{"id":4716,"date":"2005-04-29T02:52:33","date_gmt":"2005-04-29T06:52:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=4716"},"modified":"2025-02-27T12:10:49","modified_gmt":"2025-02-27T17:10:49","slug":"my-brothers-keeper-whi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=4716","title":{"rendered":"My Brother’s Keeper–WHI (by Puchi Ann)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary: \u00a0<\/span>Ever wished that the Reardons had not been part of “My Brother’s Keeper”? \u00a0This story is a rewrite of the episode, with some added scenes, that provides an alternative to them with greater focus on the Cartwrights and the addition of one, hopefully more likeable, character, a young ranch hand.<\/p>\n

Rated: K+ WC 31,500<\/p>\n

For Lillian, whose timely introduction of a discussion of this episode, inspired this alternate adaptation.<\/p>\n

With deep appreciation to Seeleg Lester, who wrote the original episode we all love so much.\u00a0 Much of the plot and dialog in this story is his or derived from his, and the only character created exclusively by me is that of Casey Porter, who assists Hoss in replacing the Reardons.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

My Brother’s Keeper–WHI<\/strong><\/p>\n

Two horses, as different as the men who sat them, clattered down the sun-baked road.\u00a0 The wolf that Adam and Joe Cartwright had tracked for two days yowled enticingly, and their rifles spontaneously responded to the temptation to shoot.\u00a0 Out of range, the wolf escaped.\u00a0 \u201cHe went through that ravine,\u201d Little Joe said, pointing.<\/p>\n

Adam\u2019s enervated eyes did not follow his brother\u2019s gesture.\u00a0 He knew where the wolf had headed, but the discouragement of two days\u2019 fruitless tracking had dampened his enthusiasm for the chase.\u00a0 \u201cLet\u2019s call it off,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you mean \u2018call it off\u2019?\u201d Little Joe demanded.\u00a0 \u201cNow that we\u2019ve got a chance to get him?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s in the next county by now,\u201d Adam contended.\u00a0 \u201cLet\u2019s get on home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCome on.\u00a0 How many more calves do you want to lose to that wolf?\u201d Joe argued, his voice sharp with his characteristic intensity.<\/p>\n

None<\/em>, Adam had to admit, though he didn\u2019t answer his brother directly.\u00a0 \u201cYou sure don\u2019t give up easy, do you?\u201d he responded, with admiration that was heartfelt, though exhaustion diminished its enthusiasm.<\/p>\n

\u201cCome on, let\u2019s go,\u201d Joe said, riding toward the ravine.\u00a0 Adam sighed in resignation and followed his more determined brother.<\/p>\n

Determination died hard in one as young and energetic as Joe, but as the brothers rested in camp later, his face reflected the discouragement his older brother had felt for hours.\u00a0 \u201cThanks,\u201d he murmured, barely glancing up as Adam handed him a cup of coffee.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter we rest here for a while, we\u2019ll head back,\u201d Adam stated, and a chuckle of worn-down indulgence lifted his voice as he added, \u201cwhether you like it or not.\u00a0 We\u2019re not gonna get home \u2018til tomorrow morning as it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI sure wish I could\u2019ve gotten him in my sights just once,\u201d Little Joe said.\u00a0 The echoing howl of the wolf only strengthened his desire. \u201cYou know, he doesn\u2019t sound too far off.\u201d \u00a0He dropped the tin cup and strode toward his pinto.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, where\u2019re you going?\u201d Adam queried with half-hearted protest.\u00a0 Was there no end to this kid\u2019s drive?\u00a0 Did he never expend more energy than a few sips of coffee would restore?\u00a0 Don\u2019t dare share those thoughts<\/em>, Adam decided, or I\u2019ll no doubt be favored with a few choice remarks about my advanced age<\/em>.\u00a0 He had no intention of giving Joe that satisfaction!<\/p>\n

\u201cJust gonna have a look-see.\u00a0 You take it easy,\u201d Joe called as he swung onto his horse and took off.<\/p>\n

Adam exhaled a gust made up of almost equal parts of disbelief, amusement and frustration, a response he recognized as all-too-familiar in his dealings with his youngest brother.\u00a0 He supposed he really should go with the kid; it was always wiser to hunt in pairs, but he\u2019d done that all day\u2014for two days, in fact, and whether it was due to the dozen extra years he had on Joe or not, he was too tired for any more wild goose chases.\u00a0 He could almost hear Joe\u2019s high-pitched teasing, something like, \u201cWe\u2019re not chasing geese, older brother.\u00a0 No wonder you haven\u2019t spotted that wolf; you\u2019ve had your eyes on the clouds!\u201d\u00a0 He smiled.\u00a0 Yes, that was just the kind of jest Joe would have made, had he called this hunt what it was.\u00a0 Better not to have given him the opportunity.<\/p>\n

I shouldn\u2019t have let him go, though<\/em>, Adam chided himself.\u00a0 Should have laid down the law, made him see reason<\/em>.\u00a0 He shook his head.\u00a0 Joe listen to reason\u2014yeah, sure.\u00a0 Never an easy task and when a fellow was dead tired before he started, well nigh impossible. \u00a0With that boundless energy, Joe would just keep coming at you \u2018til he wore down both reason and resolve.\u00a0 Still, I shouldn\u2019t have let him go alone<\/em>.\u00a0 Anything could happen<\/em>.\u00a0 He silenced that thought by pouring himself another cup of coffee and savoring the aroma as he lifted it to his lips.\u00a0 Life was unpredictable out here, but his brother\u2014both of them, for that matter\u2014had been raised to handle the unexpected.\u00a0 He\u2019d played a significant part in that training himself, and on that subject, if rarely on others, the kid had always been an apt pupil.\u00a0 Joe can take care of himself, better than most men twice his age<\/em>.\u00a0 He chuckled.\u00a0 So what am I worried about?\u00a0 It isn\u2019t as if the wolf could shoot back!\u00a0 Not like some of the two-legged predators the kid has faced.<\/em><\/p>\n

Adam walked aimlessly around the camp as he sipped his coffee, determined not to follow the foolish example of his energy-to-burn brother.\u00a0 Then he laughed at himself.\u00a0 What was he doing here but burning energy with this constant, restless movement?\u00a0 He deliberately seated himself on a dead log and willed himself to savor his coffee in leisure of mind and body.\u00a0 A duet of siren voices periodically challenged that resolve, however: the yowl of a wolf, interspersed with the crack of a rifle.\u00a0 Fool kid\u2019s gonna waste all his ammunition<\/em>, he mused as he sipped his brew.\u00a0 One shot is all it should take to bring down that wolf . . . so long as the aim is true<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The very number of shots he heard told him that Joe wasn\u2019t taking sufficient time to sight his rifle or, perhaps, just wasn\u2019t getting close enough before he fired.\u00a0 Not that he\u2019d set the kid much of an example in that regard the last couple of days.\u00a0 They were both overeager to bring down the wolf, and they\u2019d both made mistakes that had kept them from doing that.\u00a0 Even when they\u2019d done everything right, the wolf had still managed to elude them.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s one crafty critter, as our other brother might say,\u201d Adam chuckled, \u201cand we\u2019ve wasted enough time and ammunition on him.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the siren voices beckoned again, Adam\u2019s will weakened.\u00a0 Well, he might need some help<\/em>, he rationalized, pouring out the rest of the coffee from his cup and the pot to drown the fire.\u00a0 Mounting his horse, he answered the siren\u2019s call.\u00a0 One last try at that crafty critter and then we\u2019re headed home, if I have to drag Joe, kicking and screaming, every inch of the way!<\/em><\/p>\n

The siren voices seemed to separate, to sing to each other across a wider gulf.\u00a0 Then they fell silent.\u00a0 Joe\u2019s lost him<\/em>, Adam concluded, his emotions torn between disappointment and relief.\u00a0 He wanted the wolf just as much as his younger brother, but he was ready to concede this round and get home.\u00a0 Hoss was probably fed up to his ears, doing his brothers\u2019 chores, and ready for a break from routine. \u00a0Maybe he\u2019d like to have a go at the crafty critter himself.\u00a0 Goodness only knew, he was the best tracker of the three, as well as the one most attuned to the ways of animals.\u00a0 And if Joe was still so eager for the hunt, he could turn right around and head out with Hoss.<\/p>\n

Adam grinned.\u00a0 Hoss might not thank him for that suggestion, but home without Joe for a few days . . . sounded downright peaceful, just what he needed and\u2014there!\u00a0 A dark gray flash against the sun-baked brown of the landscape.\u00a0 Finally, a chance to end this thing!\u00a0 But the wolf saw him, too, turned tail and ran around a curve in the trail.\u00a0 Eagerly, Adam urged Sport forward, around a boulder of dusty red sandstone.\u00a0 No time to lose.\u00a0 Waste a second and the wolf will be out of range.\u00a0 Got to get him now!<\/em>\u00a0 Just as he came out of the boulder\u2019s shadow, he saw that flash of gray again, raised his rifle and fired.\u00a0 Got him!<\/p>\n

But Adam\u2019s brief moment of exultation was abruptly cut short.\u00a0 In the split second between exhilaration and horror, he saw the wolf\u2014still alive, still upright and uninjured\u2014wheel around and fall upon a figure crumpled on the ground.\u00a0 \u201cOh, my God,\u201d he gasped in shocked recognition.\u00a0 But shock didn\u2019t hinder his ability to respond.\u00a0 Adam Cartwright had always been a man who could push emotion aside during a crisis, and he instinctively did now, when Joe\u2019s life depended on instant action.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t risk firing.\u00a0 Gray fur and taupe raiment were too tangled, their positions changing too frenetically, as the man held the animal\u2019s fangs away from his throat. He had to separate them\u2014now\u2014before Joe\u2019s arms weakened and the fangs sank into his flesh.<\/p>\n

He spurred Sport forward, covering the intervening space in seconds.\u00a0 He vaulted off his horse, and with both hands firmly gripping the stock of his gun, rushed forward until he was standing directly over the grisly battle.\u00a0 Making a lightning assessment of the positions of the combatants, he swung the barrel of the rifle forcefully and knocked the wolf away from his brother.\u00a0 He swung the weapon up into position and cranked the lever twice in rapid succession.\u00a0 This time, mercifully, the wolf dropped to earth, motionless.<\/p>\n

Squatting beside his brother, Adam laid the rifle on the ground and reached toward the blood-stained shirt.\u00a0 \u201cJoe\u2014Joe, I didn\u2019t mean it.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t see you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Little Joe didn\u2019t seem to notice the plea for understanding in his brother\u2019s voice.\u00a0 Stretching one arm toward the wolf, he murmured weakly, \u201cYou got him, Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I got him,\u201d Adam said, self-reproach the sole emotion in his words as he started to unbutton Joe\u2019s earth-colored shirt.\u00a0 Next time we go hunting, little brother, I\u2019m dressing you, head-to-toe, in red, something that won\u2019t blend in with the rocks, something I can see!\u00a0 Next time . . . oh, God, let there be a next time.<\/em><\/p>\n

He unfastened the buttons and opened the shirt to reveal a gaping wound in his brother\u2019s shoulder, put there by his own bullet.\u00a0 My own stupidity<\/em>, he chided himself, my own<\/em>\u2014<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m shot, Adam,\u201d Joe whispered, sounding surprised.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know, Joe.\u00a0 I\u2019m sorry.\u201d\u00a0 Had the kid just now noticed?\u00a0 How could he not . . . it had happened fast, though, and the boy had been fighting for his life every second since.\u00a0 Joe\u2019s oversight was understandable, his own less easily excused.\u00a0 But there was no time now for self-recrimination, no time for explanations, time only to do what needed doing to save his brother\u2019s life.\u00a0 He cupped Joe\u2019s left jaw and gently turned his gaze away from the wound.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ll be all right, boy,\u201d he promised.<\/p>\n

He stood and walked back to his horse.\u00a0 From the saddlebag he took a clean white handkerchief, grabbed his canteen off the horn and hurried back to Joe\u2019s side.\u00a0 Dampening the cloth, he pressed it to the oozing wound in Joe\u2019s left shoulder.<\/p>\n

Joe moaned, then bit down on his lower lip to stifle the sound.<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0 Joe nodded, tight-lipped, and Adam smiled encouragingly back at him.\u00a0 Once the bleeding stopped, he pulled away the cloth, and his mouth set in a grim line.\u00a0 Teeth marks surrounded the ragged wound, and he could see torn threads from Joe\u2019s shirt embedded in it, as well.\u00a0 It would need to be cleaned out, at the very least, and that would only increase his brother\u2019s pain.\u00a0 Not here, though.\u00a0 He needed a fire to sterilize his knife, hot water.\u00a0 \u201cLet\u2019s get you back to camp,\u201d he said.\u00a0 He looked around, suddenly aware of a missing member of the party.\u00a0 \u201cWhere\u2019d you leave Cochise, Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n

As Joe tried to lift his left arm, to point toward the opening in the rocks behind Adam, he cried out in pain, and his arm fell.<\/p>\n

Adam had seen enough.\u00a0 \u201cBack there?\u00a0 Okay, rest here, boy; I\u2019ll get him.\u201d\u00a0 He stood and pointed an authoritative finger at Joe.\u00a0 \u201cYou stay put, don\u2019t try to move.\u201d\u00a0 As soon as he\u2019d seen Joe\u2019s nod of acquiescence, he moved through the opening and trotted down the gravelly path.\u00a0 When he reached lower ground, where his brother would have left the pinto before climbing up after the wolf, he scanned the area in all directions.\u00a0 No Cochise.\u00a0 Joe must have been so set on getting the wolf that he hadn\u2019t tethered the horse, at least not firmly enough.\u00a0 Looks like you need a few more lessons in safety in the wild, little brother<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Adam slammed a fist into the palm of his other hand.\u00a0 Joe wasn\u2019t the only one who needed a review of that lesson.\u00a0 He\u2019d been so intent on getting to his brother that he hadn\u2019t secured Sport, either then or after the initial crisis had passed, and while they could get by easily with one horse, since Joe wasn\u2019t fit to ride alone, anyway, they\u2019d be lost if they didn\u2019t have that one.\u00a0 Adam hurried back up the path to remedy his own mistake.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, Sport was still standing where Adam had left him.\u00a0 With long strides Adam crossed the ground to the animal and gathered up the trailing reins.\u00a0 \u201cGood, steady boy,\u201d he said as he patted Sport\u2019s neck. \u00a0\u201cShould have known I could count on you.\u201d\u00a0 He led the horse back to Joe and again squatted beside his brother.\u00a0 \u201cI couldn\u2019t find Cooch, Joe; I\u2019m sorry.\u00a0 I\u2019m gonna take you up on Sport.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe didn\u2019t even nod this time, just closed his eyes in trust that his older brother would take care of him, as he always had.\u00a0 Adam\u2019ll know what to do<\/em>, his drifting mind assured him; Adam . . . always knows . . . what to do<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0* * * * *<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0The silence was overpowering and, combined with the darkness, oppressive.\u00a0 The only sound was the soft, slow clip-clop of Sport\u2019s hooves along the dirt road.\u00a0 Little Joe, too weak for conversation, slumped against Adam, his chin dipping toward his breastbone.\u00a0 The external silence, however, only left a vacuum to be filled with the accusations roaring inside Adam\u2019s head.\u00a0 Though the words had never been spoken, he\u2019d charged Joe with reckless waste of ammunition and failure to aim true.\u00a0 Yet what more reckless waste of ammunition could there be than planting a slug in your own brother!\u00a0 I didn\u2019t mean it; I didn\u2019t see you.<\/em>\u00a0 He wanted to say the words again and again, until his bleary-eyed brother understood, but Joe was too far gone now to listen, and Adam wouldn\u2019t have burdened the boy with his guilt or worry, anyway.\u00a0 Both would have shown in his voice had he tried to speak.\u00a0 No, silence was better\u2014harder, but better.<\/p>\n

With a shiver Adam felt the wind snake down his neck and instinctively pulled the collar of his custard-yellow coat up around Joe\u2019s neck.\u00a0 Joe\u2019s green jacket, unneeded during the heat of the day, had been tied behind Cochise and had galloped off into the sunset with the pinto, so Adam had buttoned his own coat loosely around his brother when they left camp.\u00a0 It was the most he could do for the boy\u2019s comfort until they reached home, and he counted his own goose-pimpled flesh no great sacrifice.\u00a0 Thankfully, the weather was moderate tonight, and not until now had he felt more than slightly chilled.\u00a0 Better him than Joe, though; he, at least, didn\u2019t have a bullet in his shoulder.<\/p>\n

Adam grimaced.\u00a0 Another failure to add to the tally.\u00a0 Once he\u2019d gotten Joe back to camp, he\u2019d heated some water in the coffee pot and sterilized his knife by holding it in the fire until it glowed.\u00a0 Then he\u2019d made a try for the bullet.\u00a0 It hadn\u2019t taken long, however, for him to realize that the attempt was futile.\u00a0 The bullet was lodged tightly under Joe\u2019s collarbone.\u00a0 Removing it would require tedious, painstaking surgery, and a trailside camp made a sorry operating room for anything other than a quick, straightforward excision of the lead.\u00a0 The light had been fading fast, too, and as the sun slid toward the horizon, Adam had admitted the inevitable: the bullet would have to remain inside until he got his brother home.<\/p>\n

\u00a0* * * * *<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Ben Cartwright accepted the reins of his big buckskin from the lanky, freckle-faced young man extending them.\u00a0 \u201cThanks, Casey.\u00a0 Appreciate you saddling Buck for me; I\u2019m running a little late this morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMore than happy to, Mr. Cartwright,\u201d Casey Porter said, and he meant every word.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Ben Cartwright had been good to him, offering him a job, unasked, when his own ranch went bankrupt.\u00a0 More than that, Mr. Ben had bought the place, picked it up cheap for back taxes, and promised Casey it would be his again whenever he saved enough money to buy it back at the same low price.\u00a0 Casey figured it would take him another year, but he was determined to do it, to honor the memory of his deceased parents. \u00a0He was making good use of his time here at the Ponderosa, learning a lot about how to make the Rocking P successful, once the deed was back in his name.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t just Mr. Cartwright he owed a debt of gratitude, though.\u00a0 He\u2019d worked under each of the three sons and had found them all to be fair, honest and willing to work right alongside him at the dirtiest jobs on the ranch.\u00a0 Even though he was an employee, they\u2019d treated him like an equal . . . like what he was, a fellow rancher fallen on hard times, and they\u2019d each encouraged him to believe he could work his way back to that solid standing. \u00a0He fell between Hoss and Joe in age and considered both of them friends, especially Joe, who was only a couple of years younger.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t share quite the same camaraderie with Adam, maybe because he was so much older or maybe because he felt intimidated by a college-educated man, but he respected the oldest Cartwright son, almost as much as Mr. Ben himself.<\/p>\n

The door from the kitchen swung open and Hoss Cartwright came through it, heading straight for the buckboard, whose team Casey had also hitched.\u00a0 Leading Buck, Ben walked over.\u00a0 \u201cGot Hop Sing\u2019s list?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

Hoss patted his front shirt pocket.\u00a0 \u201cRight here.\u00a0 Sure is a long one, too, so I\u2019m right glad Casey here volunteered to ride in with me and help load the supplies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Casey grinned as he climbed the opposite side of the buckboard from where Hoss now sat.\u00a0 \u201cSecond pair of hands always makes the chores go quicker.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss\u2019s face scrunched in a half-hearted grimace.\u00a0 \u201cYeah, I can think of a couple pair of hands I\u2019d like to see makin\u2019 the chores go quicker.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben chuckled.\u00a0 \u201cThey\u2019ll be back soon, son.\u00a0 Your brothers know they\u2019ll have you to answer to if they\u2019re not, and neither one of them wants you riled up against him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss, who wouldn\u2019t have hurt a fly if he could avoid it, scowled fiercely as he nodded.\u00a0 \u201cBest they remember that and get on home right soon.\u201d\u00a0 He broke into a grin then.\u00a0 \u201cKnowing them two, they\u2019ll milk every minute they can away from barn chores.\u00a0 I just hope they make it back before you do!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they don\u2019t, they\u2019ll have me to answer to,\u201d Ben said with a significant arch of one eyebrow.\u00a0 \u201cI should be back in three or four days, unless negotiations hit a snag, and your brothers know better than to waste that much time chasing a wolf.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe don\u2019t,\u201d Hoss chortled.<\/p>\n

Ben smiled.\u00a0 \u201cBut Adam does, and he\u2019s in charge.\u00a0 You\u2019ll be heading straight out to the branding camp after you get the supplies?\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cGot to stop by here first, drop off what ain\u2019t needed out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, don\u2019t dawdle,\u201d Ben advised as he put his foot in the stirrup and swung into the saddle, \u201cor Hop Sing will have your hide.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNaw, he don\u2019t relish meat that tough,\u201d Casey teased.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019ll just threaten to run off to China.\u201d\u00a0 He had worked for the Cartwrights long enough to have heard the standard threat innumerable times and felt comfortable enough, even with Mr. Ben, to risk cracking a joke.\u00a0 The Cartwrights could take a mite of joshing, even seemed to welcome it.<\/p>\n

Ben led out, and for several miles the buckboard followed him.\u00a0 Then their paths diverged, the buckboard rolling toward Virginia City, while Ben took the road to Placerville.<\/p>\n

\u00a0* * * * *<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Shortly after dawn the two erstwhile wolf hunters came to a lake. \u00a0Adam welcomed the opportunity to wash out his brother\u2019s wound more carefully and to refill his dwindling canteen.\u00a0 He slid off Sport\u2019s rump, still supporting his slumbering brother, and attempted to ease Joe from the saddle without waking him.\u00a0 Chalk up another failure<\/em>, Adam thought as he heard his brother moan and saw his eyelids crack open.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe . . . home?\u201d Joe asked.<\/p>\n

The setting looked nothing like the yard at the Ponderosa, but Adam answered the question calmly, as if it made perfect sense, as perhaps it did to senses blurred by fever and pain.\u00a0 \u201cNot yet.\u00a0 Soon,\u201d he promised.\u00a0 He helped Joe over to a level spot close to the lake and lowered him to the ground.\u00a0 \u201cJust taking a breather,\u201d he explained to the questioning eyes.\u00a0 \u201cRest easy, now.\u201d\u00a0 He took the folded cloth from beneath Joe\u2019s shirt, walked down to the lake and washed the blood and pus from it.\u00a0 Returning, he opened Joe\u2019s shirt and gently cleaned the area once again.<\/p>\n

Joe flinched when his shoulder was touched.\u00a0 Then, seeing the concern etched on his brother\u2019s face, he murmured weakly, \u201cI\u2019m all right, Adam.\u201d\u00a0 His words would have been more convincing without the involuntary moan that had preceded them.<\/p>\n

\u201cSure you are,\u201d Adam agreed, his tone designed to encourage his brother.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know what got into me yesterday.\u00a0 Saw that wolf and just let go.\u00a0 Never stopped to think if you were around anywhere.\u201d\u00a0 It was the closest he could come to an apology, since he still felt obliged to keep conversations brief and matter-of-fact in Joe\u2019s current condition.\u00a0 \u201cWell, we gotta get you to a doc.\u201d\u00a0 Helping Joe into the saddle, Adam pointed his horse toward home.<\/p>\n

The sun rose in the sky, and sweat began to trickle down Adam\u2019s back.\u00a0 He had no need of his coat now and wondered if Joe did.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t ask, though, for Joe was only semi-conscious, and he wouldn\u2019t risk removing it.\u00a0 Fever tended to chill a man, little sense as that made, and he could feel the warmth emanating from his brother.\u00a0 Joe had started coughing occasionally, too, making Adam fear that his lung had been affected by the impact of the bullet.\u00a0 It hadn\u2019t pierced the organ, he knew that, but Dr. Martin had told him that sometimes a bruised lung could cause almost as much trouble as a punctured one.\u00a0 The damage just took longer to develop.<\/p>\n

How much farther?<\/em> he pondered.\u00a0 No, \u201cfarther\u201d wasn\u2019t the right word.\u00a0 He knew how far he was from home, but how long until they got there?\u00a0 That was the question.\u00a0 Little Joe was weakening; he needed a bed and a doctor now, but Adam had been forced to hold Sport to a slow walk, to keep from jarring his brother and possibly reopening his wound.\u00a0 Finally, they came to the top of a hill that sloped gently down to a road.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cVirginia City road, Joe,\u201d Adam said.<\/p>\n

Joe only responded with a couple of dry coughs, which added to Adam\u2019s concern, but the next moment he caught sight of something that lifted all his cares.\u00a0 \u201cAnd you won\u2019t believe who\u2019s coming,\u201d he said with a relieved smile.\u00a0 Clucking to Sport, he treaded his way carefully down the slope to the road below and stopped dead center in the path of the oncoming buckboard.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, Hoss,\u201d Casey said, pointing ahead.\u00a0 \u201cAin\u2019t that Mr. Adam\u2019s horse?\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss leaned forward over the reins.\u00a0 \u201cYeah, that\u2019s Adam, sure \u2018nough.\u00a0 What you reckon\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut where\u2019s Joe?\u201d Casey asked.\u00a0 He squinted his eyes and then murmured, \u201cOh, no.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the same instant Hoss had seen Joe slumped in the saddle in front of Adam, and he urged the horses forward at a faster pace.\u00a0 When the team was nose to nose with Sport, he tossed the reins to Casey, jumped off the wagon seat and hurried forward.<\/p>\n

Adam had dismounted, and when Hoss saw him reach for Joe, he automatically helped support their younger brother.<\/p>\n

\u201cWatch that left shoulder,\u201d Adam urged as Joe moaned in pain.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happened to him?\u201d Hoss asked.\u00a0 He all but carried Joe to the buckboard.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happened?\u201d Hoss pressed.<\/p>\n

