuckered out from all of the calvin\u2019 and brandin\u2019 and was goin\u2019 to bed.\u00a0 He\u2019d sat in his room and waited until everybody else turned in, and then snuck down the stairs and out of the house to meet with a couple of his friends.<\/p>\n

Dad-burnit, if older brother hadn\u2019t come along too!<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I liked it better when you was in Boston,\u201d the teenager grumbled as he shoved the chess piece forward one square and then two to the side.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you sure you want to do that?\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss frowned.\u00a0 \u201cDo what?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam\u2019s hazel eyes rolled.\u00a0 \u201cMake that particular move.\u201d<\/p>\n

The teenager studied the board.\u00a0 The move seemed perfectly reasonable to him.\u00a0 Then again, he was used to playing draughts and not chess.<\/p>\n

The wrinkle in his nose grew deeper.<\/p>\n

\u201cSee here, Adam, I don\u2019t\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

Older brother looked up.\u00a0 Then he stood<\/em> up.\u00a0 \u201cThat does it,\u201d he said, sounding an awful lot like their pa.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m going to check on Little Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow<\/em> what did you hear?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis time?\u00a0 A window closing.<\/em>\u00a0 If that little squirt has snuck out, I\u2019ll\u2026.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0Older brother growled as he rounded the table and headed for the stairs.<\/p>\n

Hoss rose as well.\u00a0 \u201cListen here, Adam, you gotta calm yourself down.\u00a0 If you\u2019re thinkin\u2019 Little Joe\u2019s snuck out, you\u2019re just plumb loco.\u00a0 You heard the Doc.\u00a0 That boy\u2019s got himself a case of infectious palsy.\u00a0 He ain\u2019t goin\u2019 nowhere.\u201d\u00a0 He grinned.\u00a0 \u201cFact is, Hop Sing said he was gonna tie Joe to his bed before he turned in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Older brother had turned back to glare at him.\u00a0 \u201cMight that be, infectious\u2026pleurisy?\u201d<\/p>\n

The teenager shrugged.<\/p>\n

Whatever you called it, Little Joe\u2019d been sicker than a dog for the last month.<\/p>\n

The winter of fifty-four had started early and just wouldn\u2019t give up.\u00a0 The first snow fell mid-October.\u00a0 The last came clear into the next year in late January, and brought along with it a cold so deep it\u2019d freeze the nose right off \u2018a a man\u2019s face.\u00a0 Three weeks into February there\u2019d come a thaw like as to make a man think summer<\/em> was just around the bend instead of spring.\u00a0 Pa took one whiff of it and announced they was goin\u2019 into the settlement.\u00a0 By then, well, they was all<\/em> just about stir crazy.\u00a0 No matter how much you loved someone, bein\u2019 cooped up with them for four long<\/em> months just plain wore on the nerves!<\/p>\n

Even older brother Adam had hooted and hollered and danced a little jig as he pulled on his green coat and headed out the door!<\/p>\n

First thing they done when they got to the settlement was to have lunch at Miss O\u2019Riley\u2019s place.\u00a0 Pa treated them.\u00a0 Then they made the rounds, saying hello to Roy Coffee and Paul Martin and just about everybody else Pa knew or did business with.\u00a0 They was just about to leave town, when Pa remembered he had a list in his pocket about an arm long of this and that and, well, everything Hop Sing was out of.\u00a0 They all knew they\u2019d get no breakfast the next day if they didn\u2019t go to the mercantile and get what they could!\u00a0 At first Little Joe lent a hand, but the boy only lasted until the candy Pa bought him was gone.\u00a0 Then he asked if he could go play with one of his friends.\u00a0 The light was fadin\u2019 by the time they made it to Mister and Missus Pruitt\u2019s house.\u00a0 They found Joe and Seth there, sittin\u2019 in front of the fire all wrapped up in blankets. Them boys was wet as fishes from playin\u2019 in the mud, and grinnin\u2019 like fat pups on account of Seth\u2019s mother had fixed them hot chocolate and was fussin\u2019 over them like a mother hen.<\/p>\n

It was maybe two days later Doc Martin showed up on their doorstep to tell them how the sudden change in the weather had brought on an epidemic of the grippe, or what folks was startin\u2019 to call the Influenza.\u00a0 He was worried one of them might of caught it whiles they was in the settlement.\u00a0 Hoss blew out a breath.\u00a0 Now, little brother was as about as tough as they come.\u00a0 He\u2019d seen Joe take on bullies twice his size and win at least half the time.\u00a0 But that boy, well, he was like his mama.\u00a0 Seemed most anythin\u2019 called \u2018infectious\u2019 took to Joseph Francis Cartwright like a house on fire.\u00a0 They all got the influenza, but Little Joe couldn\u2019t get rid of it.\u00a0 The \u2018Grippe\u2019 did just that to the boy, gripped him hard and wouldn\u2019t let go.\u00a0 Fact is, they was all just about done<\/em> with hearin\u2019 him cough his lungs out most all of the day and night\u2026.<\/p>\n

Hoss frowned.\u00a0 \u201cOh,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Adam turned toward him.\u00a0 \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cListen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t tell me that you\u2019re <\/em>\u00a0hearing things now that I\u2019m not?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean it, Adam!\u00a0 Listen\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n

The big teen sighed. \u00a0\u201cOlder brother, you\u2019re awful good at hearin\u2019 things you shouldn\u2019t, but it seems you ain\u2019t so good at hearin\u2019 what you oughta.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Both black brows peaked this time.\u00a0 \u201cWhat I \u2018oughta\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss ignored the smirk.<\/p>\n

\u201cCoughin\u2019.\u00a0 I don\u2019t hear Little Joe coughin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam pivoted toward the stairs and they both began to run.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Eleven-year-old Joe Cartwright stopped, stifled a cough, and then turned toward the ranch house; his eyes going to his dimly lit bedroom window.\u00a0 He was looking for any sign of movement.\u00a0 He knew he was gonna be \u2018in\u2019 for it if older brother checked in on him instead of Hoss.\u00a0 Hoss trusted him, so he was easy to fool.<\/p>\n

Adam didn\u2019t trust anybody.<\/p>\n

The little boy gulped.\u00a0 No.\u00a0 It wouldn\u2019t take old smarty pants any time to figure out what he\u2019d done \u2013 how he\u2019d stuffed several blankets under his coverlet to form a shape, put his late mother\u2019s soft caracul stole on the pillow and covered it with his nightcap to mimic his head, and then opened the window and sneaked out of the house.<\/p>\n

Mind you, in the mind of this particular eleven-year-old, this escapade was God-ordained.\u00a0 Why else would his mother have had a caracul stole dyed the exact shade of his own curly chestnut hair in the first place?<\/p>\n

Joe remained where he was with his heart hammering in his chest for a full minute before he decided that he\u2019d done it.\u00a0 His brothers had been fooled and he was home-free!\u00a0 Now all he had to do was make it through the forest to the winter camp the Paiute had set up on his pa\u2019s land and locate Sarah Winnemucca \u2013 the old chief\u2019s daughter \u2013 and do what she wanted him to do.<\/p>\n

Whatever that was.<\/p>\n

It was<\/em> kind of funny.\u00a0 He and Sarah had known each other \u2013 sort of \u2013 for about two years now.\u00a0 His pa and brothers were always visiting the Paiute, but he\u2019d never been allowed to go along on account of he was too \u2018little\u2019.\u00a0 One day Pa and Hoss were saddled up to go, along with a couple of their hands who were driving the supply wagons.\u00a0 They were going to make a delivery to the Indian camp as a \u2018thank you\u2019 for some help Winnemucca had given the ranch.\u00a0 Joe wasn\u2019t sure what it was, but he thought it had something to do with the Indians chasing off some bad people who\u2019d wanted to hurt them.\u00a0 When he saw his pa and brother on their horses, he took off like a shot and caught his Pa\u2019s stirrup in his hand and started to beg.<\/p>\n

Joe let out a sigh.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t a very manly thing to do, but he did it \u2013 he begged!<\/p>\n

Like he expected, Pa\u2019s answer was a firm \u2018No!\u2019\u00a0 Then, middle brother took his side.\u00a0 Hoss reminded Pa that he\u2019d been just about his age the first time he<\/em> got to go visit the Indians.\u00a0 Joe giggled.\u00a0 His pa sure <\/em>hadn\u2019t been happy about Hoss reminding him!\u00a0 Anyhow, Pa stared at him for the longest time.\u00a0 Then he smiled and held out a hand, and he got to swing up behind his father \u2013 and off they went!<\/p>\n

The Indian camp didn\u2019t turn out to be what he expected.<\/p>\n

It was, in a word, \u2018boring\u2019.<\/p>\n

He liked to read what his snobby older brother called \u2018damn novels\u2019.\u00a0 Joe snorted.\u00a0 At least, that\u2019s what Adam called them when their pa wasn\u2019t around!\u00a0 The eleven-year-old halted suddenly and looked both ways, just to make sure his father hadn\u2019t heard that thought and magically popped up out of the ground to tan him.\u00a0 When he saw he was in clear, his thoughts \u00a0rolled on apace.\u00a0 In those dime novels, the Indians were most often the villains.\u00a0 They were fierce and warlike and \u2013 to put it plain and simple \u2013 SCARY!\u00a0 The little boy shook his head as he jogged on.\u00a0 He remembered how he sort of shrunk down behind his pa\u2019s broad form as they came into the camp.\u00a0 \u2018Sort of\u2019 meaning he buried his face in his Pa\u2019s leather vest and kept it there while Pa started talking!\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t too long before a finger tapped his leg and he opened one eye to find Hoss on the ground, motioning him to slide off of Buck\u2019s back.\u00a0 He\u2019d gulped when he saw the fierce lookin\u2019 warrior standing beside his middle brother, but then he realized there were a lot of other peaceful<\/em>-lookin\u2019 Indians standing behind him who could have cared less that they were there.\u00a0 They just kept doing what they were doing \u2013 cooking and spinning and working and playing and, well\u2026.<\/p>\n

Just living.<\/p>\n

There were kids there too.\u00a0 Some around his age.\u00a0 Most ignored them, but a few of the younger ones stared at them open-mouthed.\u00a0 Joe had to admit, his mouth might have been gaping too.\u00a0 Even though the Indians were just people, they were dressed in skins instead of cloth, and that cloth was decorated with bright beads and, in some cases, fancy silver.\u00a0 Their hair was black as pitch on a roof and their skin looked like his did after a summer of skinny-dipping.\u00a0 \u2018Brown as a berry\u2019, Old Dusty liked to call it.\u00a0 Joe snorted as he remembered Hoss taking his chin and nudging it up, and then poking him in the ribs so he\u2019d follow.\u00a0 That was when he saw her.<\/p>\n

The Indian girl with a sack over her head.<\/p>\n

Really, she had a feed sack<\/em> over her head.<\/p>\n

The fierce warrior \u2013 the one he\u2019d seen as he dismounted \u2013 rolled his eyes and blew out a sigh, before crossing over to the girl.\u00a0 It was then he realized that this particular \u2018fierce and warlike warrior\u2019 wasn\u2019t any older than Hoss.\u00a0 In fact, it seemed Hoss knew him!\u00a0 Middle brother chuckled as he followed the teenager and greeted him, saying, \u201cHey there, Natch!\u00a0 You got yourself a little problem?\u2019.\u00a0 Natchez whirled and made a terrible face and then pointed the tip of his sword right at Hoss\u2019 heart.\u00a0 For a second, he was sure<\/em> Hoss was gonna get run through!\u00a0 Then the Indian boy dropped the spear and laughed.\u00a0 \u2018Manahuu<\/em>, Hoss!\u2019, he exclaimed.\u00a0 Then, the two began to talk.<\/p>\n

As if there wasn\u2019t a skinny little Indian girl with a feed sack over her head standing right beside them.<\/p>\n

Joe could see her knees.\u00a0 They were knocking together.\u00a0 In fact, she looked like she was caught in a strong wind, the way she kept swaying from side to side.\u00a0 Or maybe, he thought, she was gonna faint.\u00a0 He remembered feeling like he should do something to make her feel better, but there was fierce old Natchez standing beside her with his tattoos and weapons\u2019 belt and, somehow, that took the \u2018gentleman\u2019 right out of him.<\/p>\n

It seemed like an hour, but it was probably only a couple of minutes before Natchez looked right at him and inclined his head.<\/p>\n

Hoss beamed\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s my little brother, Joe.\u00a0 Say \u2018hi\u2019 to Natch, Little Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe swallowed as he eyed the warrior.\u00a0 \u201cHi,\u201d was all he managed.<\/p>\n

Middle brother chuckled.\u00a0 \u201cYou ain\u2019t got no reason to be a\u2019feared of Natch, Little Joe.\u00a0 He ain\u2019t gonna eat you.\u201d<\/p>\n

A bit of Joe\u2019s bravado came back.\u00a0 After all, there was<\/em> a woman present.<\/p>\n

Sort of.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know that,\u201d he snapped.\u00a0 \u201cIndians don\u2019t eat people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Natch\u2019s black eyes twinkled.\u00a0 \u201cUnlike white people who do<\/em> eat Indians.\u201d<\/p>\n

It happened while Hoss was rolling his eyes.<\/p>\n

The little Indian girl fainted dead away.<\/p>\n

Joe was about to ask what in Tarnation<\/em> was going on, when a woman spoke so sharply from behind him it made him jump!\u00a0 His mama had been gone for nearly six years now, but he knew that commanding tone. \u00a0So did Natch.\u00a0 The older boy tensed, winced, and then dropped his head and mumbled a couple of words.\u00a0 Joe chuckled.\u00a0 He might not know Paiute, but he sure as heck recognized a scolding when he heard one!\u00a0 The woman clouted Natch on the ear as she pushed past him, and then scooped the little girl up in her arms and disappeared into a nearby teepee.<\/p>\n

Natchez, his dignity squashed like a fly on a horse\u2019s rump, mumbled something to Hoss before moving away to join a group of his friends.<\/p>\n

Hoss waited until the Indian boy had disappeared and then burst out laughing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWas that her mama?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho?\u201d middle brother responded.\u00a0 \u201cOh, you mean that little thing who was hidin\u2019 under the sack?\u00a0 Yeah.\u00a0 She\u2019s Natch\u2019s mama too.\u00a0 That poor little thing is his sister, Sarah.\u201d<\/p>\n

He mouthed it . \u2018Sarah\u2019<\/em>.\u00a0 Joe was puzzled.\u00a0 \u201cBut that\u2019s out of the Bible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss grinned.\u00a0 \u201cIt sure enough is!\u00a0 Chief Winnemucca\u2026.\u00a0 The old chief, I mean.\u00a0 The one\u2019s that was pa to the younger one we got us here now.\u00a0\u00a0 He was a friend to the white man and helped some of the settlers make it through their first winter.\u00a0 They brought the Good Book with them, of course, and told him stories out of it.\u201d\u00a0 His brother looked thoughtful.\u00a0 \u201cBack then the red and white men was friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe scratched his head.\u00a0 \u201cThen how come they think we eat Indians?\u201d<\/p>\n

This time, his brother roared.<\/p>\n

That made Joe mad.\u00a0 After all, it wasn\u2019t a stupid question.<\/p>\n

It was a question that needed<\/em> answering.<\/p>\n

When Hoss caught his breath, he apologized.\u00a0 \u201cYou gotta remember, Little Joe, these folks ain\u2019t never seen a white man before.\u00a0 We was\u2026well…scary-lookin\u2019 to them<\/em>.\u00a0 In the beginning everybody got on fine, but then some bad men who wanted what the Paiutes had attacked the village and killed a few of them.\u00a0 That made the Indians even more <\/em>scared.\u00a0 Some of them started tellin\u2019 stories about what they\u2019d seen and, sooner than you can say \u2018Jumpin\u2019 Jack Robinson\u2019, most of the tribe believed that the white man wanted to kill and eat them!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe made a noise.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s silly.\u00a0 People don\u2019t eat other people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, he was too little then to know about cannibals.<\/p>\n

The eleven-year-old shivered.\u00a0 He was right glad the Paiutes weren\u2019t cannibals.\u00a0 Otherwise, he\u2019d be pretty uncomfortable doing what he was doing right now!<\/p>\n

Joe jumped a rock and began to move even faster.\u00a0 He was sure once he was in the thick of the forest that his brothers wouldn\u2019t be able to track him.\u00a0 It was dark, after all, and he knew all kinds of secrets.\u00a0 Hoss had taught him.\u00a0 Middle brother was worried some bad man might come along and try to take him away, so he\u2019d showed him how to travel through the trees without leaving any signs.<\/p>\n

The little boy snorted.\u00a0 Of course, Hoss never thought he\u2019d be using what he\u2019d learned to hide from<\/em> him!<\/p>\n

As he jogged along, Joe thought about what had happened next that day in the Paiute camp.\u00a0 Shortly after Sarah\u2019s mama took her into the teepee, his pa and Chief Winnemucca had shown up.\u00a0 The older woman came out when she heard them talking.\u00a0 Joe didn\u2019t understand the words, but he knew she was explaining what had happened to the old chief.\u00a0 Winnemucca shook his head sadly and then excused himself and went into the teepee. \u00a0Sarah\u2019s mother turned to the three of them \u2013 him, Hoss, and their pa \u2013 and stared at them like she thought they just might <\/em>eat her and her little girl before she followed.\u00a0 A couple of minutes later the old chief came back out with the skinny little girl in his arms.\u00a0 Joe shook his head as he jumped a rock.\u00a0 He\u2019d thought maybe the real<\/em> reason Sarah had a sack over her head was because she was ugly.\u00a0 She wasn\u2019t.\u00a0 In fact, she was one of the prettiest things he\u2019d ever seen with her round brown face, her blue-black hair, and her big dark eyes wide as a fawn\u2019s.\u00a0 The chief set Sarah on the ground and introduced them.\u00a0 A heartbeat or two later she came over to where he was.\u00a0 He remembered how he stood real still as she reached out to touch his curls.\u00a0 Sarah frowned when she did and turned to the old chief and asked something in her people\u2019s tongue.<\/p>\n

Winnemucca laughed.\u00a0 Pa did too.\u00a0 Sarah didn\u2019t like that much.\u00a0 She glared at both of them, stamped her foot, and promptly marched back into the teepee.<\/p>\n

Then, everyone went about their business.<\/p>\n

Later on, he had a chance to ask his father what made her mad.\u00a0 Pa explained that Sarah had asked if his \u2013 Joe\u2019s \u2013 mother was a kuts<\/em>, since he had such curly brown hair.<\/p>\n

A \u2018kuts\u2019<\/em> was a bison.<\/p>\n

She still called him that when she was mad.<\/p>\n

Joe paused on a large boulder, and then leapt over a patch of marshy ground to land in ankle-deep water.\u00a0 He was going to follow the creek for a while, just to make sure he didn\u2019t leave any footprints for his nosey brothers to find when they came after him.\u00a0 Whatever it was Sarah needed him for, it was really important.\u00a0 She\u2019d made him cross his heart three times<\/em> and promise he wouldn\u2019t tell anyone about it.\u00a0 The eleven-year-old noticed the light on the rippling water as he took a step and looked up.\u00a0 There was a full moon tonight, which made his way easier and hiding, harder.\u00a0 It had to be tonight, she\u2019d said, because of that moon.\u00a0 It was a special one.<\/p>\n

The moon of the red grass.<\/p>\n

Red was an important color for Indians.\u00a0 It stood for blood, but even more for bravery and courage.\u00a0 Sarah said whatever they were gonna do tonight would take courage.<\/p>\n

He told her, he was her man.<\/p>\n

As Joe made his way through the water, a bit slipped into his boots to chill his toes.\u00a0 He\u2019d forgot that he had a hole in the right one, and the left one was just plain worn out because that was what Pa called his \u2018dominant\u2019 foot and it was too small.\u00a0 As the chill snaked up his bare legs \u2013 there hadn\u2019t been time to pull on his woolen union suit \u2013 he shivered.\u00a0 Then, he sneezed,<\/p>\n

And then, he began to cough.<\/p>\n

Joe kept going for a few steps, but finally had to stop to place his hands on his knees and brace himself as he continued to cough.\u00a0 It usually only happened when he laid down, but here he was, coughing when he was on his feet.\u00a0 Dang it!\u00a0 The last time Doc Martin came, the older man told him he was all better.\u00a0 Well, almost<\/em> all better.\u00a0 The little boy drew in a breath and made a strangled noise as he tried to stifle a really deep cough.\u00a0 The truth was Doc Martin hadn\u2019t told him<\/em> anything.\u00a0 He\u2019d listened at the door and heard the physician tell his pa that he would be \u2018right as rain\u2019 so long as he behaved himself.<\/p>\n

To an eleven-year-old boy who\u2019d been asked to perform a knightly feat for a fair \u2013 well, kind<\/em> of fair \u2013 damsel in some kind of distress, sneaking out in the middle of the night was certainly in the court of \u2018behaving\u2019.\u00a0 For Gosh sakes, what was he supposed to do?!\u00a0 Turn her down?\u00a0 Sarah\u2019d showed up at the church social last Sunday all wide-eyed on the arm of her grandma, who was thinkin\u2019 of becoming a Christian.\u00a0 He\u2019d asked his pa, who asked her Grandma, and got permission to get her a glass of punch, and then the two of them had scooped up a couple of pieces of pie and gone to sit under a tree to eat them.<\/p>\n

That was when she swore him to secrecy.<\/p>\n

Since it was Sunday now \u2013 and almost Monday! \u2013 that had been the week before, so he figured he\u2019d be all better by the time the red moon appeared.\u00a0 Joe straightened up and drew in a cautious breath.\u00a0 There.\u00a0 That was better.\u00a0 No cough.\u00a0 There was a little tickle at the back of his throat, but he swallowed that right<\/em> down.\u00a0 The eleven-year-old\u2019s hand went to his neck. \u00a0Come to think of it, his throat was<\/em> a little sore.\u00a0 But that was okay.\u00a0 He\u2019d help Sarah and be back in bed before sun-up.\u00a0 Before he left for his meeting, their pa had told Adam to let him sleep as long as he wanted, so he could get over whatever it was he wasn\u2019t over yet.<\/p>\n

Quite<\/em> over yet.<\/p>\n

Yep.\u00a0 There was nothing to worry about.<\/p>\n

Everything was gonna be, as Pa liked to say, \u2018all right\u2019.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cAdam, calm down.\u00a0 Everything will be all right.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam Cartwright eyed his middle brother, turned to look at the ridiculous \u2013 but clever \u2013 facsimile of a human being in his baby brother\u2019s bed, and then swung about to stare at the partially open window.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right!\u201d he shouted.\u00a0 \u201cAll right?<\/em>\u00a0 How can things possibly<\/em> be all right!?\u00a0 Pa gave me one task and one task only<\/em> to accomplish when he rode away, and that was to make sure I didn\u2019t let Little Joe out of my sight!\u201d\u00a0 Adam pointed toward the bed and then back to the window, before opening both arms wide.\u00a0 \u201cDo you<\/em> see Little Joe?!\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss snickered.\u00a0 \u201cYou gotta admit, Adam, using that old fur piece of mama\u2019s was right smart.\u00a0 Sure fooled me.\u201d<\/p>\n

The words, \u2018That\u2019s because you are putty in Little Joe\u2019s hands\u2019 were on the tip of the young man\u2019s tongue, but he held them there out of deference for his middle brother.\u00a0 After counting to ten Adam stormed over to the window, threw it open with far<\/em> more violence than was necessary, and rammed his head out into the chilly night.<\/p>\n

Hoss ambled over to join him.\u00a0 \u201cYou see anythin\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the habits college had broken him of was responding to stupid questions.\u00a0 Obviously if he had seen Joe, he would have yelled \u2018Joe!\u2019 \u2013 along with a few rather choice<\/em> words.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d he replied, his teeth gritted.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t see anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cThat little squirt.\u00a0 He sure does move fast as a jack rabbit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Not after I get hold of him<\/em>,\u2019 Adam thought, but said, \u201cHe certainly does.\u201d\u00a0 Resting one hip on the sill, the young man folded his arms over the breast of his wine-colored shirt and pinned his brother with an accusatory stare.\u00a0 \u201cTell me, Hoss, just where do you<\/em> think Little Joe has gone?\u201d<\/p>\n

The big teen\u2019s eyes went wide.\u00a0 He pointed a finger at his chest.\u00a0 \u201cMe?\u00a0 You think I<\/em> know where Joe is?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam\u2019s upper lip twitched.\u00a0 It was a shame he couldn\u2019t loom over Hoss anymore.\u00a0 In the time he\u2019d been at college, the teenager had reached his height and surpassed it by several inches.\u00a0 Instead, he pulled the chair away from Joe\u2019s desk, placed one black-clad leg on its seat, leaned in, and looked intimidating.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo<\/em> you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss crossed his heart.\u00a0 \u201cI ain\u2019t got a clue, Adam.\u00a0 I promise.\u00a0 I thought Little Joe was sleepin\u2019 just like you did.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam ran a hand over his eyes and closed them for a moment.\u00a0 He\u2019d walked in on the conversation their father had with Paul Martin after the physician finished examining their little brother.\u00a0 Paul said it had been close.\u00a0 Little Joe was teetering on the edge of pneumonia, and he\u2019d only just managed to pull the kid back from it via a rigorous series of treatments.\u00a0 Pa had asked then if Little Joe would be all right, and the older man assured him he would be \u2013 if<\/em> he behaved.<\/p>\n

