{"id":4158,"date":"2007-04-19T15:04:10","date_gmt":"2007-04-19T19:04:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=4158"},"modified":"2025-02-27T12:11:29","modified_gmt":"2025-02-27T17:11:29","slug":"love-at-first-sight-in-virginia-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=4158","title":{"rendered":"Love at First Sight in Virginia City (by ViveAdam)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary:\u00a0<\/span>Joe falls in love with Christine, a horsewoman in a gipsy company. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Rated:<\/span>\u00a0K+ \u00a0WC \u00a015,000<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Love at First Sight in Virginia City\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Joe threw up his hat,<\/strong> caught it back, threw it up again while humming\u00a0: \u00ab\u00a0Christine, her name is Christine\u00a0\u00bb.<\/div>\n
\n

\u201cDadburnit, Joe, are you making up your mind\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe turned his head towards the voice that was hailing him. Without any reason, he felt like bursting in laughter at seeing his brother Hoss, obviously incensed, clinging to a long wood saw.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe, in case you ignore it, we have a cord of wood to chop and this saw has to be handled by two people, so hurry up\u00a0!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0Christine, her name is Christine\u00a0\u00bb was the only answer Hoss got. However, at last, Joe approached and took one end of the saw. \u00ab\u00a0Christine, Christine\u00a0\u00bb he went on singing on a chimes tune.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you singing? What is it, Christine\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe stopped the saw\u2019s to-and-fro and snapped\u00a0: \u201cTake back immediately what you said\u00a0!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat did I say\u201d, Hoss asked, taken aback.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou said : What is it, Christine\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo what\u00a0?\u201d\u00a0\u201cYou should say : Who is Christine\u00a0? She is a person, not a thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOuch\u00a0! I apologize\u00a0! Well, WHO is Christine\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe prettiest creature that was ever born on earth, a delightful brunette, with kiss curls around her rosy cheeks, doe eyes, wasp-waist, a high planted bosom and a rump\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe, do stop it\u00a0! First, come back to work and then let you explain who\u2019s this gal and how you\u2019re in a position to speak about her… huh\u2026 rump\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t imagine things\u201d, Joe replied, \u201cI saw her rump because she\u2019s a rider and since she rides like a man, she wears pants. That\u2019s all.\u201d<\/p>\n

He was interrupted by the noise of a canter. A few seconds later, his father stopped before them and noticed aloud that they weren\u2019t well on with their work.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a pity\u201d, he said, \u201cbecause I need one of you to go to town.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe jumped at the opportunity\u00a0: \u201cI\u2019ll go, if you like, Pa. Hoss, just ask Frank to replace me.\u201d<\/p>\n

And without listening to the giant\u2019s protestations, he rushed to untie Cochise and mounted.\u00a0Without questioning his youngest son\u2019s real motivation, Ben gave his instructions and Joe headed at great speed to Virginia City.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell\u201d, Ben commented, \u201cshopping in town seems to be more interesting to him than chopping wood\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know what\u2019s the matter with him, Pa. All the morning, he\u2019s been raving about one Christine\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA passing fancy again\u00a0? I should have suspected it. Bet that my errands will be quickly done and after, he\u2019ll take plenty of time to join his belle. Christine, you said\u00a0? I don\u2019t see who she can be.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe said she was a rider. Maybe one of the girls who came with the gipsy company for the horseshow they organize in the town\u2019s fifth anniversary\u2019s honour\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you think so\u00a0? In that case, her name must be Cristina, not Christine. Christine is an American name\u2026 or French. Whatever, he\u2019s going to keep harping on about her for three weeks and after, he\u2019ll flare up for another one. We\u2019re used to that, your brother is an expert in short-lived love.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYep\u00a0! Meanwhile, autumn is coming and if he wants to warm his belle in front of a chimney fire, he\u2019ll need chopped wood. If he thinks I\u2019ll do the job instead of him\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHold on, Hoss\u201d, Ponderosa\u2019s patriarch interrupted, \u201cyou\u2019re not working only for Joe but for all of us. Everybody will need heat, so, do as he said, ask Frank for a hand.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss staid astounded. How did young brother manage to always do just what he wanted to do – and with Pa\u2019s blessing \u2013 leaving his chores to others\u00a0? Himself was always taken in and he failed to understand how and why.\u00a0\u201cMe too\u201d, he grumbled after his father\u2019s departure, \u201cI\u2019m able to do that. Going around in circles with these gipsy gals isn\u2019t Joe\u2019s exclusivity. If I find one for my liking, I\u2019ll do like him and we\u2019ll see what happens !<\/p>\n

\u201d\u00a0*******************************************************************************************************Meanwhile,<\/p>\n

Joe was riding, his heart swelling with love, to Virginia City. The gipsy company had set up its camp on a pasture owned by the Dixon family, situated on the road leading to Ponderosa. The Dixon had a boy, Terry, the same age as Joe. It could be an opportunity or a threat, Joe thought\u00a0: opportunity because it would give him a pretext to visit the camp with the pasture\u2019s owner\u2019s son, threat because Terry could discover Christine and decide to court her.\u00a0After weighing the pros and the cons, Joe decided he\u2019d better go alone. After all, it wasn\u2019t a crime to pay a welcome visit. Forgetting about his father\u2019s errands, he rode to the pasture. Feeling its master\u2019s good mood, Cochise trotted happily, its head and tail wagging up.\u00a0The travelling entertainers had built a makeshift corral and some were training while others were watching and talking. Close to the wagons, women were preparing dinner. Joe ran his eyes over the scene and, ascertain that the lady of his thoughts wasn\u2019t among the cooks, he went close to the corral.\u00a0Christine was there, inside the corral, and she was making circles standing up on her horse. She jumped down, straddled up, stood up again, jumped down again with fantastic facility. Joe found a pleasure that he didn\u2019t mind showing openly, in admiring this gracious person, when an unpleasant voice startled him\u00a0:\u00a0\u201cWhat is he doing here, this guy\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

The sentence was delivered in a foreign language but Joe picked the general picture. No doubt, the middle-aged man who had just shouted him out was wondering about the presence of an intruder in the place that was, temporarily, their property.\u00a0Hearing him, Christine stopped her horse and her heart leapt for joy while recognizing the young man she had met this very morning. As every day, she had gone for a early riding, her little she-dog, Jessie, on her heels. Suddenly, she saw Jessie charging, probably chasing a rabbit. She went full tilt not to lose sight of the dog. All of a sudden, she heard a neigh. Emerging from a clearing, she saw a black and white appaloosa rearing up in front of the little dog that was, itself, desperately jamming on the brakes with its hindquarters.\u00a0Mounted by a young and handsome rider, the appaloosa approached and the boy tipped his black hat. Watching the gesture, Christine noticed in her mind that he was left-handed, just as herself.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs this yours, this dog, Miss?\u201d the young man asked. \u201cit rushed crazily under Cochise\u2019s legs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe.\u201d\u00a0\u201cI beg your pardon\u00a0\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe. She\u2019s a female.\u201d<\/p>\n

He giggled: \u201cI\u2019m sorry but from so far, this detail had escaped me.\u201d<\/p>\n

She blushed, embarrassed at having caused such a replica. Why on earth had she needed to underline that the dog was a female\u00a0?\u00a0It didn\u2019t matter to this boy as soon met, as soon gone away. But in fact, he didn\u2019t go away. He engaged in conversation and, while he was talking, she was captivated by his fleshy mouth and his green eyes. What was he saying, incidentally\u00a0?<\/p>\n

\u201cLet me introduce myself\u00a0: my name is Joe Cartwright and you just enter my father\u2019s land without knowing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, I\u2019m sorry, it\u2019s unwillingly that\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, no, don\u2019t be sorry, on the contrary. I\u2019m very pleased that, thanks to\u2026 how do you call HER, Jenny\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJessie\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJessie. So, thanks to Jessie, we have the pleasure to meet. Where were you going like that\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNowhere particularly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn that case, let\u2019s go there together, Miss, Miss\u2026\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

He burst in laughter\u00a0: \u201cHow funny, I know your dog\u2019s name and I ignore yours.\u201d<\/p>\n

She blushed again and could kicked herself to do so.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy name is Christine\u201d, she stammered.<\/p>\n

They had ridden easily, conversing about this and that. He had told her that he was the son of the richest and mightiest ranchero in Nevada. He had spoken about current life in this still half wild part of the West. He claimed that he had seen Virginia City\u2019s birth and remembered the time when it was just a gold diggers\u2019 encampment\u00a0: a few shacks hastily raised, wagons that were used as vehicles and housing as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt this time\u201d, he had declared, \u201cpretty girls like you weren\u2019t legion. I can even say that there weren\u2019t any and I was reduced, if I wanted to dance with a girl of my age, to invite surreptitiously, some young Indian gal. Are you shocked\u201d, he had asked, \u201cto learn that I go around with Indian girls\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

She had laughed\u00a0: \u201cYou\u2019re asking that to me, a woman who\u2019s living with a gipsy company\u00a0!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPrecisely\u201d, he had retorted without seeming ashamed of his indiscretion, \u201cyour hair are more brown than black, your eyes aren\u2019t like coals, your skin is tanned but one can see that you\u2019re white\u2026 Are you a gipsy\u00a0? I have doubts\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

At first a little disconcerted, she had taken herself in hand and had answered boldly\u00a0: \u201cYou won\u00a0! I\u2019m no more a gipsy than you are. I\u2019m French. One day, in order to help a friend of mine who wanted to escape from a forced marriage, I pretended to be her and I fled away my so-called family by joining this gipsy company who was on tour in my region. They accepted me because they noticed I was a very good rider and, since one of their horsewoman had sprained her ankle, things sorted themselves if I could replace her momentarily. Then, in the middle of the show, we were arrested by gendarmes and charged with a rob we hadn\u2019t committed. We were sentenced to banishment. Whatever I could say, shout, scream to be heard and explain who I actually was, the judge didn\u2019t want to believe me\u00a0: \u201cYou and people of the same breed\u201d, he said, \u201cyou\u2019re all arrant liars. You\u2019ll go to the colony, as the others\u00a0!\u201d, he ordered. We were forced to embark to Guyana. When we reached there, we had the luck to come across a Governor who was fond of horses. Matteo, our leader, succeeded in persuading him to let us show our ability. We\u2019ve been staying there for several months, breaking horses and organizing horseshows. One day, Matteo took up a challenge: there was a gorgeous bronco but nobody could overcome it. He negotiated with the Governor: \u201cif we succeed in taming it, you\u2019ll let us go with a horse for each of us\u201d. \u201cIt\u2019s a deal\u201d, the governor said. That\u2019s how we could leave Guyana and go to North America. We make a living by performing from town to town. A normal life for travelling entertainers, in fact\u00a0!\u201d<\/p>\n