Adam bit his lip.\u00a0 \u201cI shot him,\u201d he said bluntly, the words weighed down by a ton of guilt.<\/p>\n

\u201cShot him?\u201d\u00a0 Hoss\u2019s voice rose in pitch from sheer incredulity.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll explain later,\u201d Adam muttered.\u00a0 \u201cLet\u2019s get him home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a sight more than just shot, Adam,\u201d Hoss remonstrated, taking in the scratches on Joe\u2019s face and the shirt sleeve hanging in tatters.\u00a0 \u201cHe looks like he\u2019s been in a terrible fight.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah . . . wolf,\u201d Adam said laconically.<\/p>\n

\u201cA wolf!\u201d Casey cried, eyes wide with alarm.\u00a0 No one had to tell a man raised in Nevada just how dangerous an opponent a wolf could be.\u00a0 He reached down to help Hoss lift Joe up to the wagon seat as Adam walked back toward Sport and gathered up his reins. Casey steadied his young friend until Hoss had climbed up and then stepped down, not sure what to do with himself.\u00a0 There wasn\u2019t room for more than Hoss and Joe on the seat of the buckboard, and even if there had been, surely Mr. Adam would claim that spot himself.<\/p>\n

Adam walked up to the young ranch hand.\u00a0 \u201cCasey, you think you could ride Sport?\u201d<\/p>\n

For a moment Casey looked unsure of himself, for Sport had a reputation on the ranch of being virtually a one-man horse; then he squared his shoulders.\u00a0 If Mr. Adam had confidence in him, he wouldn\u2019t fall short of earning it.\u00a0 \u201cYes, sir.\u00a0 If need be, I reckon I can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam handed him the reins.\u00a0 \u201cWell, need be, Casey; need definitely be.\u00a0 Ride back into Virginia City and get Doc Martin.\u00a0 Tell him that apart from being clawed by that wolf, that bullet\u2019s in deep, way down deep.\u00a0 Get him here fast.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI sure will, Mr. Adam!\u201d\u00a0 Casey settled into the saddle on the tall chestnut and took off at a gallop.<\/p>\n

Adam climbed into the back of the buckboard, among the supplies.\u00a0 He reached across the back of the seat to steady Joe, who was folding up with another fit of coughing.\u00a0 \u201cGet going,\u201d he urged Hoss.\u00a0 \u201cFast as you can without jostling him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSure thing.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss whipped up the horses and headed them down the road at a steady trot.\u00a0 He looked back over his shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cGonna take a spell to get to the house, older brother.\u00a0 Reckon as how you got time to do that \u2018splainin\u2019 now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam nodded grimly and began his story.\u00a0 \u201cIt was an accident,\u201d he said when he finished.<\/p>\n

Hoss cut an astonished look over his shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cI know that, Adam.\u00a0 I knew the minute you said you\u2019d shot him, it couldn\u2019t be nothin\u2019 else.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStill my fault,\u201d Adam said, almost inaudibly.<\/p>\n

Hoss frowned, but judged that Adam wasn\u2019t yet ready to listen to anything but his own fault-finding heart.\u00a0 He had too many worries crowding out common sense and wouldn\u2019t hear it, no matter how plain it was spoke to him.\u00a0 Joe moaning and coughing the way he was only made it worse, deepened the guilt in their oldest brother, Hoss sensed.\u00a0 To distract Adam from those dark depths, he asked a purely factual question. \u00a0\u201cWhen\u2019d this happen, Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam sighed.\u00a0 \u201cLate yesterday afternoon at Montpelier Gorge.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou brought him all the way in from Montpelier like this?\u201d\u00a0 Hoss couldn\u2019t disguise his concern at the thought of that much time and distance between his brother\u2019s injury and the help he needed.\u00a0 Better part of a day\u2014more than enough time for infection to set in, especially with that wolf slavering over the wound.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah.\u201d\u00a0 The way Adam said the single word indicated that he was sharing the exact same worry.<\/p>\n

The fear was like an ominous cloud, hovering over the brothers as they made their way back to the Ponderosa.\u00a0 Neither Hoss nor Adam made much attempt at dialogue during the remainder of that drive, and what attempt they did make fell flat, lost in concern for the brother who could no longer make any contribution to conversation.\u00a0 When Hoss at last pulled up to the house, both he and Adam sprang into concerted action.\u00a0 Adam led the way, opening the front door, while Hoss scooped Little Joe up in his arms and carried him through.<\/p>\n

The silence of the house surprised Adam.\u00a0 \u201cWhere\u2019s Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s in Placerville,\u201d Hoss explained as he carried Joe up the stairs.\u00a0 \u201cHe left this morning.\u00a0 Meeting with that cattle buyer been writin\u2019 to him. \u00a0Got a wire yesterday, invitin\u2019 him, and he had me wire this morning that he was on his way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following Hoss up the stairs, Adam sighed.\u00a0 He\u2019d seen the correspondence with that cattle buyer, of course, but no set time for meeting him had been established when he and Joe left on the wolf hunt.\u00a0 Why did it have to be now, when Joe needed Pa so much?\u00a0 When I need him so much<\/em>, Adam admitted.\u00a0 His brow furrowed as a further meaning of the silent house sank in.\u00a0 \u201cHop Sing\u2019s gone, too?\u201d<\/p>\n

At the top of the stairs, Hoss turned to face his brother.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s out at the branding camp with the hands.\u00a0 Wasn\u2019t gonna be anyone here at the house, so we figured to have him do the cookin\u2019 out there, be a treat for the men.\u00a0 Sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam dragged his hand wearily down his face.\u00a0 \u201cNo way you could have known.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss made his way down the hall, turned into Joe\u2019s room and eased him onto his bed; then while Adam fumbled at the buttons of Joe\u2019s shirt, he unbuckled his younger brother\u2019s gun belt, slid it out from beneath him and handed it to Adam.\u00a0 As he placed a solicitous hand against the boy\u2019s cheek, his brow wrinkled.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s spikin\u2019 a fever, Adam, pretty smart one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Laying the gun belt on the bedside table, Adam nodded soberly.\u00a0 \u201cI know.\u00a0 It\u2019s been climbing all night.\u201d\u00a0 He sat down on the bed next to Little Joe and continued to unfasten shirt buttons.<\/p>\n

Hoss pursed his lips.\u00a0 \u201cThat bullet needs to come out, sooner the better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam nodded again, the enervated manner in which he did it indicating that he, too, had recognized the inevitable and dreaded it.\u00a0 \u201cI tried to get it out on the trail, but it\u2019s lodged under a bone.\u00a0 You\u2019re right, though; it\u2019s got to come out; we really can\u2019t wait for Doc.\u201d\u00a0 He glanced at Hoss.\u00a0 \u201cYou up for it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMe?\u201d\u00a0 Hoss looked genuinely shocked.\u00a0 \u201cI ain\u2019t no good at doctorin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam uttered a short chuckle.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t sell yourself short.\u00a0 You\u2019re one of the best I know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss shook his head rapidly.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re talkin\u2019 about critters; I\u2019m good with critters.\u00a0 This is Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam\u2019s head rose sharply.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s my brother, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss placed a supportive hand against his older brother\u2019s back.\u00a0 \u201cI know he is, Adam, and I know it ain\u2019t easy for you, either, but you\u2019re steadier than I am in a tight pinch.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t know that, I do.\u00a0 I\u2019ll give you all the help I can, but it needs to be you cuttin\u2019 out that bullet.\u201d\u00a0 And not just \u2018cause you\u2019re steadier, older brother; \u2018cause it\u2019s your bullet in there, and I reckon it might ease that load you\u2019re carryin\u2019 some if\u2019n you\u2019re the one takes it out<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Again Adam bowed to the inevitable responsibilities of being the eldest brother.\u00a0 Exhaling loudly, he stood.\u00a0 \u201cAll right.\u00a0 You get him ready, make sure there\u2019s plenty of oil in that lamp; I\u2019ll boil some water, gather up the things we\u2019ll need.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss gave him a hearty clap on the back and set to work.\u00a0 First he removed Joe\u2019s boots and stripped off his clothing, down to his drawers, taking special care when moving his upper body.\u00a0 Fingering the ripped sleeve of the tan shirt, he shook his head at the deep scratches and bite marks along his brother\u2019s arm and side.\u00a0 \u201cThat ole wolf sure did a job on you, didn\u2019t he, little brother?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe moaned, as if in agreement, and his glittering eyes opened briefly, seeking Hoss\u2019s face.<\/p>\n

Hoss ran a comforting hand through the boy\u2019s straggling chestnut locks.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t you fret none, buddy; ole wolf may\u2019ve done a job, sure \u2018nough, but ole Adam\u2019ll do a better one, get you fixed up right as rain before you know it.\u201d\u00a0 Joe\u2019s smile was weak, fleeting, but it sent a ray of hope surging through Hoss\u2019s heart, and he grinned wide in response.\u00a0 Everything would be all right; everything had<\/em> to be all right.<\/p>\n

Downstairs, Adam set a pot of water on to boil and then began to scrounge through the kitchen drawers in search of operating instruments.\u00a0 Cutlery<\/em>, he snorted, as he picked through an assortment of paring knives.\u00a0 Better suited to carving a hunk of beefsteak than delicate surgery<\/em>.\u00a0 But they were all he had.\u00a0 Next time<\/em>, he told himself, next time he wears red, head-to-toe, and I have a set of decent scalpels and probes on hand<\/em>.\u00a0 Doc Martin can help me pick<\/em>\u2014he winced.\u00a0 Doc Martin.\u00a0 If only Doc Martin were here; if only any doctor were here!\u00a0 Back East, a man never had to wait like this for medical attention, never had to trust his family to do what they had no training to do.\u00a0 Adam cracked a dry laugh.\u00a0 Of course, back East there weren\u2019t many wolves prowling the canyons between tall buildings, either. \u00a0The whole sorry scenario would never have happened if they\u2019d lived back East.<\/p>\n

Adam shook himself.\u00a0 He had no time for such mental meanderings.\u00a0 He selected two knives and a pair of long, narrow tongs and dropped them into the boiling water.\u00a0 Then he took a small, flat silver tray from the cupboard and covered it with a snowy white napkin, ready to receive the instruments after they\u2019d been sterilized.\u00a0 He blessed his lucky stars that the family doctor was one who knew and preached the benediction of cleanliness in everything that touched an open wound.\u00a0 Not many so-called doctors out here realized the importance of that in fighting infection.\u00a0 He pursed his lips and closed his eyes in painful thought.\u00a0 There hadn\u2019t been much of that benediction along the trail.\u00a0 He\u2019d done his best to give it to Joe, but judging by the rising fever, it hadn\u2019t been enough.\u00a0 And Joe is paying the price, in pain and discomfort . . . and deadly danger . . . the price of my mistake.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em>Adam squared his shoulders.\u00a0 No time for self-reproach now, either; time enough for that later, when the surgery was over . . . when he knew just how high a price his brother might pay for the foolishness both of them had shown.<\/p>\n

Hoss came into the kitchen.\u00a0 \u201cGot Joe ready to go.\u00a0 You need any help?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d Adam said, again with that harsh, dry laugh that made him sound sarcastic.\u00a0 \u201cI need a qualified surgeon.\u00a0 Do we have one stocked in the pantry?\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss\u2019s face scrunched up in sympathy.\u00a0 \u201cNot last I looked, but I reckon we got the next best thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam scowled.\u00a0 \u201cOur dear country doctor would be the next best thing, and we don\u2019t even have that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019ll be here, Adam,\u201d Hoss assured him.\u00a0 \u201cNot in time to spare you this, I know, but\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot in time to spare Joe this,\u201d Adam corrected with a tinge of bitterness.\u00a0 To forestall any more of Hoss\u2019s well-intentioned praise for his dubious abilities to handle difficult situations, Adam suggested that he get some bandages and get back up to Joe.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t like for him to be alone when he\u2019s less than fully alert.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOr fully asleep,\u201d Hoss responded with a slight grin.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019ll be okay, Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

He meant far more by those words than just that Joe would be okay alone for a few minutes and Adam knew it.\u00a0 \u201cI hope so,\u201d he murmured.<\/p>\n

Soon all was in readiness.\u00a0 Adam had gathered his courage downstairs and wanted nothing more than to start the job before he lost his grip on that valuable commodity, but as he sat on his brother\u2019s bed, he paused long enough to have a word with Joe, though he wasn\u2019t sure how much the boy could understand.\u00a0 He briefly explained what he was going to do and added, \u201cThis is going to hurt, buddy, but I need you to keep as still as possible.\u00a0 Hoss will hold you, so\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe grunted, and his head lolled from side to side on the pillow.\u00a0 Clearly, he didn\u2019t like the idea of being pinned down.<\/p>\n

Adam looked up at Hoss for an opinion.<\/p>\n

\u201cGive it a try,\u201d Hoss said.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s a tough kid . . . and I\u2019m here if you need me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam nodded, words beyond him now as he took a deep breath to cleanse out the remains of his fear.\u00a0 Folding a napkin into a compact pad, he slipped the cloth bit into Joe\u2019s mouth, picked up a knife and made his first cut.<\/p>\n

Joe moaned, biting down on the cloth to suppress even that soft sound.\u00a0 Pain pierced through Adam, as if the knife had cut his own flesh.\u00a0 My fault, my fault the boy\u2019s enduring this pain.\u00a0 Stop it!\u00a0 Can\u2019t think about that now.\u00a0 Just cut . . . cut again . . . probe deep . . . now deeper<\/em>.\u00a0 Joe\u2019s moans intensified into groans, his face contorting in agony.\u00a0 Sorry, kid.\u00a0 So sorry, little buddy.\u00a0 Has to be done.<\/em>\u00a0 Focused as he was on the task at hand, Adam still noticed, with admiration, that although Joe\u2019s head moved in reaction to each cut of the blade, his body remained, as requested, still.\u00a0 Plucky kid, but then he never did lack courage<\/em> . . .<\/p>\n

Rearing on his hind legs, the powerful black stallion pawed the clouds.\u00a0 At least, that was how it seemed to ten-year-old Joseph Cartwright, standing on the bottom rail of the corral.\u00a0 He\u2019d never seen a horse so big or one with such wild beauty.\u00a0 \u201cCan I ride him, Adam, huh, can I?\u201d he begged.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo!\u201d his older brother said sharply and firmly.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, Adam\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to hear \u2018but\u2019 from you, little buddy,\u201d Adam said, snatching his little brother up under his arms and lifting him bodily from the fence.\u00a0 He spun Joe around in his arms and held him at eye level.\u00a0 \u201cAnd I\u2019d better not see your scrawny butt on the back of that stallion, either, or it\u2019ll be too sore to sit anywhere for a week!\u201d\u00a0 He set his brother down and planted a light, painless swat on that part of his anatomy as a promise of things to come, should his injunction be disobeyed.<\/p>\n

Joe rubbed his posterior with marked offense, although only his dignity had felt the weight of Adam\u2019s palm.\u00a0 \u201cI could ride him,\u201d he insisted with outthrust lip.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Arching an eyebrow, Adam raised a warning palm, and Joe took off in a huff, to lay his case before Pa.\u00a0 Adam followed him in, prepared to plead his own case, if necessary.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t necessary; Joe\u2019s appeal met the altogether predictable decision from the final arbiter of all fraternal conflicts.\u00a0 \u201cYou always side with Adam,\u201d Joe whined.<\/p>\n

Ben barely restrained the temptation to laugh out loud.\u00a0 \u201cI always take the side of reason,\u201d he told his red-faced young son, \u201cand your older brother tends to hold forth on that side more often than you, Joseph.\u201d\u00a0 He took Little Joe by the elbows and drew him close.\u00a0 \u201cStay away from the horse, son.\u00a0 He\u2019s too big for you, and he could hurt you badly.\u00a0 That\u2019s the side I\u2019m coming down on, the side of keeping you safe, and I\u2019m taking that side because I love you.\u201d\u00a0 He gave Joe a hug and sent him out to finish his chores.<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks, Pa,\u201d Adam said.<\/p>\n

Ben couldn\u2019t resist chuckling this time.\u00a0 \u201cSon, did you for one minute doubt where I\u2019d stand on that issue?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam shrugged as a lopsided grin raised one corner of his mouth.\u00a0 \u201cMaybe one,\u201d he admitted.\u00a0 \u201cThe kid does have pronounced finger-wrapping proclivities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben\u2019s brows came together in a mock scowl.\u00a0 \u201cIf you\u2019re going to start throwing twenty-dollar words around, young man, maybe it\u2019s time you reestablish connection with your roots.\u201d\u00a0 He jerked a thumb toward the front door.\u00a0 \u201cYour little brother could use some help with those barn chores.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam grinned and left immediately for the barn.<\/p>\n

There was no grin on his face a few days later, when he rode into the yard and saw his little brother swinging one leg over the back of that huge black . . . bareback, no less!\u00a0 That Joe hadn\u2019t been killed that afternoon\u2014by either the horse or his oldest brother\u2014had to be the combined work of every guardian angel on the place. . . .<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

No, Joe never lacked courage<\/em>, Adam thought as he continued to probe for the bullet, though foolhardiness might state the case more\u2014<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThank God,\u201d Hoss said gruffly, emotion choking his words.<\/p>\n

Adam looked up from his surgery and saw that his patient had lost consciousness.\u00a0 He\u2019d been so lost in his reverie that he hadn\u2019t noticed, but like Hoss, he was grateful that his inept carving could no longer cause his brother pain.\u00a0 With neither ether nor chloroform available, unconsciousness was the only anesthetic left, and Adam prayed that that anesthetic would not wear off until he\u2019d done what had to be done.\u00a0 \u201cHold that lamp closer,\u201d he told Hoss.\u00a0 \u201cI think I see it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss lowered the lamp he\u2019d been holding throughout the operation and leaned in, his eyes also searching the wound for the threatening piece of lead.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s it,\u201d Adam said with controlled excitement.\u00a0 As he held the knife blade beneath the bullet, he reached for the tongs and grasped it.\u00a0 Slowly, carefully, he pulled it out and dropped it, tongs and all, onto the silver tray.\u00a0 He leaned back, sighing with relief.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou gonna stitch him up?\u201d Hoss asked.<\/p>\n

Eyes closed, Adam nodded.\u00a0 \u201cJust give me a minute.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSure.\u00a0 Take all the time you need.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam laughed harshly.\u00a0 \u201cCan\u2019t.\u00a0 The anesthetic\u2019ll wear off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss cocked his head quizzically, not sure what Adam meant, but he could read the weariness in every line of his brother\u2019s face.\u00a0 His fingers closed on Adam\u2019s shoulder with a powerful squeeze of encouragement.\u00a0 \u201cYou done good, Adam; I knew you would.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam glanced up, and his smile, though weak, was appreciative.\u00a0 \u201cThanks,\u201d he said simply.\u00a0 Taking another deep breath, he reached for needle and thread and with a steady hand, he pulled together the ragged edges of his brother\u2019s flesh and stitched as neatly as a seamstress sewing a finely tailored garment.\u00a0 When he\u2019d finished, he held out his hand, palm up.\u00a0 \u201cBandages.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Hoss said.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re about done in, Adam.\u00a0 I reckon I can take it from here.\u00a0 Go downstairs; get yourself some rest.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam stood and stretched some of the tension from his back muscles.\u00a0 \u201cAll right,\u201d he agreed readily.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ll probably do a better job, anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAlways easier when you can keep your eyes open,\u201d Hoss jibed and was rewarded with a wry chuckle from his older brother.\u00a0 After Adam left Hoss quickly bandaged the wound with deft and gentle hands; then he drew the quilt up and covered Joe tenderly, brushing back unruly curls from his flushed face.\u00a0 His strong hand rested on his baby brother\u2019s forehead for a moment, and he frowned as the hot flesh burned against his palm.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re causing us a lot of worry, you know that?\u201d he asked an unresponsive Little Joe.\u00a0 He smiled warmly down at his little brother.\u00a0 \u201c\u2018Course that ain\u2019t nothin\u2019 new for you.\u00a0 You been causin\u2019 worry since the day you hoisted yourself up by your diapers and took to trottin\u2019\u2014straight for trouble.\u00a0 This time, though, little brother, how\u2019s about gettin\u2019 well real fast out of consideration for your big brothers, huh?\u00a0 Ole Adam\u2019s frettin\u2019 somethin\u2019 fierce, and I\u2019m\u2014well, that don\u2019t matter as much; I ain\u2019t got as big a load to carry.\u00a0 You just get better right quick for ole Adam, okay?\u00a0 And\u2014and for ole Hoss, too, you hear?\u00a0 You\u2014you mind what I say, boy.\u201d\u00a0 Choking down the lump in his throat, he tousled Joe\u2019s hair and headed for the door.<\/p>\n

Sitting on the stone hearth, wishing the fire that baked the chill from his bones could sear it from his heart, Adam looked up at the sound of Hoss\u2019s heavy tread on the stairs.\u00a0 \u201cIs he all right?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStill out,\u201d Hoss said as he came down the final five steps from the landing.\u00a0 \u201cReckon he will be for some spell.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam massaged the back of his neck.\u00a0 \u201cYeah.\u00a0 Probably for the best.\u00a0 He needs rest.\u201d<\/p>\n

He ain\u2019t the only one<\/em>, Hoss thought.\u00a0 Open-palmed, he thumped his hand on top of the blue chair\u2019s back.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m gonna put some coffee on to boil.\u00a0 You want a cup?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I could use some.\u00a0 It\u2019s gonna be a long night.\u201d\u00a0 Adam rested his elbows on his knees and cupped his jaw line with both hands.<\/p>\n

Hoss frowned as he went into the kitchen.\u00a0 A long night.\u00a0 Yeah, it was bound to be.\u00a0 For Adam, the second one in a row.\u00a0 Older brother was in need of sleep, just about as much as younger, but knowing Adam, he wouldn\u2019t get none \u2018til he saw how things was gonna go with Little Joe.\u00a0 Older brother was an awful lot like Pa, when it came to that.\u00a0 Reckon we all take a lot after Pa at times like this<\/em>, Hoss admitted, recognizing that he, too, wanted to be nowhere except right at Joe\u2019s side.<\/p>\n

He puttered around the kitchen while the coffee was brewing.\u00a0 In the larder he found some bread and cold beef and, slicing both, made a quartet of sandwiches, spread with mustard.\u00a0 The coffee smelled like it was ready, so he poured a cup and took a sip to taste it.\u00a0 He scowled.\u00a0 Didn\u2019t compare to Hop Sing\u2019s best, but it would have to do.\u00a0 He poured a second cup and carried it in to Adam.\u00a0 \u201cBetter taste it,\u201d he suggested as he handed it to his older brother.\u00a0 \u201cMight\u2019ve made it a mite strong.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam absently took a sip.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s very good.\u00a0 Hop Sing couldn\u2019t have done better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss outright gawked at him.\u00a0 \u201cNow I know you\u2019re dead on your feet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam impatiently clattered his cup on the hearth as he bolted to his feet.\u00a0 \u201cWhere\u2019s Casey with that doctor?\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss settled on the settee with his own coffee.\u00a0 \u201cThey\u2019ll get here.\u201d\u00a0 He said it mostly to encourage Adam, for a glance at the dining room window showed the sun low in the sky.\u00a0 It was getting late.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope so.\u201d \u00a0Adam turned to face with Hoss brooding eyes.\u00a0 \u201cWhy didn\u2019t I stop Joe?\u00a0 I should\u2019ve laid down the law.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss snorted.\u00a0 \u201cSometimes that\u2019s pretty hard to do . . . especially with Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

The lines in Adam\u2019s face hardened.\u00a0 \u201cThe truth is I wanted that wolf killed just as much as he did,\u201d he accused himself, his tone bitter, \u201cand I used just about as much common sense as he did.\u00a0 I should\u2019ve known he\u2019d\u2019ve been around somewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAw, come on, Adam,\u201d Hoss argued, setting his cup on the table and leaning intently toward his brother with his forearms on his knees.\u00a0 \u201cMan can\u2019t think of everything, every minute; just got to do what he thinks is right at the time.\u00a0 And you\u2019re right more often than most.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, sure\u201d Adam muttered.\u00a0 He moved toward the stairs.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, I made some sandwiches,\u201d Hoss called, pointing toward the kitchen with his thumb.\u00a0 \u201cLet me get you one.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, thanks,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019d better go up and stay with Joe.\u00a0 He shouldn\u2019t be alone when he comes to.\u201d\u00a0 He paused at the foot of the stairs and half-turned toward his brother.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s not that I don\u2019t appreciate it, Hoss.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss\u2019s alpine eyes filled with compassion.\u00a0 \u201cAw, Adam, don\u2019t much matter whether you do or don\u2019t, but I wish you\u2019d eat something.\u00a0 I\u2019m guessing you ain\u2019t had nothin\u2019 since before this happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNoon yesterday,\u201d Adam admitted, rubbing the newel post, \u201cbut I couldn\u2019t eat right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe later,\u201d Hoss suggested hopefully.\u00a0 \u201cAfter the doc comes, huh?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe.\u201d\u00a0 Adam turned and walked up the stairs.\u00a0 Entering Joe\u2019s room, he gazed with concern at the still form of his brother.\u00a0 Asleep?\u00a0 Unconscious?\u00a0 Some place between the two states?\u00a0 No way to know.\u00a0 The boy seemed to be resting quietly enough, but Adam worried anyway, knowing that it was weakness and loss of blood keeping Joe quiet.\u00a0 Fever still high, he noted, laying his hand on his brother\u2019s forehead.\u00a0 Adam shrugged. \u00a0He\u2019d had no reason to expect any change this soon.\u00a0 Just hope.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s keeping that doctor?\u201d he muttered.\u00a0 He wandered over to Joe\u2019s desk and thumbed idly through the pages of a copy of Harper\u2019s Weekly <\/em>lying there.\u00a0 Never able to let his mind lie idle, he sat in the mate\u2019s chair by the desk and began to read, beginning with the first page, one article after the other.\u00a0 The slightest moan, coming from the bed, was enough to break his concentration, but each time he looked up, Joe seemed to settle back into his pillow and Adam would return to his reading.<\/p>\n

