{"id":6425,"date":"2003-03-20T00:58:31","date_gmt":"2003-03-20T05:58:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=6425"},"modified":"2025-02-27T12:06:48","modified_gmt":"2025-02-27T17:06:48","slug":"poltergeist-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=6425","title":{"rendered":"Poltergeist II (by pkmoonshine)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary:\u00a0 <\/strong>Adam\u2019s two children arrive in the company of their maternal grandmother to join their parents for a summer vacation on the Ponderosa.\u00a0\u00a0 Their arrival sets off a chain of inexplicable, frightening events in the Cartwright household.<\/p>\n

Rating: K+ (80,249 words)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Bloodlines Series:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bloodlines<\/a>
\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

<\/p>\n

Poltergeist II\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Chapter 1<\/p>\n

\u201cVirginia City, Folks,\u201d the stagecoach driver curtly announced, as he opened the door.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWe leave for Carson City, soon as we change horses.\u201d<\/p>\n

Several of the passengers rose and began to push toward the door, among them Dolores Elizabeth Cartwright, better known to family and friends as Dio, all of eight years old for nearly a whole month now.\u00a0\u00a0 A firm, restraining hand on her forearm literally gave her pause.\u00a0\u00a0 She turned and found herself staring into the exasperated face of her maternal grandmother, Dolores di Cordova.<\/p>\n

\u201cSit DOWN, Dio.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut—!?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI SAID sit down!\u00a0\u00a0 We\u2019ll get off after the other passengers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dio sighed and crawled back up onto the seat next to Dolores, while her older brother, seated on the other side of their grandmother, quietly and very pointedly returned his attention to the book lying open on his lap.\u00a0\u00a0 She sat demurely, with hands folded in her lap, for less than the space of a heartbeat, then abruptly pulled her dangling legs up onto the seat.\u00a0\u00a0 She was across the seat, at the open window an instant later, leaning out as far as her limber body could stretch, eagerly scanning the sea of faces, waiting at the depot.<\/p>\n

\u201cTHERE!\u201d she cried, her dark eyes sparkling with excitement.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cTHERE THEY ARE!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 She thrust her arm forward, pointing toward three familiar, much loved faces.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI SEE MOMMY, AND DADDY, AND GRANDPA!\u201d<\/p>\n

Dolores di Cordova groaned inwardly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDolores Elizabeth Cartwright, would you PLEASE sit down!?\u201d she ordered.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAnd for heaven\u2019s sake, don\u2019t point like that!\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s terribly rude.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dio somehow managed to lean even farther out the window as the next to last passenger, an elderly woman leaning heavily on a solid, mahogany wood cane started from the coach.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHI, MOMMY!\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 HI, DADDY!\u00a0\u00a0 HI, GRANDPA!\u00a0\u00a0 WE\u2019RE HERE!\u201d she shouted at the top of her voice, while enthusiastically waving both arms over her head.<\/p>\n

Dolores seized her exuberant granddaughter by the waist and dragged her back inside the stagecoach.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI TOLD you to sit down,\u201d she said through clenched teeth as she forcibly sat Dio back down on the seat.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, Grand-maaaa-hhh . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow!\u201d<\/p>\n

Dio fidgeted and gazed longingly out the window, while the elderly woman took forever and a year to disembark, even with the driver and another man helping.\u00a0\u00a0 So it seemed to her, anyway!\u00a0\u00a0 The last passenger, a man much younger and far sprightlier, quickly exited after the old woman.\u00a0\u00a0 Then, before her grandmother could even think to stop her, Dio herself was gone, out of the stagecoach like a shot, running headlong toward her parents, Adam and Teresa Cartwright, and Ben Cartwright, her grandfather.<\/p>\n

Dolores threw up her hands and shook her head.\u00a0\u00a0 That child, half her namesake, never tired.\u00a0\u00a0 The more energy she used, the more her endlessly abundant reserves seemed to grow.\u00a0\u00a0 She turned to her young grandson, still sitting quietly on the seat beside her with his hands folded atop his book, now closed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cCome along, Benjy,\u201d she said in a kindlier tone.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Grandmother.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Benjamin Eduardo Cartwright, named for his grandfathers and best known as Benjy, rose and dutifully hung back, allowing Dolores to exit the stagecoach first.\u00a0\u00a0 After making certain his grandmother stood safely on terra firma, Benjy moved out of the coach and prepared to step down.<\/p>\n

\u201cCareful, Young Man,\u201d the driver cautioned, extending a hand.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s a big step down.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, Sir,\u201d Benjy murmured, \u201cbut I can manage.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dio, meanwhile, zigzagged through the gathered crowd, toward her paternal grandfather, now crouched down to her level with arms open to welcome.\u00a0\u00a0 Dio threw herself into Ben\u2019s arms and hugged tight.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cOh, Grandpa, Grandpa, I\u2019m so glad to see you!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c . . . and I\u2019M glad to see YOU, too, Young Lady,\u201d Ben declared smiling, delighted if a trifle overwhelmed by his young granddaughter\u2019s exuberance.\u00a0\u00a0 He slipped his arms around Dio and held her close.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, Teresa, I see how WE rate,\u201d Adam remarked to his wife sotto voce, while favoring their daughter and his father with an indulgent smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cGrandpa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Dio?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs it true I\u2019m going to learn how to ride?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWould you like that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, yes, Grandpa, yes, yes, YES!\u00a0\u00a0 More \u2018n anything!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen learn to ride you shall!\u201d Ben earnestly promised, favoring Dio with a warm, affectionate smile.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIn fact the young woman who\u2019s going to teach you is right here . . . . \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Keeping one arm firmly around his high-spirited granddaughter, Ben turned and extended his other hand toward his daughter, Stacy, who stood next to the buckboard with Joe, the youngest of her three older brothers.<\/p>\n