She had added, looking downcast\u00a0: \u201cexcept that, me, I\u2019m not a travelling entertainer, I wasn\u2019t brought up for that and I would like at least to be able to send news to my family and receive some from them too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Suddenly, she had uttered\u00a0: \u201cOh my God, what time is it\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

Looking at the horizon, he had answered\u00a0: \u201cBefore my very eyes, not far from nine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh my God\u201d, she had moaned, \u201cI\u2019ll be late, they need me for the rehearsal.\u201d<\/p>\n

He wanted to go with her but he knew he, too, had to hurry, his brothers and his chores were waiting for him. Sighing, he had tipped his hat and had gone away.\u00a0From this moment, she had been thinking of him all along. Was it the evoking of the legend of the West that made her dream\u00a0? Or wasn\u2019t it rather this smile opening on impeccably regular and white teeth, the carnivorous smile of a man ready to devour young and shy does\u00a0? Or maybe these sparkling eyes, full of joie de vivre, this impertinent nose, this agile body being joined with his horse\u00a0? Everything in him revealed great dynamism, happy-go-lucky attitude, cheerfulness, and also courage, shrewdness and kindness\u2026\u00a0Lost in her dreams, she went on working mechanically. Riding had become for her a second nature and she could carry out an act almost without concentrating on it. Nevertheless, Matteo had noticed her lack of attention and had asked questions. She had answered by another question.<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0Cartwright, does it tell you something\u00a0?\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

He had stared at her, wide-eyed\u00a0: \u201cWhat\u2019s that, Cartwright\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cForget it\u201d, she had replied, resolving to do a little private investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n

But it hadn\u2019t been necessary. He had come back and she said to herself that Matteo had the answer to his question at seeing her dismounting and running to the young man, giving free rein to her joy.\u00a0She stopped at two inches from him, stared at him and, suddenly, didn\u2019t know what to say. He too, staid silent, reading in the maid\u2019s eyes a fervour he dared not to expect. All of a sudden, he regained his self-control\u00a0:\u00a0\u201cSorry to disturb you during your rehearsal, but I had the opportunity to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell done\u201d, she replied eagerly, having inexplicably lost care of her reputation.<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0Christine\u00a0!\u00a0\u00bb, Matteo called, unpleasantly, \u00ab\u00a0we\u2019re waiting for you. As for you, gringo, if you want to watch the show, you just have to come to-night, as everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

He had made himself clear. Joe seized Christine\u2019s tiny hand, laid on it a delicate kiss punctuated by a winning smile and, turning on his heels, he walked away.<\/p>\n

Back to Ponderosa, he remembered all of a sudden that he had left to buy several supplies for his father and had forgotten about it. He bit his lips. It was no time to fall out with Pa if he wanted to be allowed to go at the horseshow.\u00a0Ben came to him, followed by his two other sons\u00a0: \u201cWell, Joe, do you have the rope\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s brain was rolling at full speed. What could he invent to explain that he had no rope\u00a0? \u201cHuh, that is to say, Pa\u2026\u201d he mumbled, \u201cI couldn\u2019t buy it because\u2026 because Walter Madison closed his shop.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u00a0?\u201d Ben croaked. \u00ab\u00a0Walt\u00a0? But I saw him yesterday. He didn\u2019t tell me anything of the kind.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, but\u2026 it\u2019s his mother. He received a telegram. She\u2019s deadly ill. So, he closed his shop and said that customers would have to do without him for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell really\u201d, Ben said, \u201cfancy hearing that\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Then, turning back to Adam\u00a0: \u201cHow will we manage\u00a0? We need this rope.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can borrow one to Rick Rattle\u201d, the latter replied, \u201cand I\u2019ll bring forward my trip to Sacramento. There, it will be easy to find what we need.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right\u00a0\u00bb Ben concluded, \u00ab\u00a0now, boys, go and prepare yourself.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat for\u00a0?\u201d Joe asked, genuinely surprised.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo go to the horseshow, of course !\u201d, his father replied, a mocking smile on his lips. \u201cYou should be glad for a double reason. First, you\u2019re very fond of horses, second, I heard that you had a crush for one of the gypsy girls\u201d.<\/p>\n

Joe blushed : \u201cHow do you know that ?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you didn\u2019t tell your brother twenty times, you didn\u2019t tell once. I even know that her name is Cristina.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot Cristina, Christine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStrange name for a gipsy\u201d Adam noticed.<\/p>\n

Joe turned to his elder brother and, feeling the need to give free rein to his nervousness, snapped to his face\u00a0: \u201cPrecisely, blissfully ignorant, she\u2019s not a gipsy, she\u2019s French.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re quite learned\u00a0! How do you know that\u00a0?\u201d Adam retorted without losing his calm.<\/p>\n

Joe felt he was on slippery. If ever he answered, even by eluding, he knew that, among the three, at least one would find out about his running away. Therefore, the beginning of his love affair, it was his secret, his precious secret, and he didn\u2019t want to reveal it so lightly.<\/p>\n

He had a perfect command of the art of cleverly side-stepping. He grinned, friendly slapped Adam\u2019s arm and asked\u00a0: \u201cHow do you think I should dress, for a horseshow, big brother\u00a0? With a suit or in casual clothes ?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam wasn\u2019t taken in but he had an intuition that it wasn\u2019t time for driving Joe in a corner. His brother, obviously, was hiding something from his father and brothers and it had something to do with young Christine,\u00a0 but Adam was himself such a private, indeed even mysterious man, that he perfectly understood his brother\u2019s desire to keep his sentiments for himself. Playing the game, he replied\u00a0:\u00a0 \u201cIn casual clothes. You don\u2019t want to look like a stranger in the town. You wear clothes of the kind guys are wearing here but clean and smelling eau de Cologne.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a deal\u201d, Joe shouted while capering under Ben, Hoss and Adam\u2019s indulgent eyes and he took a run up the stairs.\u00a0He looked great when he came down\u00a0: for this important occasion, he had slipped on a blue jacket that he rarely wore. Under, he had a pink shirt that he took out far more rarely. He had chosen a clear coloured hat as a perfect finishing touch.<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0Fffuittt\u00a0!\u00a0\u00bb Adam whistled.<\/p>\n

Hoss approached his young brother and eyed him derisively up and down\u00a0: \u201cDadburnit, Joe, Pa, Adam and I, we\u2019ll never be enough to cut a path through the crowd of madly girls that will rush on you. You\u2019re taking one heck of a risk.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, kid brother, if you want to protect me, hurry up and dress like me. With a pink shirt over your wide chest, you\u2019ll eclipse everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

Used to this kind of exchanges, Ben decided it was time to interrupt it before Adam joins the conversation.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s go, boys, the show is not waiting for us.\u201d And they ran in a gallop, occupying the whole road.<\/p>\n

When they reached Virginia City\u2019s main street, they had to slow down because of the crowd. All the town\u2019s inhabitants, bourgeois, miners, traders, including the members of the Chinese community, were heading to the central meadow where the show was to be performed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019d better leave our horses in the Bucket Blood\u2019s barn and walk\u201d, Adam suggested.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re right\u201d, his father answered and they quickly confided their mounts to old Harry Cucker\u2019s cares. The old man watched them enviously while they headed away. In the hubbub, Adam was the only one to notice Walter Madison who was closing his shop\u2019s shutters.\u00a0Elbowing their way, the Cartwright succeeded easily in worming to first rank.<\/p>\n

There was no place left on the terraces, nevertheless Hoss, with his\u2026 persuasion means, managed to obtain a squeezing up to make room for his father and himself. Joe and Adam sat on the ground, cross-legged, at their feet.<\/p>\n

Joe watched the show with intense excitement. As soon as Christine appeared, as soon as she bowed at the end of a number, he would stand up, clapping frantically, in spite of the boos of people sitting behind him. Ben watched these excesses with a disenchanted look, Hoss a tender one and Adam an intrigued one.\u00a0At the end of the show, Joe stammered an excuse and rushed to the place that served as wings to congratulate in person the fabulous and skilful Christine.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you ask for my opinion, Pa\u201d, Adam declared nonchalantly, \u201cwe\u2019d better not wait for Joe and let him come back when he wants.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAlone, at night\u00a0!\u201d, Ben couldn\u2019t help to exclaim, and immediately, he felt ridiculous.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa, he\u2019s twenty and you often send him in much more dangerous missions than coming back in full night from Virginia City. We\u2019re no longer at the time of Troy and Lotta Crabtree\u201d, Adam said and chuckled at remembering his good fortune with the singer. \u201cBesides, it\u2019s full moon, the night is clear.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re right, Adam. I let it out and retorted instinctively. Well boys, if you have no damsels to visit, let\u2019s go back, we\u2019ve got work to-morrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

It would had been impossible for Christine not to see Joe in the audience, he had done all what he could to be noticed. She was longing for his coming and wasn\u2019t disappointed. Superbly ignoring Matteo\u2019s furious glares, he joined the young lady who was rubbing her horse\u00a0: \u201cBravo\u00a0!\u201d he exclaimed, \u201cYou were just splendid, wonderful, amazing\u2026 I fail to find the right words. Do you know what I\u2019m craving to do\u00a0? Kiss you, what do you say\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve nothing against it\u201d, Christine replied, low voice and hoping that Matteo, who wasn\u2019t very fluent in English, would not understand what she was saying, \u201cbut certainly not now and not here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, then, when and where\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the horses\u2019 caring is over, if you like, we can have a drink at the saloon.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYippee\u00a0! In that case, let me help you, we\u2019ll leave sooner\u00a0!\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

And without waiting for an answer, he dropped down his jacket, took a brush and started working.\u00a0Christine staid a moment staring at him with a tender look, then, she came back to her task with a new energy. She was eager to be free, leave the livery, slide along a seat and rely on the young man\u2019s warm and supple body.<\/p>\n

Joe came back home very late. Christine and himself had ordered a beer and started one of these long conversations that favour a love\u2019s birth, this talking of the kind people tell their intimate story, ask questions about one another, start again the world from scratch, hint at their feelings without daring declare them. Christine had the indistinct impression that she was going too far, her conscience was telling her that, to preserve her reputation, she ought to stand up, after half an hour of talking and ask Joe to take her back to the camp but she couldn\u2019t reconcile to doing so. She let Joe\u2019s voice cast a spell on her. She found all what he was saying fascinating, she got going again and further on each of his assertions. Any sentence she phrased was beginning by \u201cMe too\u2026\u201d. As fast as time was passing, she was loosing her realism.<\/p>\n