Adam\u2019s eyes popped open.<\/p>\n

Right.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe should be sleeping.\u00a0 Just like you and I<\/em> should be sleeping,\u201d the eldest Cartwright son said as his gaze returned to the open window.\u00a0 \u201cHowever\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou mean, you want to go lookin\u2019 for Joe now?\u00a0 Even though it\u2019s dark?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam nodded gravely.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s a full moon.\u00a0 Usually, it would be impossible to track him in the dark, but that gives us a shot.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know about you, but I don\u2019t want to consider the consequences of Joe spending a night outside in the cold.\u00a0 They could be\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 He stopped when he saw Hoss\u2019 face.<\/p>\n

All the color had drained out of it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you sayin\u2019, Adam,?\u00a0 You mean Little Joe ain\u2019t as well as Pa let on?\u201d<\/p>\n

The tone of that question spoke of a betrayal the teenager had no comprehension of.<\/p>\n

He was twenty-two.\u00a0 Old enough to know everything his father knew, even though Pa only let him know \u2018just about\u2019 everything.\u00a0 Hoss \u2013 no matter how big he was \u2013 was still a child, with a child\u2019s understanding.<\/p>\n

And a child\u2019s fears.<\/p>\n

Adam crossed to his brother and placed a hand on his broad shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cHoss.\u00a0 It\u2019s not that Pa kept anything from you.\u00a0 He just didn\u2019t\u2026tell<\/em> you everything.\u00a0 If Joe had behaved\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 The black-haired man swallowed his anger.\u00a0 It was as pointless as the vision he had of his little brother lying somewhere on the forest floor, shivering to death.\u00a0 \u201cIf<\/em> Little Joe had behaved, there wouldn\u2019t have been<\/em> a reason to worry you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss\u2019 lips quirked.\u00a0 \u201cSince when has little Joe ever<\/em> behaved?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam nodded.\u00a0 \u201cPoint taken.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want me to tell Hop Sing?\u201d<\/p>\n

Egad!\u00a0 The young man winced.\u00a0 That was yet another<\/em> hurdle he had yet to clear.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I\u2019ll do that.\u00a0 You go out and find Dusty. Tell him to be ready to take over in the morning.\u201d\u00a0 At his brother\u2019s look, he added hastily.\u00a0 \u201cJust in case the three of us are not back by then.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want me to rouse some of the men to look for Little Joe too?\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019d considered it.\u00a0 While Joe\u2019s natural proclivities tended toward \u2018naughty\u2019, Pa tried to keep face by pretending the boy was just \u2018high spirited\u2019.\u00a0 It wouldn\u2019t do to let the men, especially those who were new, know there was a maverick in the corral.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou and I will look tonight.\u00a0 If we don\u2019t find Joe by morning, we\u2019ll come back and form a posse.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss was halfway to the door.\u00a0 He turned back.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t you mean a search party?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam patted his brother\u2019s shoulder as he moved past.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is<\/em> Little Joe we\u2019re talking about.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Chapter Two<\/p>\n

Sarah was there by the river, right where she said she\u2019d be.\u00a0 Joe parted the tall brown grasses before him and stepped through.\u00a0 He shivered as the wind took him, but hid it \u2013 even though he couldn\u2019t completely stifle the cough that shook his slender form.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are noisy as the huna!\u201d<\/em> Sarah scolded.<\/p>\n

A \u2018huna\u2019 was a badger; a fearsome animal that swaggered and did nothing to hide its approach \u2013 because it didn\u2019t need to.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s because nothin\u2019 scares me,\u201d he replied with a grin meant to melt ice.<\/p>\n

Because ice is what Sarah Winnemucca was.<\/p>\n

She might have seemed like the girls at school or church \u2013 sugar and spice and everything nice \u2013but Sarah Winnemucca was made of something else<\/em>.\u00a0 Sinew and tanned hide came to mind.\u00a0 In the years he\u2019d known her, she\u2019d changed.\u00a0 She was just a little bit younger than him.\u00a0 Probably around ten and a half.\u00a0 For an Indian, that was practically an adult.\u00a0 Sarah told him that there were girls only a little older than her that were already married.\u00a0 The year before her father had tried to betroth her to an Indian man from another tribe, but her mother insisted she wasn\u2019t ready.\u00a0 Sarah said her mother made it plain that a Paiute woman\u2019s job was to take care of her family; to cook, clean, gather seeds, plant and harvest, and take care of her children. \u00a0Her mama was right.\u00a0 Sarah wasn\u2019t ready for that.\u00a0 She had bigger ambitions.<\/p>\n

Sarah had bigger dreams.<\/p>\n

So did he, and sometimes he wondered if maybe she could be a part of them.<\/p>\n

Then, he just thought\u2026well\u2026.<\/p>\n

Yuck.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoseph Cartwright, the mighty warrior.\u00a0 That is good.\u00a0 I have need of a warrior,\u201d she said as she approached.\u00a0 \u201cBut, are you the one I<\/em> need?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe stifled another cough and puffed out his chest.\u00a0 \u201cSure, I am.\u00a0 What\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 He swallowed.\u00a0 \u201cWhat exactly is it you need me to do?\u201d<\/p>\n

Her look was fierce \u2013 as fierce as her brother\u2019s had been on that first day \u2013 but with an unexpected shadow of fear.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you trust me?\u201d Sarah asked.<\/p>\n

Joe hesitated.\u00a0 Sure, he trusted her \u2013 as far as he trusted any girl.<\/p>\n

Anger sparked like flint in her dark eyes.\u00a0 Sarah stamped her foot and turned to go.\u00a0 \u201cYou do not!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWait!\u201d\u00a0 Joe caught her arm.\u00a0 \u201cI didn\u2019t say I didn\u2019t<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou didn\u2019t say you do!\u201d<\/em> she shot back.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, I\u2019m here!\u00a0 That\u2019s gotta count for something!\u201d\u00a0 He swallowed again; this time over a tickle in his throat that kind of hurt.\u00a0 \u201cWhy would I be here if I didn\u2019t<\/em> trust you?\u201d<\/p>\n

She tossed her head, snapping her black braids behind her shoulders.\u00a0 \u201cPerhaps you are curious, white boy.\u00a0 Perhaps you only wish to see<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSee what?\u201d <\/em>He spread his arms wide.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t see <\/em>anything!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe bit his lip to keep from saying more.\u00a0 This must have been what Adam meant when he said women were \u2018exasperating\u2019.\u00a0 Of course, that was right after older brother\u2019s last girlfriend slapped him and rode off in her buggy.<\/p>\n

Joe snorted.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo not laugh at me!\u201d<\/p>\n

He scowled.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not, I promise.\u00a0 I was thinking about something else.\u201d\u00a0 Joe ran a hand over his throat and swallowed.\u00a0 That little lump that had been there for a while felt a little bit \u2013 well, less<\/em> little.\u00a0 \u201cOkay, I trust you.\u00a0 Now, where are we going and what is it you need me to do?\u201d<\/p>\n

Sarah glared at him for several heartbeats before leaning in and planting a kiss on his nose.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey!\u201d he said as he wrinkled it \u2013 his nose and<\/em> the kiss.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s that for?\u201d<\/p>\n

She held out a hand and waited until he took it.<\/p>\n

\u201cCome,\u201d she said as she pulled him into the trees. \u201cYou will see.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ben Cartwright was not a happy man.<\/p>\n

The timber contract he\u2019d gone to Genoa to secure had fallen through at the last moment.\u00a0 Recently, he\u2019d been extending the Ponderosa\u2019s reach.\u00a0 Investing in cattle was all well and good, but it only took one drought or \u2013 God forbid! \u2013 a single outbreak of Anthrax, and everything he\u2019d labored for could end in a sea of dry hides and bleached white bones.\u00a0 There was money to be made from the ranch\u2019s other resources; timber and mining chief among them. Unfortunately, he wasn\u2019t the only one who thought that way.\u00a0 While most men were content to run their ranch, or dig their mine, or cut down a stand of trees, there were others like him who wanted to do it all.<\/p>\n

Barney Fuller, the chief among them.<\/p>\n

Now, he didn\u2019t exactly think Barney was crooked.\u00a0 Ben harrumphed as he tucked his napkin under his chin.\u00a0 \u2018Unscrupulous\u2019 might be a better word.\u00a0 Barney was willing to do whatever it took \u2013 just this<\/em> side of the wrong<\/em> side of the law \u2013 to get what he wanted.<\/p>\n

And he\u2019d wanted that timber contract in the worst way.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou eatin\u2019 alone, Ben?\u201d a friendly voice asked.<\/p>\n

The disheartened rancher was seated at a battle-scarred table in what passed for a hotel in Little Gold Hill.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t want to be here.\u00a0 It had been his intention to make it back to the ranch and his boys tonight. \u00a0That was another <\/em>reason he wasn\u2019t happy.\u00a0 His horse had thrown a shoe and he\u2019d had to walk the five miles back to the settlement.\u00a0 Buck was at the stable, no doubt looking forward to a better meal than he was.<\/p>\n

Assuredly finding a better bed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you doing here, Roy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, \u2018howdy-do\u2019 to you too,\u201d his friend said as he pulled out one of the table\u2019s rickety chairs and took a careful seat.\u00a0 \u201cYou sit on a cactus or somethin\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry, I\u2026.\u00a0 Well\u2026.\u00a0 How about we try it again?\u201d \u00a0Ben forced a smile.\u00a0 \u201cI am<\/em> eating alone, but I would be happy to have some company.\u00a0 Order what you want.\u00a0 My treat.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s more like it \u2013 and thank you \u2013 but I think I\u2019ll just have a cup of coffee.\u201d\u00a0 Roy beckoned to the serving girl who was leaning against the bar, chatting with the barkeep.\u00a0 \u201cNellie!\u00a0 You got any coffee brewin\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n

Nellie\u2019s glance at the clock \u2013 whose hands were pointed at ten-past-eleven \u2013 just about said it all.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s kind of late, Mister Roy.\u00a0 I\u2019ll have to put some on.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was Sunday evening.\u00a0 Otherwise, ten-past-eleven would have been early.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s okay.\u00a0 Don\u2019t you bother then.\u201d\u00a0 Roy smiled brightly.\u00a0 \u201cI bet you\u2019re headin\u2019 home soon, aren\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot \u2018til twelve.\u201d\u00a0 She returned his smile.\u00a0 \u201cAnd since you said that, I\u2019ll just go make you some.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben shook his head as he watched her go.\u00a0 \u201cYou sure have a way with the women.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLook who\u2019s talkin\u2019.\u201d \u00a0Roy waggled his graying eyebrows.\u00a0 \u201cThere was a certain English widow askin\u2019 about you after the service today\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019d just taken a drink.\u00a0 It was about all he could do not to spit it out.<\/p>\n

Roy chuckled.\u00a0 \u201cNot in the market for a new missus?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot that<\/em> one!\u201d<\/p>\n

His friend looked around.\u00a0 \u201cNone of the young\u2019uns with you this trip?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d\u00a0 Ben put the glass on the table.\u00a0 \u201cI went to Genoa to secure a contract.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the look on your face, I\u2019m guessing you didn\u2019t get it.\u201d<\/p>\n

His jaw tightened.<\/p>\n

\u201cBarney?\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cHe do anythin\u2019 this<\/em> time I can arrest him for?\u201d<\/p>\n

Roy was an acting deputy.\u00a0 Not exactly a lawman, but part of the citizen committee that kept the law in the settlement and its surrounds.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t I wish!\u201d\u00a0 The rancher shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cI know<\/em> he undermined me.\u00a0 I just don\u2019t know how<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat one\u2019s sneaky,\u201d Roy said as he nodded at Nellie who had placed a glass of whiskey in front of him. When Roy asked a question with those wiry brows, she grinned.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust thought your coffee might need a little flavor,\u201d the pretty girl said with a wink.<\/p>\n

Ben smirked as she sashayed away.\u00a0 \u201cMaybe it\u2019s you who\u2019s about to get a new missus\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

His friend laughed out loud.\u00a0 \u201cNellie and me?\u00a0 Why, I\u2019m old enough to be that little gal\u2019s\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 He pretended to count on his fingers and then wiggled all ten.\u00a0 \u201cWell, let\u2019s just say I don\u2019t travel like no colt no more.\u201d<\/p>\n

It felt good to laugh.\u00a0 Sometimes he let something like the loss of a contract eat at him too much.\u00a0 He was, by his own admission, an ambitious man, but that was not all<\/em> he was.\u00a0 Unlike Barney Fuller. \u00a0He had riches untold.<\/p>\n

Which Roy had just asked about.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn answer to your question, no, none of the boys are with me.\u00a0 I left Adam in charge of his younger brothers and the ranch.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat young\u2019un\u2019s shouldered a lot of responsibility since he\u2019s come home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing he hasn\u2019t chosen to take on himself.\u201d\u00a0 Ben paused, and then he laughed. \u00a0\u201cWell, other than minding his youngest<\/em> brother, perhaps.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roy chuckled.\u00a0 \u201cThe two of them gettin\u2019 on any better?\u201d<\/p>\n

How did he answer that?\u00a0 Roy knew there had been tension since Adam\u2019s return.\u00a0 On coming home, his eldest had expected to find the small child who\u2019d adored him and followed him around like a puppy.\u00a0 Instead, he ran smack-dab into a stubborn, independent pre-teen with a mind of his own.\u00a0 Little Joe, on the other hand, had waited with bated breath for the return of his beloved older brother, and failed to recognize him in the adult who had stepped off of the stage.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re doing all right.\u00a0 It will be fine in time.\u201d<\/p>\n

The deputy nodded at Nellie as she placed a steaming cup of coffee in front of him.\u00a0 In her free hand was a graniteware pot and extra cup.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want any, Mister Cartwright?\u201d<\/p>\n

He started to shake his head, but paused in mid-gesture.\u00a0 It was his intention to let a room at the hotel tonight and start for home in the morning.\u00a0 Coffee would keep him awake.<\/p>\n

Ben frowned.<\/p>\n

Was there a reason<\/em> he needed to be awake?<\/p>\n

\u201cBen?\u201d<\/p>\n

He looked at Roy, and then at Nellie, who was looking at him.<\/p>\n

Then he nodded.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t have<\/em> to drink it.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou thinkin\u2019 of goin\u2019 home tonight?\u201d Roy asked as he took a sip.\u00a0 \u201cI guess you could make it all right since the moon\u2019s up and bright.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben chewed his lip.\u00a0 \u201cTell me first, why are you\u2026partaking?\u201d\u00a0 He indicated the coffee.\u00a0 \u201cLong night ahead?\u201d<\/p>\n

Roy leaned back and sighed.\u00a0 \u201cMost like.\u00a0 We got us a troublemaker hereabouts.\u00a0 Came into town yesterday askin\u2019 if there was any Paiute in the area.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rancher sat up.\u00a0 There were<\/em> Paiute and plenty of them \u2013 on his land.\u00a0 While the last year had blessed him, it had been a hard one for Winnemucca\u2019s tribe.\u00a0 He\u2019d agreed to let them camp on the Ponderosa and helped them as much as he could.\u00a0 It was spring now.\u00a0 The tribe was due to move to their summer hunting grounds soon.<\/p>\n

But they hadn\u2019t yet.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat did he want with the Paiute?\u201d<\/p>\n

Roy took another sip, eyed the whiskey in the shot glass, and then pushed it away.\u00a0 \u201cDidn\u2019t say.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut you think this man, whoever he is, is trouble?\u201d<\/p>\n

The deputized citizen nodded.\u00a0 \u201cYep.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you\u2019re going to warn Winnemucca?\u201d<\/p>\n

His friend flashed a weary smile.\u00a0 \u201cWhere do you think I\u2019m headin\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n

The Paiute knew Roy and knew he was a good man, but\u2026they knew him<\/em> better.\u00a0 Ben hesitated, but something in him told him he needed to go.\u00a0 He needed to see Winnemucca, but, even more\u2026.<\/p>\n

He needed to get home.<\/p>\n

The rancher took a deep draught of his coffee.\u00a0 \u201cYou want company?\u201d<\/p>\n

Roy pushed the cup away and rose to his feet.<\/p>\n

\u201cThought you\u2019d never ask.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe tugged on Sarah\u2019s hand and pulled her to a halt.\u00a0 They\u2019d traveled for almost an hour and were heading into territory he knew little of.\u00a0 He was pretty sure he\u2019d been through these trees before with his Pa.\u00a0 Probably when they went to visit the old hermit who lived all alone in a run-down cabin by the waterfall.\u00a0 If it came to it, though, he was also pretty sure he\u2019d have a hard time of it finding his way home.<\/p>\n

Sarah turned and glared at him.<\/p>\n

She did that a lot.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook, I trust you and all that,\u201d Joe insisted, his throat a bit raspy, \u201cbut you gotta trust me too.\u00a0 Where<\/em> are we going?\u201d<\/p>\n

The Indian girl\u2019s jaw was tight and her nostrils flared like an angry bull\u2019s.\u00a0 In fact, there might have even been a little steam coming out of them.\u00a0 Or maybe that was vapor, since it was getting colder.<\/p>\n

Anyhow, she sure looked cute.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo the place of the red grass,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Joe thought fast.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s what your people call the April moon, isn\u2019t it?\u00a0 The red grass moon?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u00a0 That is why we must go now<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 She had looked so fierce.\u00a0 Now, Sarah just looked sad.\u00a0 \u201cMy father is not well.\u00a0 I must find the place of the red grass.\u00a0 There I will find what I need to make a powerful medicine for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYour pa\u2019s sick?\u201d\u00a0 Joe coughed. \u00a0He pointed to his chest.\u00a0 \u201cLike me?\u201d<\/p>\n

She nodded.\u00a0 \u201cIt is a white man\u2019s sickness.\u00a0 Our healer cannot help him.\u201d\u00a0 Sarah paused as though weighing her words carefully.\u00a0 \u201cOnly the herbs the basket woman grows can cure him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe blinked. \u00a0This was new.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe basket woman?\u00a0 Is she one of your tribe?\u201d<\/p>\n

The Indian girl actually paled.\u00a0 She shook her head.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho is she then?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe has strong medicine.\u00a0 I need it.\u00a0 That is all I can say.\u201d\u00a0 A single tear trailed the length of her brown cheek.\u00a0 \u201cI ask you, Joe Cartwright, will you help me?\u00a0 Will you help me save the life of my father?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe swallowed again, but ignored how scratchy his throat felt.\u00a0 Basket woman, eh?\u00a0 Probably some old Indian woman who used baskets to hold her herbs or something like that.\u00a0 He glanced at the sky.\u00a0 Most likely, it was around one in the morning.\u00a0 If he was gonna get home before he was missed, he needed to do whatever it was Sarah wanted him to do and beat it back to the ranch and bed before breakfast.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow much farther is it to this place?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot far.\u00a0 It lies where the land meets the falling water.\u201d<\/p>\n

Near the waterfall then. \u00a0\u00a0Maybe he\u2019d say \u2018hi\u2019 to the old hermit while they were there.\u00a0 What was his name?\u00a0 Izatis?\u00a0 Ignatius?\u00a0 Erasmus?<\/p>\n

Er\u2026something.<\/p>\n

Sarah\u2019s eyes were dark as the river\u2019s surface and deep as the caverns that lined it.\u00a0 Her skin was light for an Indian; her round face grown pale as the moon above.\u00a0 Her lips parted slightly and vapor came out of them to form little clouds and float up into the sky.<\/p>\n

\u201cWill you come?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n

Joe swallowed over a lump in his throat that seemed ten times bigger than before.<\/p>\n

How could he not?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ben Cartwright alway<\/em>s looked forward to coming home.\u00a0 The Ponderosa was his haven and his paradise.\u00a0 The struggle to build it had been long and hard.\u00a0 Like his youngest, he\u2019d been somewhat rebellious as a youth.\u00a0 His early years\u2026.\u00a0 Well, \u2018misspent\u2019 was a polite word.\u00a0 Then he had gone to sea.\u00a0 The life of a seaman did one of two things \u2013 sank or seasoned you.\u00a0 By the time he struck out for the West, he was entering the prime of his life and had dedicated it to making a home for his boys and building an empire for them to inherit.\u00a0 God blessed him in both these ventures, though \u2013 at times \u2013 it seemed the Almighty\u2019s price for success was a life spent alone.\u00a0 He\u2019d loved and buried three women.<\/p>\n

He doubted there would be a fourth.<\/p>\n

Ben glanced at his riding companion.\u00a0 They\u2019d exchanged a few words as they set out from the settlement, but it wasn\u2019t too long before Roy fell silent.\u00a0 He and the part-time lawman had been friends for several years now and he knew the look on Roy\u2019s face.\u00a0 It was one of concentration mingled with consternation.\u00a0 Whoever this man was \u2013 the one who had asked about the Paiute \u2013 he had Roy worried.<\/p>\n

Which, in turn, had him<\/em> worried.<\/p>\n

His concern was for the Paiute people, of course, but even more so for his sons.\u00a0 Winnemucca\u2019s tribe was on his<\/em> land and that meant \u2013 most likely \u2013 the stranger was also<\/em> on his land.\u00a0 If the man was asking questions, he would no doubt have been told of the \u2018great\u2019 Ben Cartwright and his vast holdings.\u00a0 How Ben had more money than God and could do and buy anything he wished.\u00a0 How, once, Ben had a hankering for a glass of French Brandy, so he\u2019d bought a ship and sailed it to France \u2013 just so he could have the beverage for supper on Sunday next.\u00a0 Ben chuckled.\u00a0 Oh, he\u2019d heard all the stories.\u00a0 Little Joe especially loved to relate all he was told while at school.\u00a0 It concerned him sometimes that the boy would take such nonsense to heart and consider himself privileged.\u00a0 Ben scowled.\u00a0 He had to admit, though, that at times he did<\/em> lay too many chores on the boy for someone his age.\u00a0 One reason was to make Little Joe understand the value of hard work and its rewards.\u00a0 The other?<\/p>\n

Simply to wear the boy out!<\/p>\n

\u201cBen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roy\u2019s abrupt call brought his head around and made his heart beat rapidly.\u00a0 His friend\u2019s smile calmed his fears.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat your place I see up ahead?\u201d<\/p>\n

There was indeed a light shining in the darkness.\u00a0 The rancher chuckled.\u00a0 Good old Hop Sing!\u00a0 The Asian man would have the porch lamp lit, knowing he might change his mind and make his way home before dawn.\u00a0 It was hard for him to be away from his boys for long.\u00a0 He loved them too much, and \u2013 if he was truthful \u2013 feared for their safety when they were out of his sight.<\/p>\n

So much for Ben Cartwright\u2019s \u2018great\u2019 faith!<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is,\u201d he replied even as he pressed his knees into Buck\u2019s side and urged the palomino into action.<\/p>\n

Roy followed suit, and soon the two of them were racing for his house at a breakneck speed that would have made him chide his youngest for being reckless.\u00a0 Joseph, God bless him, was not only the spitting image of his mother, but it seemed he had inherited her restless energy and adventurous spirit as well!\u00a0 He loved the boy for it.\u00a0 Little Joe brought him great joy, but it was a joy tempered by concern.\u00a0 Could he direct that energy in the right direction?\u00a0\u00a0 What if the boy\u2019s sense of adventure \u2013 of fun \u2013 led him into danger?\u00a0 Would he be there?\u00a0 What if he wasn\u2019t?<\/p>\n

What if\u2026..<\/p>\n

Roy hooted as they reined in their mounts.\u00a0 He turned to look at him and smiled.\u00a0 \u201cI ain\u2019t done that since I was knee-high to a grasshopper. Anyone ever tell you, you\u2019re a bad influence?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery day,\u201d Ben replied with a wink as his feet hit the dirt of his front yard. \u00a0\u201cHop Sing tells me that every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou s\u2019pose he\u2019s up?\u201d<\/p>\n

It was well after midnight.\u00a0 His Chinese cook would have finished the preparations for tomorrow\u2019s meals long before and retired for a much needed rest.\u00a0 Feeding four hungry men three meals a day was a gargantuan task.\u00a0 He wondered sometimes how a single man could manage it.\u00a0 Once, after a long barrage of complaints about boys and bottomless pits \u2013 half in English and more in Chinese \u2013 he\u2019d offered to hire the Asian man an assistant.\u00a0 If he was expecting gratitude, he was sorely mistaken.\u00a0 Hop Sing took it as an insult, decided he wasn\u2019t doing enough, and quadrupled his efforts.\u00a0 The rancher shook his head.\u00a0 It took Little Joe pleading with him to get Hop Sing to go to bed at a decent hour, and all four<\/em> of them issuing an apology before he would resume his normal schedule.<\/p>\n

\u201cBen\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

This time there was a hesitation in his friend\u2019s voice, and it was pregnant with possibilities.<\/p>\n

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

Roy nodded toward the house.\u00a0 \u201cSomeone\u2019s comin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Someone was indeed.\u00a0 The glow of a single light shone through the office window as whoever it was moved through the house to approach the door.\u00a0 Ben glanced at the sky.\u00a0 The moon was full and bright, but there were a few stars in the sky \u2013 enough to tell the time by.\u00a0 It was well into the morning.\u00a0 Everyone should have been asleep.<\/p>\n

The fact that someone wasn\u2019t chilled him to the bone.<\/p>\n

The door opened shortly to reveal Hop Sing.<\/p>\n

He was fully dressed.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh!\u00a0 Mister Cartlight!\u00a0 You no can know how happy Hop Sing is to see you at the Ponderosa!!\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben cast a glance toward the fire.\u00a0 He thought, perhaps Joseph had take a turn for the worse and was asleep on the settee.\u00a0 Or maybe Adam or Hoss had experienced a relapse.<\/p>\n

The room was empty.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou come in!\u201d \u00a0Hop Sing waved his free hand.\u00a0 \u201cYou come in.\u00a0 Sit. \u00a0Hop Sing tell!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll stable the horses, Ben,\u201d Roy said softly.\u00a0 \u201cYou go see to your family.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rancher gave his friend a short nod of thanks before following his cook into the house.\u00a0 Hop Sing crossed to the round table in the middle of the room and put the lamp down.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is it?\u201d Ben asked as he followed, his tone short with worry.\u00a0 \u201cIs Joseph worse?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot know,\u201d Hop Sing replied.\u00a0 \u201cBoy not here.\u201d<\/p>\n

