Summary: Three men, imprisoned in the Virginia City Jail, have been charged with committing murder and other brutal acts of cruelty. According to the scuttlebutt, the attorney representing them is determined to see his clients acquitted, and will stop at nothing to make it so.\u00a0 Gossip, lurid speculation, and rumor stoke the fear, anger and complete bewilderment of Virginia City’s citizens,\u00a0 leading to the unthinkable catching Ben, Adam, and Hoss up in the midst of the turmoil.\u00a0 Sequel to Mark of Kane.<\/p>\n
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Word Count: 39,168<\/p>\n
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All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are property of the author.\u00a0 The author is not in any way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise, and makes no money from this work.\u00a0\u00a0 No copyright infringement is intended.<\/p>\n
Bloodlines Series:<\/strong><\/p>\n Bloodlines<\/a> Part 1<\/p>\n \u201c \u2018I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth,\u2019 \u201d Father Brendan Rutherford, monsignor, now retired, of Saint Mary\u2019s in the Mountains Catholic Church in Virginia City, softly, reverently intoned words spoken by Job in the midst of his own personal tragedy, suffering, and grief.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ” \u2018And though after my skin, worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another.\u2019 \u201d1<\/span><\/p>\n Six pallbearers followed behind the priest, grim, silent, bearing a simple, pine box coffin that contained the earthly remains of a young man by the name of Lorenzo Enrico Estevan.\u00a0\u00a0 Adam Cartwright and Matt Wilson were at the head, on the right and left respectively.\u00a0\u00a0 Matt was one of Adam\u2019s oldest friends, one of the very few with whom he had remained in touch since he left Virginia City for good more years ago than he cared to count sometimes.\u00a0\u00a0 Clem Foster and Eli Barnett, respectively Virginia City\u2019s deputy sheriff and foreman at a spread called the Five Card Draw, held the handles in the middle.\u00a0 Clem was positioned directly behind Adam, and Eli behind Matt.\u00a0\u00a0 Darryl Hughes, foreman at the Shoshone Queen Ranch, and Apollo Nikolas, one of Hoss\u2019 oldest and best friends, brought up the rear.<\/p>\n \u201c \u2018I . . . KNOW . . . that my Redeemer liveth and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth . . . .\u2019 \u201d Father Brendan continued to recite the passage from Job as the small procession passed through the cemetery gate.<\/p>\n Adam glanced up at the vast expanse of sky, noting, with a pang of sadness that it was the same bright blue as the eyes of his biggest brother and only sister.\u00a0 Gentle, warm breezes stirred the branches of the ancient cottonwood growing just inside the cemetery gate, on the right.\u00a0 Amid the dried, yellow brown remnants of last year\u2019s grasses, tiny shoots of bright yellow green covered the ground, like the fine mist of hair on the head of a new baby.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not fair!\u201d<\/em> Adam groused silently, with all the angry petulance of a frustrated two year old.\u00a0 Lorenzo Estevan and his wife, Maria, would have been married now for three, going on four months, had The Fates been kinder.\u00a0 In his mind\u2019s eye, he saw them again, standing together, smiling, at the entrance to the International Hotel, where he and Hoss had dropped them off the day he arrived in Virginia City to design and build a new home for his family.\u00a0 Lorenzo\u2019s arm was draped about his new wife\u2019s shoulders, resting with an ease and a naturalness that comes of long practiced habit.\u00a0 Maria\u2019s arm loosely encircled her husband\u2019s waist.\u00a0 Their eyes and faces were alight with all the newness of springtime.<\/p>\n Adam fervently wished he could stop everything, right here, right now, so that he could open his mouth and scream.\u00a0 Perhaps later, he might ride out to Ponderosa Plunge alone and indulge himself.<\/p>\n \u201c \u2018And though after my skin, worms destroy this body . . . . \u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n Maria Estevan followed behind her husband\u2019s coffin, flanked on either side by Doctor Paul Martin, and his wife, Lily.\u00a0 She wore a black linen suit, with a short, waist length jacket and long, full skirt, borrowed from Lily Martin, and hastily altered to better fit her slight, bordering on emaciated form.\u00a0 Beneath the translucent black veil, also borrowed from the doctor\u2019s kindly wife, her pale, drawn face stood out like a beacon.\u00a0\u00a0 Her once regal posture, now slightly stooped; her bowed head, slumping shoulders, and slow, shuffling gait, lent her the appearance of a woman much older than not quite yet twenty.<\/p>\n \u201cHow can a person hurt so much . . . yet still go on living?\u201d<\/em> Maria wondered silently, not for the first time.<\/p>\n Some days, she woke up in the morning to sunshine, streaming in the window, gently warming her face, as Lorenzo had warmed her heart and soul, absolutely convinced that the last couple of months were but the fading remnants of a horrible dream.\u00a0 On those mornings, she would softly call Lorenzo\u2019s name that he might come, hold her in his strong arms, and gently soothe away her fears with gentle words of comfort.\u00a0 The appearance of the doctor\u2019s face . . . or that of his wife . . . their housekeeper . . . or Mrs. McShane cruelly shattered the illusion, forcing her back to this harsh, grim reality, in which the vibrant promise of springtime had died and now lay buried beneath the deep snows of a bleak winter, with no ending in sight.<\/p>\n They had meant well, of course . . . .<\/p>\n . . . and they had sacrificed much on her behalf.<\/p>\n Maria Estevan would be eternally grateful for the kindness and generosity of the strangers surrounding her.\u00a0\u00a0 To be otherwise would be unthinkably, unimaginably churlish.<\/p>\n Had they not saved her from what would have been a cruel, lingering death in the desert?\u00a0\u00a0 Had they not fed her . . . clothed her . . . given her shelter?<\/p>\n . . . and in the dead of night, when memories of Lorenzo\u2019s death and of her own horrific ordeal rose up to possess her with an intensity beyond frightening, had they not come to her within seconds of her first cries, to be with her, to hold her, to offer what comfort they had to give, until the blackness of night gave way to the silver gray light of dawn, more often than not?<\/p>\n Those kindly strangers had also given Lorenzo a place within their midst . . . a beautiful place, under the sheltering branches of an old, venerable cotton wood tree, on top of a hill overlooking an exquisite vista of sky, mountain, and distant forest.\u00a0 Maria knew this to be a sacred place, one well-tended, where the living returned regularly and often to visit their beloved dead.\u00a0 When she was gone from this place, she knew that they would come to visit Lorenzo, too, when they came to visit their own . . . that they would tend to his final place of rest with all the loving care they gave to their own lying in eternal slumber beneath the earth.<\/p>\n \u201cI will ever and always be grateful for that above all else,\u201d<\/em> Maria silently lamented, \u201cbut I wish . . . oh, Dear Sweet God, forgive me . . . but . . . I wish . . . with all that lies within me . . . that it had been my corpse that Mrs. McShane, Mister O\u2019Brien, and Mister Hughes found in the desert that night.\u201d<\/em>2<\/span><\/p>\n \u201c \u2018And though after my skin, worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I SEE . . . GOD.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n Hugh O\u2019Brien followed behind the Martins and the young widow, trying very hard not to wince at the arthritic pain in both knees and right ankle.\u00a0 He leaned heavily on his solid black mahogany cane and his eldest daughter, Crystal McShane.\u00a0 Hugh, Crystal, and Darryl had found Maria Estevan wandering in the desert a little more than a month ago now, lost, half out of her mind with hunger and thirst, her body and soul one vast open wound.\u00a0\u00a0 They had brought her to Virginia City, to Doc Martin.\u00a0 Crystal had not left the young woman\u2019s side since . . . .<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not fair, Pa.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0Crystal\u2019s words, spoken last night when he had stopped by the Martins to visit with her, and talk over some major decisions they would be making about their spread, Shoshone Queen, within in the near future.\u00a0 In his ears, they sounded very childlike and peevish, in manner not unlike her youngest son.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0\u201c . . . had all this never happened, I think Maria Estevan and I could have become very good friends,\u201d she continued, her voice breaking.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cHad all this never happened, you probably wouldn\u2019t have met Mrs. Estevan in the first place,\u201d Hugh had very sagely pointed out.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cTrue.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cMaybe . . . after she returns home, gets herself situated, maybe she\u2019ll write ya,\u201d he had suggested hopefully.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0Crystal sadly shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cNo.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cHow can ya be so sure, Crys?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cI\u2019ll always be a reminder, Pa . . . a reminder of her husband\u2019s cruel and untimely death, and even worse . . . of all that happened to her,\u201d Crystal explained.\u00a0 \u201cThe Martins will be, too . . . and so will Adam.\u00a0 I don\u2019t hold it against her because . . .\u00a0 I know . . . without a doubt, that I\u2019d feel the same way myself, were I in HER place.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t say I understand all that well . . . not bein\u2019 a gal myself,\u201d Hugh said kindly, \u201cbut, I think I can see your point.\u00a0 I\u2019m real sorry, Crys.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cSo am I, Pa . . . . \u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201c . . . yet in my flesh shall I see GOD, whom I shall see FOR MYSELF, and MINE eyes shall behold . . . and not another,\u2019 \u201d\u00a0 Father Brendan continued, while silently praying with all his heart that Mrs. Estevan . . . that all of them would someday find a glimmer of hope, a measure of comfort and healing in those words.\u00a0 Job had, for at the end of the book bearing his name, he had come to the place of confessing, \u201cI have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear:\u00a0 but now, mine eye seeth thee.\u201d 3<\/span><\/p>\n The small procession came to a stop before a newly opened grave in the middle of the cemetery.\u00a0 Tobias Chaney, Jr., son of the undertaker, who had recently entered the family business, stood a discreet distance from the grave, surrounded by a half dozen big, burly men, armed with shovels, and two coils of stout rope, very tightly woven.\u00a0 The pallbearers carried the coffin over to the left side of the grave and carefully set it down.<\/p>\n \u201c \u2018I know that my Redeemer liveth,\u201d Father Brendan continued to speak the words from Job, as he took his place at the head of the grave, \u201c \u2018and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth . . . .\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n Maria Estevan stepped up to the edge of the grave, silently taking her place at the head, to Father Brendan\u2019s left.\u00a0 Paul Martin stood alongside her, casting an occasional anxious glance over at the young woman, so cruelly left widowed, so terribly young.\u00a0 Lily Martin took her place directly behind Maria Estevan, then turned to extend a helping hand to Hugh O\u2019Brien, as he slowly limped up the slight incline.\u00a0 Both Crystal and Hugh graciously smiled and nodded their thanks.<\/p>\n \u201c \u2018. . . And though after my skin, worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:\u00a0 whom I shall see FOR MYSELF, and MINE eyes shall behold . . . and not another.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n Father Brendan fell silent, after the small group of mourners had taken their places around the open grave.\u00a0\u00a0 He bowed his head and sent forth a silent prayer for the living, for loved ones present and not present, that God would strengthen and comfort them all in this time of unspeakable tragedy, and in time, see them beyond the horror, beyond the grief and sorrow, to a place of healing.<\/p>\n \u201cLet us pray,\u201d Father Brendan, at length, broke the silence in a voice barely audible.\u00a0 He removed a vial containing holy water from the right hand pocket of his jacket, and uncorked the cap.\u00a0 \u201cIn nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti,\u201d he murmured softly, as he sprinkled holy water into what would soon be Lorenzo Estevan\u2019s final resting place.\u00a0 \u201cIn the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.\u00a0 Amen.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAmen,\u201d the mourners responded softly, in unison.<\/p>\n \u201cHeavenly Father, bless, consecrate, and make holy this earth, opened to receive the body of your beloved child and servant, Lorenzo Enrico Estevan.\u201d\u00a0 He paused to make the sign of the cross over the open grave, the outward sign of God\u2019s blessing, according to his own beliefs.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201c . . . through Christ our Lord.\u00a0\u00a0 Amen.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAmen.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLord have mercy,\u201d Father Brendan intoned.<\/p>\n \u201cChrist have mercy.\u201d\u00a0 Maria Estevan, Hugh O\u2019Brien, Crystal McShane, and Adam immediately responded.\u00a0\u00a0 The others responded a beat behind.<\/p>\n \u201cLord have mercy,\u201d priest and mourners responded together.<\/p>\n \u201cLet us say together the words of the Pater Noster, the Our Father, the words Our Lord himself gave us,\u201d Father Brendan continued.<\/p>\n \u201cOur Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name,\u201d the small group quietly prayed together.\u00a0 \u201cThy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.\u00a0 Give us this day our daily bread.\u00a0 And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.\u00a0 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.\u00a0 Amen.\u201d<\/p>\n As they spoke the words of the Our Father, also known also as the Lord\u2019s Prayer, Father Brendan circled around the closed coffin twice, sprinkling holy water.<\/p>\n \u201cRequiem aeternam dona ei, Domine,\u201d the priest immediately took up the final words of the Mass for the Dead, as the last of the \u2018amens,\u2019 faded, \u201cet lux perpetua luceat ei.\u00a0 Requiescat in pace.\u00a0 Amen.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAmen,\u201d the mourners responded very softly.<\/p>\n \u201cAnima ejus, et animae omnium fidelium defunctorum, per miseric ordiam Dei requiescant in pace.\u00a0 Amen.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAmen.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGrant unto your child and servant, Lorenzo Enrico Estevan, eternal rest, O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon him.\u00a0 May he rest in peace.\u00a0 May his soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.\u00a0 Amen.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAmen.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIn the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, I commit the body of Lorenzo Enrico Estevan to the hallowed earth.\u00a0 Amen.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAmen.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLet us pray,\u201d the priest invited.\u00a0 He stood for a time, with head bowed and eyes closed, waiting and listening for the words of a prayer that would offer to all who suffered in the wake of Lorenzo Estevan\u2019s sudden passing, those present and those not present, the comfort and peace . . . the balm of healing . . .\u00a0 and that glimmer of hope, he, himself so desperately wanted for them.<\/p>\n But, the words never came.<\/p>\n \u201cNot today,\u201d a still, small voice gently insisted from a place deep within his heart.\u00a0 \u201cThose words WILL come . . . but not today.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n \u201c . . . and what words . . . what prayer SHALL I utter this day?\u201d he demanded, impatient and bewildered.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cSpeak\u201d, the voice replied.\u00a0 \u201cJust speak.\u00a0 The words . . . the prayers needed today will come.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Father Brendan Rutherford took a deep breath.\u00a0 \u201cHeavenly Father,\u201d he began, \u201cDear . . . Gracious . . . Heavenly Father, \u2018to everything there is a season, and a time and purpose under heaven.\u00a0 A time to be born . . . and a time to die . . . time to weep and a time to laugh . . . a time to mourn . . . and a time to dance.\u20194<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI ask that you, in your great mercy, would grant to all who knew and loved Lorenzo Enrico Estevan . . . those gathered here now at the place where he will take his final rest, and those not present . . . the strength, the courage, and the grace to walk through this season of death . . . of weeping and mourning.<\/p>\n \u201cGive comfort now to the sorrowful, the grieving . . . and I would also ask that in this time of mourning, all, especially the beloved ones, left bereft in the wake of Lorenzo Estevan\u2019s passing, might be granted an extra and special awareness of your love, and your presence that has never left them or forsaken them.\u00a0 Grant them also time and place to weep . . . to grieve . . . to mourn . . . to acknowledge and give vent to anger, that in the fullness of time, all might come to a place of healing . . . of hope . . . and of peace.<\/p>\n \u201cAll this I ask in the name of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior.\u00a0 Amen.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAmen.\u201d<\/p>\n The priest lifted his head and opened his eyes, as he turned to face the small group, clustered together around the gaping, rectangular shaped\u00a0 hole in the earth, destined to be Lorenzo Estevan\u2019s final place of rest.\u00a0 He lifted his right hand and blessed them all, making the sign of the cross.\u00a0 \u201cIn nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti . . . in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, go in peace.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThanks be to God,\u201d Crystal McShane, Hugh O\u2019Brien, and their young foreman, Darryl Hughes, murmured together in unison, as they crossed themselves.<\/p>\n The others responded with a scattering of amens, softly uttered.<\/p>\n \u201cFather Rutherford?\u201d<\/p>\n The priest turned and found Clem Foster standing at his elbow, with the younger Tobias Chaney standing beside him, to his left.\u00a0 The men, who had stood alongside the young funeral director during the burial observances, had taken up position over near the open grave.\u00a0 Adam Cartwright and Matt Wilson stood behind Tobias, looking on expectantly.<\/p>\n Clem cast a quick, furtive glance over his shoulder toward Maria Estevan, noting with a measure of satisfaction and relief, that she seemed engaged in animated conversation with Crystal McShane and Mrs. Martin.\u00a0 He turned back to the priest, and softly, nervously cleared his throat.\u00a0 \u201cFather Rutherford, as I\u2019m sure you know, the law requires that the interment of the deceased be witnessed by the next of kin, or someone designated by the next of kin,\u201d Clem began.<\/p>\n Father Brendan nodded.<\/p>\n \u201cWould you let Mrs. Estevan know that if she finds the prospect of witnessing her husband\u2019s burial too upsetting, that we . . . Adam, Matt, and myself . . .\u00a0 would be willing\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI thank you for your kind consideration, Deputy Foster, but seeing that Lorenzo is properly buried\u2014\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Please understand . . . it\u2019s something I HAVE to do.\u201d<\/p>\n Clem started at the sound of Maria\u2019s voice.\u00a0 He turned, and much to his surprise, found her standing beside him, to his right, her posture fully erect, with gloved hands folded, just below her bosom.<\/p>\n \u201cMrs. Estevan . . . are you sure\u2014?!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, Deputy . . . I am QUITE sure,\u201d Maria said in a firm tone of voice, that brooked no argument, no further discussion of the matter.<\/p>\n \u201cMrs. Estevan, if you would like someone to remain with you\u2014 \u201d Adam began.<\/p>\n \u201cThank you, Mister Cartwright, but . . . no,\u201d Maria immediately cut him off.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re very kind . . . very kind indeed, in offering to remain, but I need to do this ALONE.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAdam . . . I want you to g\u2019won back to the house with Hop Sing and your brothers.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n Pa\u2019s voice, the day they buried Joe\u2019s mother, Marie, echoed once again in his ears.\u00a0 They stood, huddled together, at the very edge of her grave, newly dug . . . Hop Sing, Hoss, Joe, Pa . . . and himself, along with a half dozen or so men, armed with shovels.\u00a0 The minister and the rest of the mourners had already left.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cBut, Pa . . . . \u201d Adam protested.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not sure you ought to\u2014 \u201d <\/em><\/p>\n \u201cPlease, Son . . . please . . . do as I ask,\u201d his father begged.\u00a0 \u201cI . . . I need to do this ALONE.\u00a0 Do you understand?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cDo you understand, Mister Cartwright?\u00a0 I need to do this alone.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, Mrs. Estevan, I understand,\u201d Adam said softly, as the memory began to fade once more back into the mists.\u00a0 \u201cIf you need me for anything . . . anything at all, please don\u2019t hesitate to ask.\u00a0 My family and I will be in the house across the street from the Martins for the next couple of weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThank you,\u201d Maria said gratefully.\u00a0 She, then, offered her hand.<\/p>\n Adam reached out, took her hand and held it briefly, then released it with a gentle squeeze, meant to offer a small measure of reassurance.\u00a0 He reached up and politely touched the rim of his hat, then turned to leave.<\/p>\n \u201cAdam?\u201d<\/p>\n He paused just outside the cemetery gate, and turning, saw Matt Wilson loping toward him.<\/p>\n \u201cAdam, I . . . I just wanted to say that I don\u2019t blame you one bit for being angry about\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI WAS angry,\u201d Adam quietly cut him off, \u201cbut, I think I can understand why you did what you did.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u00a0\u00a0 If I had it to do over . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n \u201c . . . I hope that you would have done the exact same thing,\u201d Adam said in a kind, yet very firm tone of voice, drawing a look of shock from Matt, \u201cand . . . as far as I\u2019M concerned, you DON\u2019T owe me an apology.\u00a0 Not for acting from the place of being my friend.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI . . . I . . . Adam, I . . . I just don\u2019t know what t-to say . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf I might offer a suggestion, you might say, \u2018Adam, I accept YOUR apology.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?!\u201d\u00a0 Matt queried, favoring Adam with a bewildered frown.<\/p>\n \u201cMatt, I DO owe you an apology,\u201d Adam said earnestly.\u00a0 \u201cI . . . realize now that you telling Joe what happened after the two of us left the others to search for that stagecoach was an act of friendship.\u00a0 I\u2019ve had to face some hard truths about myself . . . truths not very much to my liking.\u00a0 I\u2019m very sorry I took all that out on you.\u201d5<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAdam?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, Matt?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll accept YOUR apology . . . if you\u2019ll accept mine.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam grinned.\u00a0 \u201cDone.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAmen,\u201d Matt agreed, holding out his hand.\u00a0 \u201cFriends?\u201d<\/p>\n Adam eagerly took the proffered hand.\u00a0 \u201cYou betcha, Buddy,\u201d he declared as they heartily shook hands.<\/p>\n Maria Estevan, meanwhile, took Crystal McShane\u2019s outstretched hand, and held it, sandwiched between both of her own, for a moment.\u00a0 \u201cI . . . I think I would be the most wretched creature alive if I . . . if I neglected to thank you for all that you\u2019ve done,\u201d she said, her voice breaking.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not happy for the circumstances, but I AM grateful that I COULD be there,\u201d Crystal said quietly.\u00a0 \u201cIf you would like me to remain with you at the Martins\u2019\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThank you, Mrs. McShane, but I think, maybe, that the time has come for me to start getting used to being . . . well . . . to being on my own,\u201d Maria replied, \u201cand besides . . . . \u201d she glanced over Crystal\u2019s shoulder and favored Hugh O\u2019Brien with a small, tremulous smile, \u201c . . . I think I\u2019ve kept you from your own family for too long as it is.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSpeakin\u2019 for myself, Young Lady, I\u2019ve MISSED Crystal, of course, but I don\u2019t begrudge the time she\u2019s spent with you,\u201d Hugh said gently.\u00a0 \u201cNow if you should need us for anything, you just ask.\u00a0 The doc \u2018n his wife can help you in sending for us, if need be.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThank you, Mister O\u2019Brien,\u201d Maria murmured softly.\u00a0 \u201cThank you so much . . . for everything.\u201d<\/p>\n The Martins and Father Rutherford silently waited while the young widow graciously thanked each of the remaining pall bearers.\u00a0 After they silently took their leave, Maria turned her attention to the priest.<\/p>\n \u201cFather,\u201d she said, her voice a near monotone.\u00a0 \u201cI am eternally in your debt.\u00a0 Lorenzo . . . well, not having attended church in a very long time, most priests would have denied him the rite of Christian burial.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI believe it\u2019s what lives in a man\u2019s heart that truly matters, not the supposed outward show of piety,\u201d Father Brendan said quietly, \u201cand only God knows what truly lives within each of our hearts.\u00a0 As a priest, if I\u2019m going to err, I would prefer to do so on the side of mercy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThank you,\u201d Maria murmured softly.\u00a0 \u201cI would also like to speak with you, sometime when your schedule allows.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCertainly.\u00a0 Being semi-retired, my schedule is open and very flexible,\u201d Father Brendan replied.\u00a0 “I can come see you tomorrow morning, if that is suitable for you and the Martins?\u201d\u00a0 He cast an expectant glance over toward the doctor and his wife, still maintaining their places behind the young widow.<\/p>\n \u201cTomorrow morning is fine,\u201d Lily Martin immediately spoke up.\u00a0 \u201cThe doctor will be making his rounds to the outer lying ranches and farms all day, so things should be pretty quiet.\u00a0 You may come by any time you wish, Father.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWould ten o\u2019clock be suitable, Mrs. Martin?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cExcellent.\u00a0 I will see you at the Martins at ten o\u2019clock tomorrow morning, Mrs. Estevan.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThank you, Father,\u201d Maria murmured softly.<\/p>\n Tobias Chaney, Jr. patiently waited until the priest finally took his leave, and the Martins had retreated from the cemetery to their buggy, parked just outside.\u00a0 \u201cMrs. Estevan, would you like a moment alone with your husband before\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, Mister . . . ummm, sorry . . . is it . . . Chaney?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, Ma\u2019am,\u201d Tobias replied with a slight nod of his head.\u00a0 \u201cTobias Chaney, Junior . . . at your service.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMister Chaney, you may go ahead with the burial,\u201d she said quietly.\u00a0 \u201cAs for Lorenzo, I . . . I\u2019ve already kept my vigils and said my farewell.\u201d<\/p>\n Tobias nodded, then turned and signaled for the gravediggers to begin the grim task set before them.\u00a0 Maria Estevan returned to the grave, resuming her place once again at its head.\u00a0 There, she stood, drawn up to the very full of her diminutive height, with arms and hands down by her side, watching with unwavering gaze, as the grave diggers lowered her husband\u2019s coffin down into the earth.\u00a0 They accomplished their task with a quickness and an ease that comes of having worked together performing the same task, over a long period of time.\u00a0 The young widow marveled again and again at the tender care and great respect the grave diggers . . . big, hulking men, whose rough outward appearance would have sent her scurrying to the opposite side of the street had they met in town . . . treated her husband\u2019s remains and the pine box containing them.<\/p>\n As the coffin was lowered into earth, memories of Lorenzo arose, one after the other, like a string of smoke from a candle, whose flame had just been snuffed.<\/p>\n Playing together as children . . . .<\/p>\n . . . saving most of her dances for him on the occasion of her quincea\u00f1era, the celebration of her fifteenth birthday . . . .<\/p>\n . . . the walks they shared in the gardens of her family\u2019s home, under the light of a full moon, when finally, at long last, they were allowed to spend time alone . . . away from the sharp, prying eyes of her duenna . . . .<\/p>\n . . . their very first kiss . . . .<\/p>\n . . . the night he finally proposed, on bended knee, right in the middle of the dance floor at the Harvest Ball . . . .<\/p>\n . . . the happy, frantic days leading up to their wedding . . . .<\/p>\n . . . their wedding trip . . .<\/p>\n . . . the light shining so brightly in his eyes and in his face on their journey from Sacramento to Virginia City, as he shared his stories and pictures with another kindred spirit by the name of Adam Cartwright . . . .<\/p>\n \u201cOdd,\u201d<\/em> she thought, \u201cthat there should be no sadness . . . no tears . . . . \u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The happy images and pictures, now parading before the eyes of her inward vision, belonged to another time . . . another place . . . another life . . . where springtime came, and a future, bright as sunshine and filled with infinite tomorrows, beckoned.\u00a0\u00a0 But that life was as far removed from the grim one lying before her, as winter never ending was from spring . . . .<\/p>\n . . . and the happy memories of a woman named Maria, and the man she had loved more than life itself, all felt as if they belonged to someone else.<\/p>\n ………<\/p>\n \u201c \u2018Mornin\u2019, Ben . . . \u2018mornin\u2019, Stacy,\u201d Amelia Jared greeted father and daughter with a bright, sunny smile.\u00a0 She and her husband, Virgil, owned and operated the general store in town, with the help of their three children, Burt, Lilly Beth, and Cora Lynn.\u00a0 \u201cGood seein\u2019 YOU up \u2018n about, Stacy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThank you, Mrs. Jared.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow much longer you gotta wear that cast?\u201d6<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cDoctor Martin says three and a half more weeks,\u201d Stacy said with a disparaging sigh.\u00a0 \u201cSomehow, I\u2019ve got this horrible feeling the next three and a half weeks are going to be the longest three and a half weeks of my whole life.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThose three and a half weeks are gonna go by lickity-split, before ya know it,\u201d Amelia Jared hastened to assure her.\u00a0 \u201cYou just mark my words.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI sure hope so.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat can I do for ya today, Ben?\u201d Amelia asked, as she turned her attention to the head of the Cartwright household.<\/p>\n \u201cI have a list here from Hop Sing . . . . \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Ben reached into the inside pocket of his leather vest.\u00a0 \u201cTHIS time, Amelia . . . it\u2019s in ENGLISH.\u201d\u00a0 This last he added sheepishly upon catching sight of the bleak, withering glare the proprietress of the general store leveled at him.\u00a0 \u201cHonest.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt better be,\u201d she growled, as she held out her hand.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is, I promise.\u201d<\/p>\n Amelia took the list from Ben and quickly read over the items written down in what she took to be surprisingly neat penmanship.\u00a0 \u201cFlour, sugar, coffee, tobacco . . . . \u201d\u00a0 She looked up and smiled.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re in luck, Ben.\u00a0 We just got some o\u2019 that real fine Virginia tobacco you like so much in this mornin\u2019.\u00a0 You wanna wait or would ya rather I have Burt deliver this to the Fletchers\u2019 house later on this afternoon . . . that\u2019s assumin\u2019 I can get him t\u2019 stay home five minutes . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe can wait, Pa,\u201d Stacy said at once.<\/p>\n \u201cYou sure?\u201d\u00a0 Ben queried, as he anxiously studied her face for signs of fatigue.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sure.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAmelia, do you have a couple of nice, cold sarsaparillas on hand?\u201d Ben asked.<\/p>\n \u201cMake that THREE nice, cold sarsaparillas . . . and I\u2019ll buy.\u201d<\/p>\n It was Adam.\u00a0\u00a0 He stood behind his father and sister, still attired in the black suit recently purchased for the occasion of Lorenzo Estevan\u2019s burial observance.\u00a0 The string tie, undone on the short walk between the cemetery gate and the place where his horse had been tethered, lay draped around his neck like a stole.\u00a0 He had unfastened the top two buttons of his shirt and rolled up the sleeves to roughly three quarter length.\u00a0 The jacket was carefully draped over his arm.<\/p>\n \u201cOh no, you won\u2019t, neither,\u201d Amelia declared with an emphatic nod of her head.\u00a0 \u201cThem sarsaparillas is on t\u2019 house.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAmelia, you don\u2019t have to\u2014 \u201d Adam started to protest.<\/p>\n \u201cAny more lip outta YOU, Adam Cartwright, \u2018n so help me . . . I\u2019m gonna box your ears so hard, they\u2019ll be ringin\u2019 like church bells for the next month o\u2019 Sundays,\u201d Amelia immediately countered.<\/p>\n \u201cBut, Amelia\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAdam, I wouldn\u2019t argue if I were you,\u201d Stacy said, looking from her oldest brother to Amelia, then back again.\u00a0\u00a0 An amused smile tugged hard at the corner of her mouth.\u00a0 \u201cI, umm . . . think Mrs. Jared meant what she said about boxing your ears.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI KNOW Amelia meant what she said about boxing your ears, Young Man,\u201d Ben said, drawing a soft groan and a sarcastic roll of the eyes from his firstborn.<\/p>\n \u201cDurn tootin\u2019!\u201d Amelia shot right back.<\/p>\n \u201cAmelia, it\u2019s such a beautiful day . . . tell you what!\u00a0\u00a0 If we could have those three sarsaparillas right now, Adam, Stacy, and I\u2019ll wait out on the bench until you get the rest of our list together,\u201d Ben said.\u00a0 He, then, turned his attention to his oldest and youngest.\u00a0 \u201cHow does THAT sound?\u201d he asked with a smile.<\/p>\n \u201cOh, Pa . . . that sounds wonderful,\u201d Stacy replied, cheered by the prospect of sitting outside for a while, soaking up the sunshine of a beautiful spring day.<\/p>\n \u201cIt sounds good to me, too,\u201d Adam agreed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cCome on, Little Sister . . . why don\u2019t we go on out and get ourselves settled?