As for Joe, he didn\u2019t seem to remember that he had a father and two brothers waiting for him as well as work to start early in the morning.\u00a0Far after midnight, they left the Bucket Blood, only because the barman, looking forward to his bed, was urging them to go outside. The fresh air of the night brought Christine out of her torpor. She remembered about Matteo\u2019s existence, her horsewoman job and the company\u2019s imminent departure on the morning.\u00a0Without thinking more, she opened her heart to Joe and spontaneously, he took her in his arms and hugged her very gently, whispering at her ears\u00a0:\u00a0\u201cDon\u2019t worry, little girl. Now I\u2019ve found you, I will not let you go so easily. Didn\u2019t you understand it, I love you. Don\u2019t go back to your camp, come with me to the Ponderosa.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a result, Christine rebelled\u00a0: \u201cNot likely\u00a0! It would be neither proper nor honest towards the company. Maybe Matteo isn\u2019t very welcoming, not very nice to you but he didn\u2019t abandon me when he saw I got myself mixed up in their misadventure. I must stay correct with them. Moreover, there\u2019s Jessie.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe smiled : \u201cThat\u2019s true, Jessie, I was forgetting it. It\u2019s bad from me because if we met, it\u2019s thank to it \u2013 sorry, to her\u201d, he rectified, remembering how much Christine was eager to have him notice Jessie was a female. \u201cWell, since you don\u2019t want to come to me, I will follow you. I go back home, inform Pa, take the necessary supplies and join you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut Matteo will never accept you joining us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe took the girl\u2019s chin between his thumb and index : \u201cWhen you know me better, young lady, you\u2019ll learn that I always achieve my aim. I can think at least of three stories I could tell Master Matteo to convince him that it\u2019s a good thing for you to be accompanied by me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Christine couldn\u2019t resist asking the question : \u00a0\u201cWhat, for example\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor example, Black Skelett\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s that, Black Skelett\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA fearsome outlaw I just happened to make up from start to finish. He\u2019s tall, as thin as a rake, his head looks like a deaths-head. He\u2019s prodigiously clever at shooting and he\u2019s chasing you because another bastard, a rich and narrow-minded bourgeois hates gipsies and swore he would have them disappear from the Nevada territory. I\u2019m in a good position to protect you from him because I know him and I shoot at least as fast as him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Christine staid flabbergast before such a high imagination. Joe went to collect Cochise and Brandy, Christine\u2019s horse and they came back to the camp.\u00a0As they drew nearer the Dixon field, they dismounted and Christine said to Joe\u00a0:\u00a0\u201cI think we\u2019d better part, now, my dear Joe. I\u2019ll try to edge my way into the camp as discreetly as possible. Good night\u201d<\/p>\n

She made pretence of going away but Joe held her back by her sleeves.\u00a0\u201cIs that a way to say good night, Christine\u00a0? I was expecting better from you. I thought you had a tender feeling for me\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

Christine was delighted that the night was black so he couldn\u2019t see her blushing deep red. \u00a0\u201cI love you, Joe, and it\u2019s much more than a tender feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen, show me.\u201d<\/p>\n

And without waiting for an answer, he pulled her to him and kissed her passionately.\u00a0Christine hung on his neck and returned the kiss. She had never felt such an happiness. To be in his arms, it was paradise. She felt melting, she swayed to and fro on her legs and she would have fallen if Joe hadn\u2019t held her tight. He stepped backward, stared at her intensely, made a show as if he would kiss her again but thought it was more prudent not to do it. Putting his hands on the girl\u2019s shoulders, he said\u00a0:\u00a0\u201cI think I\u2019d better go, now\u201d, he mumbled, \u201cdo as you planned, worm into the camp.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then he jumped over Cochise and rode away, not without turning his head towards her and whispering\u00a0: \u201cSee you to-morrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

On his way back, he was wondering how he would play his game. Would he play fair and tell Pa, frankly, that he was leaving to accompany the gipsy company or, on the contrary, sneak out. He hated the idea of playing a rotten trick to his father but, obviously, it was the surest way to succeed. If he confessed the truth, there was one chance in two that Ben would oppose to this plan. During the time he would pass in arguing and pleading his cause, Christine would be far away and he didn\u2019t want to take the risk of losing her. So, it was settled, he would say nothing to Ben but would he speak to his brothers\u00a0? He dismissed immediately the idea to talk to Adam, he was worse than Pa\u00a0: with him, he had not one chance in two to meet with a refusal, it was two chances in two. The only possibility he could view was to inform Hoss. But Joe knew Hoss\u2019 weakness, as soon as he would have to face Pa, he would prove unable to keep the secrecy. In the last analysis, he decided to leave a letter on his bed so, when his father and brothers would come back home by night and find out what\u2019s been going on, they wouldn\u2019t worry.<\/p>\n

He thought he would be unable to sleep but he fell asleep as soon as he hit the pillow and was the last awaken on the morning.\u00a0Indulgent, Ben had let him recover after his youthful nocturnal indiscretions. It was of great help for his plans: he dressed hastily, slipped in Hoss\u2019 bedroom and put the letter in sight on the bed. Then, he went downstairs, with a cheerful expression, just as Adam was getting up from the table and Ben and Hoss were finishing their meal.<\/p>\n

\u201cAh, at last Mr Lovey-Dovey is coming\u00a0!\u201d Ben said. \u201cWell, young man, you have just enough time to eat a pancake and drink a cup of coffee before leaving. You, Hoss and I, we\u2019re going to the timber yard. Adam, you\u2019ll go directly to the sawmill. Oh, no sorry, first you have to make a detour by Rick Rattle\u2019s ranch to borrow him a rope.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSpeaking of rope\u2026\u201d Adam started.<\/p>\n

He was ready to let fly a remark to Joe about Walter Madison who seemed perfectly present for someone who had supposedly left the town but he changed his mind. It was better to talk to Joe alone together if he wanted to lead his young brother at the point of burning his boats. Then, he made up for it by turning towards Ben and asking him\u00a0: \u201cSpeaking of rope, how thick do you want it\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe didn\u2019t notice anything, he was gobbling up his breakfast at full speed. Meanwhile, he was mentally forming plans, seeking how he would be able to slip away discreetly with the necessary supplies for a journey. His resourceful mind wasn\u2019t long to find the inspiration.<\/p>\n

He got up hurriedly shouting\u00a0:\u00a0\u201cLet\u2019s go, forward, we\u2019ve lost enough time\u00a0!\u201d, and he rushed outside.\u00a0The three others were so disconcerted that they followed him without noticing he had not put on his belt and, consequently, had left behind him his holster and the gun that was supposed to be in.<\/p>\n

Ben, Hoss and Joe had been riding for a quarter of an hour when, suddenly, the latter exclaimed\u00a0: \u201cDash it\u00a0! I forgot my gun.\u201d<\/p>\n

His father and brother stopped. \u201cGo on\u201d, proposed the young boy, \u201cI\u2019ll go back home quickly, pick up my holster and join you back, don\u2019t worry.\u201d\u00a0And without waiting his father\u2019s consent, he turned back and galloped away.<\/p>\n

Down by the corral, Joe slowed down. He didn\u2019t want to draw Hop-Sing\u2019s attention. The latter would not be surprised at seeing him taking his guns and even his blanket. He was used not to interfere in the work organization but he\u2019d certainly find it strange to see the boy rummaging through the kitchen, seeking supplies.\u00a0Joe decided he\u2019d better not stock up at Hop-Sing\u2019s. He would buy what\u2019s needed in town and take advantage of it to drop by the bank.\u00a0Luck favoured him as the Chinese cook was in the poultry when he wormed in the storage room where the Cartwright used to keep their trek equipments.<\/p>\n

He leaved the ranch, a smile on his lips, thinking only of the joy of meeting his girl again. How was it possible\u00a0? He had been knowing her for only one day and yet, she was filling all his thoughts. He couldn\u2019t conceive that a day would be passing without him seeing her. He remembered having felt something of the kind with Amy Bishop and Laura White but he seemed to him that it had never been so strong.<\/p>\n

The camp was rustling as a hive when he reached it. Everybody was busy at taking down the corral, gathering the implements, saddling the horses, controlling the wagon\u2019s condition. Joe wondered where Christine was when he spotted Jessie running after a butterfly. He whistled for it as he used to do with Ponderosa\u2019s dogs. The small dog turned back and came to him, wagging its tail in welcome. Joe squatted down to stroke it and it fell flat on its back to enjoy it. \u00a0\u201cWhere\u2019s your mistress\u00a0?\u201d Joe asked, \u201ctake me to her, will ya\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

As if it had understood, Jessie raised up and jogged along to the field\u2019s back where, effectively, Christine stood, harnessing a horse.<\/p>\n

\u201cHello\u00a0!\u201d Joe shouted.<\/p>\n

She jumped with surprise and turned back as if she had been stung by a tarantula.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, it\u2019s you\u00a0!\u201d\u00a0And, all of a sudden, inexplicably, she burst in tears.<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0Christine, Christine, my darling, what\u2019s the matter\u00a0?\u00a0\u00bb, Joe asked, taking her in his arms. \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong\u00a0? Aren\u2019t you happy to see me ?\u201d<\/p>\n

Christine smiled through her tears. \u201cOh, yes, I am, Joe. It\u2019s only\u2026 too much joy\u2026 I dared not believe in it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cYou thought I would not come\u00a0? Oh Christine\u2026\u201d, Joe said reproachfully.<\/p>\n

She raised her hand over the well-shaved young man\u2019s cheek and touched it lightly\u00a0: \u201cJoe, please, forgive me. You can\u2019t imagine how much important you are to me. Since I left so involuntarily my family and my country, you\u2019re the first people who showed a liking for me. My fellow workers, Matteo, Silvio, Pedro, Luisa, Carmen and the others, they\u2019re correct with me but our relationship is exclusively professional and deep down themselves, they don\u2019t like me. I never became integrated. By night, when they gather around the fire to play guitar and sing, they never call for me. I cook and eat my meal alone and when they talk to me, it\u2019s only for the job. If I hadn\u2019t Jessie, I would be quite lonely.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDarling\u00a0! But, in that case, we must change our minds. I was right, yesterday, when I wanted to drag you away from those ill spoken people. Let us come back to the Ponderosa and I\u2019ll ask Pa to organize the wedding as soon as possible\u201d.<\/p>\n

Hearing the word \u201cwedding\u201d, Christine made a convulsive movement.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you saying, Joe\u00a0? Do you actually want to marry me\u00a0? But\u2026 but\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