Smiling, Stacy walked over to join her father and her young niece.<\/p>\n

\u201cDio, this is your Aunt Stacy,\u201d Ben said taking his daughter\u2019s hand in his and drawing her into their circle.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cStacy, this is your niece, Dio.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you really going to teach me to ride?\u201d Dio asked, shifting her attention from Ben to Stacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I am.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCan we start today?\u00a0\u00a0 When we get home?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDio, you need to get yourself unpacked and settled,\u201d Teresa said firmly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI think tomorrow will be soon enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAww, Mommy, please?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDio, your ma\u2019s right,\u201d Stacy said quietly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cTell you what?\u00a0\u00a0 If it\u2019s alright with your ma, you can ride back to the house with me on Blaze Face.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, Mommy, can I?\u00a0\u00a0 Can I please?\u201d<\/p>\n

Teresa smiled.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYes, you may, Dio.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, Mommy!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Dio turned and threw her arms around Teresa\u2019s waist.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThank you, thank you, thank you!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re welcome, Sweetheart,\u201d Teresa said with an indulgent smile.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNow I want you to do me a favor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOK, Mommy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYour grandmother and brother are over by the stage looking a little lost, so I\u2019m going to go get them.\u00a0\u00a0 I want you to stay here with Grandpa and Aunt Stacy.\u00a0\u00a0 All right?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI will, Mommy,\u201d Dio eagerly promised.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d better see to the luggage,\u201d Adam said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHello, Mother, I missed you,\u201d Benjy greeted his mother with a weary smile.\u00a0\u00a0 He slipped his arms around Teresa\u2019s waist and gave her a gentle, affectionate squeeze.<\/p>\n

\u201cI missed you, too, Benjy.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Teresa hugged her son close for a moment, then bent down and placed a kiss on top of his head.<\/p>\n

\u201cMuuu-therrrr . . . . \u201d Benjy groaned.<\/p>\n

\u201cMother\u2019s prerogative,\u201d Teresa said favoring him with a warm loving smile.\u00a0\u00a0 She hugged him again, then held him apart from herself, just enough to gaze down into his face and eyes.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHow were your grades?\u201d<\/p>\n

Benjy\u2019s eyes immediately dropped to his feet.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cN-not so good I\u2019m afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI tried, Mother.\u00a0\u00a0 Honest!\u00a0\u00a0 I did!\u00a0\u00a0 I really did, but— \u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He shrugged helplessly.<\/p>\n

Teresa studied her son\u2019s face briefly, with a bewildered frown.\u00a0\u00a0 That tell-tale catch in his voice and the unusual brightness of his eyes, round as saucers and that fixed stare, told her that Benjy was on the edge of tears.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBenjy?\u201d she probed gently.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIs everything all right?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFine, Mother.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 His response was too quick.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t worry, Teresa,\u201d Dolores said, upon taking note of the worried frown on her daughter\u2019s face.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThe boy\u2019s probably exhausted.\u00a0\u00a0 I know I<\/strong> am!\u00a0\u00a0 I had forgotten just how much of a handful Dio can be!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Her last comment was spoken with a touch of asperity and a withering glare cast in her granddaughter\u2019s general direction.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh dear!\u201d Teresa sighed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll have a talk with her when we reach the house.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, no, Teresa, no!\u00a0\u00a0 Not on the account of a travel weary, cranky old woman!\u201d Dolores immediately protested, holding up her hands in front of her as if signaling a rider or driver to stop.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDio\u2019s not a bad child, just full of life, that\u2019s all.\u00a0\u00a0 Very much like her mother was at the same tender age.\u00a0\u00a0 Of course I was a lot younger and more energetic myself back then.\u201d<\/p>\n

Benjy glared daggers at his sister, standing over by the station with their paternal grandfather and a young woman, not very much older, whom he had correctly assumed to be Aunt Stacy.\u00a0\u00a0 His mother and maternal grandmother, meanwhile, embraced enthusiastically and for a moment held each other tight.<\/p>\n

\u201cTell you what, Mother,\u201d Teresa said, keeping one arm firmly about her mother\u2019s waist, \u201cwhen we get back to the house, why don\u2019t you let ME unpack your things while YOU indulge yourself in a nice hot bath and maybe a nap.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBath and a nap!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Dolores looked over at her daughter and smiled.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMUSIC to the ears of a cranky, travel weary old woman!\u201d<\/p>\n

They moved together, arm in arm, through to crowd toward Ben, now on his feet and waving at the two of them enthusiastically.\u00a0\u00a0 Benjy sighed softly, and dutifully fell in behind them.<\/p>\n

\u201cMrs. di Cordova, it\u2019s wonderful seeing you again,\u201d Ben greeted his eldest son\u2019s mother-in-law with a warm smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cBen Cartwright, WHEN are you going to learn to call me Dolores?\u201d she demanded with mock severity.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very sorry, M\u2014uhh, DOLORES.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s MUCH better!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTeresa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Ben?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam and Joe have gone to fetch the luggage, and Stacy\u2019s taken Dio over to the buckboard to meet Blaze Face.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would seem those two have hit it off very well,\u201d Teresa remarked, observing the animated interaction between Stacy and Dio.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope Dio doesn\u2019t run Aunt Stacy ragged,\u201d Dolores remarked with a wry smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cStacy\u2019s pretty energetic herself, Dolores,\u201d Ben said, favoring daughter and granddaughter with an indulgent smile.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI dare say it\u2019ll be a toss up as to who runs who ragged.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis I\u2019VE got to see!\u201d Dolores declared with an emphatic nod of her head.<\/p>\n

Ben\u2019s eyes moved beyond Teresa, lingering on the quiet young boy, the top of whose head almost reached his mother\u2019s shoulders.\u00a0\u00a0 He stood behind his mother, his hands at his side, with book firmly clasped in his left hand.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWell!\u00a0\u00a0 Is this Benjy?\u201d he said by way of greeting, favoring his young grandson with a warm smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cBenjy, what are you doing back there?\u201d Teresa chided him with a smile as she reached around and drew him gently forward.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cCome say hello to your grandfather.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHello, Grandpa.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 The boy greeted him stiffly, and held out his hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cHello, Benjy.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Ben respectfully shook Benjy\u2019s hand.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou know . . . I could almost swear you\u2019ve grown some more since I saw you last, back in October.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI . . . I, well, m-maybe, a little, I s\u2019pose . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