He was scowling at the words on the page when Hoss came in sometime later.\u00a0 \u201cGot the stock all bedded down for the night,\u201d the big man said, \u201cand I brought you another cup of coffee.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam tossed the periodical to the desk, with a disdain he rarely showed for printed material, and reached for the cup Hoss was extending.\u00a0 \u201cThanks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Noting the careless way Adam had handled the periodical, Hoss asked, his nose crinkling, \u201cNews not to your liking?\u201d<\/p>\n

A sneer curled Adam\u2019s lips.\u00a0 \u201cIt wasn\u2019t news.\u00a0 I was reading a travel commentary about the glories of our fair part of the world.\u00a0 The author, like so many others back East, is very enthusiastic about the West.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah?\u201d\u00a0 Hoss, being enthusiastic about the West himself, eyed the issue of Harper\u2019s<\/em> with some interest.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, you know, the typical claptrap.\u201d \u00a0With a grandiose gesture toward the ceiling, Adam amplified.\u00a0 \u201cThe giant mountains, vast deserts, dazzling sunsets\u2014a matchless paradise under the canopy of stars.\u00a0 All the usual phrases.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss eased into a tufted, gold-upholstered chair near Adam.\u00a0 \u201cGuess I don\u2019t read enough to know all the usual phrases,\u201d he admitted.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re not missing anything,\u201d Adam said dryly.\u00a0 He raised the coffee cup to his lips.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we do got all those things out here, Adam,\u201d Hoss observed.\u00a0 \u201cI ain\u2019t too keen on the vast deserts; kind of prefer mine narrow and far apart.\u201d\u00a0 He attempted a grin that faded when Adam did not return it.\u00a0 \u201cBut the other,\u201d he continued, \u201cthe tall mountains, paint-splashed sunsets and stars twinklin\u2019 like diamonds above the pines\u2014I can see how folks back East, all shut up inside tall jails of brick and granite, might crave to see sights like that.\u00a0 Can\u2019t imagine my life without \u2018em.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I might be willing to trade them for a few of the amenities of the East,\u201d Adam grunted.<\/p>\n

Hoss\u2019s brow furrowed with concern.\u00a0 \u201cLike a doctor close to hand?\u00a0 That\u2019s what\u2019s got you so down in the mouth, ain\u2019t it, Adam, the doc not bein\u2019 here yet?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe should be here by now,\u201d Adam said, acknowledging Hoss\u2019s diagnosis.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s been hours.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss nodded.\u00a0 \u201cCasey must\u2019ve had some trouble trackin\u2019 Doc down.\u00a0 Might\u2019ve been out on a call or somethin\u2019, but Casey\u2019s a steady man; he\u2019ll keep at it \u2018til he gets the job done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam emitted a long, remorseful sigh.\u00a0 \u201cI should have given him an alternative to Dr. Martin.\u00a0 We don\u2019t have all the advantages of the East, but we do have more than one doctor in town!\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam wasn\u2019t responding to any comfort he was offered, so Hoss sat silent, drinking his coffee for a few minutes.\u00a0 Then, both brothers leaped to their feet at the sound of shod hooves clattering into the ranch yard.\u00a0 \u201cThe doctor!\u201d Hoss cried as he charged for the door, leaving his coffee cup on the mirrored washstand beside it.<\/p>\n

Adam set his cup on the desk so hastily that coffee splashed out onto the copy of Harper\u2019s Weekly<\/em> and left the room right behind Hoss.\u00a0 Both brothers clattered down the stairs and hurried across the room to the front door.\u00a0 When Hoss flung it open, an exhausted Casey Porter almost fell into his arms.\u00a0 His face was grimy, but even through the streaks of soot, Hoss could see the young man\u2019s desolate expression.\u00a0 \u201cThe doc didn\u2019t come?\u201d he asked urgently.\u00a0 Adam was standing in the doorway, peering into the yard, as if willing the doctor\u2019s buggy to round the bend and pull up to the house.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, but he\u2019ll be here . . . sometime,\u201d Casey finished weakly.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou look done in, boy,\u201d Hoss said with concern.<\/p>\n

Adam, however, spun Casey around and, holding him by his shirt front, demanded, \u201cWhere\u2019s the doctor?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw him, Mr. Adam,\u201d Casey gasped, \u201cbut he couldn\u2019t come.\u00a0 There\u2019s been a terrible fire in Virginia City\u2014couple dozen buildings burned\u2014fifty, sixty people hurt.\u00a0 Every doctor in town tied down, tending to \u2018em.\u00a0 He just . . . couldn\u2019t leave . . . not with so many hurt so bad . . . said he\u2019d try to get out soon as he could, but figured it wouldn\u2019t be \u2018til sometime tomorrow.\u00a0 Sorry, Mr. Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

With a sigh of exasperation, Adam let go of Casey\u2019s shirt.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoggone,\u201d Hoss said.\u00a0 \u201cMust\u2019ve happened right after we left town.\u00a0 Lucky we weren\u2019t caught up in it ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Casey flicked a nervous tongue over his lower lip.\u00a0 \u201cI telegraphed your pa what happened to Little Joe.\u00a0 Sent it the same place we wired that cattle buyer this morning\u00a0 Hope I wasn\u2019t oversteppin\u2019 my bounds.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss clapped a hand to his shoulder.\u00a0 \u201c\u2018Course not!\u00a0 You done just what you should.\u00a0 Pa\u2019d want to be told.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI should have told you to wire him in the first place,\u201d Adam said, relaxing a little, now that he knew help was on the way, however slowly.\u00a0 He thrust his hand into his pocket and drew out a coin.\u00a0 \u201cThis should cover the expense.\u201d<\/p>\n

Casey waved the money away.\u00a0 \u201cNo, sir, Mr. Adam.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t lookin\u2019 to be repaid.\u00a0 That ain\u2019t why I told you.\u00a0 Just thought it might be a comfort to know Mr. Ben was on his way.\u00a0 He will be, soon as he gets that wire, I know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd it is a comfort,\u201d Hoss said. \u00a0Pulling the ranch hand into a one-armed embrace, he added, as if confiding an important secret, \u201cbut you\u2019d best take the money, Casey.\u00a0 Ole Adam here\u2019s got a powerful need to be in control of everything right now, and we just da\u2019st not cross him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Looking appropriately cowed, Casey took the coin and gingerly pocketed it.\u00a0 \u201cAnything else you need me to do?\u201d<\/p>\n

Though Adam looked perturbed at the charge of needing to be in control, he nonetheless automatically took responsibility for directing the ranch hand.\u00a0 \u201cJust get cleaned up and get some rest.\u00a0 You look like you hung around to fight that fire.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, sir,\u201d Casey responded, a touch indignant.\u00a0 \u201cI did help a couple of hurt folks to the hospital they set up.\u00a0 Figured that was where I\u2019d find the doc, so I didn\u2019t lose no time, except what it took to find the place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam closed his eyes and breathed deeply.\u00a0 \u201cIt wasn\u2019t an accusation.\u00a0 Just get some sleep.\u00a0 Someone should.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe should,\u201d Casey whispered to Hoss as the oldest Cartwright brother headed back upstairs.<\/p>\n

Hoss nodded grimly.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s takin\u2019 it mighty hard, blamin\u2019 himself, not givin\u2019 himself a minute\u2019s rest, body or mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow\u2019s Joe?\u201d Casey asked.<\/p>\n

Hoss shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cI ain\u2019t sure.\u00a0 Adam got the bullet out, but he\u2019s got a lot of fever.\u00a0 Restin\u2019 real quiet so far, though.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s good,\u201d Casey said.\u00a0 \u201cReckon I better get cleaned up, like Mr. Adam said.\u00a0 Probably smell kind of ripe, between the sweat and the smoke.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss patted him on the back.\u00a0 \u201cSmell of honest work\u2014honest loyalty, to give it its true name\u2014don\u2019t bother me none, but you\u2019ll be more comfortable after you wash up.\u00a0 Use the kitchen.\u00a0 There\u2019s a couple of sandwiches left on the table in there.\u00a0 More\u2019n welcome to \u2018em.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks!\u201d Casey said with a tired grin.\u00a0 \u201cDinner was a long ways back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss nodded.\u00a0 He\u2019d shared that dinner with Casey back in Virginia City after loading the supplies, so he knew just how long it had been.\u00a0 As Casey walked toward the kitchen, Hoss followed Adam up the stairs and went into Joe\u2019s room.\u00a0 Adam was seated on the bed at Joe\u2019s side, checking for fever.\u00a0 \u201cDown any?\u201d Hoss asked.<\/p>\n

Adam shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cHigher, if anything.\u00a0 I got it out too late, Hoss, too late to prevent infection.\u201d\u00a0 His chin dipped disconsolately, and his shoulders hunched with dejection.<\/p>\n

With both hands Hoss circled one of the short posts at the foot of Joe\u2019s bed.\u00a0 \u201cYou done your best, Adam.\u00a0 No man coulda done more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sighing, Adam stood and walked toward the open window.\u00a0 \u201cMy best is a sorry imitation of a qualified surgeon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss walked over to stand supportively beside his brother.\u00a0 \u201cI thought you done fine\u2014and Joe\u2019ll say so, too, when he\u2019s able.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam smoothed his hand down the bronze mane of a rearing horse that sat on a small, marble-topped table before the window.\u00a0 \u201cI hope so.\u201d\u00a0 I hope he\u2019s able; I won\u2019t need the praise as long as I have that.<\/em><\/p>\n

Hoss rubbed his palm across his brother\u2019s slumped shoulders.\u00a0 \u201cWhy don\u2019t you get some sleep, Adam?\u00a0 I can sit with Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam gave the bronze horse a pat and, squaring his shoulders, turned toward Hoss.\u00a0 \u201cNo, you get the rest.\u00a0 I need to be here when the doc comes.\u00a0 He may have questions only I can answer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss pulled his lower lip over the upper and slowly moved his head from side to side.\u00a0 \u201cI want to be here then, too, Adam, and I\u2019ll fetch you if the doc needs\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Adam said bluntly.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam . . .\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d\u00a0 Adam cupped a hand around Hoss\u2019s biceps and steered him toward the door.\u00a0 \u201cYou get some rest now, and you can spell me after while.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss sighed in resignation.\u00a0 As he passed Joe\u2019s desk, his eyes fell on the coffee-stained issue of Harper\u2019s<\/em>, and he remembered how something in the periodical had set Adam off before.\u00a0 \u201cYou want me to bring you somethin\u2019 else to read?\u201d he asked.\u00a0 \u201cJoe\u2019s got a few books in here, but maybe one of your own would be more to your taste.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite his ongoing worry, Adam managed a wry grin.\u00a0 \u201cDefinitely.\u00a0 Yes, please bring me something.\u00a0 Anything would be better than one of Joe\u2019s dime novels.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss\u2019s grin was broad and genuine.\u00a0 He knew\u2014as he was sure Adam did, too\u2014that Joe\u2019s dime novel days were behind him, but if a joke at their baby brother\u2019s expense lifted his older brother\u2019s spirits, Hoss was happy to play along.\u00a0 He went into Adam\u2019s darkened room across the hall, and reaching blindly for the bookshelf, he pulled out a volume.\u00a0 Having no idea what the book was, he brought it back across the hall and handed it to Adam.\u00a0 \u201cThis do?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam took the book and looked at the cover\u2014Walden<\/em> by Henry Thoreau.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019ll do,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u00a0* * * * *<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Outside, crickets chirped a serenade to the gentle country breeze, but the harmonious peace struck no responsive chord in Adam\u2019s turbulent emotions.\u00a0 Walden<\/em> lay open in his lap, but he\u2019d read less than a dozen paragraphs when he came upon a phrase that seemed to sum up exactly how he was feeling: \u201cThe mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.\u201d \u00a0Desperation reigned in the heart of Adam Cartwright that silent, unending night.\u00a0 So, I\u2019m not alone?<\/em> he thought.\u00a0 At some point in most men\u2019s lives, they come up against some battle they cannot win\u2014and cannot bear to lose?<\/em><\/p>\n

Literary truisms notwithstanding, he felt alone.\u00a0 Hoss and Casey\u2014even Doc Martin, if he ever got here\u2014could share his concern for Little Joe, but no one could share the tormenting guilt. \u00a0The only thing that eased it was tending to his weakening brother\u2019s needs.\u00a0 Twice he\u2019d bathed Joe\u2019s hot, dry flesh with cool water, his hands saying, \u201cI\u2019m sorry\u201d with every touch, and the way Little Joe calmed under his ministration seemed to Adam a sign of forgiveness.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam . . . Adam,\u201d Joe called, head lolling from side to side.<\/p>\n

Setting the book in the chair, Adam moved to his brother\u2019s side and took his hand.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m here, Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe didn\u2019t quiet as quickly this time.\u00a0 \u201cAdam, I\u2019m shot!\u201d he cried, his voice conveying the shock he must have felt at the moment of impact.<\/p>\n

Adam squeezed his brother\u2019s hand.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s all right, Joe,\u201d he soothed.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ll be all right, boy.\u201d\u00a0 Oh, God, let that be true!<\/em>\u00a0 As Joe settled back into fitful sleep, Adam looked at the hand curled trustingly in his palm and lightly stroked each finger, just as he had that first time. . . .<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s so little,\u201d twelve-year-old Adam gasped as he stroked his newborn brother\u2019s tiny fingers.\u00a0 \u201cNot like Hoss at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, not like Hoss.\u201d\u00a0 Sitting on the bed beside his wife Marie, Ben chuckled.\u00a0 \u201cI can still remember your first response to Hoss, young man: \u2018Look at the size of it, Pa!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam grinned.\u00a0 \u201cAnd you said, \u2018That\u2019s not an it; that\u2019s your brother.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Though weary from the strains of giving birth within the hour, Marie rose up from her pillow and peered intently at the young man.\u00a0 \u201cThis is your brother, too, Adam.\u00a0 You will always remember?\u00a0 You will always care for him, as you have for Hoss, oui<\/em>?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam heard the quaver in her voice and knew he had put it there with his early rejection of her as his mother.\u00a0 Those feelings were past now, replaced with respect and honest regard; Marie knew that, but some residual pain still remained.\u00a0 He desperately wanted to drive it away, to give her such a strong assurance of his feelings for this new brother that she\u2019d never doubt again.\u00a0 \u201cAlways,\u201d he promised, and the word seemed to burst powerfully from the very depths of his heart. . . .<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I tried to keep that promise<\/em>.\u00a0 Adam sighed, looking at the ceiling as if he could see through it into heaven, where Marie now dwelt with the angels.\u00a0 I haven\u2019t always succeeded, Ma, but I\u2019ve tried to keep him safe for you . . . for me. \u00a0\u00a0Not sure trying will be enough this time, so if you\u2019ve got any pull up there in heaven<\/em> . . .\u00a0 He rubbed his hand across his gritty eyes, stood and went back to the upholstered chair.\u00a0 Picking up the book, he again started to read, but still couldn\u2019t get past those troubling words about desperation.<\/p>\n

Shortly past midnight Hoss entered the bedroom.\u00a0 He frowned at the tableau he saw.\u00a0 Adam, almost too weary to keep his eyes open, sat gazing anxiously at Little Joe, who was stirring uneasily beneath the covers.\u00a0 Adam glanced up at the sound of Hoss\u2019s footsteps.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow\u2019s he doin\u2019?\u201d Hoss asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cGetting restless,\u201d Adam replied, \u201cand the fever\u2019s still rising.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss gulped and then tried, futilely, to hide his fear.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019ll be all right, Adam,\u201d he assured his older brother.<\/p>\n

\u201cWill he?\u201d Adam asked despondently.<\/p>\n

\u201cSure, he will.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss forced himself to sound certain. \u00a0\u201cYou\u2019re just too worn down to hope right now. \u00a0I came to relieve you.\u00a0 Why don\u2019t you get some sleep?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam shook his head glumly.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t think I can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss pulled his brother up by one arm.\u00a0 \u201cYou gotta try, and that\u2019s an order, older brother.\u00a0 You ain\u2019t doin\u2019 Joe no good, sittin\u2019 here half asleep.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess not,\u201d Adam admitted, rolling his shoulders to work out some of their tightness.\u00a0 \u201cAll right, I\u2019ll try to get some sleep.\u00a0 You\u2019ll call me if . . . ?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSure, I will.\u00a0 Go on to bed, Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taking his book, Adam crossed the hall to his own room and, laying it on the bedside table, stretched out on his bed, fully clothed.\u00a0 Sleep, however, refused to come.\u00a0 Why am I entitled to rest?<\/em> he thought.\u00a0 Is Little Joe resting?\u00a0 More than me, maybe<\/em>, he admitted with a twisted smile.\u00a0 But he\u2019s got a clear conscience.\u00a0 Mine\u2019s pretty murky at the moment.<\/em><\/p>\n

He turned uneasily onto his side and saw the book on his bedside table.\u00a0 \u201c\u2018The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation,\u2019\u201d he muttered.\u00a0 Only a murky mind would find comfort in that saying, he supposed, but reading would be better than lying awake in the dark.\u00a0 He sat up, took the book and quietly made his way downstairs, not wanting Hoss to know he was disobeying orders.\u00a0 As he descended into the great room, he saw a lanky figure stretched on the settee.\u00a0 \u201cWe have regular beds aplenty, you know,\u201d he whispered to the sleeping ranch hand.\u00a0 To avoid waking Casey, he stepped softly to his father\u2019s chair and, easing into it, opened the volume by Thoreau.<\/p>\n

\u00a0* * * * *<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Near dawn Hoss, his eyelids heavy, came downstairs in search of a cup of coffee.\u00a0 While he was still on the stairs, he saw his brother.\u00a0 \u201cAdam,\u201d he called, his voice disapproving.\u00a0 Eyes fixed on his older brother\u2019s haggard appearance, he missed Adam\u2019s wave of restraint and continued down the stairs, heels thunking on every step.<\/p>\n

\u201cHuh?\u201d\u00a0 Casey Porter woke with such a start that he almost fell off the settee.\u00a0 He sat up, blinking groggily at the two brothers.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow\u2019s Joe?\u201d Adam asked Hoss.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbout the same.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss leaned his folded arms on the back of the blue chair and sent an apologetic smile in the ranch hand\u2019s direction.\u00a0 \u201cSorry, Casey.\u00a0 Didn\u2019t see you sleepin\u2019 there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGuess I should\u2019ve gone out to the bunkhouse,\u201d Casey stammered, \u201cbut I thought, maybe\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss brushed the defense aside.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re fine,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cThink you\u2019re awake enough to sit with Joe for a spell?\u201d<\/p>\n

Casey sprang to his feet.\u00a0 \u201cYes, sir!\u00a0 Anything you need.\u201d\u00a0 At Hoss\u2019s nod of gratitude, he headed for the stairs.<\/p>\n

\u201cCasey,\u201d Adam called.\u00a0 \u201cNext time, pick a bed\u2014any bed.\u00a0 No need to stand on form at a time like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Casey smiled.\u00a0 \u201cThanks, Mr. Adam.\u00a0 I\u2019ll\u2014uh\u2014do that.\u201d\u00a0 For Mr. Adam to even think about his comfort, when he was carrying such a heavy load, spoke volumes to the young ranch hand.\u00a0 He went on upstairs, thinking again what good folks the Cartwrights were to work for.\u00a0 Never made a man feel like he was less than they were.<\/p>\n

Hoss didn\u2019t like the way Adam looked.\u00a0 The listless cant of his head against the back of the chair bespoke his weariness, and the dullness in his eyes bespoke more than that.\u00a0 Hands in his pockets, Hoss ambled over to his brother.\u00a0 \u201cI thought you told me you were gonna try to get some sleep after I relieved you,\u201d he chided.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I tried, but I couldn\u2019t,\u201d Adam replied.\u00a0 \u201cI was just reading something by Mr. Thoreau.\u201d\u00a0 His voice gave dramatic, if melancholy, interpretation to the words as he declaimed, \u201c\u2018The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.\u00a0 What one trusts to be truths turn into compromises.\u00a0 And what is called resignation is confirmed desperation.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss was drawn into the words by the power of Adam\u2019s recitation, and while he was no scholar, he\u2019d seen enough of life and human nature to understand exactly what Thoreau meant.\u00a0 When Adam stopped, Hoss looked like someone had just crammed a handful of tongue-puckerin\u2019 lemons in his mouth.\u00a0 \u201cYeah,\u201d he muttered, wondering how he\u2019d managed, by chance, to pull something that gloomy off Adam\u2019s shelf.\u00a0 Then again, maybe all Adam\u2019s books were like that, so deep they couldn\u2019t do nothin\u2019 but bring a man down.\u00a0 Give me one of Joe\u2019s silly old dime novels, any day!<\/em>\u00a0 \u201cPretty\u2014pretty sour pill to have to take, ain\u2019t it?\u201d he said soberly, turning away from Adam, \u201cbut I guess it\u2019s the truth.\u00a0 Reckon that\u2019s why me and books just always were in a different world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, books are another world to me now, too,\u201d Adam agreed.\u00a0 His gaze seemed distant, fixed, perhaps, on some land far from the wilds of Nevada.<\/p>\n

Hoss nodded slowly.\u00a0 \u201cI know they are, Adam,\u201d he concurred, \u201cand I can appreciate what they mean to you.\u201d\u00a0 He looked upward, as if he could see through the solid logs to the natural beauty beyond them.\u00a0 \u201cBut this out here\u2019s always been my world.\u201d\u00a0 He listed the things he loved best about the Ponderosa and its environs, his face growing more expressive, more radiant with each phrase.\u00a0 \u201cSmell of fresh pine, silver trout jumping in a mountain stream, old mama bear and her cubs out hunting in the woods, bacon sizzling in a frying pan.\u201d<\/p>\n

He suddenly realized how far afield his mind was wandering and, pulling it back, moved toward his brother.\u00a0 With one foot on the hearth, he folded his arms on his bent knee and leaned forward.\u00a0 \u201cAdam, Little Joe\u2019s gonna be alright.\u00a0 Don\u2019t you worry.\u201d \u00a0He paused; then judging that the time had finally come to speak to the heart of his brother\u2019s problem, he added, \u201cYou ain\u2019t got nothing to blame yourself for.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope so,\u201d Adam sighed.<\/p>\n

\u201cGo on upstairs and get some sleep,\u201d Hoss ordered.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll call you when the doc gets here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right,\u201d Adam said, sounding more resigned than convinced.\u00a0 He closed his book and started to rise.\u00a0 Just then the two brothers heard a buggy pull into the yard.\u00a0 \u201cWhoa,\u201d a deep voice ordered.<\/p>\n

\u201cFinally,\u201d Hoss said as he and Adam went to the door.<\/p>\n

Adam opened it and acknowledged the silver-haired man.\u00a0 \u201cDr. Martin,\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMornin\u2019, Adam,\u201d Dr. Martin greeted him.\u00a0 \u201cHoss.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDoc,\u201d Hoss, standing with one hand on the door, said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry it took so long.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even the brief exchange of amenities seemed a waste of time to Adam.\u00a0 \u201cYes.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go,\u201d he said and led the way upstairs.\u00a0 Hoss closed the front door and followed the others.<\/p>\n

When they came into Joe\u2019s room, Casey was dampening a cloth in the washbasin by the door, so he could continue bathing his friend\u2019s feverish face.\u00a0 Though he felt that he should probably step outside, to give the family privacy, he nonetheless remained by the washstand.\u00a0 He was worried about Joe and wanted to know just how bad he was.<\/p>\n

Dr. Martin set his bag on Little Joe\u2019s bedside table.\u00a0 \u201cThe message I got said he was also bitten by a wolf.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s right.\u201d \u00a0Adam\u2019s words were crisp, almost to the point of curtness.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you clean the wound out as soon as you could?\u201d the doctor asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs best I could on the trail.\u201d\u00a0 He hurried the words, not wanting his brother\u2019s medical attention to be delayed by so much as a second.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny sign of rabies in that wolf?\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Dr. Martin moved aside the bandage covering the wound, but though his touch was gentle, Little Joe moaned and tried to pull away.\u00a0 \u201cEasy now, easy does it; easy does it,\u201d the doctor murmured.\u00a0 He checked Joe\u2019s pulse, frowned and then listened to his heart and lungs through a stethoscope.\u00a0 \u201cWell, you got the bullet out all right,\u201d he said to Adam when he\u2019d finished his examination.\u00a0 \u201cThose wolf fangs didn\u2019t help any.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam exhaled with impatient irritation.\u00a0 \u201cI know all that.\u00a0 How is he?\u201d<\/p>\n

Shaking a vial he\u2019d taken from his bag, the doctor muttered, \u201cI guess I\u2019m out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam seemed to think the doctor was avoiding his question.\u00a0 More firmly, he said, \u201cI asked you how he was.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a pretty sick boy.\u201d Dr. Martin reacted to Adam\u2019s accusatory tone with a defensive brusqueness of his own.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s unfortunate I couldn\u2019t come sooner.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunate,\u201d Adam muttered bitterly.<\/p>\n