He burst in laughter\u00a0: \u201cWell, sweetheart, no point in stammering. Of course, I want to marry you. Not you\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0But we hardly know each other.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cWho cares\u00a0? Listen to me\u00a0: this morning, when you awoke, what did you think of at first\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf you\u201d, she faltered out, her cheeks getting pink.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you miss me\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes\u201d, she confessed, this time deeply reddening.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cAnd me, whom do you think I\u2019ve been thinking of ?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cOf, of me\u00a0?\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cExactly. Only one thing was running in my mind\u00a0: how would I manage to join you without anybody preventing me of doing it. I didn\u2019t say a word to my father, just because I couldn\u2019t bear the idea of being separated from you one hour more. Don\u2019t you think our mutual feelings are strong enough to get married\u00a0? \u201c<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0You\u2019re right, Joe\u201d, she said while, against her will, her eyes were filling again with tears, \u201cbut I definitely can\u2019t brutally abandon these poor gipsies, even if they aren\u2019t hearty. Don\u2019t you want to talk to Matteo about this\u2026 this\u2026 how did you call him yesterday, Black Something\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00ab\u00a0Black Skelett\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0That\u2019s it\u00a0!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, Christine, have you finished\u00a0?\u201d, a hollow voice asked, behind them, and added immediately\u00a0: \u201cWhat is he doing here again, this guy\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe turned back with a welcoming look and, tipping his hat, said\u00a0:\u00a0\u00ab\u00a0Joe Cartwright, at your service, Sir. I just came to offer you my services.\u201d<\/p>\n

Matteo sniggered\u00a0: \u201cYou\u2019d better say you came for courting Christine. I perfectly saw through your little game, yesterday evening.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe decided to burn his boats\u00a0: \u201cAll right, I confess it, I came for Christine because I\u2019m in love with her and want to get engaged. But since she\u2019s loyalty incarnate, she doesn\u2019t want to leave you bluntly. That\u2019s why I decided to come with you. Where\u2019s your next stopping place\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSlatterville. We\u2019ll reach it in easy stages.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0Slatterville. Perfect, I\u2019m going with you and I\u2019ll keep a close watch on your caravan, because let me tell you\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

He stopped to ask \u201cI think your name is Matteo, isn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n

The man nodded, so he went on: \u201cLet me tell you, Matteo that this country is dangerous. You can meet highwaymen that plunder everything in caravans.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo risk, we\u2019ve nothing to be robbed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re wrong, you have horses. Something highly coveted, here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Matteo grumbled so that Joe could guess he had a point. Suddenly, the gipsy grinned, showing a mouth with some teeth missing\u00a0: \u201cAll right, come on young dandy. As far as I can see, you\u2019re not a bad rider.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI also know how to break and train horses and look after them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Matteo raised a hand to make him shut up\u00a0: \u201cAll right, all right, don\u2019t lay it on thick\u00a0! Let\u2019s go, we\u2019re ready.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
\n
While the caravan led by Matteo<\/strong> and watched by Joe was starting, Ben, at the Ponderosa was beginning to get rather angry. With Hoss, he had joined five hands and they had started cutting down trees for a contract with the Railway Company. Ben was used to assign four men for one tree and, because of Joe\u2019s absence, one team had to function with three axes only.\u00a0Weary of interrupting work for glancing at the horizon, he sent eventually Hoss home. Without confessing it, he was becoming worried. Joe had been promising to join them more than two hours ago\u2026<\/div>\n
\n

Hoss started his investigations by the kitchen\u00a0: first, he thought, maybe Hop-Sing could inform him, second, he would take advantage of it to prepare and eat a snack. It smelt good puff pastry when he came next to the cook. Catching sight of him, the latter took out a spit and brandished it in front of him\u00a0:\u00a0\u201c\u00a0Mistah Hoss not come robbing small pork pies. Mistah Hoss wait for this evening, as everybody.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

\u201cPut down your spit, Hop-Sing. I\u2019m not coming for robbing your meat pies\u201d Hoss answered with a smile of constraint that was denying his words, \u201cI\u2019m looking for little Joe, did you see him\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMistah Joe left with Mistah\u00a0 Ca\u2019twight.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, he didn\u2019t. He made an about-turn while we were on our way because he had forgotten his gun. Are you sure you didn\u2019t see him\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHop-Sing know what he says. Hop-Sing don\u2019t see Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Suddenly anxious, Hoss frowned. He scratched his skull and then made an about-turn and headed to the barn. \u201cIf Joe\u2019s there\u201d, he thought, \u201cCochise will be there too.\u201d But he had to yield to facts, Cochise was out of its stall.\u00a0Now in a hurry, he mounted and stirred up Chubb\u2019s side.<\/p>\n

At the camp, Adam had joined the workers and he was climbing up a pine quite far advanced to tie the rope he had gone to fetch, not at Rick Rattle\u2019s but at Walter Madison\u2019s shop. Hearing the noise of a horse galloping, he turned his head, recognized Hoss and knew immediately, just seeing his brother\u2019s air that there was something fishy, so he went down the tree as fast as possible.<\/p>\n

Ben had already gone forward to meet his second son\u00a0: \u201cSo, where is he\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDunno, Pa. Hop-Sing didn\u2019t see him. He\u2019s not in his room since Cochise is missing too.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

Coal eyed, Ben glanced alternately at his sons and then, falling on his eldest who was staring at the ground and drawing circles with his boots\u00a0:\u00a0\u201cAny idea, Adam\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

The latter raised his head\u00a0: I\u2019m not sure but\u2026 could be this girl.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat girl\u00a0? The horsewoman\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes. Since Joe met her, he acts strangely. Did you notice he lied to you yesterday\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAbout what\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0About the rope. Walter Madison never left to his bedside\u2019s mother. I saw him, yesterday, closing his shop and to-day, I purchased the rope from him.\u201d<\/p>\n

With furious glare and frothing mouth, Ben approached as if he had Joe instead of Adam in front of him\u00a0: \u201cWell, well, well. And, according to you, what\u2019s the link between this lie and the girl\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he forgot the rope, yesterday, because he went to the girl and he invented this story to explain his forgetting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben nodded\u00a0: \u00ab\u00a0You may be right. But it doesn\u2019t tell us where he is this morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my opinion, with her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn that case, I shan\u2019t stand for that. Come on boys, we\u2019re going to fetch him and bring him back by his neck\u2019s skin. As for you\u201d, he added for the workers, \u201cgo on cutting down the marked trees.\u201d\u00a0And he rode away, followed by his sons.<\/p>\n

They needed almost one hour to reach the Dixon\u2019s field and realize that it was desert.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re gone\u201d, Hoss mumbled.<\/p>\n

\u201cGo to the Dixons, Adam\u201d, Ben ordered, \u201cand ask them where the gipsies were to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam headed to the house. Mrs Dixon had her hands plunged in lye soap. She nodded to welcome Adam but proved unable to say in what direction the gipsies were supposed to go\u00a0: \u201cThey hired the field for one week.\u201d, she explained \u201c They had planned to leave to-day and they just did that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDidn\u2019t you see my youngest brother with them\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

She shook her head. \u201cI didn\u2019t see anything, Adam. I was busy with my laundry. I\u2019m sorry\u201d<\/p>\n

When he came back, Hoss had found a trail. \u201cThey went this way\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood\u201d, Ben said, \u201clet\u2019s follow the tracks.<\/p>\n

Hoss pulled a wry face, thinking of Hop-Sing\u2019s\u00a0 pork pies\u00a0: \u201cWithout eating\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam pointed out to his father that it would be more prudent to take some supplies\u00a0: \u201cYou never know how long a chase can last.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right !\u201d Ben said, \u201clet\u2019s go home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Back home, each one went to his room to get prepared. Once ready, Adam was curious enough to go to Joe\u2019s room, just to see if he had taken his blanket. On the bed, in a prominent position, there was a letter. The words \u201cFor Pa\u201d were neatly written on the envelope.\u00a0He rushed downstairs and held it out to his father who opened it hastily. Ben ran his eye over it and then decided to read it aloud\u00a0:<\/p>\n

\u201c\u00a0Dear Pa,<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>I hope you will not resent me but I think I\u2019m deep in love with Christine. So much in love that I can\u2019t stay far from her even for one minute. That\u2019s why I decided to join her caravan. I shall keep you informed of what follows.<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Your affectionate son,<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>Joe\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Just as he was reading the signature, the door was banged twice as hard. Charlie, the foreman was shouting\u00a0: \u201cMr Cartwright, Mr Cartwright\u00a0!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s the matter, Charlie\u00a0?\u201dBen asked, immediately alarmed.<\/p>\n

\u201cA tree fell down on Chuck and Eddy. Men are freeing them. You\u2019d better come or send one of your sons to tell us what to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust while we were leaving to look after Joe\u00a0!\u201d Ben sighed. Then, turning to Hoss and Adam\u00a0: \u201cWhich one volunteers ?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam ventured : \u201cI wonder if it wouldn\u2019t be better for you to stay, Pa. You\u2019re the best choice for the hands and as for having little Joe coming back in the present circumstances, I believe that Hoss and I have more chances to succeed. With you, he will rebel as a young cock.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben hesitated for a while. He remembered his stormy relationship with his son, at the time of Joe\u2019s crush for Julia Bulette. It came back to him that he had been pleased to find Hoss and Adam to take over from him and speak to Joe.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think you\u2019re right, Adam. Go and let me know what\u2019s going on. On my way, Charlie.\u201d And, with regret, he followed his foreman.<\/p>\n

Hoss and Adam rode to the place where Hoss had found a trail. They knew that the gipsies had only a few hours ahead and were not in a hurry to catch them up. Certainly, the company was heading to another town to perform the show. It would be the time, then, to join Joe.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most difficult\u201d, Adam said to himself, \u201cwill be to find the convincing arguments to have him returning to the fold. Everything, at the end, was depending upon the girl\u201d.<\/p>\n

They camped, the first night, at the edge of the Ponderosa. While Adam was thoughtfully grilling sausages \u2013 his only culinary speciality \u2013 Hoss asked him\u00a0:\u00a0\u201cAdam, do you realize where we are going to\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam raised his head\u00a0: \u201cOf course, I do. This is the way to Slatterville\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you remember last time we took this direction together\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam nodded\u00a0: \u201cI couldn\u2019t have forgotten. We were chasing Sam Bord.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss kept silent for a while and then, dared ask a new question\u00a0: \u201cDo you think that the gipsies plan to perform at Slatterville\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cVery likely.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0Then, we could meet Miss Regina.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

\u201cI gave a thought to that\u2026 although I don\u2019t imagine her attending a horseshow.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWill you try to see her again?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam leant his head to one side, a customary attitude of his. Hoss was the only person who might ask him such private questions with complete impunity. Will he try to see Regina again\u00a0? He didn\u2019t know and confessed it to his brother.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the gipsy company was also camping. Joe and Christine had started a fire apart. All of a sudden, Christine was pleased to be kept in the background by her colleagues. Thus, she had the opportunity of having a t\u00eate-\u00e0-t\u00eate with the man she was in love with. Of course, Jessie was there, interfering from time to time, begging for pieces of meat or seeking after strokes but the dog\u2019s intrusions didn\u2019t bother the lovers who were behaving with it as parents would do with a child. Christine was glad to think that Jessie was one more bond with Joe.<\/p>\n