Ben immediately noted his grandson\u2019s unusually pale complexion.\u00a0\u00a0 He silently studied the boy with an anxious frown.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBenjy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Grandpa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou all right?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Grandpa, I\u2019m fine.\u00a0\u00a0 Just a little tired, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, it HAS been a long trip . . . and not over the best of roads, either,\u201d Ben said, not without sympathy.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ll have you out to the house as soon as your father and Uncle Joe finish putting the luggage in the buckboard.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPa?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 It was Joe.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWe just got through putting the small stuff in the buckboard.\u00a0\u00a0 Adam\u2019s arranging to have the trunks delivered out to the house later this afternoon.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe Cartwright, is that really you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe smiled and politely tipped his hat.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMrs. di Cordova, I presume?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t seen you OR your brother since the wedding!\u201d Dolores chided him with mock severity.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s been eleven years, Young Man . . . almost TWELVE!\u00a0\u00a0 Do you realize that?!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou joshin\u2019 me, Ma\u2019am?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo!\u201d Dolores snapped, trying her best not to smile.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI am in earnest.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUm, um, UMM!\u201d Joe grunted softly, and shook his head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cEleven going on twelve years!\u00a0\u00a0 I can\u2019t believe it!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBelieve it, Scamp!\u201d Dolores returned.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNow!\u00a0\u00a0 Before I leave for home you and your brother . . . . \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 She frowned.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cOh dear!\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019m afraid your brother\u2019s name has just flown right out of my head.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss, Ma\u2019am.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss.\u00a0\u00a0 Before I leave for home, you and Hoss are going to give me a firm date.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFirm date?!\u00a0\u00a0 . . . uhhh, firm date for WHAT, exactly?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor when YOU and HOSS are going to come visit me in Sacramento,\u201d Dolores said in a stern tone that brooked no difference of opinion on the matter in any way, shape, or form.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI expect you to bring your sister along, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI wish you the best of luck, Dolores,\u201d Adam quipped as he stepped in along side his mother-in-law.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019VE been trying to pin these brothers of mine down to a date ever since the wedding, myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe exhaled an overly melodramatic, long-suffering sigh, and shook his head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWould someone please . . . PUH-LEEZE . . . tell me . . . what EVER happened to \u2018hello, Joe.\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019m so glad to see you.\u00a0\u00a0 How have you been?\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cScamp!\u201d Dolores snapped, upon noting the impish delight sparkling in his emerald green eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything taken care of, Adam?\u201d Ben asked.<\/p>\n

Adam nodded, then turned toward his mother-in-law.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThe trunks will be delivered to the house this afternoon, Dolores . . . sometime between three and four o\u2019clock.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, Adam,\u201d she murmured gratefully.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe ready to go home?\u201d Ben asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t speak for anyone else, Ben, but I know I certainly am,\u201d Dolores immediately replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThat hot bath and nap Teresa promised me look better and better with each passing moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben and Joe, both smiling warmly, turned and gallantly offered their arms to Dolores.\u00a0\u00a0 She accepted the proffered arms of both father and son, returning their smiles with a gracious one of her own.\u00a0\u00a0 Adam and Teresa fell in step close behind, a little to the right.\u00a0\u00a0 Benjy brought up the rear, following at a slower pace.<\/p>\n

Joe cast a quick, furtive glance over his shoulder.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cPa . . . Mrs. di Cordova, would you please excuse me?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He inclined his head undetectably behind him.<\/p>\n

Ben nodded, understanding.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cCertainly, Joe . . . by all means.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe turned and walked back toward his young nephew.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHello, Benjy,\u201d he greeted the boy with a broad grin as he fell in step beside him.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m your Uncle Joe . . . your pa\u2019s youngest brother.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He held out his hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very pleased to meet you, Uncle Joe,\u201d Benjy murmured politely, as the pair shook hands.<\/p>\n

Joe tried not to wince in the face of the boy\u2019s stiff, formal manners.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBenjy, seeing as how YOUR sister\u2019s riding home with MY sister on her horse, Blaze Face, I was wondering if you might like to ride home with me on Cochise.\u00a0\u00a0 He\u2019s the pinto over there, tethered to the buckboard.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c . . . uuhhh, w-which one is the pinto?\u201d Benjy ventured hesitantly.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s the handsome black and white one,\u201d Joe replied with a proud smile.<\/p>\n

Benjy stared at Cochise long and hard.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI . . . uh . . . no!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He shook his head vigorously.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThank you for asking me, Uncle Joe, but I don\u2019t think I\u2019d better.\u201d<\/p>\n

An anxious frown knotted Joe\u2019s brow, as he noted the boy\u2019s pale face and trembling hands.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou okay, Benjy?\u201d<\/p>\n

Benjy sighed.\u00a0\u00a0 If he could have but one wish, it would be that everyone would stop asking him that question.\u00a0\u00a0 He looked up into Joe\u2019s face, his dark brown eyes, meeting his uncle\u2019s hazel ones.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m fine, Uncle Joe, except for being a little tired, you know . . . from the trip.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe smiled knowingly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cOver land by stage can be pretty exhausting, that\u2019s for dang sure,\u201d he heartily agreed, \u201cand with having that sister of yours along for the ride . . . . \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He grimaced and rolled his eyes.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know about YOU, Benjy, but I\u2019m getting tired just watching her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d Benjy sighed again, wondering why everyone had to be watching Dio all the time.<\/p>\n