It took a second for the words to sink in.\u00a0 \u201c\u2018Not here\u2019?\u201d Ben echoed.\u00a0 \u201cWhat do you mean, \u2018boy not here\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo<\/em> boys here!\u00a0 Just Hop Sing!\u00a0 All gone.\u00a0 Everyone<\/em> gone!\u201d\u00a0 The Asian man let out a long-suffering sigh; a sound the weary rancher was only too<\/em> familiar with.\u00a0 \u201cMistah Adam wake Hop Sing up.\u00a0 Tell him Little Joe not in bed and he and brother go look for naughty little boy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoseph was\u2026not\u2026in his bed?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNaughty boy!\u00a0 He make pillows look like he is.\u00a0 Pull covers up and use Missy Marie\u2019s lamb\u2019s wool stole for hair, then climb out window!\u201d\u00a0 Hop Sing shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cNot know what he thinking.\u00a0 Boy sick.\u00a0 Should not be outside.\u00a0 Not anytime, but more, not at night!\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben was still trying to take it all in.\u00a0 \u201cAnd Adam and Hoss went looking for Joseph?\u00a0 In the dark?\u201d<\/p>\n

The Asian man pointed toward the open door and the yard beyond.\u00a0 \u201cNot so dark.\u00a0 Peony moon shine tonight. \u00a0Velly round.\u00a0 Velly<\/em> bright.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEverythin\u2019 okay, Ben?\u201d Roy Coffee asked as he stepped into the house.<\/p>\n

The question was so simple \u2013 and so impossible to answer \u2013 that Ben was struck dumb for a moment.<\/p>\n

So Hop Sing answered instead.<\/p>\n

\u201cMister Cartlight sit on bed of needles,\u201d he said smartly.\u00a0 \u201cHop Sing know him.\u00a0 He yell soon enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roy scratched his head.\u00a0 \u201cHuh?\u201d<\/p>\n

He shook himself free of the moment.\u00a0 \u201cApparently, Little Joe sneaked out for a reason known only to himself.\u00a0 Adam and Hoss have gone to find him.\u201d<\/p>\n

The deputy looked over his shoulder, into the night.\u00a0 \u201cYou mean, all three of them boys of yours are\u2026out there?\u201d<\/p>\n

As was the mysterious stranger.<\/p>\n

Ben turned to Hop Sing.\u00a0 \u201cDid Adam say where they were going to look?\u201d<\/p>\n

His cook nodded.\u00a0 \u201cMister Adam find tracks under window.\u00a0 Say they head toward place where Paiute camp is, so they head there too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy, for the love of Mike, would Little Joe go to the Paiute village?\u00a0 What in Tarnation<\/em> would make the boy do that?\u201d<\/p>\n

It was Roy who asked, and the tone in which he asked made Ben turn back toward him sharply.<\/p>\n

\u201cRoy.\u00a0 What aren\u2019t <\/em>you telling me?\u201d<\/p>\n

His friend chewed his lip for a moment, and then reached into his pocket and pulled out a paper that, by its size and shape, Ben guessed was a wanted poster.\u00a0 Roy held it out and watched as he took and read it.\u00a0 The headline made him pause.\u00a0 \u2018WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE\u2019.\u00a0 After that there was a physical description of the outlaw.\u00a0 Taller than most, with grizzled hair that had once been black.\u00a0 Probably in his fifties.\u00a0 Not white, but not any other discernible race either.\u00a0 His eyes were described as near-black and, somewhat disturbingly, as \u2018half-crazed\u2019.<\/p>\n

His name was Corbin Drury.<\/p>\n

Ben looked up from the paper to his friend.\u00a0 \u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n

The deputy sighed.\u00a0 \u2018And, he\u2019s most likely on the Ponderosa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI figured that out myself,\u201d the rancher huffed.\u00a0 \u201cBut he could be anywhere in the five thousand square acres or so I own.\u201d<\/p>\n

His friend shifted uneasily.\u00a0 \u201cNo, Ben.\u00a0 I mean here.\u00a0 Near the ranch house.\u00a0 One of the other citizens on the committee spotted him \u2013 or at least, a man fittin\u2019 Corbin\u2019s description \u2013 ridin\u2019 this way yesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you didn\u2019t let me know?\u201d he roared.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, Ben.\u00a0 You think a second.\u00a0 If I had to ride out to every spread that had some mean lookin\u2019 hombre headin\u2019 toward it, I wouldn\u2019t ever get nothin\u2019 else done.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd what else do you need to get done?!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The appointed lawman\u2019s tone was patient.\u00a0 \u201cFirst, I gotta go to the committee.\u00a0 After I get permission from them, I ask around and see if anybody knows anythin\u2019 for sure \u2013 if anybody knows <\/em>it was Corbin Drury and not just some harmless drifter with a big mouth.\u00a0 Then I gotta organize a group of men, deputize them so to speak, and see if they can find Corbin hangin\u2019 around somewheres near the Paiute \u2013 without, I might add, makin\u2019 them Indians stayin\u2019 on your place think they was comin\u2019 for them.\u00a0 I can\u2019t just send out any yahoo, you know.\u201d\u00a0 Roy paused.\u00a0 \u201cWouldn\u2019t want to start a war.\u201d<\/p>\n

Put in his place, Ben fell silent.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s okay,\u201d Roy said.\u00a0 \u201cI know you\u2019re worried about your boys.\u201d<\/p>\n

He was.\u00a0 They were out in the middle of\u2026whatever this was.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you read everythin\u2019 the poster says?\u201d<\/p>\n

No, he hadn\u2019t.\u00a0 \u201cShould I?\u201d<\/p>\n

Roy nodded.<\/p>\n

Warily, Ben returned his gaze to the rumpled sheet.\u00a0 There were only a few lines remaining.\u00a0 They stated the fact that Corbin was \u2018wanted\u2019 for the murder of several white men.\u00a0 That paled compared to the number of natives he was suspected of slaying in the past twenty-odd years.\u00a0 \u2018Indian hater, \u2018it said.\u00a0 \u2018Indian killer.\u00a0 Suspected of instigating several uprisings\u2019.\u00a0 Uprisings where Indian villages were burnt to the ground and most, if not all, of their inhabitants murdered \u2013 including women and children.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoes anyone know why?\u201d he asked, his voice quaking.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what I was doin\u2019 yesterday.\u00a0 Askin\u2019,\u201d Roy replied.\u00a0 \u201cSeems Drury comes from the Oregon Territory.\u00a0 His family was one of the early homesteaders.\u00a0 They was massacred when he was a little boy.\u00a0 Every one of them but him so far as folks tell.\u00a0 A missionary family took him in, but then they was killed too \u2018cause the Indians there thought they was sorcerers.\u00a0 Apparently a measles epidemic wiped out most of the Indians, but the white people lived.\u00a0 They blamed the man Corbin lived with for being a failed shaman or a murderer who\u2019d administered some kind of potion.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember reading about that.\u00a0 But those were the Cayuse Indians.\u201d \u00a0Ben glanced at the poster again.\u00a0 \u201cMost of the Indian villages destroyed were Shoshone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTruth is, Corbin don\u2019t care what Indians he kills, but it was Shoshone massacred his family.\u00a0 Seems he\u2019s been huntin\u2019 down the ones who did it all his life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben heard something in his friend\u2019s tone.\u00a0 \u201cAnd now he\u2019s here.\u00a0 \u2026Winnemucca?\u201d<\/p>\n

Roy nodded.\u00a0 \u201cDid you know Winnemucca was born Shoshone?\u201d<\/p>\n

That surprised him.\u00a0 The old chief seemed to take great pride in his Paiute identity.\u00a0 \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecame a Paiute when he married. \u00a0Seems Winnemucca wants people to forget he was ever Shoshone.\u201d\u00a0 Roy paused.\u00a0 \u201cKind of makes you wonder why a man would want to forget his past\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Winnemucca he knew was a kind and thoughtful man; one who had matured and chosen the path of peace.\u00a0 But the years in which the native had<\/em> matured \u2013 from twenty to fifty \u2013 were turbulent ones, filled with anger and hatred, and warfare between God\u2019s white children and His red.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou think Corbin is looking for Winnemucca?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYep.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben went to the door and looked out.<\/p>\n

As, it seemed, were his three boys.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

THREE<\/p>\n

Adam Cartwright placed his hands on his hips and looked straight up.\u00a0 There were, perhaps, three hours left until dawn.\u00a0 So far they had found nothing.\u00a0 Venting his frustration, he\u2019d yelled at his younger brother, blaming him.\u00a0 Why had Hoss done such a good job teaching Little Joe how to hide his trail?\u00a0 Didn\u2019t he know he should have held something back since Joe was bound to take advantage of him?\u00a0 He\u2019d apologized, of course, but Hoss \u2013 giant that he was \u2013 was a sensitive creature whose feelings were easily hurt.\u00a0 Middle brother had gone to do \u2018his business\u2019 fifteen minutes before and had yet to return.<\/p>\n

He was getting worried.<\/p>\n

They were on their way to the Paiute camp.\u00a0 It was the only thing he could think of to do.\u00a0 Joe had been less careful closer to the house.\u00a0 It was obvious this was the way the little scamp had headed.\u00a0 It had puzzled him at first, but then he remembered seeing Joe and Sarah Winnemucca sitting under a tree with their heads together at the church social the Sunday before.\u00a0 If Little Joe was trouble with a capital \u2018T\u2019, that girl capitalized the entire word!\u00a0 Not only was she smart as a whip, but she was pretty as a morning in May with her clear skin, white teeth, and wide black eyes a fellow could fall into and drown.<\/p>\n

A little fellow, that was.<\/p>\n

Adam chuckled.\u00a0 He wondered now if Pa regretted giving in to Little Joe\u2019s request to go to the Paiute camp a few years back.\u00a0 Joe and Sarah had clicked like the tumblers on a safe, opening the door to all kinds of mischief.\u00a0 Fortunately, Winnemucca fashioned himself a cosmopolitan man, following in the footsteps of the first chief of the Paiute who had initially made contact with the white man.\u00a0 With other tribes, a few of the shenanigans Little Joe and Sarah had gotten up to would have landed his little brother in very hot water indeed, if not gotten him killed.\u00a0 Sarah was Winnemucca\u2019s only daughter and making sure she remained pure was paramount.<\/p>\n

Making her behave?\u00a0 Well, that was another matter.<\/p>\n

Adam glanced up again and realized another five minutes had passed since Hoss\u2019 departure.<\/p>\n

Something was definitely wrong.<\/p>\n

The twenty-two year old crossed to where he had seen his younger brother enter the trees.\u00a0 Adam leaned in and looked, but the moon was low now and the sun not yet up and it was impossible to see\u2026well\u2026anything.\u00a0 He hesitated to call in case there really was<\/em> something wrong, but\u2026really\u2026had no choice.<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss?\u201d\u00a0 Adam waited.\u00a0 When there was no reply, he moved in a few feet and called again.\u00a0 \u201cHoss?\u201d<\/p>\n

Still nothing.<\/p>\n

The young man was just about to call once more, when he sensed movement to his right.\u00a0 Perplexed, Adam bit his lip and waited.\u00a0 Several heartbeats later, it happened again and this time he recognized the object for what it was.<\/p>\n

Hoss\u2019 off-white ten gallon hat stuck on a stick, waving like a flag in the breeze.<\/p>\n

Okay\u2026..<\/p>\n

Moments later his brother\u2019s round face appeared in a chink in the grasses.\u00a0 It was pallid as the waxing moon above.\u00a0 Something else waved \u2013 most likely a hand \u2013 and signaled him over.<\/p>\n

\u201cLittle brothers,\u201d Adam sighed as he made his way through the trees.\u00a0 Hoss was\u2026maybe\u2026sixty feet away, so it took no time to reach him.\u00a0 As he came alongside his brother, the teenager\u2019s hand snaked out, grabbed his wrist, and drew him down to the dirt.<\/p>\n

\u201cShh!\u201d Hoss shushed, his words barely above a whisper.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019ll hear you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2026who?\u201d<\/em> he asked.<\/p>\n

His brother frowned.\u00a0 \u201cWell, I\u2026\u00a0 I don\u2019t rightly know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA man?\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss shrugged.<\/p>\n

\u201cA woman then.\u201d<\/p>\n

Again, he shrugged.<\/p>\n

Adam was growing exasperated.\u00a0 \u201cCome now!\u00a0 It had to be one or the other.\u201d<\/p>\n

The frown deepened.\u00a0 \u201cYou sure about that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, I\u2019m sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss scratched his head.\u00a0 \u201cWell, I ain\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam sat back in the grass.\u00a0 \u201cDescribe them.\u00a0 Were they wearing pants or a skirt?\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss\u2019 bright blue eyes grew round.\u00a0 \u201cThey weren\u2019t wearin\u2019 either.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u00a0 They were naked?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey weren\u2019t naked neither.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam passed a hand over his eyes.\u00a0 As if his little brother sneaking out in the middle of the night had not been enough <\/em>reason for a headache!<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, what were <\/em>they then?\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss was staring at the woods, as if he could see now<\/em> whatever he had seen\u2026then.\u00a0 \u201cTall.\u00a0 Real tall.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTaller than Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

His brother whistled low.\u00a0 \u201cBy a long <\/em>shot!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss sat down too, apparently calmed \u2013 at least a bit \u2013 by his presence.\u00a0 \u201cYou remember that book you brought back with you from Boston?\u00a0 That there Encyclopedia of cryto\u2026.crypto\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCrypto-zoology?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s it!\u201d the big teen exclaimed, and then paled as if fearful someone \u2013 or some thing<\/em> \u2013 had hear him.\u00a0 \u201cThere was a picture in there.\u00a0 I think they called it a \u2018trolodyte\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n

The first scientific description of the Troglodytes Gorilla<\/em> had been published in the Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History <\/em>the year he first attended school.\u00a0 It had caused quite<\/em> the sensation.\u00a0 Up until that time the gorilla had been thought to be a legendary and mythical creature, hence the term \u2018crypto\u2019 or more precisely, \u2018cryptid\u2019.<\/p>\n

Adam sucked in a breath and let it out slowly.\u00a0 \u201cSo, let me get this straight.\u00a0 You\u2019re telling me that you saw a gorilla?\u00a0 In Nevada?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell\u2026yes\u2026and no.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes and<\/em> no?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI \u2018member me those gorillas stood kind of bent over, and their bodies was a lot larger than their heads.\u00a0 What I saw\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss actually shuddered.\u00a0 \u201cIt was standin\u2019 up just like a man and looked like one too\u2026only it didn\u2019t.\u00a0 It\u2019s head was kind of tiny.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay.\u00a0 Calm down and tell it to me again \u2013 slowly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss glanced over the boulder and into the trees.\u00a0 \u201cCan we go back to our camp first?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam winced as he shifted his weight on the cold, hard ground and stood up.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t as young as he\u2019d once been!\u00a0 He held out a hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnly too happy to oblige, brother.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Once they\u2019d settled in beside the roaring fire Hoss insisted on kindling, his brother began his tale.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know I told you I had to take a leak,\u201d he started.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know, and I know you lied.\u201d\u00a0 At the big teen\u2019s look, the young man added softly, \u201cI\u2019m sorry again for what I said.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss waved it away.\u00a0 \u201cYou was upset and you had a right to be.\u00a0 I should never have taught Joe so good.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026because that knowledge could save his life one day?\u201d<\/p>\n

Middle brother stared at him and then nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cGo on.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I just plain needed to get away.\u00a0 I\u2019m right upset with Little Joe myself, but more than that, I\u2019m pure scared for the boy.\u201d<\/p>\n

He was too.\u00a0 As older brother, he just didn\u2019t get to admit it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started to walk, but figured that was just about as bad as Little Joe sneakin\u2019 out, so I stopped and perched on a boulder. \u00a0Then I started to have me a talk with the Man Upstairs about little brother and all the mischief he gets into.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat<\/em> must have been interesting,\u201d he muttered.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d just got to the part where I was askin\u2019 God to maybe, just maybe<\/em>, tame the boy a bit when I heard a strange noise.\u00a0 It was pretty far away and sounded kind of like a wolf growlin\u2019.\u00a0 Then, there was a long, low whistle \u2013 only it didn\u2019t have no tune.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Hoss hesitated.\u00a0 \u201cThat was when I saw it: big as a mountain, ugly as a toad, and naked as a jaybird, \u2018ceptin\u2019 it was covered all over with curly red hair.\u201d\u00a0 The big teen swallowed.\u00a0 \u201cThat big old ape, it looked at me and I looked at it.\u00a0 We just stood there for the longest time.\u201d \u00a0His brother glanced at him.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m tellin\u2019 you, Adam, I think it was pert near scared as me.\u00a0 It weren\u2019t until a bird flew off of a branch right between us that either of us moved. That was when\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 He swallowed again.\u00a0 \u201cWhen\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen what?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was then \u2013 when it looked at the bird \u2013 that the moonlight struck it.\u00a0 It looked like a man, only a man that had his head sittin\u2019 on his shoulders. \u00a0And it didn\u2019t have no neck!\u00a0 It\u2019s face was funny too.\u00a0 Kind of like it\u2019d been smashed in with a shovel.\u00a0 It\u2019s eyes\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss shuddered again and fell silent.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about its eyes?\u201d he prompted.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey flashed red like the devil\u2019s!\u201d\u00a0 The big teen met his stare.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s when I run and hid behind the boulder and I ain\u2019t ashamed to admit it!\u201d<\/p>\n

Throughout his brother\u2019s rather\u2026colorful\u2026description of events, Adam had been thinking.\u00a0 There was close to a zero possibility that Hoss had seen a gorilla, though a few had been known to escape from traveling shows and end up in the wild. \u00a0As it was now spring, it was equally as unlikely that it was a hunter covered from head to toe in furs. \u00a0Certainly Hoss would know a bear if he saw one.<\/p>\n

So, what exactly was it?<\/p>\n

Adam yawned.\u00a0 One thing it was, he knew, was late.<\/em>\u00a0 They\u2019d just settled in when Hoss woke him and informed him of his trip into the woods.\u00a0 Now, there was a thought.\u00a0 Maybe Hoss never went anywhere.\u00a0 Maybe they\u2019d both been asleep?<\/p>\n

Shared dreams were not<\/em> unheard of.<\/p>\n

His sense of the order of the world restored, Adam spoke kindly to the frightened teen.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo matter what it was, we don\u2019t have time to explore.\u00a0 We need to find Little Joe.\u201d\u00a0 He reached up and pulled the collar of his green coat closer about his throat.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s chilly.\u00a0 Maybe not too much for you or me, but Little Joe is sick.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou still think we need to go to the Indian village?\u201d Hoss asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do.\u00a0 It makes the most sense, considering the direction Joe took off in.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss had turned his face once again toward the woods.\u00a0 \u201cHoss, did you hear me?\u201d<\/p>\n

The big teen nodded.\u00a0 \u201cPa ain\u2019t gonna be happy if he comes home and finds all three of his sons missin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019ll be even less<\/em> happy if he comes home and finds one particular son \u2018missin\u2019, and us doing nothing to find him.\u201d Adam rose to his feet.\u00a0 \u201cI think it best we get moving.\u00a0 We\u2019re both wide awake now.\u00a0 There\u2019s no going back to sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss snorted.\u00a0 \u201cI can tell you one thing for sure<\/em>, I ain\u2019t closin\u2019 my eyes after what I saw!\u00a0 The sooner we get away from this place, the better as far as I\u2019m concerned.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam nodded.\u00a0 \u201cOkay.\u00a0 You make some coffee.\u00a0 I\u2019ll break camp.\u201d\u00a0 The young man glanced ahead.\u00a0 The sun was just topping the trees and a new day beginning.<\/p>\n

He had a feeling it was going to be a long<\/em> one.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A half-hour later, after a hurried breakfast and a quick wash, the brothers were on their way.\u00a0 Neither turned to look back as they rode into the trees, happy to leave the night and its puzzles behind.\u00a0 If they had, they would have noticed a gentle rustling of the leaves at the edge of their abandoned camp and seen a tall figure step out to watch their departure.\u00a0 The hairy creature stood perfectly still, its fiery eyes narrowed and trained on their backs until they disappeared.\u00a0 Once alone, it knelt by what remained of the fire and plunged its fingers into the dying coals, stirring them until a wisp of smoke rose into the crisp morning air.\u00a0 Then it grunted and rose, and returned to the trees.<\/p>\n

To begin the hunt.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Like a wave of fire, a sea of crimson red ran before them.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t actually the grass that was red, but the flowers that dotted it.\u00a0 The white man\u2019s name for them was ground phlox.\u00a0 They appeared every year just about the same time the full moon of April showed its face.<\/p>\n

The field, intermittently lit by the dawning sun\u2019s rays as they worked their way through the leaves, was a small one; nestled in a grove and surrounded by yellow pine.\u00a0 Somewhere nearby was a waterfall. \u00a0Joe could hear it.\u00a0 He figured it was probably the one the old hermit, Erasmus, lived beside, but truth-to-tell, the little boy had no idea which \u2018side\u2019 they were on.\u00a0 The scene put him in mind of one of the landscape paintings that hung in their house.\u00a0 It was one his mama had really liked and was tucked in a corner of the upper hall now. \u00a0He\u2019d asked his pa about it shortly after she died, but Pa had just stared.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are sad,\u201d Sarah said, her voice soft and low as the breeze that rustled the phlox.<\/p>\n

He nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI was thinking about Mama.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou miss her.\u201d<\/p>\n

He remembered that day when, fierce as any grizzly, Sarah\u2019s Ma had slapped Natch and snatched her out of harm\u2019s way. \u00a0He was a man now and knew he shouldn\u2019t want to feel his mother\u2019s arms around him, protecting him.<\/p>\n

But he did.<\/p>\n

Joe sniffed and nodded again.<\/p>\n

Then he coughed.<\/p>\n

Sarah cocked her head as she studied him.\u00a0 \u201cYou are too pale.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHey!\u00a0 Just because I ain\u2019t Indian\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

She huffed.\u00a0 \u201cI do not mean that.\u201d\u00a0 Without warning \u2013 or permission \u2013 Sarah caught his hand.\u00a0 Fear entered her eyes.\u00a0 \u201cYou are cold, but hot as fire.\u00a0 Just like my father.\u201d<\/p>\n

She was right, of course.<\/p>\n

Women usually were.<\/p>\n

The longer he was on his feet, the worse he felt.\u00a0 He could tell he had a fever.\u00a0 The urge to cough had nearly gone away, but there was a growing tightness in his chest he was finding hard to ignore \u2013 one that made it hard to breathe.<\/p>\n

Joe whipped his hand away.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m fine!\u201d he insisted.\u00a0 \u201cLet\u2019s just get this herb or whatever it is you need and get out of here.\u00a0 I want to go home.\u201d<\/p>\n

He really wished that hadn\u2019t sounded like whining.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to go home too,\u201d Sarah said.\u00a0 \u201cBut I cannot go without the holy weed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe scratched his head.\u00a0 \u201cHoly weed?\u201d<\/p>\n

She nodded.\u00a0 \u201cIt grows along the bottom of the Sasq\u2019ets hill.\u00a0 My people believe the hill was created by them carrying baskets of earth from their homeland to this place so they could worship on their native soil.\u00a0 We do not know why they came here.\u00a0 Only that they did long ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSasq\u2019ets?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe children of the high mountains,\u201d Sarah replied, her tone hushed and reverential.\u00a0 \u201cThis is their land.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe didn\u2019t know if he believed in these Sasq\u2019ets or not.\u00a0 He\u2019d heard some of the old timers talk about them, including Erasmus.\u00a0 It was one of the only things that had pricked his ears when he and Pa had gone to visit the old hermit.\u00a0 Erasmus called them \u2018Sasquatch\u2019 and claimed that once upon a time they\u2019d attacked his cabin in an attempt to get him to move away.\u00a0 He said they came up unannounced during the night and threw stones on the roof and at the door.<\/p>\n

\u201cHave you seen one?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, but the women of my tribe have while they gathered the holy weed.\u201d\u00a0 Sarah shivered and wrapped her arms around her thin frame.\u00a0 \u201cThe Sasq\u2019ets do not give it up easily.\u00a0 Perhaps we should not have come\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe drew his slender frame up just a little bit taller.\u00a0 \u201cWell, point me to it and I\u2019ll get it for you.\u00a0 I ain\u2019t a\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 He paused, coughed unexpectedly, sucked in air, and continued.\u00a0 \u201cI ain\u2019t afraid of any old Sasquatch.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou should<\/em> be afraid.\u201d\u00a0 Sarah\u2019s tone was serious.\u00a0 \u201cThe basket woman lives in this valley.\u00a0 She eats<\/em> brave little boys.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow about scared little girl\u2019s?\u201d he countered.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am not scared!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe held out his hand.\u00a0 \u201cThen come with me.\u00a0 Two of us takes half the time.\u00a0 We\u2019ll get in and out before that old basket woman even knows we were here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSangmu is not old.\u00a0 She is eternal.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSangmu?\u201d\u00a0 That sounded like a name one of Hop Sing\u2019s female cousins might have.\u00a0 Maybe the mountains the Sasq\u2019ets came from were in China?<\/p>\n