The evening flied with jokes and lively conversations and the gipsies had been sleeping for long when they decided it was time to go to bed. Both, they slept under the stars, Christine sheltered under a piece of cloth held by two posts, Joe sheltered only by his hat, his head resting on his saddle.<\/p>\n

For a while, Joe was tempted by the idea of coiling up against Christine but resisted it.\u00a0On the morning, he woke up at dawn because of Matteo\u2019s foot hitting his ribs.<\/p>\n

\u201cGet up, Gringo, or we\u2019ll leave without you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe stood up immediately and rushed forward to saddle his horse. Christine who had got up a little earlier, accustomed to her companions\u2019 schedules, brought him a cup of black and hot coffee that he accepted with gratitude.<\/p>\n

\u201cDefinitely, your Matteo dislikes me\u201d, he noticed between two sips, \u201cIs he in love with you\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think so, he\u2019s more or less having a married life with Juanita. Merely, he doesn\u2019t like strangers, no matter who they are.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe giggled : \u00ab\u00a0Hold on, if there is a stranger here, it\u2019s him, not me. I\u2019m in my country\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe doesn\u2019t see things this way\u00a0\u00bb, Christine answered while jumping on her horse, \u201cevery gipsy thinks the world is his own and all other people are strangers. That\u2019s why they are badly affected by the contempt and mistrust they\u2019re the subject of and they react by being more contemptuous and mistrustful than anyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, you too, they despise and distrust you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTrue\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0And how long are you bearing that\u00a0?\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

She pulled her reins and he did the same. Staring at him, she said: \u201cAs soon as we\u2019ll reach Slatterville, I\u2019ll tell him it\u2019s the last show I\u2019m doing. Too bad for him, he just had to be more welcoming with you. Afterward, Joe, if you still want me, I\u2019ll marry you and we\u2019ll go where you want.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

He took her hand and raised it to his lips. Staring intensely at her, he said : \u201cI still want you, Christine, we\u2019ll marry and go to the Ponderosa. My father always says that, when we\u2019re ready for marriage, he will give us our share of his land. We\u2019ll ask my brother Adam, who\u2019s an architect, to build our house and we\u2019ll breed horses. Is that all right\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh yes, it\u2019s all right, Joe. I\u2019m sure we\u2019ll be very happy and for a long time. Now we\u2019d better gallop to catch them.\u201d\u00a0They joined again the caravan.<\/p>\n

\u201cStrange way to protect us\u00a0!\u201d Matteo grumbled when Joe passed by him.<\/p>\n

Joe, who had keen hearing, inwardly blamed himself\u00a0: \u201cThere\u2019s more to it than just talking about accompanying the caravan in order to protect it. I must play my part plausibly.\u201d\u00a0So, at night falling, when Matteo gave the signal for stopping, he came to him and had him notice that the spot he had chosen made them an easy target for bandits. According to him, anybody could wait in ambush behind the rocky bumps surrounding the place and it would be better to settle the camp right up against the mountain, so it would be easy to barricade behind the wagons. Matteo listened to him with a sullen look and, suddenly, a naughty smile curled his lips\u00a0:\u00a0\u201cOkay, Gringo, we\u2019ll do as you say but you\u2019ll be on watch for the night. And no serenade in the moonlight\u00a0!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe bit his lips but didn\u2019t protest. Obviously, Matteo wanted to prevent him from transforming the journey in a string of pleasant stages that would allow him, by the evenings, to spin out love\u2019s sweet dream with Christine. Joe couldn\u2019t manage to have his own idea about the man\u2019s character. He was, for sure, hostile to him, but why\u00a0? Christine was quite convinced it wasn\u2019t jealously, so, what else\u00a0? It didn\u2019t occur to him that Matteo, simply didn\u2019t want to loose a skilled horsewoman\u00a0: for Joe, material worries had always been secondary.<\/p>\n

The trek went on with a slight change in the program. At every stage, Joe would oversee the settlement so that it wouldn\u2019t give rise to attacks, and would take officially the watch. When the camp was asleep, Christine would slip close to him, feed his and talk for a while with him. Afterward, she would choose a place for sleeping, not far from him and tie Jessie to his wrist\u00a0: \u201cThus\u201d, she assured, \u201cyou can sleep quietly. Jessie wakes up at dawn and will pull on the leash. You\u2019ll be up before everyone.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

For their part, Adam and Hoss were advancing and catching up everyday a few miles on the gipsies, so that they reached Slatterville hardly one hour after them. They asked discreetly for information about the camping place that had been allocated to the company.\u00a0Luck favoured them since the troop was occupying a field at the edge of a wood.<\/p>\n

Adam, who wanted to take cover in the wood, came up against an unexpected obstacle. Hoss refused his proposal because it was impossible to make a fire and he didn\u2019t want a cold meal. In desperation, Adam found a compromise solution\u00a0: they would have dinner in town and would come back afterward to sleep close to the camp. They left Chubb and Sport in the village\u2019s livery in order to avoid giving the alert to the gipsies\u2019 horses, had a good dinner and came back stealthily, their blankets over their shoulder, to take up position under the trees\u2019 shelter.<\/p>\n

Fate willed that they found themselves next to the gipsies\u2019 bivouac, opposed to Joe and Christine\u2019s one. While Hoss was spreading his blanket, making the crushed leaves sound, Adam heard the noise of a conversation and made a sign to his brother for him to be silent. He could only catch scraps of conversation.<\/p>\n

\u201cDesconfio el gringo\u2026 No quiero que lleva Cristina\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cDeja la\u2026\u00a0 No me gusta esta chica\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are they talking about\u00a0?\u201d Hoss asked, \u201cI don\u2019t understand.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSh, that\u2019s Spanish. Let me listen\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00ab\u00a0\u2026 y ma\u00f1ana, sera muerto\u2026\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

\u00a0Adam turned to Hoss, horrified\u00a0: \u00ab\u00a0Hoss, I think they\u2019re plotting to kill Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy do you say so\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re talking about a gringo, that\u2019s to say a white man and they\u2019re saying that to-morrow, he will be dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll not let them do that. What\u2019s your plan\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam stared at his brother for a short moment, with the admiration that a tormented man, such as he was, can\u2019t help vowing to a human being inhabited by serenity. For the giant man, there was no doubt that his eldest brother\u2019s\u00a0 restless mind had already imagined a strategy.\u00a0 In spite of the seriousness of the situation, he smiled.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust leave me a few minutes to figure something. In any case, we must warn Joe. If we want to thwart these bastards\u2019 plans, the job will need at least the three of us, maybe the four\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFour\u00a0? How do you count four people ?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe girl, Hoss, maybe she could be of some help.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss set out, trying to find his hearings as well as he could. Night was very dark and he didn\u2019t know the scene. However, being an expert in tracking, he managed to approach Christine\u2019s wagon with stealthy tread until sounds of\u00a0 barks were suddenly heard.<\/p>\n

\u201cShut up, Jessie\u00a0!\u201d said a woman\u2019s voice but the dog went on barking.<\/p>\n

At the other end of the field, the gipsies cocked up their hears.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlert, there\u2019s somebody in the camp\u201d, one of them shouted. And without saying more, they spread out to pinch the intruder.<\/p>\n

Adam immediately understood that his brother was about to be caught and got ready to lend him a hand by appearing suddenly behind the enemies.<\/p>\n

Hoss had just left the shelter of the trees, hoping he would be able to reach the dog and silence it, when he caught sight of half a dozen of men converging to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cHelp me, Joe\u201d, he shouted.<\/p>\n

Joe, who had joined Christine after hearing Jessie barking, gave a start at this call.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, it\u2019s Hoss, it\u2019s my brother\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is he doing here\u00a0?\u201d, Christine asked<\/p>\n

\u201cDunno but he\u2019s in danger. Coming, Hoss, coming.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo Joe, no\u201d, Christine exclaimed in vain. \u201cPlease, you\u2019ll be killed.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Joe didn\u2019t listen to her, he rushed, revolver in hand and plunged into the fray his brother was the centre of. He quickly understood that his gun would be of no use since he might shoot at Hoss. Putting it back in his holster, he walked straight into one Jose for the only reason this one was the closest to him.<\/p>\n

Adam, as for him, had taken out his knife\u00a0: after having heard Matteo\u2019s words, he wasn\u2019t under any illusion about the gipsies\u2019 sanguinary intentions and thought rightly that fists wouldn\u2019t be sufficient. He didn\u2019t want to kill but put their opponents out of the fight. Without scruples, he grasped one of them and stuck his knife into his thigh. The wounded man screamed with pain and hopped away holding his leg with his two hands. Hoss, who was busy knocking two heads one against the other, called out to Joe who was punching not far from him\u00a0:\u00a0\u201cLooks as though Adam joined the dance.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAh, oumpff, he\u2019s, ouch there too\u2026\u201d Joe panted.<\/p>\n

Hoss didn\u2019t answer because a third opponent was approaching.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Christine, bewildered, was looking for help. The closest houses were a dozen of rudimentary cottages, all built in the same shape, accommodating a strange colony.<\/p>\n

\u201cHelp, help, open the door\u201d, Christine cried drumming against the door.<\/p>\n

\u201cComing, coming\u201d, a voice answered inside, \u201cwait a minute.\u201d<\/p>\n

After a few instants who seemed hours to her, the young girl heard the noise of somebody releasing a latch and a bearded man appeared, looking stern, dressed in a wide white shirt with black trousers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s the matter\u00a0?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cCome on, quick, they\u2019re killing one another, nearby. The gipsies\u2026 they\u2026 they attacked my friends. You must help them otherwise they\u2019ll be overwhelmed. Quick, take a weapon, call your neighbours, they\u2019re in danger of their life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, Miss, I can\u2019t, I\u2019m a Quaker which means I can\u2019t use violence.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEven to save lives\u00a0?\u201d, Christine asked, taken apart.<\/p>\n

Behind the man, a woman\u2019s voice sounded\u00a0: \u201cYou must go there, Matthew, not to fight but to interfere and urge them to stop.\u201d<\/p>\n

The man turned back and replied\u00a0: \u201cYou\u2019re right, Regina, I\u2019m calling our brothers, we\u2019ll go and spread a word of peace. If you don\u2019t mind clearing my way, Miss\u2026\u201d. And moving Christine apart, he went to the next door and knocked.<\/p>\n

A few minutes later, five men, all dressed like him, all bearded like him, all looking stern were heading to the battle field, followed by Christine.<\/p>\n