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

After everyone had finished their supper, Hop Sing banished the family from the dining room.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cGo,\u201d he urged, not so gently.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSit.\u00a0\u00a0 By fireplace.\u00a0 \u00a0Hop Sing bring coffee, then after Hop Sing clear table, bring dessert.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss\u2019 eyes lit up at the mention of dessert.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cUmmm, UMM!\u00a0\u00a0 I sure hope it\u2019s one o\u2019 your apple pies,\u201d he said, licking his chops in anticipation, while gallantly holding Dolores\u2019 chair while she rose from her place at the table.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI been hankerin\u2019 after a big chunk o\u2019 good, hot apple pie for nigh on a month o\u2019 Sundays now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo apple pie,\u201d Hop Sing immediately returned, the smug, secretive Mona Lisa smile on his face, giving lie to his harsh tone of voice.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSpecial dessert.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSpecial dessert, \u2018ey?\u201d Hoss grinned, then all of a sudden his face fell.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cUhhh oh . . . Hop Sing,\u201d he continued, as his initial consternation gave way to a withering baleful glare, \u201cthis special dessert o\u2019 yours ain\u2019t another one o\u2019 them cakes made outta that funny French soundin\u2019 cheese . . . is it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNeufchatel?\u201d Adam queried, mildly surprised, with eyebrow slightly upraised.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpecial dessert not cheese cake,\u201d [i] Hop Sing promised.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSpecial dessert surprise.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 With that, he turned heed and sauntered off into the kitchen, humming very softly under his breath.<\/p>\n

\u201c . . . and after we got through stabling Blaze Face?\u201d\u00a0 Dio blithely rambled on, her eyes shining with excitement, as the family moved en masse toward the furniture grouped around the fireplace.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAunt Stacy took me to meet Guinevere and Gentleman Jim.\u00a0\u00a0 Guinevere\u2019s gonna be MY horse.\u201d<\/p>\n

She effortlessly skipped in circles around Adam and Teresa as she spoke.\u00a0\u00a0 Though her remarks were directed primarily toward her parents, she stole an occasional glance over at Benjy, who walked a little apart from the rest of the family, with his book tucked under his arm.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere in the world does she get it all?\u201d Joe wondered aloud, awed and delighted by the child\u2019s abundant display of energy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember asking the same question myself years ago . . . about a certain young fella, \u2018way back when HE was about her age,\u201d Ben said, as he momentarily placed his arm about his youngest son\u2019s shoulders and affectionately squeezed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhaddya mean \u2018way back?!\u201d Joe demanded in mock outrage.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey!\u00a0\u00a0 If the shoe fits, GRANDPA . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPa . . . . \u201d Joe groaned.\u00a0\u00a0 The impish sparkle in his eyes wasn\u2019t lost for one minute on his father or the sister, who had just moved in next to him on his other side.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI know you\u2019re a busy man . . . a VERY busy man most days, therefore, I gladly volunteer to step up to the plate and teach YOUR daughter a few basic lessons in giving proper respect to her elders.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He turned and favored Stacy with a glare so comically ferocious, Ben found it very difficult to maintain a straight face.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou and what army, Grandpa?\u201d Stacy quipped with a saucy grin.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAssuming, of course the lot of you can catch me in the first place?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe immediately responded by sticking out his tongue, prompting a like response from Stacy.<\/p>\n

Unbeknownst to Ben, Joe, or Stacy, their remarks drew a sharp glance from Benjy, as he seated himself on the hearth, placing himself as far away from his exuberant sister as he possibly could.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSisters!\u201d he muttered very softly, punctuating that exclamation with an exasperated sigh.<\/p>\n

Hop Sing served coffee to the adults and a couple of tall glasses of cold milk to the children, after everyone had gotten themselves comfortably settled, then set to work clearing the table.<\/p>\n

\u201cAunt Stacy says Guinevere \u2018n Gentleman Jim are the nicest horses Grandpa has,\u201d Dio continued her stream of non-stop chatter, \u201c \u2018n you know what?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, Princess . . . what?\u201d Adam asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cGuinevere is Gentleman Jim\u2019s ma,\u201d Dio said, rising from her seat on the hearth, near the blue chair occupied by her mother.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201c \u2018N ya wanna know what ELSE?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat else?\u201d Adam prompted.<\/p>\n

\u201cAunt Stacy says Guinevere\u2019s Blaze Face\u2019s ma, too,\u201d Dio said, \u201cbut Blaze Face is her last foal.\u00a0\u00a0 That\u2019s a baby horse, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPapa KNOWS that a foal\u2019s a baby horse, Stupid!\u201d<\/em> Benjy desperately wanted to scream.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHe grew up here, after all . . . . \u201d<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He very pointedly turned his back to his sister, as much as he feasibly could, before angrily slamming his book down in his lap and throwing it open.<\/p>\n

Dio began to shift her weight slowly from one foot to the next.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAunt Stacy said Grandpa\u2019s put . . . that he\u2019s put . . . he\u2019s put Guinevere . . . . \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 She frowned, trying to recall the exact words her aunt had used.<\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps the words you\u2019re looking for are \u2018out to pasture,\u2019 \u201d Adam kindly suggested.\u00a0\u00a0 He stood next to the blue chair with coffee cup and saucer in hand.<\/p>\n

Dio\u2019s face immediately lit up with a bright, beautiful smile, very much like her mother\u2019s that at the same time, clearly showed forth her father\u2019s dimples.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYeah!\u00a0\u00a0 That\u2019s it!\u00a0\u00a0 Aunt Stacy said Grandpa put Guinevere out to pasture!\u201d she all but squealed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHow\u2019d YOU know that, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe grew UP here . . . remember?\u201d<\/em> Benjy silently groused, after having read over that last paragraph for what had to be the fifth, maybe even sixth time.\u00a0\u00a0 It was sickening enough having to watch Mother and Papa fawn over her all the time, but having to watch Grandpa and Grandmother do the same was BEYOND enough . . . and to make things even worse . . . Uncle Hoss and Uncle Joe kept looking up from their checker game.<\/p>\n

\u201cGuinevere\u2019s gonna be MY horse,\u201d Dio continued.\u00a0\u00a0 She had wandered over and plopped herself down on the footstool at her mother\u2019s feet.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201c \u2018N, Benjy?\u201d<\/p>\n