\u201d<\/p>\n Stacy gamely nodded.\u00a0 Adam immediately opened the door and told her to precede him with a grand sweeping gesture of his arm.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll be right with ya,\u201d Ben called after them.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll have them sarsaparillas for ya in two shakes, Ben,\u201d Amelia promised, as she walked over to the icebox, kept behind the counter, and removed three cold bottles.\u00a0 \u201cLILLY BETH!\u201d she shouted.\u00a0 \u201cLILLY BETH, FRONT \u2018N CENTER!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cComing, Ma . . . . \u201d her oldest daughter called from somewhere within the back portion of the store, which the Jared family called home.<\/p>\n \u201cHow\u2019s Virgil doing?\u201d Ben asked.<\/p>\n \u201cMuch better, Ben, much better, thank the good Lord!\u201d Amelia replied, as she quickly opened the three bottles.\u00a0 \u201cI declare, I ain\u2019t never, not in all the years Virgil \u2018n me\u2019s been married . . . ever . . . seen him so sick as he was this last winter.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m glad to hear he\u2019s doing better,\u201d Ben said with genuine, heartfelt sincerity.\u00a0 A few days before Christmas, Virgil Jared had come down with a bad cold that had quickly turned into pneumonia.\u00a0 He had spent much of the winter flat on his back, leaving his wife and two older children to run the store.\u00a0 A couple of weeks before the fire that had completely consumed the Cartwrights\u2019 home, Virgil had finally \u201cturned a corner,\u201d according to his wife.\u00a0 His improvement was steady, albeit very slow.<\/p>\n \u201cThank you, Ben.\u00a0 I\u2019ll tell him you was askin\u2019 about him.\u201d\u00a0 Amelia handed him the three open bottles.\u00a0 \u201cCan ya manage \u2018em ok?\u201d<\/p>\n Ben smiled.\u00a0 \u201cYes, Amelia . . . I can manage them.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAlright, then . . .you g\u2019won \u2018n sit yourself down on the bench with Adam \u2018n Stacy \u2018n soak up some o\u2019 that nice sunshine,\u201d she said sternly.\u00a0 \u201cThis business o\u2019 livin\u2019 in town the last few weeks \u2018s left ya lookin\u2019 a mite peaked.\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019ll letcha know when your order\u2019s ready.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThank you, Amelia.\u201d\u00a0 Ben picked up the three opened sarsaparilla bottles and walked outside to the bench where his oldest son and only daughter were already seated.\u00a0 \u201cAdam?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow did it go this morning?\u201d Ben hesitantly ventured, as he handed them their drinks.<\/p>\n \u201cVery well,\u201d Adam replied.\u00a0 \u201cThe rite was very powerful and very moving, thanks, I think, in very large measure to Father Brendan.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh?\u201d Ben queried with upraised eyebrow.<\/p>\n \u201cPa, Father Brendan has been a good friend of our family . . . a very good friend ever since Marie made the decision to reconcile with the church,\u201d Adam explained.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve always known that he truly is a man of God, but I\u2019ve never seen it as clearly as I did when Mister Estevan was laid to rest.\u00a0 He recited those scripture passages . . . read the words of the burial mass . . . and said the prayers like . . . . \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He looked over at Ben, and smiled.\u00a0 \u201c . . . well, like YOU do, Pa.\u00a0 You and Father Brendan have always said those things like they really and truly MEAN something.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAdam\u2019s right, Pa,\u201d Stacy said quietly.\u00a0 \u201cI think that\u2019s why I like hearing you pray or reading from your sacred book.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThank you both for the compliments,\u201d Ben said.\u00a0\u00a0 He gave Stacy\u2019s hand a gentle, affectionate squeeze, then reached over and touched Adam\u2019s forearm.<\/p>\n \u201cAdam?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, Stacy?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAny idea what\u2019s going to happen to Mrs. Estevan?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe hasn\u2019t spoken to me about her plans for the future,\u201d Adam replied.\u00a0 \u201cShe\u2019ll likely have to testify at the trial, of course . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe . . . she will?!\u201d Stacy queried, visibly shaken, her face suddenly white as a sheet.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m afraid so, Little Sister,\u201d Adam said, not without a measure of sympathy for what she had to be feeling right now.\u00a0 \u201cMrs. Estevan is the only witness to everything that happened.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWill she . . . oh, Adam, is she gonna have to tell what . . . what happened to her?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, Stacy . . . she is,\u201d Adam said quietly.\u00a0 \u201cIn addition to murder and robbery, those men are also being charged with . . . with . . . everything that they did to her . . . among other things.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDear God!\u201d Stacy murmured softly, all of a sudden grateful to be seated on a bench, sandwiched between her father and oldest brother, with the former\u2019s comforting arm around her shoulders, and the latter\u2019s hand resting protectively over both of her own.\u00a0 \u201cThat poor woman . . . I don\u2019t know how in the world she\u2019s gonna be able to . . . well, to say those things . . . . \u201d\u00a0 Her voice trailed away to an uneasy, miserable silence.<\/p>\n \u201cShe has a lot of strength, Stacy . . . a lot of strength and a lot of courage,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0 \u201cShe couldn\u2019t have come to the place where she is now, after having witnessed and suffered through all that she has.\u00a0 I think she also knows that, being the only survivor of everything that happened, she\u2019s the only one who can bear witness on behalf of the three men and one woman Matt and I found that day . . . as well as for the others who are missing, and . . . and . . . are more than likely dead.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSorry, Adam,\u201d Stacy murmured contritely, upon feeling his hand, still resting over her own, tremble.\u00a0 \u201cI . . . I didn\u2019t mean to dredge it all up for you again.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI . . . accept your apology, but there was no need.\u00a0 You DIDN\u2019T dredge it up for me, Stacy,\u201d Adam said, \u201cbecause I\u2019ve been endeavoring to keep it out where I can see it and, I believe, better come to terms with . . . with that time I<\/strong> was left out in the desert by robbers to die the same slow, miserable death.\u201d7<\/span> \u00a0\u00a0He gave her hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze, then withdrew.<\/p>\n \u201cYou all right, Son?\u201d Ben queried, as he looked over and studied his eldest son\u2019s face with anxious, fatherly concern.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m fine, Pa,\u201d Adam replied.\u00a0 \u201cHonest.\u201d\u00a0 He sighed, then, and slowly shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cI have to admit, however, that it would help matters a great deal, for ALL concerned, if we could get the trial over and done.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIndeed,\u201d Ben murmured with deep, heartfelt conviction.<\/p>\n \u201cDid I tell you that I\u2019VE been called upon to testify?\u201d<\/p>\n Adam\u2019s words drew sharp glances from his father and sister.\u00a0 \u201cNo . . . you haven\u2019t told me,\u201d the former said, \u201cbut I can\u2019t say it surprises me any.\u00a0 I kinda figured they\u2019d want you . . . and Matt Wilson, too, for that matter . . . to give testimony about what you found in the desert.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m also the only one, besides Mrs. Estevan, who can positively identify Mister Estevan\u2019s journal for being what it is,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n \u201cYou gonna be ok, Adam?\u201d Stacy queried anxiously.<\/p>\n \u201cIf all this had happened before the night Joe and I . . . before we, ummm . . . had it out?\u00a0 I\u2019m not so sure I would\u2019ve been alright,\u201d Adam had to admit.\u00a0 He, then, favored her with what he hoped to be a reassuring smile.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBut now . . . you don\u2019t have to worry one bit, Little Sister . . . because I\u2019m going to be just fine.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re ALL right here if ya need us,\u201d Ben said.<\/p>\n \u201cI know, Pa.\u00a0\u00a0 I know, and for that, I\u2019m very grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cG\u2019 mornin\u2019, Mister Cartwright . . . Adam . . . \u2018n you, too, Stacy.\u00a0 Glad t\u2019 see ya up \u2018n about.\u201d<\/p>\n The Cartwrights glanced up and found Burt Jared standing at Ben\u2019s elbow, grinning from ear-to-ear, politely offering his hand.<\/p>\n \u201cGood morning, Burt,\u201d Ben returned the greeting, as they affably shook hands.<\/p>\n \u201cBertram Bartholomew Jared, it\u2019s about time you got yourself back here!\u201d\u00a0 Amelia sternly admonished her son as she angrily flounced out of the store onto the board walk.\u00a0 \u201cI expected you back two hours ago!\u00a0 Where\u2019ve you been all this time?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c . . . uhhh, Ma, please!\u00a0\u00a0 Not in front o\u2019 the Cartwrights . . . . \u201d Burt hissed through clenched teeth, as two bright patches of red appeared on his cheeks.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t you \u2018Ma, please\u2019 me, Young Man!\u00a0 I asked you a question, \u2018n I expect \u2018n answer!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI was helpin\u2019 Uncle Walt with somethin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n Amelia sighed disparagingly and sarcastically rolled her eyes heavenward.\u00a0 \u201cWith your pa still ailin\u2019 . . . Lilly Beth \u2018n me workin\u2019 ourselves bone weary tryin\u2019 t\u2019 keep up with the store, \u2018n keepin\u2019 house . . . \u2018n you\u2019re off helpin\u2019 that no good, lazy, shiftless uncle o\u2019 yours?!\u201d\u00a0 she exclaimed, incredulous.<\/p>\n \u201cS-Sorry, Ma, I . . . well, I didn\u2019t think it was gonna take this long.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSorry is right,\u201d Amelia said scathingly.\u00a0 \u201cYou finish up that inventory o\u2019 goods in the back room like I asked ya t\u2019 do yesterday?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c . . . uhhh . . . no . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell you git your tuckus in there \u2018n get t\u2019 work!\u00a0\u00a0 . . . an\u2019 if ya know what\u2019s good for ya, you won\u2019t stir outta that back room, \u2018til you\u2019re finished.\u00a0 You understand me, Boy?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cY-Yes, Ma\u2019am.\u201d\u00a0 Burt slunk into the store with his head hung, and shoulders slumped, like a puppy dog that had just been whipped.<\/p>\n \u201cSorry,\u201d Amelia immediately apologized, the instant her son had entered the store and moved well out of earshot.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s just that lately . . . every time I turn around just about, that boy\u2019s runnin\u2019 off doin\u2019 somethin\u2019 with Walt.\u00a0 Bad enough he\u2019s leavin\u2019 me \u2018n Lilly Beth high \u2018n dry, but Walt\u2019s takin\u2019 t\u2019 keepin\u2019 company with that lazy, good-for-nothin\u2019, trouble maker, Wesley McGrath.\u00a0 \u2018N with the way HE\u2019S been goin\u2019 \u2018round, spoutin\u2019 off at the mouth about them fellas who robbed that stage \u2018n . . . well, used that poor young lady . . . I don\u2019t like it, Ben.\u00a0 I don\u2019t like it one li\u2019l bit.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t say as I blame you,\u201d Ben said, completely sympathetic.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom what I hear, Wesley\u2019s been prattlin\u2019\u00a0 on \u2018n on about \u2018em every night since t\u2019 sheriff done brought \u2018em in, gettin\u2019 decent men all riled up,\u201d Amelia continued.\u00a0 \u201cThings keep on like they\u2019re goin\u2019, somebody\u2019s gonna get hurt.\u00a0 BAD hurt, you mark my words.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c . . . and a lot of otherwise decent, law abiding men may end up doing something they\u2019ll bitterly regret for the rest of their lives,\u201d Ben added with a dark, angry scowl.<\/p>\n \u201cWell . . . Lilly Beth\u2019s just about got your things together,\u201d Amelia said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll get Burt t\u2019\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s alright, Amelia.\u201d\u00a0 Ben looked over at his son and smiled.\u00a0 \u201cI think Adam and I can handle things.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam rose to his feet and downed the remainder of his sarsaparilla in a single gulp. \u201cPa, I can manage the groceries.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cB-But\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNow, Pa, I may be a city slicker these days, but I\u2019m STILL the same big strong boy I always was,\u201d Adam immediately nipped his father\u2019s protest in the bud.\u00a0 \u201cI may not be as big and strong as Hoss, but I\u2019m a big, strong boy nonetheless, and, as such, I\u2019m more than capable of carrying a box of groceries out to the buckboard.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, Adam, since you put it THAT way . . . . \u201d Ben said, before turning to his daughter.\u00a0 \u201cWhile HE\u2019S getting the groceries, Young Woman, why don\u2019t we g\u2019won and get you settled in the buckboard?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAlright, Pa,\u201d Stacy agreed, watching as her father retrieved her crutches from their out-of-the-way niche.<\/p>\n \u201cAdam, I can\u2019t say I\u2019m happy much \u2018bout WHY ya came this time, but it sure is good t\u2019 see ya,\u201d Amelia proclaimed as she and Ben Cartwright\u2019s eldest entered the store in the meantime.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s good seeing you, too, Amelia,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0 \u201cI was sorry to hear about Virgil being so sick this past winter.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThank you, Adam,\u201d Amelia replied.\u00a0 \u201cHe IS doin\u2019 lots better, though it\u2019ll be a good, long while afore he\u2019s a hunnert percent.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m glad to know that he\u2019s doing better, AND that he\u2019s ultimately going to be alright,\u201d Adam said with heartfelt sincerity.\u00a0 He looked over at Lilly Beth, and smiled.\u00a0 \u201cI see you have a clerk working for you these days who\u2019s every bit as competent as she is lovely.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey grow up so fast . . . as you gotta know very well yourself, what with havin\u2019 a couple o\u2019 young \u2018ns o\u2019 your own,\u201d Amelia said.<\/p>\n \u201cYes indeed,\u201d Adam declared, punctuating his declaration with an emphatic nod of his head.\u00a0 \u201cAmelia . . . and you, too, Lilly Beth . . . please give my regards to Virgil.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSure will, Adam,\u201d Amelia said.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019ll be glad t\u2019 know you was askin\u2019 \u2018bout him.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben, meanwhile, had tethered Adam\u2019s horse, Sport II, securely to the back of the buckboard, then stowed Stacy\u2019s crutches underneath the back seat.\u00a0 \u201cAlright, Young Woman . . . now it\u2019s your turn,\u201d he said, holding out his arms.<\/p>\n Stacy turned from the hitching post, upon which she had been leaning heavily for support, and placed her arms loosely around her father\u2019s neck.<\/p>\n Ben easily lifted her in his arms, and carried her to the right side of the buggy.\u00a0 \u201cStacy?\u00a0 Are you alright?\u201d he asked, noting with concern the way her head dropped heavily down onto his shoulder.<\/p>\n \u201cI was just thinking . . . .\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou want to talk about it?\u201d Ben invited, as he gently set her down on the front seat of the buckboard.<\/p>\n \u201cThis Wesley McGrath Mrs. Jared mentioned . . . do YOU know him?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know him when I see him, but that\u2019s the extent of it,\u201d Ben replied.<\/p>\n \u201cIs he . . . is he really trying to talk people into stringing up the men Sheriff Coffee\u2019s got locked up in his jail?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m afraid so,\u201d Ben admitted reluctantly.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m scared, Pa,\u201d Stacy said in a voice barely audible.\u00a0 \u201cI sure wish our house was ready for us to move into right now.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI do, too,\u201d Ben agreed, \u201cbut, cooler heads have prevailed so far.\u00a0 I\u2019m reasonably certain that will continue, until the trial\u2019s over and done.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI hope so, Pa . . . I sure hope so.\u201d<\/p>\n Part 2<\/p>\n \u201c \u2018Evenin\u2019, Boys.\u00a0 What can I getcha?\u201d\u00a0 Sam Tucker, the owner, manager, and chief bartender at the Silver Dollar Saloon greeted Adam and Hoss Cartwright with a weary smile, as they stepped up to the bar together.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll have a beer,\u201d Hoss replied, trying his level best not to yawn in the bartender\u2019s face.<\/p>\n \u201cMake that two, Sam,\u201d Adam said.<\/p>\n Sam eyed Hoss, then Adam with an anxious frown.\u00a0 \u201cYou boys look about as tired as I feel,\u201d he murmured, shaking his head.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s an empty table in the back, if ya wanna take a load off.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThank you, Sam, but . . . way I\u2019m feelin\u2019 right now . . . if I SIT down, I ain\u2019t gonna be standin\u2019 up again \u2018til sun up t\u2019morrow,\u201d Hoss said, punctuating his words with the great big yawn he could no longer stifle.\u00a0 \u201cOn second thought better make that a great big steamin\u2019 mug o\u2019 that real strong coffee o\u2019 yours, instead o\u2019 the beer.\u00a0 I\u2019d . . . . \u201d\u00a0 He yawned again.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019d sure like t\u2019 make it back t\u2019 the Fletchers without fallin\u2019 off Chubb.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAlright . . . one beer . . . one coffee . . . you want anything in that coffee, Hoss?\u00a0 Cream?\u00a0 A lump or two o\u2019 sugar?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNope.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss emphatically shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cJust black as coal \u2018n real strong.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cComin\u2019 right up,\u201d Sam murmured, as he moved off to fill the order.<\/p>\n \u201cHoss, if you need an extra man to help you move the herd out to the summer pastures, I\u2019d be more than happy to\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d love t\u2019 take ya up on it, Adam, but . . . what about the house?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGeorge has those men working like a well-oiled machine,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0 \u201cNow that all the creative blocks are gone, and I\u2019ve finally been able to finish up those final drawings, my role is largely supervisory.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss yawned again, then grinned.\u00a0 \u201cIn other words you done come to that place where you\u2019re just standin\u2019 around watchin\u2019 \u2018em work.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam grimaced.\u00a0 \u201cIndelicately put, but that\u2019s the truth of it, by and large.\u00a0 I need to be there once in a while to keep tabs on what\u2019s happening and answer questions, but . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf you can spare a few days, I sure could use ya,\u201d Hoss said.\u00a0 \u201cHope y\u2019 won\u2019t mind workin\u2019 for one o\u2019 your YOUNGER brothers.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHoss, of the five of us, the only one who knows more about running the ranch than you do . . . is PA,\u201d Adam declared.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019d consider it an honor to be working FOR you, if only for a few days.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c \u2018Evenin\u2019 Hoss . . . Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n The Cartwright brothers turned and found Jack Hurley, one of Hoss\u2019 friends, stepping up to the bar alongside them, with David, the youngest of his identical twin sons.<\/p>\n \u201cHowdy, Jack . . . you, too, David,\u201d Hoss affably returned the greeting.<\/p>\n David Hurley politely nodded, first to Hoss, then to Adam.<\/p>\n \u201cPa ran into Athena over at the General Store a couple o\u2019 days ago,\u201d Hoss said.\u00a0 \u201cShe told him Harlan maybe comin\u2019 home sometime this summer.\u201d<\/p>\n Harlan Hurley, the eldest of Jack and Athena\u2019s twin boys, had spent the last three years in jail for theft.\u00a0 Taking into account his young age, that it was his first offense, and that he had freely confessed when finally confronted, Judge Isaiah Greenberg was inclined toward leniency, sentencing the boy to serve five years hard labor at the state prison over in Carson City.<\/p>\n \u201cHarlan\u2019s been a model prisoner ever since he got there,\u201d Jack said quietly.\u00a0 \u201cThe warden\u2019s lettin\u2019 him off for good behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s good news,\u201d Hoss said.\u00a0 \u201cI know Athena\u2019s been fretin\u2019 \u2018bout him from the minute he . . . umm, left.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI just hope he\u2019s learned his lesson,\u201d Jack said with a dark, angry scowl.\u00a0 He sighed, then dolefully shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cHim stealin\u2019 so he could court that Danvers gal in high style was bad enough.\u00a0 But, tryin\u2019 t\u2019 pin blame on David here . . . .\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 If it hadn\u2019t been for Stacy \u2018n YOU, Adam, David might\u2019ve ended up in jail for somethin\u2019 HE didn\u2019t do.\u201d8<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHarlan owned up to it all in the end, Jack,\u201d Hoss quickly pointed out, \u201cAND they\u2019re gonna let him off for good behavior.\u00a0 That tells ME that he\u2019s more \u2018n likely learned his lesson, \u2018n maybe he deserves a second chance.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThanks, Hoss,\u201d Jack said gratefully.\u00a0 \u201cI appreciate your vote o\u2019 confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n Sam quietly moved in to serve Adam and Hoss their beer and coffee, respectively.\u00a0 \u201c \u2018Evenin\u2019, Jack . . . David.\u00a0\u00a0 What can I getcha?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll have a beer, Sam,\u201d Jack replied.<\/p>\n \u201cMe, too,\u201d David said.<\/p>\n Sam nodded, then moved off.<\/p>\n \u201cCoffee, Hoss?\u201d Jack asked, gazing over at the enormous white mug cradled in both hands.<\/p>\n Hoss lifted the mug to his lips and gently blew across the steaming hot surface.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYep.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo . . . how\u2019s it goin\u2019?\u201d Jack asked, knowing that the lion\u2019s share of running the enormous empire called Ponderosa had fallen on the shoulders of the big, gentle giant standing next to him, what with Joe and Stacy both recovering from serious injury and Mister Cartwright spending much of HIS time caring for them, with Hop Sing\u2019s able assistance.\u00a0 Though, by all accounts, Hoss had done a magnificent job, none of it had been easy.9<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe finally got all the brandin\u2019 done.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss\u2019 reply was accompanied by a big, heartfelt sigh of relief.\u00a0 \u201cNow\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWHAT?!\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss was rudely cut off by Clay Hansen, owner of the Five Card Draw Ranch.\u00a0 He had also been friend and neighbor to the Cartwright family for many years.\u00a0 Aged in his mid-fifties, he was a big, beefy man, standing nearly as tall as Ben, and weighing in somewhere between forty and fifty pounds heavier.\u00a0 His hair, medium brown, heavily laced with strands of silver, and of late, rapidly thinning on top, was kept scrupulously cropped short under the hat he wore most of the time he was out in public these days.<\/p>\n He stood at the end of the bar farthest from the door, with a half empty mug of beer in hand, and an indignant, angry scowl on his face.<\/p>\n \u201cTHAT NO GOOD SON-UVA-BITCH IS GONNA . . . WHAT?!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cHe ain\u2019t GONNA, Mister Hansen . . . he already done DID!\u201d\u00a0 Wesley McGrath spat contemptuously.\u00a0 He stood to the right of Clay, nursing a bottle of rotgut whiskey.\u00a0 His appearance, tall and thin, with stooped posture, scraggly beard and thinning shoulder length hair, a pallid complexion, and those disconcerting round, staring dark brown eyes, lent him the illusion of one frail, even sickly.\u00a0 Though aged in his mid-thirties, many of his acquaintance assumed him to be much older.\u00a0 He was a ne\u2019er do well, more apt to channel the greater portion of his energy and effort into a night\u2019s drinking than a full day\u2019s work.<\/p>\n \u201cWho toldja this?\u201d Clay demanded.<\/p>\n \u201cNobody.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThen how do ya KNOW?!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c \u2018Cause I overheared it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cY\u2019 overheard it?!\u201d\u00a0 Clay echoed, angry and incredulous.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s what I said, ain\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAggh . . . so what?!\u00a0 Don\u2019t mean NOTHIN\u2019!\u00a0 Half the tall tales Miss Mudgely \u2018n Miz Kirk spread around about folks they claimed they overheard.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis is different!!\u201d\u00a0 Wesley insisted.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy?\u201d Clay demanded.<\/p>\n \u201c \u2018Cause I done overheared it right from the horse\u2019s mouth his self tellin\u2019 Sheriff Coffee, afore he let me outta jail this mornin\u2019.\u201d\u00a0 Nearly everyone present knew that Wesley McGrath had spent the previous night in the presently overcrowded Virginia City Jail for being drunk and very disorderly.<\/p>\n Clay Hansen stared over at Wesley, his eyes round with shocked horror, too stunned to move or even speak.<\/p>\n \u201cI did!\u00a0 So help me God . . . I did!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell.\u00a0 Don\u2019t THAT just beat all,\u201d Elmer McBantry, one of Virginia City\u2019s certified public accountants, recently retired, grumbled under his breath.\u00a0 He stood next to the bar, to Wesley McGrath\u2019s right, leaning very heavily on his solid oak cane.\u00a0 Elmer was a thin, wiry elderly man, with a full head of white hair and greenish brown eyes.\u00a0 As always, he was impeccably attired in a black, three piece suit, white shirt, and black string tie.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat the hell\u2019s that no good fancy pants tryin\u2019 t\u2019 DO?!\u201d Clay sputtered, banging his tightly balled fist down on the bar.\u00a0 \u201cTurn a gang o\u2019 murderin\u2019, thievin\u2019 rapists loose on honest, law abidin\u2019 folk?!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYep.\u00a0 That\u2019s EXACTLY what he\u2019s tryin\u2019 t\u2019 do, Mister Hansen,\u201d Wesley replied, with an emphatic nod of his head.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t get it.\u00a0 If I recollect proper, HE\u2019S got a daughter himself . . . a couple o\u2019 years older \u2018n my Rachel.\u00a0\u00a0 You\u2019d think he\u2019d be one o\u2019 the first in line t\u2019\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTobias Lindsay\u2019s daughter \u2019s dead,\u201d Abe Miller said, \u201cremember?\u00a0 It\u2019s been a couple or three years now . . . . \u201d\u00a0 He stood at the bar next to Eli Barnett, the foreman at the Five Card Draw.\u00a0 Abe was the owner of a small spread, named Miller\u2019s Folly many years ago by the father of his first wife, who had taken a very dim view of Abe bringing his daughter west, to \u201c . . . that lawless, God-forsaken frontier, populated by Injuns \u2018n every thievin\u2019 son-of-a-bitch that\u2019s not already in jail.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah . . . NOW I remember,\u201d Clay said with a dark angry scowl.<\/p>\n \u201cCold hearted bastard!\u201d Abe spat, his voice filled with loathing and contempt.\u00a0 \u201cWhen that poor li\u2019l gal o\u2019 his died?\u00a0 Well, I hear tell that Tobias Lindsay got on board the next stage out \u2018n left without even troublin\u2019 to see that she was buried proper.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWorse \u2018n that,\u00a0 . . . his li\u2019l gal wasn\u2019t even cold b\u2019fore he was lookin\u2019 t\u2019 sell her baby to a couple o\u2019 muckity-mucks out in San Francisco for twenty thousand bucks,\u201d Wesley said rancorously.10<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI heard it was almost FIFTY thousand . . . in gold,\u201d Elmer said, his voice filled with scorn.<\/p>\n \u201cNow I ask ya,\u201d Wesley challenged, his eyes darting from one face to the other, glittering with an unholy light.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou think a man like Mister Toe-buy-us Lindsay . . . a man who\u2019s only thought after his li\u2019l gal died was t\u2019 SELL her baby, his own flesh \u2018n blood, mind . . . you REALLY think a man like that\u2019s gonna care f\u2019r the safely o\u2019 YOUR wives . . . daughters . . . or any other decent, law abidin\u2019 woman?\u201d<\/p>\n Wesley\u2019s words set off a flurry of angry muttering that in Hoss\u2019 ears sounded very much like the buzzing of angry hornets or wasps.<\/p>\n \u201cThat man\u2019s pure \u2018n simple out t\u2019 WIN,\u201d Wesley continued, raising his voice to be heard among the din of infuriated customers all talking at once.<\/p>\n \u201cEven if winnin\u2019 means lettin\u2019 that scum back out on the streets?!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Eli Barnett spoke up for the first time.<\/p>\n \u201cYup.\u00a0 \u2018SPECIALLY if it means lettin\u2019 that scum back out on the streets, Mister Barnett,\u201d Wesley replied.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy?\u00a0 I don\u2019t understand,\u201d Eli said with a bewildered frown.<\/p>\n \u201c \u2018Cause he\u2019s lookin\u2019 t\u2019 make his self a reputation as one real smart lawyer,\u201d Wesley explained, speaking with the authority of one who knows beyond all doubt.\u00a0 \u201cWhen folks found out \u2018bout him tryin\u2019 to sell his own grandkid, his business about went belly up like a beached whale.\u00a0 That\u2019s what RAY says, anyhow . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAw, Lord-A-Mighty!\u00a0\u00a0 NOT Ray Donnelly . . . . \u201d Clay groaned.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah.\u00a0 Ray Donnelly,\u201d Wesley reiterated.\u00a0 \u201cSo what?!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo Ray Donnelly\u2019s just as bad as that damn\u2019 son-of-a-bitch-fancy-pants lawyer in his own way,\u201d Clay observed in a tone of voice insultingly dismissive.<\/p>\n \u201cNow don\u2019t you sell Ray short, Clay,\u201d Abe said.\u00a0 \u201cSure, he\u2019s one obnoxious horse\u2019s patoot most o\u2019 the time, but he almost always knows what he\u2019s talking about.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFor a dumb ass that didn\u2019t get much beyond the second grade, Ray Donnelly sure seems t\u2019 know an awful lot,\u201d Clay snorted derisively.\u00a0 \u201cSo you tell ME, McGrath . . . how\u2019s gettin\u2019 that low life scum off scot free gonna help ol\u2019 Tobias?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRay says this Tobias Lindsay feller\u2019s thinkin\u2019. . . if he can win this case \u2018n get them low life pieces o\u2019 cow dung\u00a0 off scot free f\u2019r what they done, with all that mountain o\u2019 evidence piled up agin\u2019 \u2018em, folks are gonna start thinkin\u2019 he can get ME off, too \u2018cause he happens t\u2019 be one real smart lawyer,\u201d Wesley was only too happy to explain.<\/p>\n \u201cYou gotta be kiddin\u2019 ME,\u201d Eli snorted derisively.<\/p>\n \u201cI dunno . . . . \u201d Elmer said slowly.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019M thinkin\u2019 that might not be so far-fetched.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDammit, what about justice?!\u201d\u00a0 Clay demanded, banging his fist down onto the bar again, this time with force sufficient to slosh the beer and whiskey in the nearest glasses.\u00a0 Several patrons turned to stare.\u00a0 Others looked on and began to listen with interest.<\/p>\n \u201cHow many times do I hafta TELL ya . . . a man who\u2019d sell his own grandkid same as YOU\u2019D sell a calf ain\u2019t interested one bit in justice,\u201d Wesley argued, speaking with all the passion of an inspired preacher at a revival.\u00a0 \u201cHe wants t\u2019 win!\u00a0 Period!\u00a0 An\u2019 the uppity son-of-a-bitch won\u2019t stop at nothin\u2019 TO win, neither.\u201d<\/p>\n Clay Hansen downed the remainder of his beer in a single swallow, then signaled the bartender for a refill.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBut . . . he can\u2019t get the whole blamed trial moved . . . CAN he?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRay Donnelly says he can,\u201d Wesley replied with confidence.<\/p>\n \u201cAgggh!\u00a0 Ray Donnelly again!\u201d Clay snorted derisively.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t matter t\u2019 ME none if Ray Donnelly says it or t\u2019 man in t\u2019 moon . . . my question is . . . do we wanna take the chance that scum over in Coffee\u2019s jailhouse \u2018s gonna end up walkin\u2019 away free as birds?!\u201d Abe Miller demanded.<\/p>\n \u201cTake a chance?\u00a0 On what?!\u201d Elmer queried.<\/p>\n \u201cOn Tobias Lindsay movin\u2019 that blamed trial somewheres where he CAN get those rabid animals off scot free!\u201d Abe Miller replied, his voice rising.<\/p>\n \u201c . . . an\u2019 that\u2019s exactly what\u2019s GONNA happen if ol\u2019 Toe-buy-us gits HIS way \u2018n has that trial moved over t\u2019 Carson City,\u201d Wesley added.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t understand it,\u201d Eli murmured, shaking his head.\u00a0 \u201cWhy Carson City?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c \u2018Cause THAT\u2019S where he lives,\u201d Wesley replied.<\/p>\n \u201cDid Ray Donnelly tell ya that, too?\u201d Abe derisively chortled.\u00a0 \u201c \u2018Cause if he did, he\u2019s wrong!\u00a0 Mister Toe-buy-us Lindsay left Carson City not long after his daughter died.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAbe\u2019s right, y\u2019 know,\u201d Elmer immediately put in his two cents worth.\u00a0 \u201cWhen he tried to sell off his assets, it was found that he owed back taxes.\u00a0 All his property was seized and yours truly was hired to audit his books.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOK, OK, so he don\u2019t live in Carson no more,\u201d Wesley grudgingly acquiesced, \u201cbut he STILL knows all the other lawyers there, \u2018n he STILL knows the judges, too.\u00a0 Ray says he\u2019s got one o\u2019 them judges over there tucked away deep in his ol\u2019 hip pocket, \u2018n ways o\u2019 makin\u2019 dead sure THAT judge hears the case.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cB-But a judge can\u2019t do that . . . set a bunch o\u2019 murderin\u2019, thievin\u2019, rapists free . . . just \u2018cause he\u2019s friends with their lawyer . . .\u00a0 can he?\u201d Eli Barnett\u2019s son, Andy, spoke up for the first time.\u00a0 \u201cI mean . . . don\u2019t he gotta hear all the evidence \u2018n stuff?!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s happened, Boy,\u201d Wesley replied.