When they reached it, Christine noticed that confusion was at its peaks. In the dark, she looked for Joe but could only distinguish a giant rushing towards\u2026 how could she describe it, a pile of bodies intertwined from which arms and legs were emerging here and there. A little further, three men were having a set at one another and she could see, at the faint moonlight, a\u00a0 blade\u2019s silver reflection shine.\u00a0Jessie was adding to the overexcitement by running from a group to another and generously barking.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy friends, my brothers\u201d, Matthew shouted loud voice, \u201cplease, please, listen to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Surprised, Matteo, who was preparing to stab Adam nastily, stopped and turned his head towards the voice.<\/p>\n

Encouraged, Matthew headed forward and spoke again\u00a0: \u00ab\u00a0We all are brothers under God\u2019s eye, please stop this fratricide war\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Getting over his surprise, Matteo raised his arm and, aiming at the heart, threw his knife to the disturber. By a reflex that was to leave him stunned for a long time afterwards, Adam, pulled out his gun and aiming at the knife over his assailant\u2019s shoulder, deviated it in such a way that it reached the arm the Quaker was holding up in order to deliver his lecture.<\/p>\n

Matteo, enraged, turned back to Adam who aimed at the gypsy\u2019s right wrist, without shilly-shallying : \u201cThis should calm you down\u201d he said to himself after hearing the man screaming with pain and seeing him kneeling down.<\/p>\n

This scream tetanized the other gypsies. Hoss took advantage of it to knock down his two opponents and the rest of the troop gathered around its leader, hiding him from the others\u2019 sight.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat have you done, Mister\u00a0?\u201d, Christine, who didn\u2019t know Adam, questioned, \u201cDid you kill him\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDidn\u2019t kill him, just shattered his wrist.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut why ?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0Didn\u2019t you see\u00a0? He wanted to kill us, or, to be exact, to kill Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat a tale !\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not a tale. I heard him plotting with his pals. I happen to understand Spanish. He wanted to get rid of him because he didn\u2019t want to let you go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Horrified, Christine put her hand in front of her mouth. She was preparing to ask this stranger who he was when they heard a woman strident shout :\u00a0\u201cMatthew, Matthew, where are you\u00a0?\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

\u201cHere I am, Regina, I\u2019m hurt\u201d.<\/p>\n

At this name, Adam shivered and Hoss raised his head, peering into the dark.<\/p>\n

\u201cI heard the sound of a shot. Did they fired at you\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, dear, they stabbed me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seeing that this dialog was diverting their opponents\u2019 attention, the gipsies tried to make a move but Jessie\u2019s groaning warned Adam who turned back to them\u00a0: \u201cHoss, Joe, help me to tie up these folks, so as to be quiet while taking care of the injured men.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hearing this voice, Regina, who was leaning over her husband, raised her head.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam\u00a0!\u00a0\u00bb, she whispered.<\/p>\n

The latter resisted the urge to turn to her until he was sure that no danger could come from the gipsy company. Noticing two women fixing him with a threatening stare, he advised them, in Spanish, to approach and tend Matteo. Since he was using this idiom, they obeyed by habit.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Christine had, at last, understood that the two fighters were Joe\u2019s brothers. This one, for his part, had mentally reconstructed the scene that had probably taken place at Ponderosa, when they had discovered his running away, and understood that their unexpected arrival was the logic Cartwrights\u2019 reaction every time one of them was absent from roll call. He was divided between anger for having once again his brothers meddling in his own business and gratitude for their intervention that had obviously saved his life.<\/p>\n

Progressively, dawn was enlightening the sky. This first light of the day allowed Hoss to look hard at Adam who was himself staring at the group formed by the Quakers. While the men were busy picking up Matthew, Regina broke away and fixed Adam, as if she was hypnotized by him.\u00a0The latter took his breath away at seeing the woman he once had loved. In what state had she got, eighteen months after their short encounter\u00a0! She never had been fat but she was now emaciated, except for her belly that formed a bulge revealing a pregnancy. Her complexion, previously nacreous, was now greenish. But the more heart-rending were her eyes, dull, filled with regret, as if all joy in life had abandoned her.<\/p>\n

He went forward towards her while she was staying frozen, as if she was taking root.<\/p>\n

\u201cRegina\u201d, he said in a gentle voice as if speaking to a sleepwalker.<\/p>\n

Joe had come close to Christine and laid his arm around the French girl\u2019s quaking shoulders. Even Jessie had calmed down, feeling the impalpable tenseness floating in the air. Leaning on two of the members of his team, Matthew also, but shouting, called Regina.\u00a0She jumped and turning, and bustled about her husband.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happened, Matthew\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c I was exhorting them to calm when somebody shot me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c Nobody shot you\u00a0\u00bb, Hoss rectified, \u201cit\u2019s a knife that pierced your arm. This gipsy threw it\u201d, he specified indicating Matteo \u201cand if my brother Adam had not shot and veered off course the knife, presently, you would be dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

As previously, Hoss\u2019 voice reassured Regina. She regained her self-control: \u201cCome in, come in my home, everybody. I will take care of Matthew and also this man\u201d, she said walking towards Matteo.<\/p>\n

A torrent of abuse sprang out of Juanita\u2019s mouth. Adam intervened\u00a0: \u201cShe says she will take care of her man herself\u201d he translated.<\/p>\n

He was close to Regina, he met her eyes and could read an immense distress.\u00a0\u201cGo back home, Regina, go and look after your husband, we\u2019ll join you later.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then, with this habit of his of taking the leadership every time people would give him the opportunity of doing so, he turned to Christine and asked\u00a0:\u00a0\u201cWould you mind making coffee, Miss\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

Christine was only too pleased to be useful\u00a0: \u201cBut of course\u00a0!\u201d, she agreed, \u201cI\u2019m making a bucket and in the French way\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhich means strong enough to wake up a bull\u201d, Joe explained, laughing.<\/p>\n

Joe lighted a fire and Christine bustled about doing coffee, while Hoss and Adam were submitted to a running fire of questions from their younger brother Joe, about the reasons of their presence in Slatterville.\u00a0Hoss felt like beating about the bush but Adam decided it was better to root out the devil.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou didn\u2019t imagine that Pa would let you go this way, without giving even your direction, and would not try to take you back home\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, Pa is sending you\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWho could it be, not the sheriff\u201d Adam retorted, shrugging his shoulders.<\/p>\n

Immediately, Joe got on his high horse\u00a0: \u201cIf he thinks he will prevent me from marrying Christine, he can whistle for it\u00a0! I\u2019m old enough to direct my life and\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam didn\u2019t let him go further\u00a0: \u201cShut up, Joe, or you\u2019ll say things you\u2019ll regret later. Don\u2019t you think that Pa, knowing all the sacrifices he did for us, deserves at least to be told the truth\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe felt sheepish. He knew he was in the wrong but, at the same time, he had the conviction that, had he asked for his father\u2019s agreement, this one would have hummed and hawed, argued and Christine would have disappeared before he could join her. Taking the plunge, he explained his point to his brothers.<\/p>\n

Adam was a fair man and Hoss a golden heart\u00a0: both, each one in his own way, recognized the validity of his position.. But beyond that, they came to realize the extent and deepness of the love Joe was feeling for Christine. Maybe that love had come suddenly but time had nothing to do with that. Love at first sight existed, Regina\u2019s presence, a few yards further, was there to remind them of it. What else had Adam been doing, two years earlier, other than almost exactly what Joe had just done\u00a0?<\/p>\n

Another person was realising the same thing and her heart was swelling with happiness: this person was Christine. Certainly, Joe hadn\u2019t made a mystery of his love but it was another thing to hear him proclaiming it aloud to his brothers.<\/p>\n

Adam had just declared\u00a0: \u201cI think I\u2019ll go to town as soon as possible and send Pa a telegram\u201d when Matthew\u2019s door opened\u00a0 and Regina appeared on the doorstep, looking, at the same time, shy and unhappy.\u00a0Tightening convulsively her shawl around her chest, her head embedded in her perpetual headdress, she went forward to the group.<\/p>\n

Adam stood up and stared at her as she was coming to him, his heart wrenching at seeing this woman who had become the ghost of the one he had been in love with. Her look previously burning with fervour and faith had lost its fire and expressed only disenchantment. More serious, the goodness that, in the past, showed through all her attitude, had been replaced by\u2026 Adam wondered if the right word\u00a0 was bitterness or frankly sharpness.\u00a0Quick to undertake all the responsibilities, the young man resented himself for this degeneration\u00a0: what had he done to her\u00a0? He opened his mouth to welcome her but she spoke at first\u00a0:<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, you came back, Adam. You said that you wouldn\u2019t but you did. And once more, you\u2019re bringing violence with you!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0Adam didn\u2019t expect such an introduction. He stammered\u00a0: \u201cWell, Regina\u2026\u201d but she interrupted him again and went on with her diatribe.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cFor two years, we have been living in peace, here. Nothing disturbed our tranquillity. You have nothing to do but come here and my husband finds mixed up in a brawl and comes back home, wounded.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss went to rescue his brother who didn\u2019t know what to answer.<\/p>\n

\u201cMiss Regina, Adam didn\u2019t harm your husband. On the contrary, he saved him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regina turned to Hoss\u00a0: \u201cHere you are, you\u00a0! Always willing to assist your brother whatever he undertakes. And may I know how Adam saved my husband\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe intervened\u00a0: \u00ab\u00a0Matteo, the man who threw his knife to your husband, is exceptionally good at throwing knives, Madam. In his horseshow, he gallops around the corral and shoots on a target while riding. They put the target further and further and he never missed the target. He had thrown the knife to your husband and would have reached his heart if Adam hadn\u2019t drawn his gun incredibly speedy and have the knife change its way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0With a big smile, Hoss thought useful to add\u00a0: \u201cYou\u2019ve got to admit that if Matteo is a champion at throwing knives, Adam is really good at firing with a gun. Even in full night, he did it, I can assure you it\u2019s an exploit.\u201d<\/p>\n

With a bitter tone, Regina replied\u00a0: \u201cI\u2019ve no doubt he\u2019s very proud of his skills. I don\u2019t know if he feels at ease or excited but he seems to be happy only when\u00a0 using his gun.\u201d<\/p>\n

This was too much for Adam who exploded\u00a0: \u201cBut, at last, Regina, what did you want me to do? Let this gangster kill your husband\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

Within the space of an instant, it occurred to him that this was exactly the woman\u2019s wish but he dismissed immediately this thought.<\/p>\n

Regina didn\u2019t lower the flag\u00a0; \u201cWhat did I want\u00a0? I wanted you not to bring violence in the surroundings. It\u2019s already sad enough to think that you are sowing it wherever you go but, at last, I would like you to preserve my island of calm.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, at last, she\u2019s getting on my nerves, this one\u00a0!\u201d.<\/p>\n