There was no reply.<\/p>\n

\u201cBenjy . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

Still no reply, save for the soft sound of a page being turned.<\/p>\n

\u201cBENJY!\u201d<\/p>\n

Benjy glanced up with an exasperated sigh.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDio, can\u2019t you see I\u2019m trying to read?!\u201d he demanded irascibly.<\/p>\n

\u201cGuess what?\u201d<\/p>\n

Benjy sighed, thoroughly exasperated, yet with air of fatalistic resignation.\u00a0 \u201cWhat?\u201d he said, not bothering to look up from the book lying open on his lap.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou gotta guess,\u201d Dio said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI CAN\u2019T guess,\u201d he said stiffly, all the while wishing she would, for once in her life, just shut-up and go away.<\/p>\n

\u201cAww . . . come ON, Benjy,\u201d she whined.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou gotta try \u2018n guess.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDio, I DON\u2019T know,\u201d Benjy said cantankerously, while leveling a dark, angry glare in his sister\u2019s general direction.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIf it\u2019s so all fired important, then just TELL me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOk.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 A smug, triumphant smile slowly oozed its way across her lips.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAunt Stacy said Gentleman Jim\u2019s gonna be YOUR horse.\u201d<\/p>\n

Benjy\u2019s sudden, sharp intake of air drew everyone\u2019s attention.\u00a0\u00a0 His complexion, normally fair like his father\u2019s, had turned a sickly ashen gray within a matter of seconds.\u00a0\u00a0 His dark eyes, now round as saucers, darted from his sister\u2019s face, to his parents\u2019, then settled on Aunt Stacy\u2019s, like the eyes of a wild animal, caught in a trap from which there was no hope of escape.\u00a0\u00a0 His book slipped from his hands and landed on the floor with a dull thud.<\/p>\n

\u201cBenjy,\u201d Stacy, who sat on the settee sandwiched between Joe and Dolores di Cordova, favored her nephew with a reassuring smile, \u201cGentleman Jim is as his name says.\u00a0\u00a0 He\u2019s a perfect gentleman.\u00a0\u00a0 Obedient, very calm, and very docile!\u00a0\u00a0 He\u2019s an excellent horse for a beginning rider . . . as is his mother, Guinevere.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBenjy?\u201d<\/p>\n

The boy\u2019s eyes moved warily back toward his sister.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNow wh-what?\u201d<\/p>\n

Dio\u2019s smile never wavered.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAunt Stacy said we can start learning how to ride tomorrow, IF it\u2019s all right with Ma and Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before Adam or Teresa had a chance to reply, Hop Sing returned to the great room, bearing a cake, iced with a rich, chocolate butter cream frosting.\u00a0\u00a0 Eight candles, set in a circle on top burned brightly in the dimly lit room.<\/p>\n

\u201cHappy birthday to you,\u201d Hop Sing sang, a half step below key.<\/p>\n

\u201cHappy birthday to you,\u201d Adam immediately joined in, his rich baritone voice raising the song to the correct level of pitch.\u00a0\u00a0 Teresa and Ben joined in\u00a0 next, followed by Joe, Stacy, and Dolores.<\/p>\n

\u201cHappy birthday, Dear Dio . . .<\/p>\n

Happy birthday to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMister Hoss, you not sing!\u201d Hop Sing observed as he carefully set the cake, lavishly decorated with icing flowers in a variety of colors, down on the coffee table before the astonished birthday girl.<\/p>\n

Hoss chuckled.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHop Sing, I\u2019ve been blessed with a lotta gifts \u2018n talents,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSingin\u2019 just ain\u2019t one of \u2018em.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLittle Missy make wish, blow out candles,\u201d Hop Sing dutifully instructed the girl.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust a moment,\u201d Adam said, before turning his attention to his son, still seated on the other side of the hearth, with his back to everyone, nose stuck in his book.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBenjy?\u201d he called to the boy.<\/p>\n

Benjy closed his eyes, and groaned very softly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYes, Papa?\u201d he reluctantly responded.<\/p>\n

\u201cCome on and join the rest of us, Son,\u201d Adam invited.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDio\u2019s about to make a wish and blow out the candles.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m coming,\u201d Benjy murmured in a voice barely audible, while inwardly seething.\u00a0\u00a0 His sister\u2019s birthday was three weeks ago, nearly four.\u00a0\u00a0 Almost a whole month!<\/p>\n

. . . and Grandmother and Grandfather gave her a big party, then, too, and invited all of her friends . . . \u201cevery last one of whom is just as mean as SHE is,\u201d<\/em> he groused silently, and she had cake, and ice cream, and presents . . . mountains and mountains of \u2018em.<\/p>\n

It seemed so to HIM, anyway . . . .<\/p>\n

Now she gets to have a birthday here, TOO?!<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not fair!\u201d he muttered, as he rose and made his way around the coffee table.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s not fair at all!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNOW, Little Missy blow out candle,\u201d Hop Sing exhorted the girl with a big smile.<\/p>\n

Dio closed her eyes, took a deep breath in the same moment she made her wish, and, upon opening her eyes, blew as hard as she could.\u00a0\u00a0 She had almost run out of breath at the very end, but she did it.\u00a0\u00a0 She blew out every single candle with one breath.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey there, Young \u2018n!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Hoss looked down at his young niece and smiled.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cLooks like ya get your wish.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe sure did!\u201d Joe agreed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhat did ya wish for, Kiddo?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t tell you, Uncle Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe stuck out his lip as far as he possibly could and gazed down at his young niece with a whipped puppy dog look that would have melted the coldest of hearts.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou can\u2019t even tell your Uncle Joe?\u201d he begged.<\/p>\n

Dio very solemnly shook her head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIf I do, I won\u2019t get my wish,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s right, Joe,\u201d Hoss declared with an emphatic nod of his head.<\/p>\n