\u00a0 \u201cMore times \u2018n you can shake a stick at.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt sure as shootin\u2019 has,\u201d Abe said tersely.\u00a0 \u201cNow I ask ya again . . . we willin\u2019 t\u2019 take a chance of it happenin\u2019 HERE . . . NOW . . . with THOSE men?!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t know \u2018bout the REST o\u2019 you fellers, but I sure as hell don\u2019t,\u201d Walt Jared declared as he sauntered up to the bar, with his young nephew, Burt Jared, in tow.\u00a0 \u201cHell!\u00a0 He gets them fellers off, I\u2019m gonna be worried sick \u2018bout my sister-in-law \u2018n my two nieces.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah,\u201d Burt agreed, with a dark angry glare.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s gotta be SOMETHIN\u2019 we can do \u2018bout all this,\u201d Abe Miller groused.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is,\u201d Wesley said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d\u00a0 Walt demanded.<\/p>\n \u201cWe make damn\u2019 sure the Carters \u2018n Higgins don\u2019t come t\u2019 trial,\u201d Wesley replied.\u00a0 \u201cIf you fellas get my meanin\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNow wait a minute,\u201d Clay protested, \u201cif you\u2019re talkin\u2019 about lynchin\u2019\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m talkin\u2019 \u2018bout JUSTICE, Mister Hansen,\u201d Wesley declared in a solemn tone.\u00a0 \u201cLike as not the ONLY justice WE\u2019RE gonna\u2019 git if that fancy pants son-of-a-bitch ends up getting\u2019 HIS way.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, to MY way o\u2019 thinkin\u2019 a trial\u2019s a waste o\u2019 anyway, what with the evidence Sheriff Coffee\u2019s supposed t\u2019 have on \u2018em,\u201d Abe Miller grunted.<\/p>\n \u201cUh oh!\u00a0\u00a0 I don\u2019t like the sound o\u2019 THAT,\u201d Hoss declared with a frown.\u00a0 \u201cNot no how, not no way!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t, either,\u201d Jack Hurley said, \u201cthough I can\u2019t say as I blame \u2018em.\u00a0 I have a wife and a daughter myself.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSay, Adam . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, Hoss?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat feller, Tobias Lindsay . . . he can\u2019t REALLY git the trial moved outta Virginia City . . . can he?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe can if he\u2019s able to convince a judge that his clients can\u2019t get a fair trial here,\u201d Adam replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cUnfortunately, Clay, Abe, and the others are playing right into Tobias\u2019 hands with all their talk about lynching.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou think it\u2019s true what they\u2019re saying about Tobias Lindsay?\u201d David Hurley asked, casting a nervous glance over in the direction of Clay, Abe, Wesley, and the others.<\/p>\n \u201cThat he\u2019s trying to win this case to feather his own nest?\u201d Adam asked.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah . . . that . . . . \u201d David replied, \u201c \u2018n what they said about him tryin\u2019 t sell Cara\u2019s baby.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m afraid I don\u2019t know Mister Lindsay well enough to accuse him of winning this case, and in so doing, set three vicious men free to further his own ambitions,\u201d Adam replied.\u00a0 \u201cAs for the other . . . the accusation of peddling his own flesh and blood . . . that\u2019s a little more complicated.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow so, Adam?\u201d Jack asked.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s common practice for adoptive parents to engage a lawyer to handle the paperwork, and make sure everything is on the up and up, to avoid any legal difficulties later,\u201d Adam explained.\u00a0 \u201cI remember Pa telling me that Mister Lindsay admitted he hadn\u2019t the means to properly raise his grandson, so he\u2019d arranged for someone he thought suitable to adopt the baby.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe also didn\u2019t figure on Mrs. Jarvis also suin\u2019 for custody o\u2019 the baby,\u201d Hoss added.<\/p>\n \u201cWho\u2019s Mrs. Jarvis?\u201d David asked.<\/p>\n \u201cShe was the li\u2019l one\u2019s grandma on his pa\u2019s side o\u2019 the family,\u201d Hoss replied.\u00a0 \u201cTurned out she was too ill t\u2019 care for the boy.\u00a0 She died in the fall o\u2019 that year.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere were rumors about him sellin\u2019 other folks\u2019 unwanted babies, too,\u201d Jack Hurley said, shaking his head in dark bewilderment of the notion.<\/p>\n \u201cPa told me there were others,\u201d Adam said, \u201cbut, the question is was he simply acting within his capacity as a lawyer or was he actually in the business of selling babies to those able to meet his price?\u00a0 No evidence of wrong doing was ever found.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe he didn\u2019t do anything illegal, but . . . I dunno.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Hoss shook his head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI just remember Pa \u2018n Stacy both sayin\u2019 his li\u2019l gal, Cara, was nigh on next t\u2019 hysterical at the thought o\u2019 her pa getting\u2019 hold o\u2019 her \u2018n the baby.\u00a0\u00a0 Don\u2019t know all the whys \u2018n wherefores.\u00a0 Never will since she passed on without sayin\u2019, but Pa said he was of the mind that Cara believed she had reason t\u2019 be afraid.\u00a0 That kind o\u2019 fear don\u2019t come outta nowhere.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo,\u201d Adam agreed.\u00a0 \u201cIt doesn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCan\u2019t say I knew him all that much, but I remember him defending Joe\u2019s friend . . . .\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Jack frowned.\u00a0 \u201cDang, my mind\u2019s drawn a blank!\u00a0\u00a0 Hoss, he was a friend o\u2019 Joe\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMitch Devlin11<\/span>,\u201d Hoss said.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah.\u00a0 Mitch Devlin!\u201d Jack said.\u00a0 \u201cTobias was perched all nice \u2018n pretty in the catbird seat after that trial . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n \u201c . . . \u2018til his wife died,\u201d Hoss said sadly.\u00a0 \u201cHe changed after that . . . a LOT.\u00a0 Took t\u2019 drinkin\u2019 . . . \u2018n what really got me was the way he treated that li\u2019l gal o\u2019 his, beatin\u2019 up on her for stuff she didn\u2019t even do one minute, \u2018n completely neglectin\u2019 her the next.\u00a0 After she died, \u2018n he realized he wasn\u2019t gonna get custody o\u2019 her baby, he just up \u2018n left without lookin\u2019 back.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI heard he QUIT drinkin\u2019 after his ma came \u2018n took him \u2018n his li\u2019l gal to live with her in Carson City,\u201d Jack said, \u201cbut I more give credit to ol\u2019 Mrs. Lindsay for that, may God rest her soul.\u201d\u00a0 He shuddered.\u00a0 \u201cThat woman could be a real tarter when she wanted t\u2019 be.\u201d12<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOoohhhhh yeah,\u201d Adam wholeheartedly agreed.<\/p>\n \u201cY\u2019 know?\u00a0 It\u2019s too bad that lawyer fella\u2019s ma didn\u2019t have the sense enough to take the girl \u2018n just leave HIM right where she found him like as not . . . lyin\u2019 STINKIN\u2019 DRUNK<\/strong> in a gutter.\u201d<\/p>\n The Cartwrights and the Hurleys looked up and found Dick Faraday, one of the ranch hands at Millers\u2019 Folly, standing in their midst, with a full mug of beer in hand.<\/p>\n \u201c \u2018Cause if she had?\u00a0 WE wouldn\u2019t be worryin\u2019 about him gettin\u2019 the fellas who robbed that stage \u2018n sullied that girl off scot free,\u201d Dick continued, half on the defensive, flinching away from the dark, angry glare Hoss leveled in his direction.\u00a0 \u201cHey! C-Come on, Hoss.\u00a0 It\u2019s true, an\u2019 YOU know it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat may very well be,\u201d Adam said, laboring to keep his voice calm.\u00a0 \u201cHowever, it\u2019s ALSO true that Tobias Lindsay would be having a much harder time trying to convince a judge that his clients can\u2019t get a fair trial here without all this talk about people taking the law into their own hands.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo what do YOU think we ought to do, Adam?\u201d Abe Miller called out from his place at the bar.<\/p>\n \u201cSheriff Coffee has more than enough evidence to send the Carters and Mister Higgins to the gallows,\u201d Adam replied.\u00a0 \u201cI<\/strong> say those men should go to trial.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c . . . and what if a jury decides those animals AIN\u2019T guilty?\u201d Clay Hansen demanded.\u00a0 \u201cWhat happens THEN?!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI<\/strong> have every confidence they WILL be found guilty,\u201d Adam said.<\/p>\n \u201cAdam, YOU got a wife \u2018n daughter,\u201d Clay argued.\u00a0 \u201cYeah . . . they\u2019re out in California, far away from all this, but your sister ain\u2019t.\u00a0 Who\u2019s t\u2019 say those mad dog sons of bitches won\u2019t turn around and come after your sister, once a jury\u2019s set \u2018em loose?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t believe for one minute that the Carter brothers and their associate WILL be set free, except by way of the hangman\u2019s noose.\u201d\u00a0 Adam maintained his position with all the firm, rock hard stubbornness of a granite boulder.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, speakin\u2019 for myself, I<\/strong> don\u2019t wanna take that chance,\u201d Clay Hansen declared, his voice rising, \u201cnot with a wife and FOUR daughters livin\u2019 under my roof.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe I ain\u2019t got a wife or a little gal, but I sure as shootin\u2019 got a sister-in-law and a couple o\u2019 young nieces,\u201d Walt Jared chimed right in.\u00a0 \u201cI<\/strong> don\u2019t wanna take no chances either.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSame here,\u201d Burt Jared agreed.<\/p>\n \u201cTo MY way o\u2019 thinkin\u2019, there\u2019s only one way to make sure the Carters an\u2019 that Higgins fella don\u2019t walk away from this scot free,\u201d Wesley McGrath said, as a sly, predatory smile slowly oozed its way across his thin lips.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat are we waiting for?\u201d\u00a0 Elmer McBantry demanded.<\/p>\n \u201cWesley . . . Clay . . . and the rest of ya . . . it\u2019s time to call it a night.\u201d<\/p>\n They turned and found Sam, the bartender standing between Abe and Clay, with his big, beefy arms folded across his broad chest.<\/p>\n \u201cThat goes for you, too, Adam,\u201d Sam said apologetically.\u00a0 \u201cI know you was defendin\u2019 yourself, but I don\u2019t want no trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know who in the hell you think you are, Sam, but it\u2019s a free country,\u201d Clay sputtered angrily.\u00a0 \u201cThat means I can go anywhere and STAY anywhere I damn\u2019 well please, \u2018n YOU, Mister Too-Big-For-Your-Britches, ain\u2019t got a thing t\u2019 say about it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s right!\u201d Elmer declared with an emphatic nod of his head.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah,\u201d Eli Barnett voiced his own agreement.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the lot o\u2019 you ain\u2019t outta here by the count o\u2019 ten, I\u2019m sendin\u2019 someone down t\u2019 fetch the sheriff,\u201d Sam stated in a clear, succinct tone, glaring unflinchingly at each of them, including Adam.\u00a0 \u201cI ain\u2019t gonna stand for none of this crazy talk about lynchin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCome on,\u201d Wesley said with a disparaging sigh.\u00a0 \u201cLet\u2019s us g\u2019won over to the Bucket o\u2019 Blood.\u00a0 We can talk there all we want.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJack . . . David, it was good talking with you,\u201d Adam said, as he dug into his pocket and withdrew two silver dollars.\u00a0 \u201cHoss . . . . \u201d he gave the money in hand to his younger brother, \u201cthat should cover my tab for this evening.\u00a0 I\u2019ll see you at the Fletchers\u2019 house later.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think, maybe, I oughtta just come along with ya, Adam,\u201d Hoss said, punctuating his words with a great big yawn.\u00a0 He finished the remaining coffee in his mug, then rose.\u00a0 \u201cJack . . . David, I\u2019m gonna hafta ask ya both t\u2019 excuse me.\u00a0 I\u2019m \u2018way too weary t\u2019 be any kind o\u2019 real good company tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s all right, Hoss,\u201d Jack replied.\u00a0 \u201cAthena will appreciate us callin\u2019 it an early night, anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPa?\u201d David ventured, as he, his father, and the Cartwrights made their way toward the saloon door.\u00a0 \u201cThink maybe we oughtta warn Sheriff Coffee?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAbout what?\u201d\u00a0 Jack asked.<\/p>\n \u201cAbout what Mister Hansen, Mister Miller, and the others were saying.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTalking\u2019s not a crime, Son.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe it ain\u2019t, Jack,\u201d Hoss said with a scowl, \u201cbut we all know what usually happens when folks get t\u2019 drinkin\u2019 \u2018n talkin\u2019 about lynchin\u2019 long enough.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cActually, it might not be a bad idea to let Sheriff Coffee know what\u2019s going on with that bunch,\u201d Adam said thoughtfully.\u00a0 \u201cThough, chances are, he and Clem already have a good handle on the situation.\u00a0 Hoss and I have to pass the sheriff\u2019s office on our way back to the Fletchers.\u00a0 We can stop by.\u201d<\/p>\n After stepping through the double wing doors of the saloon, the Hurleys and the Cartwrights paused to bid each other good night, and a safe trip back to their respective homes, before parting company.<\/p>\n \u201cFolks\u2019ve been talkin\u2019 about stringin\u2019 the three of \u2018em up almost from the minute Sheriff Coffee \u2018n the others brought \u2018em in,\u201d Hoss said grimly, as he and Adam made their way across the board walk to the hitching post, where they had tethered their horses earlier.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThis business about Tobias Lindsay tryin\u2019 t\u2019 move the trial outta Virginia City sure ain\u2019t makin\u2019 things any better.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo . . . it\u2019s NOT,\u201d Adam agreed.<\/p>\n \u201cSay, uhhh, Adam . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, Hoss?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou think, maybe, it\u2019s possible TOBIAS might be fanning the flames, if ya get my meanin\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n Adam frowned.\u00a0 \u201cI was under the impression that Wesley McGrath was the one who\u2019s responsible for keeping feelings running high.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe did it before, Adam.\u00a0 Tobias, I mean,\u201d Hoss said.\u00a0 \u201cWe weren\u2019t able t\u2019 prove it, but there\u2019s no doubt in our minds he tried t\u2019 turn public opinion in his favor t\u2019 force Judge Faraday t\u2019 hand him custody of his grandson.\u201d13<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI remember Pa telling me about that,\u201d Adam said quietly.\u00a0 \u201cOne word to Miss Mudgely . . . .\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cExactly!\u201d Hoss said.\u00a0 \u201cWell a man doesn\u2019t hafta be a genius t\u2019 figure it wouldn\u2019t be hard for Tobias t\u2019 convince a judge his clients can\u2019t get a fair trial here, what with the way folks\u2019re feelin\u2019 \u2018n talkin\u2019 right now.\u00a0 You said so yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo I did,\u201d Adam agreed, as he untied Sport II\u2019s lead, and climbed up onto his back.\u00a0 Hoss silently followed suit with Chubb.\u00a0 \u201cAre you suggesting that Tobias is somehow manipulating Wesley McGrath the way he did Miss Mudgely?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNow mind, I\u2019ve got no proof,\u201d Hoss said as they turned and headed toward the jail.\u00a0 \u201cBut, Wesley admitted he\u2019d overheard Tobias threatenin\u2019 t\u2019 get that trial moved.\u201d\u00a0 He sighed.\u00a0 \u201cBetween you \u2018n me, Adam?\u00a0 It wouldn\u2019t surprise me none if Tobias made dang sure Wesley overheard him.\u201d<\/p>\n ………<\/p>\n \u201cYou SURE you wanna do that, Roy?\u201d\u00a0 Ben asked as he watched Roy Coffee capture his last remaining rook with a bishop.<\/p>\n \u201cYup!\u201d Roy answered with a smug grin.\u00a0 \u201cCheck, Ben.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh well . . . . \u201d Ben murmured with a hopeless resignation that verged on the melodramatic.\u00a0 He moved his knight, capturing Roy\u2019s queen and taking his own king out of check.<\/p>\n \u201cHey, I . . . I . . . you sneaky-son-uva\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYour move, Roy,\u201d Ben said in a tone of voice infuriatingly complacent.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sure glad we ain\u2019t playin\u2019 for money,\u201d Roy growled, as he made his next move.<\/p>\n Ben ruthlessly moved in and captured Roy\u2019s last bishop.\u00a0 \u201cCheck,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cMate in seven moves.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh yeah?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell now, we\u2019ll just hafta see \u2018bout that, won\u2019t we.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYep.\u201d<\/p>\n For the better part of the last month, ever since the Carter Brothers and Timothy Higgins had been brought back to Virginia City, Ben spent most evenings keeping Roy Coffee company at the jail, while Clem went home and had supper.<\/p>\n Joe had almost fully recovered from the physical injuries sustained as a result of the fire that had consumed their Ponderosa home, and his subsequent ordeal at the hands of the late Lady Chadwick.\u00a0 He had also . . . finally . . . graduated to eating solid food again.\u00a0 The only things left on the forbidden list were alcohol and spicy foods.\u00a0 Though Joe occasionally expressed a desire for a nice, cold beer, it was more than clear to Ben that his youngest boy was really living for the day he could finally resume seasoning his scrambled eggs liberally with Tabasco sauce.<\/p>\n Joe\u2019s nightmares and the incidents he referred to as waking dreams had all but ceased.\u00a0 He had been meeting on a fairly regular basis with Father Brendan Rutherford, and he occasionally attended the mid-week Mass at Saint Mary\u2019s in the Mountains on Wednesday mornings.\u00a0 A lot of Joe\u2019s old playfulness had returned, but there was a strength, a rock solid, yet quiet self-confidence that had been lacking before.<\/p>\n As for Stacy, her cast would be coming off in another three weeks.\u00a0 That was the good news.\u00a0 The bad news was, she had grown weary of the enforced inactivity that had been thrust upon her for the course of the endless weeks since the fire.\u00a0 The arrival of spring, with its lengthening days, bright sunshine, warm temperatures, and gentle breezes had only served to intensify her frustrated longing to be outside, specifically to be back in the saddle once again.<\/p>\n \u201cMister Cartwright, Little Joe and Miss Stacy . . . they look after them-self now,\u201d Hop Sing solemnly decreed one night, after supper.\u00a0 \u201cMister Cartwright need get out, go to Silver Dollar, drink beer, play poker.\u201d\u00a0 A sly grin spread across his face.\u00a0 \u201cMaybe chase saloon girls around back table.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cI\u2019m \u2018way too old to be chasing saloon gals around a back table or anything ELSE,\u201d he returned, grumpy, leveling a withering glare in Hop Sing\u2019s direction.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI dunno about THAT, Pa . . . but I think Hop Sing\u2019s got the right idea,\u201d Joe immediately chimed in with his two cents worth.\u00a0 \u201cFor the last month and a half you\u2019ve been tied down to this house pretty much, looking after The Kid and me.\u00a0 It\u2019ll do you a world of good to get out at night, even if it\u2019s just to g\u2019won over to the Silver Dollar for a mug of beer.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Ben glared over at his youngest son.\u00a0 \u201cAre YOU accusing me of . . . of going stir crazy, Young Man?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Joe grinned and shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cHey, if the shoe fits . . . .\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWell, if JOE won\u2019t come right out and say it, I WILL,\u201d Adam immediately weighed in with his two cents worth.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cPa, you\u2019re going stir crazy.\u00a0 Hop Sing and Joe are absolutely right when they say you need to get out of this house more.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cDitto what Adam, Joe, \u2018n Hop Sing said, Pa,\u201d Hoss made his opinion on the matter known in no uncertain terms.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYeah,\u201d Stacy declared, making the verdict unanimous . . . .<\/em><\/p>\n Ben had gone to the Silver Dollar a couple of nights, ostensibly to join his neighbors, Clay Hansen, Blake Wilson, and Abe Miller for a couple rounds of beer and good conversation.\u00a0 That the subject of conversation seemed always to make its way around to the question of why the Carter brothers and their cohort, Timothy Higgins, should be brought to trial at all, given the evidence Sheriff Coffee supposedly had against them and the fact that Jacob Carter, the ringleader of the bunch, had actually confessed, was disturbing in and of itself.\u00a0\u00a0 The grim realization that Wesley McGrath, a born follower with a dangerous habit of trotting gamely after the heels of some of the absolute worst troublemakers, went out of his way to keep the Carters, Higgins, and the lawyer allegedly hell-bent on seeing them freed, the SOLE topic of conversation night after night, troubled Ben deeply.<\/p>\n A knock on the doors leading outside drew both men\u2019s attention from the game, and Ben\u2019s from his own anxious musings.<\/p>\n \u201cWho\u2019s there?\u201d Roy responded warily, as he automatically reached for the rifle leaning against the wall behind him.<\/p>\n \u201cAdam and Hoss Cartwright,\u201d the eldest of the Cartwright offspring immediately replied.<\/p>\n \u201cJust a minute.\u201d\u00a0 Roy rose, the tips of his fingers lightly brushing the handle of his holstered revolver.\u00a0 He walked over toward the door and cautiously opened it.\u00a0 Upon seeing Hoss and Adam standing outside, he opened it wider, and invited them in.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought you boys were going to spend the evening at the Silver Dollar,\u201d Ben said, rising, mildly surprised to see his older sons walk through the door.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were, until Sam asked me to leave,\u201d Adam said ruefully.<\/p>\n \u201cOh?\u201d Ben queried with a puzzled frown.\u00a0 Had Joe been the one to tell him that, he wouldn\u2019t have thought a thing of it, given the young man\u2019s quick, mercurial temperament.\u00a0 But hearing that from his rational, cool headed first-born son . . . .<\/p>\n \u201cI think Sam was tryin\u2019 t\u2019 avoid trouble,\u201d Hoss quickly added.\u00a0 \u201cHe told Wesley, Clay, Abe, \u2018n that bunch to skedaddle, too.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben\u2019s frown deepened, as puzzlement gave way to worry.\u00a0 The horrific violence perpetrated by the Carter brothers, and a third man named Higgins against the passengers of a stagecoach bound for Freedonia had forced Adam to acknowledge and work through some painful, deep seated issues, the consequences of which had long ago led him to leave the Ponderosa . . . his home and family . . . for good.\u00a0 To simply say that Adam had been angry and moody would have been the understatement of the century.\u00a0 He was doing much better now emotionally, especially after that ride the two of them had taken out to Ponderosa Plunge, but he still suffered occasional bouts of moodiness.14<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSeems Wesley, Clay, Abe, \u2018n the rest o\u2019 that bunch were talkin\u2019 \u2018bout stringin\u2019 up the Carters \u2018n that Higgins fella,\u201d Hoss continued, speaking directly to Ben\u2019s fears and concerns.\u00a0 \u201cOne thing kinda lead to another, \u2018til they flat out asked Adam what he thought o\u2019 the whole thing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI, of course, told them in no uncertain terms that those men should stand trial, and that I had every confidence that the law and justice would be properly served no matter what Tobias Lindsay takes it in his head to do,\u201d Adam said.<\/p>\n \u201cHoss . . . Adam . . . you boys got any idea as t\u2019 where Wesley, Clay, \u2018n the others might\u2019ve gone after they left the Silver Dollar?\u201d Roy asked.<\/p>\n \u201cWesley was trying to talk everyone into going over to the Bucket of Blood, when Hoss and I left with the Hurleys,\u201d Adam replied.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s all we need,\u201d Roy sighed.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019d sure like t\u2019 g\u2019won over there \u2018n see what that bunch is up to, but \u2018til Clem comes back from havin\u2019 supper . . . my hands\u2019re tied.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou want US to hold the fort for a little while, Roy?\u201d\u00a0 Ben asked.<\/p>\n \u201cOrdinarily, I\u2019d take ya up on it, Ben, but with Tobias Lindsay breathin\u2019 down my neck, I\u2019d best not,\u201d Roy said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIf anything happened, that\u2019d give him all the more ammunition t\u2019 make his case.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFor what?\u201d Ben asked, with an anxious frown.<\/p>\n \u201cFor moving the trial out of Virginia City for one thing,\u201d Adam said.<\/p>\n \u201cFor moving the trial . . . out . . . of Virginia City?!\u201d\u00a0 Ben echoed, astonished and incredulous.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cRoy, you mean to tell me he\u2019s actually\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYep.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSeems everyone over at the Silver Dollar knows he\u2019s tryin\u2019 t\u2019 git the trial moved,\u201d Hoss said grimly.<\/p>\n \u201cTHAT means if it ain\u2019t all over town by now, it\u2019s sure gonna be afore the night\u2019s out,\u201d Roy said, vexed and apprehensive.\u00a0 \u201cDagnabit!\u00a0 Judge Greenberg, Judge Faraday \u2018n me were hopin\u2019 t\u2019 keep Tobias Lindsay\u2019s request t\u2019 move the trial under wraps.\u00a0 With feelin\u2019s runnin\u2019 high like they are . . . . \u201d\u00a0 He sighed and dolefully shook his head.<\/p>\n \u201cNow THAT\u2019S very interesting,\u201d Adam said wryly.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sure I overheard Wesley telling Abe, Clay, and the others that he actually heard it from the horse\u2019s mouth this morning . . . the horse in question being none other than Tobias Lindsay.\u201d<\/p>\n The scowl on Roy\u2019s face deepened.\u00a0 \u201cDid Wesley happen t\u2019 say exactly when this mornin\u2019 he heard Mister Lindsay say somethin\u2019 about movin\u2019 the trial?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAs a matter of fact, yes,\u201d Adam replied.\u00a0 \u201cHe told the others he\u2019d overheard you and Mister Lindsay talking before you released him from jail.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI hauled his sorry ass down here late last night for bein\u2019 drunk \u2018n disorderly,\u201d Roy explained.\u00a0 \u201cWesley was so drunk he couldn\u2019t see straight.\u00a0 When Callahan over at the Golden Nugget refused t\u2019 serve him anything, except maybe a good strong cup o\u2019 coffee, he took out his gun \u2018n shot out that big mirror behind the bar.\u00a0 No one was hurt, leastwise not serious\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThank heaven for that!\u201d\u00a0 Ben murmured a heartfelt prayer of thanks and relief.<\/p>\n \u201cRay Donnelly came in \u2018bout an hour or so after I locked \u2018im up, \u2018n paid for all the damage Wesley done t\u2019 the Gold Nugget,\u201d Roy continued, \u201cbut he wasn\u2019t in any kinda shape t\u2019 be turned loose, so I kept him overnight.\u00a0\u00a0 But b\u2019fore I let Wesley go this mornin\u2019?\u00a0 Tobias Lindsay come waltzin\u2019 in here accusin\u2019 Clem \u2018n me o\u2019 not lookin\u2019 after those men back there proper, \u2018n makin\u2019 threats . . . one o\u2019 those threats bein\u2019 he was gonna see that trial moved come hell or high water.\u00a0 I told him t\u2019 hold his voice down, but, if anything, he started talkin\u2019 even louder.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo wonder folks is all riled up,\u201d Hoss murmured, shaking his head.<\/p>\n \u201cYou sure you don\u2019t want us to hold the fort for ya . . . long enough for you to take a quick stroll over to the Bucket of Blood and back?\u201d Ben asked.<\/p>\n Roy shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cNo point in givin\u2019 Tobias Lindsay MORE fuel for his fire, an\u2019 anyway, Clem\u2019ll be back b\u2018fore long.\u00a0 In t\u2019 meantime, Ben, you \u2018n Adam oughtta take Hoss home, \u2018n put him t\u2019 bed.\u00a0 He looks plumb tuckered out.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou sure, Roy?\u201d Ben asked dubiously, as he rose to his feet.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sure.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf you should need our help\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know right were t\u2019 find ya,\u201d Roy said.\u00a0 \u201cNow git on with ya.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, Sir,\u201d Adam responded with a wry smile and a mock salute.<\/p>\n ………<\/p>\n \u201cWell, I ain\u2019t a gonna stand for it!\u201d Clay Hansen declared, his face beet red, courtesy of the frustration and impotent fury seething within him, and the consequences of having imbibed too much whiskey.\u00a0 \u201cY\u2019 hear me?\u00a0\u00a0 I AIN\u2019T gonna stand for it!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMe, neither!\u201d Elmer McBantry declared, banging his tightly balled fist down onto the bar for emphasis.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cA man\u2019s gotta do . . . what a man\u2019s gotta do!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah!\u00a0\u00a0 Like Elmer said . . . a man\u2019s gotta do what a man\u2019s gotta do,\u201d Abe Miller voiced his wholehearted agreement, slurring his words together into a near incomprehensible mass.<\/p>\n Clay Hansen, Elmer McBantry, and Abe Miller had left the Silver Dollar in the company of Wesley McGrath, along with Eli Barnett, his son, Andy, Dick Faraday, Walt Jared, and his young nephew, among others.\u00a0\u00a0 They had long ago switched from drinking beer to cheap, rotgut whiskey by the bottle, their anger and frustration coming to the surface proportionate to their fast decreasing sobriety.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s right!\u201d a man, standing at the end of the bar nearest the door, voiced his opinion, setting off a discordant chorus of murmuring.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I said it once, I done said it a million times!\u00a0 There\u2019s only ONE way to make sure things turn out as they ought,\u201d Wesley McGrath said in a smooth, oily tone.\u00a0 \u201cWe need t\u2019 go right on down to that jail and take the bull by the horns . . . provided, YOU have the stomach for doing what needs to be done.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI<\/strong> ain\u2019t afraid,\u201d a young miner by the name of Oscar Donaldson declared in a loud, clear voice.<\/p>\n \u201cMe, neither,\u201d Oscar\u2019s companion, Freddy Baker voiced his agreement.<\/p>\n \u201cAnyone ELSE with us?!\u201d\u00a0 Wesley turned to appeal the other patrons gathered that night in the Bucket of Blood Saloon.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can count ME in,\u201d Arnold Thompkins immediately leapt to his feet.\u00a0 His energetic momentum sent his chair toppling to the floor with a loud clatter.\u00a0 Like Oscar and Fred, he was also a miner.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can count ME in, too!\u201d\u00a0 Boyd Thompkins leapt to his feet a split second behind his older brother.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWho does that fancy pants lawyer think he is anyway, settin\u2019 those fellers loose on us decent, law abidin\u2019 folk?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah,\u201d several raucous, angry voices shouted in unison.<\/p>\n \u201cANYBODY GOT SOME ROPE?\u201d Wesley McGrath shouted in order to be heard above the rising din.<\/p>\n \u201cI HAVE,\u201d Eli Barnett shouted.<\/p>\n \u201cME, TOO!\u201d Dick Faraday immediately chimed right in.<\/p>\n \u201cSO DO I!\u201d\u00a0 another man, seated in the very back, yelled out.<\/p>\n Cosmo Tully, the bartender at the Bucket of Blood turned and grabbed, Paulette, his youngest barmaid, as she eased her way behind him, bearing a half dozen beers on a tray destined for the big group seated at the largest table in the middle of the room.\u00a0 \u201cP-Put the tray down,\u201d he ordered, his face pale and voice shaking.<\/p>\n \u201cBut, I\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPut the tray down.\u00a0 NOW!\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019LL serve it to \u2018em,\u201d Cosmo hissed, casting an anxious glance toward the corner where Wesley McGrath, Clay Hansen, and others seemed to be holding court.\u00a0 \u201cI need you to run down to the sheriff\u2019s office . . . to warn him.\u00a0 Things\u2019re gettin\u2019 \u2018way outta hand.\u201d<\/p>\n Paulette nodded as she carefully set her tray down on the bar.\u00a0 \u201cIt goes to those guys over here . . . at the big table in the middle.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGotcha,\u201d Cosmo grunted.<\/p>\n Paulette quietly made her way to the door and slipped out into the night.<\/p>\n \u201cHEY!\u00a0 WHERE\u2019S SHE GOIN\u2019?!\u201d Dick Faraday angrily demanded, upon catching sight of the young barmaid leaving.<\/p>\n \u201cNever mind HER,\u201d Clay growled.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat if she\u2019s going to Sheriff Coffee to WARN him?\u201d Dick demanded.<\/p>\n \u201cLet her,\u201d Wesley snorted derisively.\u00a0 \u201cSheriff Coffee can\u2019t stop US . . . \u2018cause WE ain\u2019t gonna let him.\u201d<\/p>\n A loud, raucous chorus of \u201cyeah,\u201d and \u201cthat\u2019s right,\u201d rose in response to Wesley McGrath\u2019s impassioned declaration.<\/p>\n A young man, a cowboy, seated at one of the tables in the back of the room, rose to his feet, chugging down his glass of whiskey in a single gulp.\u00a0 \u201cSO,\u201d he demanded in a loud voice as he banged his empty glass down on the table, \u201cWHAT\u2019RE WE ALL WAITIN\u2019 FOR?!\u201d<\/p>\n ………<\/p>\n \u201cSHERIFF COFFEE!\u00a0 SHERIFF COFFEE!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 A woman shrieked at the top of her lungs, amid\u2019 a volley of ferocious pounding that rattled the very hinges of the locked doors stopped the sheriff, and the three elder Cartwrights mid stride.<\/p>\n \u201cSounds like Paulette Simmons from over at the Bucket o\u2019 Blood,\u201d Roy muttered with sinking heart, as he strode briskly across the room to the door.\u00a0 Ben, Hoss, and Adam exchanged glances, fearing the worst.<\/p>\n The instant Roy Coffee threw open the door, Paulette half fell, half stumbled inside, her face pale, her emerald green eyes round with alarm.\u00a0 \u201cSheriff Coffee, Cosmo sent me t\u2019 fetch ya,\u201d she gasped, as she collapsed into the lawman\u2019s outstretched arms.\u00a0 \u201cMister Hansen, Mister McGrath \u2018n the others . . . they\u2019re gettin\u2019 outta hand.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCome on over here, Miss Simmons,\u201d Roy said as he led her across the room to the chairs facing his desk.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNow you sit yourself down here, \u2018n catch your breath.