The doctor noted the tone, but ignored it as he took a notepad from his coat pocket and scribbled medical hieroglyphics across a blank sheet.\u00a0 \u201cHoss, you\u2019ll have to go into Virginia City to get this medicine.\u201d \u00a0He handed Hoss the written prescription.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, sir, Doc.\u00a0 I\u2019ll ride fast,\u201d Hoss replied.\u00a0 With long strides he moved toward the door.<\/p>\n

Casey stopped him with an outstretched arm.\u00a0 \u201cI can get this,\u201d he said, reaching for the script in Hoss\u2019s hand.\u00a0 \u201cYou should stay with Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss handed over the prescription and gave Casey a single clap on the shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cThanks.\u201d\u00a0 He lowered his voice.\u00a0 \u201cFast as you can, Casey; he needs it bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, sir, I know.\u201d\u00a0 Casey took no time to say more, but left at once.\u00a0 Even the brief time he\u2019d spent with Joe had been enough to show just how sick the youngest Cartwright was.\u00a0 The doc said the medicine was important, so he\u2019d do all he could to get it here quickly; not even the Pony riders who carried the U. S. Mail would cover ground any faster.<\/p>\n

\u201cKeep cold compresses on him,\u201d Dr. Martin told Adam.\u00a0 \u201cWhen that medicine gets here, just follow the instructions.\u00a0 I\u2019ll try and get back tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTonight?\u201d Adam protested, his voice taking on a hint of righteous indignation.\u00a0 \u201cYou mean you\u2019re not staying?\u00a0 You\u2019re walking out?\u00a0 You\u2019re gonna leave him here all day?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam, I do have other patients, several of them just as seriously ill as Little Joe,\u201d Dr. Martin said a bit testily.\u00a0 It had been a long day, and he was in no mood to deal with an irate Adam Cartwright at its end.\u00a0 He\u2019d lost two patients, burned beyond hope of recovery, and had a dozen others back in town as much in need of his attention as young Joseph Cartwright.\u00a0 Some days there\u2019s just not enough of me to go around, especially when my patients live so far apart<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, tell me, just how sick is my brother?\u201d Adam demanded.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right, I\u2019ll tell you, Adam.\u00a0 He\u2019s pretty bad off\u2014real bad off,\u201d the doctor admitted.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m counting on his constitution and that medicine to save him\u2014maybe a little help from God.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd there\u2019s nothing you can do?\u201d Adam asked bitterly.<\/p>\n

Dr. Martin\u2019s response was blunt.\u00a0 \u201cNothing at the moment,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cIf there were, I\u2019d stay.\u00a0 You heard about the fire?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have patients back in Virginia City who aren\u2019t likely to last the night, others who won\u2019t survive without careful tending,\u201d the doctor explained.\u00a0 \u201cNow, you tell me what I should do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam didn\u2019t answer.\u00a0 He knew what the right answer was, knew what Joe himself would say if the question were put to him, but he didn\u2019t like that answer and refused to utter words he didn\u2019t want to hear.<\/p>\n

Dr. Martin pressed a sympathetic hand to the young man\u2019s arm as he passed.\u00a0 He understood Adam\u2019s worry and knew better than Adam how justified it was, but could think of nothing he might do to remove its cause.\u00a0 And when the patient was the son of a close personal friend, that hurt more than he knew how to express.<\/p>\n

Hoss followed the doctor out into the hall, where he extended his hand.\u00a0 \u201cThanks for comin\u2019, Doc,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t mind Adam; he\u2019s so dead on his feet he don\u2019t much know what he\u2019s sayin\u2019 tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Martin grasped the big man\u2019s warm hand.\u00a0 \u201cI could tell.\u00a0 No offense taken.\u00a0 See if you can\u2019t talk him into getting some rest, Hoss.\u00a0 Joe shouldn\u2019t be left alone, but if you two don\u2019t spell each other off, I\u2019ll have two more patients, and frankly, I\u2019m spread too thin as it is.\u201d\u00a0 He gave Hoss\u2019s brawny arm a couple of thumps with his doubled fist.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll see myself out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, sir.\u00a0 Thanks again.\u201d\u00a0 He went back into Joe\u2019s room.<\/p>\n

Adam was standing by the bed, staring down at Little Joe, and though his face was a mask of studied immobility, Hoss knew his brother well enough to see the underlying emotion.\u00a0 \u201cTry not to be upset, Adam,\u201d he urged.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t be ridiculous.\u00a0 I\u2019m not upset,\u201d Adam muttered, his acid tone demonstrating just how upset he really was.\u00a0 \u201cAfter all, we still have those lovely sunsets.\u201d\u00a0 He moved to the washbasin and started to wring out the cloth Casey had left in the water.<\/p>\n

Hoss took it from him.\u00a0 \u201cYou promised me you was gonna get some sleep.\u00a0 The doc\u2019s been and gone, and you ain\u2019t got no more excuse, older brother.\u00a0 Go to bed.\u00a0 Now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam glanced at his injured brother and then at the determined set of Hoss\u2019s jaw.\u00a0 Without a word he stalked out of the room and down the hall to his own.\u00a0 He flung himself on the bed, but he was too angry to sleep: angry with himself, Dr. Martin, eastern periodicals, and the entire, brother-endangering West.<\/p>\n

\u00a0* * * * *<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u201cAdam . . . Adam.\u201d\u00a0 Little Joe writhed in pain as he called his brother\u2019s name.<\/p>\n

\u201cShh . . . shh,\u201d Hoss soothed, laying aside the cold compress to try to quiet the troubled boy.\u00a0 \u201cAdam\u2019s sleepin\u2019\u2014leastways, I hope he is\u2014but he\u2019ll come runnin\u2019 if he hears you takin\u2019 on like this, Shortshanks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam . . . I\u2019m shot,\u201d Joe gasped.<\/p>\n

\u201cHush now,\u201d Hoss cooed.\u00a0 \u201cAdam knows that; I know that.\u201d\u00a0 He smiled fondly.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re the only one seems surprised \u2018bout it . . . over and over again.\u201d\u00a0 How many times had Joe said those same words over the last couple of hours since Adam had been gone?\u00a0 Six?\u00a0 Eight?\u00a0 A dozen?\u00a0 Hoss shook his head; he\u2019d lost track.\u00a0 Each time, though, he\u2019d just keep running his hands over Joe\u2019s feverish flesh until the boy quieted down.\u00a0 So far, it had always worked, and Hoss didn\u2019t expect different . . . now or ever.\u00a0 Beat anything he\u2019d ever seen, the way Little Joe responded to bein\u2019 touched, opened right up to it . . . like that time he\u2019d hid himself away in the harness room. . . .<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The minute he walked in, to hang up a bridle one of the hands had carelessly slung over the planks of a stall, Hoss knew someone was inside the small room.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t sure how he knew; he just sensed the presence of someone else, even though he couldn\u2019t see clearly in the unlit room with a single window at the front.\u00a0 \u201cWho\u2019s there?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

There was no answer, just a deepening silence, as if whoever was there was holding his breath, trying to be quieter than ever.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know you\u2019re there,\u201d Hoss said.\u00a0 \u201cBest come out and show yourself.\u201d\u00a0 No one responded, though he did hear someone take a hitched breath.\u00a0 Suddenly Hoss knew who had drawn it.\u00a0 A ranch hand, wanting to keep his job, would have come out when ordered; an intruder wouldn\u2019t have sounded hurt or scared, the way that uneasy breath had.\u00a0 \u201cLittle Joe?\u201d he called.\u00a0 \u201cThat you, boy?\u201d<\/p>\n

There was no answer but a soft snuffle, and Hoss knew for sure then.\u00a0 It was Joe hidden in those shadows . . . and he was crying.\u00a0 Moving slowly, Hoss approached the corner from which the sound had come.\u00a0 \u201cI know you\u2019re in here, Shortshanks.\u201d \u00a0He kept his voice gentle, like he would with any hurt critter.\u00a0 \u201cCome on out and tell your big brother what\u2019s wrong, buddy.\u201d<\/p>\n

No response, so Hoss just kept walking slowly toward the sound of those hitched breaths until he reached the far back corner.\u00a0 He squatted down in front of Little Joe and tapped his knee.\u00a0 \u201cWhat you doin\u2019, hidin\u2019 back here in the dark, huh, Shortshanks?\u00a0 You in trouble?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Little Joe croaked hoarsely.\u00a0 His arms were wrapped around his torso.<\/p>\n

All huddled in on himself<\/em>, Hoss noted, like he\u2019s tryin\u2019 to hold somethin\u2019 in that wants in the worst way to come bustin\u2019 out<\/em>.\u00a0 With both hands he reached out to pull Little Joe toward him and then just held him, without saying a word.\u00a0 Joe started to tremble, and Hoss held him tighter.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s all right,\u201d he soothed.\u00a0 \u201cJust let it come, Punkin.\u201d\u00a0 Joe\u2019d long since made it plain that he was too big\u2014twelve now\u2014for that pet name, but at times like this, when the boy was hurtin\u2019 bad, it just leaked out.\u00a0 Hoss couldn\u2019t stop it, and sometimes, to be honest, Joe seemed to need the extra tenderness that came with it.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2014he\u2019s dead!\u201d Joe cried.<\/p>\n

That was the last thing Hoss had expected.\u00a0 \u201cWho, buddy?\u00a0 Who\u2019s dead?\u201d he asked with concern.<\/p>\n

\u201cPetey Whitshaw,\u201d Joe sobbed, \u201cand it\u2019s all my fault, Hoss.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss sat down on the floor of the harness room and brought Little Joe into his lap.\u00a0 \u201cThat can\u2019t be, Punkin,\u201d he said, surrounding his little brother with the comfort of one strong arm.\u00a0 \u201cYou tell me exactly what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe played hooky\u2014my idea . . . all my idea,\u201d Joe said with a quaver.\u00a0 \u201cWell, not real hooky; we was gonna come back; just wanted some candy from the store, but we ain\u2019t supposed to leave the schoolyard, you know?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know.\u201d\u00a0 Normally, Hoss would have warned his little brother of the consequences of flouting that rule, but it appeared this time that the consequences had been far worse than a britches\u2019 tanning.\u00a0 \u201cWhat happened to Petey?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey shot him.\u201d\u00a0 Joe swiped tears from his cheeks.\u00a0 \u201cWell, one of \u2018em shot him.\u00a0 Don\u2019t know which.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss took both damp cheeks in his hands and turned Joe\u2019s face up to him.\u00a0 \u201cTell me what happened,\u201d he said, slowly and firmly.<\/p>\n

Tears again filled Joe\u2019s expressive eyes and trickled down onto Hoss\u2019s fingers.\u00a0 \u201cJust a couple of drunks, shootin\u2019 it out on C Street, when we came out of Mr. Cass\u2019s store.\u00a0 They weren\u2019t aimin\u2019 for Petey, just shootin\u2019 wild.\u00a0 One minute he was right next to me and then . . . then\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss pulled Little Joe in to his breast and cradled him as he had when his brother was just a little thing.\u00a0 He felt the boy calm in his embrace, but his own spirit needed soothing as much as Joe\u2019s did.\u00a0 Inches.\u00a0 That\u2019s probably all that had separated those two boys out on a lark at recess time.\u00a0 Four, maybe five inches to the right or left\u2014depending on which side of Petey Joe had been standing on\u2014and it wouldn\u2019t be a living boy he held in his arms.\u00a0 Only the need to comfort Little Joe had kept him from shaking like a willow in the wind. . . .<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Inches.\u00a0 This time, too, only inches had separated where a bullet landed from where it had been meant to.\u00a0 Four, maybe five inches to the right or left, and the bullet would have hit the wolf, but this time Joe had been on the wrong side of those few inches.\u00a0 Now he was fighting for his life, the victim of a misaimed bullet.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam . . . I\u2019m shot.\u201d<\/p>\n

The tortured voice ripped at Hoss\u2019s heart; he wanted to lift his brother up in his arms and comfort him as he had back then, as he had more times than he could count, but he wouldn\u2019t risk causing the boy more pain by touching that injured shoulder.\u00a0 Instead, he bent over and tenderly took his brother\u2019s feverish cheeks between his hands.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s all right, Punkin,\u201d he whispered into the boy\u2019s ear.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re gonna be all right, you hear?\u00a0 Settle down now.\u201d\u00a0 Again Joe responded to gentle touch and soothing words and quieted . . . until the next time the torment reached out to take him.<\/p>\n

\u00a0* * * * *<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Casey didn\u2019t slow down until he reached C Street.\u00a0 Then he had to, for the main street of Virginia City was always too crowded for a fast gallop down its center to be safe. \u00a0Today, if anything, the street was busier than ever. \u00a0The tang of smoke still hung in the air, but at least the fire was out, and all around people were hard at work, clearing up the rubble, salvaging what they could to make a new beginning.\u00a0 Casey unconsciously took all that in, but it had little effect on him as he made a beeline for the mercantile, which also housed the apothecary favored by the Cartwrights.\u00a0 He paid as little attention to the fine suit coat, hats and fancy gaiters displayed on the counter, though such things normally caught his eye.\u00a0 Today, he went straight to the back of the store, where a sign declared, \u201cPrescriptions Carefully Filled.\u201d<\/p>\n

Casey pulled a slip of paper from his vest pocket.\u00a0 \u201cMr. Perkins,\u201d he called.<\/p>\n

A slight, gray-haired man with a pencil resting above his ear looked up.\u00a0 \u201cGood morning, son.\u201d\u00a0 He recognized the young man as someone who worked on the Ponderosa, but didn\u2019t know him by name.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got a prescription here from the doc,\u201d Casey said, pulling the paper from his pocket. \u00a0\u201cHe wants it filled in a hurry!\u201d<\/p>\n

Vince Perkins took the script from the ranch hand and frowned at the formula written there.\u00a0 \u201cHmm.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know,\u201d he mumbled as he moved toward the row of bottles on shelves at the side of the store.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d\u00a0 He checked one tall brown bottle, which appeared almost empty, and then fumbled with some smaller ones on a lower shelf.<\/p>\n

Three men walked into the store. \u00a0Casey gave them a brief glance, enough to recognize them, by their clothing, as men who worked the land, instead of in the mines, but no more.<\/p>\n

Shaking his head, Vince Perkins came from behind the counter to stand next to the young man.\u00a0 \u201cThese\u2014uh\u2014chemicals, son; I\u2019m all out of \u2018em.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Perkins, I gotta have that stuff.\u201d\u00a0 Casey pointed at the prescription in the druggist\u2019s hand.\u00a0 \u201cLittle Joe\u2019s hurt bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I\u2019m sorry, son,\u201d the apothecary said, in a pacifying tone.\u00a0 \u201cI had this stuff on order; I expected it in from Genoa yesterday, but it didn\u2019t arrive.\u00a0 Wouldn\u2019t normally let it run so low, but with so many folks hurt in the fire, there\u2019s been a big call for medicine, and this here\u2019s one of Doc Martin\u2019s favorite concoctions, for infection and such.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Perkins.\u201d\u00a0 Casey\u2019s face grew frantic.\u00a0 \u201cI gotta have that stuff.\u00a0 Little Joe\u2019s sick!\u201d<\/p>\n

Perkins tapped the young man\u2019s vest.\u00a0 \u201cNow, easy, son.\u00a0 I\u2019ll get over to the telegraph office and check out the wholesaler in Genoa.\u00a0 Maybe it\u2019s on today\u2019s stage.\u00a0 Wait here.\u201d\u00a0 As he made his way past the other three customers, he said to a pot-bellied man in a plaid shirt and dusty brown vest and pants, \u201cSorry.\u00a0 You fellows\u2019ll have to wait.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo hurry,\u201d said the gravel-voiced man as he slouched over to Casey.\u00a0 \u201cToo bad about your kin.\u201d<\/p>\n

Casey shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cNot kin.\u00a0 Joe\u2019s my\u2014well, I work for the Cartwrights.\u201d<\/p>\n

Something glittered in the man\u2019s eye as he heard and recognized that name.\u00a0 \u201cCartwright, huh?\u00a0 What happened to him?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe got wolf bit.\u201d\u00a0 Shot, too<\/em>, Casey thought, but he didn\u2019t figure that to be the business of a total stranger.\u00a0 Last thing Mr. Adam needed was for word to get around town that he\u2019d shot his own brother.\u00a0 Most folks would understand it was an accident and sympathize, but there were always those few, jealous of the Cartwrights\u2019 prestige, who would snap up a tasty morsel of gossip like that and give it a little extra flavor as they passed it on.<\/p>\n

\u201cCould be this boss of yours was up to the Montpelier Gorge section,\u201d the man suggested.\u00a0 \u201cKnow where that is?\u201d<\/p>\n

Casey\u2019s interest perked up.\u00a0 \u201cWhy, yeah, sure I do.\u00a0 As a matter of fact, that\u2019s where he was, him and his older brother Adam.\u201d\u00a0 He reached out to shake the man\u2019s hand.<\/p>\n

The man gave the hand a perfunctory pump.\u00a0 \u201cYeah, yeah.\u00a0 We\u2019re trying to build up a little spread there.\u00a0 Been at it for three years now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ll make it,\u201d Casey said earnestly.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s real good country up there.\u201d<\/p>\n

The man seemed unimpressed by the compliment to his part of the territory.\u00a0 \u201cWe found that wolf,\u201d he said gruffly.\u00a0 \u201cHe was dead.\u00a0 We also found a horse running around loose up there.\u00a0 He has the same brand we spotted on your critter when you rode in.\u201d\u00a0 With his head he gestured toward the door.\u00a0 \u201cCome here.\u201d\u00a0 He walked toward the open door, standing aside so Casey could see through the entry, and asked, \u201cKnow that pinto over there?\u201d<\/p>\n

At the word \u201cpinto\u201d Casey\u2019s eyes started to sparkle.\u00a0 Cochise\u2014it had to be Cochise!\u00a0 There weren\u2019t many pintos around in the first place, and only one with the Ponderosa brand.\u00a0 He looked across the street, and a wide grin split his face.\u00a0 \u201cYeah!\u00a0 That\u2019s Little Joe Cartwright\u2019s horse.\u00a0 Thank you fellows for bringin\u2019 him in.\u201d\u00a0 He paused for a moment, not sure he had the authority to say what he was thinking.\u00a0 In his heart, though, he knew what the Cartwrights would want, so he plunged ahead.\u00a0 \u201cHis folks\u2019ll be happy to give you a reward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oddly enough, for the man didn\u2019t seem particularly altruistic, he showed no interest in a reward.\u00a0 \u201cWe wanted to bring him in,\u201d he said, almost growling.\u00a0 \u201cWe had to find out who panicked a herd of wild horses we just rounded up.\u00a0 Busted through our fences, scattered through our land, stampeded our cattle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Discerning the man\u2019s barely disguised anger, Casey sobered quickly.\u00a0 \u201cYeah.\u00a0 I reckon that would\u2019ve happened when Mr. Adam fired at that wolf.\u00a0 I\u2019m sorry; it was an accident.\u201d\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t his place to be apologizing for the Cartwrights, but Casey figured he represented the ranch in this situation, and he was sure that any one of them would have offered an apology, had they been here.<\/p>\n

The man had no more interest in apologies than rewards.\u00a0 \u201cSeems reckless and inconsiderate to us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Casey nodded slowly, both to defuse the man\u2019s anger and to give himself time to think.\u00a0 \u201cYeah, I reckon you do have a grievance, at that.\u00a0 How much you figure it\u2019ll cost to fix it up?\u201d\u00a0 Overstepping his bounds again, he feared, but at least he could pass the information on to Mr. Adam, maybe prepare him for dealing with these men, who, frankly, looked like they\u2019d be tough to deal with.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, since it was a Cartwright done the damage . . . a thousand dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n

Casey\u2019s eyes narrowed suspiciously.\u00a0 Something wasn\u2019t right here.\u00a0 The cost of damage didn\u2019t go up, depending on who\u2019d done it, not if it was legitimate damage.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s quite a bit,\u201d he said.\u00a0 As a mere ranch hand, he had no authority to say what the Cartwrights would or would not pay and figured the man knew it.\u00a0 \u201cYou better talk to Mr. Adam out at the Ponderosa; he\u2019ll know how much damage he done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vince strode briskly back into the store, stopping just inside the door by a display of colorful yard goods.\u00a0 \u201cSon, that medicine\u2019s still in Genoa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere in Genoa?\u201d Casey asked urgently.<\/p>\n

\u201cSimon Watson\u2019s, the wholesaler\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGimme that,\u201d Casey demanded.\u00a0 He took the prescription from the apothecary, folded it and put it into his vest pocket.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, look, boy, that\u2019s a long ride,\u201d Vince protested.\u00a0 \u201cTwenty-one miles to Genoa\u2014and twenty-one miles back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI got no choice, Mr. Perkins,\u201d the ranch hand declared.\u00a0 The doc had said he was counting on that medicine to pull Little Joe through, and Casey owed the Cartwrights\u2014Joe, in particular\u2014more than whatever a forty-two mile ride would cost him in time and energy.\u00a0 Only one duty remained.\u00a0 He turned toward the man from Montpelier.\u00a0 \u201cMister, you\u2019re goin\u2019 out to the Ponderosa.\u00a0 Do me a favor.\u00a0 Will you give this message to Adam Cartwright?\u00a0 Tell him that I had to go to Genoa to get the medicine for Little Joe, and tell him I\u2019ll ride fast.\u201d\u00a0 With a pat on the man\u2019s chest, Casey took off.<\/p>\n

The man from Montpelier wasn\u2019t handsome to begin with, but his face hardened until he was downright ugly.\u00a0 \u201cGuess we\u2019ll just deliver that message,\u201d he said, and anyone with ears to hear would have detected a menacing note in his words.<\/p>\n

\u00a0* * * * *<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u201cAdam . . . Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss held a cool cloth to his little brother\u2019s forehead.\u00a0 \u201cHush now,\u201d he soothed.\u00a0 \u201cRest easy, Joseph.\u201d<\/p>\n

Little Joe groaned, his back arching as he twisted away from Hoss\u2019s touch.\u00a0 \u201cAdam . . . Adam!\u201d he cried.\u00a0 \u201cGet him off me!\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss tossed the cloth onto the bedside table and with both hands pressed Joe to the bed.\u00a0 \u201cJoseph, that ole wolf\u2019s dead and gone now.\u00a0 Ain\u2019t nothin\u2019 here to hurt you; I wouldn\u2019t let nothin\u2019 hurt you.\u00a0 Now, settle down for your big brother, okay?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m shot; I\u2019m shot,\u201d Little Joe babbled.\u00a0 Then he cried out loudly, \u201cAdam!\u201d<\/p>\n

Behind Hoss a voice demanded hotly, \u201cHow long has this been going on?\u201d<\/p>\n

Still holding Joe down, Hoss turned to look over his shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cThe fever?\u00a0 You know that better\u2019n me; you was with him when it started.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam\u2019s face, already glowering, darkened.\u00a0 \u201cNot the fever\u2014this!\u201d\u00a0 His hand flashed toward the writhing figure on the bed.\u00a0 \u201cHow long has he been calling for me without you deeming it necessary to let me know?\u201d he asked tersely.<\/p>\n

Pursing his lips, Hoss stood up.\u00a0 He gestured toward the bed.\u00a0 \u201cBe my guest, older brother.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam scowled at him as he took the vacated place at Joe\u2019s side and reached out to hold the boy still.\u00a0 Joe fought him for a minute and then collapsed in exhaustion.\u00a0 Adam continued to gently stroke his arm.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat ain\u2019t no different from what I was doin\u2019 for him,\u201d Hoss said bluntly.<\/p>\n

Adam glanced up and for the first time noticed that Hoss looked hurt.\u00a0 \u201cI know that,\u201d he said quietly, \u201cbut it\u2019s me he\u2019s asking for, Hoss.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss sighed.\u00a0 \u201cOnly \u2018cause he\u2019s relivin\u2019 what happened and you was the one there.\u201d\u00a0 He gripped Adam\u2019s shoulder and, feeling its tension, started to knead the taut muscle.\u00a0 \u201cAdam, he don\u2019t know who\u2019s with him.\u00a0 He\u2019s too locked in that fever\u2019s grip to know who\u2019s here.\u201d\u00a0 He moved around behind Adam and began to work on both shoulders.<\/p>\n

Under his brother\u2019s soothing massage, Adam started to relax.\u00a0 \u201cWe need that medicine,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd a little help from God, the doc said,\u201d Hoss reminded him.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m thinkin\u2019 that\u2019ll do more good than the medicine.\u201d\u00a0 Easier to get, too.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, maybe.\u201d\u00a0 About all we have left<\/em>, Adam mused morosely.\u00a0 The doctor had mentioned three things needed for Joe\u2019s recovery: the kid\u2019s constitution, that medicine and the help of God.\u00a0 The medicine isn\u2019t here, and the kid\u2019s constitution won\u2019t hold up against this torture much longer.\u00a0 So what does that leave? A miracle?\u00a0 I\u2019ll believe for one, if that\u2019s what it takes, but I\u2019d feel a lot easier if all three parts of the doc\u2019s prescription were in place.<\/em>\u00a0 \u201cYou know, if we were back East,\u201d he said, rolling his head back to gaze up at his brother, \u201cthe apothecary would be right down the street, instead of a twenty-mile ride from home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I reckon, but\u201d\u2014Hoss stopped short as the sound of the front door slamming resounded up the stairs.\u00a0 \u201cCasey,\u201d he murmured and ran into the hall.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe medicine!\u201d\u00a0 Adam sprang to his feet and rushed after Hoss.<\/p>\n

Both of them charged down the stairs, but Adam stopped on the lower landing and gripped the railing, not sure whether to laugh or cry.\u00a0 Standing just inside the front door, flinging meaningless words at a frantic pace, was not Casey, but a highly irate Hop Sing.\u00a0 \u201cWhy you not bring supplies to camp?\u201d the Cantonese cook demanded, finally giving way to his broken English.\u00a0 \u201cHow Hop Sing \u2018sposed cook fo\u2019 men with no beans, no bacon, no flour?\u201d\u00a0 With his feet set shoulder-length apart, he folded his arms and glared at his two bosses.<\/p>\n