Dio turned to Hop Sing, as he set himself to the task of cutting and serving the cake.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMister Hop Sing?\u201d she queried very softly.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot mister,\u201d the Chinese man said, as he handed her the first slice.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHop Sing just Hop Sing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you for the cake, Hop Sing,\u201d Dio said, \u201cbut, I hafta tell you . . . it\u2019s not my birthday today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hop Sing smiled.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHop Sing know,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cLittle Bird . . . wise Little Bird . . . tell Hop Sing Little Missy have birthday without Mama and Papa.\u00a0\u00a0 Same Little Bird also tell Hop Sing Little Missy like chocolate cake best.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He handed slices of cake to Adam and Teresa, then passed one over to Dolores, seated on the settee sandwiched between Hoss and Joe.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho\u2019s the Little Bird?\u201d Dio asked, her eyes darting from once face to the next.<\/p>\n

\u201cHop Sing can\u2019t tell Little Missy who Little Bird.\u00a0\u00a0 Bad luck!\u00a0\u00a0 Very, very, VERY bad!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I bet I know who it is,\u201d Dio said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI bet it was Grandmother.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dolores smiled and shook her head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNot THIS time, Child . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

Adam, meanwhile, passed a slice of cake over to Ben, seated in the chair with the port wine hued leather upholstery, and a second to Stacy, who now sat perched on its arm.\u00a0\u00a0 After serving his father and sister, he picked up the last piece and walked over to his son, who had taken up position between the blue chair and the fireplace hearth.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWould you like a piece of cake, Son?\u201d he asked, holding the plate in hand out to the boy.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, Papa,\u201d Benjy said stiffly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThank you.\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019m kinda tired . . . the long trip \u2018n all . . . may I go to bed now?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you feeling all right, Benjy?\u201d Adam asked quietly, as he studied the boy with an anxious frown.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not sick or anything like that, I\u2019m just tired,\u201d Benjy replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMay I go to bed now?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam touched the back of his hand to Benjy\u2019s forehead, drawing a long suffering sigh and a wry roll of the eyes heavenward.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI know you just told me you\u2019re not sick,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI wanted to make sure.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Though Benjy felt cool as the proverbial cucumber, his face was still a couple of shades paler than normal.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAll right, Son, you may go on up,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll look in on you later.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, Papa.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Benjy held out his hand.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cGood night.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood night, Benjy,\u201d Adam replied, as he gently shook hands with his son.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSleep tight.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDio, it\u2019s time YOU were in bed as well,\u201d Teresa said firmly.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, Maaa-aaahhh . . . I haven\u2019t even finished my cake yet!\u201d Dio protested.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have five minutes to finish it, Young Lady,\u201d Teresa replied in a tone that brooked no argument, \u201cand another three to tell everyone good night.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, I\u2019m not even tired,\u201d Dio whined.<\/p>\n

\u201cDio, not another word,\u201d Adam said sternly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNow you finish your cake, and tell everyone good night, like your mother said.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Pa,\u201d Dio sighed disparagingly.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cHmpf!\u00a0\u00a0 I can\u2019t even go to bed without HER horning in,\u201d Benjy grumbled softly, as he stormed into the room that would be his home away from home.<\/p>\n

You can make her sorry . . . .<\/em><\/p>\n

Benjy froze.\u00a0\u00a0 Had he imagined it?<\/p>\n

You can make them ALL sorry, if you want to . . . .<\/em><\/p>\n

He paused for a moment upon reaching the middle landing, and watched as Dio ran around enthusiastically hugging and kissing everyone good night.<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly!\u00a0\u00a0 That child tires me out just watching her!\u201d Grandmother declared, as she gazed after her granddaughter\u2019s swiftly retreating form with an affectionate smile.<\/p>\n

For a moment he gave serious consideration to those words, then turned away with a melancholy sigh.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMust be more tired than I thought,\u201d he mumbled very softly under his breath, as he continued the rest of the way up the stairs.<\/p>\n

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

Chapter 2<\/p>\n

He awoke to the sound of bells ringing somewhere far, far away.\u00a0\u00a0 He opened his eyes slowly, one first, then the other, gazing in utter bewilderment at the strange log ceiling over his head, and white-stucco walls surrounding him, hung with pictures of places, strange and unfamiliar.<\/em><\/p>\n

Then, he remembered.<\/em><\/p>\n

He was in the small upstairs guest room in his grandpa\u2019s house on a ranch called Ponderosa.\u00a0\u00a0 The sun shone in through the parted curtains drawn over the window above his head, gently rousing him to full awakening.\u00a0\u00a0 He rolled out of bed, wincing against the bright sunshine, landing on his feet.\u00a0\u00a0 He realized, then, that the bells he thought he had heard were the striking of that great big, enormous grandfather clock downstairs in the living room.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0. . . nine . . . ten . . . eleven . . . twelve!\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Twelve?!\u00a0\u00a0 It couldn\u2019t POSSIBLY be that late . . . could it?<\/em><\/p>\n

A glance at the clock hanging on the wall facing the bed confirmed that it was indeed that late.<\/em><\/p>\n

Why hadn\u2019t anyone come in to wake him before this?!<\/em><\/p>\n

He ran over to the dresser, where he had put his clothes yesterday afternoon, all neatly folded, and slid the top-drawer open.\u00a0\u00a0 Instead of finding his socks and undergarments, he found the drawer completely empty.\u00a0\u00a0 He frowned.\u00a0\u00a0 How could THAT be?\u00a0\u00a0 He had unpacked and put his clothing away himself.<\/em><\/p>\n

He slammed the top drawer shut, and opened the second.\u00a0\u00a0 It, too, stood empty.\u00a0\u00a0 Judging from the collection of dust and lint across the bottom of the drawer, it hadn\u2019t been used in a very long while.\u00a0\u00a0 Frantic, he yanked open the third drawer, then the fourth, followed by the fifth and last on the bottom.\u00a0\u00a0 Empty!<\/em><\/p>\n

Every last drawer stood empty! \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

All the clothes he had so carefully, so painstakingly packed away yesterday afternoon were gone.<\/em><\/p>\n