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHoss . . . grab a rifle and keep an eye on the street outside,\u201d Ben ordered, sotto voce.\u00a0 \u201cAdam, you remember where Clem Foster lives?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, if he\u2019s\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSomebody mention my name?\u201d Clem queried affably, with a smile, as he sauntered into the sheriff\u2019s office.\u00a0\u00a0 His smile faded upon catching sight of Paulette seated in front of the sheriff\u2019s desk.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s up?\u201d he asked, his eyes flitting from one face to the next.<\/p>\n \u201cThere seems to be some trouble brewing at the Bucket of Blood,\u201d Ben grimly filled the deputy in.<\/p>\n \u201cClay Hansen and that bunch?\u201d Clem asked with a dark scowl.<\/p>\n \u201cI think so.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey . . . they was talkin\u2019 about who had ropes \u2018n everything,\u201d Paulette, meanwhile, told the sheriff, her voice still shaking.<\/p>\n \u201cDid they say for fact that they was comin\u2019 over here?\u201d Roy asked, taking great care to keep his voice calm and even.<\/p>\n \u201cCosmo sent me to fetch you at the place they was still talkin\u2019 \u2018bout who had ropes,\u201d Paulette moaned, shaking her head dolefully.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBut, I heard \u2018em sayin\u2019 somethin\u2019 about . . . about you not bein\u2019 able to stop \u2018em.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRoy, our offer to help still stands,\u201d Ben said quietly.<\/p>\n \u201cEven if it means shootin\u2019 down your friends \u2018n neighbors . . . t\u2019 protect the likes o\u2019 the Carters \u2018n that Timothy Higgins feller?\u201d Roy asked.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t LIKE the idea . . . any more than YOU do, Roy,\u201d Ben said grimly.\u00a0 \u201cBut I like the idea of anarchy, mob rule, and men, drunk and angry, taking the law into their own hands even less.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPa speaks for me, too, Sheriff Coffee,\u201d Adam said.<\/p>\n \u201c . . . and me,\u201d Hoss declared with a curt nod of his head for emphasis.<\/p>\n \u201cAlright, Ben . . . Adam . . . Hoss . . . raise your right hands,\u201d Roy said.<\/p>\n The three men silently complied.<\/p>\n \u201cDo you swear t\u2019 uphold the laws o\u2019 Virginia City . . . Story County, \u2018n the State o\u2019 Nevada to the best o\u2019 your ability, so help ya God?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI do,\u201d the Cartwrights murmured softly, in unison.<\/p>\n \u201cConsider yourselves deputized,\u201d Roy said.\u00a0 \u201cYou know where the rifles \u2018n the ammunition are.\u00a0 Clem?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, Sir?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI want you \u2018n Adam t\u2019 stand watch outside,\u201d Roy continued.\u00a0 He reached into his pocket and pulled out a key ring.\u00a0 \u201cThis is the key t\u2019 that vacant office buildin\u2019 across the street.\u201d\u00a0 He tossed the key ring over to Clem.\u00a0 \u201cI want ya t\u2019 take up position on the roof.\u00a0 Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI want you out on t\u2019 porch.\u00a0 Clem . . . .\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, Sir?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFirst sign o\u2019 trouble, I want ya t\u2019 fire three shots.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI will,\u201d Clem promised.<\/p>\n \u201cBen . . . Hoss . . . you\u2019ll stay in here with me,\u201d Roy continued.\u00a0 \u201cIf I end up havin\u2019 t\u2019 g\u2019won outside t\u2019 deal with Clay, Wesley, \u2018n the others, I want the two of ya t\u2019 keep watch out the window, but stay in here . . . unless I tell ya otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAlright, Roy,\u201d Ben agreed.<\/p>\n Hoss nodded.<\/p>\n Roy, then, turned his attention back to the distraught saloon girl, still seated primly on the edge of her chair in front of his desk.\u00a0 \u201cMiss Simmons?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cY-Yes, Sheriff?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cY\u2019 have any place you can go?\u00a0 This may prove NOT t\u2019 be a safe place \u2018fore the night\u2019s over.\u201d<\/p>\n Paulette rose to her feet slowly.\u00a0 \u201cLaurie Lee Bonner, over at the Silver Dollar\u2019s a good friend of mine.\u00a0 I\u2019m pretty sure she\u2019ll let me stay there with her, leastwise for a little while.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHoss?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, Sir?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWould you please see Miss Simmons on over t\u2019 the Silver Dollar?\u201d\u00a0 Roy asked.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d be gla\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo!\u201d\u00a0 Paulette Simmons immediately cut Hoss off, mid-sentence.\u00a0 \u201cSheriff Coffee, please . . . don\u2019t worry about me, I can make it to the Silver Dollar alright.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMiss Simmons, I\u2019m not sure I like the idea o\u2019 you out there all by your lonesome.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c . . . and I<\/strong> don\u2019t like the idea of me taking away one of your men,\u201d Paulette argued.\u00a0 \u201cThe Silver Dollar ain\u2019t far, just down the street \u2018n around the corner.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSuppose you run into that mob on its way from the Bucket of Blood, Miss Simmons?\u201d\u00a0 Ben asked.<\/p>\n \u201cMister Cartwright, they couldda stopped me from leavin\u2019 the Bucket o\u2019 Blood in the first place, but they didn\u2019t.\u00a0\u00a0 If I happen t\u2019 run into \u2018em again, before I get to the Silver Dollar, I\u2019m pretty sure they won\u2019t stop me or try to hurt me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAlright,\u201d Roy sighed reluctantly, knowing he had no choice in the matter, \u201cbut you go directly t\u2019 the Silver Dollar, y\u2019 hear me?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI will, Sheriff Coffee,\u201d Paulette promised, before slipping outside.<\/p>\n \u201cSheriff Coffee, I can step outside \u2018n watch, make sure she gets down the street to the corner all right,\u201d Hoss offered.<\/p>\n \u201cThank you, Hoss, that WOULD make me feel a li\u2019l better,\u201d Roy said.<\/p>\n Hoss nodded, then quietly stepped outside, with rifle in hand.<\/p>\n \u201cStepping out for a breath of fresh air, Big Brother?\u201d Adam asked, as Hoss moved out onto the board walk in front of the sheriff\u2019s office.\u00a0 He was comfortably ensconced on the bench just outside, with one leg propped up on the wooden box Roy Coffee occasionally used as a make shift footstool.\u00a0 His rifle lay across his lap, loaded and ready for use should the need arise.<\/p>\n A half-smile tugged at the corner of Hoss\u2019 mouth, as he shook his head in answer to his older brother\u2019s question.\u00a0 \u201cI told Sheriff Coffee I\u2019d watch \u2018n make sure that li\u2019l gal made it to the corner alright.\u201d\u00a0 He inclined his head toward Paulette Simmons\u2019 retreating form, as she darted across the street.<\/p>\n On the roof of the vacant building across the street, Clem fired three shots from his revolver.<\/p>\n \u201cLooks like Miss Simmons got away just in time,\u201d Adam said, his sharp ears picking up the raucous shouting of the men making their way from the Bucket of Blood to the sheriff\u2019s office.\u00a0 \u201cThey\u2019re still a few blocks away, yet, but you\u2019d best g\u2019won back in.\u00a0 I\u2019ll keep an eye on the girl.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss curtly nodded his thanks, then went back inside.<\/p>\n \u201cHoss . . . did Miss Simmons make it to the corner?\u201d Roy asked as he slipped the last bullet into his rifle, and snapped it closed.<\/p>\n \u201cAdam\u2019s keepin\u2019 an eye on her,\u201d Hoss replied.<\/p>\n \u201cBen . . . Hoss . . . .\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, Roy?\u201d Ben replied.<\/p>\n \u201cI want the both of ya t\u2019 hold the fort inside,\u201d Roy said curtly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m gonna go out, \u2018n try t\u2019 talk some sense into \u2018em.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGod go with ya, Roy,\u201d Ben murmured softly.<\/p>\n \u201cAmen t\u2019 that,\u201d Hoss somberly agreed.<\/p>\n Part 3<\/p>\n Roy stepped out onto the board walk, closing the door to his office behind him.\u00a0 He paused to allow his eyes a moment to adjust from the bright burning glow of the oil lamps illuminating his office, to the dim light of the waning quarter moon, now rising toward zenith.\u00a0 At the end of the street, he saw the torch lights, borne by the angry crowd of self-appointed vigilantes, rounding the corner.\u00a0 Their voices, harsh and grating, shattered the night stillness, growing louder and louder as they advanced.<\/p>\n \u201cRoy?\u201d<\/p>\n Roy felt rather than saw Adam Cartwright standing close by, waiting expectantly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m gonna try \u2018n talk with \u2018em, Adam.\u00a0\u00a0 I want ya t\u2019 cover me . . . as long as ya can.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDo you want me to go with you?\u201d<\/p>\n Roy shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cI want ya t\u2019 stay here.\u00a0 If . . . if anything happens t\u2019 me, your pa \u2018n Hoss are gonna need ya.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam nodded.<\/p>\n \u201cYou seen Clem?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI just saw him come out there on that balcony,\u201d Adam replied, pointing.<\/p>\n \u201cGood.\u00a0 He\u2019ll know what t\u2019 do.\u201d\u00a0 With that, Roy stepped down off the board walk and moved right out into the middle of the street, murmuring a very short, yet deeply heartfelt prayer for protection; not for his own so much, but for Clem, the Cartwrights, and most of all for the men now advancing up the street toward his office and the jail.\u00a0 \u201c . . . most o\u2019 the time, they\u2019re decent, law abidin\u2019 men.\u00a0 Some of \u2018em even go t\u2019 church once in a while.\u00a0 So, please, God . . . I\u2019d be much obliged if ya\u2019d do what y\u2019 can to protect \u2018em from themselves.\u00a0 Amen.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHEY!\u00a0 WHAT\u2019S GOIN\u2019 ON OUT THERE?!\u201d\u00a0 Timothy Higgins demanded, shouting at the top of his voice so to be heard over the clamorous din of the approaching vigilantes and Billy Bob Carter, down on his knees, with his hands pressed tight over his ears, sobbing hysterically.<\/p>\n \u201cTHAT, Dear Boy, is the sound of your executioners coming to drag you out into the streets, kicking and screaming, so that they might in the parlance of this barbaric corner of the world, string the lot of you up,\u201d Gerald Crippensworth cheerfully informed his cell mate.\u00a0 He and Timothy Higgins had been sharing a cell, since the latter\u2019s arrest.\u00a0 An amused smile pulled at the corner of his mouth, upon hearing the sudden, sharp intake of breath and seeing the younger man\u2019s eyes grow round with sheer terror.<\/p>\n Timothy\u2019s mouth frantically worked, but no sound issued forth.<\/p>\n \u201cBILLY BOB,\u201d Jacob Carter, over in the adjoining cell, shouted in a desperate bid to make himself heard above his younger brother\u2019s wailing and the shouts of the approaching men outside.\u00a0\u00a0 He was kneeling on the floor beside Billy Bob, trying to pull the boy\u2019s hands away from his ears.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBILLY BOB, WILL YA FOR HEAVEN\u2019S SAKE STOP THIS GOD-AWFUL WAILIN\u2019 \u2018N LISTEN TO ME!?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTHEY\u2019RE . . . THEY\u2019RE G-GONNA HANG US,\u201d Billy Bob sobbed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cTHEY\u2019RE G-GONNA H-HANG US . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI for one can\u2019t wait,\u201d Crippensworth retorted sardonically.\u00a0 \u201cOnce the lot of you are hanging from the nearest tree, I\u2019ll FINALLY have some peace and quiet once again.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ll have peace \u2018n quiet all right . . . JER-ROME,\u201d Jacob Carter angrily returned, \u201cas in the REST in peace kind, same as US.\u201d<\/p>\n Crippensworth bristled against Jacob\u2019s insistence upon addressing him by that particular derivation of his given name.<\/p>\n \u201cI hope you ain\u2019t thinkin\u2019 they\u2019re just gonna take US \u2018n leave YOU behind,\u201d Jacob pressed.\u00a0 Crippensworth\u2019s stony silence prompted a loud peal of harsh, mirthless laughter.\u00a0 \u201cY-You . . . you really ARE thinkin\u2019 that, ain\u2019t ya, Jerome?\u201d<\/p>\n Silence.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, they ain\u2019t,\u201d Jacob snapped, taking perverse gratification in seeing that big ox of an Englishman flinch.\u00a0 \u201cMob like that . . . they NEVER stop \u2018n think.\u00a0 They just haul out every last son-of-bitch who happens t\u2019 be locked up in the jail, \u2018n string \u2018em up, one after the other after the other, quick, quick, quick, just like that.\u201d\u00a0 He abruptly snapped his fingers.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI know, Jerome, \u2018cause I seen it happen.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNO!\u201d\u00a0 Timothy shouted, his entire body quaking with terror.\u00a0 \u201cNO!\u00a0 I DIDN\u2019T DO NOTHIN\u2019!\u00a0 IT WAS ALL SELF DEFENSE!\u201d<\/p>\n Crippensworth glared murderously over at Jacob, still on his knees, trying desperately to reach his terrified younger brother.\u00a0 \u201cCan\u2019t you make this hysterical old woman shut-UP?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s YOUR problem, Jerome.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI DIDN\u2019T DO NOTHIN\u2019, YA HEAR!\u00a0 IT WAS SELF DEFENSE!\u00a0 SELF DEFENSE!\u201d Timothy shouted.\u00a0 \u201cI DIDN\u2019T SHOOT DOWN NOBODY, BUT IN SELF DEF\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n Timothy\u2019s words were swallowed up in a bellow of pain, astonishment, and outrage, when Crippensworth turned, and slammed his rock hard fist into the center of his face with all his might.\u00a0 The force of the blow sent Timothy reeling across the cell.\u00a0 His screams were swallowed up in a panicked gasp as the impact of his body slamming against the thick outside wall, drove the air right out of his lungs.\u00a0 He collapsed to the floor in an ungainly heap like a marionette whose strings had just been cut.<\/p>\n \u201cThanks, Jerome.\u00a0 Much obliged to ya,\u201d Jacob said in a wry tone.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re a cool one, Jake.\u00a0 I\u2019ve GOT to give you that,\u201d Crippensworth grudgingly allowed.<\/p>\n \u201cIf it were just me . . . . \u201d Jacob shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019d say, hell!\u00a0 Let \u2018em come!\u00a0 If I\u2019m gonna have my neck stretched, I\u2019d sooner now than later, \u2018n get it over with.\u00a0 But, it ain\u2019t just me.\u00a0 I gotta figure out what I\u2019m gonna do about my brother.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou \u2018n th-that idiot brother!\u201d Timothy wheezed, his voice still shaky.\u00a0 \u201cIf it hadn\u2019t been for HIM holdin\u2019 us back all the time\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat about YOU gettin\u2019 hysterical on us, screamin\u2019 an\u2019 hollerin\u2019 like some prissy li\u2019l gal that\u2019s just seen a mouse?!\u201d Jacob snarled, taking no pains to keep back the anger and contempt he felt for Timothy Higgins.\u00a0 \u201cIf it hadn\u2019t o\u2019 been for you, carryin\u2019 on so out in the desert, the sheriff would\u2019ve gone on HIS merry way . . . \u2018n WE would\u2019ve gone on ours.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cME?!\u201d\u00a0 Timothy angrily shot right back.\u00a0 \u201cIt was that big, clumsy ox, Black Burt Somethin\u2019-Or-Other, carryin\u2019 on like a frightened old woman that\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe name\u2019s Black BART,\u201d Jacob spat contemptuously, \u201cand I couldda handled him.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou weren\u2019t doin\u2019 such a great job of it out in the desert.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDAMMIT, I WOULDDA, IF I HAD THE CHANCE,\u201d Jacob shouted.\u00a0 \u201cBUT BLACK BART DIDN\u2019T EVEN GIT FIVE WORDS OUTTA HIS MOUTH, BEFORE YOU<\/strong> SHOT \u2018IM DOWN IN COLD BLOOD.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTHAT\u2019S \u2018CAUSE HE WAS GONNA LIE \u2018BOUT ME,\u201d Timothy shouted back.\u00a0 \u201cHE WAS GONNA TELL THAT SHERIFF THAT I MURDERED THEM FOLKS, WHEN I DIDN\u2019T.\u00a0 YEAH, I SHOT \u2018EM, BUT IT WAS SELF<\/strong> DEFENSE<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJ-Jacob?\u201d<\/p>\n It was Billy Bob.\u00a0 Jacob turned and found his younger brother staring up at him through eyes round with fear, and glistening with tears yet unshed.<\/p>\n \u201cJacob, I-I\u2019m scared,\u201d the boy sobbed.\u00a0 \u201cI wanna b-be brave . . . I w-wanna b-be like a . . . a man, s-so\u2019s you\u2019d b-be proud o\u2019 me, but I c-can\u2019t.\u00a0 I\u2019m t-too scared.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c \u2018S ok, Billy Bob.\u00a0 Important thing is you\u2019re tryin\u2019.\u00a0 You\u2019re tryin\u2019 real hard,\u201d Jacob said, his tone, his entire manner softening.\u00a0 \u201cIt ain\u2019t easy tryin\u2019 t\u2019 be brave when you\u2019re feelin\u2019 scared, but I know you\u2019re tryin\u2019, an\u2019 I\u2019m real proud o\u2019 you for that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cY-You are?\u201d\u00a0 Billy Bob asked, as fear gave way to astonishment.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, I am.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJacob?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, Billy Bob?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWill we go to heaven?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYOU will, Billy Bob.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cW-Will MA be there?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cY-Yeah.\u00a0 Ma\u2019ll be there.\u00a0 She\u2019ll be right there, standin\u2019 next t\u2019 Saint Peter at the Pearly Gates, waitin\u2019 for YOU.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe . . . she will?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe will, Billy Bob,\u201d Jacob reiterated with an emphatic nod of his head.\u00a0 \u201cNow, I want ya to promise me that you\u2019ll think of Ma waitin\u2019 for ya.\u00a0 No matter what happens, you\u2019ll just keep right on thinkin\u2019 o\u2019 Ma.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll t-try, Jacob.\u00a0 I promise . . . I\u2019ll try REAL hard.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Roy Coffee took up position in the middle of the road, roughly ten yards away from the front of the building that served as his office and the Virginia City Jail.\u00a0 As he watched the angry mob making its way up the street, a strange calm stole over him.\u00a0 He felt oddly detached from what was happening, as if he were viewing everything through a telescope, or from the far end of a long tunnel.<\/p>\n To the casual observer, it would appear that the ringleaders were Clay Hansen and Abe Miller.\u00a0 The two ranchers walked, side-by-side, at the head of the crowd, with jaws rigidly set, and mouths thinned to near straight lipless lines.\u00a0 Wesley McGrath, the man Roy knew to be the real instigator of this whole sorry venture, followed a few feet behind the ranchers, positioned at dead center, framed by Clay on his right, Abe on his left.<\/p>\n Roy caught glimpses of other familiar faces.\u00a0 Clay\u2019s Hansen\u2019s foreman, Eli Barnett, strode resolutely behind his employer, clutching a length of coiled rope in his right hand.\u00a0 His son, Andy, his face pale yet set with grim resolve, walked alongside him.\u00a0 Elmer McBantry was in the crowd, along with Walt Jared, and his young nephew, Burt.\u00a0 Roy also spotted Dick Faraday, one of Abe Miller\u2019s men, and the Thompkins brothers.\u00a0 He recognized others in the crowd, too.\u00a0\u00a0 Miners, cowboys, shop keepers . . . every last one of \u2018em men who had given him their vote of confidence on election day, year after year after year for more years now than he cared to count, sometimes . . . .<\/p>\n The known faces of friends and neighbors remained for an instant more, then faded . . . swallowed up in strange shadows, cast by the dance of fire light emanating from torches, rendering that which was comforting and familiar into something strange and disturbing.<\/p>\n Roy walked down the street to meet the men advancing on his jail, on him, and on the men who stood with him, equally resolute.\u00a0 \u201cTHAT\u2019S FAR ENOUGH RIGHT THERE.\u201d\u00a0 His voice rang out loud and clear above the clamoring of the advancing mob.\u00a0 He stood his ground, with his rifle raised, fingering the trigger for emphasis.<\/p>\n The men came to a halt a few yards away, and for a moment, an uneasy silence descended upon them all, like a thick, heavy shroud.<\/p>\n \u201cDON\u2019T BE A FOOL, ROY!\u201d\u00a0 Clay shouted back, at length, breaking the silence like a clap of loud thunder.<\/p>\n \u201cPlease, Roy we don\u2019t want t\u2019 hurt nobody,\u201d Abe said.\u00a0 There was an odd pleading note in his tone of voice.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou just give us what we come for\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t do that, Abe, \u2018n you know it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRoy, we\u2019re gonna do what we came to do, with or without your help,\u201d Clay said.\u00a0 \u201cNow we don\u2019t wanna hurt you, Clem, or anyone else standin\u2019 with ya, but we will if ya get in our way.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBe sensible, Sheriff,\u201d Elmer called out.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s almost thirty of us to you and your deputy.\u00a0 Ain\u2019t no possible way you can stop us.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe so, Elmer, but you or anyone else so much as takes one more step, I\u2019m gonna do everything in my power t\u2019 TRY \u2018n stop ya,\u201d Roy said sternly.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019d shoot down decent, law abidin\u2019 folks to protect the . . . the filth you got locked up in your jail?!\u201d\u00a0 Walt Jared sputtered angrily.<\/p>\n \u201cThere ain\u2019t nothin\u2019 law abidin\u2019 about a mob hell bent on cold blooded murder, Walt,\u201d Roy immediately returned.<\/p>\n \u201cENOUGH!\u201d\u00a0 Wesley McGrath shouted, as he pushed his way past Clay and Abe.\u00a0 \u201cSHERIFF, YOU GOT TWO CHOICES.\u00a0 YOU CAN EITHER STAND ASIDE OR GIT YOURSELF SHOT.\u201d\u00a0 He started to raise his rifle.<\/p>\n \u201cDROP THE RIFLE, MCGRATH.\u00a0 NOW!\u201d\u00a0 It was Adam.<\/p>\n Wesley turned and peered into the deep shadows cast by the balcony, hanging over the board walk.\u00a0 \u201cWHO\u2019S THERE?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI SAID, \u2018DROP THE RIFLE, MCGRATH.\u2019\u00a0 I\u2019M NOT GOING TO TELL YOU AGAIN.\u201d<\/p>\n Wesley turned and aimed his rifle in the general direction of the sheriff\u2019s office.\u00a0 Adam fired first, catching Wesley in the shoulder.\u00a0 Yelping in pain and outrage, Wesley dropped his rifle like a hot potato and grabbed his shoulder.\u00a0 Dick Faraday and Andy Barnett immediately brought their rifles to bear, both aiming at Adam.\u00a0 Clem immediately fired from his vantage point on the balcony of the building, across the street from the sheriff\u2019s office, branding the side of Dick\u2019s leg, just above the knee.\u00a0 Dick bellowed as he fell, trying to hug his injured knee to his chest.<\/p>\n \u201cDrop it, Son,\u201d Roy said, aiming his own rifle at Andy Barnett\u2019s chest.<\/p>\n Andy blanched in the face of the sheriff\u2019s dark angry glare.\u00a0 His rifle slid right out of his hands and thudded softly on the ground at his feet.<\/p>\n \u201cRoy, so help me, if you hurt Andy\u2014 \u201d Eli, the boy\u2019s father, stepped out from behind Clay, his dark eyes blazing with fury.<\/p>\n \u201cAndy\u2019s fine, Eli, an\u2019 he\u2019ll STAY fine, just as long as he don\u2019t do nothin\u2019 foolish,\u201d Roy said.\u00a0 \u201cThat goes for the rest of ya, too.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t call protectin\u2019 our womenfolk foolish, Sheriff,\u201d Walt argued.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s right!\u201d Clay agreed with an emphatic nod of his head.<\/p>\n A ripple of loud, raucous murmuring rose from the men forming the vigilante mob.<\/p>\n \u201cWho\u2019s protectin\u2019 YOUR womenfolk right now, Walt?\u201d Roy demanded, raising his voice to be heard above the murmuring.\u00a0 \u201cWith your brother, Virgil, home sick in bed, \u2018n you \u2018n Burt here . . . who\u2019s home right now looking after Amelia, Lilly Beth, \u2018n Cora Lynn?\u00a0 An\u2019 YOU, Clay?\u00a0 I see you \u2018n just about all your men HERE . . . who\u2019s home right now, lookin\u2019 after YOUR wife \u2018n daughters?\u201d<\/p>\n Clay Hansen and the Jareds glared over at Roy for a moment, then turned away, looking uncertain.<\/p>\n \u201cEli . . . \u2018n you, too, Andy,\u201d Roy quickly pressed his advantage.\u00a0 \u201cWith the two of ya here . . . your ma\u2019s home . . . all by her lonesome.\u201d<\/p>\n The Barnetts stared at Roy, their faces twin masks of utter astonishment.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a long ride back t\u2019 the foreman\u2019s house at the Five Card Draw, Eli,\u201d Roy continued.\u00a0 \u201cA lot could happen in all that time . . . \u2018n YOU, Arnold Thompkins.\u00a0 Your wife\u2019s gonna have a baby sometime \u2018round the end o\u2019 summer . . . who\u2019s home right now lookin\u2019 after HER?\u201d<\/p>\n The malevolent rage, so apparent in the faces of Arnold and his brother, Boyd, quickly gave way to apprehension.<\/p>\n \u201cDON\u2019T LISTEN TO HIM!\u201d\u00a0 Wesley McGrath shouted, his hand still pressed hard against his shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cFACT O\u2019 THE MATTER IS . . . THOSE MEN GO TO TRIAL, THAT FANCY LAWYER\u2019S GONNA SEE TO IT THEY GO SCOT FREE!\u00a0 HOW SAFE ARE YOUR WIVES . . . DAUGHTERS . . . SISTERS . . . EVEN MOTHERS GONNA BE THEN?!\u201d<\/p>\n Wesley\u2019s words set off a ripple of angry muttering among the men gathered.<\/p>\n \u201cTHAT AIN\u2019T GONNA\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n A shot rang out, effectively cutting off Roy Coffee\u2019s protest mid-sentence.<\/p>\n \u201cRoy, if ya know what\u2019s good for ya . . . you\u2019ll stand aside,\u201d Clay warned.<\/p>\n \u201cClay, don\u2019t be stupid,\u201d Roy begged.<\/p>\n A second shot was fired, catching Roy in the chest, near the shoulder.\u00a0 Roy took a step, then suddenly collapsed, pitching forward and landing with a soft thud in the middle of the street.<\/p>\n \u201cCOME ON!\u201d someone shouted.<\/p>\n Clem quickly raised his rifle and fired once, then twice.\u00a0 Both bullets entered the ground less than an inch from Clay Hansen\u2019s booted feet.\u00a0 Clay instinctively jumped backwards, with a bellow of astonishment mixed with rage.<\/p>\n Adam turned upon catching movement within the crowd and the dull glint of moonlight on metal at the farthest edge of his peripheral vision.\u00a0\u00a0 A man, standing at the edge of the crowd on the other side of the street, had raised his rifle, and taken aim at Clem.\u00a0 Acting on pure instinct, fueled by a powerful surge of adrenalin, Adam raised his rifle and fired . . . .<\/p>\n \u201cTHE NEXT MAN WHO MOVES\u2014 \u201d\u00a0 Clem\u2019s words came to an abrupt end, when the man across the street fired, a split second before Adam.<\/p>\n Everyone froze, and for a moment remained, as if they had all just taken root where they stood.\u00a0 An uneasy silence fell over the entire assembly.<\/p>\n \u201cWHAT\u2019RE YA WAITIN\u2019 FOR?\u201d someone in the crowd yelled.\u00a0 \u201cLET\u2019S GO!\u201d<\/p>\n Within less than the space of a heartbeat, the mob of angry men surged forward, with all the raw strength and power of a raging flash flood.<\/p>\n \u201cPA!\u00a0 HOSS!\u00a0 BAR THE DOOR . . . NOW!\u201d Adam shouted, then, with heart in mouth, he moved toward the street, pushing his way against the massive tide of his fellow men in a desperate attempt to reach Sheriff Coffee, who lay, unmoving, in the street where he fell.<\/p>\n \u201cADAM!\u201d Ben shouted, as he reached down to open the door.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, Pa!\u201d\u00a0 Hoss said, his face set with grim determination, as he stepped between his father and the door.<\/p>\n Ben scowled.\u00a0 \u201cOut of my way, Boy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAdam said t\u2019 bar the door,\u201d Hoss said in a quiet, yet firm tone of voice.\u00a0 \u201cWe gotta do as he says.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben hesitated.<\/p>\n \u201cHE\u2019LL be alright,\u201d Hoss insisted.\u00a0 \u201cBut, if we don\u2019t bar t\u2019 door right now . . . like Adam just told us . . . I can\u2019t say t\u2019 same for us.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss was right.\u00a0 Deep down, Ben knew that.\u00a0 \u201cAlright,\u201d he growled, as the father within . . . the father that would dash out into that melee without hesitation to grab his firstborn, and drag him off to safety . . . surrendered ungraciously to the inevitable.<\/p>\n Hoss handed his own weapon to his father, then turned to lock the door, and slip the bar down in place.<\/p>\n \u201cAdam\u2019s gonna be all right . . . he\u2019s gonna be all right!\u201d\u00a0 Ben muttered those words very softly under his breath, over and over, chanting them like a mantra.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s . . . gonna be . . . all right.\u201d<\/p>\n Surely the smart one in the family would have the good sense to duck when the bullets started flying . . . .<\/p>\n Wouldn\u2019t he?!<\/p>\n \u201cPa . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n WOULDN\u2019T HE?!!<\/p>\n \u201cPA!\u201d\u00a0 Hoss\u2019 curt tone of voice cut right through Ben\u2019s mounting worry for his firstborn with the ease of a hot knife slicing through butter.<\/p>\n Ben started.\u00a0 \u201cWh-What is it, Hoss?!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m gonna move Sheriff Coffee\u2019s desk over there t\u2019 brace the doors,\u201d Hoss said tersely, speaking above the din raised by the mob without pounding on the door.\u00a0 \u201cAll of a sudden, that bar\u2019s lookin\u2019 awful flimsy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDo it,\u201d Ben snapped out the order.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll cover ya.\u201d\u00a0 He leaned Hoss\u2019 rifle against the wall behind him, then raised his own, half afraid that mob of angry men was going to bust right through those doors, before Hoss had the chance to move the desk.<\/p>\n Within a matter of seconds, Hoss shoved Roy Coffee\u2019s massive desk over in front of the fast closed double doors.\u00a0 \u201cPa?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, Son?\u201d Ben queried, exhaling the breath he had been holding.<\/p>\n \u201cAdam IS gonna be all right.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss spoke directly to Ben\u2019s fears, and his own, with a firm, rock hard conviction.\u00a0 \u201cJust \u2018cause he\u2019s been a city slicker for a few years, don\u2019t mean he can\u2019t take proper care o\u2019 himself.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know, Son . . . I know . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJ-Jacob?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, Billy Bob?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWill it hurt?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWill what hurt?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhen . . . when they . . . when they hang us, Jacob.\u00a0\u00a0 Will it hurt?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA little,\u201d Jacob said quietly.\u00a0 \u201cWhen the rope pulls tight, it\u2019ll hurt for a little while . . . less \u2018n second.\u00a0 Then you\u2019ll see Ma.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI been thinkin\u2019 o\u2019 Ma . . . just like ya told me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou just keep right on thinkin\u2019 about Ma, Billy Bob.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThinkin\u2019 o\u2019 Ma, thinkin\u2019 o\u2019 Ma, thinkin\u2019 o\u2019 Ma,\u201d Timothy, his face pale, his eyes round with fear, cruelly mocked the young man.\u00a0 \u201cOh how wonderful, wonderful, thinkin\u2019 o\u2019 Ma.\u00a0 They\u2019re gonna kill ya, Boy, don\u2019t you understand that?\u00a0 No matter how much your brother tries t\u2019 sugar coat it . . . you\u2019re gonna DIE.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh damn, here we go again,\u201d Crippensworth groaned, and sarcastically rolled his eyes.<\/p>\n \u201cI DON\u2019T WANNA DIE . . . PLEASE, IN THERE . . . YA GOTTA HELP ME!\u201d Timothy howled.<\/p>\n \u201cYOU FELLERS KEEP QUIET BACK THERE!\u201d\u00a0 Hoss yelled.<\/p>\n \u201cNO!\u00a0 NO, NO, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, PLEASE!\u00a0 SAVE ME!\u00a0\u00a0 I DON\u2019T WANNA DIE!\u00a0 YOU GOTTA STOP \u2018EM, PLEASE . . . SAVE ME, I DIDN\u2019T KILL NO ONE, I DIDN\u2019T.\u00a0 IT WAS SELF DEFENSE!\u201d\u00a0 Timothy Higgins screamed louder, his voice rising higher and higher in pitch until he almost sounded like a very lost and frightened little girl.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cOH GOD, PLEASE, PLEASE, PUH-LEEEESE . . . I DON\u2019T WANNA DIIIIIII-EEEEEEEE!\u201d<\/p>\n Timothy\u2019s words quickly degenerated into a wailing, made primal by the intensity of the escalating blind terror that had possessed him.<\/p>\n \u201cOPEN UP IN THERE!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cC\u2019MON . . . WHOEVER Y\u2019 ARE . . . OPEN UP!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWE DON\u2019T WANT TO HURT NOBODY . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n Ben immediately recognized the voices of Clay Hansen, Walt Jared, and Abe Miller, respectively, shouting at the tops of their voices in order to be heard above the thunder of many fists pounding on the doors; the raucous clamoring of their fellows without, and Timothy Higgins\u2019 hysteria.<\/p>\n \u201cCLAY?\u00a0 CLAY, IS THAT YOU?\u201d\u00a0 Ben called out to the one he felt to be the most reasonable of the three.<\/p>\n \u201cBEN?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYES, CLAY.\u00a0 IT\u2019S BEN CARTWRIGHT.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWE DON\u2019T WANNA HURT YA, BEN . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBUT, WE WILL!\u00a0 AS GOD IS OUR WITNESS, WE WILL, IF YOU TRY T\u2019 STOP US!\u201d\u00a0 That was Walt Jared.<\/p>\n \u201cWALT, I WAS TALKING TO CLAY!\u201d\u00a0 Ben admonished Virgil Jared\u2019s younger brother in the same tone of voice he had often used to admonish his own children throughout their growing up years.<\/p>\n \u201cWELL, I\u2019M TALKIN\u2019 T\u2019 YOU<\/strong>, BEN CARTWRIGHT, AN\u2019 I\u2019M TELLIN\u2019 YA . . . STAND ASIDE NOW<\/strong>, OR WE AIN\u2019T GONNA BE RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT HAPPENS TO YA!\u201d\u00a0 Walt angrily yelled back.<\/p>\n Ben heard several of the men outside shouting, \u201cStand back.\u00a0\u00a0 Stand back.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 A deafening silence settled over the men outside.\u00a0 Then, suddenly, the whole world seemed to erupt in the roar of glass shattering into thousands upon thousands of pieces as a heavy, mahogany chair flew through the window, to the left of the door.\u00a0 Hoss, who stood nearest that window, barely had time to register movement out of the corner of his eye, before the chair slammed into him, knocking him right off his feet.<\/p>\n \u201cHOSS!\u201d\u00a0 Ben shouted, as his biggest son thudded hard onto the floor, like a dropped sack of potatoes.\u00a0\u00a0 Before he could even think of moving, Abe Miller, Clay Hansen, and Walt Jared were through the window and into the sheriff\u2019s office, with pair of big, burly men, whom Ben immediately recognized as two of Clay\u2019s hands, bringing up the rear.