Hoss planted one wide hand on each of the cook\u2019s slight shoulders.\u00a0 \u201cWe run into some trouble, Hop Sing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAlways do.\u201d\u00a0 The diminutive cook looked not the slightest bit appeased.<\/p>\n

Lips set together, Hoss nodded.\u00a0 \u201cYeah, but bad trouble this time.\u00a0 Little Joe\u2019s hurt\u2014real bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

The cook\u2019s countenance immediately changed, and every trace of irritation fled away.\u00a0 \u201cLittle Joe hurt?\u00a0 Why you not send fo\u2019 Hop Sing?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam laughed gruffly.\u00a0 \u201cFor the same reason you didn\u2019t get the supplies: we\u2019ve been too busy dealing with the situation to spare anyone for a ride to the upper pasture.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hop Sing recognized Adam\u2019s sarcasm as an expression of exhaustion.\u00a0 \u201cAll light, all light, no need get dander up.\u00a0 Hop Sing here now; he help.\u201d\u00a0 He climbed the five steps to the landing.\u00a0 \u201cPlease to step aside, Mr. Adam, so can go to Number Three Son.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam stepped to one side, tapping the cook\u2019s arm with the back of his knuckles as he passed.\u00a0 \u201cThanks.\u00a0 We can use the help.\u201d\u00a0 Hop Sing might not be part of the doctor\u2019s three-pronged prescription, but for the first time since he\u2019d fired that shot back at Montpelier, Adam felt a ray of hope.<\/p>\n

\u00a0* * * * *<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Hop Sing bustled around the kitchen:\u00a0 seasoning, stirring, paring and chopping.\u00a0 He had steaks sizzling in a pan, a huge pot of beef, potatoes and carrots stewing on a back burner and a smaller kettle of broth simmering on the front one.\u00a0 It had taken him only a few minutes to realize that no one in the household was eating properly, and after his initial visit to Little Joe\u2019s side, he had gone to work to rectify that calamity.\u00a0 The steaks were for immediate consumption and the stew for Number One and Number Two sons for the next couple of days, while he was away.\u00a0 Much as Hop Sing rued the necessity, he would have to return to the branding camp with replenished supplies or the Ponderosa crew would be most displeased, perhaps enough to walk off the job when the honorable Cartwrights needed help most.\u00a0 Food important<\/em>, Hop Sing silently chided his Cartwrights, all of whom had obviously forgotten that vital truth.\u00a0 Important for make well and keep well<\/em>.\u00a0 He sighed as he again stirred the broth intended for Number Three Son and inhaled its tempting aroma.\u00a0 With all his heart he hoped that Little Joe would soon rouse from his fever and profit from this most excellent broth.\u00a0 How Mr. Ben go on without Little Joe?<\/em> he asked himself.\u00a0 How Hop Sing?<\/em><\/p>\n

He heard a horse whinny and at first grinned wide in relief.\u00a0 Then the grin faded and he shook his head.\u00a0 Too many hooves I hear<\/em>.\u00a0 Casey ride only one horse<\/em>.\u00a0 Too many, even if he bring back doctor<\/em>.\u00a0 Knowing that both Hoss and Adam were upstairs with Little Joe, he slipped out the side door to meet the visitors.\u00a0 Three men, covered with trail dust, rode into the yard, the one in front leading\u2014Cochise! \u00a0Hop Sing felt a surge of joy as he recognized the pinto.\u00a0 Little Joe would be so happy when he heard that his beloved horse had been found.\u00a0 Perhaps that news, whispered in his ear, would make him want to return to them from the kingdom where fever reigned.\u00a0 Then, taking a closer look at the three men, the cook frowned.\u00a0 All of them, especially the one in the lead, had a hard look that made him uneasy.\u00a0 Men not to be trusted.\u00a0 Warily, he moved toward them.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam Cartwright here?\u201d the one in the plaid shirt demanded.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe here,\u201d Hop Sing said.\u00a0 \u201cWhat you want with Mr. Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n

The man leaned over his saddle horn to glare at the cook.\u00a0 \u201cNone of your business, yeller.\u00a0 Just go fetch the boss man.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cChop chop,\u201d snarled the man in the middle, his blue gray shirt and brown pants as dust-covered as the first man\u2019s clothes.\u00a0 The third man, younger than the others, said nothing, but glared at Hop Sing to punctuate the unspoken threat.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll light; I fetch,\u201d Hop Sing agreed.\u00a0 \u201cPlease to wait here.\u201d\u00a0 He scurried through the front door and up the stairs to Little Joe\u2019s room.\u00a0 \u201cMr. Adam,\u201d he said breathlessly.\u00a0 \u201cThree men come, ask for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam wrung the excess water from the cloth he had just dampened in the basin by the bedroom door.\u00a0 \u201cAnyone we know?\u201d<\/p>\n

Hop Sing shook his head frantically.\u00a0 \u201cNot know them; not want to know them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat now?\u201d Adam muttered.\u00a0 He dropped the cloth back into the water and headed out the door.<\/p>\n

Hop Sing moved across the room and stood in front of Hoss.\u00a0 \u201cHop Sing not trust men,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

That was enough to propel Hoss toward the door.\u00a0 Hop Sing could be a mite excitable at times, but he was a good judge of character, and if he felt the men downstairs were not to be trusted, Hoss wasn\u2019t about to let his older brother face them alone.\u00a0 He left the room, descended the stairs and walked out the front door, only steps behind Adam.<\/p>\n

Adam crossed the yard and took Cochise by the bridle.\u00a0 \u201cWhere\u2019d you find the pinto?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou Adam Cartwright?\u201d the man in plaid asked in his gravelly voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s right.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both hands on the horn, the man leaned forward in the saddle.\u00a0 \u201cMy name\u2019s Dowd.\u00a0 Me and my friends here got a little spread goin\u2019 up in Montpelier Gorge, where we found your sick brother\u2019s horse.\u00a0 You were doin\u2019 some wild shootin\u2019 up there a couple of days ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam cast a quick glance at the man\u2019s companions and sized them up as insignificant.\u00a0 This man, however, bore watching.\u00a0 \u201cWhere\u2019d you hear this?\u201d he asked cautiously.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe met some feller works for you in town; he told us,\u201d Dowd explained.\u00a0 By the way, he said to tell you he was gonna ride up to Genoa to get some of that medicine you needed.\u201d<\/p>\n

All too aware of the delay the extra miles to\u2014and from\u2014Genoa would entail, Adam looked away, but only a brief sigh escaped his guard before he managed to compose himself.\u00a0 \u201cThank you for the message.\u201d\u00a0 Though Dowd said nothing, his business here clearly was not finished.\u00a0 \u201cWell, what can I do for you?\u201d Adam asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can pay me for some damage you done,\u201d Dowd growled.\u00a0 \u201cThat shooting of yours panicked some wild horses we had penned up, ruined our land and stampeded some valuable cattle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam had been in enough negotiations to see where this was heading.\u00a0 \u201cHow much?\u201d he asked flatly.<\/p>\n

Dowd settled back in his saddle with the ease of a man who felt he had his opponent over a barrel.\u00a0 \u201cThree thousand dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam looked at the ground, his suspicion growing, and then up at the other man.\u00a0 \u201cThree thousand for what?\u201d he asked bluntly.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo I have to itemize?\u201d\u00a0 Dowd sounded indignant.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor three thousand dollars you do,\u201d Adam stated in a business-like manner.\u00a0 \u201cHow many cattle did you lose?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA hundred fifty head,\u201d Dowd snarled.\u00a0 \u201cThey\u2019re scattered all over the district.\u00a0 Do you wanna round \u2018em up?\u201d<\/p>\n

In the background Hoss shook his head.\u00a0 If that was true, why were these men here?\u00a0 Why weren\u2019t they out beating the sagebrush for those stray cattle?\u00a0 That\u2019s what any decent cattleman would do, he concluded, which only served to confirm his suspicion that these so-called ranchers weren\u2019t on the up-and-up.\u00a0 And if I can see through \u2018em, you can be dad-blamed sure Adam does!<\/em>\u00a0 Resting a hand on the exterior wall, he settled back to watch his older brother make hash of those yahoos; he figured it would be downright entertaining.<\/p>\n

Adam ran a quick calculation in his head.\u00a0 \u201cWell, now, one hundred fifty cattle at four dollars a head is only six hundred dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFifteen dollars a head,\u201d Dowd insisted.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere?\u201d Adam demanded, a note of sarcasm creeping into his voice.\u00a0 \u201cChicago?\u00a0 Kansas City?\u201d\u00a0 Only an eastern market would pay the kind of price this idiot was asking.\u00a0 Adam was sure Dowd knew that, which meant that this was, as he\u2019d suspected almost from the beginning, a shakedown and nothing less.<\/p>\n

Dowd leaned over his saddle to eye Adam with contempt.\u00a0 \u201cI say they\u2019re worth fifteen dollars a head to us.\u00a0 Now, that\u2019s more than two thousand dollars right there.\u00a0 Then the buildings that got trampled\u2014say, five to six hundred dollars.\u00a0 I think three thousand is real conservative, Cartwright.\u201d<\/p>\n

Conservative.\u00a0 That a man as rough-looking as Dowd even knew a word like \u201cconservative\u201d meant he wasn\u2019t as stupid as he looked, but Adam was used to dealing with tougher business adversaries than this.\u00a0 \u201cWell, I think you\u2019re about twenty-four hundred dollars over,\u201d he said easily and confidently.<\/p>\n

Dowd lost his temper, something Adam never permitted himself to do in a business negotiation.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s all right for you to say,\u201d he snapped.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re a rich man!\u00a0 But all we\u2019ve got to show is three years of wasted effort, trying to build up a spread that you destroyed!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I\u2019m sorry,\u201d Adam said, sounding calm, even conciliatory, despite what Hoss knew he must really be feeling, \u201cbut it\u2019ll have to wait.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWait for what?\u201d Dowd demanded.<\/p>\n

\u201cUntil I can get over to your place and take a look at the damage for myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss nodded slowly.\u00a0 A reasonable proposition, one any reasonable man would accept.\u00a0 After all, a man didn\u2019t pay for a pig in a poke \u2018til he was sure there was one in there.\u00a0 Dowd had already shown himself to be short on reason, though, and while Hoss wasn\u2019t as adept at business transactions as Adam, he\u2019d already pegged the man from Montpelier as a crook.\u00a0 Maybe not the kind that would rob a bank, but the kind, for sure, to stretch the truth if it was to his advantage.<\/p>\n

As Hoss had fully expected, Dowd flared up.\u00a0 \u201cAin\u2019t gonna be no waitin\u2019, Cartwright.\u00a0 We want that three thousand dollars right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I\u2019m afraid that\u2019s how it\u2019s gonna have to be,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0 He still sounded calm, but Hoss could sense the anger rising inside his brother, so he wasn\u2019t the least surprised when Adam added, \u201cAnd I\u2019ll give you about ten seconds to get off my place.\u201d<\/p>\n

The man in the middle of the three from Montpelier let his hand slide toward his holster.\u00a0 Seeing that, Hoss stood up and took a step back toward the door, though he knew he\u2019d never have time to reach his gun before the man could fire.\u00a0 Fortunately, the man hesitated, and when Dowd looked toward him, he eased his hand away from the gun.<\/p>\n

Hoss breathed a sigh of relief, but it caught in his throat as he heard Dowd say, \u201cAll right, Cartwright; we\u2019ll go.\u201d\u00a0 His voice rose in an ominous threat.\u00a0 \u201cBut you\u2019ll pay!\u201d<\/p>\n

As the three men turned and rode away, Adam stood stroking Cochise\u2019s nose.\u00a0 He heard Hoss come up behind him.\u00a0 \u201cNice neighbors we have out here,\u201d he said dryly.<\/p>\n

Hoss recognized a recurring theme over the last twenty-four hours.\u00a0 \u201cThe East\u2019s full of men like that, too,\u201d he argued.<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss, I\u2019m in no mood,\u201d Adam warned, \u201cand you don\u2019t know what you\u2019re talking about.\u00a0 You\u2019ve never been back East.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know people\u2019s people,\u201d Hoss said, \u201cand that it ain\u2019t places that make \u2018em good or bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not so sure I agree.\u00a0 There\u2019s a wildness out here that gets in men\u2019s souls and\u201d\u2014suddenly, Adam spun around, eyes flashing.\u00a0 \u201cWho\u2019s with Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss\u2019s mouth skewed\u00a0 to one side.\u00a0 \u201cHop Sing . . . maybe.\u201d\u00a0 He knew the cook had been in the room when he left; he wasn\u2019t sure he\u2019d stayed.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe wasn\u2019t to be left alone,\u201d Adam snapped.\u00a0 \u201cYou heard the doctor say that, so why did you leave him?\u201d\u00a0 Not waiting for an answer, he started toward the house.<\/p>\n

Hoss grabbed his arm.\u00a0 \u201cMaybe because I had another brother I was worried about.\u00a0 Hop Sing said them men wasn\u2019t to be trusted . . . and they wasn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, they \u2018wasn\u2019t,\u2019\u201d Adam said, caustically emphasizing Hoss\u2019s wrong grammatical choice as he shook free of his grip, \u201cbut I handled them, didn\u2019t I?\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss had intended to compliment his older brother on just how well he\u2019d handled those men from Montpelier, but Adam\u2019s steadily disintegrating attitude singed the edges of that good intention.\u00a0 \u201cOh, that\u2019s right, older brother,\u201d he snorted.\u00a0 \u201cYou can handle everything all by yourself, can\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEvidently, I have to.\u201d\u00a0 Adam spun on his heel and stalked back into the house.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam!\u201d Hoss called, but his brother kept walking.\u00a0 Feeling Cochise nuzzle his arm, he turned toward the horse.\u00a0 \u201cHandled that real well, didn\u2019t I, Cooch?\u201d\u00a0 The pinto\u2019s head rose and fell, as if in agreement.\u00a0 \u201cYeah, that\u2019s what I thought,\u201d Hoss sighed.\u00a0 \u201cWell, let\u2019s get you groomed and fed, huh, boy?\u201d\u00a0 The horse whickered, and Hoss grinned at the appropriate timing, though he knew the horse hadn\u2019t really understood him, despite what Joe always claimed.\u00a0 \u201cI know someone who\u2019s gonna be real glad to see you, boy,\u201d he said.\u00a0 As he led the pinto toward the barn, however, his expression sobered.\u00a0 Would Joe ever see this horse again?\u00a0 Or Pa?\u00a0 Or . . . anything?<\/p>\n

\u00a0* * * * *<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Hoss paused in the doorway to Joe\u2019s room and gazed sorrowfully at the bowed head of his older brother, who was sitting on the bed, gently washing their baby brother\u2019s bare torso.\u00a0 At the rate this was going, he was going to lose two brothers to that accident at Montpelier Gorge, one to a bullet and the other to guilt.\u00a0 And now he\u2019d gone and made things worse.\u00a0 Slowly, he walked in and took hold of the post at the foot of the bed.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry, Adam.\u00a0 I had no call to talk to you like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou had call, Hoss,\u201d Adam replied, his voice so low Hoss could barely hear it.<\/p>\n

Hoss shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cNo, you were right: I shouldn\u2019t have left Joe alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam turned to face the big man behind him.\u00a0 \u201cYou didn\u2019t.\u00a0 Hop Sing stayed with him\u201d\u2014he smiled ruefully\u2014\u201cI should have known he would.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBoy means a lot to him,\u201d Hoss agreed, stepping closer, \u201cbut I didn\u2019t really give it a thought then.\u00a0 Just feared I had another brother headed into trouble and wanted to be there for you.\u00a0 Turned out you didn\u2019t need me; you handled things just fine, real fine.\u201d\u00a0 He moved another step closer to lay a supportive hand on Adam\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cI know it came out all wrong out there, but what I was trying to say was that you don\u2019t have to handle it all alone, Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

With his left hand Adam reached across his chest to clasp the hand on his right shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cI appreciate it, Hoss . . . but the trouble is, it really does have to be me.\u00a0 I know you don\u2019t understand, but\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I do.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss tried a different approach.\u00a0 \u201cBoy seems to be restin\u2019 some easier.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam released a short, sputtering laugh as he turned back to Joe.\u00a0 \u201cOh, yeah.\u00a0 Been at least three minutes since he begged me to get that wolf off him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not that again<\/em>.\u00a0 Hoss closed his eyes in commiseration.\u00a0 \u201cDoggone.\u00a0 Wish Casey\u2019d get here with that medicine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eyes focused forlornly on Little Joe\u2019s suffering face, Adam shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cLong way to Genoa.\u00a0 It\u2019ll be dark before Casey can get back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0* * * * *<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0The sky had grown dusky, and because of the diminished light Casey could no longer ride at a full-out gallop as he had before the sun set.\u00a0 He\u2019d changed horses at a livery in Genoa and pushed the fresh mount as hard as he could, for as long as he could.\u00a0 He\u2019d made good time, but he was still aware that Little Joe had been waiting all day for the medicine he so desperately needed.\u00a0 Vince Perkins, back in Virginia City, hadn\u2019t understood his willingness to ride so far for a bottle of medicine, especially for someone who wasn\u2019t kin; Simon Watson, the wholesaler in Genoa, had expressed the same incredulity.\u00a0 \u201cYou can\u2019t make the Ponderosa before dark, young fellow,\u201d Watson had said.\u00a0 \u201cWhy not take a room here in town and get a fresh start in the morning?\u201d<\/p>\n

Casey hadn\u2019t bothered to explain.\u00a0 Didn\u2019t they understand that a man\u2019s life was on the line?\u00a0 Then honesty compelled him to admit that he might have been less willing to put himself to this much trouble for just anyone, even if his life was at stake.\u00a0 This wasn\u2019t just anyone, though; this was Joe\u2014much more than boss; more, even, than friend;\u00a0 Joe was someone to whom Casey owed his own life. . . .<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He and Joe were tracking strays down a narrow ravine when they heard the warning roar.\u00a0 Little Joe instantly recognized what it portended.\u00a0 \u201cFlash flood!\u201d he yelled and spurred his horse toward the end of the ravine, where the slopes weren\u2019t as steep.\u00a0 He made it up to higher ground and looked back in time to see a wall of water knock Casey, who had sat riveted with shock for a few critical seconds, clean out of the saddle and send him careening along with the rest of the debris picked up by the stream.\u00a0 \u201cCasey!\u201d Joe screamed.\u00a0 He wheeled Cochise around and galloped back along the upper ridge of the ravine.<\/p>\n

Leaping from his horse, he tied one end of a rope around his saddle horn and expertly twirled a lasso around his head and sent it flying down into the ravine.\u00a0 He missed his target the first time, but on a second effort dropped the loop over Casey\u2019s shoulders and tightened it.\u00a0 Casey was too weak to swim out, even with the help of the lifeline, so with the aid of the rope, Joe climbed down the loose gravel sides of the crevice.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe, no,\u201d Casey protested weakly when his young friend was close enough to hear him over the howl of the rushing water.\u00a0 \u201cToo risky.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRisky\u2019s my middle name,\u201d Joe shouted back with an impish grin.\u00a0 \u201cJust ask Pa!\u201d\u00a0 When the length of rope between him and Casey was short enough to manage, he began to reel his friend in, hand over hand.\u00a0 Then each young man helped the other clamber up until they reached a ledge wide enough to support them both, where they collapsed against each other and laughed out their relief as the water churned below them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThought your middle name was Francis,\u201d Casey gasped.<\/p>\n

Joe scowled.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll take \u2018Risky\u2019 over that, any day!\u00a0 In fact, as middle names go, that one\u2019s probably a lot less risky than Francis ever was.\u00a0 Boy, did I take a lot of guff over that one when I was in school!\u201d<\/p>\n

His breath slowly stabilizing, Casey chuckled.\u00a0 \u201cWell, by whatever name . . . thanks, Joe.\u201d\u00a0 He extended his hand.<\/p>\n

Joe gave it a warm pump, but deprecated his heroic deed.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019d have done the same for me.\u201d . . .<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Casey hadn\u2019t been so sure he would have risked his life as readily as Joe had, but the least he could do was return the favor by getting this medicine to his friend tonight.\u00a0 He only prayed he\u2019d be in time.<\/p>\n

He was still making good time as he rounded a curve in the road, but he pulled up short when he saw three men standing in his path, their horses behind them.\u00a0 Even in the dim light he recognized them as the three men he\u2019d met in the store in Virginia City, the men from Montpelier who\u2019d wanted damage money from Adam Cartwright.\u00a0 But what were they doing here and what did they want with him?<\/p>\n

\u201cGet off your horse,\u201d Dowd ordered.<\/p>\n

Casey was slow to comply.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s this all about?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGet his gun,\u201d Dowd directed one of his subordinates.<\/p>\n

Feeling he had no choice, with the odds three to one, Casey dismounted, and the youngest of the three men came up and pulled his gun from its holster.\u00a0 Dowd moved behind them and pawed through Casey\u2019s saddlebags.\u00a0 What was going on?\u00a0 Surely, the man didn\u2019t think he had money in there; he was only a cowhand.\u00a0 Then Casey saw the man carelessly bouncing a dark bottle in his hand.\u00a0 \u201cBe careful with that medicine, Mister,\u201d he said tautly.\u00a0 \u201cMy boss\u2019s boy needs that bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSure he does, boy, sure he does,\u201d Dowd said with a smirk as he looked at the bottle.\u00a0 \u201cWe need our damage money bad.\u00a0 You tell Adam Cartwright that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMister, a man\u2019s life depends on that; you give it to me.\u201d\u00a0 Casey\u2019s voice had as hard an edge as his visage.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can have it\u201d\u2014he held up the bottle\u2014\u201cfor three thousand dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n

Casey saw red.\u00a0 \u201cYou give me that medicine.\u201d\u00a0 Without thought for his own peril, he lunged at the man, grasping the bottle protectively with both hands, lest it fall and shatter in their struggle over it.\u00a0 One of the other men came up behind him and hit him over the head with the butt of his gun.\u00a0 Casey fell to the ground and lay spread-eagled on his back.<\/p>\n

\u201cAw, you stupid . . .\u201d Dowd growled his displeasure at his cohort.\u00a0 \u201cNow we gotta wait that much longer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAw, I didn\u2019t hit him very hard,\u201d the man drawled defensively.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnyway,\u201d Dowd said, chuckling as he looked down at the motionless ranch hand, \u201cnow his boss is gonna discover the cost of medicine has gone up in Nevada.\u201d<\/p>\n

The other man grinned and tossed the reins of the rented horse onto the chest of the man sprawled in the dusty road.<\/p>\n

\u00a0* * * * *<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Porcelain pitcher in hand, Hoss came into the sick room.\u00a0 \u201cJust drew this from the well,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s nice and cold.\u201d\u00a0 He poured water from the pitcher into the washbasin beside the door.<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks,\u201d Adam said, barely glancing up from his youngest brother, whose face was twisted in agony, as it had been for hours.<\/p>\n

\u201cFever down any?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s higher.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam . . . Adam . . . get him off me,\u201d Little Joe pleaded.<\/p>\n

Hoss winced.\u00a0 \u201cOh, no, not that again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, again . . . and again . . . and again.\u201d\u00a0 Adam sighed as he sat down beside his brother and attempted, once again, to calm him.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t count the number of times he\u2019d held this futile conversation with his brother.\u00a0 No matter how often he assured Joe that the wolf was dead, Joe evidently still saw the fangs coming at him . . . still felt the impact of the bullet, as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m shot, Adam . . . I\u2019m shot.\u201d\u00a0 Joe writhed in pain, one hand clutching the pillow, while the other groped for Adam\u2019s shirt.\u00a0 \u201cHelp me . . . help me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam had barely gotten Joe settled down again when he heard Hop Sing shout his name from the floor below.\u00a0 The cook sounded frantic, so he rose at once and responded to the call.<\/p>\n

Torn again between the needs of his two brothers, Hoss took a quick look at Joe.\u00a0 Quiet for now.\u00a0 Maybe he could be left long enough to see whether Adam needed his help.\u00a0 He headed downstairs, but stopped on the lower landing, ready to run either up or down, depending on which brother needed him most.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomeone ride into barn, Mr. Adam,\u201d Hop Sing announced.\u00a0 \u201cNot see who.\u201d<\/p>\n

The same thought flashed through the minds of all three.\u00a0 Maybe, hopefully, it was Casey with the medicine, but after the confrontational visit that afternoon, it might just as easily be Dowd and his buddies from Montpelier, back to press their demand for damage money once again.<\/p>\n

Adam moved to the door and opened it.<\/p>\n

Casey Porter almost fell through the open doorway.<\/p>\n

At first relieved to see him, Hoss hurried down the stairs when he saw Casey rubbing the back of his head with his right hand, while the left held his hat.\u00a0 \u201cMr. Adam, they took Little Joe\u2019s medicine,\u201d Casey reported, his voice filled with regret.\u00a0 \u201cThey hijacked me and got it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss steered the ranch hand into a chair near the door.\u00a0 \u201cAre you hurt?\u201d<\/p>\n

Casey shook his head, which proved to be a mistake.\u00a0 \u201cNo, not bad\u2014little bit of a headache.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWho took the medicine?\u201d Adam asked grimly, although a suspicion was already forming in his mind.<\/p>\n

Casey confirmed it.\u00a0 \u201cThose three fellows from Montpelier.\u00a0 They want three thousand dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hop Sing turned the ranch hand\u2019s head to one side, to examine the lump rising there.\u00a0 \u201cThey hold Little Joe medicine for ransom?\u201d he asked, incredulous.<\/p>\n