\u201cShe is powerful and a giant.\u00a0 My people say she lost her children on the long walk, and so she does not want anyone else to have children.\u00a0 When she hears them, she comes down from her hill and picks them up and puts them in the basket on her back and takes them away\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 Sarah paled.\u00a0 \u201c\u2026and eats them!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe anchored his fists on his hips.\u00a0 \u201cHow come you didn\u2019t tell me any of this before?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause I was afraid you would not come!\u00a0\u00a0 And you should not<\/em> have come!\u00a0 We<\/em> should not have come!!\u201d\u00a0 Sarah tugged on his hand.\u00a0 \u201cWe must go now before she hears us!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought you had to have the holy weed for your pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

Sarah looked at him, blinked, and began to cry.<\/p>\n

Adam called that a woman\u2019s \u2018secret weapon\u2019.<\/p>\n

He knew what he had to do, so Joe steeled himself and stepped over to her and put his arms around her shaking shoulders.\u00a0 \u201cLook, Sarah. \u00a0You don\u2019t have to go.\u00a0 I\u2019ll get the weed for you.\u00a0 Just tell me what it looks like.\u201d<\/p>\n

She shook her head against his shoulder.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook, if it was my pa who was sick, I\u2019d do anything <\/em>to make him better.\u00a0 You\u2019re my friend.\u00a0 So your pa is important to me too.\u201d<\/p>\n

It took a couple of seconds before she nodded and looked up.\u00a0 \u201cYou will find the holy weed at the bottom of the hill just before the trees.\u00a0 It is a scrub and grows close the ground.\u00a0 When you are close, you will smell it on the wind and think it is something sweet that burns.\u00a0 The leaves are jagged; dark green on top and almost white underneath.\u00a0 They are thick and tough as leather and shine like leather does when tanned.\u00a0 When you are close, you will see the white flowers that bloom, though they are mostly faded now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe thought a moment.\u00a0 \u201cThat sounds like Santa Yerba,\u201d he said.\u00a0 It was a plant the early Spanish settlers claimed could cure just about anything wrong with you.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know it?\u201d<\/p>\n

He grinned.\u00a0 \u201cI sure do.\u00a0 Hop Sing has some in his garden.\u00a0 If I\u2019d of known, I could have got it for you from him.\u201d\u00a0 He paused.\u00a0 \u201cLook.\u00a0 Let\u2019s just go back to the Ponderosa.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure Hop Sing will\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

He felt Sarah tense.\u00a0 A second later, Joe did too.\u00a0 A deep, bellowing sound split the morning air and rolled across the field of blood-red phlox, nearly flattening it.\u00a0 It was kind of hard to describe.\u00a0 The best he could do was to say it was a kind of a howl \u2013 wrapped in a snort and mixed with a groan.\u00a0 At the same time, the rising breeze carried an odd scent to them.\u00a0 It was heavy and musky like an animal.<\/p>\n

One that had rolled around for a couple of days in a dead cow\u2019s carcass.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is Sangmu!\u00a0 Run!!\u201d Sarah shouted as she released his hand and did just that.<\/p>\n

He should have done what she said, but curiosity rooted Joe to the spot.\u00a0 He turned toward the trees as another bellow rolled across the field and saw something emerge.<\/p>\n

Whoever or whatever <\/em>it was, Joe wondered if they were as stunned as him by what they saw.<\/p>\n

The creature was taller, it seemed, than Adam and Hoss put together.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t make out any features since it clung to the shadows, but it was covered in a curly reddish-brown fur from its head to its toes.\u00a0 Whether that fur was clothing or skin he couldn\u2019t tell.\u00a0 The hair on its smallish head was black and long and flowed down both sides.\u00a0 It wore a sort of a shawl or cloak that looked like it was made out of reeds.<\/p>\n

On its back was a basket big as a corn crib.<\/p>\n

Joe continued to stare as the giant lumbered forward, abandoning the shadows to step into the light.\u00a0 When it did, the beams of the rising sun struck it\u2019s flat face and caught fire in its eyes so they blazed scarlet as the crushed blossoms at its feet.<\/p>\n

\u201cLittle Joe!\u00a0 Run!\u00a0 Sangmu will catch you and eat you!\u00a0 Run!!\u201d<\/p>\n

Sarah\u2019s cry broke whatever spell he was under and Joe began to run.\u00a0 A strangled sound made him glance back over his shoulder.\u00a0 With horror, he realized the creature lumbered no longer, but was pacing him.\u00a0 It cried out, even louder this time, bellowing in anger as he turned back and put on extra speed.<\/p>\n

Everybody knew Joe Cartwright was fast.\u00a0 In fact, he was the fastest runner in his school.<\/p>\n

He wasn\u2019t fast enough.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam watched his teenage brother pull back on the leather straps in his hand, reining in his new mount, Chubby.\u00a0 Hoss\u2019 crystal clear blue eyes wide, he asked, \u201cDid you hear that, Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam had halted as well.\u00a0 He nodded, indicating that he had.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the same sound I heard in the forest.\u00a0 I swear it on the Good Book, Adam!\u00a0 That\u2019s the same God-awful sound I heard before I saw\u2026what I saw!\u201d<\/p>\n

The sound had come from a distance and was faint, having dissipated as it moved over land and through the trees.\u00a0 At a guess, he would have said it came from the vicinity of Hermit\u2019s Hill. \u00a0They called it that because an old recluse named Erasmus Davari had built a cabin at the bottom of it and made it his retreat from the world.\u00a0 Their pa was one of only a handful of people Rass, as he liked to be called, would let near him.\u00a0 Most others he chased off with a rifle.\u00a0 Even so, Pa respected the old man\u2019s desire for privacy and kept their pilgrimages to the hill to a minimum \u2013 usually twice a year to check and see if the elderly man needed any supplies.<\/p>\n

Hoss had realized it too.\u00a0 \u201cSay, we\u2019re near old Rass\u2019 place, ain\u2019t we?\u00a0 Sounds like it might have come from there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam nodded. \u00a0\u201cI agree.\u00a0 Strange sound.\u00a0 Like an animal, but not.\u00a0 Do you \u2013\u201d\u00a0 He stopped abruptly.\u00a0 He\u2019d heard the sound again.<\/p>\n

Followed closely by a high-pitched scream.<\/p>\n

More than likely what Hoss has seen was a man, though why one would cover themselves from head to toe in furs now that the intense cold had abated, he had no idea.\u00a0 If it was<\/em> a man and his actions were responsible for that scream, then he had a prayer of thanks to say tonight that whoever it was had not harmed his teenage brother.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t you think we oughta\u2026go see what\u2019s up?\u201d Hoss asked over a swallow of fear mixed with courage.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that is precisely what we should do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about Little Joe?\u201d\u00a0 Their eyes locked for a moment before Hoss nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI know.\u00a0 Me too,\u201d he said softly.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever it is,\u201d Adam replied as he unbuckled the guard on his hand gun.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll handle it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll<\/em> handle it,\u201d Hoss said, palming his rifle.\u00a0 \u201cLittle Joe\u2019s my brother too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFratres in aeternum<\/em>,\u201d the black-haired man said with a grim smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cHuh?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam shook his head as he kneed his mount and they began to fly.\u00a0 It was his secret.\u00a0 The phrase revealed a bit of his heart.<\/p>\n

Brothers.<\/em><\/p>\n

Forever.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The branches struck Sarah\u2019s skin as she ran through the trees, too terrified to look behind.\u00a0 Tears blinded her eyes and made her stumble.\u00a0 Time and again she picked herself up, running not from the horror behind, but from the horror of her choice.\u00a0 She could not forget what she had seen.\u00a0 She would never <\/em>forget what she had seen.<\/p>\n

Just as she would never forgive herself for what she had done.<\/em><\/p>\n

The red grass moon was gone.<\/p>\n

As was Joe Cartwright.<\/p>\n

Sarah sobbed.\u00a0 The cry caught in her throat and she could not breathe.\u00a0 Momentarily dizzy, she stumbled and fell, tearing the skin on her knees and hands as she hit the hard earth.\u00a0 Blood flowed freely from the gashes to coat the crushed grass beneath her.\u00a0 She stared at it, but saw instead gnashing teeth and grinding bones.\u00a0 Sickened, she gagged, and all that was in her rushed out.<\/p>\n

Including the strength to go on.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cDo you see it, Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n

He did indeed.\u00a0 The rising light lit the field of wild rye grass that lay before them.\u00a0 In the middle of it lay a small dark shape \u2013 just the right size for a lost little boy.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou think it\u2019s Little Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n

It had<\/em> to be and Joe had to be okay.\u00a0 He would accept no other outcome.\u00a0 He would not<\/em> be the one to carry the news to his father that he\u2019d lost yet another person he loved.\u00a0 God could not be so cruel.\u00a0 At least, not the God he had been taught to know and love. The words of Jeremiah ran through Adam\u2019s head, keeping time with the strike of Sport\u2019s hooves on the grassy earth.<\/p>\n

For I know the plans I have for you.<\/em><\/p>\n

Plans to prosper you <\/em><\/p>\n

Not to harm you<\/em><\/p>\n

Plans to give you hope and a future.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Without Little Joe their father would have no hope.<\/p>\n

Their family, no future.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure it is,\u201d he called back as the tall grasses tickled the bottom of his boots.<\/p>\n

After all, who else could it be?<\/p>\n

They stopped their horses some fifty-odd feet away, fearful their rushing hooves might cause harm. \u00a0Adam\u2019s heart beat in his chest like a hammer striking nails as he ran forward.<\/p>\n

One of those nails pierced his heart when he saw the figure\u2019s long black braids and brown skin.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt ain\u2019t Little Joe.\u00a0 Dagblast it!,\u201d Hoss cursed as he knelt and placed a hand beneath the supine figure.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s some little Indian gal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam knew who it was before Hoss turned her over.\u00a0 He knew it as surely as he knew that she<\/em> was the reason their little brother had sneaked out in the middle of the night.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s Sarah,\u201d he breathed.\u00a0 \u201cSarah Winnemucca.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDang it, if you ain\u2019t right!,\u201d his brother exclaimed as he brushed the hair back from Sarah\u2019s face.\u00a0 \u201cShe sure has growed since the last time I seen her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss had not been at the church social the week before, but at a neighbor\u2019s lending a hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs she conscious?\u201d<\/p>\n

The teenager shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cLooks like she\u2019s had a hard time of it.\u201d\u00a0 He indicated Sarah\u2019s knees and hands, which were chaffed and bloody.\u00a0 \u201cSmells like she lost her supper too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd our brother,\u201d Adam sighed.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou think Little Joe was with her?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know<\/em> he was.\u00a0 That\u2019s Little Joe all over.\u00a0 Ever the knight gallant<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMm-mm.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, Adam!\u00a0 I think she\u2019s wakin\u2019 up!\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam crouched beside the Indian girl and placed a hand on her shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cSarah?\u00a0 Sarah, it\u2019s Adam Cartwright.\u00a0 Can you hear me?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ebon lashes fluttered against skin brown as ribbed sea-sand.\u00a0 Sarah licked her lips and then seemed to slip away again.<\/p>\n

\u201cSarah?\u201d he called, gently shaking her.\u00a0 \u201cDid you hear me?\u00a0 I said, it\u2019s Adam Cartwright.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt ain\u2019t no use, Adam.\u00a0 You ain\u2019t gonna get anythin\u2019 out of her.\u00a0 We might as well\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

He heard it as well and it startled him.<\/p>\n

Sarah, daughter of Chief Winnemucca, and every inch as fearless as her brothers, was crying.<\/p>\n

That fact shook Adam Cartwright to the very core of his being.<\/p>\n

\u201cSarah,\u201d he tried again.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s Adam.\u00a0 Where\u2019s my brother?\u00a0 Where\u2019s Little Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n

The girl was sobbing now \u2013 long, deep sobs that wracked her slight form.\u00a0 Sarah had curled into herself into a defensive position, like a child faced with something they cannot comprehend.<\/p>\n

Adam rose to his feet and looked back along the way she had come.\u00a0 There was a long trail of tramped down grass that led into the trees.<\/p>\n

Hoss came to his side.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t understand, Adam.\u00a0 Does she know where Little Joe is or not?\u201d<\/p>\n

Oh, she knew.<\/p>\n

Sarah knew only too well.<\/p>\n

Just as he<\/em> knew.<\/p>\n

Gone.<\/p>\n

Little Joe was gone.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

FOUR<\/p>\n

\u201cAny sign?\u201d<\/p>\n

Roy Coffee stifled a sigh and shook his head.\u00a0 Ben, of course, was askin\u2019 if he\u2019d found any sign of either Little Joe or Hoss and Adam, and not about Corbin Drury.\u00a0 Didn\u2019t matter anyhow.<\/p>\n

There weren\u2019t no signs at all.<\/p>\n

He was feelin\u2019 bad now for keepin\u2019 Ben in the dark about Drury.\u00a0 But how was he to know that Ben\u2019s three boys weren\u2019t safe in their beds, snorin\u2019 away?\u00a0 He\u2019d figured, at the time, that he\u2019d talk to Chief Winnemucca first and find out which way the wind blew.\u00a0 Indians were a strange lot.\u00a0 They liked to keep things close to their chest.\u00a0 He understood that.\u00a0 So did he.\u00a0 As a man sworn to uphold the law, you had to know who to trust.\u00a0 Even more important, you had to know when <\/em>to trust them.\u00a0 He was gonna tell Ben\u2026in time.\u00a0 Could be, once the rancher knew about the chief\u2019s past, he\u2019d order him off his land.\u00a0 Winnemucca would go, taking Drury\u2019s threat with him.\u00a0 More likely, though, knowing Ben, he\u2019d decide to defend the Indians and place himself and his boys smack dab in the middle of a barrel of rattlers.<\/p>\n

It was just the way he was.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019d think we would have found something by now!\u201d Ben snapped.\u00a0 He was pacin\u2019, but stopped to look at him.\u00a0 \u201cForgive me, Roy.\u00a0 I\u2019m not myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

The deputy winked.\u00a0 \u201cYou sure about that?\u00a0 Seems to me you\u2019ve always been mean as a grizzly.\u00a0 A mother one, that is.\u00a0 At least when it comes to your boys.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re right.\u00a0 I am.\u00a0 I\u2019ve\u2026had to be.\u00a0 I\u2019m all they have.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam\u2019s all growed up now.\u00a0 I\u2019m thinkin\u2019 he can take care of himself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben started.\u00a0 \u201cOf course, he can.\u00a0 But Hoss is with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss is how old?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSixteen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roy pulled at his mustache.\u00a0 \u201cIf I remember myself right, you were on your own at sea by then.\u201d<\/p>\n

The side of Ben\u2019s face twitched.\u00a0 \u201cYes, well.\u00a0 That was different.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t the West!\u00a0 There weren\u2019t wild animals and even wilder <\/em>men awaiting around every bend.\u201d<\/p>\n

He shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cI guess you got me there.\u00a0 Just storms and squalls and enough water to drown the world.\u00a0 Not to mention the occasional ornery whale and giant squid.\u201d<\/p>\n

His friend was staring at him.\u00a0 Then he laughed.\u00a0 \u201cI believe it is you<\/em> who have me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll I\u2019m sayin\u2019, Ben, is you can\u2019t protect them forever.\u00a0 You gotta let those boys become men.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rancher\u2019s eye gleamed with unshed tears.\u00a0 \u201cWhen it\u2019s time,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll grant you that time has passed with Adam, but for Hoss and\u2026dear Lord\u2026Little Joe, it\u2019s years in the future.\u00a0 Joseph is a child.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut he\u2019s your <\/em>child, Ben.\u00a0 You\u2019ve taught him right.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHave I?\u00a0 Adam thinks I coddle him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe boy told you that, bold as brass?\u201d<\/p>\n

Roy watched as Ben moved to the fire and poured himself a cup of coffee.\u00a0 They\u2019d stopped for a quick lunch and then intended to be on their way.\u00a0 They were still headed for the Paiute village.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot in so many words.\u201d\u00a0 The rancher took a sip.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s more in the things he doesn\u2019t <\/em>say.\u00a0 I think it\u2019s hard for Adam.\u00a0 He never got to be a child.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, you think he\u2019s jealous.\u00a0 Of Little Joe, I mean.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben looked surprised, as if he had never considered it.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t think \u2018jealous\u2019 is the right word.\u00a0 \u2018Envious\u2019?\u00a0 Perhaps.\u00a0 Though if he is, I don\u2019t think he\u2019s aware of it.\u00a0 Adam loves his baby brother.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was no doubt of that.\u00a0 The four Cartwright men had a fierce love for one another that would, one day, be the stuff of legends.\u00a0 He was sure of it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do love Joe, Pa.\u00a0 More than you know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both men started and looked up to find Ben\u2019s eldest standing at the edge of the camp.\u00a0 Hoss was beside him.\u00a0 The big teen was carrying a small bundle in a blanket.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou found your brother!\u201d Ben exclaimed as he started toward them.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not Joe, Pa.\u201d\u00a0 Adam winced.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u00a0 I did everything I could to find him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe sure did, Pa,\u201d Hoss echoed. \u201cWe both<\/em> did.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen what\u2026?\u201d\u00a0 Ben\u2019s arms were extended.\u00a0 He pulled them back.\u00a0 \u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss reached up to tug the edge of the blanket aside.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s Sarah Winnemucca,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0 \u201cWe think she was with Joe when\u2026whatever happened, happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was this sound, Pa, like nothin\u2019 you ever heard,\u201d Hoss began, his eyes wide with the memory.\u00a0 \u201cThen we heard a scream.\u00a0 Adam and me, we thought it was Little Joe and took off like greased lightnin\u2019.\u00a0 We found Sarah layin\u2019 in the middle of a field.\u00a0 She\u2019s been like this ever since.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd your brother?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam walked right up to his father.\u00a0 \u201cI failed you, Pa.\u00a0 We don\u2019t know where Joe is.\u00a0 He\u2019s just\u2026gone.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Gone.<\/p>\n

It was the knell of a bell that had sounded before, three times.<\/p>\n

His beloved Elizabeth.\u00a0 Gone.<\/p>\n

Ingrid, the light that had come into his darkness.\u00a0 Gone.<\/p>\n

And fiery, Marie.<\/p>\n

All gone.<\/p>\n

And now, Marie\u2019s son?<\/p>\n

\u201cG – gone?\u201d the rancher stammered.<\/p>\n

Adam\u2019s jaw tensed.\u00a0 \u201cSarah knows something, Pa.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure of it.\u00a0 But we can\u2019t get her to wake up.\u00a0 When she does, whatever it is \u2013 wherever<\/em> Little Joe is \u2013 I\u2019ll go get him.\u00a0 I\u2019ll bring him home to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben placed a hand on the boy\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cSon, it\u2019s not your fault\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was like setting off a spring.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen whose fault is it?\u201d Adam shouted.\u00a0 \u201cYou left me in charge.\u00a0 Me<\/em>.\u00a0 Not Hoss.\u00a0 Not Hop Sing.\u00a0 Me!<\/em>\u00a0 \u2018Watch your little brother\u2019, you said.\u00a0 \u2018Make sure nothing happens to him.\u00a0 Make sure he\u2019s\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 The boy drew in a great gulp of air and a fierce quiet settled on him.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not a child anymore.\u00a0 I know whose fault it is and nothing <\/em>you say will change my mind.\u00a0 Now, I\u2019m going for a walk.\u00a0 I would appreciate it if you didn\u2019t follow me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben watched him go in silence.<\/p>\n

Hoss was the first one to speak.\u00a0 \u201cYou want me to go fetch him, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

The rancher shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cNo, son.\u00a0 I\u2019ll go.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut he asked you not to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTold<\/em> me, more like,\u201d he sighed.\u00a0 \u201cSince when does a father obey his son?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLet me<\/em> go, Ben.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both Cartwrights turned to look at him.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll let the boy be for a half hour or so,\u201d Roy said, \u201cand then amble out and see if he\u2019ll talk to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat will you talk about?\u201d Ben asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cTime of day.\u00a0 Maybe the weather.\u00a0 Could be as I\u2019ll ask him who he thinks will be president come next November.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot about Little Joe?\u201d Hoss asked.<\/p>\n

The lawman shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cSometimes the best way to come to a thing is to go as far around it as you can.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Roy found Ben\u2019s oldest boy sittin\u2019 on a rock overlookin\u2019 the river.\u00a0 It was past noon now.\u00a0 The sun was up, but it was one of those days where it gave no warmth.\u00a0 There was a chill in the air fit for early March.\u00a0 He knew Adam was thinkin\u2019 about his little brother bein\u2019 out in it, instead of being home safe under his covers with his bare toes pressed up against a foot warmer.<\/p>\n

\u201cGo away, Pa,\u201d Adam growled.<\/p>\n

The older man cleared his throat.\u00a0 \u201cWell, seein\u2019 as I ain\u2019t your Pa, do you still want me to go away?\u201d<\/p>\n

The boy turned to look at him.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry, Deputy Coffee.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t mean to be rude.\u201d\u00a0 There was a pause as a slight smile curled the his full lips.\u00a0 \u201cWell, yes, I did.\u00a0 Just not to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYour pa means well,\u201d he said as he moved closer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know that.\u00a0 Pa is\u2026.\u00a0 Well, he\u2019s the best man alive.\u00a0 It\u2019s just that\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard to thrive in a shadow that large?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam stared at him and then turned back to the view.\u00a0 \u201cI feel like an ungrateful wretch.\u00a0 The life I have\u2026most would give anything to live it.\u00a0 There\u2019s little I lack.\u00a0 And if there is something, I can work hard and obtain it.\u00a0 I have my father\u2019s approval and love.\u00a0 My brothers\u2019\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

He was at the side of the rock.\u00a0 Roy nodded his head toward its top.\u00a0 \u201cThat big enough for two?\u201d<\/p>\n

The boy smiled shyly and slid to one side.\u00a0 \u201cSure.\u00a0 Are you feeling contemplative too?\u201d<\/p>\n

Roy took a moment to settle in, and then decided to bite the bullet.\u00a0 \u201cYou heard what your pa said, didn\u2019t you?\u00a0 About you bein\u2019 envious of Little Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 Adam hesitated.\u00a0 Then he nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell?\u201d<\/p>\n

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

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

\u201cEnvious of Joe?\u00a0 Don\u2019t be ridiculous.\u00a0 He\u2019s a child.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think your Pa meant to suggest you was envious of Little Joe himself.\u00a0 More like the life he\u2019s led.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam scoffed.\u00a0 \u201cJoe lost his mother at four.\u00a0 He watched her die.\u00a0 What kind of a life is that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou never knew yours \u2013 your mother, that is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd therefore, I had no way of knowing what I lost.\u00a0 Joe did.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about all them years on the trail?\u00a0 You never had you no cushy bed, or someone to stoke your fire when you was cold.\u00a0 I bet there was lots of nights you went to bed hungry and couldn\u2019t fall asleep for all the coyotes howlin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam snorted.\u00a0 \u201cI didn\u2019t know what a real bed was until I was six years old.\u00a0 I thought the \u2018bed\u2019 of a wagon was as good as it got.\u00a0 If I wanted a fire, I had to make it myself.\u00a0 And as to the coyotes\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 Ben\u2019s eldest turned toward him and flashed a smile.\u00a0 \u201cWho do you think taught me to sing?\u201d<\/p>\n

Roy shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cYou and your pa sure had it bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot so bad.\u00a0 Not really.\u00a0 There were good times.\u201d\u00a0 The boy paused.\u00a0 \u201cFor a long time, it was just Pa and me.\u00a0 That was about as good as it got.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, you\u2019re sorry your brothers came along?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t say that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDidn\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam stared at him.\u00a0 \u201cI guess I did, but I didn\u2019t mean it that way.\u00a0 I\u2019m happy they\u2019re here.\u00a0 I love them both.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut now you gotta share your pa three ways.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u00a0 I\u2019m an adult.\u00a0 I don\u2019t need Pa like Hoss and Joe do.\u00a0 I could be off, living on my own.\u00a0 Have my own spread.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now<\/em> they was getting to it.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo why don\u2019t you?\u00a0 That\u2019d be one way to get out from under that long shadow your pa casts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam pursed his lips.\u00a0 He started to speak, but hesitated.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s \u2018cause, even though you don\u2019t need your pa, your pa needs you<\/em>.\u00a0 Ain\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n

The boy shrugged.<\/p>\n

\u201cSon, you\u2019re carryin\u2019 a burden on those shoulders of yours big enough it would break most men.\u00a0 First, there\u2019s your ma dyin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat did I have to do with that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe died givin\u2019 you life, didn\u2019t she?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam paled but said nothing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen there\u2019s Ingrid.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI had nothing to do with Ingrid\u2019s death.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou didn\u2019t stop it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI was a child!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t mean you don\u2019t feel like you should\u2019a been able to.\u201d\u00a0 He could see he\u2019d struck the mark.\u00a0 \u201cJust like you should\u2019a been able to stop Little Joe climbin\u2019 out of that window and rushin\u2019 into danger.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s my responsibility to keep him safe,\u201d he growled.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, son,\u201d he said quietly.\u00a0 \u201cNo, it\u2019s not.\u00a0 It\u2019s your responsibility to do the best you can.\u00a0 It\u2019s up to God whether or not the boy stays safe.\u00a0 Just like it was up to God with your mother and your step-mother.\u201d\u00a0 Roy paused.\u00a0 \u201cYou know what your problem is?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Adam snapped. \u201cWhy don\u2019t you tell me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou gotta learn to forgive yourself for not bein\u2019 perfect.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben\u2019s eldest glared at him.\u00a0 Then his head went down.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know if I\u2026.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know how to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roy patted him on the arm.\u00a0 \u201cYou remember that long tall shadow your Pa casts?\u00a0 Don\u2019t think about how overwhelmin\u2019 it is.\u00a0 Think about how it shelters you.\u00a0 You don\u2019t need to break free, son.\u00a0 You already are<\/em> free.\u201d<\/p>\n