<\/p>\n \u201cNate . . . Cy . . . you boys get that desk outta the way,\u201d Clay ordered, glancing first at Nate Barker, then over at Nate\u2019s younger brother, Cy, a young man nearly the size and strength of Hoss.\u00a0 The Barkers had worked for Clay Hansen since the death of their widowed father several years ago.<\/p>\n Nate and Cy both nodded curtly, then set to work.<\/p>\n \u201cClay . . . please.\u00a0 Stop this,\u201d Ben turned to a man he had for many years considered as neighbor and friend.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t do something you\u2019re going to bitterly regret for the rest of your life.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSee to your son, Ben,\u201d Clay said in a tone of voice colder than the deep freeze of a long winter\u2019s night.<\/p>\n \u201cClay . . . . \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Ben moved on a direct intercept course.<\/p>\n \u201cPlease, Ben . . . don\u2019t be stupid,\u201d Clay begged, his tone softening.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t listen to him, Clay,\u201d Walt spat contemptuously, \u201cjust \u2018cause Mister-Better-\u2018n-the-REST-of-us don\u2019t have the stomach for doin\u2019 what ought t\u2019 be done— \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cStand aside, Ben.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t do that, Clay.\u00a0 You know I can\u2019t do that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou stand aside NOW, Cartwright . . . or we\u2019ll MAKE ya stand aside,\u201d Walt growled, his face contorted with raw fury.<\/p>\n Ben\u2019s hand unconsciously dropped down to the revolver in his holster.\u00a0 A shot rang out, then another.\u00a0 Ben groaned softly, as he collapsed to the floor like a rag doll, with blood flowing from a head wound.<\/p>\n After a seeming eternity of desperate struggle against the teaming mass of angry humanity hell-bent on breaking into the jail, Adam finally reached Roy Coffee.\u00a0 The lawman lay where he fell, sprawled face down on the hard packed earth that served as the main thoroughfare through Virginia City.\u00a0 The dirt beneath Roy\u2019s right shoulder was stained with the sheriff\u2019s blood.<\/p>\n \u201cRoy?\u00a0 Roy, it\u2019s Adam.\u00a0 Can you hear me?\u201d he ventured, as he knelt down beside the stricken lawman, all the while laboring valiantly to ignore the angry shouts of the men, converging on the building that housed the sheriff\u2019s office and the jail.\u00a0 \u201cPa and Hoss are well able to take care of themselves,\u201d he reminded himself very sternly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThey\u2019ll be all right.\u00a0 They\u2019ll . . . BE . . . all right.\u201d<\/p>\n The sound of shattering glass assailed his ears, followed immediately by two rifle shots.\u00a0\u00a0 Adam turned and cast an anxious glance over toward the sheriff\u2019s office, torn between his duty to Roy Coffee and a near overwhelming, instinctive desire to leap to his feet and rush to the aid of his father and younger brother.\u00a0 He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ll be all right.\u00a0\u00a0 Hoss and Pa will be alright,\u201d Adam muttered very softly under his breath, as he turned his attention back to the sheriff.\u00a0 \u201cRoy?\u00a0 Roy, can you hear me?\u201d<\/p>\n No answer.<\/p>\n Adam very gingerly rolled Roy over onto his back.\u00a0 \u201cROY?!\u00a0 SHERIFF COFFEE, CAN YOU HEAR ME?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShush-up, Adam . . . I\u2019m tryin\u2019 t\u2019 sleep,\u201d Roy finally responded in a cantankerous tone of voice.<\/p>\n Clem Foster, meanwhile, stumbled down the rickety back stairs of the empty building, leaning heavily against the wall on his left for support.\u00a0\u00a0 He held his rifle with a white knuckled grip in his left hand, while pressing his bandanna hard up against the bullet wound in his left shoulder with his right, in a desperate bid to staunch the generous flow of blood.\u00a0\u00a0 His face was a sickly ashen gray, and his breath came in ragged, uneven gasps.<\/p>\n At the bottom of the steps, his legs all of a sudden turned to jelly.\u00a0 He took a single step, then collapsed.\u00a0 A soft, involuntary cry escaped his lips as he crashed down onto his knees, with the full weight of his body.\u00a0 He wavered, then pitched forward, striking the hard wood floor with a sickening thud.<\/p>\n For a time, he remained where he fell, his entire state of awareness wholly consumed by an agonizing fire that began just below his left shoulder.\u00a0 From there, the white-hot fiery pain within spread very quickly throughout his entire body.<\/p>\n Men\u2019s voices . . . raised . . . shouting in angry triumph began to trickle slowly into the world of shock and pain that all but consumed him.<\/em><\/p>\n Images of torchlight . . . of strange, frightening faces, their eyes filled with a deep, all consuming fear that had ignited into murderous fury.\u00a0 Roy Coffee stood in the middle of the street, with rifle clasped in both hands, watching the mob make its way toward him . . . .<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0Watching . . . .<\/em><\/p>\n . . . and waiting.<\/em><\/p>\n More gunfire, more shouting.\u00a0 Wesley McGrath fell . . . then Dick Faraday . . . then Roy Coffee.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0Then nothing. <\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em>The sound of shattering glass, followed by another exchange of gunfire, drew Clem back from one world of darkness to another filled with strange shadows, the angry shouts of terrified men, and searing pain.<\/p>\n \u201cRoy!\u201d Clem gasped, as he struggled to rise.\u00a0 Upon reaching his feet, he began to sway, as wave upon wave of dizziness, consequence of pain and blood loss, began to wash over him.\u00a0 He followed the wall as far as he possibly could, before turning and stumbling across the empty room toward the open door, illumined by the waning moon and flickering light of the torches borne by the mob storming the sheriff\u2019s office and jail across the street.<\/p>\n As he stumbled across the threshold of the empty building, Clem gazed in horror at the scene before him.\u00a0\u00a0 Roy Coffee and Adam Cartwright were nowhere to be seen.\u00a0 The double doors of the sheriff\u2019s office stood wide open, and there was a gaping hole where the front window had been.\u00a0 Worst of all, judging from the number of men gathered around the door, that angry, bloodthirsty crowd had grown, swelling to at least twice the size of the mob that had initially left the Bucket of Blood.<\/p>\n Clem heard shouts of \u201cstand back,\u201d \u201cstand back.\u201d\u00a0 Less than a moment later, the men crowding the door began to inch their way back, clearing a space, barely wide enough for two of Clay Hansen\u2019s men to leave the jail, with Jacob Carter between them, trussed securely like a calf for branding.<\/p>\n All of a sudden, Clem\u2019s pain and dizziness were gone, as if they had never been.\u00a0 He drew his revolver from its holster, and tore out into the street.\u00a0 \u201cHOLD IT!\u201d he shouted at the top of his voice.\u00a0 \u201cALL OF YOU, STOP RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE.\u201d<\/p>\n Andy Barnett, Burt Jared, and Ezra Miles, a young drifter who had been working for Clay Hansen for the last three and a half weeks, were standing at the very back of the crowd that had just a moment ago been pressing hard up against the door of the sheriff\u2019s office.\u00a0 All three of them froze upon catching sight of Clem lumbering across the street, with gun firmly in hand and blood flowing like a river from the bullet wound in his shoulder.<\/p>\n Ezra and Andy flinched away from the deputy\u2019s eyes, filled with pain and rage.\u00a0 The two young men exchanged fearful glances, through eyes round as saucers before turning back and raising their hands.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat the hell do ya think you\u2019re doin\u2019?!\u201d Burt demanded, gazing over at his peers with undisguised contempt.\u00a0 \u201cHe can\u2019t stop US . . . nobody can.\u201d\u00a0 He reached over and slipped Andy\u2019s revolver from its holster.<\/p>\n \u201cHey!\u201d Andy protested, as he made a futile grab for his weapon.<\/p>\n \u201cOH NO, DEPUTY.\u00a0 YOU STOP RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE . . . AND THROW DOWN THAT GUN!\u201d\u00a0 Burt yelled as he began to inch away from the edge of the mob.<\/p>\n \u201cBURT, GIVE ANDY HIS GUN,\u201d Clem ordered, as he lowered his own weapon.<\/p>\n \u201cY-YOU . . . YOU THROW DOWN YOUR<\/strong> GUN RIGHT NOW, DEPUTY, OR . . . OR I\u2019LL SH-SHOOT.\u00a0\u00a0 S-SO HELP ME . . . I\u2019LL SHOOT<\/strong>!\u201d<\/p>\n Clem noted Burt\u2019s pale face, his round staring eyes, and the trembling hands that clutched Andy Barnett\u2019s revolver with alarm.\u00a0 Though Virgil Jared kept a couple of rifles in his home for hunting, he doubted seriously that young Burt had the slightest idea as to how to use them, or any other kind of firearm.\u00a0 It was common knowledge that Amelia Jared was terrified of firearms, and had forbidden her husband and brother-in-law to teach Burt in the proper use of one.<\/p>\n \u201cBURT, GIVE . . . ANDY . . . H-HIS GUN.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Clem\u2019s physical pain suddenly returned.<\/p>\n \u201cI . . . I MEAN IT, DEPUTY.\u00a0\u00a0 YOU\u2019D BETTER THROW DOWN YOUR GUN RIGHT . . . N-NOW, OR . . . OR I\u2019LL\u2014\u201d Burt Jared\u2019s words ended in a scream of astonishment, mixed with a healthy dose of terror as the revolver in his hands discharged.<\/p>\n The bullet, accidentally fired by Burt, shattered the plate glass window in the empty building across the street, missing Clem by a mile.\u00a0 The second shot, fired by someone else standing a few yards away from Burt, Andy, and Ezra, branded Clem\u2019s right forearm, causing him to involuntarily drop his revolver.\u00a0 He stood for a moment, gazing dully at his gun, lying in the street not three feet from where he stood.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t even think about it, Clem.\u201d<\/p>\n The deputy glanced up and found himself staring down three long rifle barrels in the hands of three young cowboys.\u00a0 Two worked for Abe Miller, the third for Clay Hansen.<\/p>\n \u201cBack up . . . slow \u2018n easy,\u201d the biggest of the three ordered.\u00a0 His name was Carl Yates, and he worked for Abe Miller as his ranch foreman.<\/p>\n As Clem took a tentative step backwards, he was assaulted by a sudden wave of intense dizziness.\u00a0 He stomach lurched, then, with a soft groan, his eyes rolled up under his eyelids, and he fell.<\/p>\n \u201cJim, grab his gun,\u201d Carl ordered.<\/p>\n The youngest of the three nodded curtly, then bent down to retrieve Clem\u2019s revolver.<\/p>\n \u201c . . . uuhhh, Carl?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, Jim?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe don\u2019t look real good,\u201d Jim said, as he gazed down into Clem\u2019s face, his eyes round with horror.<\/p>\n \u201cNo.\u00a0 He sure don\u2019t,\u201d Carl agreed.\u00a0 He turned to the third among their number.\u00a0\u00a0 His name was Everett Jenkins, and like Carl, he also worked for Abe Miller.\u00a0 \u201cEverett . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI need ya to gimme a hand with getting the deputy outta the street.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy bother?!\u201d Everett said with a derisive snort.\u00a0 \u201cIf he AIN\u2019T dead, he\u2019s gonna be . . . real soon.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDead or not, he deserves better \u2018n to be left lying in the street.\u201d<\/p>\n A sigh, born of anger and exasperation, burst from between Everett\u2019s pursed lips, as he leaned over, bending at the waist, to grab Clem\u2019s feet.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Andy Barnett and Burt Jared desperately struggled for possession of the gun belonging to the former.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m . . . I\u2019m thinkin\u2019 o\u2019 Ma,\u201d Billy Carter murmured softly, over and over and over, as Cy Barker and Arnold Thompkins led him out of the jail, with his hands bound securely behind his back.\u00a0 \u201cMa.\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019m . . . thinkin\u2019 o\u2019 Ma.\u00a0 She\u2019s waitin\u2019 for me.\u00a0 Ma\u2019s at the pearly gates waitin\u2019 for ME.\u201d<\/p>\n Half way between the door opening into the room housing the jail cells, and the same leading outside, Cy suddenly halted mid-stride.\u00a0 \u201cYou got him, Mister?\u201d he growled at the young miner standing on the other side of Billy Carter.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah,\u201d Arnold replied with a puzzled frown.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019re you\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCome ON, dammit!\u201d Wesley McGrath whined, as he glared over at Cy and Arnold.\u00a0 He stood by the door, his face pale, his hand clutching the shoulder Adam Cartwright\u2019s bullet had branded at the start of this whole business.\u00a0 He had a good mind to string Adam up, too, along with the rest of the low life scum they were dragging out of the jail.\u00a0 That\u2019d show him . . . and the rest of those uppity Cartwrights, too.<\/p>\n \u201cCome ON, what\u2019s the blamed hold up?!\u201d Wesley peevishly demanded.\u00a0 \u201cWe ain\u2019t got all night.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJust gimme a minute to gag him, willya?!\u201d\u00a0 Cy snapped.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHis babbling\u2019s driving me nuts!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCy . . . just get him outta here,\u201d his boss, Clay Hansen, ordered.\u00a0 \u201cIn a few minutes, you won\u2019t have to listen to him babbling ever again.\u201d<\/p>\n Cy Barker sighed, sparing no pains to hide his ever increasing exasperation, but did as he had been told.<\/p>\n \u201c . . . please . . . you gotta LISTEN to me,\u201d Timothy Higgins whimpered, as Nate Barker, and another man from the Five Card Draw, literally dragged him out into the sheriff\u2019s office.\u00a0 His hands were also securely bound, just like the Carter brothers.\u00a0 His face was white as a sheet, and his legs trembled so badly, he could hardly stand.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s not like ya think.\u00a0\u00a0 I didn\u2019t kill those men, y-ya gotta believe me, I didn\u2019t, leastwise not like they say . . . . \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 His words tumbled out of his mouth, one after the other.<\/p>\n \u201cMister Hansen . . . what about this other guy back here?\u201d\u00a0 It was Boyd Thompkins, Arnold\u2019s younger brother.<\/p>\n \u201cWHAT other guy back there?\u201d Clay demanded with a puzzled frown.<\/p>\n \u201cThat big English guy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe one who kidnapped Joe Cartwright when their house burned down14?\u201d Clay asked.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, Sir . . . that\u2019s him,\u201d Boyd immediately replied.<\/p>\n \u201cBring him out,\u201d Wesley ordered.\u00a0 \u201cIf we\u2019re gonna clean house around here, we may as well do it right.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI hear ya, Mister McGrath,\u201d Boyd replied.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere do you figure on hangin\u2019 \u2018em?\u201d Clay asked, after Timothy Higgins had been taken out of the sheriff\u2019s office.<\/p>\n \u201cI was thinkin\u2019 o\u2019 that big ol\u2019 tree, growin\u2019 right inside the cemetery,\u201d Wesley replied with a nasty smile.\u00a0 \u201cFrom what I hear tell, it\u2019ll be in plain view o\u2019 the place where that young bridegroom was laid t\u2019 rest this mornin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n Clay nodded.\u00a0 \u201cYeah.\u00a0\u00a0 I like it,\u201d he murmured softly, as his mouth curved upward to form a tight, mirthless grin.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019d best g\u2019won outside . . . make sure the prisoners\u2019re mounted proper when that guy from the livery comes with the horses,\u201d Wesley said.\u00a0 He, then, turned to Abe Miller.\u00a0 \u201cYou \u2018n a couple a men oughtta stay here, \u2018n keep your eyes on these here Cartwrights.\u201d\u00a0 He contemptuously spat the family\u2019s name, then grimaced, as if he had just eaten something incredibly sour.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat for?\u201d Abe demanded, irritated all of a sudden with the way Wesley McGrath just stood there by the door, holding his arm, and issuing orders like he was some kind of army general, or something.<\/p>\n \u201cIf they wake up, we don\u2019t want \u2018em t\u2019 follow out after us,\u201d Wesley said, in a tone of voice, faintly condescending.<\/p>\n \u201cWell Ben over there . . . he ain\u2019t goin\u2019 nowhere,\u201d Abe said, shaking his head with genuine regret.\u00a0 \u201cWith all that blood under his head, I\u2019d say the only place HE\u2019S gonna go anytime soon is the undertaker.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, Hoss over there\u2019s still with us,\u201d Wesley argued.\u00a0 \u201cI can see his chest movin\u2019 up \u2018n down clear over t\u2019 here.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe COULD tie him up and drag him back to one of the jail cells,\u201d Abe immediately pointed out.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah!\u00a0 We COULD do that,\u201d Wesley said petulantly, \u201cand someone could also come in here right after we leave, \u2018n let him out.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAll right, all right,\u201d Abe growled, reluctantly conceding the possibility.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll get a couple o\u2019 my men.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI said YOU!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c . . . \u2018n I<\/strong> said I\u2019d get a couple o\u2019 my men.\u201d<\/p>\n A dark, murderous scowl deepened the lines and creases already present in Wesley McGrath\u2019s face.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019M givin\u2019 the orders \u2018round here, Mister Miller.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh yeah?!\u00a0\u00a0 . . . an\u2019 who decided THAT?!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe ALL agreed\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI dunno who this mysterious WE is, but speakin\u2019 for myself, I didn\u2019t agree t\u2019 NUTHIN\u2019, except for doin\u2019 what we hafta do,\u201d Abe declared.<\/p>\n \u201cNow see here, you\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n Outside, three shots were fired in rapid succession.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat the hell\u2014?!\u201d\u00a0 Abe muttered, as he ran toward the broken window, his altercation with Wesley McGrath all but forgotten.\u00a0 Upon looking out, he saw, much to his frustrated dismay, that a half dozen men on horseback had effectively surrounded everyone who had, in his own mind, come out tonight to do his civic duty.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s goin\u2019 on out there?!\u201d\u00a0 Wesley angrily demanded, as he rushed over and unceremoniously shoved Abe Miller aside.\u00a0 \u201cSay!\u00a0 They Cartwright\u2019s men?\u201d\u00a0 He scowled over at Ben, who lay on the other side of the room, face down, with blood still flowing from a bullet wound to the left side of his head.<\/p>\n \u201cSome of \u2018em,\u201d Abe growled back through clenched teeth.\u00a0 \u201cDarryl Hughes works for Hugh O\u2019Brien out at the Shoshone Queen, and those two fellas over there work for that uppity bitch what owns Valhalla.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNEXT MAN WHO SO MUCH AS BATS AN EYELASH WITHOUT MY PERMISSION IS GONNA GET SHOT,\u201d Candy, meanwhile, informed the would be lynch mob from his place atop Thor\u2019s back.\u00a0 \u201cI WANT EVERY LAST ONE OF YA TO THROW DOWN YOUR GUNS AND RIFLES, AND GET YOUR HANDS UP.\u201d\u00a0 His sharp eyes caught movement to his left.\u00a0 He immediately turned and aimed his rifle at the chest of the big Irishman everyone knew simply as Clancy.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t do anything foolish,\u201d he warned in a low, menacing tone.<\/p>\n Clancy swallowed nervously, before lowering his rifle, and allowing it to drop harmlessly to the street.\u00a0 Ezra Miles quickly followed suit, dropping his rifle and the gun in his holster.\u00a0 Several other men standing near Clancy and Ezra dropped their rifles and slowly raised their hands.<\/p>\n \u201cNOOOOOO-OOOOOOO!\u201d\u00a0 Wesley McGrath howled in protest as he bolted head long out of the sheriff\u2019s office, his wounded arm all but forgotten.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNO!\u00a0 DON\u2019T LISTEN TO HIM!\u00a0 DON\u2019T\u2014 \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 His words ended in a squawk of surprise and protest as a bullet whizzed past his ear.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s over, McGrath,\u201d Candy said in a tight, angry voice.<\/p>\n \u201cAww, no!\u201d Wesley hotly protested. \u201cIt ain\u2019t over until every damn last one o\u2019 them murderin\u2019 sons-of-bitches\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI SAID it\u2019s over.\u201d\u00a0 Candy slowly raised his rifle, taking dead aim at Wesley\u2019s head.<\/p>\n For a long, tense moment, Wesley stared up at Candy, looking uncertain.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re . . . y-you\u2019re bluf\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n The explosive discharge of a single revolver somewhere at the edge of the crowd, abruptly terminated Wesley\u2019s response.<\/p>\n \u201cIT\u2019S THE JARED BOY!\u201d someone shouted.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHE\u2019S BEEN SHOT!\u201d<\/p>\n Candy turned just in time to see Andy Barnett, his face pale, and eyes round with shocked horror, drop his revolver like a proverbial hot potato.\u00a0 Burt Jared took a step, stumbled, then collapsed heavily against Andy.<\/p>\n \u201cIT WAS AN ACCIDENT!\u201d\u00a0 Andy cried, his voice shaking, as his strong, wiry arms wrapped themselves tight around Burt Jared\u2019s limp body.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI SWEAR . . . IT WAS AN ACCIDENT<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n Suddenly, everyone was talking at once.<\/p>\n \u201cCandy?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, Darryl?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll go ahead \u2018n let Doctor Martin know Burt\u2019s comin\u2019,\u201d the Shoshone Queen\u2019s young foreman offered.<\/p>\n Candy\u2019s eyes slowly moved over to the sheriff\u2019s office, with its window broken, and doors standing wide open.\u00a0 He knew for fact that Ben and Hoss were still inside.\u00a0 \u201cBetter tell the doc there may be others besides Burt,\u201d he said softly, feeling terribly sick at heart . . . .<\/p>\n Part 4<\/p>\n \u201cYOU WANT ME T\u2019 . . . WHAT?!<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 OOOHHHH\u00a0 NO!<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 I AIN\u2019T STAYIN\u2019 HERE, NOT FOR ONE SINGLE SOLITARY BLESSED SECOND MORE \u2018N I ABSOLUTELY HAFTA!\u00a0\u00a0 NO SIR!\u00a0\u00a0 NOT NO HOW . . . NOT NO WAY!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOH, YES, YOU ARE<\/strong> . . . AT LEAST FOR TONIGHT!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOH, NO, I AIN\u2019T!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYOU ARE!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI AIN\u2019T, \u2018N THAT\u2019S THAT!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWILL YOU PUH-LEESE BE REASONABLE?!\u00a0 YOU CAN\u2019T POSSIBLY BEGIN<\/strong> TO LOOK AFTER YOURSELF PROPERLY, UNTIL\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019LL HAVE YOU<\/strong> KNOW THAT I BEEN LOOKIN\u2019 AFTER M\u2019SELF VERY WELL FOR THE PAST THIRTY, GOIN\u2019 ON THIRTY FIVE YEARS NOW, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.\u00a0 I AIN\u2019T NEVER, NOT IN ALL M\u2019 BORN DAYS . . . EVER<\/strong> . . . HAD NOBODY MOLLYCODDLIN\u2019 ME, NOT EVEN WHEN MARY WAS STILL LIVIN\u2019 . . . \u2018N, I\u2019LL BE DADBLAMED IF I\u2019M GONNA LET YOU OR ANYONE ELSE START WITH ME NOW!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c . . . d**bl ***m*d stubborn, cantankerous ol\u2019 coot!<\/span>\u201d\u00a0 Doctor Paul Martin muttered under his breath, giving vent to the anger, grief, frustration, and the deep down, bone-weariness, that threatened to overwhelm him.\u00a0 He slowly opened the door to his examination room, located down on the first floor of the town house he shared with his wife, Lily, and trudged inside.<\/p>\n \u201cDoctor . . . is THAT MRS.<\/strong> Martin?!\u201d<\/p>\n Paul turned and found himself gazing down into the anxious, bewildered face of Adam Cartwright.\u00a0 He occupied one of the straight, hardback dining room chairs, fetched down from the living quarters upstairs on the second floor.\u00a0 Hoss sat before the doctor\u2019s massive roll top desk, bent over, with his head cradled within the circle of his folded arms.\u00a0 Ben lay stretched out on a cot, set up in front of Adam, alternately dozing and waking.\u00a0 A makeshift bandage, generously stained with coagulated blood, encircled his head.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m afraid so, Adam,\u201d Paul replied with a weary sigh.\u00a0 He turned up the lamp placed atop his desk, then glanced about, searching for an empty chair.<\/p>\n Adam rose.\u00a0 \u201cTake this one, Doctor.\u00a0 I need to stretch my legs a bit anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n Paul nodded his thanks.<\/p>\n \u201cSo . . . who\u2019s Mrs. Martin arguing with so vehemently?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSheriff Coffee,\u201d Paul replied, as he collapsed heavily into the chair that Adam had just vacated.\u00a0 \u201cWhat happened to Ben and Hoss?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNear as I can tell, Pa was branded by a bullet across the left side of his head,\u201d Adam replied.<\/p>\n \u201c . . . and Hoss?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m fine,\u201d Hoss groaned, then lifted his head.\u00a0 \u201cI got hit broadside when one o\u2019 them blamed yahoos threw a chair through the window, but I\u2019m all right.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019LL be the judge of THAT, Young Man,\u201d Paul said sternly, \u201cright after I\u2019m through seeing to your pa.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss groaned again, then dropped his head back down heavily onto his arms.<\/p>\n Paul turned his attention to Ben.\u00a0 \u201cBullet brand to the left side of the head you say?\u201d he queried, as he began to carefully cut away the bandage.<\/p>\n \u201cY\u2019 heard m\u2019 boy,\u201d Ben muttered irritably, wincing as the doctor gently eased away pieces of bandage, caked with dried blood, away from the wound.<\/p>\n \u201cSheriff Coffee left Pa and Hoss in his office standing guard over the prisoners, while he went out to try and reason with that mob,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0 \u201cI haven\u2019t as yet been able to get a coherent story about what exactly happened from either one of \u2018em.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou probably won\u2019t tonight,\u201d Paul said.\u00a0 \u201cAdam . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, Doctor?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWould you mind running upstairs to the kitchen and getting a bowl of hot water from Miss Graves?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot at all,\u201d Adam agreed.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll be right back.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBen . . . all I\u2019ve got to say is . . . you\u2019re a lucky man,\u201d Paul Martin sighed wearily, as he finished removing the last of the bandage.\u00a0 \u201cA VERY lucky man.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cM\u2019 boys . . . . \u201d Ben murmured anxiously.\u00a0 \u201cWhere\u2019s m\u2019 boys?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAdam will be back in a few moments,\u201d Paul replied.\u00a0 \u201cI sent him up to the kitchen for a bowl of water so I can properly wash out this wound.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIs \u2018e all right?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFine.\u00a0 Not a scratch on him.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhadda \u2018boud Hoss?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c . . . over here, Pa,\u201d Hoss replied, punctuating his words with a great big yawn.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s seated at my desk,\u201d Paul added.<\/p>\n \u201cY\u2019 all right, Boy?\u201d Ben asked.<\/p>\n \u201cFine, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m going to give HIM a once over, as soon as I finish with YOU,\u201d Paul said firmly.<\/p>\n Adam quietly returned to the room, carrying a large bowl of steaming hot water, a stack of clean washcloths, and a bar of soap.<\/p>\n \u201cThank you,\u201d Paul murmured gratefully, as he accepted the bowl from Adam.\u00a0 He carefully set the water at his feet, then reached up for the soap and two of the washcloths.\u00a0 He washed his own hands, then set himself to the task of cleaning Ben\u2019s head thoroughly, and washing away the dried blood from his left temple, his hair, and cheeks.<\/p>\n \u201cExcellent!\u00a0 As I just got through saying . . . Ben, YOU are a very lucky man,\u201d he declared with a satisfied smile, after closely examining the injury.\u00a0 \u201cThis is going to heal just fine without stitches.\u00a0 Adam, would you please get the bottle of alcohol from my medicine cabinet?\u00a0 Top shelf, over toward the right.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam nodded, then went to fetch the alcohol.<\/p>\n \u201cBen, I want you to lie still,\u201d Paul said rising.\u00a0 \u201cWhile Adam\u2019s getting the alcohol, I\u2019m going to look Hoss over.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben yawned.\u00a0 \u201cPaul . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, Ben?\u201d the doctor queried, as he coaxed Hoss to lift his head and sit up straight.<\/p>\n \u201c . . . wha\u2019 were Roy \u2018n Lily goin\u2019 on \u2018n on about?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI want to keep Roy here for observation,\u201d Paul replied, as he set to work unbuttoning Hoss\u2019 tattered shirt.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cGiven MY druthers, I\u2019d keep him here for a week, but knowing THAT to be a foregone conclusion, I\u2019d settle for the next twenty-four hours.\u00a0 Roy . . . disagrees.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c . . . can\u2019 say\u2019s I blame him,\u201d Ben muttered, his eyelids slowly drooping.\u00a0 \u201cI always said a man sleeps best . . . in \u2018is own bed.\u00a0 Roy gonna be alright?\u201d<\/p>\n Paul nodded.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s ALSO a very lucky man.\u00a0 Another couple inches to the left and that bullet would\u2019ve pierced his heart.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThank the good Lord f\u2019r small mercies,\u201d Ben whispered softly.<\/p>\n \u201cDoc . . . dadburnit, I said I was fine,\u201d Hoss grumbled irritably, as his fingers worked to button what Paul had just unbuttoned.<\/p>\n \u201cYou are NOT fine unless and until I<\/strong> say you\u2019re fine,\u201d Paul countered, taking no pains to conceal his growing annoyance.\u00a0 \u201cI need to take a look at you, Hoss.\u201d<\/p>\n A string of unintelligible vowels and consonants passed through Hoss\u2019 lips.<\/p>\n \u201cHoss, the sooner you let the doctor examine you, the sooner the two of us can grab Pa and g\u2019won back to the Fletchers\u2019 house,\u201d Adam admonished his brother, as he returned to the circle with the bottle of alcohol in hand.<\/p>\n \u201cOh, all right, dadburn it!\u201d Hoss growled.<\/p>\n \u201cAdam, if you\u2019d be so kind as to help Hoss off with his clothing from the waist up while I finish up with Ben\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDoc, I ain\u2019t had need o\u2019 m\u2019 older brother to dress or undress me since I was a real li\u2019l feller,\u201d Hoss said irascibly.<\/p>\n Adam very wisely refrained from pointing out that Hoss was never \u201ca real li\u2019l feller,\u201d from the time he first entered the world, weighing in at a whopping fourteen pounds, fifteen and a half ounces.\u00a0 He handed Doc Martin the bottle of alcohol, then turned to retrieve Hoss\u2019 vest from the floor.<\/p>\n \u201cAll right, Ben . . . brace yourself,\u201d Paul warned, as he poured a generous amount of alcohol into the fresh washcloth in hand.<\/p>\n Ben closed his eyes and gritted his teeth as the doctor dabbed the wound generously with alcohol.\u00a0 \u201cBlast it, Paul . . . THAT hurt worse than the damned bullet,\u201d he growled.<\/p>\n \u201cThe worst is over . . . for the time being.\u201d\u00a0 Paul reached for the roll of clean roll of linen, sitting on his desk, then set to work bandaging Ben\u2019s wound.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNow, I want you to keep that wound clean.\u00a0 Twice a day, wash it out with soap and plenty of hot water, swab it real good with alcohol\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDadblamed sadist!\u201d<\/p>\n Paul grinned.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201c . . . then put on a clean bandage,\u201d he continued, pointedly ignoring Ben\u2019s gibe.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll stop by the Fletchers and check up on you in a couple of days.\u00a0 Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, Doctor?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m going to need another bowl of hot water, so I can clean out these cuts on your brother\u2019s forearms,\u201d Paul said.\u00a0 \u201cWould you please\u2014?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOf course,\u201d Adam agreed, as he bent down to pick up the bowl of water used to wash Ben\u2019s wound.<\/p>\n Paul examined the numerous nicks, cuts, and bruises covering the insides of Hoss\u2019 forearms.\u00a0 Most of wounds had scabbed over, and none appeared to have gone deep.\u00a0 \u201cLet me see your face, Hoss . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n Hoss lowered his hands and sat up straight.<\/p>\n \u201cIt seems your face escaped injury altogether,\u201d Paul murmured softly.\u00a0 \u201cYou say you were hit by a chair someone hurled through the window?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYep.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cApparently you caught sight of it coming . . . and raised your arms to protect your face and head,\u201d the doctor declared.\u00a0 \u201cYour arms are cut . . . up to the place where you generally roll up your sleeves . . . and you have bruising on both your arms and the right side of your body.\u00a0 You have any trouble breathing?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt hurts some, Doc . . . but not real bad.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTake a deep breath.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss complied, drawing in air and exhaling it slowly.<\/p>\n \u201cAgain,\u201d the doctor ordered.<\/p>\n Hoss once again complied.<\/p>\n \u201cNo pain or discomfort?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLike I just said, Doc . . . it hurts some, but I can live with it over the next couple o\u2019 days or so,\u201d Hoss said impatiently.<\/p>\n \u201cI think I can safely rule out the prospect of broken or fractured ribs,\u201d Paul said.\u00a0 \u201cI also don\u2019t see any evidence of head injury.\u00a0 That\u2019s the GOOD news.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss frowned.\u00a0 He opened his mouth to ask what, exactly, the BAD news was, only to close it again when his oldest brother entered the room.<\/p>\n \u201cDoctor, here\u2019s the clean water you asked for,\u201d Adam said as he returned to the examination room, with a second bowl of steaming hot water.<\/p>\n \u201cThank you very much, Adam.\u00a0 Would you mind holding it for me, while I clean Hoss\u2019 arms?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot at all,\u201d Adam replied.\u00a0 \u201cIs he going to be alright?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s going to be one very stiff and sore young man come morning,\u201d Paul replied, as he reached for the soap and a clean washcloth, both perched on top off his desk.\u00a0 He dipped the washcloth in the water, and lathered generously with the soap.\u00a0 \u201cHe said he was hit by a chair someone in that mob outside Roy\u2019s office tossed in through the window.