With heart in mouth, he ran over to the wardrobe.\u00a0\u00a0 He grabbed hold of the white glass doorknobs, one in each hand, and threw open the doors, wincing as the door on the right clattered loudly against the wall perpendicular.\u00a0\u00a0 He peered inside and found it completely empty.\u00a0\u00a0 His good summer suit, the dark blue linen, was gone.\u00a0\u00a0 So were his shirts, his boots, and his good shoes.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cMOTHER?\u201d\u00a0 he yelled.<\/em><\/p>\n

No answer.<\/em><\/p>\n

He shut the wardrobe doors.\u00a0\u00a0 As he turned to leave the room, his eyes fell on the bed in which he had just been sleeping.\u00a0\u00a0 He gasped, upon seeing the bed completely stripped of the linens there just moments ago.\u00a0\u00a0 Had HE stripped the bed?\u00a0\u00a0 He frowned, trying very hard to remember . . . .<\/em><\/p>\n

The sounds of laughter coming from outside his open bedroom window drew him from his troubled musings.\u00a0\u00a0 He bounded across the room and glanced outside.\u00a0\u00a0 There, he saw the entire family gathered in the yard below, laughing and chatting happily amongst themselves.\u00a0\u00a0 Mother and Grandmother sat on the buckboard seat, on either side of Papa, who held the reins firmly in hand.\u00a0\u00a0 His aunt was already mounted on her steed, with his sister seated on the saddle in front of her.\u00a0\u00a0 The Chinese man came out of the house, grinning from ear-to-ear, carrying two enormous picnic baskets.\u00a0\u00a0 He handed them to his two uncles, who dutifully set them into the back of the buckboard.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIs everyone ready?\u201d Grandpa asked, as he climbed up onto the back of his own horse.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cReady, Grandpa,\u201d his sister squealed with happy excitement.<\/em><\/p>\n

He suddenly realized they were all leaving.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cHEY!\u201d\u00a0 he shouted.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWHERE ARE YOU GOING?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

No one answered, or even bothered to look up.\u00a0\u00a0 A small, hard, cold knot of fear began to form deep in the pit of his stomach.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWHERE\u2019S EVERYBODY GOING?\u201d he yelled again.<\/em><\/p>\n

Once more, his words fell on deaf ears.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s go,\u201d Grandpa said.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNO!\u00a0\u00a0 STOP!\u00a0\u00a0 DON\u2019T LEAVE ME!\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

In the yard below, Grandpa, on his horse, took the lead with his aunt and sister riding along side.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNO!\u00a0\u00a0 PLEASE . . . WAIT FOR ME!\u201d <\/em><\/strong>\u00a0he shouted at the top of his lungs.<\/em><\/p>\n

No answer.\u00a0\u00a0 His uncles on their horses fell in step behind Grandpa, with Papa, Mother, and Grandmother in the buckboard bringing up the rear.<\/em><\/p>\n

He bolted from the room and plunged head long at top speed down a seemingly endless hallway, toward the stairs.\u00a0\u00a0 Somehow, it seemed the faster he ran, the longer the hallway stretched out before him.\u00a0\u00a0 Finally, after what seemed an eternity of running, he emerged out at the top landing, breathless, his legs trembling with weariness.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cSTOP!\u00a0\u00a0 WAIT FOR ME!\u201d\u00a0 <\/em><\/strong>he shouted as he half ran, half stumbled down the steps and out the front door.<\/em><\/p>\n

He found the yard completely deserted, except for the Chinese man.\u00a0\u00a0 For a moment, he stood, unmoving, staring apprehensively at the Chinese man, who had now turned and was ambling back toward the house.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWAIT!\u201d<\/em><\/strong>he yelled.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Chinese man continued walking back toward the house, without even acknowledging that he had spoken, let alone giving reply.\u00a0\u00a0 He turned and ran after him.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWhere did they go?\u201d he gasped, as he trotted along side the Chinese man.<\/em><\/p>\n

No answer,<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cPlease,\u201d he begged, \u201cyou\u2019ve got to tell me . . . where did they go?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The Chinese man entered the house and closed the front door right in his face.<\/em><\/p>\n

He turned and fled from the porch, running in the general direction he had seen Grandpa leading the others.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cMOTHER!\u00a0\u00a0 PAPA!\u00a0\u00a0 WAIT FOR ME!\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 he yelled as he ran.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201c<\/em>GRANDPA!\u00a0\u00a0 GRANDMOTHER!\u00a0\u00a0 PLEASE . . . STOP!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

With a strength and stamina, renewed and fed by the panic and dread fear rising up within, he tore through the yard.\u00a0\u00a0 Upon rounding the corner behind the barn, he blundered into a roughly circular copse of trees, tall ponderosa pines, ancient judging from the width around their bases.\u00a0\u00a0 He beat a straight path through its center, hoping against hope that by moving \u201cas the crow flies,\u201d to quote Uncle Hoss, he might catch up to the rest of the family, now traveling on the meandering road leading away from the Ponderosa.\u00a0\u00a0 Instead of emerging into the sunlit meadow he knew to be just on the other side of the trees, he found himself running through woods, deep and dark, that stretched on and on forever. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Tears, borne of the fear still escalating, cascaded freely down his cheeks, reducing his vision to varying shades of dark grays, pine greens, and black.\u00a0\u00a0 In his panicked, blind flight through the woods, his foot caught on something . . . a rock, or perhaps an exposed tree root.\u00a0\u00a0 As he pitched forward, a hole opened up in the earth before him.\u00a0 He fell into the long rectangular shaped hole and landed with a hard, ignoble thud that knocked the wind from his lungs.\u00a0\u00a0 He slowly, painfully rolled over from his stomach onto his side.\u00a0\u00a0 For every inch his eyes moved up the long shaft rising to the opening high overhead, his heart sank lower and lower.\u00a0\u00a0 The hole was too deep and its sides too smooth for him to climb out on his own.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/em><\/strong>HELP!\u00a0\u00a0 MOTHER!\u00a0\u00a0 PAPA!\u00a0\u00a0 HELP!\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