With that, the older man slipped off the rock and stood up.\u00a0 \u201cI think I nose me some biscuits and gravy cookin\u2019.\u00a0 You ready for some vittles?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam forced a smile.\u00a0 \u201cOnly if Hoss is cooking.\u00a0 Pa can\u2019t make biscuits worth a darn.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roy chuckled.\u00a0 \u201cWell, then, I guess Ben Cartwright ain\u2019t so perfect after all.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The first thing Joe noticed was the smell; like a combination of stink bug and skunk.\u00a0 It all but overwhelmed him and made his head swim.\u00a0 Though, if he was honest, his head had started to swim the moment he opened his eyes.\u00a0 He knew the signs \u2013 weakness, shortness of breath, a fever; the stabbing pain in his chest every time he drew a breath.\u00a0 Visions of the weeks he\u2019d spent in bed when he was little, with a sheet tented over him and the scent of pine permeating even his skin, danced before his weary eyes.\u00a0 \u2018The old man\u2019s friend\u2019, some called it, because it brought a rapid end to the elderly when they were dying. \u2018Inflammation of the lungs and pleura\u2019 was how Doc Martin put it when he warned his pa that he needed to behave and stay in bed.<\/p>\n

Pneumonia.<\/p>\n

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

Joe wrinkled his nose.\u00a0 He kind of wished he would.<\/p>\n

That way he could get away from the smell.<\/p>\n

A familiar sound drew his attention.\u00a0 Hop Sing made it often enough in the kitchen.\u00a0 Someone was pounding and grinding something in a mortar with a pestle.\u00a0 He used to help the Asian man do that when he was little.\u00a0 While his brothers were baling hay and branding cattle, he\u2019d be sitting in the kitchen listening to Hop Sing\u2019s tales of China while he pounded and crushed sugar and herbs and anything else the cook needed to fix their meals.\u00a0 Now that he was older, he could look back on it with a smile.\u00a0 At the time, all he wanted to do was to be with his father and brothers.\u00a0 He still did, but he missed Hop Sing.\u00a0 He\u2019d have to remember to visit him in the kitchen more often.<\/p>\n

That was, if he lived to make it home.<\/p>\n

How he\u2019d gotten to where he was, was kind of fuzzy.\u00a0 He\u2019d been with Sarah.\u00a0 He remembered that.\u00a0 Maybe he got so sick she had to take him to their camp.\u00a0 He bet he was in her family\u2019s tent and that was her mother or grandmother mixing up some medicine for him.\u00a0 Hop Sing\u2019s herbal potions always smelled bad \u2013 and tasted worse.<\/p>\n

He was sure the Indians\u2019 did too!<\/p>\n

Joe blinked and turned his head \u2013 and regretted it as the world spun about him.\u00a0 What he saw before he closed his eyes made him reconsider where he was.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t in a tent or teepee.\u00a0 It was more like a cave.\u00a0 He could hear movement nearby, so somebody was definitely there.\u00a0 More than one \u2018somebody\u2019 since he heard them talking, even though he couldn\u2019t understand the words.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t speak Paiute, so that gave him hope.<\/p>\n

He sure hoped it was Paiute.<\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t sound like Paiute.<\/p>\n

Weak and disoriented, the eleven-year-old kept his eyes closed as he tried to puzzle it out.\u00a0 He\u2019d been laying there a couple of minutes when the bad smell grew so strong it made him sneeze.\u00a0 Joe reached up to rub his nose and nearly jumped out of his skin when something touched his face.<\/p>\n

Something furry.<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s eyes shot open and he sat up, only to find himself face to face with the stuff of nightmares.<\/p>\n

He was looking right into the beady eyes of one of Sarah Winnemucca\u2019s Sasq\u2019ets.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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

Ben Cartwright stopped what he was doing and looked up.\u00a0 \u201cYes, son?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam indicated the fire he was tending with a nod.\u00a0 \u201cDo you have a minute?\u201d<\/p>\n

They were breaking camp and getting ready to move out.\u00a0 Sarah had awakened, but steadfastly refused to tell them anything.\u00a0 All the girl managed to do was sob and tell them she wanted to go home.\u00a0 It frustrated him deeply to know she held the key to his youngest son\u2019s disappearance and refused to surrender it.\u00a0 Still, taking her home might be the best thing. Winnemucca\u00a0 would make his daughter tell them what they needed to know.<\/p>\n

He only prayed that, by the time they found Joseph, the boy would still be alive.<\/p>\n

\u201cCertainly,\u201d Ben said as he bent and poured the remains of their afternoon coffee on the fire.<\/p>\n

Adam watched the steam rise.\u00a0 \u201cHave Hoss and Roy gone already?\u201d<\/p>\n

The pair had set out earlier with Sarah.\u00a0 They would follow a short ways behind.\u00a0 \u201cIt seems my presence agitates the girl.\u201d\u00a0 Ben ran a hand over his neck.\u00a0 \u201cProbably because her silence agitates me!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry about Joe, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo am I.\u201d\u00a0 He sighed.\u00a0 \u201cNot because you didn\u2019t keep track of him, son, but because I expected<\/em> you to.\u00a0 That boy is a handful!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 Adam frowned and began again.\u00a0 \u201cI had a feeling something was wrong.\u00a0 Hoss told me that I was crazy.\u00a0 If I had checked the first time the notion came to me\u2026.\u00a0 Well, I might have been able to catch Joe before he left.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs that what\u2019s been troubling you?\u201d<\/p>\n

The boy shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cIn part.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t your fault.\u00a0 You<\/em> did what was right.\u00a0 It\u2019s Little Joe who did what was wrong and when I find the boy, you can be sure there will be consequences.\u201d\u00a0 His eldest had his head down.\u00a0 He looked miserable.\u00a0 \u201cReally, son.\u00a0 You have to let it go.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know.\u00a0 I think I\u2019ve\u2026accepted that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben rose with the empty coffee pot in his hand.\u00a0 \u201cBut?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam scratched the back of his neck.\u00a0 \u201cI overheard what you said about me being jealous of Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben tensed.\u00a0 \u201cActually, Roy said that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEnvious, then.\u201d\u00a0 That shy smile that belonged to his mother appeared on Adam\u2019s face.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve been thinking about it and you\u2019re right.\u00a0 I do.\u00a0 Envy Joe, that is.\u201d<\/p>\n

The words stabbed him.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry that your childhood was so hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not that.\u00a0 It\u2019s not the big house, the soft bed, or having someone to turn it down for me.\u00a0 Or even the fact that Joe got to know his mama.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben took a seat on a nearby log.\u00a0 He indicated his son should do the same.\u00a0 \u201cThen what is it?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam sat down and hung his hands between his knees.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s because\u2026. Well, because he\u2019s Joe.<\/em>\u00a0 Don\u2019t get me wrong, Pa.\u00a0 I know how this is going to sound.\u00a0 Little Joe doesn\u2019t feel that he has to earn your love.\u201d<\/p>\n

The boy\u2019s words startled him.\u00a0 \u201cNone of you have to do that.\u00a0 It\u2019s freely given.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam touched his forehead.\u00a0 \u201cHere, I know that.\u00a0 But here?\u201d\u00a0 He tapped his heart.\u00a0 \u201cYou have some pretty big shoes, Pa.\u00a0 Every day of my life, I ask, \u2018Am I big enough to fill them?\u00a0 Am I even worthy to try?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope I haven\u2019t made you feel that way,\u201d he said and meant it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not you.\u00a0 It\u2019s me.\u00a0 There\u2019s something in me<\/em>.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know what it is.\u00a0 I feel\u2026undeserving.\u00a0 Like what I know, what I have \u2013 who<\/em> I am, will never be enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEnough for what?\u201d<\/p>\n

The boy shrugged again.<\/p>\n

Ben seldom touched his oldest \u2013 at least not without an invitation.\u00a0 He did it now, scooting a bit closer and putting his arm around Adam\u2019s shoulders.\u00a0 For a moment, they sat in silence.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne day, son, you\u2019ll find your place.\u00a0 I hope it is here with me \u2013 with us \u2013 but it may not be.\u00a0 And as to you feeling \u2018undeserving\u2019, I count that as a mark of your maturity.\u00a0 You know what the Good Book says.\u00a0 \u2018The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken spirit and a contrite heart, O God, thou will not despise\u2019.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Adam glanced at him.\u00a0 \u201cSo, my doubting myself is a good thing?\u00a0 That\u2019s not what they taught us in college.\u201d<\/p>\n

He almost laughed at his son\u2019s expression.\u00a0 \u201cSchooling\u2026learning from books is a good \u2013 a great <\/em>thing, son.\u00a0 It can widen a man\u2019s perspectives and open his eyes to the unknown.\u00a0 But there\u2019s a danger there as well.\u00a0 There is always the possibility that a man who learns from books will come to think he knows better; that he is smarter than those whose school has been life with all of its trials and hard knocks.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was a moment before his son nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI understand what you\u2019re telling me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut do you believe<\/em> it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, sir.\u00a0 I do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben released him.\u00a0 \u201cGood. \u00a0You\u2019re at an advantage, son.\u00a0 You have both perspectives.\u00a0 In the end that will make you a remarkable man,\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam winced.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI do.\u201d\u00a0 He slapped the boy on the back as he rose.\u00a0 \u201cNow, come on.\u00a0 I think it\u2019s time we were on our way.\u00a0 By the time we get to the Paiute camp, there will only be a few hours of light left and we need to find your brother tonight.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll find Joe, Pa.\u00a0 I know we will,\u201d his son said as he headed for his horse.<\/p>\n

Ben watched him go; his heart heavy.<\/p>\n

For Adam\u2019s sake, they had better.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

FIVE<\/p>\n

The next time Joe Cartwright opened his eyes, he found it was him that stunk!\u00a0 In fact, the smell was so bad, it was all he could do to keep his eyes open!\u00a0 It didn\u2019t take long to figure out that was because there was a poultice on his chest, the contents of which made the ones Hop Sing cooked up smell like a bouquet of roses!\u00a0 His tattered shirt had been removed and the poultice put on his bare skin, which had grown red as the phlox in the field.\u00a0 The warmth it gave off seemed to penetrate right down to his aching lungs, turning his sharp pains into dull ones so he could breathe better.<\/p>\n

Not that he wanted to breathe.<\/p>\n

\u201cPee-yew!\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Joe didn\u2019t expect a reply, but he got one.\u00a0 Something stirred, and a tall shape rose up beside the low stone bed he occupied.\u00a0 There was a rush mat covering the stone, so it wasn\u2019t too uncomfortable.<\/p>\n

Looking at the face that was looking down at him sure was though!<\/p>\n

He\u2019d seen some ugly things in his life.\u00a0 Mole rats. \u00a0Hyenas.\u00a0 Even a warthog once upon a time.\u00a0 But this?\u00a0 Whoever or whatever it was, sure took the cake!\u00a0 First of all their face was flat and shaped funny, kind of like the inside of a shovel.\u00a0 At the top, where the handle would have been attached, was a pair of beady red eyes.\u00a0 They were partially hidden by a fringe of coarse black hair, kind of like an Angus cow\u2019s lick only longer.\u00a0 Its nose was flat too and its mouth?\u00a0 It was kind of a slit.\u00a0 Joe closed one eye for perspective.\u00a0 Yep.\u00a0 Looked like God forgot to put the lips on this one.\u00a0 The funniest thing, though, was the creature \u2013 whatever it was \u2013 had no neck.\u00a0 It\u2019s head sat right on its shoulders, balancing like the bottom of a pitcher on a mantel.<\/p>\n

No, he had that wrong.\u00a0 That wasn\u2019t the funniest thing.<\/p>\n

The funniest thing about Sarah\u2019s Sasq\u2019ets was its smile.<\/p>\n

And it was <\/em>smiling.<\/p>\n

Right at him.<\/p>\n

Joe swallowed hard.\u00a0 It was the kind of a smile he\u2019d seen on himself \u2013 on Thanksgiving Day when he spied the roast turkey in the middle of the table.<\/p>\n

The eleven-year-old wet his lips and forced a smile of his own.\u00a0 \u201cHey,\u201d he said and waited.<\/p>\n

The creature\u2019s reply was to cock its small head this way and that, and then reach out a finger to touch one of his curls.<\/p>\n

Joe held perfectly still.\u00a0 Everything was pretty fuzzy from before, but he didn\u2019t think this Sasq\u2019ets was\u2026.his gaze spanned the length of its giant<\/em> frame\u2026big<\/em> enough to be the one that caught him and put him in the basket and brought him wherever he was.\u00a0 Judging by what he could see, this one was about Hop Sing\u2019s size \u2013 somewhere under <\/em>six feet.<\/p>\n

The one that caught him?\u00a0 That one was big as Mount Williamson!<\/p>\n

The creature\u2019s smile broadened as it moved its finger to his forehead and rubbed it across his skin, as if amazed to find no hair.\u00a0 It was covered from head to toe in it \u2013 hair, that was.\u00a0 Or it might have been fur.\u00a0 Anyhow, it was red and wavy, kind of like the coat of a Galloway out of England.\u00a0 He\u2019d seen a Highland cow at one of the cattle shows and it was mighty funny looking.\u00a0 The thought stuck Joe just right and he giggled.<\/p>\n

It might be the Sasq\u2019ets thought he <\/em>was might funny looking too!<\/p>\n

His laughter caused the creature to stumble back, almost as if it had never heard such a sound.\u00a0 The surprised howl it let out was answered by a series of chitters \u2013 kind of like the sound chimney swifts make \u2013 and a sharp bark.\u00a0 Both came from the far side of the cave.\u00a0 The smaller Sasq\u2019ets\u2019s eyes went wide \u2013 well, as wide as its beady little eyes could<\/em> go \u2013 and it hopped away quick as a bunny.<\/p>\n

Just like he did when he knew the paddle was coming out of the closet.<\/p>\n

Joe tensed as a larger shadow overtook him.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t scared exactly, but he remembered what Adam had taught him about the better part of valor being something called \u2018discretion\u2019.\u00a0 So he played\u2026well\u2026<\/p>\n

Dead.<\/p>\n

The stink increased, although \u2013 just like a day in the barn doing chores \u2013 it bothered him less than it had before.\u00a0 It was a funny smell, all musty and moldy like a bog, but also kind of peppery and smart, so that it made your nose twitch.\u00a0 He had his eyes half-closed, so he couldn\u2019t really see much.\u00a0 Trouble was, he could see enough!\u00a0 There was a mountain of curly reddish fur \u2013 big enough to block out the light \u2013 looming over him.\u00a0 There were critters crawling in and out of it.\u00a0 Tiny insects and bugs.\u00a0 He had to admit, all of that matted fur would make a mighty<\/em> snug nest if you were a bug!\u00a0 Joe held completely still as a hairy hand fell on his forehead.\u00a0 The creature kept it there for a few heartbeats before lifting it with a grunt and moving away.<\/p>\n

Joe blew out a breath of air.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d been waiting on the skinning knife to come out!<\/p>\n

It had taken lying here, wondering whether he was gonna live to see another day, to bring back something he\u2019d read in the Territorial Enterprise. Someone in the area saw something they couldn\u2019t explain and the paper decided to run a series of articles on myths and legends.\u00a0 One of them was called \u2018The Berkshire County Creature\u2019.\u00a0 That sighting took place in Great Barrington, Massachusetts in 1765. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018A description of an uncommon animal lately found at Great Barrington.\u00a0 This animal resembles the human species yet is monstrous in its nature and actions\u2026\u00a0 Upon a near view, it appears to be vested with a kind of robe having the appearance of a large bear, while the \u2018hair\u2019 of its head appears to be bushy\u2019\u00a0 It\u2019s face is \u2018mask-like, dark and leathery \u2013 like a gorilla\u2019s face.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018Animal\u2019, Joe wondered.\u00a0 Neither of the creatures he\u2019d seen acted like any animal he knew.\u00a0 In fact\u2026.<\/p>\n

Joe sucked in another breath.<\/p>\n

The older one was there again.\u00a0 Leaning over him.<\/p>\n

In the distance, he heard a howl mixed with several deep clicks.\u00a0 Joe couldn\u2019t help it.\u00a0 His eyes shot open as those massive hairy hands took hold of his shoulders and lifted him up.\u00a0 He began to struggle feebly as he was carried across the cave and toward a large fire burning in a crude hearth set into the rocky wall.<\/p>\n

There was a big<\/em> pot on the fire.<\/p>\n

It was empty.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sarah Winnemucca clung to the tails of Hoss Cartwright\u2019s tanned leather vest. She was used to riding bareback and the white man\u2019s saddle was not only uncomfortable, but seemed unsafe.\u00a0 She longed for her father or a brother to be the one who sat before her, but quickly changed her mind.\u00a0 She was glad they were not here.\u00a0 What she had done shamed her.\u00a0 First, she had let another walk into danger in her place and then, she had become frightened and run.<\/p>\n

No, not frightened.<\/p>\n

Terrified.<\/p>\n

Sarah closed her eyes against the image of the giant Sasq\u2019ets, but it did no good, for it was written on her heart.\u00a0 She had heard the creature\u2019s wild call and instantly knew what it was.\u00a0 With no thought for her friend, she turned and ran.\u00a0 She had believed Joe Cartwright would run too \u2013 that he would be right behind her.\u00a0 He was<\/em> not.\u00a0 Little Joe had remained to face the enemy as she should have done.<\/p>\n

Her own words rang in her ears, as did the memory of the horror that had made them high and wild \u2013 \u2018Little Joe!\u00a0 Run!\u00a0 She will catch you and eat you!\u00a0 Run!!\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

Her father often wagged his head at Tuboitone, her mother.\u00a0 Winnemucca had been born Shoshone and his beliefs were not those of the Paiute.\u00a0 He said that white men were the children of the Great Father, as were the men with black skin who came after them.\u00a0 Tuboitone believed that whites were monsters who ate little children, and said the blacks were the walking dead \u2013 men and women who continued to live after being burnt alive.\u00a0 It was her Paiute mother who taught her the tale of Sangmu, the basket ogress.\u00a0 One day her father took her aside and told her that the story of a giant Sasq\u2019ets who kidnapped and ate bad children was not true.\u00a0 It was what the white men called \u2018fable\u2019; a tale told to frighten small children into behaving.<\/p>\n

Her father lied.<\/p>\n

She had seen the Sasq\u2019ets with her own eyes.<\/p>\n

Sarah\u2019s fingers pulled on Hoss Cartwright\u2019s leather vest hard enough the big man turned and looked at her.\u00a0 Hoss smiled to reassure her before turning back.\u00a0 The little girl closed her eyes and a tear rolled down her cheek.\u00a0 She should tell Joe Cartwright\u2019s family what she saw.\u00a0 She should tell them that the basket ogress was real and she had taken Little Joe away to eat him.\u00a0 But she could not.\u00a0 She did not want to believe it and, if she said the words, then as her mother had taught her, they would be real.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou doin\u2019 okay back there, little lady?\u201d Hoss asked.<\/p>\n

Sarah leaned her head against Hoss\u2019 giant back and nodded.\u00a0 She had made a vow.\u00a0 She would not speak until she could tell her father what she had seen.\u00a0 She needed<\/em> to talk to her father.\u00a0 Winnemucca would know what to do.\u00a0 Winnemucca was the only one who could help her \u2013 who could explain<\/em> what she had seen.<\/p>\n

Sarah\u2019s eyes closed again.<\/p>\n

That was, if her father still lived.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If Sarah\u2019s eyes had not been closed, she would have noted a sudden stirring in the leaves that overgrew the path.\u00a0\u00a0 The road they followed was lined with trees; the ground beneath their horse\u2019s hooves beaten down by dozens of its kindred.\u00a0 \u00a0She and the white men who escorted her were, perhaps, a quarter day\u2019s ride out from the spot where the Paiute had chosen to make their winter camp.<\/p>\n

The creature that observed them moved with almost superhuman speed.\u00a0 It was tall for a man \u2013 nearly seven feet \u2013 with a smallish head and large hands, and feet that were covered in curly reddish fur.\u00a0 Odd, sub-human noises came from its thin-lipped mouth.\u00a0 Most often its words were only for itself, but now and then it would let loose a long, low howl meant to acquaint the world with its woes.\u00a0 It moved quickly \u2013 crouching, leaning forward; now and then pushing against the ground with its hands. At other times it would reach up to use a passing branch to launch itself forward.\u00a0 If it had been seen, it would most assuredly have been passed off as an illusion or a dream or, perhaps, a hallucination brought on by an undigested meal.<\/p>\n

But it was not.<\/p>\n

It was real.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Little Joe shivered as he pulled the strange wrapping draped over his shoulders closer to his throat.\u00a0 It was made of winter grasses woven together to form a tight webbing and was more comfortable than he could have imagined.\u00a0 He had not, after all, been fed to the fire \u2013 or to his strange hosts \u2013 but had been moved closer to the hearth so he might be warmed.\u00a0 From this vantage point he was able to observe the basket ogress and her family.\u00a0 There were four\u2026creatures\u2026in all.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t know what else to call them, although they acted more like men than monsters.\u00a0 There was the large she-creature that had captured him.\u00a0 Another smaller one he was pretty sure was female too, was the one that had been peeping at him while he slept.\u00a0 The low growl before he was moved came from a big male \u2013 if \u2018big\u2019 was the word!\u00a0 If the \u2018ma\u2019 creature was seven or eight feet tall, \u2018Pa\u2019 must have topped ten!<\/p>\n

Joe let out a sigh.<\/p>\n

Pa.<\/p>\n

He sure missed his<\/em> pa.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d started calling the little girl creature \u2018Ha\u2019tee\u2019.\u00a0 It was kind of a loose translation of something Hop Sing called him, which was \u2018h\u00e0oq\u00ed de\u2019 or \u2018curious\u2019.\u00a0 The big female was \u2018Sangmu\u2019, like the basket ogress, even though that name gave him shivers.\u00a0 Ha\u2019tee\u2019s brother?\u00a0 Well, he didn\u2019t know much about him except he liked shiny things.\u00a0 When the two males came in \u2013 at least, he thought they were males cause their hair was short all over and they had gruff, low voices \u2013 the boy was carrying a silver box.\u00a0 It looked like one of the fancy sterling boxes his pa used to keep his tobacco in.\u00a0 So he dubbed him \u2018Shiner\u2019.\u00a0 It took Joe quite a while to figure out a name for the giant male that reminded him of one of Adam\u2019s gorillas, a bear, and that warthog he\u2019d seen all rolled into one.<\/p>\n

Finally, he named him \u2018Tiny\u2019, because it made him laugh when he looked at the giant Sasq\u2019ets instead of shiver.<\/p>\n

So far Tiny had hardly looked at him.\u00a0 Shiner came right up to him and sniffed him from one end to the other and then went back to his shiny box.\u00a0 He was trying to figure out how to open it.\u00a0 Sangmu was busy washing leaves and stacking them.\u00a0 Joe had no idea what for, although he guessed it might have something to do with what they used for food. \u00a0Ha\u2019tee, who seemed to kind of like him, was sitting on the stone floor in front of the fire chasing a bug that kept running between her toes.\u00a0 She sure had big toes.<\/p>\n

And a big foot!<\/p>\n

Joe chuckled.\u00a0 That\u2019s what he\u2019d call them \u2013 not creatures or Sasq\u2019ets, but Bigfeet!<\/p>\n

Bigfoots?<\/p>\n

Ha\u2019tee looked up at him and cocked her head.\u00a0 Then she grunted.<\/p>\n

Taking courage in hand, Joe grunted back.<\/p>\n

Sangmu swung around to look at him, made a clicking noise with her tongue, and went back to her washing.<\/p>\n

He wondered what he\u2019d said.<\/p>\n

A second later, Joe was pretty sure it was something he shouldn\u2019t have, because Ha\u2019tee stood up and offered him the bug!\u00a0 When he hesitated, she pointed to her mouth and then to his.\u00a0 Joe\u2019s stomach churned as the bug wriggled in her fingers, trying to escape.\u00a0 He pointed to it, made a face, and shook his head.\u00a0 Ha\u2019tee didn\u2019t seem to understand.\u00a0 She took a step forward and thrust the bug pert near right between his eyes!<\/p>\n

Then she popped it into her mouth and started crunching.<\/p>\n

Joe went green.<\/p>\n

This time Sangmu growled \u2013 long, low, and loud!<\/em>\u00a0 She sounded just like Sarah\u2019s Ma had that day when her brother was mean to her.\u00a0 The mother bigfoot crossed the cave in a couple of steps and, before he could say or even think <\/em>anything, took hold of him and lifted him up so they were eye to eye!<\/p>\n

He was sure as shootin\u2019 gonna get et now!<\/em><\/p>\n

Instead of popping him in her mouth like Ha\u2019tee had the bug, Sangmu looked him over from head to toe before placing him back on his stump stool beside the hearth.\u00a0 After that she returned to her pile of leaves, selected a bright green one, and placed it in a wooden bowl.\u00a0 Then she went to the pot hanging over the fire and used a sort of crude ladle to cover it with a steaming liquid.\u00a0 Sangmu grunted again as if pleased, and then returned to him and handed him the bowl.\u00a0 A nod of her giant head indicated he should drink its contents.<\/p>\n

Joe sniffed.<\/p>\n

Woo-ee!\u00a0 The liquid smelled just about as bad as the bigfoot did.<\/p>\n

Maybe worse!<\/p>\n

Sangmu watched him hesitate before repeating the ritual.\u00a0 This time she handed the bowl to Ha\u2019tee.\u00a0 The girl-creature clucked with delight and drank the foul-smelling liquid straight down!\u00a0 Joe stared at her for several heartbeats before cautiously nosing the concoction again.\u00a0 He guessed it couldn\u2019t be any worse than some of the ones Hop Sing prepared for what the Asian man called his \u2018high Chinese holidays\u2019.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d never forget his first bowl of monkey paw soup!<\/p>\n