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh?\u201d Adam queried, as he cast anxious eyes in his younger, bigger brother\u2019s direction.<\/p>\n \u201cFortunately, Hoss saw it coming and instinctively raised his arms to shield his face and head,\u201d Paul continued, as he set himself to the task of washing away the dried blood from Hoss\u2019 arms.\u00a0 \u201cThe chair must\u2019ve slammed into his arms and the right side of his body.\u00a0 You can see the discoloration . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n Adam whistled.\u00a0 \u201cBig Brother, you\u2019re going to be black and blue all over when you wake up tomorrow morning.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAww, dadburnit!\u00a0 Just what I need!\u201d Hoss grumbled.<\/p>\n \u201cThe nicks and cuts here on his forearms were no doubt from the shards of glass from that broken window,\u201d Paul continued.\u00a0 \u201cHis clothing protected him from the worst of it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLooks like you were pretty lucky yourself, Hoss,\u201d Adam said quietly.<\/p>\n \u201cSome lucky!\u201d Hoss groused.\u00a0 \u201cNOW the doc\u2019s gonna tell me I hafta take things easy for the next few days\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou betcha!\u201d Paul exclaimed, without missing a beat.<\/p>\n \u201cAww, Doc, I can\u2019t,\u201d Hoss protested.\u00a0 \u201cWe got that string o\u2019 horses t\u2019 saddle break \u2018n train for the army . . . \u2018n dadburn it!\u00a0 With all the brandin\u2019 \u2018n getting\u2019 the cattle out t\u2019 the summer pastures, I just plain ain\u2019t found the time t\u2019 ride out t\u2019 the lumber camps \u2018n the saw mill \u2018n we got timber contracts t\u2019 fill.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSurely Hank and Candy can look after things for a few days,\u201d Adam suggested.<\/p>\n \u201cYes . . . they can,\u201d Ben grumbled.<\/p>\n \u201cBut, Pa . . . . \u201d Hoss started to protest.<\/p>\n \u201cBut, Pa nuthin\u2019!\u201d Ben immediately cut his middle son off.\u00a0 \u201cIf I<\/strong> gotta do as the doc says . . . then YOU gotta do as the doc says!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHoss, I\u2019m going to get you a tube of salve\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n Suddenly, the door to the doctor\u2019s examination room burst open.\u00a0 Amelia Jared sailed into the room, followed by her good friend, Sally Tucker, who ran the gift shop next to the general store.\u00a0 The former\u2019s face was pale, and her bottom lip trembled.<\/p>\n \u201cI just found out my boy\u2019s been shot!\u201d Amelia said, her words tumbling out, one after the other, like the rush of a waterfall.\u00a0 \u201cWhere is he?\u00a0 Is he all right?\u201d<\/p>\n Paul Martin rose.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m . . . very sorry, Amelia.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo,\u201d she whispered.\u00a0 \u201cN-No.\u00a0 It ain\u2019t true.\u00a0 It . . . it c-can\u2019t be true, m-my boy . . . he . . . he can\u2019t b-be . . . he can\u2019t b-be . . . .\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Doc, I wanna see my boy.\u00a0 I wanna see my boy right now.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s over here, Amelia.\u201d\u00a0 Paul gently took her by the arm and steered her over toward the examination table at the very back of the room, where the body of Bertram Jared lay, covered by a clean white sheet.\u00a0 Ezra Miles and Andy Barnett had carried him in almost an hour and a half before.<\/p>\n Adam and Hoss watched, transfixed, as the doctor, Amelia, and Sally, slowly, reluctantly made their way across the room.\u00a0 Ben took a deep, ragged breath, then, closing his eyes, he offered up a prayer for Amelia . . . for Virgil . . . and for their daughters.\u00a0 Though his words were very few, they nonetheless rose from places very deep within his heart.<\/p>\n On the other side of the room, Amelia Jared, flanked closely on either side by Paul Martin and Sally Tucker, reluctantly approached the examination table.\u00a0 \u201c . . . no,\u201d she whimpered, wagging her head back and forth, slowly, in denial.\u00a0 \u201cN-no . . . oh, God, please?!\u00a0\u00a0 Please don\u2019t let this be . . . no!\u00a0 No, this c-can\u2019t be, it can\u2019t be, n-not Burt . . . oh, God, d-don\u2019t let it be B-Burt . . . please . . . not Burt . . . . \u201d\u00a0 Her heart wrenching pleas ended in an ear-splitting primal shriek borne of rage and a very deep, profound, all consuming grief, as the doctor reluctantly lifted the sheet to reveal the lifeless body of her son, her firstborn.<\/p>\n Neither the elder Cartwrights nor Paul Martin had ever, not in the whole of their very interesting lives, heard a sound like that issue from the throat of human or animal.\u00a0 Later, all would earnestly pray they never would, ever again.<\/p>\n Amelia, dry eyed, reached down and gently pushed back a stray lock of hair that had fallen down into Burt\u2019s face.\u00a0 Her mouth and lips worked, again and again forming the consonants and vowels that made up her son\u2019s name, though no sound came forth.\u00a0 Finally, she leaned over, and with trembling hands gently gathered Burt\u2019s remains into her arms and held him close, as she had twenty-two, almost twenty-three years ago now, the night he first came into this world.\u00a0 Her head dropped down onto his chest like a lead weight that had suddenly become too heavy to be borne.\u00a0 Clutching her son tightly to her bosom, Amelia gave herself over to her grief.<\/p>\n Sally Tucker, with tears streaming down her own face, quietly edged in very close beside Amelia.\u00a0 She wrapped her arms about her grief stricken friend\u2019s shoulders, and held on tight, offering comfort through the strength of her touch, the warmth of her close proximity, rather than mere words.<\/p>\n ………<\/p>\n \u201cIt was an accident, Pa,\u201d Adam said later, after they had returned to the Fletchers\u2019 house, across the street.\u00a0 He had dutifully seen Hoss upstairs to bed, then turned the gentle giant over to Hop Sing\u2019s ministrations, that he might see Pa safely off to bed.\u00a0 Now, he sat perched on the edge of his father\u2019s bed, trying to give an account of the circumstances that had culminated in Burt Jared\u2019s death.\u00a0 \u201cIt was a damn . . . silly . . . STUPID . . . accident.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow\u2019d it happen?\u201d Ben asked softly, his voice barely audible.<\/p>\n \u201cI was told that Burt Jared took Andy Barnett\u2019s gun right out of its holster and\u2014 \u201d Adam sighed and shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cSorry, Pa.\u00a0 The whys and wherefores weren\u2019t all that clear.\u00a0 With everything that was going on . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI . . . understand, Son,\u201d Ben murmured softly, as he reached out and placed a paternal hand on his eldest son\u2019s shoulder.<\/p>\n \u201cThe upshot of the whole thing was, Andy and Burt ended up in a tug of war over Andy\u2019s gun,\u201d Adam continued, speaking softly, his voice a near monotone.\u00a0 \u201cONE of \u2018em apparently had his finger close enough to the trigger to pull it.\u201d\u00a0 He fell silent for a moment.\u00a0 \u201cCandy told me that Burt\u2019s death is what finally brought that attempted lynching to a screeching halt, but . . . at what cost?!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIndeed,\u201d Ben agreed.\u00a0 \u201cAdam?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHoss was right,\u201d Ben murmured softly.<\/p>\n \u201cHe almost always is,\u201d Adam said with a wistful smile.\u00a0 \u201cWhat is he right about this time?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTonight, just before that mob broke into the sheriff\u2019s office, Hoss told me that he hoped Tobias Lindsay COULD get that trial moved out of Virginia City,\u201d Ben said.\u00a0 \u201cHe figured with the Carters, that Higgins fella, and their lawyer gone, Wesley McGrath wouldn\u2019t have anything to go on and on about every night, and everyone else would settle down.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAfter what happened tonight, I think it\u2019s pretty much a foregone conclusion that the trial WILL be moved elsewhere, Pa\u201d Adam said slowly.\u00a0 \u201cAs for everyone else . . . well, they\u2019ve certainly settled down.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut, the price was a young man, not much more than a boy, really, being cut down in what should have been the prime of his life,\u201d Ben said sadly.\u00a0 \u201cPoor Amelia!\u00a0 She really doted on that boy, even if she WAS always scolding him for one thing or another.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam reached over and gave his father\u2019s hand a gentle, affectionate squeeze, then rose.\u00a0 \u201cI think maybe I\u2019d better turn in and let you get some sleep.\u00a0 Doc Martin was pretty adamant about you getting proper rest.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben nodded.\u00a0 \u201cGood night, Son.\u00a0 I . . . don\u2019t think I\u2019m gonna get much sleep, though.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019M going to sleep very well either, Pa . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n ………<\/p>\n \u201cNO, NO, NO, NO!\u201d\u00a0 Hop Sing bellowed at the top of his voice the following morning, angry and highly indignant.\u00a0 \u201cDOCTOR SAY YOU REST.\u00a0 REST MEAN YOU STAY IN BED.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cREST DOES NOT MEAN I HAFTA STAY IN BED,\u201d Ben protested with equal indignation.\u00a0 \u201cREST MEANS I TAKE IT EASY.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTAKE IT EASY MEAN STAY IN BED!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YA . . . IT\u2019S ONLY A FLESH WOUND!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFLESH WOUND STILL WOUND.\u00a0 YOU REST.\u00a0 IN BED.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHOP SING, I AM NOT AN INVALID . . . AND . . . AND I\u2019LL BE HORNS WAGGLED IF I\u2019M GONNA LET YOU . . . OR ANYONE ELSE IN THIS HOUSE FOR THAT MATTER, TREAT ME LIKE ONE.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss sat in his customary place at the dining room table, still clad in nightshirt and robe, gingerly massaging his temples against what potentially loomed as a real, honest to goodness, rip roarin\u2019 mother lode headache of all headaches.<\/p>\n \u201cHoss?!\u201d<\/p>\n He gritted his teeth, then slowly turned his head with an agonized grimace.\u00a0 His brother, Adam, also clad in nightshirt and robe, stood at the foot of the table, his hands resting lightly on the back of the chair.\u00a0 \u201c \u2018Mornin\u2019, Adam,\u201d he groaned softly.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat are you doing up?\u201d Adam demanded, his voice filled with concern.\u00a0 \u201cYou belong upstairs in\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAdam . . . . \u201d Hoss rudely cut his older brother off, \u201cI\u2019ve slept through a LOTTA things . . . thunderstorms . . . blizzard winds . . . avalanches . . . cattle stampedes . . . an earthquake, once . . . when we was in San Francisco . . . \u2018n Joe told me I slept through a tornado last time we was in Texas.\u201d\u00a0 He gritted his teeth, then turned toward the stairs and glanced in the direction of the upper environs, where the argument continued at top volume, \u201cbut, Pa \u2018n Hop Sing scrappin\u2019 like a pair o\u2019 tom cats over a chicken bone just AIN\u2019T one of those things.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI . . . understand,\u201d Adam sighed.\u00a0 \u201cUnfortunately, judging from the way they\u2019re going at each other right now, it\u2019s probably going to be a long time before we get any breakfast.\u201d\u00a0 Assuming Hop Sing didn\u2019t quit on the spot and storm out of the house with packed bags in hand.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m going to g\u2019won out to the kitchen and make up a pot of coffee.\u00a0 You interested, or would you prefer a cup of tea?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA cup o\u2019 coffee\u2019d be good,\u201d Hoss groaned softly, \u201cbut no tea.\u00a0 Knowin\u2019 Hop Sing, he\u2019s gonna be plyin\u2019 me with all them herbal concoctions o\u2019 his, \u2018til t\u2019 cows come home.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou have my deepest sympathy, Big Brother,\u201d Adam said, grimacing as if he had just tasted something incredibly vile.<\/p>\n Upon entering the kitchen, Adam was surprised to find his youngest brother leaning up against the counter, with arms folded across his chest, attired in a pair of pajama pants and shirt, that hung open on his lean, well-muscled frame.\u00a0 \u201cGood morning!\u201d he exclaimed by way of greeting.<\/p>\n \u201cGood morning to you, too, Oldest Brother of Mine,\u201d Joe returned the greeting, as he uncrossed his arms and walked over to the stove, where a pot filled with water had just started to boil.<\/p>\n \u201cHow long have YOU been up?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh . . . I guess it\u2019s been since a li\u2019l past sun-up,\u201d Joe replied, as he searched among the pots and pans on the shelf above the stove for a coffee pot.<\/p>\n \u201cReally!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYep.\u201d\u00a0 Joe spotted the coffee pot at the other end of the shelf.\u00a0 \u201cI rolled over . . . pulled the covers up over my head . . . even tried burying my head under a couple of pillows, but try as I might, there was just plain no going back to sleep with all that yellin\u2019 and carryin\u2019 on upstairs.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTruth to tell, I don\u2019t think ANYONE can sleep through Pa and Hop Sing yelling and carrying on,\u201d Adam declared, as he began to shovel coffee beans into the grinder, placed at the end of the counter nearest the stove.<\/p>\n \u201cAdam, if ya need any kindlin\u2019 for t\u2019 stove\u2014 \u201d Hoss said wearily as he entered the kitchen, wincing at each and every step.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got plenty of kindling for the stove, thank you very\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n The remaining words died in Joe\u2019s throat upon getting a good, hard look at Hoss.\u00a0 Both forearms were covered with numerous scratches, abrasions, and puncture wounds.\u00a0 A bruise, luridly hued in shades of black and a deep, rich purple, stretched down the inside of his arm, from wrist all the way up to the elbow.\u00a0 \u201cChiminney Christmas, Big Brother . . . what happened to YOU?!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA dadblamed chair happened,\u201d Hoss replied, irritable and cantankerous.\u00a0 \u201cSo help me, if I ever find out which o\u2019 them yahoos threw it . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n Joe frowned.\u00a0 \u201cA chair?!\u201d he echoed, completely bewildered.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, Li\u2019l Brother . . . a chair,\u201d Hoss reiterated through clenched teeth.<\/p>\n \u201cThat must\u2019ve been one heckuva a slugfest,\u201d Joe murmured softly, as he searched for a sieve and a filter.\u00a0 \u201cI hope you left the Silver Dollar still standing and structurally sound.\u00a0 You know what PA said if\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJoe . . . I\u2019m afraid Hoss didn\u2019t get himself banged up in a barroom brawl,\u201d Adam said quietly.<\/p>\n \u201cOh?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLast night, some of our more civic minded neighbors and friends decided to take the law into their own hands,\u201d Adam said, his voice dripping with sarcasm upon making mention of the participants.<\/p>\n Joe looked from one brother to the next, uncomprehending.\u00a0 Then, suddenly, the light dawned.\u00a0 \u201cY-You mean someone tried to . . . to . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYep,\u201d Hoss replied.<\/p>\n \u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cClay Hansen . . . Elmer McBantry . . . Abe Miller, \u2018n THAT whole bunch,\u201d Hoss declared with a dark, angry scowl.\u00a0 \u201cLike I told ya last night, Adam.\u00a0 They been spoiling f\u2019r somethin\u2019 mighty fierce since Sheriff Coffee \u2018n the rest o\u2019 the posse brought in t\u2019 Carter brothers \u2018n that Higgins fella.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWesley McGrath\u2019s the one who actually instigated the whole thing,\u201d Adam hastened to add.\u00a0 \u201cThe rest just fell in and followed HIS lead.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cY-You\u2019re joking!\u201d Joe exclaimed, his eyes round with astonishment.<\/p>\n \u201cI wish I were, Little Brother,\u201d Adam said softly.\u00a0 \u201cI wish to high heaven I were.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI . . . I can\u2019t believe men like Mister Hansen and Mister Miller would actually take a ne\u2019er do well like Wesley McGrath that seriously,\u201d Joe said, shaking his head in complete, utter disbelief.\u00a0 \u201cThey\u2019re all good men, stubborn and opinionated sometimes, but still basically decent, law abiding men who have established themselves as pillars of this community . . . including Mister McBantry!\u00a0 Yeah . . . he can be a real ornery ol\u2019 coot sometimes, but it couldn\u2019t ever be said that he doesn\u2019t have a mind of his own.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEven so, Li\u2019l Brother . . . no matter how decent \u2018n law abidin\u2019 a man is, he can only take so much,\u201d Hoss sagely offered.\u00a0 \u201cI, m\u2019self, don\u2019t think Wesley couldda stirred up a bowl o\u2019 cake batter, if it hadn\u2019t been for all them rumors goin\u2019 \u2018round town \u2018bout their lawyer tryin\u2019 t\u2019 move the trial t\u2019 Carson City, so\u2019 he stands a better chance o\u2019 winnin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c . . . and all of Wesley\u2019s dire predictions about those men getting off scot free, given the nature of the crimes they\u2019re accused of committing . . . well, it proved too much for any man who just so happens to have a wife . . . a daughter . . . a sister . . . or a mother,\u201d Adam quietly added.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, ummm . . . how . . . exactly . . . did you get yourself so banged up, Hoss?\u201d Joe asked, as he set himself to the final steps of preparing the coffee.<\/p>\n \u201cSheriff Coffee\u2019d asked Pa \u2018n me t\u2019 hold the fort whilst he went out t\u2019 try \u2018n reason \u2018em,\u201d Hoss replied.\u00a0 \u201cI was watchin\u2019 out the window, tryin\u2019 t\u2019 keep tabs on things.\u00a0 For a minute there, it looked like the sheriff had gotten through to \u2018em.\u00a0 Then, all of a sudden, things got real ugly real fast.\u00a0 I\u2019d moved the sheriff\u2019s desk in front o\u2019 the door . . . then some dadburned horse\u2019s patoot threw one o\u2019 them great big heavy chairs . . . like t\u2019 ones over at the bank in that big room where they have meetin\u2019s . . . right through the window.\u00a0 After that, I don\u2019t remember much, \u2018til I found myself in the doc\u2019s office with Pa \u2018n Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHoss . . . y-you said Pa was in the sheriff\u2019s office with you,\u201d Joe said slowly, his voice shaking.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPa was shot, Joe . . . but he\u2019s going to be all right,\u201d Adam said gently, as he stepped over and placed a steady, yet comforting hand on his youngest brother\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cThe bullet grazed his left temple.\u00a0 It bled profusely, as those kind of wounds tend to do, but it was shallow.\u00a0 It didn\u2019t even need stitches.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA few days\u2019 rest, Li\u2019l Brother, \u2018n Pa\u2019s gonna be just fine,\u201d Hoss said, managing a small smile in the midst of his own agony.<\/p>\n \u201cThank God for that!\u201d Joe murmured softly.\u00a0 \u201cTHAT why Pa \u2018n Hop Sing are fighting?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI would imagine so,\u201d Adam replied.\u00a0 \u201cHop Sing and Pa have always had very different ideas about what getting some rest means.\u201d<\/p>\n An amused smile tugged hard at the corner of Joe\u2019s mouth.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s true,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s ALSO true that Pa\u2019s most ornery \u2018n cantankerous when he\u2019s on the mend, so I guess I ought to be feeling relieved to hear him and Hop Sing going on the way they are.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe so,\u201d Hoss muttered crossly under his breath.\u00a0 \u201cBut, all t\u2019 same, I sure hope they settle things quick, \u2018cause I\u2019m feeling powerful hungry all of a sudden . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n Joe was about to quip that, for Hoss, \u2018feeling powerful hungry\u2019 was a constant state of being, but the ferocious look on his biggest brother\u2019s face gave him due cause to reconsider.\u00a0 \u201cWhy don\u2019t you fellas g\u2019won out to the dining room and sit yourselves down?\u201d he said instead.\u00a0 \u201cThe coffee\u2019ll be ready in a few minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAdam . . . so HELP me . . . I\u2019m gonna give Pa \u2018n Hop Sing another five minutes,\u201d Hoss wearily declared, as he returned his place at the dining room table.\u00a0 \u201cIf they ain\u2019t at least called a truce by then, I\u2019m gonna saddle Chubb \u2018n head on down t\u2019 the C Street Caf\u00e9 for great big plate piled high with Miss Maxine\u2019s flapjacks.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou do, and Doctor Martin will have a fit,\u201d Adam protested, as he took his seat directly across the dining room table from Hoss.\u00a0 \u201cHe said that YOU\u2019RE to rest, too . . . remember?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHmpf!\u00a0\u00a0 Easy f\u2019r HIM t\u2019 say,\u201d Hoss groused.\u00a0 \u201cHE ain\u2019t t\u2019 one lyin\u2019 awake at night, thinkin \u2018bout all the work that needs doin\u2019 . . . \u2018n I\u2019ll betcha anything he ain\u2019t sittin\u2019 \u2018round with a belly that\u2019s achin\u2019 \u2018cause it\u2019s so dadblamed hollow.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAs for all the work that needs doing . . . my offer to work for you still stands,\u201d Adam said.<\/p>\n Hoss silently mulled over his prospects and his options.\u00a0 \u201cAdam . . . . \u201d he ventured, at length, \u201cthink, maybe y\u2019 could see your way clear t\u2019 ridin\u2019 out t\u2019 the lumber camp \u2018n the saw mill?\u00a0\u00a0 We got shipments due end o\u2019 next month for t\u2019 Vein Glorious \u2018n Lady Luck Mines\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t forget that shipment to the railroad,\u201d Joe said, as he entered the dining room, bearing a tray with a pot full of strong, black coffee, steaming hot; the sugar bowl and creamer filled to the brim; and three cups, saucers, and spoons.<\/p>\n Hoss groaned.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can cross the lumber camps, the saw mill, and whatever\u2019s due on the lumber contracts OFF your list of worries, Hoss,\u201d Adam said, favoring his youngest brother with a withering glare.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m going to go up and get dressed.\u00a0 Maybe, by THAT time, those two upstairs will have called a truce long enough so Hop Sing can make breakfast.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThanks, Adam,\u201d Hoss murmured gratefully.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019ll take a real load off.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m glad I can help, Big Brother.\u00a0 In the meantime, YOU just concentrate on getting some rest for the next couple of days,\u201d Adam said.<\/p>\n \u201cSay, Adam . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf you need a guide to getcha out to the lumber camps, I\u2019M ready, willing, and able,\u201d Joe offered his services with that cocky, boyish grin most found irresistible, particularly those of female persuasion.<\/p>\n \u201cLi\u2019l Brother, you\u2019re just as bad as Pa,\u201d Hoss admonished his younger brother severely.<\/p>\n \u201cCome on, Hoss . . . Doc Martin\u2019s all BUT given me an official clean bill of health, and besides . . . most of the lumber camps now are on that tract of land Pa bought a couple o\u2019 years ago,\u201d Joe argued.\u00a0 \u201cAdam\u2019s not going to know his way around.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOur baby brother raises a valid point, Hoss,\u201d Adam was forced to admit.<\/p>\n \u201cHoss, I promise ya . . . I won\u2019t do anything more strenuous than show Adam the way,\u201d Joe said, laboring valiantly to keep his voice measured and even.\u00a0 The prospect of riding Cochise once again, and spending a few days out in the fresh air and sunshine excited him no end.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s a line shack out there, about a mile or so from the sawmill.\u00a0 I can hole up there until Adam\u2019s finished taking care of business.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t like it,\u201d Hoss said immediately.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t like it, not one li\u2019l bit.\u00a0 PA\u2019S gonna like it even less \u2018n I do.\u00a0 Only problem is . . . you \u2018n Adam are right.\u00a0 I . . . s\u2019pose we\u2019re gonna hafta letcha go, Li\u2019l Brother, but you better take it easy, y\u2019 hear me?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI sure do, Big Brother Sir,\u201d Joe quipped, with a snappy mock salute.\u00a0 His smile broadened.<\/p>\n \u201cNow don\u2019t you go gettin\u2019 smart alecky neither,\u201d Hoss warned.\u00a0 \u201cYou show Adam the way around.\u00a0 Nothin\u2019 else!\u00a0 Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, Hoss?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI hope you\u2019re up f\u2019r seein\u2019 to it our Li\u2019l Brother here behaves himself,\u201d Hoss said grimly.\u00a0 \u201c \u2018Cause if he don\u2019t, Pa\u2019s gonna skin all THREE of us alive \u2018n nail our sorry hides t\u2019 the barn wall.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTake it easy, Big Brother.\u00a0 With young Benjamin and Dio constantly keeping me on my toes, our baby brother doesn\u2019t stand a chance.\u201d\u00a0 Adam turned and favored Joe with a feral grin.<\/p>\n \u201cAre you challenging me, Adam?\u201d Joe demanded, returning Adam\u2019s feral grin with a ferocious one of his own.<\/p>\n \u201cLi\u2019l Brother . . . you keep goin\u2019 on in that direction, you\u2019re gonna end up showin\u2019 Adam the way by drawin\u2019 a map,\u201d Hoss growled.<\/p>\n \u201cKidding, Hoss . . . just kidding!\u201d\u00a0 Joe said quickly.\u00a0 He, then, sighed and sarcastically rolled his eyes heavenward.\u00a0 \u201cSheesh!\u00a0 \u00a0Some people have absolutely NO sense of hu\u2014 \u201d\u00a0 Joe\u2019s words ended in an audible, horrified gasp.<\/p>\n \u201cJoe?!\u201d Adam queried with an anxious frown.\u00a0 \u201cJoe . . . what\u2019s the matter?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou hear that?\u201d Joe asked, his voice barely above the decibel of a whisper.\u00a0 His face was all of a sudden a few shades paler than was the norm, and his eyes were round as saucers.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t hear a dadburn thing, Li\u2019l Brother,\u201d Hoss said as he reached across the table with a grimace, and picked up the coffee pot.<\/p>\n \u201cNow that you mention it . . . neither do I,\u201d Adam said as he glanced over at Joe through eyes round with alarm.<\/p>\n \u201cY-You don\u2019t suppose Pa and Hop Sing k-k-killed each . . . . uhhh . . . . !?\u201d\u00a0 Unable and unwilling to complete that dreadful thought, Joe allowed his voice to trail away into the uneasy silence that had suddenly descended upon the entire household.<\/p>\n \u201cNo!\u201d Adam said a little too quickly.<\/p>\n \u201cHow can YOU be so sure?!\u201d Joe demanded.<\/p>\n \u201cCome ON, Joe . . . Pa and Hop Sing are grown men . . . perfectly able to settle their differences in a mature way\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n \u201c . . . man-to-man,\u201d Joe declared stoutly.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s right!\u201d Adam said with an emphatic nod of his head.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah.\u00a0\u00a0 Sure,\u201d Joe replied.\u00a0 \u201cWhat YOU said!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c . . . uhhh . . . Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019d better get up there,\u201d Adam said as he bolted right out of his chair with enough force and momentum to send it toppling over backwards.<\/p>\n \u201cYou took the words right outta my mouth, Oldest Brother of Mine . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n Upstairs, meanwhile, Ben had closed his eyes, and tried very hard to count to ten.\u00a0 He only made it to five.\u00a0\u00a0 Barely.\u00a0 \u201cHop Sing . . . how many times do I have to tell ya . . . it\u2019s ONLY a flesh wound?!\u201d he grumbled through clenched teeth.<\/p>\n \u201cDoctor STILL say Mister Cartwright need rest,\u201d Hop Sing adamantly insisted.\u00a0 \u201cPlenty, a lotta rest.\u00a0 Hop Sing gonna make sure Mister Cartwright get plenty lotta rest . . . even if it kill Hop Sing and Mister Cartwright.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c . . . it just might come down to that,\u201d Ben growled back.<\/p>\n \u201cThat up to Mister Cartwright,\u201d Hop Sing loftily retorted, without missing a beat.\u00a0 \u201cHop Sing go now, make breakfast.\u00a0 Bring Mister Cartwright tray\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOH NO . . . YOU\u2019RE NOT<\/strong> BRINGING ME A TRAY, HOP SING,\u201d Ben roared.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019M GOING TO GO DOWNSTAIRS AND EAT AT THE TABLE WITH EVERYONE ELSE.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHOP SING BRING TRAY!\u201d\u00a0 With that last parting shot, Hop Sing abruptly turned heel and strode purposely toward the door, narrowly missing a head on collision with Stacy, who had been standing at the threshold between bedroom and hall, leaning heavily on her crutches for support.<\/p>\n \u201cMissy Stacy, so sorry,\u201d Hop Sing cried out with alarm.\u00a0 His strong wiry arms shot out and seized her by the shoulders, steadying her, as her stance wobbled.\u00a0 \u201cHop Sing very sorry.\u00a0 Not see.\u00a0 Miss Stacy ok?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cY-Yeah . . . I\u2019m ok,\u201d she replied, her voice unsteady.\u00a0 \u201cS-Sorry, I . . . I guess I c-came at a bad time?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s all right, Stacy, please . . . come in,\u201d Ben invited, addressing his daughter in a more kindly tone, upon noting her pale face and the unusual brightness of her eyes.<\/p>\n \u201cHop Sing warn Miss Stacy . . . come into papa room at own risk to yourself,\u201d Hop Sing declared, directing a fierce, angry, defiant glare over in Ben\u2019s general direction, daring him to challenge.<\/p>\n \u201cI . . . I just wanted to make sure Pa\u2019s all right,\u201d\u00a0 Stacy said in a voice barely audible.<\/p>\n \u201cHop Sing go now, make breakfast,\u201d Hop Sing said.\u00a0 \u201cEverybody eat.\u00a0\u00a0 Everybody BETTER eat, or Hop Sing quit.\u00a0 Go help Papa, Hop Ling, with laundry.\u201d\u00a0 He turned with every intention of leaving, then paused and turned back again to face the head of the family he had adopted, that he had come to love and cherish every bit as much as he did his own blood relations.\u00a0 \u201cYou be nice with Missy Stacy.\u00a0 Not yell at Missy Stacy, way you yell at Hop Sing.\u201d\u00a0 With that, he abruptly turned heel and strode angrily from the room, muttering a long string of terse, clipped Chinese invectives under his breath.<\/p>\n After Hop Sing had gone, Ben looked up at Stacy, and without a word patted the space on the bed beside him.\u00a0 Stacy nodded, then made her way across the room.\u00a0 She leaned her crutches up against the wall, near the headboard, and sat down next to her father.<\/p>\n \u201cStacy Rose Cartwright . . . what\u2019s this?\u201d Ben asked gently, noting the telltale wetness now gleaming on her cheeks.<\/p>\n Stacy opened her mouth to reply, only to shut it again, upon suddenly finding herself too emotionally overcome to speak.<\/p>\n Ben pulled a clean handkerchief out of the pocket of his robe and gently pressed it into her hands, before placing his arm around her shoulders and hugging her close.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m gonna be all right, Young Woman . . . Doc says it\u2019s only a flesh wound,\u201d he murmured softly, soothingly.\u00a0 \u201cA few days rest and I\u2019ll be as good as new . . . maybe even better.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cP-Promise?\u201d<\/p>\n An amused smile tugged hard at the corner of his mouth.\u00a0 \u201cCross my heart.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI . . . I\u2019m sorry, Pa,\u201d she ventured at length.<\/p>\n \u201cFor what?\u201d Ben demanded.\u00a0 \u201cI hope you\u2019re not apologizing for being worried about me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, I\u2019m not s-sorry about THAT, b-but I AM sorry I\u2019m . . . that I\u2019m acting like such a . . . a big crybaby,\u201d she said ruefully.<\/p>\n \u201cYou remember what I told you the night Adam and Joe came to blows, and YOU ended up busting your cast when you tried to break it up?\u201d<\/p>\n Stacy nodded and gently dabbed the tears from her eyes and cheeks.\u00a0 \u201cI . . . I think you said something about . . . that we\u2019d ALL h-have m-moments like this.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s right.\u201d<\/p>\n Stacy\u2019s head dropped down heavily onto his shoulder, as she squeezed her eyes shut against the new tears forming there.\u00a0 \u201cPa?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, Stacy?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cH-How long are we g-gonna go on . . . having m-moments like this?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI wish I could give you an answer, but I\u2019m afraid I can\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t want to . . . to . . . .\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Oh, Pa . . . I don\u2019t want to turn into M-Mrs. O\u2019Hanlan.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTurn into Mrs. O\u2019Hanlan?!\u201d\u00a0 It was Joe.\u00a0 Ben and Stacy glanced up and found him standing framed in the open door, with Adam standing behind him, a little to his left.\u00a0 \u201cYou ok, Kid?\u201d<\/p>\n She sighed and dolefully shook her head.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat do you mean when you say you don\u2019t want to turn into Mrs. O\u2019Hanlan?!\u201d Adam queried with a puzzled frown.\u00a0 He stepped around his brother, and crossed the short distance between the threshold and the bed, upon which his father and sister sat.\u00a0 Joe silently followed.<\/p>\n \u201cOh, Adam . . . she\u2019s become so bad . . . it would be a big improvement if . . . if she turned into a terrible worrywart,\u201d Stacy sighed.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s for dang sure,\u201d Joe agreed.<\/p>\n \u201cEver since Colleen got married and . . . and Frankie left home?\u00a0 Poor Molly can\u2019t even sneeze without accounting to her ma for it,\u201d Stacy continued, \u201cand if she\u2019s out of sight for any more than five seconds . . . . \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 She shuddered.\u00a0 \u201cMrs. O\u2019Hanlan gets hysterical!\u00a0\u00a0 I don\u2019t want to end up like that . . . ever!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTHAT, Young Woman, is . . . or should be . . . the very LEAST of your worries.\u201d\u00a0 Ben\u2019s voice was gentle, yet very firm.\u00a0 \u201cMrs. O\u2019Hanlan, even on the best of days, is a very high strung woman, who more often than not finds herself overwhelmed by the small, simple everyday things.\u00a0\u00a0 You\u2019re a very far cry from that, Stacy.\u00a0\u00a0 You always have been, and I dare say, you always will be.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThen . . . why am I falling apart now?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI<\/strong> think it has a lot to do with everything this family has been through over the last few months,\u201d Ben said.\u00a0 \u201cI STILL shudder when I think about how close I came to losing you, Joe . . . even Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo why are you guys doing better . . . while I, all of a sudden, seem to be doing a lot worse . . . especially in the last week or so?