\u201cAw, Adam, how could they do a thing like that?\u201d\u00a0 Hoss had seen some rattlesnake-mean deeds in his life, but he couldn\u2019t fathom anyone sinking low enough to use a sick man\u2019s medicine as leverage.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow?\u201d\u00a0 Adam\u2019s eyes burned with grim fury.\u00a0 \u201cI tried to tell you, but you wouldn\u2019t listen.\u00a0 Because out here it\u2019s\u2014it\u2019s a jungle\u2014for animals, savages\u2014where one tries to destroy the other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss grimaced.\u00a0 That stuff again, that same old tune about the East bein\u2019 better than it was out here.\u00a0 He was as tired of that as Adam had to be of Joe\u2019s pleas to get that wolf off him.\u00a0 \u201cAdam, ease up a bit,\u201d he advised.<\/p>\n

\u201cEase up?\u201d Adam repeated bitterly.\u00a0 \u201cYeah, I\u2019ll ease up.\u00a0 When this is all over, I\u2019m going away someplace where a man can live like a decent, human being.\u201d\u00a0 He emphasized the final three words with a significant pause between each one.\u00a0 \u201cBut first I\u2019ve got something to do.\u201d\u00a0 He moved purposefully to the gun rack by the stairs and took two rifles.\u00a0 \u201cCome on, we\u2019re gonna find them.”<\/p>\n

Casey stood up, despite Hop Sing\u2019s attempt to restrain him.<\/p>\n

\u201cSure you\u2019re up to it, Casey?\u201d Hoss asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure,\u201d Casey said with determination.\u00a0 He\u2019d lost that medicine, and he intended to do all he could to help get it back, headache notwithstanding.<\/p>\n

Hop Sing looked to Adam for direction.\u00a0 \u201cTake care of Little Joe,\u201d Adam said simply, and Hop Sing moved toward the stairs.\u00a0 They were just passing one another when a rock shattered the window glass in the dining room.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow \u2018bout it, Cartwright?\u201d shouted a gravelly voice that everyone recognized at once.<\/p>\n

Adam handed Hoss one of the rifles he was holding, ducked and positioned himself behind the blue chair near the gun rack, where Hop Sing was already crouching.\u00a0 Hoss handed the rifle off to Casey, saying, \u201cPost yourself over by that window and stay down.\u201d\u00a0 Then he moved quickly back to the gun rack, grabbed another rifle and hurried to hold down the front window.<\/p>\n

From outside came the sound of gunfire and shattering glass as a bullet hit the lamp over the porch.\u00a0 Hoss broke out a pane of glass in the window above his father\u2019s desk and fired.\u00a0 Casey did the same in the dining room.<\/p>\n

Dowd again hollered out his demand.\u00a0 \u201cThree thousand dollars, Cartwright!\u00a0 We want it now!\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam touched Hop Sing\u2019s sleeve.\u00a0 \u201cGet upstairs and take care of Little Joe,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cGet ready to run\u2014now!\u201d<\/p>\n

Hop Sing took off, taking the steps up to the landing on all fours.\u00a0 Then he rose into a crouch and scurried up the rest of the stairs, down the hall and into Little Joe\u2019s room.\u00a0 Evidently, his shadow as he came into the bedroom must have shown against the window, for the glass there was immediately broken by a bullet, which ricocheted and hit the wall, knocking a picture to the floor.\u00a0 Hop Sing draped his body protectively over Little Joe, to shield him from any other bullets, even at the cost of his own life.\u00a0 Fortunately, few flew that direction, for the men seemed to be concentrating their fire on the lower floor of the house.<\/p>\n

Downstairs, Adam had moved to the front door.\u00a0 He eased it open and fired.\u00a0 The bullet nicked a man hiding behind the massive post supporting the roof by the kitchen door, but failed to disable him.\u00a0 Adam fired twice more, neither bullet finding its target, and then he shut the door and moved to its side.\u00a0 Gunfire erupted and splintered the wood of that door, but did no more harm to those inside than any of them had been able to inflict on the intruders outside.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019sa matter, Cartwright?\u201d Dowd taunted.\u00a0 \u201cAin\u2019t your brother worth it?\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss fired again, again futilely, through the alcove window.\u00a0 \u201cAdam!\u201d he hollered.\u00a0 \u201cAdam!\u201d<\/p>\n

Responding to the urgency in his brother\u2019s voice, Adam rounded the corner and, keeping his head low, crouched by the bookcase between him and Hoss.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey mean to have that money,\u201d Hoss said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, there\u2019s nowhere near that much in the house,\u201d Adam said, \u201cbut they\u2019d never believe me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss\u2019s eyes glinted like blue diamonds, a reflection of his determination.\u00a0 To save Joe\u2019s life, he\u2019d have gladly paid the money at this point, unjust as that was\u2014and knew that Adam would have, too\u2014but they couldn\u2019t give what they didn\u2019t have.\u00a0 They\u2019d have to fight.<\/p>\n

\u201cCartwright, we want that money now,\u201d Dowd bellowed again.\u00a0 \u201cYou wanna let your brother die?\u201d<\/p>\n

Nothing could have pierced Adam\u2019s heart more cruelly than that jeer.\u00a0 He could hear the doctor\u2019s words echoing through his soul: \u201cI\u2019m counting on his constitution and that medicine to save him\u2014maybe a little help from God.\u201d\u00a0 Dowd\u2019s question didn\u2019t merit an answer.\u00a0 Of course, he didn\u2019t want to let his brother die, and he didn\u2019t want him to wait any longer for that medicine, when every minute of delay might make the difference.\u00a0 It was time for action.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m going out the side door,\u201d he told Hoss.\u00a0 \u201cCover me.\u201d\u00a0 He moved past the bullet-riddled front door and, not wanting to be slowed down by its bulk, laid his rifle on the credenza.\u00a0 For close-up work his revolver would do.\u00a0 He slipped through the dining room and into the kitchen.<\/p>\n

His movement must have been seen by the man outside that dining room window, for a bullet sliced through to shatter a vase of flowers on the table.\u00a0 To cover Adam, Casey poured rifle fire through the window in return, and from the alcove window Hoss did the same.<\/p>\n

Outside, Dowd spoke to one of his henchmen.\u00a0 \u201cLooks like they ain\u2019t gonna buy it.\u00a0 We\u2019ll have to split up.\u00a0 I\u2019ll go around back.\u201d\u00a0 He crossed the yard to the youngest of the three partners.\u00a0 \u201cGet up on that porch roof, through the bedroom window,\u201d he ordered.\u00a0 The man ran to the end of the porch and boosted himself up onto the roof.\u00a0 Then he crept toward the window, behind which Hop Sing struggled to hold down a flailing and thrashing Little Joe.<\/p>\n

Adam got out the side door unseen and softly came up behind the one man still at the front of the house.\u00a0 Prodding the man in the back with his revolver, he warned, \u201cOne word and I\u2019ll splinter your backbone.\u00a0 Now, drop your gun.\u201d\u00a0 The man did.<\/p>\n

At that moment the man on the roof noticed Adam and fired.\u00a0 He missed, and Adam instantly returned fire.\u00a0 He hit his target, dead center, and watched with satisfaction as the man rolled off the roof, away from his baby brother\u2019s window, and crashed to the ground.\u00a0 Again Adam prodded his prisoner with the gun barrel.\u00a0 \u201cMove fast,\u201d he hissed, pushing the man toward the door.<\/p>\n

Cursing Cartwright for besting two of his men, Dowd slunk along the front of the house to the wall that jutted out beside the front door.\u00a0 He jimmied the window and quietly eased first one leg and then the other over the sill.<\/p>\n

Inside, Adam closed the door behind him.\u00a0 \u201cHere\u2019s one of them,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cThe other one\u2019s dead.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss came out from his alcove and Casey from the dining room window.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere\u2019s that medicine?\u201d Hoss growled.<\/p>\n

\u201cDowd\u2019s got it,\u201d the man from Montpelier said.<\/p>\n

Hoss scowled his contempt for any man who would hold another\u2019s medicine for ransom.\u00a0 \u201cI oughta bash your skull in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unseen, the door of the guest room, which led into the dining room, opened.\u00a0 Dowd came out behind Casey, pointed his six-shooter at the ranch hand\u2019s head and grabbed the rifle he was holding.\u00a0 \u201cGimme that.\u201d\u00a0 He tossed the rifle across the room, toward the fireplace.\u00a0 \u201cDrop those guns,\u201d he told the others.<\/p>\n

Adam immediately tossed his gun to the floor, and his former prisoner took Hoss\u2019s rifle, turning it on them.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want the money, Cartwright,\u201d Dowd said.\u00a0 \u201cNo talk, just the money.\u00a0 Get it up or you know what\u2019s gonna happen to this fellow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam had no doubt whatsoever that Dowd was ruthless enough to carry out his threat against Casey, who but for his loyalty wouldn\u2019t even be mixed up in this mess.\u00a0 \u201cBe reasonable, Dowd,\u201d he pleaded.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll give you every cent we\u2019ve got in the house.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThree thousand dollars,\u201d Dowd snarled.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got lots of silverware, lots of other things,\u201d Adam offered.\u00a0 He\u2019d have stood by and let the two ruffians loot the house, strip it clean, as long as they let Casey go and turned over that bottle of medicine for Little Joe.<\/p>\n

But Dowd, clearly the possessor of a one-track mind, would accept nothing but the money, and every decent man in the room knew it\u2014including Casey Porter.\u00a0 \u201cJust a moment, Adam,\u201d he said.\u00a0 He turned toward Dowd.<\/p>\n

\u201cShut up, you!\u201d Dowd ordered.\u00a0 \u201cTurn around.\u201d\u00a0 He lowered his gun to chest level as Casey started to turn back around.<\/p>\n

Suddenly, Casey swiveled back to face Dowd and with a forceful, downward chop knocked the gun from the assailant\u2019s hand.\u00a0 It fell to the floor, and Casey quickly kicked it away.<\/p>\n

Hoss and Adam both sprang into action with Casey\u2019s first move against Dowd.\u00a0 Hoss punched the man holding him at gunpoint, grabbing his rifle back and pointing it at the man.\u00a0 Adam, meanwhile, dived for the gun he\u2019d been forced to drop.\u00a0 Cocking it, he ordered with cool authority, \u201cHold it!\u201d<\/p>\n

Dowd froze.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere\u2019s the medicine?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my pocket,\u201d Dowd admitted, defeat painted plain on his craggy features.<\/p>\n

\u201cCasey . . .\u201d<\/p>\n

Casey needed no more specific invitation to paw through Dowd\u2019s pockets.\u00a0 He found the bottle of medicine and handed it over to Adam.<\/p>\n

Adam\u2019s hand tightened on the bottle as if it were a treasure more precious than the silver that had made the Comstock rich.\u00a0 Staring directly at Dowd, he said, complete conviction in his voice, \u201cIf this doesn\u2019t save my brother\u2019s life, I\u2019m going to kill you.\u00a0 Hoss, lock him up in the bunkhouse.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sober-faced, Hoss nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cGet goin\u2019,\u201d Adam ordered Dowd.<\/p>\n

\u201cCome on,\u201d Hoss said, and when Dowd didn\u2019t move fast enough to suit him, ordered again, more loudly, \u201cCome on!\u201d\u00a0 Dowd and his partner, both looking remarkably docile without their guns to give them courage, walked out of the house in front of Hoss.<\/p>\n

Casey started to follow them out, but Adam stopped him with a hand on his arm.\u00a0 \u201cCasey, I don\u2019t know when I\u2019ve seen such presence of mind and courage.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCourage?\u201d\u00a0 Casey all but hooted at the idea.\u00a0 \u201cMr. Adam, I was quaking in my boots.\u201d\u00a0 He swallowed hard.\u00a0 \u201cBut Little Joe had to have that medicine, and since I was the one lost it . . .\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo blame there,\u201d Adam assured him.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Casey agreed, for he knew where the true blame for this horrible night lay, \u201cbut I had to, Mr. Adam, \u2018cause Joe\u2019s\u2014well, he\u2019s Joe\u2014special, you know?\u00a0 And he\u2019d have done it for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam nodded, pleased that the other man could see and recognize his brother\u2019s worth.\u00a0 \u201cYeah, he would.\u201d<\/p>\n

Casey pointed toward the medicine with his chin.\u00a0 \u201cYou better get that up to him, and maybe I oughta help Hoss with those men.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah\u2014and thanks, Casey.\u201d<\/p>\n

Casey shrugged and headed out the door, while Adam went up the stairs.\u00a0 He passed Hop Sing on his way down.\u00a0 \u201cShooting all over?\u201d the cook asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll over,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m afraid we left quite a mess for you to clean up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAlways do,\u201d Hop Sing grunted, but there was no displeasure in his tone.\u00a0 The bad men were gone, and Mr. Adam had the medicine for Little Joe.\u00a0 For that, he would clean a dozen dirty houses.<\/p>\n

\u00a0* * * * *<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Ben Cartwright rode as fast as the shadowy night would permit.\u00a0 He\u2019d been riding that way since he\u2019d first received that telegram from Casey Porter, telling him that his youngest son had been both shot and attacked by a wolf.\u00a0 How did those two things even go together?\u00a0 Some sort of hunting accident, he supposed, but without more facts he couldn\u2019t fully understand.\u00a0 Not much farther to go now, at least.\u00a0 Soon he\u2019d be home, and there he\u2019d find the answers he needed, the most pressing being whether his beloved Joseph was now alive or dead.<\/p>\n

He could have throttled that fool clerk in Dawson\u2019s office, the one who had refused to interrupt the \u201cimportant\u201d meeting with the cattle buyer to deliver a mere telegram.\u00a0 He\u2019d lost two hours because of that delay.\u00a0 Didn\u2019t the idiot know that telegrams, by their very nature\u2014not to mention expense\u2014tended to be urgent?\u00a0 Did the dolt think for one minute that any business transaction came before his sons?\u00a0 Thankfully, Dawson, a father himself, had been more understanding and had promptly cancelled the meeting scheduled for the next day.\u00a0 In fact, he\u2019d said that he would prefer to continue their negotiations at the Ponderosa in a couple of weeks, so he could see for himself that the Cartwrights\u2019 cattle were as prime as they were reported to be.<\/p>\n

A couple of miles from the house, Ben reined his buckskin to an abrupt halt.\u00a0 Was that a shot he heard?\u00a0 Again the sharp crack of a rifle split the air\u2014and then again, coming from the direction of the house!\u00a0 What on earth . . . ? \u00a0He kicked his heels against Buck\u2019s flank and urged him forward at top speed.<\/p>\n

Since sound traveled faster than horses, he kept hearing the alarming crack of dueling bullets.\u00a0 At least, he assumed they were dueling, had to be dueling for there to be that many of them.\u00a0 Besides, it was a ridiculous time of the night for target practice!\u00a0 Even for Joseph, unpredictable as that boy could be.\u00a0 But it couldn\u2019t be Joseph this time.\u00a0 Joseph was ill, already struck down by a stray bullet.\u00a0 Stray?\u00a0 He\u2019d assumed that, but maybe it hadn\u2019t been; maybe it had been a concerted attack, like the one now assaulting the home where his boy lay fighting for his life.\u00a0 Fighting for his life while men were firing bullets toward him . . . at him . . . at all his sons?\u00a0 Frantic in his need to get home\u2014now!\u2014Ben kicked Buck again.<\/p>\n

He was about half a mile from home when the night suddenly fell silent.\u00a0 No gunshots, not even the chirp of a cricket.\u00a0 Not sure what sort of situation he was riding into, Ben slowed the horse.\u00a0 Time for caution now, not some wild charge into the yard.\u00a0 On the final approach to the house, he dismounted and walked Buck quietly past the barn.\u00a0 He saw a trio of unfamiliar horses milling about the yard and noticed a light on in the bunkhouse, when all the hands should have been out at the branding camp.\u00a0 Lights on all over the house, too, though.\u00a0 Then he caught sight of the bullet-riddled front door and let caution fly to the wind.<\/p>\n

Drawing his revolver, he moved stealthily to the door, but then flung it open and pointed the gun at the man inside\u2014a man with a broom, sweeping broken glass from the floor of the dining room.\u00a0 \u201cWhat in tarnation is going on!\u201d Ben bellowed.\u00a0 Not giving Hop Sing a chance to answer, he called anxiously, \u201cJoseph?\u00a0 Joseph!\u201d<\/p>\n

A voice he recognized as that of his oldest son echoed down the stairs.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s up here, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hop Sing smiled and bobbed his head encouragingly.<\/p>\n

Ben suddenly realized he was still holding a gun on the little cook and, feeling foolish, fumbled it back into his holster.\u00a0 Everything looked\u2014well, normal, perfectly normal\u2014except for the signs that it quite recently hadn\u2019t been.\u00a0 Totally confused, Ben mounted the stairs.\u00a0 Joseph was up there, needing him, as well as Adam, who could provide all the answers, he was sure.\u00a0 And that was where he needed to be, too.<\/p>\n

As Ben came into the room, Adam was tightening the cap on a brown bottle, which he set on the bedside table.\u00a0 He stood to greet his father.\u00a0 \u201cPa,\u201d he sighed, and the relief was evident in both his voice and his face.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know when I\u2019ve been happier to see you.\u201d<\/p>\n

At first, Ben barely noticed Adam, as he went straight to Little Joe\u2019s side.\u00a0 Joe was thrashing about the bed and moaning in obvious distress.\u00a0 Ben automatically smoothed soothing hands over the boy\u2019s heaving chest and bare shoulders and brushed back straggling hair from his febrile forehead.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s burning up.\u00a0 How long has he been like this?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFeverish almost from the beginning,\u201d Adam reported.\u00a0 \u201cDelirious since yesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n

Little Joe seemed to be quieting under his father\u2019s ministering hands, and Ben\u2019s anxious eyes were still fixed on his youngest son, as he asked, \u201cWhat does the doctor say?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot much,\u201d Adam grunted.<\/p>\n

The bitterness in his tone made Ben look up, and for the first time he noticed the haggard gauntness of his oldest son\u2019s face.\u00a0 He stood at once and pulled Adam into an embrace and then held him at arms\u2019 length.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t like what he saw, but this was the boy with the answers, and though Adam looked as though he should be bundled off to bed, Ben had to have those answers.\u00a0 He asked again, \u201cWhat did the doctor say about your brother?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s bad off, dangerously bad off,\u201d Adam replied with blunt forthrightness.\u00a0 \u201cI just gave him the first dose of the medicine the doctor prescribed.\u00a0 Maybe it\u2019ll help.\u00a0 I hope so.\u201d\u00a0 His voice trailed off weakly.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst dose?\u201d Ben asked.\u00a0 \u201cBut the accident was day before\u2014it was an accident, wasn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes!\u201d\u00a0 Adam stared at his father in disbelief.\u00a0 \u201cSurely, you don\u2019t think I shot him on purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou shot him?\u201d\u00a0 Ben reached out to support his oldest son, who had staggered slightly.<\/p>\n

Adam shook his head, trying to clear it.\u00a0 \u201cYou knew that.\u00a0 Casey wired you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben nodded.\u00a0 \u201cThat Joe had been shot and bitten by a wolf\u2014that\u2019s all, no details.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t sure whether it was your bullet or Joe\u2019s in some freak fashion.\u00a0 Then, when I heard those shots as I rode up to the house, I started to wonder if it might have been someone else\u2019s, might have been something other than an accident.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam massaged his aching temple.\u00a0 \u201cNo, it was mine\u2014and it was an accident, a stupid, thoughtless accident, and I\u201d\u2014seeing his father\u2019s brow knit with concern, he broke off abruptly.\u00a0 This wasn\u2019t about him, and he wouldn\u2019t allow his father\u2019s focus to be on him when it should rightfully remain on Joe.\u00a0 He scrubbed his hand down his stubbly face.\u00a0 \u201cI can understand your confusion, though.\u00a0 It\u2019s been quite a day, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can see that,\u201d Ben said, his velvet eyes troubled.\u00a0 He moved across the room and dragged the gold-upholstered chair close to the bed.\u00a0 \u201cSit down before you fall down, son,\u201d he suggested, guiding Adam into the chair.\u00a0 Then he sat on the bed and took Little Joe\u2019s hand.\u00a0 Instinctively circling its back with his thumb, he turned toward Adam.\u00a0 \u201cTell me about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam wet his lips.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t really want to talk about it, but Pa had every right to know.\u00a0 Just stick to the facts<\/em>, he told himself.\u00a0 How you feel about them doesn\u2019t matter. \u00a0Maybe there\u2019ll be time for that later, but not now.\u00a0 Stick to the facts<\/em>.\u00a0 He began at the beginning, with Joe\u2019s eagerness for one last try at the wolf.\u00a0 He spared no detail as he told how he\u2019d missed his aim and hit Joe, instead of the wolf; how he\u2019d tried\u2014and failed\u2014to get the bullet out along the trail; how relieved he\u2019d felt when he met Hoss on the road and thought that all their troubles were over.\u00a0 \u201cBut they were only starting,\u201d he said wearily, unable to keep the submerged emotions from rising as he told of his frustration with the slowness of the doctor\u2019s arrival, then the delay in getting Joe\u2019s medicine from Genoa, and, finally, the despair of realizing that three ruthless men were holding it for ransom.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why you said you\u2019d just given him his first dose,\u201d Ben observed.\u00a0 \u201cI started to ask you why it was only the first, when I knew the accident had taken place a couple of days ago . . . but I got sidetracked.\u00a0 Sorry, son.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam exhaled a gust of almost comical incredulity.\u00a0 \u201cPa, you have nothing to apologize for.\u00a0 We\u2019ve laid down nothing but sidetracks the last couple of days.\u00a0 How could you possibly have found the main line?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben arched an eyebrow.\u00a0 For Adam to find that analogy amusing, he had to be exhausted.\u00a0 He started to suggest an immediate trip to bed, but then someone else came into the room.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, Pa!\u201d Hoss cried.\u00a0 \u201cSaw Buck outside and then Hop Sing told me you was home.\u00a0 Sure is good to have you back!\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben stood and exchanged a bear hug with his big son.\u00a0 \u201cGood to be back, son.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss looked down at Little Joe.\u00a0 \u201cHe doin\u2019 okay?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo far,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0 \u201cResting more quietly, at least.\u00a0 Probably some sedative in that medicine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cProbably,\u201d Ben agreed, thinking that Adam could use a dose of that himself.\u00a0 \u201cDid you see to Buck?\u201d he asked Hoss.\u00a0 He was sure he knew the answer, but felt responsible to check on the welfare of his mount, as he\u2019d always taught his boys to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cSure.\u00a0 Casey and me got all the horses tended to,\u201d Hoss assured him. \u00a0He saw the broken glass on the floor by Joe\u2019s window.\u00a0 \u201cDoggone.\u00a0 Looks like we got some more cleanin\u2019 up to do.\u00a0 They shot up here, too?\u201d\u00a0 Why?<\/em> he wondered.\u00a0 Nobody up here was shootin\u2019 at them.\u00a0 Just pure, cussed meanness?\u00a0 Only a lowdown dirty dog would shoot at a man in his sickbed!<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cOh, yeah,\u201d Adam grunted bitterly.\u00a0 \u201cThat man I killed was standing on the roof, right outside that window, when I got him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSelf defense, pure and simple,\u201d Hoss pronounced firmly.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s right, son,\u201d Ben agreed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know that,\u201d Adam said tersely.\u00a0 \u201cShooting him<\/em> didn\u2019t bother me.\u201d\u00a0 His dark, brooding gaze fell on the face of his youngest brother.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t have to tell either Ben or Hoss which shooting did bother him.\u00a0 Neither, however, knew what to say to assuage Adam\u2019s self-incrimination; both sensed it would take Joe to do that . . . if he ever had the chance.<\/p>\n

Adam gathered himself and looked up again.\u00a0 \u201cDid you take care of the other animals?\u201d he asked Hoss.<\/p>\n

\u201cHuh?\u201d\u00a0 Hoss cocked his head quizzically.<\/p>\n

\u201cDowd and that other beast from Montpelier,\u201d Adam amplified.<\/p>\n

Hoss snorted in derision.\u00a0 Adam had it pegged exactly right: those fellows were animals.\u00a0 No, come to think of it, that was an insult to animals.\u00a0 \u201cYeah, me and Casey got \u2018em tied up tight\u2014tight enough to keep \u2018em from sleepin\u2019 comfortable, I might add\u2014and locked in the bunkhouse.\u00a0 Casey\u2019s standin\u2019 guard now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben slapped his oldest son on the shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cAnd now, young man, it\u2019s time you got some sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mouth set in a straight line, Hoss bobbed his head in vigorous agreement, but Adam shook his head and said, \u201cNo, I want to stay with Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Ben said with concise authority.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith all due respect, Pa\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWith all due respect, Adam<\/em>,\u201d Ben said.\u00a0 \u201cI am the boy\u2019s father . . . and you are not in charge here any longer.\u201d\u00a0 Seeing Adam\u2019s face fall, Ben immediately knew his son had misinterpreted his dismissal as disapproval of the way he\u2019d handled things.\u00a0 Ben draped a consoling arm over the young man\u2019s slumped shoulders.\u00a0 \u201cNo, son,\u201d he said gently.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s not that I don\u2019t trust you to care for your brother\u2014or manage any other crisis that might arise.\u00a0 You\u2019ve already proven yourself above and beyond reproach in handling responsibility.\u00a0 But you\u2019ve forgotten one thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dark eyes questioning, Adam peered up at him.<\/p>\n