This sentence was called out vehemently by a feminine voice. Christine, exasperated, had got up and, her fists on her hips, planted herself in front of Regina\u00a0:<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, listen to me, old harpy, I\u2019m no more fond of violence than you but my conviction don\u2019t go as far as to consider that you\u2019d better let people be murdered without lifting a finger to help them. The gipsies had planned to kill Joe and his brothers came to rescue him, that\u2019s all. If not, why would they have come to this lost place\u00a0? For you\u00a0? You\u2019d better go back to bed\u201d, she finished, mellowing after having glanced at the woman\u2019s paunch, \u201cand let us have little rest. Dawn is rising and we didn\u2019t sleep at all this night.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regina straightened up and eyed her up and down\u00a0: \u201cWho are you, Miss and what are you doing here\u00a0? This is no place and no hour for a lady\u201d.<\/p>\n

The tone was gentle but reproving. \u201cA nun\u2019s lecture\u201d, Christine, whose boarding school\u2019s memories were still fresh,\u00a0 said to herself.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a member of the horseshow company, so there are a lot of good reasons for me to be there\u201d, she answered, calmly.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd how do you know the Cartwright family\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s none of your business\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything having something to do with Adam is my business.\u201d, Regina couldn\u2019t help retorting.<\/p>\n

\u201cReally\u00a0? On what grounds\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

Regina lost her composure. Misinterpreting, she thought she was facing a rival. She turned to Adam and, eyes brimming with tears, she asked\u00a0:<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, that\u2019s all you were able to find to replace me, a travelling performer\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam oscillated between anger and compassion. The woman who was pitifully struggling before him, he had loved her and, obviously, she was still in love with him, her attitudes, her unfair reproaches, her questioning, even her appearance proved it. But, from another part, he couldn\u2019t let Regina insult his future sister-in-law. It was a question of loyalty.\u00a0Going faster than Joe, furious, who was coming closer for defending his fianc\u00e9e, he stepped across the two yards between him and Regina, laid his hand on her shoulders and said :<\/p>\n

\u201cRegina, you\u2019re exhausted and you\u2019re losing your control. It\u2019s not like you to speak scornfully about somebody who did nothing to you. This young lady is my brother\u2019s fianc\u00e9e. He came to ask her to be his wife, that\u2019s why we\u2019re here.\u201d<\/p>\n

This caressing voice, that protective gesture got the better of the woman\u2019s anger. She let her head go on Adam\u2019s shoulder and began sobbing, repeating endlessly\u00a0: \u201cOh, Adam, Adam, I\u2019m so miserable\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGo back home\u201d, he said, gently pushing her towards her door, \u201cgo and try to sleep a few hours. We\u2019ll see you later on.\u201d<\/p>\n

After closing the door, he turned back to Christine and his brothers, with a stony face. \u201cI think you\u2019d better do the same\u201d, he said, \u201cyou all need some rest.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou too\u201d, Joe replied.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00ab\u00a0I\u2019d like to but I can\u2019t, I first have to go to the sheriff. We have a wounded man and prisoners on our hands, remember.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cYou\u2019re right. I\u2019ll come with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, stay with Christine. Hoss will accompany me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Christine and Joe settled comfortably, one against the other, Jessie between them to keep them warm. They felt, at the same time, exhausted and sleepless.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe\u201d, Christine asked, \u201ctell me : who is this bitter woman\u00a0? I understood there was once something between your brother and her. Tell me the story.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0I don\u2019t know much. You\u2019d better ask Hoss. All I know is that he met her with her Quakers\u2019 tribe and since they didn\u2019t know where to camp for night, he invited them on the Ponderosa. We had a nice moment having supper with them. The day after, at breakfast, that\u2019s Adam saying, straight out, he is escorting them to Slatterville. Hoss decided he would go with him. Right from the first stop, outlaws attacked them. One of them was a guy, Adam had saved his life an offered a job.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t believe it\u00a0! What a rotter\u00a0!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00ab\u00a0You\u2019re right. Shortly, one of the bandits killed Regina\u2019s father, grabbed the money they had saved to settle on the land they would find and flied away with those Adam and Hoss hadn\u2019t laid out. Adam \u2013 you don\u2019t know him but he\u2019s a guy, when he has something in mind, he does it whatever happens. He decided that it was his duty to catch the rascals and bring back the money to Regina. Both, Hoss and him, they chased them. One after the other, the guy I told you about, Sam Bord, they called him, got rid of his associates. Adam found him in Slatterville, just at the moment Regina and her group were reaching the town. There was a duel between Adam and Sam Bord. I think Bord hurt one of the Quakers who wanted to interfere, as they did just now. I wonder if it wasn\u2019t again Matthew, Regina\u2019s husband who was shot. Adam took a bullet in his shoulder but settled his hash with Sam Bord. He gave back the money to Regina but she made him understand that she was disgusted by his violence and his acting out of revenge and they parted. Adam was long before he could recover. He was very sad, grumpy for several months and suddenly, he decided he would start again socializing, dancing and drinking on Saturday\u2019s evenings\u00a0 and began to court other girls. I was surprised to see, just now, that he looked like being still in love with her although she is married and pregnant. She seems to have completely forgotten him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Christine shook her head\u00a0: \u201cMy poor Joe, you\u2019re awfully wrong. Don\u2019t you think so, Jessie, he\u2019s awfully wrong\u201d, she said holding the dog\u2019s head between her two hands. \u201cDon\u2019t you see that, on the contrary, Adam is no longer in love with Regina but she still is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow can you detect that\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst the way she attacked him. If she took no interest in him, she wouldn\u2019t have considered as responsible for this mess without asking for information. She probably would have blamed his violence but on another tone. As for him, he wouldn\u2019t have stood up for me as he did if he wanted to reconquer her. He would have left me plead his cause. I can assure you, she\u2019s still in love with him and he isn\u2019t, it\u2019s staring you in the face.\u201d<\/p>\n

She stopped talking, seeing Joe\u2019s brothers coming back.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell\u00a0?\u201d Joe asked<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s done\u201d, Adam replied, \u201cthe sheriff is informed. He doesn\u2019t seem pretty smart but he understood in the end what we were telling him and he won\u2019t be long coming here. I also called for the doctor for him to look after Matthew and Matteo. I paid for\u201d he clarified, preventing Christine\u2019s objection. \u201cWhatever she can think\u201d, he commented, chuckling with melancholy, \u201cI\u2019m not that blood thirsty monster she pretends I am.\u201d<\/p>\n

Christine smiled back\u00a0: \u201cNobody thinks so, and certainly not me. Anybody can see at first glance that you\u2019re uprightness itself.\u201d<\/p>\n

She was on the point of adding something when the sheriff and the doctor appeared. Hoss led the doctor to Matteo\u2019s tent, considering that this one, left to Juanita and her fellows\u2019 cares needed a medical attention more than Matthew,\u00a0 healed by Regina.<\/p>\n

The sheriff started his inquiry by Christine and then, questioned Joe.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the young lady went next her brother-in-law to be who seemed lost in a dark reverie.\u00a0\u201cWhat\u2019s the matter, Adam\u00a0? Why are you so sad\u00a0? Don\u2019t tell me that\u2019s a renewed interest for this woman.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

Surprised by such a direct question, Adam lifted his head, saying to himself that he loved that. \u201cAt least\u201d, he thought, \u201cmy new sister isn\u2019t that kind of women who can\u2019t speak their mind and, nonetheless, resent men for not having guessed what they wanted. Good\u00a0!\u201d<\/p>\n

He took a while before answering, not because he hesitated to open his heart \u2013 it was strange but this so withdrawn man felt inclined to take her as a confidant \u2013 but because he wanted to be sure of his deep feelings.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not a renewed love for her\u201d, he eventually articulated, \u201cit\u2019s more\u2026 well\u2026 guilt\u2026\u201d\u00a0He looked, at the same time, downcast and exhausted, however, he turned to her and tried a smile\u00a0: \u201cForgive for bothering you with my frame of mind. I\u2019m spoiling your joy while, certainly, you\u2019d better talk about Little Joe and your romance with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Christine shook her head\u00a0: \u201cYou don\u2019t know me very well, Adam, I would even say that you don\u2019t know me at all. If not, you should know that I\u2019m not the kind of woman that withdraws into herself. Besides\u201d, she added with a bitter chuckle, \u201cif I was this kind of person, I would not be there, I would be home, with my family. It\u2019s because I wanted to help a friend that I was taken in this roundup of suspects and led to the American continent.\u201d<\/p>\n

At these words, Adam\u2019s grin widened, digging dimples into his cheeks\u00a0: \u201cDo you regret it\u00a0?\u201d, he asked, half tender, half ironic.<\/p>\n

Christine\u2019s face enlightened\u00a0: \u201cA friend of mine, in France, used to say that life is a succession of rainbows emerging in our hearts. I cry for being far from mines, I used to cherish, and I laugh for having met Little Joe\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd soon\u201d, Adam, enchanted by Christine\u2019s image, replied, \u00ab\u00a0a big sun will definitely make your rainbow disappear because you will marry Joe and go to France for your honeymoon. Then, you\u2019ll introduce Joe to your family.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, Adam, this is a long and expensive travel\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll pay for it, it will me my present for the wedding. I can afford it, I have pretty good savings after having worked with Pa for years and I also inherited something from my mother\u2019s family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unable to keep her control, Christine flied into his arms and kissed him on both cheeks, shouting\u00a0: \u201cAdam, you\u2019re a darling.\u201d<\/p>\n

At this very moment, Hoss, Joe and the sheriff\u00a0 came back to them.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s that\u00a0?\u201d Joe exclaimed with anger in his voice, \u201cwhat are you doing\u00a0? Adam\u00a0\u00bb, he said coming next to him and threatening his brother with his forefinger, \u201cif you\u2019re starting the same game as you did with Melinda\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

But Christine didn\u2019t let him go on. Rushing to her fianc\u00e9, she called out\u00a0: \u201cJoe, Joe, it\u2019s wonderful\u00a0: Adam is offering us our honeymoon in France. He just said it, he promised.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0Joe looked at her, flabbergasted and then, turned to Adam and, suddenly, burst in laughter\u00a0: \u201cWell, thank you for having asked my opinion. Be careful with big brother, Christine, he\u2019s got a bad habit, he wants to run everybody\u2019s life.\u201d Then, changing his tone, he put his arm around the girl\u2019s shoulders and said\u00a0: \u201cYou see, so are we, the Cartwrights : I sneaked away from them without saying a bit and I\u2019m sure that, when they started, they intended to bring me back by the scruff of the neck, but you won their heart and now, there\u2019s not much they shouldn\u2019t do for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eyes becoming wet, Christine wanted to answer when the sheriff interrupted them abruptly\u00a0: \u201cSorry, ladies and gents, but you will deal with your family problems later. Right now, I need you to come to town and sign your declarations. I still have the Quaker to question and I\u2019ll meet you at my office. After, you\u2019ll be free to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s exactly what we\u2019ll do as soon as possible, believe me\u201d, Joe said.<\/p>\n