Unexpectedly, Sangmu\u2019s hand touched his head.\u00a0 She clucked, made an effort at a smile, and then went back to her pile of leaves.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t completely over being afraid, but Joe realized now that the Bigfoot family had no intention of hurting him.<\/p>\n

They were trying to make him well!<\/p>\n

Joe wrinkled his nose and stuck a finger in the tepid liquid.\u00a0 When he licked it, he was surprised to find that the soup tasted a whole <\/em>lot better than it smelled.\u00a0 It was nutty, with just a hint of smoke.\u00a0 He took a cautious sip and, instantly, a sensation of well-being coursed through his tired body.\u00a0 Joe looked up at Sangmu and then, at her family, and remembered what his pa had taught him about making judgments and jumping to conclusions.<\/p>\n

Sangmu pushed the bowl toward him and nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cI guess it isn\u2019t too bad.\u00a0 In fact, it\u2019s kind of good!\u201d<\/p>\n

Tiny came over to watch him as he finished off the soup.\u00a0 The biggest of the Bigfeet still made him nervous.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t think Ha\u2019tee\u2019s pa was gonna eat him, but he didn\u2019t think he liked him much either.\u00a0 Maybe Tiny thought his presence in the cave put their family in danger, kind of like what Winnemucca thought in the beginning when he and Sarah started hanging out together. \u00a0Pa told him later that the chief had been afraid some white man would see him with the Paiute and think he\u2019d been kidnapped or made into a slave or something. \u00a0It took time for Winnemucca to accept him.\u00a0 Just like it was gonna take time for Tiny to do the same.<\/p>\n

Only, Joe didn\u2019t want to stay that long.\u00a0 In fact, as soon as he was well enough, he was gonna get away.<\/p>\n

He missed his own family more than he could say.<\/p>\n

Joe yawned and was surprised when his eyelids drooped and he listed to the side.\u00a0 Ha\u2019tee chattered something and Sangmu answered with a noise that sounded like a laugh.\u00a0 Then he felt himself picked up and carried over to his rocky bed.<\/p>\n

And then, Joe Cartwright knew no more.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cAre you sure about this, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben Cartwright turned to look at his oldest son.\u00a0 He\u2019d debated this detour, but in the end decided it was the right thing to do.<\/p>\n

For several reasons.<\/p>\n

Before them \u2013 perhaps a hundred yards hence \u2013 lay the dilapidated cabin Erasmus Davari called home.\u00a0 First of all, he felt an obligation to check in on the older man since he was here.\u00a0 After all, the cabin wasn\u2019t all that far from where Sarah had been found.\u00a0 Secondly \u2013 and most important of all \u2013 he hoped that Rass, as he liked to be called, might have seen or heard something the night Joseph disappeared.\u00a0 Third?\u00a0 And yes, there was<\/em> a third reason.\u00a0 He, like Adam, recalled Rass having spoken of an encounter he\u2019d had with a large hairy \u2018creature\u2019 shortly after his arrival in the valley.\u00a0 In fact, if memory served, there had been more than one such \u2018meeting\u2019.<\/p>\n

Imagine, believing in a seven foot tall creature with the face and mind of a man!<\/p>\n

He chuckled.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 Adam\u2019s tone was wry.\u00a0 \u201cI take it you find Erasmus Davari taking a pot shot at us\u2026amusing?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry, son.\u201d\u00a0 Ben shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cI was thinking of what Hoss said he saw.\u00a0 Where have I gone wrong with the boy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss will believe just about anything.\u00a0 Just the other day Mr. O\u2019Toole convinced him there are leprechauns.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDear Lord!\u00a0 The next thing you know he\u2019ll be chasing one with a net and looking for a pot of gold!\u201d<\/p>\n

Before Adam could reply, the sound of a rifle firing \u2013 and the buckshot it had been primed with \u2013 filled the air above their heads.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho goes there?\u201d A gruff voice called out.\u00a0 \u201cState your name and business so I can put both of them on your tombstone!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust as cordial and welcoming as ever,\u201d Adam groused.<\/p>\n

Ben sat tall in the saddle and cupped his hand to his mouth.\u00a0 \u201cRass!\u00a0 It\u2019s Ben Cartwright.\u00a0 I have my older boy with me!\u00a0 You remember Adam?\u00a0 We\u2019ve come for a visit!\u201d<\/p>\n

There was a very<\/em> pregnant pause.<\/p>\n

\u201cBen Cartwright, you say?\u00a0 Prove it!\u201d the old hermit shouted at last.\u00a0 \u201cRide forward \u2018til I can see the whites of your eyes.\u00a0 Just you!\u00a0 Not the boy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMore like the white of my hair!\u201d Ben replied just as loudly.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m a bit older than I was the last time I saw you.\u201d\u00a0 It had been nearly a year and it was the truth; for each year Little Joe gained, his hair lost a little more color.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa, I don\u2019t like you going out there by yourself.\u00a0 What if he shoots you?\u201d<\/p>\n

At the moment they were masked by a low fringe of leaves.\u00a0 Ben winked as he started his horse forward.\u00a0 \u201cThen I guess you\u2019ll<\/em> be gray by the time you\u2019re twenty-five!\u201d<\/p>\n

It was a joke, but he took the threat seriously.\u00a0 Erasmus had been quite young when he lost his family to the Indians.\u00a0 Sadly enough, his story was one that was oft repeated.\u00a0 Of course, there were a good many Indian children who had been left behind as well to mourn their loved ones; those who had been needlessly and thoughtlessly killed by white men.\u00a0 For a second, Ben\u2019s mind wandered to the wanted poster Roy had shown him.\u00a0 He\u2019d almost forgotten about Corbin Drury, whose story was much the same as Rass\u2019.\u00a0 The rancher looked to the left and right as he continued on toward the hermit\u2019s home.\u00a0 Drury could be anywhere on the Ponderosa though, more than likely, he would be found somewhere near the plot the Paiute called home.<\/p>\n

The very place Roy and Hoss were headed.<\/p>\n

The figure on the porch left it and hobbled forward.\u00a0 \u201cStop right there!\u201d he ordered.<\/p>\n

Erasmus Spartacus Davari was a tall man bent low by age.\u00a0 Rass was about Adam\u2019s height now, but had been well over six foot as a young man.\u00a0 Scoliosis, a bending of the spine first noticed and named by the Greek physician Galen around 200 years before the advent of Christ, was deemed the culprit.\u00a0 The disease had twisted his body to the right in an unnatural way, making him appear like something out of a folk tale \u2013 which had helped when it came to chasing off curious boys and girls while he lived in the settlement.\u00a0 Eventually, the fear and prejudice became too much for the Greek immigrant and he left, moving to this mountain hideaway where he had remained ever since.\u00a0 Marie had been friends with Rass\u2019 wife, a lovely women who had died shortly after her.\u00a0 The painting in their upper hall, of this very valley, had been a present between friends.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou sure that\u2019s you, Ben?\u201d the old man called as he squinted into the sun.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure,\u201d he laughed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere\u2019s that oldest boy of yours?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam spurred his mount forward and joined him.\u00a0 \u201cHello, Mister Daviri.\u201d<\/p>\n

The old man looked puzzled.\u00a0 \u201cWho in Tarnation<\/em> are you, boy?\u201d<\/p>\n

His son laughed.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m Adam.\u00a0 Pa\u2019s gone white.\u00a0 I\u2019ve grown taller!\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben dismounted and approached his friend.\u00a0 Rass had aged as well since the last time he\u2019d seen him and<\/em> been unwell, it seemed.\u00a0 His gait was slow and unsteady, and he\u2019d lost a good bit of weight.\u00a0 Still, the old man had a light in his eyes and seemed genuinely glad for the company.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you have!\u201d Rass exclaimed.\u00a0 \u201cCome in.\u00a0 Come in, both of you!\u00a0 I got a fresh pot of coffee on the fire and some venison roasting.\u00a0 You\u2019re just in time for supper!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It was early, but both of them were hungry and supper \u2013 while meager \u2013 was delicious.\u00a0 Rass explained how a friend had come by recently and brought him a fresh load of supplies that included tobacco, several pounds of coffee, and even a bit of chocolate!\u00a0 They retired to the fire as the light outside began to fail.\u00a0 Ben chafed at the delay in the search for Joseph, but accepted that this<\/em> was where they were now.\u00a0 It took every ounce of patience he had to be a good guest, but he did it for Matilda and Marie\u2019s sake.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you got yourself a third son, eh?\u201d Rass asked.<\/p>\n

Adam glanced at him and smiled.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou remember Joseph, Rass,\u201d Ben said.\u00a0 \u201cMarie\u2019s boy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The old man frowned with the thought.\u00a0 \u201cOh.\u00a0 You mean that little tyke wearing a dress?\u00a0 I thought that one was a girl.\u00a0 How\u2019d the boy get himself lost?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben chuckled.\u00a0 \u201cJoseph is eleven now.\u00a0 It\u2019s been quite some time since he wore any kind of gown.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEleven, you say?\u201d\u00a0 The old man\u2019s watery eyes fixed on Adam.\u00a0 \u201cGuess that explains this one being so tall.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rancher sighed.\u00a0 \u201cAs to how Joseph got himself \u2018lost\u2019, I\u2019m afraid the boy takes after his mother \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA handful, eh?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam snorted but recovered quickly.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoseph is\u2026lively like his mother and very loyal.\u00a0 From what we understand, a little Indian friend of his enticed him to sneak out and help her with some task.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA woman.\u201d\u00a0 Rass shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cFigures.\u00a0 They\u2019re always trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEven Matilda?\u201d he asked softly.<\/p>\n

The hermit nodded.\u00a0 \u201cEspecially<\/em> Matilda.\u00a0 Now, tell me more about\u2026Little Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been sick,\u201d Ben said, his tone darkening.\u00a0 \u201cAll the boys were sick with the influenza, but Joseph hasn\u2019t been able to shake it.\u00a0 The doctor gave strict instructions that he was to stay inside where he was safe and warm.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow\u2019d he get out?\u00a0 Knowing you, Ben, you had an eagle eye on him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEh, that was me.\u00a0 I let my guard down for a minute and\u2026.\u201d \u00a0Adam shifted uneasily.\u00a0 \u201cI should have been more careful.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSon,\u201d Rass said, his tone slightly amused, \u201cif that boy\u2019s even part<\/em> Marie Cartwright, you didn\u2019t stand a chance!\u201d\u00a0 The old man took a couple of puffs off of his pipe before turning back to him.\u00a0 \u201cNow, Ben.\u00a0 Where\u2019d you say the little Indian gal was found?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the middle of the field of crimson phlox about a mile and a half from here.\u00a0 The one that butts up against the forest near the waterfall.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know it,\u201d Rass said, his face forming a frown.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s a dangerous place, Ben.\u00a0 That\u2019s where the Sasquatch live.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Sasquatch?\u201d Adam asked.\u00a0 \u201cWhat, or who are they?\u201d<\/p>\n

The hermit rose from his chair and went to the door where he opened it and looked out on the encroaching night.\u00a0 \u201cIt wasn\u2019t too long after I came here. \u00a0I always had a sense I wasn\u2019t alone.\u00a0 There were things\u2026strange cries, bumps in the night\u2026. \u00a0Somewheres about the second week, after I\u2019d barred the door and gone to bed, I heard a loud \u2018thump\u2019.\u00a0 Woke me up, it did.\u00a0 I laid in bed for a while, waiting, but it didn\u2019t come again.\u00a0 Finally, I got up because I couldn\u2019t sleep and went to the fire to have a smoke.\u00a0 On my way, I looked out the window there,\u201d he indicated the one to his right, \u201cand that\u2019s when I saw it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSaw what?\u201d Ben asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve got lots of names.\u00a0 Depends on where you are and who you talk to.\u201d\u00a0 Rass closed the door and deliberately barred it.\u00a0 \u201cSome call them Yache <\/em>or Yeti,\u201d<\/em> he said as he returned to the hearth area.\u00a0 \u201cThe Japanese call them Hibagon.<\/em>\u00a0 Most of the Indians here about know them as Sasq\u2019ets, or what the white men call \u2018Sasquatch\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember you talking about them when I was a boy,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0 \u201cIt scared the wits out of me!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs it should have, young\u2019un.\u00a0 As it should have.\u201d\u00a0 Rass sat down in his rocker.<\/p>\n

\u201cTell me<\/em>,\u201d Ben said.<\/p>\n

The old man looked at him.\u00a0 \u201cYou ain\u2019t a believer.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rancher leaned in.\u00a0 Somehow he knew<\/em> this odd story had to do with his missing boy.<\/p>\n

\u201cMake <\/em>me one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rass rocked for a moment before speaking.\u00a0 \u201cYou know me, Ben.\u00a0 I\u2019m not one to carry tales.\u00a0 My word is important to me and I give it to you. \u00a0I looked out that window and saw something I had never seen before.\u00a0 It must have been eight, maybe even nine<\/em> feet tall, and was covered with curly red fur.\u00a0 It\u2019s face was flat as the glass and kind of curved in.\u201d\u00a0 He shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cI couldn\u2019t see much more than that \u2013 except for its eyes.\u00a0 They were red as phlox blossoms and glowed like live embers in a fire.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happened after that?\u201d Adam asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI stared at it and it stared at me, and we both let out a howl like to wake the dead!\u201d\u00a0 Rass puffed a moment on his pipe.\u00a0 \u201cAfter that, I closed the shutters, locked them, and stood by the window with my heart was pounding and my lungs sucking in air like a drowning man.\u201d\u00a0 He paused.\u00a0 \u201cThen, it started.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat started?\u201d Ben inquired.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomething struck the door and then the cabin wall, and then whatever it was started raining down on the roof like hail.\u00a0 It lasted maybe a half hour.\u00a0 The next day I went out and found a river of stones surrounding the place.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThese\u2026Sasquatch were throwing stones at your cabin?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam sounded as dubious as he felt.<\/p>\n

\u201cYep.\u00a0 They tried the kick the door in too, but the bar held, God bless it!\u201d<\/p>\n

His son was intrigued.\u00a0 \u201cWhat do you think they wanted?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWho knows?\u00a0 Food.\u00a0 Maybe fire.\u00a0 I hear tell from others who\u2019ve seen them, that they like shiny things.\u00a0 Corey told me once\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 The old man\u2019s voice trailed off and his eyes took on a guarded look.<\/p>\n

\u201cCorey?\u201d Adam asked.\u00a0 \u201cWas that your child?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben knew Matilda and Erasmus couldn\u2019t have children.\u00a0 Tilly, as Marie called Rass\u2019 late wife, loved to hold Little Joe and became like a second mother to him because of it.<\/p>\n

Ben recalled something he had heard.\u00a0 A rumor.<\/p>\n

Or maybe, it was more<\/em> than a rumor.<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand you had a brother?\u201d<\/p>\n

Rass rocked a moment.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s right,\u201d he said at last, his tone guarded.<\/p>\n

Ben leaned in farther.\u00a0 \u201cWas that who came?\u00a0 The man who brought you supplies.\u00a0 Has he seen these \u2018Sasquatch\u2019 as well?\u201d<\/p>\n

The old man looked like he would bolt for the door, but then he let out a sigh and nodded his head. \u201cIt was him brought me the tobacco and such about a week back.\u00a0 He comes now and then to see how I\u2019m doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rancher wondered why he had never met the other man.\u00a0 Surely, there would have been many opportunities over the years.<\/p>\n

\u201cCorey isn\u2019t right,\u201d Rass admitted, as if reading his thoughts.\u00a0 \u201cNever has been since the rest of the family was killed. I don\u2019t encourage him, Ben.\u00a0 I know you wouldn\u2019t like it.\u00a0 He just comes on his own.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIsn\u2019t \u2018right\u2019?\u201d\u00a0 A chill snaked along the rancher\u2019s spine.\u00a0 \u201cHow not right\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe wouldn\u2019t hurt your boy if that\u2019s what\u2019s got you worried, Ben.\u00a0 Not a white boy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The chill turned to ice.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut an Indian boy\u2026or man?\u00a0 Or maybe an entire village?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam had turned to look at him.\u00a0 \u201cBut that\u2019s Corbin Drury, Pa,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cNot Davari.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rass had turned away toward the fire.\u00a0 The old man\u2019s fingers were working his pipe.<\/p>\n

\u201cDavari is a Greek name.\u00a0 Isn\u2019t it, Rass?\u201d<\/p>\n

The hermit nodded.\u00a0 \u201cOur pa changed it when he came to this country. \u00a0He wanted to be an American, so he told the people who filled out his papers that his name was Drury and not Davari.\u00a0 When I got old enough to be on my own, I took the old name.\u00a0 Corbin didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben shot out of his chair.\u00a0 \u201cGood lord!\u00a0 So that\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

The old man sighed.\u00a0 \u201cGo ahead and say it Ben.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2026murderer<\/em> was here?\u00a0 When?\u00a0 Last week, you say?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNew week starts on Sunday, Ben.\u00a0 Corbin was here on Saturday.\u201d<\/p>\n

The day before Joe went missing.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

SIX<\/p>\n

Hoss stood with his hat in his hands, looking down at Winnemucca.\u00a0 Sarah had said nothing about her pa being taken ill.\u00a0 The Indians hadn\u2019t been too happy to see them at first, until they noticed her sittin\u2019 behind him.\u00a0 Then it took some talkin\u2019 to explain just why<\/em> she was where she was.\u00a0 Fortunately, Roy Coffee was known as a good man to the Paiute, just as he<\/em> was taken to be one since he was Ben Cartwright\u2019s son.<\/p>\n

Otherwise, they might have been in trouble.<\/p>\n

The second man in charge \u2013 Tuhudya, or Mule Deer \u2013 was the one what talked to them.\u00a0 Winnemucca opened his eyes briefly and smiled at his daughter as she sat by his side, but that was all.\u00a0 Mule Deer said the old chief had taken sick about a week before. Their medicine man tried just about everythin\u2019 to cure him, but nothin\u2019 had worked.\u00a0 Winnemucca just kept getting\u2019 sicker.\u00a0 He and Roy exchanged a glance or two.\u00a0 Seemed to him the chief had perty much the same symptoms he and his brothers had had.\u00a0 Adam had been in on the conversation their pa had with Doc Martin concernin\u2019 Joe and had filled him in.\u00a0 Seemed the influenza could bring on all kinds of things if it wasn\u2019t stopped quick enough, includin\u2019 a man\u2019s heart failin\u2019 him and inflammation of the brain. \u00a0Sometimes it even brought on a \u2018sick\u2019 that no medicine could cure.<\/p>\n

That was why they was so worried about Little Joe.<\/p>\n

Mule Deer made a gesture, indicating they should step outside.\u00a0 Hoss was only too happy to comply since the fire burnin\u2019 in the middle of the teepee was makin\u2019 it hot as blazes, and the willow leaves Sarah\u2019s ma had tossed on it were smokin\u2019 like a house on fire.<\/p>\n

The second they was outside Roy Coffee said, \u201cYou don\u2019t seem to be hearin\u2019 me, Mule Deer.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m tellin\u2019 you this Corbin Drury is a dangerous man.\u00a0 I can have a dozen men or more out here quick as \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Paiute take care of their own,\u201d the temporary chief replied, cutting Roy off.\u00a0 \u201cWe have no need of white men to protect us from other white men.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, you listen here!\u00a0 This ain\u2019t no ordinary<\/em> white man,\u201d the deputy insisted.\u00a0 \u201cCorbin\u2019s almost like a ghost.\u00a0 You know, kind of like Coyote, or one of them water spirits you believe in; the ones that can charm a man and lead him to his death.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roy was trying to talk the Indians\u2019 language.\u00a0 Hoss didn\u2019t think it was gonna work.\u00a0 Indians, especially the Paiute, were proud.\u00a0 Sometimes so proud, they had one of them falls to destruction the Good Book talked about.<\/p>\n

Mule Deer glanced at the Indian who had come to stand beside him.\u00a0 \u201cIf such a spirit was nearby, Yapa<\/em> would know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yapa was the tribe\u2019s current medicine man.\u00a0 He was kind of young.\u00a0 The old one died the year before.<\/p>\n

Roy\u2019s knew it too.\u00a0 \u201cYapa is a child and knows it.\u00a0 He ain\u2019t seen thirty years of livin\u2019 yet and, what\u2019s more, he don\u2019t know a white man\u2019s mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe spirits speak to him,\u201d Mule deer countered.\u00a0 \u201cHe does not need to know.\u00a0 Issa<\/em> would tell him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Issa\u2019 was the Paiute\u2019s name for God.<\/p>\n

Roy was a tall man, near as tall as his pa.\u00a0 Mule Deer topped Hop Sing, but not by much.<\/p>\n

He took a step closer.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, you listen here, Mule Deer.\u201d\u00a0 He eyed the medicine man.\u00a0 \u201cYapa.\u00a0 I got me<\/em> a line to \u2018Issa\u2019 too, and He\u2019s tellin\u2019 me the Paiute is in danger.\u00a0 I\u2019m not about to go to meetin\u2019 on Sunday and bend knee and ask Him to forgive me on account of I let you all get slaughtered!\u201d<\/p>\n

Neither Indian looked the tiniest bit intimidated.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Issa allows us to be slaughtered,\u201d Yapa replied, \u201cit is His will.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss leaned in close to the lawman\u2019s ear and whispered, \u201cI think this is what they call a rock meetin\u2019 a hard place.\u201d<\/p>\n

His pa\u2019s friend sighed.\u00a0 Then, he nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cMister Roy?\u00a0 Is it okay now if I ask Mule Deer about talkin\u2019 to Sarah?\u201d<\/p>\n

Roy turned toward him.\u00a0 \u201cI know you\u2019re worried about your brother, son, but Sarah said she\u2019d only talk to her Pa, and her Pa ain\u2019t talkin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCan you<\/em> talk to her, Mister Mule Deer?\u201d Hoss asked the chief.\u00a0 \u201cMaybe she\u2019ll tell you what she saw.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the first time, Mule Deer\u2019s stern visage softened.\u00a0 \u201cI have asked the girl.\u00a0 She will not speak to anyone but her father.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss blew out a heartfelt sigh.\u00a0 He knew Sarah was scared, but dang it if he didn\u2019t want to take hold of that little Indian gal and shake whatever she knew out of her!<\/p>\n

Roy\u2019s hand landed on his shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m thinkin\u2019 maybe there\u2019s one other <\/em>person can get the girl to talk.\u201d<\/p>\n

The lawman\u2019s gaze was fixed on something behind him.\u00a0 Hoss turned to see what it was and near came nose-to-nose with Tuboitone, Sarah\u2019s mother.\u00a0 He hated to admit it but ever since he first saw her, he\u2019d been scared to death of that woman!<\/p>\n

Tuboitone barked a command and then glared at him.<\/p>\n

Hoss didn\u2019t know Paiute, but he was durn sure it meant \u2018Get out of my way!\u2019<\/p>\n

The big teen stepped aside and watched as Sarah\u2019s mother ducked and entered the teepee, closing the hide flap behind her.\u00a0 A few seconds later words were exchanged \u2013 most of them Tuboitone\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\u201cSarah will tell you what you need to know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss nearly jumped out of his skin.\u00a0 \u201cNatch,\u201d he said as he pivoted on his heel, \u201cyou dang near scared me out of a year of growth!\u201d<\/p>\n

His friend laughed.\u00a0 \u201cIt would not hurt you, my friend.\u00a0 You have grown two years for every one that I have seen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Natch had no sooner fallen silent than the flap to the teepee was opened and Tuboitone stepped out.\u00a0 Next came Sarah.\u00a0 The little girl glanced at her mother before taking a halting step.\u00a0 The older woman placed a hand on her shoved.<\/p>\n

\u2018Unaggwe!\u2019, she ordered.<\/p>\n

\u2018Speak<\/em>!\u2019<\/p>\n

Sarah kept her head down.\u00a0 \u201cI was afraid.\u00a0 I ran,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cI am not worthy to be a chief\u2019s daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss glanced at Tuboitone for permission before stepping forward.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s okay, Sarah.\u00a0 We all get scared.\u00a0 Just \u2013 please \u2013\u00a0 tell me what happened to Little Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2026\u201d\u00a0 She glanced at her mother, who inclined her head.\u00a0 \u201cI wanted to gather the holy herb to heal my father.\u00a0 It is found only in the valley of Sangmu.\u00a0 I was\u2026afraid, so I asked Little Joe to help me.\u201d<\/p>\n

The big teen took another step.\u00a0 \u201cDid you two find it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u00a0 I was still afraid.\u00a0 Little Joe was not.\u00a0 He did not fear Sangmu.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWho\u2019s \u2018Sangmu\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n

Mule Deer answered.\u00a0 His voice actually shook.\u00a0 \u201cThe basket ogress.\u00a0 She who takes and eats small children.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss turned to his friend for an explanation.\u00a0 Natch had been to the white man\u2019s school and, while he held with most of his people\u2019s beliefs, some he also challenged.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe basket ogress has many names.\u00a0 Dzunukwa, Tsonoqua<\/em>, and Axwadus<\/em> are but a few.\u00a0 The ogress catches naughty children and carries them off to her lair, where she cooks and eats them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss\u2019 pale brows shot skyward.\u00a0 \u201cYou mean, like the witch in Hansel and Gretel?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis I do not know.\u00a0 What I do know is that not all believe she means harm.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEatin\u2019 someone sounds like harm to me!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy husband would tell you different,\u201d a woman said; her voice warm and sultry as a desert wind.\u00a0 Hoss was surprised to find it belonged to Tuboitone.\u00a0 He had no idea she knew the white man\u2019s tongue.\u00a0 \u201cSome believe Sangmu does no harm.\u00a0 Some believe she looks for small children not to eat them, but to heal them when they are sick.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLittle brother sure enough is sick,\u201d Hoss replied.\u00a0 \u201cYou mean, if this\u2026Sangmu\u2026took Joe, it might have been to help him?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you believe in the Sasq\u2019ets?\u201d Winnemucca\u2019s wife asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know\u2026.\u00a0 I mean, I believe in what I saw.\u00a0 Somethin\u2019\u2026\u00a0 Well, somethin\u2019 big and hairy.\u00a0 But I don\u2019t know if it was one of them Sasquatches.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss swallowed hard.\u00a0 \u201cMa\u2019am.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tuboitone pushed her daughter forward.\u00a0 \u201cSarah will take you to the Sasq\u2019ets land so you can seek them out and find your brother.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSarah?\u201d<\/p>\n