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think I<\/strong> might have an idea as to why, Little Sister,\u201d Adam said, as he drew up one of the straight-backed chairs over next to the bed, and sat down.\u00a0 \u201cIn the days right after the fire, I know you were worried about Joe during the time he was missing, and later, as he began that slow task of recovering from his ordeal.\u00a0 Hoss told me things were pretty hairy for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n Stacy nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI was also worried about YOU, Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know,\u201d Adam said gently.\u00a0 \u201cHoss and Pa also told me that you nearly died from YOUR injuries . . . and that you almost ended up losing your leg.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cReally?!\u201d\u00a0 Joe exclaimed.\u00a0 \u201cI . . . I had no idea.\u00a0\u00a0 You\u2019ve been holding back on me, Kiddo.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSorry, Grandpa, it\u2019s just that . . . well, it was pretty much over and past when Pa, Hoss, and Candy found you, that I\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know, Stace.\u00a0 I . . . WAS in pretty rough shape when they first brought me back,\u201d Joe said quietly, cutting right to the heart of the matter.\u00a0 \u201cBut, I\u2019m doing much better now, and . . . I want to be there for YOU, every bit as much as you were there for ME.\u201d<\/p>\n Stacy nodded, too overwhelmed to speak.<\/p>\n \u201cSo do I,\u201d Adam added.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ve had a pretty full plate to deal with, too, Stacy.\u00a0 Now that the worst of it\u2019s behind you . . . it\u2019s time for YOU to begin working through the emotional ramifications of everything that\u2019s happened.\u00a0 The important thing is that you allow yourself time to do that, and don\u2019t try to hold back or deny what you\u2019re feeling.\u00a0 I . . . know . . . from recent personal experience . . . that only makes things harder later . . . a LOT harder.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI just realized something,\u201d Stacy said slowly, as she gazed into her oldest brother\u2019s face with a look akin to awe.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s that, Stacy?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow very much you sound like Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam smiled, first at Stacy, then over at his father.\u00a0 \u201cLittle Sister, I accept any and all favorable comparisons between Pa and me as the highest of compliments.\u00a0 Thank you.\u201d\u00a0 On impulse, he reached over and gave her a big hug.<\/p>\n \u201cI always said he was the smart one in the family,\u201d Ben said, his eyes suddenly blinking to excess.\u00a0 \u201cWell, Young Woman?\u00a0 You feeling a little better about things now?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m feeling a LOT better about things, Pa,\u201d Stacy replied, \u201cfor now at least.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGood.\u201d\u00a0 On impulse, Ben hugged her again, and planted a kiss on her forehead.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we\u2019d best get ourselves downstairs immediately if not sooner,\u201d Joe said.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s bacon I smell cooking.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo?\u201d Adam queried.<\/p>\n Joe sighed, rolled his eyes, then favored his oldest brother with an impish grin.\u00a0 \u201cAh, how quickly they forget.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cForget what?\u201d Adam demanded, thoroughly bemused.<\/p>\n \u201cThat if we aren\u2019t at the table by the time it\u2019s ready, Hoss is going to eat HIS share . . . and ours, too,\u201d Joe replied with a grin, as he turned and started beating a straight path to the bedroom door.<\/p>\n Part 5<\/p>\n \u201cThe purpose of this hearing is to consider Mister Lindsay\u2019s petition that Jacob Carter, William Carter, and Timothy Higgins, all three being charged with murder, criminal assault, kidnapping, robbery of a stagecoach, and other various and sundry . . . be tried in another jurisdiction,\u201d Judge John Faraday15<\/span> wearily informed the small group of men gathered in his office . . . .<\/p>\n He had been very rudely awakened from a deep sleep that morning, shortly after three a.m. by the sound of someone, a man, pounding on the front door of his home hard enough to rattle its very hinges, shouting his name over and over at the top of his voice.\u00a0 When the judge had finally stumbled and groped his way to the door, he was astonished to find his secretary, Elmer McFarlane, standing there, clad in the clothing he had worn the previous day, hastily donned, his face white as a sheet, his eyes round and staring.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThey tried to lynch the Carter brothers and Timothy Higgins, Judge Faraday,\u201d Elmer gasped, completely breathless, before the judge could even begin to form the question.\u00a0 \u201cThe Jared boy\u2019s dead, and Sheriff Coffee\u2019s hurt.\u00a0 So\u2019s Clem, and the Cartwrights.\u00a0 Heard MISTER Cartwright was shot in the head\u2014 \u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0Thankfully, Ben\u2019s head wound turned out to be a bullet brand, a minor injury that would very soon heal, but that was still too close.\u00a0 Hoss would also recover from his injuries in very short order; though, according to Doc Martin, the big man would like as not be stiff and sore for the next few days.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n Roy Coffee had also been very lucky.\u00a0 Although he would be side lined for a few weeks, the bullet he took in the shoulder had missed vital organs.<\/em><\/p>\n Barely.<\/em><\/p>\n The lawman himself often quipped that a miss, any miss, was as good as a mile, but that was far too close for comfort as well.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n Clem Foster had also taken a bullet wound to the shoulder.\u00a0 It was a shallow one, thank the Good Lord, but he had still lost quite a bit of blood and the tumble he took down the<\/em> stairs in that old building across from the sheriff\u2019s office had left him battered and bruised.\u00a0 The deputy had returned to work, however, over and above Doctor Martin\u2019s objections.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n Burt Jared, it seemed, was the only casualty.\u00a0 Another stroke of good luck, actually, considering the bloodbath that almost certainly would have resulted, had an all-out free-for-all shoot-\u2018em-up erupted.\u00a0 That, however, would be of small comfort to the Jared family in days to come, especially the boy\u2019s mother, who by all accounts had doted so fiercely on him.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n John Faraday spent the next several hours interviewing people . . . Doc Martin, the bartenders at the Silver Dollar and the Bucket of Blood, Paulette Simmons, and Clem Foster, among others, trying to piece together what had transpired.\u00a0 The picture slowly emerging was a bleak, sobering one.\u00a0 All his hard work, the time and energy spent, would turn out to be in vain, however . . . . <\/em><\/p>\n Upon reaching his office, a few moments before the regulator clock on the wall struck the quarter hour before seven, he found George Ellis, the telegraph operator, clad in nightshirt, robe, and a pair of well-worn slippers, waiting with a message clutched tight in his hand.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n The message, short, terse, and right to the point, was from the state governor himself.\u00a0 \u201cIt seems to me that someone ELSE has been hard at work, busy as a bee this morning,\u201d John had grumbled under his breath, as he took the message from George and tipped him a whole dollar for his trouble . . . .<\/em><\/p>\n Judge Faraday sat, straight and tall at the head of the massive oak board room table in his spacious office.\u00a0\u00a0 Muscle and flesh hung limp from his bones, like laundry hanging from a clothesline on a still day.\u00a0 His face was several shades paler than normal, and the lines and hallows of his face seemed deeper, more pronounced.<\/p>\n \u201cHere we go again,\u201d the prosecuting attorney, Hamilton Morris groused, sparing no effort to conceal his irritation.\u00a0 \u201cYour Honor, I<\/strong> move that Mister Lindsay\u2019s petition be denied.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDenied?!\u201d Tobias Lindsay echoed, incredulous, outraged, and highly indignant.\u00a0 \u201cAfter what almost happened last night?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He quickly turned his attention to the judge.\u00a0 \u201cYour Honor . . . it should be obvious . . . PAINFULLY obvious to anyone with but a modicum of intelligence that my clients can NOT get a fair trial here, in Virginia City.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s absurd!\u201d Hamilton declared with a dismissive wave of his hand.<\/p>\n \u201cAbsurd?!\u00a0 Absurd??\u00a0 Is that ALL you have to say, Mister Morris?\u201d Tobias demanded.<\/p>\n \u201cI COULD say more,\u201d Hamilton returned stiffly, without missing a beat, \u201cbut I am not generally accustomed to using that kind of language in polite company.\u201d\u00a0 His eyes strayed very pointedly in the judge\u2019s direction.<\/p>\n \u201cYour Honor . . . . \u201d Tobias continued his rant, focusing his entire attention on John Faraday.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve spent the better part of the last month trying desperately to convince SOME one . . . ANY one . . . that my clients can\u2019t get a fair trial here because the good citizens of Virginia City have already tried them and found them guilty.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He paused briefly, for effect.\u00a0 \u201cLast night, the good people of this town almost EXECUTED them . . . WITHOUT benefit of a trial.\u00a0 What more do you need to convince you?!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou should have been an actor, Sir,\u201d Hamilton wryly observed, as he softly applauded.\u00a0 \u201cThat performance just now would put the likes of Lotta Crabtree and Adah Menken to absolute shame.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe only shame, Sir, is that rather than apologize, and admit that you\u2019re wrong, you choose instead to be deliberately, stubbornly OBTUSE!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSit DOWN, Mister Lindsay,\u201d the judge ordered, his irritability and crankiness increasing in direct proportion to his weariness from lack of sleep.<\/p>\n \u201cYour Honor\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSit down NOW!\u00a0\u00a0 Before I fine you for contempt.\u201d<\/p>\n Tobias sat down in his chair, seething with impotent fury.<\/p>\n \u201cMister Morris, on what grounds do you move that Mister Lindsay\u2019s petition be denied?\u201d John Faraday asked.<\/p>\n \u201cHow many men actually participated in the events that transpired last night?\u201d Hamilton demanded. \u201cOne of the more reliable sources for news places that number between thirty and thirty-five.\u00a0 That hardly qualifies as the entire citizenry of Virginia City, which at the time of our last census, numbered\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI<\/strong> heard that number was closer to one hundred,\u201d Tobias countered in a lofty, imperious tone.<\/p>\n \u201cOne hundred?!\u201d Hamilton snorted derisively.\u00a0 \u201cWho told you THAT?\u00a0 Was it Eloise Kirk or Clara Mudgely?\u201d<\/p>\n The two women named by the prosecuting attorney were respectively the owner of a boarding house, called Kirks\u2019 Hostelry, and the church organist.\u00a0 Those who knew them best referred to them as Virginia City\u2019s walking newspapers.<\/p>\n \u201cThe exact number of men who participated in what happened last night \u2019s irrelevant,\u201d Tobias declared with all the angry passion of a preacher, reaching the climax of his oration at a tent revival meeting.\u00a0 \u201cI STILL contend that their opinions are shared by the vast majority of Virginia City\u2019s population.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s preposterous!\u201d\u00a0 Hamilton immediately shot right back.<\/p>\n \u201cORDER!\u201d\u00a0 John Faraday raised his voice in order to be heard above the escalating voices of the two bickering attorneys.\u00a0 He banged his gavel twice on the table in front of him.\u00a0 \u201cI WILL have order, Gentlemen.\u201d<\/p>\n The two lawyers lapsed into sullen silence.<\/p>\n \u201cMister Morris, ordinarily, I would be inclined to agree with you,\u201d John said casting a baleful glare over in the general direction of Tobias Lindsay.\u00a0 \u201cHowever, the decision has been taken out of my hands.\u00a0 It appears someone sent a wire to the governor between the time things wound up in the wee hours of the morning and now.\u201d<\/p>\n Tobias leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest.\u00a0 A smug, triumphant smile slowly spread across his face.<\/p>\n \u201cThe governor has instructed me to grant Mister Lindsay\u2019s petition,\u201d John continued in a sullen tone of voice.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy you\u2014 \u201d Hamilton murmured as he slowly rose to his feet, his eyes blazing with fury.\u00a0 \u201cYou son-of-a-bitch!\u00a0 This whole thing . . . it\u2019s a plot!\u201d he accused.\u00a0 \u201cYou PLANNED this entire fiasco so you could get this trial moved to Carson City.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh come now, Mister Morris,\u201d Tobias responded in a lofty, imperious tone of voice.\u00a0 \u201cNext you\u2019ll be telling us that you saw the Easter bunny hopping down the bunny trail, or . . . Santa Claus flying through the air on his sleigh.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve heard rumors that you were doing your da—!!\u00a0\u00a0 Your best!\u00a0 to make sure that trial got moved,\u201d Hamilton accused.\u00a0 There was a murderous scowl on his face and his cheeks were flushed bright scarlet.\u00a0 \u201cI put it all down to a lot of idle gossip . . . until NOW.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf YOU\u2019RE accusing ME of inciting that mob to break into the jail— \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou didn\u2019t HAVE to get those . . . those well-manicured hands of yours dirty by inciting a drunken mob to run riot yourself,\u201d Hamilton sneered.\u00a0 \u201cAll YOU had to do was make sure word kept circulating about you trying to get that trial moved someplace where YOU\u2019VE got a better shot at getting those murdering . . . those murderers! off scot free.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHave a care, Mister Morris, lest I sue you for slander,\u201d Tobias threatened.<\/p>\n \u201cGo ahead!\u201d Hamilton shot right back.\u00a0 \u201cYour case gets thrown out of court into the nearest trash heap where it belongs the instant I put Wesley McGrath on the stand.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMister Lindsay . . . Mister Morris . . . sit down,\u201d John ordered, growing more weary and exasperated with this whole shameful affair by the minute, \u201cand for heaven\u2019s sake . . . shut.\u00a0\u00a0 up.\u201d<\/p>\n Tobias opened his mouth with the intention of responding to Hamilton\u2019s last verbal barb.<\/p>\n \u201cMister Lindsay . . . one word!\u00a0\u00a0 If you say one more word, so help me . . . I\u2019m going to fine you for contempt and have you JAILED.\u00a0 Between the deputy sheriff and myself, I\u2019m sure we can come up with a whole laundry list of charges longer than my arm,\u201d John said through clenched teeth.<\/p>\n Tobias\u2019 mouth immediately snapped shut without utterance and he dropped down into his chair like a stone into deep water.<\/p>\n \u201cTo continue, Gentlemen, the governor HAS instructed me to grant Mister Lindsay\u2019s petition to have the trial for the Carter brothers and Mister Higgins moved,\u201d John continued.\u00a0 He paused, as his lips began to curve upward slightly, to form a tight, brittle smile.\u00a0 \u201cBut, he said nothing about moving the trial to Carson City.\u201d<\/p>\n Tobias frowned.<\/p>\n \u201cThe governor ordered that the trial be moved to the city of Winnemucca in Humboldt County,\u201d John continued, with nasty relish.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat kind of trick is this?\u201d Tobias demanded, his face darkening with anger.<\/p>\n \u201cNo trick at all, Mister Lindsay,\u201d John replied.\u00a0 \u201cThe governor was pretty straight forward in his wire.\u00a0 He agrees that given what happened last night, your clients can\u2019t get a fair trial here in Virginia City.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cB-But that\u2019s . . . Winnemucca\u2019s nearly two hundred miles away!\u201d Tobias cried.<\/p>\n \u201cExactly.\u00a0 The governor figures that the information about the stagecoach robbery allegedly perpetrated by the Carter brothers and Mister Higgins, including all of the lurid, sensational elements, won\u2019t have had time to reach the folks in Winnemucca,\u201d John happily explained.<\/p>\n Tobias slowly rose to his feet.\u00a0 \u201cJudge Faraday . . . and you, too, Mister Morris!\u00a0 I don\u2019t know what the he—!!\u00a0\u00a0 What you\u2019re trying to pull, but I intend to file a formal protest\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMister Lindsay, you may file all the formal protests you wish until the cows come home for all I care at this point,\u201d John rudely cut him off.\u00a0 \u201cIt will be a waste of time and energy.\u00a0 The governor\u2019s word is final.\u00a0 My advice to YOU, for what it\u2019s worth, is to concentrate all that abundant energy of yours on preparing your defense.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c . . . and what\u2019s THAT supposed to mean?!\u201d Tobias demanded warily.<\/p>\n \u201cIt means I\u2019ve saved the very best for last, Mister Lindsay,\u201d John replied.\u00a0 \u201cMister Ellis presented me with a wire not ten minutes ago stating that Judge Clarence Dozier has been duly appointed to hear the case.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJudge Dozier? \u00a0\u00a0As in H-HANGING Judge Dozier?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Tobias stammered.<\/p>\n \u201cHanging judge?!\u201d John mirthlessly chortled.\u00a0 \u201cThat IS something of an exaggeration, Sir.\u00a0 Now mind, I\u2019m not acquainted with the man, but I have heard it said that he doesn\u2019t suffer fools gladly.\u201d\u00a0 He paused.\u00a0 \u201cSomething you would do well to remember and take to heart, Mister Lindsay.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c . . . and what, exactly is that supposed to mean?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt means, should you take it into your head to push Winnemucca\u2019s resident drunk and trouble maker to incite a lynch mob, or to seek out a lonely old woman known for having loose lips and telling her an outrageous sob story about how your clients have been horribly maligned, my advice to you is . . . don\u2019t,\u201d John said sternly.\u00a0 \u201cI . . . trust we understand each other?\u201d<\/p>\n Tobias immediately slid down in his chair, his cheeks, forehead, and neck flaming red.\u00a0 He bowed his head, fixing his eyes on the edge of the table, and folded his arms across his chest.<\/p>\n With perverse satisfaction, the judge, then, turned his attention to the prosecuting attorney.\u00a0 \u201cMister Morris.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, Your Honor?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYOU are hereby ordered to surrender all the information and evidence you\u2019ve thus far collected to a Mister Eustace Bartlett, Esquire, at the earliest opportunity,\u201d John said.\u00a0 \u201cHe has been appointed prosecutor.\u201d\u00a0 He paused.\u00a0 \u201cIf there\u2019s no further questions, this hearing is adjourned.\u201d<\/p>\n ………<\/p>\n \u201cUmmmm UM!\u201d Joe grunted, as he dropped into the empty chair across the table from Hoss.\u00a0 He closed his eyes and deeply inhaled the rich, heady aroma of hickory-smoked bacon wafting in from the kitchen.\u00a0 \u201cThat sure smells good,\u201d he declared, with a contented smile.<\/p>\n \u201cHigh time you get off what Papa call seat of learning hard way, and come to table!\u201d Hop Sing admonished the youngest Cartwright son with a dark angry glare, as he strode briskly from the kitchen, carrying a large bowl filled with fluffy, yellow scrambled eggs and another filled with fried potatoes, mixed with sweet bell and hot chili peppers.<\/p>\n \u201cSeat of learning hard way?!\u201d Adam queried with a puzzled frown, as he stepped into the dining area.<\/p>\n \u201cYou remember, Mister Adam.\u00a0 That what Papa sometimes say when he take Little Joe outside to barn for \u2018necessary taking to,\u2019 \u201d Hop Sing explained.\u00a0 \u201cPapa sometimes say he apply Education Board to Little Joe Seat of Learning Hard Way.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOohhh yeah!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 An amused smile tugged at the corner of Adam\u2019s mouth, as he took his place at the foot of the table.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019d forgotten all about Pa applying the Board of Education to Joe\u2019s Seat of Learning the Hard Way,\u201d he said quietly.<\/p>\n \u201cThough for you \u2018n me, Adam, it was just the Seat o\u2019 Learnin\u2019,\u201d Hoss added, with a smug, if wan, smile.<\/p>\n \u201cYou two think you\u2019re so-ooo-oo smart, don\u2019t ya?\u201d Joe growled.<\/p>\n \u201cY\u2019 gotta admit, Li\u2019l Brother . . . Adam \u2018n me WAS smart enough t\u2019 keep our, ummm . . . shall we say our own personal, private Mighty Ponderosas? . . . the just plain, pure \u2018n simple Seat o\u2019 Learnin\u2019,\u201d Hoss retorted.<\/p>\n \u201cOh hardy-har-har-har, Big Brother!\u00a0 That was so darn funny, I forgot to laugh,\u201d Joe snorted derisively.<\/p>\n \u201cSo.\u00a0 All you boys at table.\u00a0 Finally!\u201d Hop Sing observed, glaring at Adam first, then over at Joe upon uttering that last word.\u00a0 \u201cWhere Papa and Miss Stacy?!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPa and Stacy are coming, Hop Sing,\u201d Adam replied.\u00a0 \u201cSlowly but surely . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Kid\u2019s getting around pretty good on those crutches your nephew made for her,\u201d Joe said, \u201cbut not as fast as she did on her own two feet . . . and Pa . . . well, he IS a mite stiff and sore this morning . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n An exasperated sigh exploded from between Hop Sing\u2019s thinned lips, followed by a flurry of rapid fire, terse, clipped syllables.\u00a0 \u201cHop Sing tell him and tell him . . . belong in BED.\u00a0 More stubborn . . . more can . . . . \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He frowned.\u00a0 \u201c . . . can . . . .\u00a0\u00a0 Mister Adam!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, Hop Sing?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat word?!\u00a0 Can . . . can . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI, ummm . . . think the word you\u2019re looking for is cantankerous,\u201d Adam said, as he quickly raised his napkin to his mouth to hide the smile he just plain couldn\u2019t keep back.<\/p>\n \u201cCan . . . Can-ter-ank . . . say again!\u00a0 Slow!\u201d<\/p>\n Adam complied, enunciating every syllable.<\/p>\n \u201cCan-tank-er-us!\u00a0 That it!\u00a0 Can-tank-er-us!\u00a0 Papa no better than can-tank-er-us elderly mule!\u201d Hop Sing continued his rant.\u00a0 \u201cNot listen to doctor . . . worse . . . not listen to Hop Sing!\u201d\u00a0 His English disintegrated into a long string of terse, clipped Chinese invectives.<\/p>\n \u201cI have a feeling that the loud discussion we couldn\u2019t help BUT over hear earlier is far from over,\u201d Adam wryly observed, as he reached across the table for the coffee pot.<\/p>\n \u201cI sure am looking forward to that trip out to the lumber camps,\u201d Joe murmured softly, as he cast a fearful glance over in the direction of the kitchen door.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s right, Li\u2019l Brother . . . rub it in,\u201d Hoss groused, casting a baleful glare at Joe.<\/p>\n \u201cHere.\u00a0 Dig in, Big Brother,\u201d Adam exhorted, as he shoved the bowl of scrambled eggs over toward Hoss.<\/p>\n Hoss took the bowl from Adam, and spooned out two generous helpings of scrambled eggs onto his plate.<\/p>\n \u201cHey!\u201d Hop Sing snapped upon his return to the dining room.\u00a0 He carried a platter filled with crisp, hot bacon on one hand and a basket of light, fluffy biscuits in the other.\u00a0 \u201cMister Hoss!\u00a0 Save some egg for papa, brothers, and sister.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAww c\u2019mon, Hop Sing . . . there\u2019s enough left in that dang bowl for all of us t\u2019 have a second helpin\u2019 \u2018n for ME t\u2019 have a third,\u201d Hoss grumbled.<\/p>\n Hop Sing abruptly turned heel and beat a straight path back toward the kitchen, grumbling in Chinese, with an occasional, \u201cbig boy bad . . . very, very bad . . . nearly bad like Papa,\u201d sprinkled in between.<\/p>\n \u201cSee what Pa, Stacy, \u2018n me are gonna hafta put up with?!\u201d Hoss muttered, just loud enough for his brothers to hear.<\/p>\n Joe immediately snatched a biscuit out of the breadbasket and stuffed it into his mouth whole, a split second before he would have burst out into a fit of the giggles.<\/p>\n ………<\/p>\n \u201cYour chariot awaits, Little Brother,\u201d Adam said, gesturing to the brown, standing alongside Sport II.\u00a0 Both horses were saddled, and ready to ride.<\/p>\n The entire family, including Hop Sing, stood together outside on the small front porch of the house belonging to Sam and Ella Fletcher, who were away on an extended trip to Europe.\u00a0 For now, it ably served as the Cartwrights\u2019 temporary home until their new log house was ready for occupancy.<\/p>\n Another brown, larger and more powerfully built than Joe\u2019s designated mode of transportation, stood on the other side of Sport II, packed with enough provisions to last a week.\u00a0 All three were tied to the hitching post out on the street in front of the Fletchers\u2019 house.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll stop long enough to collect Cochise, of course,\u201d Adam continued.<\/p>\n \u201cWill you guys tell Blaze Face hello for me?\u00a0 Please?\u201d Stacy asked wistfully.<\/p>\n \u201cYou BET we will, Kiddo,\u201d Joe promised as he slipped his arm around Stacy\u2019s shoulders, and gave her a gentle, affectionate squeeze.\u00a0 \u201cIn the meantime, though, I want you to promise me you\u2019ll remember something.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe plaster on your leg\u2019s gonna be coming off in another three weeks,\u201d Joe said.\u00a0 \u201cI know you\u2019re gonna have some work to do before you\u2019re able to get around properly, but you\u2019re STILL gonna be back in the saddle again before you know it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll try to remember,\u201d she said with a melancholy sigh.<\/p>\n \u201cHey!\u00a0 It could be worse,\u201d Joe quipped.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m almost afraid to ask this, Grandpa, but . . . how could it possibly be worse?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, for starters you might\u2019ve lost your leg, not to mention your life,\u201d Joe said very quietly, \u201cand . . . instead of having only three more weeks to wear that cast, you might\u2019ve had FOUR . . . if Adam and I hadn\u2019t gotten into that ruckus a couple o\u2019 weeks ago.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He grinned and winked over at his oldest brother, prompting a soft groan and a sarcastic roll of the eyes.<\/p>\n \u201cWhich reminds me, Young Man . . . you aren\u2019t entirely out of the woods quite yet yourself,\u201d Ben reminded his youngest son in a stern, no-nonsense tone of voice.\u00a0 \u201cI expect YOU to keep the promise you made to Hoss and me.\u00a0 You\u2019re going to show Adam the way and THAT\u2019S ALL.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cYes, Pa . . . that\u2019s all,\u201d Joe dutifully promised.<\/p>\n \u201c . . . and if he tries to step out of line, I\u2019ll hog-tie and gag him right there on the spot,\u201d Adam vowed, favoring his youngest brother with a pointed glare of his own.\u00a0 \u201cOn that, you have MY word.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIn THAT case, Adam, I\u2019ll leave the young scalawag in YOUR hands,\u201d Ben said with a smile that never came close to reaching his eyes.<\/p>\n \u201cNow, while Joe and I are gone, I expect the three of YOU to be on your very best behavior for Hop Sing,\u201d Adam exhorted his father, younger brother, and only sister.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t want the two of us to come back and find out he\u2019s quit and is well on his way back to China.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, PA!\u201d Hoss and Stacy exclaimed in unison.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean it,\u201d Adam returned with mock severity, his eyes twinkling with amusement.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll behave, Son,\u201d Ben promised.\u00a0 He turned and glared pointedly over at Hoss and Stacy.\u00a0 \u201cWon\u2019t we?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOf COURSE we will,\u201d Stacy replied.<\/p>\n \u201cLi\u2019l Sister \u2018n I can\u2019t help BUT behave, Pa,\u201d Hoss declared as he stepped over beside Stacy and placed his arm around her shoulders, \u201cwhat with havin\u2019 YOU as our example, \u2018n all . . . . \u201d\u00a0 He flashed his father a wide, saucy grin.<\/p>\n \u201cChiminney Christmas!\u201d Joe groaned.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHop Sing won\u2019t be well on his way to China by the time we get back . . . he\u2019ll already be there, and well settled in.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSmart aleck!\u201d Ben growled.<\/p>\n \u201cWhich one?\u201d Joe quipped.<\/p>\n \u201cThe BOTH of ya!\u201d Ben immediately returned.<\/p>\n Adam very pointedly cleared his throat.\u00a0 \u201cJoe and I should be back by the end of the week,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cIf we get held up due unforeseen circumst— \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cADAM!?\u00a0 HEY, ADAM . . . HOLD UP!\u201d\u00a0 It was Clem Foster.<\/p>\n \u201c . . . uh oohh . . . I gotta real bad feeling about this . . . . \u201d Joe murmured very softly, as his hopes of spending the next few days enjoying fresh, clean air and sunshine, well away from the maddening crowd making up the populace of Virginia City, plummeted to his feet along with his heart.<\/p>\n Clem brought his steed, Carla Jo, a big brown, even tempered gelding to a halt, and dismounted, trying his best not to grimace, as stiff, aching, sore muscles and joints protested against every move he made. He nodded to Ben and the other members of the family, before turning his attention to the eldest son. \u201cAdam?\u201d<\/p>\n “Yes, Clem?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI . . . hope you\u2019re not planning on leaving town,\u201d the deputy said as he eyes strayed over to the brown packhorse, tethered to the hitching post.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a matter of fact, I am,\u201d Adam replied, feeling very much on the defensive all of a sudden.\u00a0 \u201cJoe and I are heading out to our lumber camps and saw mill.\u00a0 Why do you ask?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI, uhhh . . . hate like all get out having t\u2019 do this to ya, Adam . . . especially since Hoss \u2018n your pa here are, like as not, counting on ya,\u201d Clem reluctantly continued, \u201cbut I\u2019m afraid I have no choice.\u201d\u00a0 He reached into the inside pocket of his vest with a pained grimace, and pulled out a blue envelope sized folder with Adam\u2019s full name, first, middle, and last, hastily penned in Judge John Faraday\u2019s bold, angular script.<\/p>\n \u201cA . . . summons?\u201d Adam queried, his own heart fast sinking, as he reluctantly took the proffered document from Clem.<\/p>\n \u201cSorry, Adam, I really am,\u201d Clem said with all sincerity.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re being called upon to testify for the prosecution against the Carter Brothers and Timothy Higgins . . . in person . . . in Winnemucca.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWinnemucca?!\u201d Ben echoed, incredulous.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, Mister Cartwright, Winnemucca,\u201d Clem grimly confirmed.<\/p>\n \u201cSo all them rumors \u2018bout Tobias Lindsay trying t\u2019 get that trial moved WERE true,\u201d Hoss quietly observed, mildly surprised and resentful.<\/p>\n ………<\/p>\n \u201cFather Rutherford, I want to take the veil.\u201d\u00a0 Maria Estevan came right to the point in a very firm, very resolute tone of voice.\u00a0 She stood before the fireplace in the Martins\u2019 formal parlor, her posture stiffly erect, with her gloved hands clasped firmly in front of her.\u00a0 She still wore the black suit that she had borrowed from Lily Martin, albeit without the veil.<\/p>\n All things considered, her request shouldn\u2019t have surprised him, yet it had.\u00a0 Very much.\u00a0 Was it her youth?\u00a0\u00a0 The vibrant energy he sensed lying dormant now under a terrible burden of grief, anger, and perhaps a very large measure of survivor\u2019s guilt?\u00a0 Maria Estevan reminded him of another, who not only shared a variation her given name, but had also suffered more than her share of tragedy, humiliation, and grief.<\/p>\n \u201cMarie Cartwright,\u201d<\/em> Father Brendan mused silently, upon remembering the many hours she had spent with him in the confessional, and in private consultation as well, pouring out her heart.\u00a0 \u201cBut Marie DID find love . . . happiness . . . and a measure of peace as Ben Cartwright\u2019s wife, and mother to three fine sons.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Every instinct within him screamed that it would be a terrible mistake to allow the young woman standing before him, to turn her back on the world by entering into a convent . . . \u201ctaking the veil,\u201d to borrow her own words.\u00a0 Same as it would have been for Marie Cartwright, assuming she had ever at any time in her life given consideration the idea.<\/p>\n \u201cMrs. Estevan,\u201d Father Brendan ventured, treading carefully, \u201ca . . . a decision of this nature requires a great deal of thought . . . of soul searching . . . and above all prayer.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve not come to this decision impulsively or in haste,\u201d Maria hastened to assure.\u00a0 \u201cDuring the time I\u2019ve spent here with the Martins and with Mrs. McShane recovering from . . . from m-my ordeal . . . I\u2019ve had plenty of time to give the matter a great deal of thought, AND to do a lot of soul searching.\u00a0 I WANT to take the veil.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou ARE, of course, more than welcome to come, and stay with the sisters at the Convent of Saint Mary on the Mountain for as long as you have need,\u201d Father Brendan said quietly.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve even gone so far as taking the liberty of broaching the possibility with the mother superior, when I first heard of your dreadful circumstances.\u00a0\u00a0 However\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?!\u201d she angrily snapped out the question.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile it IS true that most of the women who embrace life within the convent . . . who go on to take those final vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, find the life and experience deeply rewarding . . . I must caution you, becoming a bride of Christ is a hard spiritual path,\u201d he replied, \u201cone that requires much in the way of devotion, sacrifice, and self-discipline.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI have already lost much, Father,\u201d Maria said very quietly, her voice catching.<\/p>\n \u201cYes,\u201d Father Brendan was quick to agree, \u201cyou have indeed suffered terrible and devastating loss.\u00a0 But, loss is not the same as sacrifice.\u00a0 Loss involves having your most precious treasures taken from you.\u00a0 Sacrifice means to WILLINGLY relinquish those treasures.<\/p>\n \u201cMrs. Estevan, life behind convent walls is a call from God, every bit as much as MY call to serve God and my fellow man as a priest,\u201d Father Brendan continued.