Ben smiled tenderly.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ve forgotten that I\u2019m your father, as well as Joseph\u2019s, and I\u2019m just as concerned about your state of exhaustion as\u201d\u2014he chuckled at the height of Adam\u2019s arched eyebrow.\u00a0 \u201cWell, almost,\u201d he admitted and watched, with gratification, the eyebrow lower.\u00a0 They both knew that he was more concerned about Joseph, whose life was at risk, than Adam, who would be all right, at least physically, once he\u2019d had sufficient rest.\u00a0 Nothing but complete honesty had ever worked with Adam.<\/p>\n

And it worked now.\u00a0 That honest appraisal of his father\u2019s concern, both for him and for Joe, drained the argument right out of Adam.\u00a0 \u201cAll right,\u201d he said, \u201cbut if he calls for me . . .\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen I\u2019ll call for you,\u201d Ben promised.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, get to bed,\u201d Hoss ordered, \u201cor I\u2019ll wrestle you down the hall myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam laughed and raised his hands in surrender.\u00a0 \u201cAnything but that.\u00a0 I\u2019ll go peaceably.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Adam left, Hoss grinned at his father; then his expression softened to a troubled smile.\u00a0 He moved to Little Joe\u2019s side and laid his palm across the boy\u2019s forehead.\u00a0 \u201cStill high,\u201d he sighed.<\/p>\n

\u201cToo soon for any change, son,\u201d Ben reminded him.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss settled into the gold chair that Adam had vacated as Ben sat down on the bed again.<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss, shouldn\u2019t you be in bed, too?\u201d Ben suggested.<\/p>\n

\u201cShouldn\u2019t you?\u201d Hoss asked, a wry grin lifting one corner of his mouth.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ve had a long, hard ride, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, I think you and Adam have had it a little tougher,\u201d Ben said with a lilt, \u201cbut I know better than to try to wrestle you<\/em> down the hall.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll go peaceable,\u201d Hoss chuckled and after a pause added, \u201cin a bit.\u00a0 Just gotta settle myself a mite first.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStill reeling a little, are you?\u201d\u00a0 Ben smiled with understanding.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d Hoss admitted.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s been just one thing after another, Pa, since yesterday afternoon.\u00a0 Harder on Adam than me, I reckon.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI reckon not,\u201d Ben said, patting his big son\u2019s muscular thigh.\u00a0 \u201cYou had two brothers you were worried about, Hoss.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss nodded slowly, touched, as always, by how his pa could see right into his soul\u2014right into all their souls, for that matter.\u00a0 \u201cI am worried about Joe,\u201d he said, \u201cbut that\u2019s in God\u2019s hands now and I trust Him.\u00a0 I think I\u2019m more worried about Adam, Pa.\u00a0 He\u2014he says he\u2019s gonna leave, go some place a man can live like a decent human being.\u00a0 You know, where there\u2019s doctors and drugs right around the corner and no money-crazed yahoos to hold a man\u2019s medicine for ransom.\u00a0 Maybe it was just the worry talkin\u2019, but he sure sounded serious.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure he was at the time,\u201d Ben said gravely.\u00a0 \u201cHe must have been frantic with worry.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd guilt,\u201d Hoss added.\u00a0 \u201cYou know he blames himself for what happened to Little Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDoesn\u2019t take a mind reader to see that,\u201d Ben replied.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll tend to him.\u201d\u00a0 He gave Hoss\u2019s thigh another pat.\u00a0 \u201cThink you could sleep now?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d Hoss said with a relieved sigh.\u00a0 Talking to Pa had helped him unwind, as it almost always did.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll get some sleep and relieve Casey later.\u201d<\/p>\n

They both stood and\u00a0 embraced.<\/p>\n

As Hoss headed down the hall to his own room, Ben sat down beside Joe again.\u00a0 \u201cNow, as for you, young man,\u201d he said softly, \u201cyou just follow your big brothers\u2019 example and sleep away all the pain and fever.\u00a0 Is that understood?\u201d<\/p>\n

Little Joe, of course, made no response, but as he reached out to touch the boy, Ben felt an odd sensation that his son was sinking into a deeper, more restful sleep.\u00a0 Odd, that is, except that he\u2019d many times before seen his youngest boy respond that way to the touch of his father\u2019s hand.\u00a0 Stroking up and down his son\u2019s arm, Ben sent a prayer heavenward.\u00a0 \u201cKeep close tonight,\u201d he whispered.<\/p>\n

\u00a0* * * * *<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Outside the bedroom window rosy fingertips of light inched upward from the horizon and interlaced with the feathery fringe of the verdant pines to herald a new day.\u00a0 Would it be a day of hopes fulfilled or one of defeat and despair?\u00a0 As Ben stroked his son\u2019s cheek with the backs of his fingers, he couldn\u2019t be sure.\u00a0 The fever seemed lower, but perhaps his yearning heart was sending messages to his senses.\u00a0 Hard to trust a source that prejudiced.<\/p>\n

Though the door stood open, Hop Sing knocked respectfully and only entered when Ben motioned him forward.\u00a0 \u201cBoy still sleep?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

Ben nodded.\u00a0 \u201cThrough the night.\u201d\u00a0 Joe had grown restless at one point, raving something about the wolf, but Ben had given him another dose of medicine and then held his son in his arms until the sedative again took effect.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat good,\u201d Hop Sing said.\u00a0 \u201cJust what he need.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I think so,\u201d Ben agreed.\u00a0 He noticed the broom and dust pan in Hop Sing\u2019s hands.\u00a0 \u201cYou want to sweep up in here?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf not bother boy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt won\u2019t bother him.\u201d\u00a0 Ben smiled.\u00a0 No one could be as quiet as Hop Sing, when he wanted to\u2014and no one could make as much noise when he didn\u2019t.\u00a0 \u201cIn fact, I\u2019d appreciate you getting that glass off the floor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHot breakfast on table,\u201d Hop Sing said.\u00a0 \u201cMr. Hoss there now.\u00a0 You eat, too.\u00a0 Hop Sing stay with Little Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben stood from the gold chair that still sat by Joe\u2019s bed.\u00a0 He stretched this way and that, working the stiffness from his muscles, put there by a day in the saddle and a night in that chair.\u00a0 \u201cThanks,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cAdam up yet?\u201d<\/p>\n

Hop Sing hesitated a moment.\u00a0 \u201cNo,\u201d he said finally.\u00a0 \u201cNot zackly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not exactly?\u00a0 What on earth did that mean?<\/em>\u00a0 Ben shrugged.\u00a0 Sometimes Hop Sing could be inscrutable\u2014not because he was Chinese, though Orientals were often described that way by Americans, but just because he was Hop Sing.\u00a0 At the moment he didn\u2019t have the energy to solve that mystery, and fortunately, he didn\u2019t have to.\u00a0 While he was still on the stairs, he caught sight of Adam, sprawled on the settee, dead to the world\u2014up, but not exactly up, just as Hop Sing as hinted.\u00a0 Ben moved softly past him to the dining room and sat at the table around the corner from his middle son.<\/p>\n

\u201cMornin\u2019, Pa,\u201d Hoss said, keeping his voice low.\u00a0 \u201cHow\u2019s Joe?\u00a0 I peeked in when I first got up and seemed like he was restin\u2019 easy.\u00a0 You was, too,\u201d he added with a grin.\u00a0 \u201cDidn\u2019t come in \u2018cause I didn\u2019t want to disturb you none.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood morning, Hoss,\u201d his father said.\u00a0 \u201cI did doze off for a while, and, yes, Joe is resting nicely.\u00a0 Did your other brother sleep at all last night?\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss glanced at the figure on the settee.\u00a0 \u201cWell, I know he started off in his own bed, but he was right there when I got up to relieve Casey.\u00a0 I checked our prisoners right before I came in, and they were still tied up snug as bugs.\u201d\u00a0 He grinned.\u00a0 \u201cFigured they couldn\u2019t work themselves free in the time it\u2019d take to have a decent meal.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot likely,\u201d Ben agreed as he slid two fried eggs from the platter onto his plate.<\/p>\n

The door to the downstairs guest room opened, and Casey Porter came out, stretching and yawning.\u00a0 \u201cHey, something smells good,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHelp yourself,\u201d Ben said, \u201cbut keep your voice down.\u201d\u00a0 With his head he indicated the area before the fireplace.<\/p>\n

Casey turned that way and saw Adam, sleeping.\u00a0 \u201cOh, sorry,\u201d he said more softly as he took the seat to Ben\u2019s right.\u00a0 \u201cDidn\u2019t see him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss handed the platter of bacon across the table.\u00a0 \u201cNo problem.\u00a0 You sleep good after I relieved you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, yeah, that\u2019s a fine, soft bed,\u201d Casey said.\u00a0 He glanced somewhat uncomfortably at Ben Cartwright.\u00a0 \u201cHope it was all right, me usin\u2019 the guest room.\u00a0 Company in the bunkhouse wasn\u2019t really to my taste, and Mr. Adam had said I could have any bed in the house.\u201d\u00a0 He glanced toward the settee.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t look like he followed his own advice, though.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat one don\u2019t never follow his own advice,\u201d Hoss scoffed.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam was in charge,\u201d Ben reminded them with an amused smile, \u201cand he said exactly what I would have, had I been here.\u201d\u00a0 He offered the ranch hand the platter of eggs.\u00a0 \u201cWe sincerely appreciate all your help in this situation, Casey, especially what you did last night to get that medicine back.\u00a0 A decent bed is the least we owe you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Casey tried to shrug it off, but the flush in his face showed just how much praise from Ben Cartwright meant to him.\u00a0 \u201cAnything else I can do?\u00a0 I know we need to get those men in to the sheriff, and there\u2019s still that load of supplies to take out to the branding camp.\u00a0 Hoss told me Hop Sing had planned to drive out there this morning, but we only got the one buckboard.\u00a0 Can\u2019t go both directions with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDump that scum from Montpelier in the back of the surrey,\u201d Hoss snorted.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll give \u2018em a right fancy ride to the hoosegow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Casey and Ben both chuckled at that; then Ben said, \u201cAll right.\u00a0 We\u2019ll get that load ready to go first, boys, and then, Casey, you can hitch the spare team to the buckboard and drive Hop Sing and the supplies out to the branding camp.\u201d<\/p>\n

Satisfied with the plan for the day, all three men tucked into their breakfasts and went outside as soon as they\u2019d finished.\u00a0 After hitching the surrey they brought out the two prisoners, hands securely tied behind their backs and hobbled so tightly about the ankles that they could barely walk.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t we get no breakfast?\u201d Dowd growled.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor three thousand dollars, you do,\u201d Hoss retorted.<\/p>\n

Casey grinned at the sour expressions on Dowd\u2019s face and that of his partner.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t think they got the price of a meal, Hoss.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTough luck.\u201d \u00a0Hoss, normally so tender-hearted that he hated to see an ant go hungry at a picnic, had no such sympathy for the men who had attacked his family and held his little brother\u2019s medicine hostage.\u00a0 \u201cReckon they\u2019ll have to eat on the county\u2014once they get to the jail.\u201d\u00a0 With that, he unceremoniously dumped the men into the back of the surrey.<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss, come here,\u201d Ben called.\u00a0 Feeling like he was about to get a lecture, Hoss walked over to his father, but all Ben said was, \u201cNo more retribution, all right?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, sir,\u201d Hoss said readily, adding with a little quirk of his lip, \u201cI think I got it out of my system, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben restrained the urge to laugh, but Hoss saw the twinkle in his brown eyes.\u00a0 \u201cThey had that much coming,\u201d Ben conceded, \u201cbut no more, son.\u00a0 Leave it to the law.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI will.\u00a0 I promise, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben smiled and clapped his big boy on one brawny shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cTake care.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, sir; I promise that, too.\u201d\u00a0 With a grin Hoss headed toward the surrey.<\/p>\n

\u201cShould I hitch the buckboard now, Mr. Cartwright,\u201d Casey asked, \u201cor wait to see when Hop Sing wants to leave?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll think he\u2019ll be ready soon, but I\u2019ll ask,\u201d Ben said and walked into the house.\u00a0 As he came in, he saw Adam starting to stir and changed his direction to go around the dining room side of the settee.<\/p>\n

Seeing his father from the corner of his eye, Adam sat up.\u00a0 \u201cWhat time is it?\u201d he asked groggily.<\/p>\n

Ben stood with both hands resting lightly on his hips, looking down at his son with eyes filled with concern.\u00a0 \u201cAlmost six.\u00a0 Why don\u2019t you go up to bed?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam looked like that was exactly what he needed, but he said, \u201cI\u2019ve gotta go out and relieve Hoss\u2014or maybe it\u2019s Casey again now\u2014guarding those men.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI just sent Hoss to the sheriff\u2019s office with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAlone?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, they were tied up in the surrey.\u201d\u00a0 Ben chuckled.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s all right.\u00a0 He can handle it.\u201d\u00a0 Seeing Adam still sitting there, too tired even to comment, he offered, \u201cLet me get you some coffee.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Ben turned toward the kitchen, Hop Sing came a couple of steps down from the top landing.\u00a0 \u201cMr. Adam, it Little Joe,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cHe call for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

The young man who had been listlessly slumped on the settee sprang up and with renewed energy took the stairs two at a time.\u00a0 Though Ben couldn\u2019t quite do that at his age, he was right on his son\u2019s heels as he entered Joe\u2019s bedroom.<\/p>\n

Little Joe\u2019s shoulders were propped against two pillows, and though he looked drained by his fight with the fever, his iridescent eyes sparkled.\u00a0 \u201cHey, brother,\u201d he called.\u00a0 Then he caught sight of his father, moving behind Adam, and his face lit up like the polished globe of a coal oil lamp.\u00a0 \u201cHey, Pa!\u201d he cried, giving a little kick of delight beneath the covers. \u00a0That burst of exuberance sapped his slim supply of air, but he took a shallow breath and reached toward Adam, the same way he had during his delirium. \u00a0\u201cPa, Adam really clobbered him,\u201d he said.\u00a0 Breath spent, he gasped for air again.\u00a0 \u201cHe really clobbered that wolf.\u00a0 He\u2019s not gonna\u2014he\u2019s not gonna touch our cattle anymore.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 By the time he finished, almost every word required a fresh intake of air.<\/p>\n

All the time Joe had been speaking, Ben had been brushing the boy\u2019s hair from his forehead.\u00a0 He finally let his hand rest there long enough to see if his hopes had been realized.\u00a0 \u201cI think his fever\u2019s broken,\u201d he told Adam, and the relief was evident in his voice.<\/p>\n

Adam looked hopeful, but hesitant to believe.\u00a0 \u201cIs he gonna be all right?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben beamed more broadly.\u00a0 \u201cWell, I\u2019m no doctor, but I think he\u2019ll be all right.\u201d<\/p>\n

Little Joe was too tired to say more, but he smiled serenely at his older brother.\u00a0 Clearly, all was right with his world.<\/p>\n

Adam couldn\u2019t quite return the smile\u2014the worry, or more importantly the guilt, still hovered too close for that\u2014but his lips softened, and for a moment just gazing into the clear, lucid eyes of his brother was all the happiness he wanted on earth.\u00a0 Then he took a deep breath and said, \u201cJoe, I . . .\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam looked over in response to his father\u2019s voice and saw him mouthing the word \u201cno.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we need to let this young man get a little more rest, Adam,\u201d Ben said, keeping his tone cheerful, though his eyes, as they looked at his oldest son, were sober.<\/p>\n

Adam glanced back at Joe and saw that his brother\u2019s eyelids were already drooping.\u00a0 The boy was clearly exhausted.\u00a0 \u201cYes,\u201d he said, though with some reluctance.\u00a0 \u201cWe . . . should . . . do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Little Joe didn\u2019t argue, and that in itself was an indication of how enervated he was.\u00a0 Ben wiped beaded sweat from the boy\u2019s glistening torso, bare but for the bandage around his shoulder, and then tucked the covers close under his chin.\u00a0 \u201cSleep for a while, son,\u201d he said softly.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll be checking on you from time to time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Kay, Pa,\u201d Joe murmured.\u00a0 He stirred uneasily and looked up at his father, his eyes vaguely troubled.\u00a0 \u201cHoss?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe had to go into town for a little while; you\u2019ll see him later,\u201d Ben answered, his voice soothing.\u00a0 \u201cSleep now, son.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s eyes closed this time, and his breathing soon showed that he had drifted off.<\/p>\n

Ben motioned for Adam to follow him out.\u00a0 When they reached the hall, he pulled the door soundlessly shut.\u00a0 Touching Adam\u2019s elbow, he said, \u201cI know what you wanted to say to your brother, son, and that conversation does need to take place, but not yet.\u00a0 Joseph is too weak, too tired to handle the stress.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStress?\u201d\u00a0 Adam drew himself up stiffly.\u00a0 \u201cI wasn\u2019t aware that hearing an apology would be stressful.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot if he felt he was owed one,\u201d Ben said quietly.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t think he is?\u00a0 I shot him, Pa,\u201d Adam hissed, so his voice wouldn\u2019t carry through the door.<\/p>\n

Ben pulled him down the hall toward his own room, where they could speak more freely.\u00a0 At the door he turned and looked directly at his son.\u00a0 \u201cI think the apology is for your benefit, not his, Adam,\u201d he said soberly, \u201cand for him to have to hear it now would only burden him with your guilt when he isn\u2019t strong enough to bear it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam sighed and leaned his head back against the wall.\u00a0 Exactly what he himself had decided when Joe was first hurt, but holding in his need to unburden himself had become so painful that he had leapt at the first sign that his brother was well enough to listen.\u00a0 \u201cI suppose so,\u201d he admitted.\u00a0 His eyes burned intensely as he looked at his father.\u00a0 \u201cI wouldn\u2019t want to hurt him more, not for anything, not even my own absolution.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben smiled wryly.\u00a0 \u201cAbsolution.\u00a0 For mercy\u2019s sake, Adam, did you even listen to your brother?\u00a0 He gave you far more than absolution; he gave you accolades.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know what you mean.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018He really clobbered him, Pa; Adam really clobbered that wolf,\u2019\u201d Ben recited.<\/p>\n

Adam blew out a disparaging gust of air.\u00a0 \u201cOh, the wolf.\u00a0 Joe\u2019s head\u2019s been full of nothing else for a week now.\u00a0 Yeah, I killed the wolf.\u00a0 Big deal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben\u2019s eyes narrowed.\u00a0 \u201cIt was to him!\u00a0 Think about it, Adam.\u00a0 After all your brother\u2019s been through the last few days, that was the one thing uppermost in his mind: how his wonderful big brother destroyed that predator of our cattle.\u00a0 He had to gasp for air to get it out, and that he was willing to spend his precious breath that way is a true gauge of how important it was to him.\u00a0 He\u2019s proud of you, Adam, not angry or fearful or any of the other reactions you dread . . . just proud.\u00a0 And if you didn\u2019t hear that, it\u2019s only because the guilt was roaring so loudly in your ears that you couldn\u2019t hear anything else!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe.\u201d\u00a0 Adam closed his eyes.\u00a0 \u201cI wish . . . I wish I could silence that roar, Pa.\u00a0 It\u2019s . . . tormenting.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know, son; I know.\u201d\u00a0 Ben clasped the boy\u2019s shoulder and began making those soothing circular motions with his thumb that always worked such magic with Little Joe.\u00a0 They didn\u2019t have quite as powerful an effect on Adam, but Ben could feel some of the tension fade away.\u00a0 \u201cThe roar is always loudest when you\u2019re exhausted, son,\u201d he said, \u201cand I speak from some experience.\u00a0 You won\u2019t be able to silence it completely until you have that talk with Joseph, but you might be surprised how a good, long nap would diminish its volume.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA nap?\u201d\u00a0 Adam chuckled at that ritual of childhood.\u00a0 \u201cYou might be surprised at how good that sounds!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGo on, get yourself some rest; you\u2019ve earned it,\u201d Ben said, stepping back and gesturing toward Adam\u2019s open door.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I can now.\u201d\u00a0 Adam looked down the hall, toward Little Joe\u2019s room.\u00a0 \u201cNow that I know he\u2019s gonna be all right, I really think I can.<\/p>\n

\u00a0* * * * *<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Ben held the spoonful of beef broth temptingly to his son\u2019s mouth, but Little Joe shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cYou sure?\u201d Ben asked.\u00a0 \u201cYou haven\u2019t eaten much, Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Little Joe smiled wanly.\u00a0 \u201cMore tired than hungry, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben set the bowl aside.\u00a0 \u201cPromise me you\u2019ll eat more later, and I won\u2019t fuss too<\/em> much.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe shrugged his good shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cI promise I\u2019ll try.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben threw him a mock scowl and then laughed.\u00a0 \u201cWell, I guess that\u2019s as much as I could ask for, anyway.\u00a0 You want to sleep some more now?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe gave his father a sheepish grin.\u00a0 \u201cNot sure I can keep from it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben took one of the pillows from behind Joe\u2019s back and eased him down.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t try.\u00a0 Rest is what you need.\u201d\u00a0 His ear then caught the sound of someone arriving in the yard.\u00a0 Who could that be?\u00a0 Too soon for Hoss to be back<\/em>.\u00a0 Curiosity sent him to the window, and a broad smile transfused his face when he saw whose buggy was pulling up.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t go to sleep yet,\u201d he told his son.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s Dr. Martin.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe moaned.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019d a heap rather it was a pretty girl.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the door Ben turned and grinned.\u00a0 \u201cNow I know you\u2019re feeling better!\u201d\u00a0 He wagged a playful finger at his son.\u00a0 \u201cBehave yourself, young man.\u201d\u00a0 He hurried downstairs in time to answer the door at the doctor\u2019s first knock.\u00a0 \u201cPaul, good to see you,\u201d he said to the silver-haired man as he entered.<\/p>\n

\u201cBen!\u00a0 Glad to see you\u2019re home . . . and I know Joe is,\u201d Paul Martin said.\u00a0 He sobered.\u00a0 \u201cI met Hoss on the road, and he said the fever\u2019s still up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, it broke shortly after Hoss left,\u201d Ben said, his warm brown eyes shining as he made that welcome report.\u00a0 \u201cJoe\u2019s tired, weak, in some pain, but otherwise he looks pretty good.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, that\u2019s good news,\u201d the doctor said, relief evident in his worn features, \u201cand I can use some.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRough night?\u201d Ben asked his friend.\u00a0 \u201cAdam told me about the fire, that you couldn\u2019t stay here with Joe because you had a number of other patients in jeopardy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI lost two more last night,\u201d Paul said with a sigh, \u201cand there are at least three others who probably won\u2019t make it. \u00a0Then several who\u2019ll be disfigured for life.\u00a0 Medicine just hasn\u2019t developed an adequate treatment for severe burns, Ben.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d Ben said with genuine sympathy.\u00a0 \u201cCan I offer you a cup of coffee?\u201d<\/p>\n

Paul smiled.\u00a0 \u201cAfter I\u2019ve examined Little Joe, yes.\u201d\u00a0 He paused.\u00a0 \u201cBen, I can\u2019t tell you how much it bothered me to leave that boy yesterday, and then to hear from Hoss about the delay in getting his medicine.\u00a0 Terrible.\u201d\u00a0 He shook his head in dismay at the cruelty residing in the hearts of some so-called human beings.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah.\u00a0 Rough night all around.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam was furious with me for leaving,\u201d Paul said ruefully, \u201cbut it really couldn\u2019t be helped.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam was exhausted, worried to death about his brother,\u201d Ben explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, of course, he was,\u201d Paul replied.\u00a0 \u201cPerfectly natural.\u00a0 And, looking back on it now that I\u2019ve had a chance to rest, I think I was probably a little short with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben cocked his head.\u00a0 \u201cNow, that\u2019s a confrontation I\u2019d have paid money to see: two Yankee granite heads, butting horns.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSave your money,\u201d Paul retorted.\u00a0 \u201cJust look in a mirror the next time you and Adam go at it!\u201d\u00a0 He paused and said more soberly, \u201cHope he\u2019s getting some well-deserved rest?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben nodded.\u00a0 \u201cHe is\u2014and likely to sleep around the clock, if I read his condition correctly.\u00a0 Joe\u2019s awake, though . . . or was when I came down.\u00a0 He was drowsy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s quit dawdling, then,\u201d Paul said with a smile, \u201cand get up and see how that boy of yours is.\u201d\u00a0 He hefted his bag from the credenza, where he had placed it when he came in, and followed Ben up the stairs.\u00a0 \u201cWell, young fellow,\u201d he called cheerily as he came into the bedroom.\u00a0 \u201cYou certainly look more chipper than the last time I saw you.\u201d\u00a0 He set the bag on the bedside table, opened it and took out his stethoscope.\u00a0 \u201cHow are you feeling, Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m doin\u2019 fine,\u201d Joe replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cUh-huh.\u201d\u00a0 Dr. Martin chuckled.\u00a0 \u201cWhy do I ask?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo hear . . . the sound . . . of your . . . own voice,\u201d Joe suggested saucily, although the thrust of the joke was tempered by its breathless delivery.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll have you know, young fellow, that some of my patients find it quite soothing,\u201d the doctor quipped as he held the bell of the stethoscope to Joe\u2019s left chest.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe deaf ones,\u201d Joe teased back.\u00a0 His attempt at a grin turned into a wince as the listening device pressed a tender area.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome pain is to be expected at this stage, Joe,\u201d Dr. Martin said with a sympathetic look.\u00a0 \u201cThe medicine will help with that, but I can prescribe a stronger sedative if\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Joe said emphatically, though the effort expended all the air he had.<\/p>\n