The little girl paled, but nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI will be as brave as Joe Cartwright.\u00a0 I will go to the valley of Sangmu and ask her to give back my friend.\u201d\u00a0 Her eyes met his.\u00a0 \u201cIf you will take me there, Mister Hoss.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roy Coffee had remained silent throughout.\u00a0 Now, he spoke up. \u00a0\u00a0\u201cI think you should go, son.\u00a0 Go and find that little brother of yours \u2013 wherever he is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you comin\u2019 with me, Mister Roy?\u201d<\/p>\n

The lawman\u2019s gaze returned to Mule Deer, and then moved on to Yapa.\u00a0 \u201cI need to stay here, at least for a while yet.\u00a0 Just in case Corbin Drury shows up and tries to make trouble.\u201d\u00a0 Roy shifted nervously on his feet.\u00a0 \u201cStill, I hate to send you out alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Natch stepped between them.\u00a0 \u201cI will show Hoss the way\u2026if my mother agrees.\u00a0 I would see the valley of Sangmu and speak to the ogress.\u00a0 I will ask her to return Joe Cartwright, and<\/em> ask for the magic she has to save my father.\u201d\u00a0 His gaze went to his little sister.\u00a0 \u201cNot try to take it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sarah hung her head.<\/p>\n

Roy gave Natch a smile and then addressed him.\u00a0 \u201cHoss, I know your Pa won\u2019t be happy if I don\u2019t go with you, but I feel I\u2019m needed here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s okay, Mister Roy.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss grinned.\u00a0 \u201cNatch will take good care of me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope so, Hoss.\u00a0 If\u2019n he don\u2019t, your pa will have my hide!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When Joe woke up, he felt almost normal \u2013 like he wasn\u2019t sick anymore.\u00a0 Whatever was in that awful-smellin\u2019 stuff had sure done the trick!\u00a0 He could draw a deep breath and, when he did, he didn\u2019t cough.<\/p>\n

Hallelujah!<\/p>\n

Once awake, Joe laid on his stone bed for a while, listening to the sounds around him.\u00a0 It didn\u2019t take him long to figure out all of the Sasq\u2019ets\u2026Bigfoots\u2026Bigfeet?\u00a0 Whatever they were called, they were all asleep.<\/p>\n

One of them was even snoring!<\/p>\n

Joe felt a little guilty.\u00a0 Sangmu and her family had been kind to him and he was really grateful, but, kind as they were, he didn\u2019t want to be where he was.\u00a0 He wanted to go home to his pa and brothers, and he really <\/em>wanted to know what had happened to Sarah.\u00a0 He was supposed to be guarding her and had failed in his duty.\u00a0 He\u2019d heard her yell and that was it.\u00a0 He had no idea if she was being held somewhere else \u00a0by the creatures or was still in the forest, or if she\u2019d run all the way back to the Paiute village \u2013 and he needed to know!<\/p>\n

Cautiously, Joe swung his feet over the edge of the stone bed and let them dangle down. \u00a0Then, he waited. When no stars went off in his head and no one seemed to notice, he slipped off of it and placed his bare feet on the floor.\u00a0 The rest of him was pretty bare too.\u00a0 His shirt was gone and not a lot was left of his pants.\u00a0 Heavens only knew where his boots were!\u00a0 Looking around, he spotted the odd woven covering he\u2019d been wrapped in earlier, and tossed it over his shoulders.\u00a0 Pa would skin him alive if he went out into the night air without any clothes!<\/p>\n

Joe grinned.\u00a0 At least he wasn\u2019t afraid anymore that Sangmu <\/em>was gonna skin him!<\/p>\n

Joe took a few steps and stopped to listen.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t see the Bigfoot family, but he could hear them.\u00a0 They made the same funny noises when they were sleeping that they did when they were awake.\u00a0\u00a0 The ma and pa creatures were laying at the back of the cave.\u00a0 Ha\u2019tee laws on a mat in front of the fire.\u00a0 Shiner had his back propped up against the wall near the mouth of the cave.\u00a0 His long legs reached right into the opening where the dawn light was rising.<\/p>\n

Guarding it, maybe?<\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t bother Joe much if he was.\u00a0 He\u2019d sneaked out plenty of times when Hop Sing was keeping watch.\u00a0 Adam was a little harder to fool, but he\u2019d managed it.\u00a0 He never tried it with his pa, since Pa had eyes in the back of his head.<\/p>\n

For real.<\/p>\n

No, he wasn\u2019t too worried about Shiner.\u00a0 Unlike the other Bigfeet Shiner seemed, well, like the boy at school that people called \u2018slow\u2019.\u00a0 Shiner moved that way too, kind of like a desert tortoise, while he was like a jack rabbit.<\/p>\n

He could outrun just about anyone with legs shorter than a tree trunk.<\/p>\n

Joe remained where he was for a full count of ten before he took another step.\u00a0 And another.\u00a0 Each time he listened for any change in the sounds the sleeping bigfeet made, but he didn\u2019t hear any.\u00a0 It took about three minutes to make his way to Shiner and another two to pass him by, but Joe forced himself to be patient.\u00a0 Once outside, he would be free.<\/p>\n

He was pretty sure if any member of the Bigfoot family woke while he was still in the cave, there was a good chance one of them would catch him.<\/p>\n

Another minute and his bare toes touched grass.\u00a0 He wanted to shout \u2018yippee!\u2019, but Joe kept his excitement in check as he continued to move slowly and steadily away from the cave and toward freedom.\u00a0 He\u2019d made it about ten yards when the night air was split by a roar that would have frightened a bull elephant.<\/p>\n

Joe glanced back at the cave mouth, gulped in air, and started to run.\u00a0 Dusty, Pa\u2019s ranch hand, had showed him a shiny watch once.\u00a0 The cowpoke explained it wasn\u2019t any ordinary watch, but one used to \u2018clock\u2019 stage coach drivers to see how long their various runs took.\u00a0 Since time was money, the companies that employed them wanted to make sure no one was lagging!\u00a0 Dusty told him to take off and he did.\u00a0 When he came back huffing and puffing, the old cowpoke said \u2013 at a sprint \u2013 that he\u2019d run twenty-five miles an hour!\u00a0 Of course, no one could keep that kind of pace up for an hour.<\/p>\n

But he only needed a few minutes to reach the trees!<\/p>\n

As he ran, Joe became aware of a weird sound.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t believe what he saw when he glanced over his shoulder!\u00a0 Shiner was coming after him, but in the funniest way.\u00a0 The bigfoot would run awhile and then bend down and take hold of his feet with his hands and bounce on his butt for a bit before he started to run again.\u00a0 Joe was so stunned that he stopped to watch \u2013 which was a mistake \u2013 \u2018cause it was then he saw the larger, more terrifying form of Tiny coming up behind Shiner.\u00a0 Tiny had something in his hands that looked an awful lot like the dragnet Pa had in his closet upstairs.<\/p>\n

The one he\u2019d used when he was a seaman to catch fish!<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease, God!\u201d Joe whispered as he turned and began to run.\u00a0 \u201cPlease don\u2019t let Tiny catch me!\u00a0 Sangmu might not want me for supper, but I\u2019m not so sure about him!\u00a0 Please God, let\u2026me\u2026get\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

The net snaked out.\u00a0 Joe heard it rush through the air and felt the rough knotted ropes brush the back of his form.\u00a0 It had missed him!\u00a0 Yee-haw!\u00a0 He glanced behind again and saw that Tiny and Shiner were standing beside each other, scratching their hairy heads.\u00a0 He thought that meant they\u2019d given up, but he should have known better.\u00a0 Hop Sing liked to use Chinese proverbs to teach him about life.\u00a0 One of those came to mind.<\/p>\n

\u2018The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

He turned back, ready to spring into the trees, only to find his way blocked by the giant form of Sangmu.\u00a0 The basket ogress towered over him, one hand on her huge hip.\u00a0 He knew that look.\u00a0 Even though he didn\u2019t remember his mama very well, he knew he\u2019d seen it on her face.<\/p>\n

Joe swallowed hard as she took hold of him and he wondered what size of a paddle someone seven feet tall used.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t take long to reach the meadow where the crimson phlox bloomed.\u00a0 The blossoms were fading now, turning to the color of old blood.\u00a0 Hoss Cartwright stared at them hard, remembering the moment when he\u2019d spotted a small form lying in the middle of them.\u00a0 He\u2019d sure enough hoped it was his missing baby brother, but it wasn\u2019t. \u00a0Instead, it was Sarah Winnemucca; the same little Indian gal who sat in front of her brother, Natch, on his paint pony right now.\u00a0 \u00a0He\u2019d seen the two of them talking as they rode up.\u00a0 Natch had an awful stern look on his face.\u00a0 If there was one thing meant the world to Indians, it was honor, and leavin\u2019 someone behind because you was scared, well, that just wasn\u2019t an honorable thing to do.<\/p>\n

\u2018Course, in his mind, when the somebody what run was an eleven-year-old girl, you had to give them what the parson called \u2018grace\u2019.<\/p>\n

Natch leapt off of his pony and held a hand out to his sister.\u00a0 Sarah turned her nose up at it and slid down on her own.\u00a0 The risin\u2019 light shone off the tears that stained her cheeks.\u00a0 Hoss didn\u2019t know if they was from fear or shame or somethin\u2019 else.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t really care.<\/p>\n

He just wanted to find his brother.<\/p>\n

Hoss dismounted and crossed to the pair.<\/p>\n

\u201cSarah will show you where she last saw Little Joe,\u201d Natch announced.<\/p>\n

The little gal\u2019s jaw was set.\u00a0 She nodded.\u00a0 \u201cYou will follow me.\u201d<\/p>\n

The big teen hid his smile.\u00a0 He nodded solemnly.\u00a0 \u201cThank you, Miss Sarah, for showin\u2019 me \u2013 and for goin\u2019 first.\u00a0 You know, the thought of that there Sangmu kind of scares me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Natch shot him a look.\u00a0 He ignored it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, I\u2019m big, and I know how I scare people.\u00a0 I can\u2019t imagine somethin\u2019 that much bigger than me comin\u2019 out of the woods and runnin\u2019 toward me howlin\u2019 like a banshee.\u201d\u00a0 He shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cI tell you.\u00a0 I would of run too!\u201d<\/p>\n

Sarah stared at him, stone-faced, but he could see the gratitude shining out of her eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis way,\u201d she said and started to walk.<\/p>\n

Natch\u2019s sister took them to the edge of the trees.\u00a0 Once there, she stopped and pointed.\u00a0 Hoss saw the line of Santa Yerba plants clingin\u2019 tight to the bottom of a hill not too far away.\u00a0 Their white blossoms shone pink in the dawning light\u00a0 \u201cLittle Joe went to pick the holy weed.\u00a0 He was here,\u201d she pointed at her feet.\u00a0 \u201cThat is when we heard the cry of Sangmu.\u00a0 I ran.\u00a0 Little Joe did not.\u201d\u00a0 Sarah\u2019s head dropped to her chest.\u00a0 \u201cI did not see him taken, but I heard Sangmu.\u00a0 When I turned back, Little Joe was gone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss shoved his tall hat back on his head and looked around.\u00a0 Whoever took Joe, they could have gone just about anywhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour people got any idea where these\u2026Sasq\u2019ets\u2026live?\u201d he asked Natch.<\/p>\n

His friend nodded.\u00a0 \u201cIn the caves near the waterfall.\u00a0 In the winter they seek warmer lands, but that is where they come in the spring.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know for sure they\u2019re real?\u201d he asked, still half-disbelieving what he had seen.<\/p>\n

Natch snorted.\u00a0 \u201cThe white man believes in air.\u00a0 This he cannot see.\u00a0 He believes in his God \u2013 Yahweh \u2013 whom he cannot see.\u00a0 Why is it so hard to believe in the Sasq\u2019ets, whom the People have<\/em> seen and tell you are real?\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss chuckled. \u00a0\u201cWell, when you put it that way.\u00a0 I \u2013 \u201d<\/p>\n

The big teen stopped dead at a sound.\u00a0 It was hard to describe.\u00a0 It was kind of like the bellow of a bear or elk, but contained a strange thumping noise \u2013 like someone was knocking a dead branch against a hollow log over and over again.\u00a0 It cut off in an eerie howl that curdled the blood.<\/p>\n

Then, a child shouted.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s gotta be Little Joe!\u201d Hoss proclaimed.<\/p>\n

Natch put a hand across his chest to stop him from taking off.\u00a0 \u201cYou do not know it is.\u00a0 As my father says, \u2018Do not be afraid of going slowly, only of standing still\u2019.\u00a0 If it is<\/em> little Joe, we will find him.\u00a0 We do him no good if we too are captured.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss was breathing hard.\u00a0 \u201cYeah,\u00a0 I know.\u00a0 I just\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 He felt someone take his hand and looked down to find Sarah beside him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will keep you safe,\u201d she said solemnly.<\/p>\n

The big teen nodded.\u00a0 He knew she needed it.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow,\u201d Natch said, \u201cwe will go.\u00a0 Slowly.\u201d<\/p>\n

And they did.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe was back in the cave.\u00a0 Well, not exactly in<\/em> the cave, but outside it.<\/p>\n

When Sangmu caught him, he thought he was \u2018in for it\u2019 for sure, but all she did was carry him back to the place where the Bigfeet lived and place him in a sort of make-shift corral made out of tree branches. \u00a0Then she went about her business, which was washing more leaves.\u00a0 He really<\/em> wondered what all those leaves were for!\u00a0 Shortly after that Ha\u2019tee came out of the cave.\u00a0 She ignored him at first but, after a few minutes of stacking leaves, came back to lean on the corral and stare at him.\u00a0 Apparently, he wasn\u2019t interesting either, because it wasn\u2019t long before she was sitting on the ground playing with the bugs between her toes.<\/p>\n

Joe wrinkled his nose.<\/p>\n

Maybe they were pets.<\/p>\n

Tiny and Shiner seemed to have work to do.\u00a0 There was a river nearby \u2013 the one that ended in the waterfall \u2013 and they kept coming and going to and from it.\u00a0 They never seemed to bring anything back, so he had no idea what they were doing, but since watching them was just about all he had to do \u2013 that was what he did.\u00a0 At one point Ha\u2019tee offered him another bowl of soup.\u00a0 One whiff of it made him say, \u2018No, thanks!\u2019.\u00a0 When he refused, she looked at him like he\u2019d lost all his marbles and downed the stinking liquid herself.<\/p>\n

Joe glanced up at the sky and guessed that about an hour or so had passed since his failed escape attempt.\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t given up, but he realized now that getting away was gonna take being as sneaky as older brother.\u00a0 The Bigfeet \u2013 big as they were \u2013 would have \u2018clocked\u2019 at forty on Dusty\u2019s mile-per-hour watch, he was sure.\u00a0 He\u2019d never seen anything so big<\/em> move so fast! Joe giggled at the image of Shiner scooting on his butt, but his smile quickly faded.<\/p>\n

Truth to tell, he had no idea how he was going to get away.<\/p>\n

Tears entered his eyes.\u00a0 \u201cPa, come get me,\u201d the little boy whispered.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t care if you tan me \u2018til I can\u2019t sit down for a month of Sundays.\u00a0 Just come and get me.\u00a0 Please\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ha\u2019tee had risen up to stare at him again.\u00a0 They were pretty close.\u00a0 It surprised him when she reached out a hairy hand to touch one of his tears.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sad,\u201d he said, pointing to his wet cheeks.\u00a0 \u201cDo you know what \u2018sad\u2019 means?\u201d\u00a0 He gestured toward Tiny, who was walking past yet again with Shiner at his side.\u00a0 \u201cI miss my pa and brothers.\u00a0 I want to go home<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 Joe gestured toward the cave as another tear fell.\u00a0 \u201cHome.\u00a0 Do you understand?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ha\u2019tee blinked \u2013 and then went back to playing with her bugs.<\/p>\n

Joe sunk to the ground in despair and dropped his head into his hands.<\/p>\n

It was then he spotted it: a pretty four-petal, yellow-orange flower; each one single on a long stem.\u00a0 The petals were just opening in the morning light.\u00a0 He knew what it was because Hop Sing had sent him out looking for them before.\u00a0 All of the sudden, Pa hadn\u2019t been able to sleep.\u00a0 He\u2019d turned into a real grizzly bear because he was tired all<\/em> the time.\u00a0 Hop Sing took the leave and roots of the flower and steeped them in hot water and made a concoction that knocked Pa right out!<\/p>\n

If he could just get hold of some of those leaves and put them into that awful stew the Bigfeet were so fond of, maybe \u2013 just maybe<\/em> \u2013 he could make them sleepy enough, he could slip away!<\/p>\n

Joe thought about it a minute and then rose and went to tap Ha\u2019tee\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0 When she turned to look at him, he rubbed his tummy and pointed to the empty bowl at her feet.<\/p>\n

\u201cCan I have something to eat?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

If a Bigfoot could smile, Ha\u2019tee did \u2013 at least her eyes narrowed to slits and the corners of what he called her mouth went up.\u00a0 She rose to her feet and practically skipped over to her mother and asked for the bowl to be filled.\u00a0 When she returned Joe took it from her, but then he turned and pointed to the California poppy plants behind him.<\/p>\n

\u201cYum,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cThis will make it even better.\u201d\u00a0 With that, the little boy walked over to the bed of poppies and tugged a couple out of the ground.\u00a0 He broke the blossoms off and tossed them down, ran his hand along the stems, and then added the leaves to the soup.\u00a0 \u201cYou ever tried it before?\u201d he asked, hopeful she had not.<\/p>\n

Sangmu was now at her daughter\u2019s side. \u00a0She studied the leaves floating in the bowl for a moment and then held out her hand.\u00a0 Joe figured she would want to check out the plant, so he went and pulled a couple more.\u00a0 After he handed them to her, he pretended to take a big<\/em> swig of the soup.<\/p>\n

\u201cMm-mm,\u201d he said, again passing his hand over his tummy.<\/p>\n

The truth was California poppies were bitter as chestnut husks, and he should know since he\u2019d tried them.\u00a0\u00a0 But then, he figured \u2013 as awful as the soup was \u2013 the Bigfeet would think they made it taste even better!<\/em><\/p>\n

Sangmu took one of the leaves and crushed it between her fingers, sniffed it, and then held her hairy paw out for more.<\/p>\n

Hallelujah!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cJust how far is it to this place where them there Sasq\u2019ets live?\u201d Hoss asked as he pushed aside yet another tree branch.\u00a0 He could hear the waterfall in the distance, so he hoped they was gettin\u2019 close.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the far side of the fall of water,\u201d Sarah answered.\u00a0 The little girl was still holding his hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnother hour or two as the white man counts time,\u201d Natch said as he came up behind them.\u00a0 Sarah\u2019s brother had a pocket watch and was real proud of it too.\u00a0 His pa had given it to him and he wore it hanging on his weapon belt.<\/p>\n

\u201cI sure hope Joe\u2019s all right,\u201d the big teen sighed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn spite of my sister\u2019s fear,\u201d Natch said, making a face, \u201cI have never heard of the Sasq\u2019ets hurting anyone.\u00a0 They are afraid of men and so they try to scare them away.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen why take Little Joe?\u00a0 You really think it was on account of the fact that he was sick?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI do not know, but it is likely.\u00a0 My mother\u2019s people fear what they do not know and have many stories of monsters and ogres and,\u201d he flashed a grin, \u201cwhite men who eat Indian children.\u00a0 My father\u2019s people do not believe such things.\u00a0 They believe Issa cares for his people and do not fear until there is reason.\u00a0 It is they who believe the Sasq\u2019ets mean no harm.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cErr, Natch\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, my friend?\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss swallowed hard.\u00a0 He nodded ahead.\u00a0 \u201cYou ever heard of one of them Sasquet\u2019s usin\u2019 a rifle?\u201d<\/p>\n

Natch had been looking back the way they\u2019d come.\u00a0 The Indian boy turned now to find Hoss and his sister had stopped and were staring straight ahead.<\/p>\n

Hoss glanced sideways at his friend.\u00a0 \u201cNatch?\u201d<\/p>\n

Sarah\u2019s brother shook his head.<\/p>\n

That was too bad, the big teen thought, \u2018cause he\u2019d kind of liked a warning.<\/p>\n

On account of there was a great big hairy Bigfoot standin\u2019 not twenty feet away, pointin\u2019 one at him now.<\/p>\n

SEVEN<\/p>\n

Ben Cartwright was still shaking.\u00a0 They\u2019d been standing outside of Erasmus Davari\u2019s house when a chilling cry rent the air \u2013 followed by a child\u2019s high-pitched scream.\u00a0 It hadn\u2019t been all that far away, and he and Adam had mounted and taken off in its direction with alacrity.\u00a0 The trouble was, sounds in the forest echoed off of just about everything, as well as being diminished by thick layers of leaves and grass.\u00a0 Both cries had come from the west and that was the way they headed, only to draw to a halt a short time later when they realized they had no idea of where to go.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe could be anywhere, Pa,\u201d Adam growled with frustration.\u00a0 \u201cAnywhere!\u201d<\/p>\n

They were both sure the cry had been Joe\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know, son.\u201d\u00a0 Ben looked around.\u00a0 He knew the area, but not well.\u00a0 He\u2019d never bothered to explore it much past Erasmus\u2019 humble home.\u00a0 \u201cI think we should head for the river caves.\u00a0 If someone has your brother and is holding him, that\u2019s most likely where they would hold up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah.\u201d\u00a0 Adam removed his hat and ran a hand through his hair before replacing it.\u00a0 \u201cThat little squirt sure knows how to get in trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben suppressed a grin.\u00a0 \u201cJoe\u2019s had good teachers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWho?\u00a0 Hoss and me?\u201d\u00a0 His eldest did nothing to hide his smile.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ve always been perfect angels!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHmm.\u00a0 I seem to remember a few times when I opened bedroom doors in the middle of the night to find you and Hoss missing from your beds \u2013 and your little brother soundly asleep in his!\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam folded his hands on the horn of his saddle and grinned.\u00a0 \u201cYou know, Pa, education is important to\u2026.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 His son\u2019s voice had trailed off.\u00a0 \u201cDid you hear that?\u201d<\/p>\n

The rancher shook his head.\u00a0 Then, he did.<\/p>\n

Hear it.<\/p>\n

Someone was running toward them \u2013 fast.<\/p>\n

Adam dismounted and took a step into the man-high grasses before them.\u00a0 A second later he was bowled over by a small hurtling body.<\/p>\n

\u201cMister Ben!\u00a0 Mister Adam!\u201d Sarah Winnemucca exclaimed breathlessly.\u00a0 \u201cThe Sasq\u2019ets have Mister Hoss and my brother!!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hoss eyed the critter sitting across from him.\u00a0 It was a good head taller than he was and covered from top to toe in fur.\u00a0 The light was risin\u2019 but it was dark as night where they was \u2013 in a holler just this side of the waterfall \u2013 so he couldn\u2019t tell if the fur was a part of it or if it was just what it was some kind of clothin\u2019.\u00a0 The big teen frowned.\u00a0 It \u00a0didn\u2019t seem to be wearin\u2019 no hat or boots, but then he could\u2019ve been fooled on that.\u00a0 He wanted to ask Natch what he thought, but Natch was layin\u2019 all quiet beside him on account of the Sasquatch, or whatever it was, had struck him with the barrel of the rifle the minute they arrived.\u00a0 The critter had taken Sarah by the arm and Natch had gone off half-cocked.\u00a0 Sarah got away.\u00a0 He sure hoped she was all right, poor little thing!\u00a0 Frightened twice by a big hairy monster in twice in as many days.<\/p>\n

You had to wonder what the world was comin\u2019 to.<\/p>\n

So far the critter hadn\u2019t said nothin\u2019, just grunted and pointed and then set to fixin\u2019 its dinner once both him and Natch had their hands and feet tied up.\u00a0 Hoss guessed it wasn\u2019t worryin\u2019 about Sarah none.\u00a0 Maybe there was another of its kind out there somewhere it figured would catch her.<\/p>\n

Whatever its \u2018kind\u2019 was.<\/p>\n

Hoss was pretty sure this was the same Sasquatch he\u2019d seen before.\u00a0 It was covered all-over in a medium-long, sort of bristly, curly red fur.\u00a0 Kind of reminded him of those funny Scottish cows they\u2019d seen at a show in Hangtown once.\u00a0 The thing was, even though it looked like a critter, now that he could observe it more closely, it moved an awful lot like a man.\u00a0 And although he liked coffee as well as the next, it seemed kind of funny to him that a Sasq\u2019ets would be brewin\u2019 some up.\u00a0 Hoss winced as his stomach growled.\u00a0 It\u2019d been quite a while since he\u2019d been fed and he was feelin\u2019 kind of weak.\u00a0 He\u2019d seen the critter add a rabbit to his stew and he sure wished he could have spooned out a bowl and et it.<\/p>\n

Hoss let out a sigh.\u00a0 He sure wished Natch would wake up so he could eat some too.<\/p>\n