\u00a0 \u201cNeither vocation was EVER intended to be an escape, though many HAVE come, seeking to escape life . . . to escape the travails that ARE part and parcel of living in THIS world\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFather, I freely admit to seeking shelter and a home,\u201d Maria stubbornly maintained her position.\u00a0 \u201cWith my . . . w-with my husband now dead, I have nowhere to go.\u00a0 But, I do NOT come seeking this escape from life of which you speak.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHave you no family?\u00a0 No friends?\u201d<\/p>\n She dolefully shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cNo, Father.\u00a0 Not NOW.\u00a0 I can\u2019t go back.\u00a0 Not after everything that\u2019s happened. It\u2019s better all the way around if our family and friends . . . Lorenzo\u2019s and mine . . . believe me dead and buried with my husband.\u201d<\/p>\n She was resolute.\u00a0 Father Brendan saw that quite clearly in her stance, the stubborn set of her jaw and mouth, the hands at her sides now balled into a pair of tight fists, and the angry fires burning in those dark brown, almost black eyes.\u00a0 Argument at this juncture would not only be useless, but would like as not harden her resolve even more.<\/p>\n \u201cThe mother superior, of course, makes the decision regarding who\u2019s accepted into the community as postulant,\u201d Father Brendan said, backing down for now.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course,\u201d Maria replied.\u00a0 \u201cI would still like to move to the convent, however.\u00a0 The Martins have been very kind, but I . . . I don\u2019t want to overstay my welcome.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAs I said before, you ARE welcome to come and stay with the sisters for as long as you have need,\u201d Father Brendan said.\u00a0 \u201cYou may come whenever you wish.\u201d<\/p>\n A soft, discreet knock at the closed parlor door brought any further conversation to an end.<\/p>\n \u201cMrs. Estevan . . . Father Rutherford, it\u2019s Mrs. Martin,\u201d the doctor\u2019s wife immediately identified herself in a brisk, business-like tone of voice.<\/p>\n \u201cPlease, Mrs. Martin . . . come in,\u201d Maria invited, with an anxious, bewildered frown.<\/p>\n Father Brendan rose to his feet as the door opened, and Mrs. Martin ventured in, with Deputy Clem Foster following close behind.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sorry, Mrs. Estevan . . . Father Rutherford,\u201d Lily apologized, \u201cbut Deputy Foster is here to see YOU, Mrs. Estevan.\u00a0 I wouldn\u2019t have interrupted, but he insisted it was urgent.\u201d<\/p>\n Clem removed his hat as he stepped around Lily Martin and entered the room.\u00a0 \u201cFather . . . Mrs. Estevan, I\u2019m terribly sorry for interruptin\u2019, but my instructions from Judge Faraday were to present this in person . . . as soon as possible,\u201d he said, his voice filled with remorse and deep regret.\u00a0 He produced a blue envelope with \u201cMrs. Estevan\u201d hastily scrawled across its face.<\/p>\n Maria recoiled momentarily, as she might have had she been staring down at a rattlesnake coiled at her feet, poised, and ready to strike.\u00a0 She swallowed nervously, then slowly, reluctantly put out her hand to take the proffered envelope.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhat IS this, Deputy Foster . . . exactly?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA summons, Ma\u2019am.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA summons?!\u201d Lily echoed, incredulous, with a bewildered frown.\u00a0 \u201cWhat FOR?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sure you\u2019re aware of the trouble last night, Mrs. Martin?\u201d Clem queried, with eyebrow slightly upraised.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, of COURSE I\u2019m aware of the trouble that happened last night,\u201d Lily replied, sparing no energy to conceal her anger.\u00a0 \u201cWhat of it?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe governor\u2019s ordered the trial to be moved,\u201d Clem explained, \u201cto Winnemucca.\u00a0 The summons I gave Mrs. Estevan . . . and that I\u2019ll be giving to others including the doc, requires them to present themselves in Winnemucca to—\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNO!\u201d Maria cried out, anguished and enraged.\u00a0 \u201cNO!\u00a0\u00a0 HE . . . THAT SON OF A . . . A . . . ****\u201d\u00a0 The word she so contemptuously spat was Spanish.\u00a0 Though none of the others present were in any way familiar with the language, they knew beyond all doubt that the word she used had to be among the most vile and obscene.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHE CAN\u2019T DO THIS!\u00a0 IT\u2019S NOT RIGHT!\u201d<\/p>\n Lily Martin strode into the room with back ramrod straight like a general marching off to battle.\u00a0 She rudely shoved Clem Foster aside, then reached out and took firm hold of the distraught young woman\u2019s shoulders.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMrs. Estevan . . . Maria!\u201d she said in a quiet, yet very firm tone of voice.\u00a0 \u201cListen to me, please—\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHE\u2019S . . . THAT LAWYER . . . HE\u2019S GOING TO GET THEM OFF!\u201d she shrieked, angry yet filled with hopeless despair.\u00a0 \u201cAFTER ALL THEY DID . . . TO LORENZO . . . TO ME . . . TO THE OTHERS—\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo,\u201d Lily countered.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s NOT going to happen.\u00a0 Do you hear me?\u00a0 That is NOT going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, yes it is,\u201d Maria insisted, weeping.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t you see?\u00a0 He\u2019s gotten the trial moved to a place where he knows he can win.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe CAN\u2019T win,\u201d Lily said, meeting the young woman\u2019s gaze without flinching.\u00a0 \u201cPlease listen to me, Mrs. Estevan.\u00a0 Their lawyer can\u2019t possibly win, no matter how good he is, or where the trial\u2019s been moved—\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, he WILL!\u201d Maria sobbed.\u00a0 \u201cHe will, he will, he will.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFather Rutherford . . . Deputy Foster . . . I think you\u2019d better bring her back into the doctor\u2019s examination room,\u201d Lily said firmly.<\/p>\n The two men gently took hold of Maria\u2019s forearms.\u00a0 She offered no resistance, rather she buried her face in her hands and wept piteously.\u00a0 With the young widow in tow, the lawman and priest silently fell in step behind the doctor\u2019s wife.<\/p>\n \u201cWill she . . . will she be all right, Mrs. Martin?\u201d Clem asked, still visibly shaken.<\/p>\n \u201cAs all right as she can be, I suppose,\u201d Lily Martin replied, as she gently placed a light blanket over the now sedated young woman lying in deep slumber on the doctor\u2019s examination table.\u00a0 She slipped a pillow under Maria\u2019s head, then turned to usher Father Brendan and Clem out of the room.<\/p>\n \u201cIf Mrs. Estevan has need of me, Mrs. Martin . . . for any reason . . . no matter what the hour, please don\u2019t hesitate to send for me,\u201d Father Brendan said as they stepped out\u00a0 of the room into the long narrow hallway beyond.<\/p>\n \u201cThank you, Father Rutherford . . . I will,\u201d Lily promised.<\/p>\n ………<\/p>\n \u201cI STILL don\u2019t see why your testimony can\u2019t be given in a sworn deposition, same as Matt Wilson,\u201d Ben grumbled, for the umpteenth time.\u00a0 He sat on Adam\u2019s bed watching him, as he moved around the room packing the essentials he would need for the trip to Winnemucca in a pair of matching leather bags, sitting open in the desk.<\/p>\n Though his pa\u2019s exasperation came through loud and clear, Adam heard the underlying worry as well.\u00a0 \u201cFirst of all, Pa, Matt was allowed to give testimony in a sworn deposition because his wife, Clarissa\u2019s due to give birth to their third child any day now,\u201d he explained once again, with infinite patience.\u00a0 \u201cSecond, I<\/strong> am the only witness who can positively identify Lorenzo Estevan\u2019s journal for what it is . . . apart from his wife.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMatt was with you when you found it,\u201d Ben immediately pointed out.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s true,\u201d Adam replied.\u00a0 \u201cMatt, however, wasn\u2019t invited by Lorenzo Estevan himself to look at the drawings and read some of the passages.\u00a0 I was.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI STILL don\u2019t like it!\u201d Ben groused.<\/p>\n Adam placed an arm load of socks and undergarments into one of the bags, then turned to face Ben.\u00a0 \u201cPa . . . I promise you . . . I\u2019m going to be all right.\u00a0 MY only regret is that I won\u2019t be able to make that trip up to the lumber camps as I promised Hoss.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPlease, Son . . . you needn\u2019t worry about that,\u201d Ben hastened to reassure.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ve been in tough spots before, as YOU very well know.\u00a0 We\u2019ll manage as we always have.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBy the proverbial skin of our teeth?\u201d<\/p>\n Ben nodded.\u00a0 \u201cIf need be, yes.\u00a0 Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c . . . you sure you don\u2019t want me to go with ya?\u201d<\/p>\n The apprehensive edge he heard in his father\u2019s voice, coupled with the loving concern he saw laid bare upon his face, and shining in those dark brown eyes touched Adam deeply.\u00a0 He walked over to the bed and knelt down.\u00a0 \u201cPa,\u201d he said softly, taking Ben\u2019s hands into his own, \u201cplease . . . don\u2019t take this the wrong way.\u00a0 I\u2019m grateful . . . more than I can possibly say . . . for all the love, support, and understanding you, Hoss, Joe, Stacy, and Hop Sing have given me over the past few weeks.\u00a0 I . . . I know I wasn\u2019t exactly the easiest man to . . . to live with\u2014 \u201d\u00a0 He broke off abruptly, mid-sentence, unable to continue.<\/p>\n Ben smiled and gently squeezed Adam\u2019s hands.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201c . . . that\u2019s what being a family means, Son,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cLoving each other enough to BE there . . . especially when things aren\u2019t easy.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam returned his father\u2019s smile with a tremulous one of his own.\u00a0 \u201cI know that NOW, Pa,\u201d he said, \u201cbut . . . this business of going to Winnemucca and giving testimony about what Matt and I found out in the desert . . . it\u2019s something I need to do on my own.\u201d<\/p>\n In the golden brown eyes of the man one birthday from four decades, Ben saw again the eyes and face of the child, barely three years old, in the midst of a struggle to dress himself.\u00a0 He had managed to put on his undergarments, his pants, and his socks, but aligning the buttons of his shirt with the correct buttonhole was fast proving elusive and frustrating.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cAdam . . . do you need help?\u201d Ben remembered asking, after the third attempt had gone awry.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cNo!\u201d Adam stoutly declared.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI can do by-self.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI . . . understand, Son,\u201d Ben said as the vision faded, leaving him face to face once more with the man.\u00a0 \u201cBut, I want you to remember, even though you\u2019re going by yourself to Winnemucca . . . that you\u2019re NOT alone.\u00a0 \u00a0We\u2019re here for ya, Adam.\u00a0 You\u2019ll be in our thoughts and prayers while you\u2019re gone, and if you find that you need us there with ya, don\u2019t hesitate to send word.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll remember, Pa,\u201d Adam earnestly promised.<\/p>\n Father and son then embraced briefly.\u00a0 Ben was surprised and gratified that for the first time ever, he was the one to let go first.<\/p>\n ………<\/p>\n \u201c . . . ummm . . . excuse me . . . Mrs. Martin?\u201d<\/p>\n The doctor\u2019s wife glanced up from her needlepoint and saw Maria Estevan standing framed in the open door to the living room on the second floor of the townhouse she shared with her husband.\u00a0 The young woman\u2019s hair was mussed, and her clothing crisscrossed with a myriad of wrinkles, the result of having spent the better part of the afternoon downstairs in the doctor\u2019s examination room under sedation.<\/p>\n \u201cPlease . . . come in, Mrs. Estevan,\u201d Lily invited.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve taken the liberty of asking Miss Graves to begin packing for your trip to Winnemucca.\u00a0 I . . . hope you don\u2019t mind.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, I DON\u2019T mind,\u201d Maria replied in a wooden monotone.\u00a0 \u201cIn fact, I\u2019m grateful.\u00a0\u00a0 I . . . I just couldn\u2019t bear having to . . . to— \u201d\u00a0 She broke off abruptly.\u00a0 \u201cSorry.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve no need to apologize,\u201d Lily said very quietly.<\/p>\n \u201cMrs. Martin, our things . . . Lorenzo\u2019s and mine . . . were brought here from the hotel?\u201d Maria asked.<\/p>\n \u201cDeputy Foster kept a few items, like Mister Estevan\u2019s journal, at the request of the prosecuting attorney as evidence, but the rest WAS delivered here,\u201d Lily replied.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s upstairs in our attic.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s something I need . . . would it be alright if I went up to the attic and got it?\u00a0 I promise you, I won\u2019t be long . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat do you need?\u00a0 I can ask Miss Graves to— \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo!\u201d Maria snapped, drawing a sharp look from Lily.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry, I didn\u2019t mean to take your head off, Mrs. Martin,\u201d she immediately apologized, \u201cI . . . this may sound silly, but I don\u2019t want anyone else to . . . to . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n \u201c . . . to go through yours and your husband\u2019s personal belongings?\u00a0 No.\u201d\u00a0 Lily shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s not silly at all.\u00a0 However, it IS very dusty upstairs.\u201d\u00a0 She set aside her needlepoint and rose.\u00a0 \u201cWhy don\u2019t you g\u2019won to your room and get out of those clothes?\u00a0 I\u2019ll get you an old housedress of mine to wear while you go up to the attic and fetch down what you need.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t want to trouble you— \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo trouble,\u201d Lily assured Maria in a firm tone of voice, \u201cand I can give what you have on now over to Miss Graves to press, so it\u2019ll be fresh and presentable tomorrow morning.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThank you, Mrs. Martin . . . thank you so very much . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n For what seemed a dreadful eternity, Maria Estevan sat on the attic floor with legs crossed, elbows resting on her knees, and hands clasped tightly together under her chin, staring at the leather bag in which Dear Lorenzo, may God rest his soul, had packed his toiletries and other personal items.\u00a0 The rest of their luggage, comprising three trunks, two flowered carpet bags, and the leather valise that matched the bag holding her unwavering gaze, sat in a pile behind her.\u00a0 There were a few keepsakes she wanted.\u00a0 The rest . . . she would ask the Martins to donate to someone in need after this whole nasty business was over and done.\u00a0 She would no longer have need of those things once she entered the convent of Saint Mary in the Mountains.<\/p>\n At length, she swallowed nervously, then reached with trembling hands to take Lorenzo\u2019s small leather bag.\u00a0\u00a0 She opened it and within very short order found that which she so desperately sought, much to her relief.\u00a0 It was lying in the very bottom of the bag, as she had figured it would be, wrapped in a clean handkerchief, yellowed with age, with the initials \u201cE S E\u201d hand stitched in one of the corners.<\/p>\n \u201cEnrico Sebastian Estevan,\u201d Maria murmured very softly.\u00a0 Lorenzo\u2019s paternal grandfather.\u00a0 She carefully unwrapped the object, an old pearl handled derringer, that had been passed down to Lorenzo\u2019s father, then to Lorenzo himself.\u00a0 \u201cIf only . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n If only Lorenzo\u2019d had the weapon on his person, then maybe, just maybe, HE\u2019D still be alive, and at least one of the rabid animals who had set upon the stage, its passengers, who had so cruelly used her—<\/p>\n No.<\/p>\n She mustn\u2019t think about all of the countless \u201cif onlys.\u201d\u00a0 Not now, not ever.\u00a0 To do so, even for a moment, would surely drive her stark raving mad.<\/p>\n Maria very quickly closed the bag and rewrapped the handkerchief around the derringer.\u00a0 \u201cIf justice is denied Lorenzo . . . me . . . and all the others in a court of law, I swear . . . by all I hold holy, I SWEAR . . . I\u2019LL<\/strong> see that justice is done . . . with this,\u201d<\/em> she silently, passionately vowed, while absently stroking the gun as she might a cat curled up in her lap.<\/p>\n Maria carefully placed the derringer into the deep right hand pocket of the dress borrowed from Lily Martin, and started for the stairs that led from the attic to the Martins\u2019 living quarters on the second floor.<\/p>\n ………<\/p>\n The following morning, Ben saw his eldest son to the stage depot, after an unusually quiet, subdued breakfast with the rest of the family.<\/p>\n \u201c \u2018Morning, Ben . . . \u2018morning, Adam . . . . \u201d a familiar voice greeted them curtly.<\/p>\n It was Paul Martin, his face darkened by a black thunderous scowl.\u00a0 He stood close beside Roy Coffee, with his fingers wrapped firmly around the lawman\u2019s forearm.\u00a0 Lily Martin, Maria Estevan, Father Brendan Rutherford, and a woman, aged perhaps in her mid-twenties, garbed in the novice\u2019s habit of the Order of the Sisters of Mercy and Compassion, stood close behind, clustered together.<\/p>\n \u201cPa, I don\u2019t believe you\u2019ve had the pleasure of meeting Maria Estevan,\u201d Adam said quietly.\u00a0 \u201cMrs. Estevan, this is my father, Ben Cartwright.\u201d<\/p>\n Maria extended her hand.\u00a0 \u201cHow do you do, Mister Cartwright?\u201d she politely acknowledged the introduction.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThe Martins and Mrs. McShane have told me so much about you and your family, it\u2019s good to have a face to put to your name.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m pleased to meet YOU, Mrs. Estevan.\u201d\u00a0 Ben took her hand in his and gave it a gentle, reassuring squeeze.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m very sorry to hear about your terrible loss.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThank you, Sir,\u201d Maria murmured softly.<\/p>\n She sensed within the big silver haired man standing before her something of a kindred spirit in that he, too, had suffered great tragedy and loss over the course of his life.\u00a0 The Martins had told her that he had suffered through the same devastating loss of spouse she herself had, not once but three times.\u00a0 \u201cHow?\u201d<\/em> she silently wondered, as Ben politely touched the rim of his hat. \u201cHow can any man . . . bring himself to keep on opening his heart again and again, only to have it crushed and broken each time?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Was it strength?\u00a0 Courage?\u00a0 A simple desire perhaps to love and in turn be loved once again by another?<\/p>\n \u201cIs it possible that someday, I . . . . ?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Maria Estevan felt something flicker and come to life somewhere in the deep most places within her heart, and it frightened her.\u00a0 The mind numbing horror of seeing her beloved shot down in cold blood, the suffering she had endured at the hands of the men who murdered Lorenzo, and the terror and despair she felt upon contemplating life without the man she had just taken as husband, paled in comparison.\u00a0\u00a0 She fought desperately, with all the strength she could muster to snuff out the hope stirring within her, for to allow it to take root, to grow and to flourish would be to risk having her heart broken again.<\/p>\n But that tiny flicker of hope, newly resurrected, refused to die.<\/p>\n \u201cMister Cartwright, may I present Sister Hannah?\u201d Maria continued, turning to include Adam with a glance.\u00a0 \u201cShe\u2019s coming with me for moral support.\u201d<\/p>\n Both father and son graciously acknowledged the introduction.<\/p>\n \u201c . . . and I\u2019m pleased to meet both of you,\u201d Sister Hannah said quietly, as she extended her hand.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m relatively new to the convent and hospital,\u201d she continued, as she shook hands with Ben first, then Adam.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve heard a great deal about your family and the Ponderosa.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAll good I hope?\u201d Adam quipped with a broad grin.<\/p>\n Sister Hannah smiled.\u00a0 \u201cAll VERY good,\u201d she replied with a sidelong glance at Father Brendan.<\/p>\n \u201cMea culpa, Ben . . . Adam,\u201d Father Brendan admitted with a smile.\u00a0 \u201cSister Hannah is my first cousin, who, prior to her coming, I hadn\u2019t seen since she came up to my knees and had just begun to walk.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFather Brendan and I have made a point of sitting down together for a meal once a week to get reacquainted,\u201d Sister Hannah explained.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s very kind of you to come and lend your support to Mrs. Estevan,\u201d Adam said quietly.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve made arrangements to move into the convent as soon as I return, Mister Cartwright,\u201d Maria said.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve decided to take the vail.\u00a0 With . . . n-now that Lorenzo\u2019s gone, there\u2019s nothing left for me.\u00a0 Not anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n Maria\u2019s words, and the dispassionate, near monotone by which she spoke them, invoked within Adam a deep, profound sadness, the like of which he had felt once before.\u00a0 It was the terrible day Inger died, cut down suddenly by an arrow during an Indian raid, leaving his father, infant brother, and himself to pick up the pieces and continue on.\u00a0 \u201cI . . . hope you\u2019ll find a measure of peace and healing with the sisters at Saint Mary\u2019s in the Mountains Convent, Mrs. Estevan,\u201d he said very quietly.<\/p>\n \u201cGood morning, Paul . . . Brendan . . . and you, too, Roy,\u201d Ben, meanwhile, greeted the sawbones, priest, and lawman.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t help but note that the sheriff\u2019s posture was stooped, his face was averted toward the ground, and that his equilibrium was precarious at best.\u00a0 Had it not been for the support offered by Paul Martin and Father Brendan Rutherford, the lawman would have almost certainly taken a nasty spill.\u00a0 \u201cRoy?\u201d<\/p>\n The sheriff slowly lifted his head and gazed up at Ben through half closed eyes.\u00a0 \u201cBen?\u201d he mumbled softly, his voice barely audible.\u00a0 \u201cTha\u2019 you?!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRoy Coffee, don\u2019t tell me YOU\u2019RE headed for Winnemucca,\u201d Ben admonished, with an anxious frown.<\/p>\n Roy drew himself up to the full of his height, and in so doing, nearly lost his balance completely.<\/p>\n \u201cRoy, for heaven\u2019s sake . . . take it easy,\u201d Paul scolded, the scowl on his face deepening.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m all right, dammit,\u201d Roy growled, returning the doctor\u2019s glare with an equally murderous one of his own.\u00a0\u00a0 With surprising quickness he snatched his arm out of Paul\u2019s firm grasp.\u00a0 \u201c . . . \u2018n I don\u2019t need t\u2019 likes o\u2019 YOU \u2018n the good padre here holdin\u2019 me up like . . . like a gol\u2019 durn toddler just startin\u2019 t\u2019 walk.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSheriff Coffee, why don\u2019t the two of us g\u2019won over to that bench . . . the one right over there next to the depot, and sit down?\u201d Adam suggested, as he moved in and gently took Roy\u2019s arm.<\/p>\n \u201cSure, Adam . . . be glad t\u2019 keep ya company,\u201d Roy agreed, punctuating his words with a big yawn.\u00a0 \u201cI guess you\u2019re pretty dang tuckered out what with havin\u2019 t\u2019 look after your whole fam\u2019ly.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy whole family?\u201d Adam queried with mild surprise.<\/p>\n \u201cSure, wha\u2019 with Joe still laid up \u2018n Stacy\u2019s leg still in a cast . . . now y\u2019ve had yer pa \u2018n Hoss t\u2019 look after . . . . \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Roy sighed and dolefully shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019 envy ya, Boy . . . not one li\u2019l bit.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFortunately, Joe\u2019s up and about . . . well able to fend for himself, even though the doctor hasn\u2019t given him an official clean bill of health,\u201d Adam said, as he watched Roy slowly lower himself down onto the bench.\u00a0 \u201c . . . and Stacy\u2019s getting around very well, too, all things considered.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGlad t\u2019 hear THAT,\u201d Roy declared, \u201cthough I\u2019m sure lookin\u2019 after Hoss ain\u2019t been no picnic, whu\u2019 with bein\u2019 banged up t\u2019 way HE was.\u00a0\u00a0 He\u2019s a nice fella, Adam . . . a real nice fella most times.\u00a0 But, when he\u2019s on t\u2019 mend from somethin\u2019, he\u2019s can be just as cantankerous as t\u2019 younger ones.\u201d<\/p>\n A wry smile tugged hard at the corner of Adam\u2019s mouth.\u00a0 \u201cMy wife tells me I\u2019M no bed of roses myself, when I\u2019m on the mend,\u201d he admitted.<\/p>\n \u201c \u2018Course t\u2019 worst o\u2019 t\u2019 lot\u2019s your pa,\u201d Roy declared, shaking his head.\u00a0 \u201cTha\u2019 man can be one stubborn, c\u2019ntakerous ol\u2019 mule when he wants t\u2019 be . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n \u201c. . . and he\u2019s the first one to admit it,\u201d Adam immediately replied.<\/p>\n \u201cPaul . . . .\u201d Ben turned his attention to the doctor.\u00a0 \u201cPlease . . . tell me that Roy Coffee isn\u2019t going to Winnemucca . . . .\u201d he begged.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d give anything to be able indulge you, Ben . . . but I can\u2019t,\u201d Paul said curtly.\u00a0 \u201cThey want to hear about how he and the other men in that posse caught up with and arrested the Carters and Timothy Higgins.\u00a0 He was also the only one to hear the deathbed confession of their associate, Black Bart Troutman.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLook at him, Paul.\u00a0 Even I<\/strong> can see the man belongs at home . . . in his own bed,\u201d Ben argued, \u201cand I\u2019M no doctor by any stretch of the imagination.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBen, I\u2019m afraid you\u2019re preachin\u2019 to the choir,\u201d the doctor said with a melancholy sigh.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy didn\u2019t they allow ROY to make his testimony by way of sworn deposition?!\u201d Ben demanded, appalled and outraged.\u00a0 \u201cIf they can allow Matt Wilson to give his testimony that way, I see no reason\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI understand the defense attorney insists on Roy giving his testimony . . . in person . . . so that HE can cross examine him,\u201d Paul said through clenched teeth.<\/p>\n \u201cDoesn\u2019t the defense attorney know how badly Roy was injured?!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe knows, Ben, believe me . . . he knows,\u201d Paul angrily grumbled.\u00a0 \u201cI sent a wire letting him know clearly and succinctly—\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTOO clearly and succinctly,\u201d Lily put in with a disapproving frown.<\/p>\n \u201cThen why in the world—?!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBen, need I remind you that the defense attorney is none other than our ‘good’ friend, Tobias Lindsay?”<\/p>\n Ben sighed, remembering how that “good” friend the doctor scathingly referred to had tried to manipulate public opinion to pressure Judge Faraday to find in his favor in a custody suit for a baby, who had been left at the kitchen door of the Cartwrights’ Ponderosa home16<\/span>.\u00a0 “Same modus operandi, then as now”<\/em> he silently recalled, according to one Professor Foote17<\/span>.\u00a0 A couple of years ago, Tobias had used Clara Mudgely to stir things up; this time, it had to have been Wesley McGrath.\u00a0 Tobias ultimately got the change in venue he wanted, however he was reminded of something his mother often said:\u00a0 “Be careful what you wish for.\u00a0 You may end of getting it.”<\/p>\n ………<\/p>\n Upon his return to the Fletchers\u2019 house, Ben saw, much to his surprise and dismay, that Chubb and the same brown, Adam had obtained from the livery stable the day before, were tethered to the hitching post beside the gate, saddled and ready to ride.\u00a0\u00a0 A moment later, Hoss and Joe stepped through the front door, carrying their saddlebags and bedrolls.<\/p>\n \u201c . . . and just where do the pair of ya think YOU\u2019RE going?\u201d Ben demanded, his voice stern, yet filled with anxiety.<\/p>\n Joe let out a very long, very melodramatic sigh.\u00a0 \u201cThat close,\u201d he murmured softly, holding up his hand with less than a half inch space between thumb and forefinger.\u00a0 \u201cWe were that close to a clean get away, Hoss.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDadburn it,\u201d Hoss groaned very softly.<\/p>\n \u201cHow about you boys putting your saddlebags and bedrolls right there on the porch so we can ALL g\u2019won inside and have a nice family chat?\u201d Ben suggested with arms folded across his chest, glaring over at Hoss first, then at Joe.<\/p>\n \u201cYessir,\u201d Ben\u2019s two younger sons mumbled in unison.<\/p>\n \u201cHey!\u201d Stacy quipped upon seeing her brothers enter the house again a few moments after they had left.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s gotta be the quickest trip between town and the Ponderosa . . . . \u201d\u00a0 Her voice trailed off to a stunned silence when Pa entered right behind her brothers.\u00a0 \u201cOh.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s right, Young Woman . . . oh!\u201d Ben growled, turning a baleful eye upon his daughter as well.<\/p>\n \u201cNow, Pa . . . I want ya t\u2019 know I spent the whole day yesterday restin\u2019,\u201d Hoss said, very much on the defensive.\u00a0 He sat down on the very edge of the settee beside Stacy.<\/p>\n \u201cI think Doctor Martin\u2019s exact words were \u2018the next few days\u2019, Hoss,\u201d Ben said sternly, taking a seat in the easy chair next to the fireplace.<\/p>\n \u201cPa, I\u2019m feelin\u2019 a whole lot better,\u201d Hoss insisted, \u201c \u2018n dadburn it!\u00a0 With Adam on his way up t\u2019 Winnemucca t\u2019 testify against the Carters \u2018n that Higgins fella . . . Li\u2019l Sister havin\u2019 t\u2019 wear that cast for the next three weeks or so . . . \u2018n YOU in no shape for doin\u2019 a lot o\u2019 hard work—\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c . . . and I s\u2019pose you ARE in shape to be doing a lot of hard work?\u201d Ben demanded, the scowl already present on his face deepening.<\/p>\n \u201cI ain\u2019t a hundred percent,\u201d Hoss grudgingly admitted, \u201cbut the fact o\u2019 the matter is there\u2019s still a lot t\u2019 do at the ranch, \u2018n with Adam away, I\u2019M the one that\u2019s in best shape t\u2019 be doin\u2019 it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c . . . and that\u2019s why I\u2019M going,\u201d Joe said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou?!\u201d Ben demanded, incredulous.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m fine, Pa,\u201d Joe insisted, his mouth and chin stubbornly set.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cOnly things still off my menu are pretty much using Tabasco sauce on my eggs and beer.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDoctor Martin has YET to give you his official clean bill of health, Joseph Francis.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhich he might have, if HE didn\u2019t hafta go to Winnemucca, too,\u201d Joe argued.<\/p>\n \u201cPa, ain\u2019t NO one been up t\u2019 the lumber camps since the fire,\u201d Hoss pressed.\u00a0 \u201cThe brandin\u2019s pretty much done, \u2018n the herds, most of \u2018em anyway, have been moved out t\u2019 the summer pastures, but those timber contracts \u2018n the horses for the Army—\u201d<\/p>\n Ben immediately turned and favored his youngest son with a knowing glare.\u00a0 \u201cIf you think for one minute, Young Man, I\u2019m going to stand for you bustin\u2019 broncs before the doctor tells ya you can, I\u2019d strongly suggest YOU think again,\u201d he growled.<\/p>\n Joe closed his eyes and took a deep breath.\u00a0 \u201cNo, Pa . . . I\u2019m NOT going to be bustin\u2019 any broncs,\u201d he replied, struggling mightily to keep his rising temper in check.\u00a0 \u201cBut I CAN oversee things, maybe help the other men slap a saddle or two on the horses we plan on breaking, and there\u2019s a lot I can do to help with training the horses after they\u2019ve been broken.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben didn\u2019t like it, not one little bit.\u00a0 At the same time, however, he knew that Hoss and Joe were absolutely right.\u00a0 \u201cAlright,\u201d he grudgingly gave his blessing, \u201cbut I expect the both of ya to take it easy, and make sure you don\u2019t overdo things.\u00a0 Understood?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUnderstood, Pa,\u201d Hoss replied.<\/p>\n Ben glared over at his youngest son.\u00a0 \u201cJoseph?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYessir.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI wish I could do something to help you guys,\u201d Stacy said with a doleful sigh.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is, Kiddo,\u201d Joe said a little too earnestly.<\/p>\n Stacy favored the youngest of her brothers with a jaundiced glare.\u00a0 \u201cDoing WHAT?\u201d she demanded incredulously.\u00a0 \u201cIf you\u2019re joshin\u2019 around with me—!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m NOT,\u201d Joe quickly reassured her, then grinned.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYOUR job is to make sure Pa behaves HIMself while he\u2019s still recovering from that head wound.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow come I always get the hard jobs?\u201d Stacy queried with a melodramatic, long suffering sigh.<\/p>\n An amused smile pulled hard at the corner of Ben\u2019s mouth.\u00a0 \u201cI think Hop Sing\u2019s the one who\u2019s got the hard job, Young Woman,\u201d he quipped.\u00a0 \u201cHE\u2019S got the onerous job of making sure the BOTH of us behave.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI sure as shootin\u2019 don\u2019t envy him THAT job,\u201d Joe said, his voice a little too somber, his eyes twinkling with amusement.<\/p>\n \u201cPa . . . Stacy . . . I expect the two of ya t\u2019 be on your very best behavior for Hop Sing,\u201d Hoss said with mock sternness, \u201c \u2018cause if HE quits \u2018n goes back t\u2019 China, you\u2019re gonna hafta put up with Joe\u2019s \u2018n my cookin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYuck!\u201d Stacy said with a grimace.\u00a0 \u201cThat a threat, Big Brother?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNope,\u201d Hoss replied with a smug grin, \u201cthat\u2019s a PROMISE.\u201d<\/p>\n The End<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Endnotes<\/p>\n
\nThe Lo Mein Affair<\/a>
\nThe Wedding<\/a>
\nSacrificial Lamb<\/a>
\nPoltergeist II<\/a>
\nIndependence Day<\/a>
\nVirginia City Detour<\/a>
\nThe Guardian<\/a>
\nLi’l One<\/a>
\nYoung Cartwrights in Love<\/a>
\nSan Francisco Revisited<\/a>
\nThere But for the Grace of God<\/a>
\nBetween Life and Death<\/a>
\nOrenna<\/a>
\nClarissa Returns<\/a>
\nTrial by Fire<\/a>
\nMark of Kane<\/a><\/p>\n\n