Christine saw a shadow pass on Adam\u2019s face and guessed he was annoyed to leave without seeing Regina again\u00a0: \u201cYou\u2019ll let me the time to look after the horses, will you, Joe\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam understood Christine\u2019s intention and thanked her with a simple glance. Christine headed to the horses and called out\u00a0: \u201cJoe, Hoss, will you give me a hand\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

As for Adam, he planted himself for a while, hand on his hips, took a deep breath and knocked at Matthew and Regina\u2019s door.<\/p>\n

Steps were not long to be heard, the door opened lightly and Regina\u2019s white headdress appeared. Again, Adam jumped at seeing so close the woman\u2019s face, prematurely grown old.\u00a0Respectfully, he removed his hat and said\u00a0: \u201cI came back, Regina, since, as the Holy Bible says, I will not see the sun set over our anger.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regina had a contrite smile\u00a0: \u201cyou\u2019re so kind, Adam, to share my fault, since, really, I\u2019m the only one who got angry, not you. Come in, Matthew\u2019s sleeping. If you like, I can make you a coffee.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00ab\u00a0Sounds fine\u00a0\u00bb, he replied nicely.\u00a0She introduced him into a pleasant kitchen and put the coffee pot on the fire. He sat down and this gesture made him aware of his degree of exhaustion. He waited a moment for her to break silence but since she seemed decided not to do it, he plunged.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry, Regina, for having given you again the spectacle of violence but, once again, I didn\u2019t have any choice. I had the certainty that these gipsies wanted to murder my brother Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Suddenly, she sank on a chair and started crying, her head hidden in the hollow of her arm\u00a0:<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, Adam, please forgive me. How could I say such awful things\u00a0? I was so upset to see you again, and also upset because you were finding me in the state I am, pregnant for the second time. Why did I do that, Adam, why did I give up so easily our happiness\u00a0? I just had to let them to their chimeras, their way of life so cramped, so sad, yes, desperately sad. I remember, when we were walking side by side, you were telling me the history of this far-West you so much love, you were forming plenty of ideas for this country, you explained me that soon, the railway would reach this part of the territory and would bring with me industrials, men believing in progress and also lawyers, doctors who would changed our lives. You were daydreaming and, with you, my mind was venturing. With Matthew, you never dream, you dig, you clean up, you cook and you read Bible. Progress, you have to fly away from it, it\u2019s Satan, visions, they\u2019re inspired by the devil. You must never do anything that wasn\u2019t done two thousand years ago. And women, particularly, must beware of thinking by themselves, they must refer for every matter to their husband. Even for bringing up my son, Adam, I\u2019ve not my word. Do you realize what my life is\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

Upset by such a despair, Adam couldn\u2019t help laying a pitiful hand on the poor woman\u2019s shoulder. At this touch that was electrifying her, she straightened up and showed him a face covered with tears.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, Adam, what can I do. It\u2019s too late, now, I can\u2019t go backward. I realize, now\u00a0 that I wasn\u2019t only in love with you but with the life you were offering me. You should have insisted, Adam, taken me with you\u2026\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0You would have resented me\u00a0\u00bb, he said with a very gentle voice, \u00ab\u00a0you wouldn\u2019t have forgiven me.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

She stared at him, highly conscious of the truth of his words. \u201cYou\u2019re right\u00a0! I would have been stupid enough not to accept gratefully the wonderful gift heaven was presenting to me and I would have tried to attract you to my own world.\u201d<\/p>\n

She seized a corner of her apron and used it to wipe her tears\u00a0: \u201cGo away, now, Adam, disappear so I will be able to forget you. Seeing you again woke up all my bitterness and erased my resignation. Go away, go away\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

He stood up, not knowing what to say. He was full of compassion and, at the same time, lightly hurt to see that she hadn\u2019t even asked him how he had overcome the sorrow of their parting. Too much suffering had transformed her into a selfish person. He resented the so-called Matthew who was brandishing the Bible all the time but didn\u2019t know how to love his wife. He wanted to send a Parthian shot but he saw her so unhappy that he chose to keep his thoughts for himself. Instead, he just said\u00a0:<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00ab\u00a0Farewell, Regina, I hope you\u2019ll be able to forgive me one day. Don\u2019t worry, I\u2019ll manage not to cross your road again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then, he turned on his heel and walked away without looking back while, forgetting about her husband and the neighbourhood, she was crying on the doorstep\u00a0: \u201cCome back, Adam, my love, my darling, come back, I love you, I love you\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam controlled himself not to turn back and headed to his brothers and Christine.<\/p>\n

******************************************************************<\/p>\n

\u201cI think\u201d, Adam said, that nothing more is keeping us here. Let\u2019s go home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s go home\u201d, Joe replied, throwing up his hat.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut with which horse\u00a0?\u201d, Christine asked, \u201cdo you think I can pick up one to the company\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the least they owe you\u201d, Hoss answered<\/p>\n

\u201cEven so\u201d, Christine retorted, \u201cI have scruples, they are trained for the show. If they replace me, the horsewoman will need a mount.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen\u201d, Joe said, \u201cget on behind me, Cochise is strong enough to carry both of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Christine wasn\u2019t to refuse such a proposition with the double advantage of satisfying her sense of honesty and keeping her in a tight contact with Joe\u2019s body for three days.<\/p>\n

The return was peaceful and merry. Hoss had taken Jessie, finding the travel too long for its little legs.<\/p>\n

The last day, Joe became taciturn. As they got closer of the Ponderosa, he remembered that he had sneaked away from his father in a rather cavalier way. How would Ben react\u00a0? How would he welcome Christine\u00a0? He had tried to sound out his brothers but they didn\u2019t know more than him. To reassure him, Adam informed him that he had sent to Ben a telegram that was saying\u00a0: \u201cChristine and Joe deeply in love, wedding inescapable, Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

When they entered the courtyard, Joe let his brothers go forward. The sound of hooves had led Ben outside\u00a0: he was watching his sons coming back, his hands on his hips, displaying a satisfied smile.<\/p>\n

Adam was the first to dismount and shake warmly his father\u2019s hands. Hoss put Jessie on the ground and, instead of saluting his parent, turned back to Cochise and, catching Christine\u2019s waist, he helped her down the saddle. Joe stayed, stuck on his horse, paralyzed\u00a0:<\/p>\n

\u201cHello, young man\u201d, called out Ben with a warm tone, \u201cwill you not introduce your fianc\u00e9e to me\u00a0? What are you waiting for\u00a0?\u201d<\/p>\n

Electrified, Joe jumped down and rushed with outstretched arms, to his father, shouting\u00a0: \u201cPa, you\u2019re the best Pa on earth\u00a0!\u201d<\/p>\n

Then, he seized Christine\u2019s arm and started\u00a0:\u00a0\u201cThis is the woman for whom\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re ready to do any extravagance\u201d, his father ended. \u201cIs that so ?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, it is. The extravagance of marrying, having plenty of children, going a big deal of trouble to make her happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, children\u201d, Ben said, \u201cI don\u2019t give you my agreement since you obviously don\u2019t need it, but I give you my blessing\u201d<\/p>\n

And he opened his arms wide. Hoss pushed Christine to him. Not knowing what to do, she nestled silently her head on the shoulder of her father-in-law to be. The latter melted at the frail girl\u2019s touch and whispered in her ear\u00a0:<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, you\u2019re home, child.\u201d<\/p>\n

Balancing between laugh and tears, Christine stammered\u00a0:<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, Pa\u2026 If it\u2019s okay for you that I call you Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing could be better\u201d, Ben thundered. \u201cand now, let\u2019s go home, Hop-Sing prepared a feast.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you hear that, Jessie\u201d, Hoss said, \u201ccome on, we\u2019ll have a slap-up.\u201d<\/p>\n

CONCLUSION<\/p>\n

On this morning, Christine woke up, her heart full of emotion\u00a0: this was the day for her to become Mrs Joseph Cartwright.<\/p>\n

A few days before, Joe had taken her to town and she had sent a telegram to her family. This telegram wouldn\u2019t go across the ocean but it would, at least, go across the continent in one day. Then a ship would carry it to le Havre and it would reach her family quicker than a simple letter.<\/p>\n

Since her father wasn\u2019t there to lead her to the altar, Ben would replace him. She had asked Adam as her witness, so Joe had felt free to choose Hoss.<\/p>\n

She had stunned the dressmaker when she had declared she wanted to wear a white woman\u2019s riding habit for the wedding\u00a0:<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a horsewoman, he caught sight of me and loved me, as a horsewoman, I will swear him love and loyalty.\u201d<\/p>\n

While she was walking at the sound of Mendelssohn wedding march, Joe, dressed in pearl grey, was awaiting her, radiant. He was watching her with this look of his that seemed to be a promise to turn her life into a perpetual amusement.<\/p>\n

At the end of the ceremony, she felt as she was walking on clouds. He mounted Cochise, she mounted Jewel, her mare, Ben\u2019s gift, and he took her left hand with his right hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cForward\u00a0?\u201d, Joe asked, smiling.<\/p>\n

\u201cForward\u201d, she answered, smiling back to him.<\/p>\n

And they took a canter, without releasing their hands, as in a meticulously prepared equestrian ballet, taking their start on a synchronous rhythm that was to last all along their life.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The End<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Disclaimer:<\/span>\u00a0All publicly recognizable characters and settings are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

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

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

Summary:\u00a0Joe falls in love with Christine, a horsewoman in a gipsy company. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Rated:\u00a0K+ \u00a0WC \u00a015,000<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":130,"featured_media":2568,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"template-full-width-post.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[23,3],"tags":[16],"class_list":["post-4158","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drama","category-romance","tag-joe","wpcat-23-id","wpcat-3-id"],"a3_pvc":{"activated":true,"total_views":769,"today_views":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Joe.jpg?fit=720%2C576&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":634,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=634","url_meta":{"origin":4158,"position":0},"title":"Betrayal (by Terri)","author":"Terri","date":"April 30, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary: Joe is tried and convicted of murder. Is he guilty? Everyone including Joe thinks he is. 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Imm\u00e9diatement,\u00a0leurs coeurs s'enflamment mais l'un des deux va devoir tout quitter pour l'autre \u00a0 Rated:\u00a0K+ \u00a0WC \u00a017,000","rel":"","context":"In "Drama"","block_context":{"text":"Drama","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=23"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/pained-look.jpg?fit=300%2C266&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6756,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=6756","url_meta":{"origin":4158,"position":4},"title":"The Crazy Lady (by Jayne)","author":"Jayne","date":"May 4, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary: \u00a0Joe and Hoss scare themselves one night, come to Adam's room and tell him the story of the crazy lady. 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