Natch worried him.\u00a0 It had been a good half-hour since he was hit and he was still out cold.\u00a0 The rifle butt had left a bloody trail on his forehead.\u00a0 Hoss shifted and pulled against the ropes binding him, but they wouldn\u2019t give.\u00a0 He was tied up like a prize hog with the ends of the rope going around his wrists and then over and under the log he was propped against.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey!\u00a0 You think you could loosen these up so I could check on my friend?\u201d\u00a0 The big teen scowled when he got no response.\u00a0 \u201cI said, \u201cHey! Can you\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss\u2019 voice trailed off as the critter rose and walked to his side.\u00a0 Once there, it pressed a finger to the place where its lips should have been, and then pressed the tip of its rifle into Natch\u2019s black hair.<\/p>\n

The threat was instantly understood.<\/p>\n

He held his breath until their captor was reseated.\u00a0 He\u2019d gotten a pretty good look him when he came close, and more and more he was beginning to believe that his \u2018critter\u2019 was a man and not a beast.<\/p>\n

Hoss swallowed hard over his fear.<\/p>\n

He wasn\u2019t sure which was worse.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ben Cartwright glanced behind before moving forward into the brush beneath the trees.\u00a0 He\u2019d left Adam behind with Sarah Winnemucca.\u00a0 The poor child was much too shaken to continue.\u00a0 It had taken a few moments for her to find her voice and, when she did, the words she spoke filled him with dread.\u00a0 Hoss and his friend, Natchez, had been taken.\u00a0 Whatever \u2013 or whoever \u2013 it was that held them had struck her brother\u2019s head hard enough to draw blood.\u00a0 Sarah was convinced it one of the creatures her people called a \u2018Sasq\u2019ets\u2019.<\/p>\n

He was just as sure it was Corbin Drury.<\/p>\n

Erasmus was a tall man, but he\u2019d explained that his brother was even taller.\u00a0 The old hermit told them as well that Corbin had come to think of himself as an avenging spirit; one sent by the Almighty to wipe the Indians from the face of the Earth.\u00a0 Rass also said \u2013 and this he found hard to believe \u2013 that Corbin had slain one of the giant creatures and now wore its skin.\u00a0 This was to strike terror in the hearts of those who saw him, as well as to take the \u2018power\u2019 of the creature for himself.<\/p>\n

Curious, that a man who hated Indians would believe in their \u2018magic\u2019.<\/p>\n

So, it was Ben\u2019s belief that \u2013 when he entered the clearing where his middle boy was being held \u2013 it would be a madman and murderer he faced, and not a mythical beast.<\/p>\n

With humanity, there was no need to create monsters.<\/p>\n

With his gun clutched tightly in his hand, Ben parted the branches before him.\u00a0 The sun was at a poor angle that cast shadows across the enclosed space, so it was hard to see.\u00a0 He noted what appeared to be the remains of a fire.\u00a0 There were coals winking on and off.\u00a0 The air carried a scent \u2013 stew, perhaps.\u00a0 The rancher moved forward with caution, halting in place when he saw the back of a head of reddish-blond hair.\u00a0 Ben\u2019s heart beat faster.\u00a0 It was Hoss.\u00a0 He was sure of it.\u00a0 Beside his son lay a prone figure, clad in buckskin leather.\u00a0 Natchez.\u00a0 It seemed the boy was still unconscious, which was not a good sign.\u00a0 The rancher continued to move forward until he was immediately behind his boy.\u00a0 He opened his mouth to speak, but just as quickly clamped it shut.<\/p>\n

Then Ben raised his hands and turned to face the armed man who had come up behind him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe watched Sangmu add a dozen or so poppy leaves to her soup.\u00a0 She let it steep for a few minutes before she tasted it and, when she did, the mama Sasq\u2019ets let out a howl like to raise the dead!\u00a0 A second later she called the whole family over to sample it. \u00a0The four Bigfeet chattered and clucked and growled and groaned \u2013 added even more leaves \u2013 and then set to devouring the entire pot!\u00a0 Joe remembered with his pa, that it hadn\u2019t taken long for the poppy juice to take effect.\u00a0 Pa was a proud man.\u00a0 He told Hop Sing in no uncertain terms that he didn\u2019t need anything to make him sleep.\u00a0 \u2018I can do it on my own, thank you!\u2019, he said.\u00a0 While Pa wasn\u2019t looking, the Asian man slipped some of the potion into a toddy made of whiskey and lemon, handed it to him, and then stood back and waited.<\/p>\n

Fifteen minutes later their father was snorin\u2019 up at storm!<\/p>\n

Of course, even the smallest member of the Bigfeet family was bigger than Pa, so it might take longer.\u00a0 Still, Joe figured they way they were guzzling the soup, it wouldn\u2019t be long.<\/p>\n

And it wasn\u2019t.\u00a0 Twenty, maybe twenty-five minutes later, the Sasq\u2019ets were all laying on the ground.<\/p>\n

The sides of the corral weren\u2019t all that high.\u00a0 Climbing out of it was nothing.\u00a0 Joe paused when his bare feet hit the ground.\u00a0 He looked at the family again and blew out a sigh of relief.\u00a0 Not one of them moved!\u00a0 Since he didn\u2019t know how long the poppy juice would last, the eleven-year-old said a quick \u2018goodbye\u2019 and \u2018thank you\u2019 like his pa would had wanted him to, and took off running.\u00a0 He had a pretty good sense of direction, so he wasn\u2019t too worried about finding his way home.\u00a0 His pa and his brothers had made sure he knew how to use the sun and the signs of the land to find his way.\u00a0 There was also the sound of the waterfall to go by.<\/p>\n

Joe halted.\u00a0 The waterfall\u2026.<\/p>\n

He hated to admit it, but he was tired and hungry and just about ready to fall down, and the Ponderosa was a long <\/em>way away.\u00a0 Maybe he should head for Hermit\u2019s Hill instead.\u00a0 It would be a lot closer.\u00a0 Joe glanced at the sky, and then at the trees surrounding him.\u00a0 By his reckoning he was west of the fall.\u00a0 That meant he needed to go east.\u00a0 He was pretty sure he could find his way to the old man\u2019s cabin, though he had to admit that the times he\u2019d come with his pa to visit, he\u2019d either paid no attention to the route or been asleep in the back of the wagon.<\/p>\n

Oh well.\u00a0 There was nothing for it but to try!<\/p>\n

A half hour later Joe stopped to gather a few berries.\u00a0 He was feeling light-headed and knew he needed food.\u00a0 Berries in hand, he went to a rock and sat down.\u00a0 The waterfall was closer now.\u00a0 He could hear it crashing, as well as hear the river running at his back.\u00a0 He\u2019d just decided to head there for a drink when he heard it.<\/p>\n

Someone talking.<\/p>\n

He shouldn\u2019t have been surprised that there was someone else in the forest, he guessed, but he was.\u00a0 Maybe he thought the Sasq\u2019ets have chased everyone away.\u00a0 After all, it was pretty clear they didn\u2019t want anyone to see or find them.\u00a0 The eleven-year-old had just decided to take cover when something struck him.<\/p>\n

That something was hope.<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s heart pounded in his chest.\u00a0 It could be his pa or his brothers \u2013 or maybe both!<\/em>\u00a0 Sarah would have told them about what happened and he knew<\/em> they would be out looking for him.\u00a0 He winced.\u00a0 Or, at least he hoped<\/em> she would have.<\/p>\n

Bein\u2019 an Indian, Sarah was probably pretty upset about the fact that she took off running.<\/p>\n

Still, once hope was ignited, it was hard to extinguish within the breast of one worn-out little boy.\u00a0 It was his pa and brothers!\u00a0 It had to be!!<\/p>\n

He was as good as rescued!!!<\/p>\n

Joe took off at a sprint, dashing pell-mell through the trees.\u00a0 With each step, however, doubt crept in.\u00a0 What if it wasn\u2019t <\/em>Pa, or<\/em> Adam or Hoss?\u00a0\u00a0 What if it was someone he didn\u2019t<\/em> know?\u00a0 Could he trust them?\u00a0 Would they take him home?\u00a0 The little boy\u2019s pace began to slow until he moved with caution toward what appeared to be a clearing.\u00a0 The sound of the voices grew stronger as he approached and his weary heart leapt as he recognized the deep, thundering tone of his father.<\/p>\n

Trouble was, there was someone else talking.\u00a0 Someone he didn\u2019t<\/em> know.<\/p>\n

And Pa?<\/p>\n

He sounded scared.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ben Cartwright held his breath as the gun that had been pointed at him shifted to the chest of Winnemucca\u2019s fallen son.\u00a0 The Indian boy had begun to moan and Corbin \u2013 for he was sure now that it was Rass\u2019 brother who held them \u2013 had immediately gone to his side.\u00a0 The madman marched him into the camp at gunpoint.\u00a0 He\u2019d been right and his middle boy was there, seated on the ground, tied up but safe.\u00a0 He and Hoss exchanged a glance.\u00a0 It was clear Hoss was worried about his friend.\u00a0 Natchez\u2019 wound had bled badly and, most likely, the boy had a concussion.\u00a0 But that was the least of their worries.\u00a0 Rass\u2019 caught his arm as he left the cabin. The older man wanted to make it clear that his brother\u2019s madness had progressed to the point where Corbin considered everyone a threat to his mission, and had been known to eliminate such threats with deadly force.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d tried reasoning with Drury, but with no luck.\u00a0 The outlaw\u2019s replies were nearly as bestial as his appearance.\u00a0 Ben kept his eyes locked on the man with the gun.\u00a0 In one way he was lucky. \u00a0\u00a0So far he remained unbound.\u00a0 Natch\u2019s bid for consciousness had distracted the madman from his intention to tie him up.<\/p>\n

Ben tensed, ready to spring.<\/p>\n

If he was going to try to disarm Corbin, it needed to be now!<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe froze at the edge of the small clearing with his fingers gripping a pair of saplings just wide enough for him to pass through.\u00a0 What he saw confused him.\u00a0 His brother, Hoss, was seated on the ground with his back to him.\u00a0 There was someone lying beside him.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t think it was Adam, but it was so dark, he couldn\u2019t really tell.<\/p>\n

Strangest of all \u2013 there was a Sasq\u2019ets bending over both of them!<\/p>\n

At least, he thought it was a Sasq\u2019ets.\u00a0 It was weird, though, because there was no smell.\u00a0 He knew from experience that a feller couldn\u2019t get within ten feet of one of them Bigfeet without nosing them \u2013 whether he was downwind or not!\u00a0 And that wasn\u2019t the only thing that didn\u2019t make any sense.\u00a0 The Bigfoot was holding a rifle and the whole time he\u2019d been with the Bigfeet, he hadn\u2019t seen any weapons at all.<\/p>\n

Why would something that big and powerful need with a rifle, Joe wondered?\u00a0 All any of them had to do was smack someone to send them into the next territory!<\/p>\n

Joe stepped through the saplings and halted just within the cover of the leaves as a movement to his right caught his attention.\u00a0 Jumpin\u2019 Jehoshaphat!\u00a0 \u00a0His pa was there too!\u00a0 In fact, Pa was right behind the creature.\u00a0 Now, he might only be eleven years old, but Joe knew just about every look his pa had.\u00a0 He\u2019d seen the older man happy and sad, mad, aggravated, and even \u2013 once or twice – scared.\u00a0 The look on Pa\u2019s face right now wasn\u2019t any of those.\u00a0 Or maybe, it was all<\/em> of those.\u00a0 The little boy swallowed hard over a lump of fear.\u00a0 He\u2019d been real stupid once and ended up in the middle of a corral with a mighty angry stallion.\u00a0 Pa leapt over the fence and came running.\u00a0 One of the hands shouted at Pa to stop \u2013 that he\u2019d be killed.\u00a0 Pa didn\u2019t stop.\u00a0 He\u2019d been ready to sacrifice his life.<\/p>\n

That<\/em> was the look he had right now.<\/p>\n

Pa started to move just as the critter with the gun turned.\u00a0 An image flashed before Joe\u2019s young eyes at that moment \u2013 his mother, mounted on a black horse.\u00a0 The horse was shying.\u00a0 Mama fought to control it. \u00a0The horse fell.<\/p>\n

She didn\u2019t win.\u00a0 She died.<\/p>\n

He was gonna watch his pa die to!<\/p>\n

Eleven-year-old Joe Cartwright broke through the leaves and ran into the clearing.<\/p>\n

Like Hell<\/em>, he was!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ben didn\u2019t know what hit him, but he wasn\u2019t in the spot he\u2019d been in when Corbin\u2019s gun went off \u2013 which had most likely saved his life.\u00a0 Whatever plowed into him had knocked him to the ground and driven the air right out of him.\u00a0 By the time the rancher recognized the tangle of youthful arms and legs wrapped around him, Corbin Drury had awakened to a new danger and begun to howl with fury.\u00a0 Ben reached for his son\u2019s wrist, but failed to catch hold.\u00a0 He watched in horror as the madman lifted his youngest boy into the air and raised a giant fist to strike him.<\/p>\n

Then, a strange thing happened.<\/p>\n

There was a noise like a blast from a trumpet.\u00a0 It was accompanied by a rising drumbeat, as if the clearing was \u00a0surrounded by Indians and each had taken to knocking their tomahawks or spears against the trunk of a tree.\u00a0 The blast was followed by a sound, something like the wind raging in a blue norther, only it wasn\u2019t wind. \u00a0Ben had heard many things in his forty-odd years, but he had never heard anything like this.\u00a0 It was as indescribable as it was unbearable.\u00a0 His mind flew to the time he had spent in the West Indies.\u00a0 Once, as a sailor, he had witnessed a Vaudou ceremony.\u00a0 The unholy wail was much the same \u2013 a cry rife with anger, fueled by a thirst for revenge.<\/p>\n

Corbin Drury staggered back as the sound struck him.\u00a0 His hands opened and he dropped Little Joe, mindless of the fact that the boy fell at an angle that could snap his neck.\u00a0 Ben rolled over and took the impact of his son\u2019s small body, and then clutched the sobbing child to his side.<\/p>\n

It was at that moment all hell broke loose.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam ran.\u00a0 Sarah Winnemucca was hard on this heels.\u00a0 Neither one of them was very good at doing what they were told, so they had been trailing a short distance behind his father when the forest erupted with sound.\u00a0 He\u2019d heard natives counting coup as they rode their war ponies in tight circles around a burning house; satiated with violence and filled with bloodlust.\u00a0 This was no different, except for the sound itself, which was unnerving and unearthly.<\/p>\n

Unnatural.<\/p>\n

The young man cursed as he ran.\u00a0 Whatever was happening, it wasn\u2019t very far ahead.\u00a0 Adam heard a voice rise above the chaos \u2013 he thought it was Hoss \u2013 and then another one, answering, that he was sure<\/em> was his father. A second later he plunged into a stand of trees, only to emerge a few seconds later into a clearing.<\/p>\n

The silence was deafening.<\/p>\n

Adam halted, stunned, a moment before Sarah Winnemucca\u2019s small form plowed into him.\u00a0 He managed to keep his feet and watched as she righted herself and ran to her brother\u2019s side.\u00a0 Then, he looked for his family.\u00a0 Hoss was to his right; his hands bound to a fallen tree.\u00a0 The big teen\u2019s face was pallid as a winding sheet.\u00a0 In the center of the clearing, seated on the ground in a pool of gray stones and brown branches was his father.\u00a0 Little Joe was there too.\u00a0 Safe in Pa\u2019s arms.<\/p>\n

Other than the six of them, the clearing was empty.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Upon their return to the Paiute village, Yama checked the four of them over and pronounced the whole family fit enough to go home.\u00a0 Natchez was okay too, other than a concussion.\u00a0 Everyone was unscathed.<\/p>\n

At least, physically.<\/p>\n

Adam ran a hand over his chin and looked up from his book.\u00a0 He was seated in the great room and was, for the moment, alone.\u00a0 He had yet to get a complete or coherent story out of his father. \u00a0Both he and Roy Coffee had tried before they left the Indians, but Pa had waved them off, saying he would explain everything later.<\/p>\n

He was still waiting.<\/p>\n

Before leaving the clearing, he\u2019d taken a quick look around.\u00a0 The tall grasses that surrounded it had been trampled flat.\u00a0 He\u2019d found what he thought might be the imprints of several pairs of bare feet, but dismissed them as they were nearly eighteen inches long!\u00a0 The strange prints led in the direction of the waterfall and he started to follow them, but was forced to abandon the hunt when his pa called him back to help with his brothers.\u00a0 Both Hoss and Little Joe were exhausted and somewhat distracted.\u00a0 Joe fell asleep the moment he settled into the saddle in front of their father.\u00a0 Pa was all business on the ride home, but not very forthcoming.\u00a0 The only thing Adam knew for sure was that Rass\u2019 brother, Corbin, had held the three of them hostage along with Sarah\u2019s brother.\u00a0 What had happened to Drury and how Joe found them \u2013 or they found Joe \u2013 he had yet to learn.<\/p>\n

Maybe now?<\/p>\n

\u201cSon,\u201d his father said as he dropped into the red leather chair before the fire.\u00a0 \u201cSorry I took so long.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou look all in, Pa,\u201d he replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had some trouble getting your younger brother to settle down.\u00a0 You heard Paul.\u00a0 Even though the infection appears to be gone, nervous excitement can cause it to return.\u201d\u00a0 The older man scowled.\u00a0 \u201cI had to become quite stern with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nervous excitement?\u00a0 Joe?\u00a0 His little brother had been about the most subdued he\u2019d ever seen him when they left the Indian village.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat had Joe excited?\u201d<\/p>\n

His father let out a sigh.\u00a0 \u201cYour little brother is quite insistent that the Sasq\u2019ets saved us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam put his book down.\u00a0 \u201cDid they?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCome now, Adam.\u00a0 You know no such creatures exist.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI do,\u201d he replied, and then added softly, \u201cJust like learned men and scientists all knew the gorilla didn\u2019t exist \u2013 until it did.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is different.\u00a0 A man-beast, eight to nine feet tall, with no shoulders and eyes that burn like coals?\u201d\u00a0 The older man scoffed before rising to his feet and heading for the liquor cabinet.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m going to get a drink.\u00a0 Do you want anything?\u201d<\/p>\n

The young man shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cSo, how is it different?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

His father sat down and took a sip before replying.\u00a0 \u201cI know what I saw, son.\u00a0 It was Corbin Drury who had Hoss and Natchez, and Corbin Drury who nearly killed me and<\/em> your little brother.\u201d<\/p>\n

No one disputed that.\u00a0 He had, however, had a talk with Hoss on the way home about what happened next.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo what happened to Drury?\u201d<\/p>\n

The older man paused mid-sip.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u00a0 I guess he ran.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not what Hoss told him.\u00a0 Hoss agreed with Joe.\u00a0 Middle brother said that noise he\u2019d heard \u2013 the one that sounded like Indians on the war path \u2013 had been made by a group of Sasq\u2019ets.\u00a0 The big teen swore he saw a pair of arms, each as big as an elephant\u2019s trunk, reach through the leaves to grab Corbin Drury, and then heard multiple footsteps as he was carried away.<\/p>\n

\u2018That hide Drury was wearin\u2019,\u2019 Hoss said, \u2018that was made of one of their own.\u00a0 The Sasq\u2019ets took him and God help him for that.\u2019<\/p>\n

Adam cleared his throat.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t entirely convinced of the veracity of Hoss\u2019 claim.<\/p>\n

But then, he wasn\u2019t sure it was wholly untrue either.<\/p>\n

The young man picked up his coffee cup and took a sip.\u00a0 The brew was exceptionally good tonight.\u00a0 He\u2019d have to remember to tell Hop Sing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is that you\u2019re reading?\u201d Pa asked, hopeful of changing the subject.<\/p>\n

The \u2018matter\u2019 of the book was not going to let that happen.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s de Villeneuve\u2019s \u2018Beauty and the Beast\u2019,\u201d Adam replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe children\u2019s book?\u201d<\/p>\n

It was that, and yet the writer\u2019s instinctive understanding of humanity drew him back to it time and time again.\u00a0 In the story the beast was described as a \u2018monster<\/em>\u2019 and yet, later in the tale, Beauty says of him that \u2018this monster, who is only one in form, has a heart so humane\u2026.\u2019<\/em> He\u2019d listened outside the door while his little brother related the details of his adventure to their father.<\/p>\n

Sounded like Joe\u2019s Sasq\u2019ets could be described the same way.<\/p>\n

Adam glanced at the book.\u00a0 De Villeneuve\u2019s version of the story was the first, and came in at one hundred pages.\u00a0 Belmont\u2019s rewriting was simpler and more accessible, but it was this one his stepmother had loved.\u00a0 Marie gave him the book to mark the rather tumultuous first year of their relationship. The thirteen-year-old he had been at the time had wondered why.\u00a0 The seventeen-year-old who stood at the side of her casket as it was lowered into the ground, understood.<\/p>\n

Appearances could be deceiving.<\/p>\n

His father rose and came over to lay his hand on the book\u2019s cover.\u00a0 \u201cMagic and monsters,\u201d he muttered.\u00a0 \u201cMurderers are not monsters.\u00a0 They are men, and that\u2019s the frightening thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Long after his father disappeared into the kitchen, Adam sat considering all he had seen and heard that day.\u00a0 Then he rose, went to the staircase, and made the short journey to the second floor.\u00a0 Little Joe was imprisoned in his room again, at least for a few days until Doctor Martin was certain both his lungs and mind were in the clear.\u00a0 As he approached the room, the man in black paused.\u00a0 He could hear Hoss snoring down the hall.\u00a0 Pa was in the kitchen giving instructions to Hop Sing.<\/p>\n

Who was Joe talking to?<\/p>\n

Adam took hold of the knob and pushed the door in.\u00a0 He stepped in just in time to see Little Joe run across the room and dive headlong into his bed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not Pa,\u201d the young man said with a chuckle as he closed the door.<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s curly head crowned above the covers.\u00a0 \u201cPhew!\u00a0 I thought I was a goner for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou should be,\u201d the oldest Cartwright son said as he crossed to the window and closed it.\u00a0 Once done, he leaned on the sill.\u00a0 \u201cNight air and all that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe made a face.<\/p>\n

Adam crossed to the chair that seemed to be perpetually placed at his little brother\u2019s bedside.\u00a0 As he dropped into it, he asked, \u201cWho were you talking to, Joe?\u00a0 And don\u2019t bat those black eyelashes at me.\u00a0 I know what I heard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marie used to make the same face when she was found out; her nose scrunched up nearly to her eyebrows.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou must be losing it, Adam,\u201d his brother replied.\u00a0 \u201cI wasn\u2019t talking to nobody.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay.\u201d\u00a0 He made as if to rise.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll just let you explain the open window to Pa\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo!\u201d\u00a0 Little Joe shouted.<\/p>\n

Adam opened his hands wide.<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay,\u201d his brother sighed.\u00a0 \u201cIf you have to know, it was Ha\u2019tee.\u00a0 She came to visit me and make sure I was okay.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHa\u2019tee?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah.\u00a0 She climbed up the tree and knocked on the window.\u201d<\/p>\n

He glanced at it.\u00a0 \u201cHa\u2019tee?\u00a0 Not Sarah?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe rolled his eyes.\u00a0 \u201cGosh, no!\u00a0 Sarah\u2019s still mad at me for bein\u2019 braver than her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2026see.\u00a0 So who is this Ha\u2019tee?\u201d<\/p>\n

His brother fell back against the pillows and folded his arms.\u00a0 \u201cYou won\u2019t believe me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTry me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe studied him for a long time as if weighing the consequences of making up a whopper \u2013 or telling a truth that would be \u2018seen\u2019 as a whopper.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was one of the Sasq\u2019ets.\u00a0 She\u2026kind of liked me.\u00a0 Ha\u2019tee was the one got her family to come and save Hoss and me and Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam crossed his arms and leaned back.\u00a0 \u201cAnd you know this\u2026how?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe told me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe nodded.<\/p>\n

One eyebrow peaked.\u00a0 \u201cSince when do you speak Sasq\u2019ets?\u201d<\/p>\n

His baby brother sighed and reached under the covers.\u00a0 Joe\u2019s hand reappeared with a piece of rough bark in it.\u00a0 He held it out.<\/p>\n

There were black marks on the bark \u2013 quite a few of them.\u00a0 They depicted a forest.\u00a0 In the middle of the forest \u2013 in a clearing \u2013 were two figures.\u00a0 One looked like a man, and the other, a little boy with curly hair.\u00a0 A group of four giants surrounded the trees.<\/p>\n

They were holding hands.<\/p>\n

Adam handed the piece of bark back to his brother.\u00a0 Then he rose to his feet and reached out to ruffle the kid\u2019s wild hair.<\/p>\n

\u201cSweet dreams, little brother,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks, Adam.\u00a0 And I love you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI love you to,\u201d he replied as he closed the door.<\/p>\n

Adam went to his room and stood before the bookcase.\u00a0 After a moment, he drew a volume from the top shelf \u2013 not de Villeneuve, but Shakespeare.\u00a0 Book in hand, the young man went to the table by the window, lit the lamp, and sat down before opening it to the last act of Hamlet.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy<\/em>,\u201d he read aloud.\u00a0 And then added quietly, \u2018And in yours, Ben Cartwright.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Then he put out the lamp and went to bed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dedicated to Debbie B. or Debbie Beshears (because she asked for it!)
\nEleven-year-old Little Joe Cartwright is on a mission.\u00a0 His friend, Sarah Winnemucca, needs his help and so, he sets out to find her in the woods.\u00a0 Of course, since this\u00a0is\u00a0Little Joe Cartwright, he’s bound to find something else as well – BIG trouble!\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rated: PG
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