Ben, on the opposite side of the bed from the doctor, bent with worried frown over his son.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s been short of breath since he woke up this morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd before that,\u201d Paul observed.\u00a0 \u201cI picked up some shallow breathing when I examined him yesterday.\u00a0 The lung was probably bruised by the impact of the bullet, but I don\u2019t think there\u2019s going to be any major problem from that.\u00a0 Just keep him quiet\u2014and in bed.\u201d\u00a0 The final three words were stated firmly and directly to Little Joe, who scowled, but didn\u2019t object otherwise.<\/p>\n

Ben and Paul chuckled at this particular patient\u2019s uncommon compliancy.\u00a0 \u201cIt won\u2019t last,\u201d Paul whispered to Ben as soon as they were outside the door.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd when he starts balking at orders, that\u2019s when I\u2019ll know he\u2019s really on the mend,\u201d Ben said with a fond look at the closed door.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s on the mend now,\u201d Paul said, \u201cbut, yes, that\u2019ll be a sure sign he\u2019s better\u2014and he will be better, Ben\u2014soon.\u00a0 Now, how about that coffee?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0* * * * *<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Ben knew, by the firmness with which the front door was slammed, exactly who had come in, but considering all they\u2019d been through the last few days, he had no heart to rebuke his son for the lapse of consideration for the hardware.\u00a0 Besides, the door was going to have to be replaced, anyway.\u00a0 \u201cHoss,\u201d he called from his desk below the front window.<\/p>\n

\u201cComin\u2019, Pa.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss laid his gun and holster on the credenza and hung his hat on the peg by the door before rounding the corner to the alcove.\u00a0 \u201cHey, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben smiled and motioned his son forward.\u00a0 \u201cHey, yourself.\u00a0 Did you get those men delivered to the sheriff?\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss grinned.\u00a0 \u201cShucks, Pa, you didn\u2019t think those yahoos\u2019d give me any trouble, did you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, son, not for a minute.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss rested one hip on the corner of his father\u2019s desk.\u00a0 \u201cGot \u2018em delivered, saw \u2018em locked up and made a statement to Roy \u2018bout everything that happened.\u00a0 He wants one from Adam, too, but said there weren\u2019t no rush.\u00a0 Mine was enough to charge \u2018em.\u00a0 I stopped by the mercantile and picked up enough windowpanes to replace what got broke or shot out last night.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben eased back in his chair and surveyed his middle son with pride.\u00a0 \u201cSounds like you thought of everything.\u00a0 You hungry?\u00a0 There\u2019s still stew in the kitchen.\u00a0 Only needs heating up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNaw.\u00a0 I stopped in at Miss Daisy\u2019s.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss gave his stomach a contented pat.\u00a0 \u201cChicken \u2018n dumplings and apple pie.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStop it now,\u201d Ben laughed, \u201cor you\u2019ll have me riding into town for supper.\u00a0 That stew\u2019s not likely to last \u2018til Hop Sing gets back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I reckon I could hold the fort if\u2019n you wanted to,\u201d Hoss chuckled.\u00a0 His gaze strayed toward the stairs.\u00a0 \u201cHow\u2019s Joe?\u00a0 Fever down any?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben was beaming as he related the good news.\u00a0 \u201cIt broke, not long after you left.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss\u2019s eyes shone brighter than the light of any candle.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s great news!\u00a0 I guess the doc made it out?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben leaned forward, resting his forearms on the desk.\u00a0 \u201cYeah, he was here, and he thinks Joe will be just fine, in time.\u00a0 Still weak and tired, of course, but the doctor didn\u2019t anticipate any major setbacks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSure glad to hear that,\u201d Hoss said, patting his palm on the desk top.\u00a0 \u201cThat youngun had me plumb worried yesterday.\u201d\u00a0 He stood up.\u00a0 \u201cI think I\u2019m gonna go up and see him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss,\u201d Ben called as his son headed toward the staircase, \u201cgo up real quiet.\u00a0 Adam\u2019s sleeping up there, and Joe was, too, the last time I checked.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll tread soft,\u201d Hoss said with a grin and, true to his word, climbed the steps almost soundlessly.\u00a0 He peeped into Joe\u2019s room from the doorway and, seeing his brother\u2019s eyes closed, kept his steps quiet as he approached the bed.\u00a0 Not that he didn\u2019t trust Pa, but he just had to feel for himself that the fever was gone.\u00a0 As he laid his hand gently across his brother\u2019s cool forehead, however, Joe\u2019s eyes opened.\u00a0 \u201cDoggone.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t mean to wake you,\u201d Hoss said with a self-chiding tone.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t . . . asleep.\u201d\u00a0 Joe sounded groggy enough to belie his statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cCoulda fooled me.\u201d\u00a0 With a grin Hoss sat on his brother\u2019s bed.\u00a0 \u201cHow you doin\u2019, youngun?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m good, Hoss . . . real good.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGlad to hear it,\u201d Hoss said, though he wasn\u2019t sure he believed it.\u00a0 \u201cYou sure gave us a scare, Shortshanks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCan I have . . . some water?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSure.\u00a0 \u2018Course, you can.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss took a glass from the bedside table and went to the washstand by the door to pour water from the pitcher.\u00a0 He brought it back to Joe and supported his brother while he drained the glass.\u00a0 \u201cWant more?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo . . . thanks.\u201d\u00a0 Little Joe lay wearily against the pillow.<\/p>\n

Hoss set the glass aside.\u00a0 \u201cYou had anything to eat yet?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah . . . some\u2014some broth.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBe glad to fetch you some more.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLater,\u201d Joe said, his voice weaker.<\/p>\n

Hoss ruffled his brother\u2019s already sleep-tousled chestnut curls.\u00a0 \u201cYou sound tired.\u00a0 I reckon I oughta let you get back to sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe offered him a wry smile.\u00a0 \u201cBeen doin\u2019 . . . nothin\u2019 but . . . sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss gave his brother\u2019s cheek a pat.\u00a0 \u201cYeah, but you ain\u2019t up to carryin\u2019 on much of a conversation, either, Shortshanks,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

For a moment Joe\u2019s face filled with glum acceptance, but then with a beguiling smile he reached toward his brother.\u00a0 \u201cStay awhile?\u201d<\/p>\n

No one could have missed the pleading in his voice\u2014least of all, Hoss.\u00a0 He sat down on the bed again and took his brother\u2019s hand.\u00a0 \u201cSure, buddy,\u201d he said softly.\u00a0 \u201cLong as you want.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0* * * * *<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0As he leaned against the rough bark of a towering tree along the shoreline, Adam let his eyes travel across the massive expanse of sapphire blue water.\u00a0 The brisk wind was blowing white-capped waves toward him, and it also brought the pungent scent of pine to his nostrils.\u00a0 Adam breathed deeply of the heady fragrance of home.\u00a0 This land required a lot of a man\u2014in courage, fortitude and plain hard work\u2014but oh, how much it gave in return!\u00a0 How could I have ever thought of leaving?<\/em><\/p>\n

Yet for almost three days he had contemplated precisely that.\u00a0 With his brother\u2019s life in jeopardy, it had seemed so easy to assume that back East all problems would be readily solved.\u00a0 When Joe\u2019s fever had broken, however, so had that fanciful dream of a place of perfect protection from the perils that so often seemed part and parcel of life out here.\u00a0 There was no such place, Adam realized now.\u00a0 Hoss had tried to tell him, but in the end it had been Joe who convinced him\u2014just by waking up lucid and animated, flowing with the juice of life.\u00a0 From that moment, though he had not realized it until later, Adam had known that he would not be leaving the Ponderosa.<\/p>\n

That momentous morning had been a week ago, and Little Joe was now well on his way to recovery, chafing against the enforced bed rest and driving them all to distraction with his pleas for release from the doctor\u2019s dictates.\u00a0 Adam pushed away from the tree and walked over to the water\u2019s edge, letting the ebbing waves tickle the toes of his boots as he ambled along the shore.\u00a0 He was dawdling, he acknowledged.\u00a0 In fact, the entire trip up here had been a considerable detour from the closest way home from Virginia City.\u00a0 He\u2019d needed, however, to let the peace and solitude of Lake Tahoe sink deep in his soul before facing the conversation he\u2019d delayed for a week now.<\/p>\n

There was nothing to dread.\u00a0 He knew that.\u00a0 Over the past week he\u2019d heeded his father\u2019s words and started really listening to his baby brother and intently watching his face for each nuance of emotion.\u00a0 Every word, every expression spoke of love and pride and admiration, without a single hint of blame.\u00a0 Pa was right: the apology is for my sake, not Joe\u2019s<\/em>.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t just forget it, though.\u00a0 For his soul to find rest, the words needed to be said.\u00a0 Oh, he\u2019d said them a dozen times over\u2014if not literally, at least in his heart\u2014but he needed to say them just once when he knew Little Joe was alert enough to understand and coherent enough to make any response he chose.<\/p>\n

He turned away from the lake and walked toward a small grove of pines nearby.\u00a0 One more stop and then he\u2019d be ready for that overdue conversation with his brother.\u00a0 He knelt on one knee beside the granite headstone and folded his arms over the other bent leg.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry, Ma,\u201d he whispered.\u00a0 \u201cI made you a promise a long time ago, to take care of your boy, and I haven\u2019t been doing much of a job of keeping it.\u201d\u00a0 He pulled an encroaching weed from the grassy mound over her grave.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t mean the shooting.\u00a0 Much as I regret that, it was an accident; he understands and I know you would, too.\u201d\u00a0 He looked directly at her name, etched on the headstone.\u00a0 \u201cWhat I\u2019m really sorry for, Ma, is that I even for one minute considered leaving here.\u201d<\/p>\n

He smiled ruefully as he imagined what Marie would have had to say about that, had she been here before him in the flesh.\u00a0 \u201cThat would have been walking away from the promise I made you, wouldn\u2019t it?\u00a0 I guess that\u2019s why I feel the need to be here today, to reaffirm what I promised you then.\u00a0 No more talk of leaving.\u00a0 Oh, I\u2019d like to travel someday, but I promise you, Ma, that I\u2019ll be here for him for as long as he needs me\u2014\u2018til he\u2019s all grown up and mature enough to handle whatever life slings at him, the good and the bad.\u201d\u00a0 He laughed abruptly.\u00a0 \u201cIn Joe\u2019s case, that may mean I\u2019ll still be here in my sixties, but if that\u2019s the way it is, so be it.\u00a0 A man could find a lot worse places to spend his life than the Ponderosa.\u201d<\/p>\n

He stood to his feet and smiled.\u00a0 \u201cLike to stay longer, Ma, but I think it\u2019s time to go talk with your boy.\u201d\u00a0 He walked to where he\u2019d left his chestnut gelding, unhitched the reins from the branches of a manzanita bush and mounted.\u00a0 After a last fond look at the lake and the tranquil grave beside it, he turned Sport toward home.<\/p>\n

\u00a0* * * * *<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u201cThat you, Adam?\u201d Ben called when he heard the front door open.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, Pa,\u201d Adam called back.\u00a0 After depositing his gun and hat by the door, he made his way toward his father\u2019s desk and handed him a thick envelope.<\/p>\n

\u201cI expected you much sooner,\u201d Ben said with a slight arch of his eyebrow.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know there was any hurry,\u201d Adam responded.\u00a0 He dipped his chin toward the envelope in his father\u2019s hand.\u00a0 \u201cYou don\u2019t need that \u2018til this evening, do you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Ben agreed, laying the envelope aside.\u00a0 He eyed with curiosity the package wrapped in brown paper, which Adam had set on the desk.\u00a0 \u201cTook time to do a little shopping, did you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd for a ride to the lake,\u201d Adam admitted, shrugging one shoulder.\u00a0 He lifted the package and bounced it in his hand.\u00a0 \u201cLittle get-well gift,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

A smile twitched Ben\u2019s lips.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019ll love it, but you didn\u2019t really need that to pave your way, son.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cocking his head, Adam pursed his lips.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re too good a guesser.\u00a0 Always were.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben\u2019s smile widened.\u00a0 \u201cA father\u2019s prerogative.\u201d\u00a0 He propped his elbow on the desk and rested his jaw between his thumb and forefinger.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s time, son,\u201d he said with a significant glance at the stairs.\u00a0 \u201c\u2018Once more unto the breach,\u2019 as you\u2019re so fond of saying,\u201d he added with a chuckle.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no breach between us,\u201d Adam stated with assurance.\u00a0 \u201cYou were right, Pa: the apology\u2019s solely for my sake.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cReason enough,\u201d Ben said, his voice warm with tender regard.\u00a0 \u201cGet to it, boy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam laughed.\u00a0 There\u2019d been a time when he would have bristled at being called \u201cboy;\u201d now it just sounded . . . loving.\u00a0 Tucking the package beneath his arm, he climbed the stairs.<\/p>\n

Little Joe was sitting up in bed with a book lying open, but unheeded, in his lap.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ll never finish it that way,\u201d Adam teased as he entered the room.<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s face immediately brightened at the prospect of company.\u00a0 \u201cIt ain\u2019t like I got any lack of spare time,\u201d he groused good-naturedly.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrue,\u201d Adam said, stroking his chin, \u201cbut I have a whole shelf full of books you\u2019ve never so much as opened: philosophy, science, Greek tragedy\u2014oh, and a dandy little volume all about the mass of men leading lives of quiet desperation.\u201d<\/p>\n

A sour grimace puckered Joe\u2019s mouth.\u00a0 \u201cAre you tryin\u2019 to make me sick?\u201d he demanded.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot at all,\u201d Adam assured him with a saucy grin. \u00a0\u201cJust trying to expand your vistas.\u201d\u00a0 He laughed as Joe\u2019s scowl deepened.\u00a0 \u201cMaybe this will go further toward making you feel better.\u201d\u00a0 He took the package from under his arm and tossed it at Little Joe.<\/p>\n

As he caught it, Joe was all smiles again.\u00a0 \u201cA present for me?\u00a0 Hey, thanks, brother.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re welcome.\u201d\u00a0 Mouth twitching, he shook his head.\u00a0 Just like Joe.\u00a0 Never mind what the gift was; just getting one was enough to excite him.\u00a0 \u201cWell, go on; open it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eyes alive with anticipation, Little Joe recklessly tore the wrapping away and stared at the new shirt.\u00a0 \u201cRed?\u201d\u00a0 He didn\u2019t really have anything against the color.\u00a0 In fact, he\u2019d seen Adam wear a red shirt before and thought it looked quite good on him, but he normally wore more subdued colors himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0 \u201cSorry, but they evidently don\u2019t make britches to match.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s jaw dropped.\u00a0 \u201cRed britches?\u00a0 Adam, have you lost your mind?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCertainly not,\u201d Adam said, and he sounded completely serious.\u00a0 \u201cI think it would make an ideal hunting outfit for you . . . wouldn\u2019t blend in with sand and sage like your usual garb.\u201d<\/p>\n

With sudden insight into what this was actually about, Joe let the shirt fall into his lap.\u00a0 \u201cAdam, it was an accident.\u00a0 I know that,\u201d he said, gazing kindly at his brother.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know you know,\u201d Adam said quickly, \u201cbut bear with me a minute.\u201d\u00a0 He took a breath and said simply, \u201cI\u2019m sorry, Joe.\u00a0 I made a critical mistake, and it could have cost you your life.\u00a0 I should have been more careful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI should have, too.\u201d\u00a0 He held up the red shirt.\u00a0 \u201cBut this is carryin\u2019 careful all the way to crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe,\u201d Adam admitted with a chuckle, \u201cbut you will wear it the next time I take you hunting, little buddy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Little Joe fingered the material and grinned at his brother with fond affection.\u00a0 \u201cYeah, might be a good idea, at that.\u00a0 Might be the next fellow who took a pot shot at me wouldn\u2019t be as good at patchin\u2019 me up as you, big brother.\u201d\u00a0 He reached forward, and Adam took his hand.\u00a0 \u201cThanks,\u201d Joe said.\u00a0 \u201cThat needs sayin\u2019 more than you sayin\u2019 sorry.\u00a0 \u2018Cause you saved my life, Adam.\u00a0 For a cattle puncher, you make one terrific doctor.\u201d\u00a0 He laughed and added with a naughty twinkle in his eye, \u201cAnd after the tidy way you stitched me up, I\u2019d be willin\u2019 to give you a reference to Miss Mimi, down to the dressmaker\u2019s shop, if you ever want a change of career.\u00a0 Bet she\u2019d snap up a dandy seamstress like you right quick!\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam favored him with a smile of forbearing patience.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t do me any favors.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s gratitude for you,\u201d Joe quipped.\u00a0 Then he grew unaccustomedly serious.\u00a0 \u201cGratitude . . . for you.\u00a0 Yeah, that\u2019s what I\u2019m taking out of this, big brother, but let\u2019s not do it again any time soon, okay?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam squeezed his brother\u2019s hand tightly.\u00a0 \u201cLet\u2019s not do it again\u2014ever!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a deal,\u201d Joe said and gave the hand in his a hearty pump.\u00a0 He winced at the sudden, sharp pain in his shoulder.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, that was a mistake, wasn\u2019t it?\u201d Adam suggested with cool, chiding appraisal.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, but not a critical one.\u00a0 Those I leave to you,\u201d Joe said smugly.\u00a0 Sinking down into the pillow, he pulled the covers over his face for protection.<\/p>\n

\u00a0* * * * *<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Casey Porter held his hat with both hands as he stood before Ben Cartwright\u2019s desk.\u00a0 \u201cYou wanted to see me, Mr. Cartwright?\u201d\u00a0 Hoss had told him that as soon as they came in from work that evening.<\/p>\n

\u201cSure do,\u201d Ben said.\u00a0 \u201cI have something here for you, son.\u201d\u00a0 He opened the middle drawer to his desk and removed the envelope that Adam had earlier brought from the lawyer\u2019s office in town.\u00a0 \u201cI want you to have this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Casey took the envelope, which looked just like the one he received each week, except it was thicker.\u00a0 He held it awkwardly.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s not payday yet,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cAre\u2014are you letting me go, Mr. Cartwright?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood gracious, no!\u00a0 Not in the way you mean.\u201d\u00a0 Ben smiled warmly at the ranch hand.\u00a0 \u201cJust open it, son.\u201d<\/p>\n

Casey set his hat on the desk, to free up his hands, and carefully pried open the flap of the envelope.\u00a0 Inside he found a document and drew it out.\u00a0 He unfolded it and stared, wide-eyed and wide-mouthed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know I\u2019ve already thanked you for what you did to get Little Joe\u2019s medicine back,\u201d Ben said, \u201cbut I thought you deserved a little more tangible token of my appreciation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, no, sir, not this,\u201d Casey protested, waving the legal document.\u00a0 \u201cI didn\u2019t do enough to deserve this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben came around the desk to lay his hand on the young man\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cCasey, you risked your life so my son could have that medicine, and for all I know, your quick thinking may have saved the lives of all three of my sons.\u00a0 Who\u2019s to say whether Dowd and his partner would have left any witnesses to what they\u2019d done?\u00a0 You secured for me something I could never replace, and I assure you that\u2019s worth infinitely more to me than a little piece of land.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut the deed to my place,\u201d Casey sputtered.\u00a0 \u201cAll\u2014all I have left from my folks.\u00a0 It means the world to me, Mr. Cartwright, but you paid a lot of money in back taxes for it.\u201d\u00a0 He flushed and stammered hastily, \u201cWell, I know it wasn\u2019t all that much; I know you picked it up cheap, but when you ain\u2019t got it, even cheap\u2019s a fortune.\u00a0 Might be chicken feed to you, but you deserve to be repaid.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben tightened his grip on Casey\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve been repaid,\u201d he said firmly, \u201cin something of greater value to me than all the silver in the Virginia City mines.\u00a0 Now, you will take this, young man, and you will build the Rocking P back into the finest spread of its size this side of the Sierras.\u00a0 That\u2019s an order.\u201d<\/p>\n

Casey\u2019s brown eyes grew misty, and he wiped his drippy nose with the back of his hand.\u00a0 \u201cYes, sir, I\u2014I will\u2014and thanks!\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben clapped the young man on the shoulder and stepped back around to his desk chair.\u00a0 \u201cI am sure going to miss having you here on the ranch, though, son.\u00a0 You\u2019ll be a hard man to replace.\u201d<\/p>\n

Casey raised his head and looked steadfastly at Ben.\u00a0 \u201cYou won\u2019t have to replace me just yet, sir.\u201d\u00a0 He waved the deed in the air.\u00a0 \u201cIf I\u2019m going to do justice to this gift, I\u2019ll need to earn some more cash, for cattle and repairs and improvements.\u00a0 If you\u2019re willing, I\u2019d like to stay on\u2014part-time, at least\u2014\u2018til I\u2019ve set aside what I need to make the Rocking P just what you said.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben reached across the desk to shake Casey\u2019s hand.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m more than willing, Casey.\u00a0 In fact, I\u2019m thrilled.\u00a0 I think that shows the kind of maturity and wisdom that will help you make a success of your place and make me proud to call you neighbor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0* * * * *<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0That night, for the first time, Little Joe joined his family at the dinner table.\u00a0 Along with the deed to Casey\u2019s ranch and that vivid red shirt, Adam had brought another gift for Little Joe, the doctor\u2019s permission to get out of bed, at least for meals.\u00a0 He\u2019d also put in an order, with the doctor\u2019s help, for a small kit of scalpels and probes, to be kept at the ranch, but that was his own private secret.\u00a0 He hoped he\u2019d never need it.<\/p>\n

Before leaving that morning, Adam had dropped a hint to Hop Sing about his intention to speak to the doctor on Joe\u2019s behalf, and the cook had outdone himself with a feast to rival the spread he usually laid out for Thanksgiving Day.\u00a0 To Ben, that seemed entirely appropriate, for never in his life had he felt more thankful.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The End<\/p>\n

\u00a9 April, 2005<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

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

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

Summary: \u00a0Ever wished that the Reardons had not been part of “My Brother’s Keeper”? \u00a0This story is a rewrite of the episode, with some added scenes, that provides an alternative to them with greater focus on the Cartwrights and the addition of one, hopefully more likeable, character, a young ranch hand.<\/p>\n

Rated: K+ WC 31,500<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":3748,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"template-full-width-post.php","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[14,15,18,17,16],"class_list":["post-4716","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-whi","tag-adam-cartwright","tag-ben","tag-hop-sing","tag-hoss","tag-joe","wpcat-27-id"],"a3_pvc":{"activated":true,"total_views":4233,"today_views":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/brotherskeeper.jpg?fit=610%2C488&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3689,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=3689","url_meta":{"origin":4716,"position":0},"title":"Afterwards (by GinnyF)","author":"Ginny F","date":"April 26, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary: A sequel to the episode \"My Brother's Keeper\" Rated:\u00a0 K+ (2,230 words)","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\/2014\/04\/coming-soon-5.jpg?fit=768%2C576&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/coming-soon-5.jpg?fit=768%2C576&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/coming-soon-5.jpg?fit=768%2C576&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/coming-soon-5.jpg?fit=768%2C576&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":64,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=64","url_meta":{"origin":4716,"position":1},"title":"A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing (by the Giggly Sisters)","author":"The Giggly Sisters","date":"August 1, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary: Did Adam really shoot Joe by accident in My Brother's Keeper? Or was there something more sinister going on? the Giggly Sisters investigate. Rated: K+ (1,575 words)","rel":"","context":"In "Humor"","block_context":{"text":"Humor","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=4"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Bonanza24.jpg?fit=526%2C372&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Bonanza24.jpg?fit=526%2C372&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Bonanza24.jpg?fit=526%2C372&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6204,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=6204","url_meta":{"origin":4716,"position":2},"title":"Scars on the Inside (by Annie K Cowgirl)","author":"Annie K Cowgirl","date":"September 3, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary:\u00a0In memory of the beloved episode My Brother's Keeper. It's been five years since the accident and Adam still hasn't forgiven himself for shooting Joe. Rated:\u00a0K+ (935 words)","rel":"","context":"In "Chaps and Spurs"","block_context":{"text":"Chaps and Spurs","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=39"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Pdvd_007.jpg?fit=720%2C576&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Pdvd_007.jpg?fit=720%2C576&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Pdvd_007.jpg?fit=720%2C576&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Pdvd_007.jpg?fit=720%2C576&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1030,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=1030","url_meta":{"origin":4716,"position":3},"title":"Waiting on the Wolf (by DBird)","author":"DBird","date":"July 16, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary:\u00a0WHN for \"My Brother's Keeper\" What if Adam left the Ponderosa after all and didn't return until two years later? What if Joe never forgave him for leaving? What if Adam never forgave himself? Rated:\u00a0K+ (13,850 words) Waiting on the Wolf series, links to all the stories within the series\u2026","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\/2014\/04\/Pdvd_007.jpg?fit=720%2C576&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Pdvd_007.jpg?fit=720%2C576&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Pdvd_007.jpg?fit=720%2C576&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Pdvd_007.jpg?fit=720%2C576&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14397,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=14397","url_meta":{"origin":4716,"position":4},"title":"The Commitment of Charlie Angelus (by Robin)","author":"profrobinw","date":"January 12, 2000","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary: \u00a0If only they hadn't stopped in that town. Rating: T \u00a0(1,140 words)","rel":"","context":"In "Humor"","block_context":{"text":"Humor","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=4"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/ARLE-e1497282889671.png?fit=570%2C416&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/ARLE-e1497282889671.png?fit=570%2C416&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/ARLE-e1497282889671.png?fit=570%2C416&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3845,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=3845","url_meta":{"origin":4716,"position":5},"title":"Truths Behind Unexplained Adam Mess-ups (by OyNebach42)","author":"OyNebach42","date":"April 26, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary:\u00a0Just what the title says, why Adam does things that seem... illogical. The shooting in my brother's keeper, the hayburner race, and Adam's leaving the Ponderosa explained. 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