His words, his desperate cries for help were answered by a shower of dirt pouring into the hole, falling in his hair and dusting his shoulders.\u00a0 \u00a0Another showering of dirt fell on him, followed by another, then yet another.\u00a0\u00a0 He glanced up sharply as big clods of dirt this time, rained down upon him twice more in rapid succession.\u00a0\u00a0 As he furiously brushed the dry dirt out of his hair, and off his face and shoulders, his ears picked up a slow scraping sound, of metal against dry, rocky earth.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWho\u2019s there?\u201d he called out warily, his entire body rigid.<\/em><\/p>\n

There was no reply.\u00a0\u00a0 Only silence.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI know someone\u2019s there . . . . \u201d he called out again, afraid someone would find him one moment, and terrified no one would ever find him again the next.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI KNOW YOU\u2019RE THERE!\u00a0\u00a0 ANSWER ME!\u00a0\u00a0 PLEASE . . . ANS—!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 His desperate pleas were abruptly silenced by yet another showering of dirt and rocks.<\/em><\/p>\n

Then . . . all of a sudden . . . he realized, to his horror, that someone was shoveling mounds of dirt into the hole, filling it in . . . burying him.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNO!\u201d<\/em><\/strong> he screamed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNO!\u00a0\u00a0 STOP!\u00a0\u00a0 PLEASE STOP!\u201d <\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0He began to claw frantically at the earthen wall, trying desperately to gain a foothold to propel himself upward.\u00a0\u00a0 His movements began to slow, and he felt the muscles in his arms suddenly growing weaker and weaker.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNo . . . . \u201d he sobbed, \u201coh, God, please . . . please no . . . . \u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

A numbing paralysis began in his fingers and started to spread.\u00a0\u00a0 The clumps of dirt he had pulled from the earthen walls surrounding him fell upon his bare feet with a dull thud, from a pair of hands, turned useless.\u00a0\u00a0 He had dim awareness of his head lifting, then his entire body falling over backward.\u00a0\u00a0 He tried to cry out, but this time no sound issued forth.\u00a0\u00a0 The next thing he knew, he was lying on his back at the very bottom of that hole, his body half covered with dirt.<\/em><\/p>\n

At the top of the shaft, the silhouette of a man appeared.\u00a0 \u00a0His face was completely hidden beneath the dark shadows cast by the wide from of his hat.\u00a0\u00a0 Yet something in his lines . . . the way he moved . . . .<\/em><\/p>\n

Papa?<\/em><\/p>\n

Not Papa . . . .<\/em><\/p>\n

It was Grandpa, standing at the edge of the hole, looking down, with a shovel clasped tight in one hand. \u00a0 \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Somewhere, in the far distance, someone screamed.<\/em><\/p>\n

Benjy?<\/em><\/p>\n

GRANDPA, NO! \u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

GRANDPA, NO!\u00a0\u00a0 DON\u2019T!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Benjy!<\/em><\/p>\n

Grandpa turned, and moved away from the edge of the hole, out of his sight.<\/em><\/p>\n

GRANDPA, DON\u2019T GO!\u00a0\u00a0 DON\u2019T LEAVE ME, PLEASE . . . DON\u2019T LEAVE ME—<\/p>\n

Benjy, wake up!<\/em><\/p>\n

Benjy\u2019s eyes suddenly snapped wide open.\u00a0\u00a0 He found himself sitting up in a strange bed, in the midst of a dark room, staring into the anxious face of Uncle Joe.\u00a0\u00a0 His breathing came in shallow, ragged gasps, and tiny beads of cold sweat dotted his forehead.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s ok, Benjy . . . it\u2019s ok.\u00a0\u00a0 It was a DREAM.\u00a0\u00a0 A bad dream from the way you were screaming, but it WAS just a dream.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Joe\u2019s voice was quiet and gentle, yet carried within a rock hard firmness that his young nephew found deeply reassuring.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re safe now, Benjy . . . you\u2019re safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

For one brief, utterly insane moment, Benjy wanted, more than just about anything, to simply throw himself into his uncle\u2019s arms and just hang on for dear life.\u00a0\u00a0 He squeezed his eyes tight shut and vigorously shook his head as if to physically dislodge that errant, near overwhelming urging.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m NOT a little kid anymore<\/em>,\u201d he silently, furiously chastised himself.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not, I\u2019m not, I\u2019m NOT!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Joe, meanwhile, began to blot the boy\u2019s glistening forehead with the sleeve of his nightshirt.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re sweating like a pig, Sport . . . though for the life of me I can\u2019t understand why,\u201d he murmured softly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThis room feels kinda chilly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUncle Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Benjy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI . . . I need to check something . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

He was out of bed, running toward the dresser before Joe could even think of stopping him.\u00a0\u00a0 Benjy yanked open the top drawer and stood, for a time, rooted to the spot, staring into the open drawer.<\/p>\n

\u201c . . . uhhh, Benjy?\u201d Joe queried with an anxious frown.\u00a0\u00a0 He rose, shuddering the instant his feet touched the ice-cold floor.<\/p>\n

The boy slammed the drawer shut as wave upon wave of pure, unadulterated relief washed over him.\u00a0\u00a0 His underwear and socks were neatly folded and in their proper place, right were he had put them.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, Sport, y\u2019 better come on back to bed,\u201d Joe invited with a warm, reassuring smile.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThis floor feels like ice and I\u2019VE got these heavy socks on.\u00a0\u00a0 You must be freezing in your bare feet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cY-yeah, it IS kind of cold,\u201d Benjy ventured hesitantly, favoring his uncle with a small, shy smile.<\/p>\n

Joe waited while his young nephew climbed into bed, then covered him over with bed linens and the light, summer blanket lying across the foot of the bed, neatly folded.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou gonna be warm enough?\u00a0\u00a0 I can get you a quilt . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m fine, Uncle Joe, except for . . . feeling a little . . . lost, I guess . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

Joe flashed the boy a knowing, sympathetic smile.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI know exactly how you feel, Benjy.\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s quite a shock to wake up out of a dream, especially a real bad one, and find yourself lying in your own room . . . in your own bed.\u00a0\u00a0 When you\u2019re away from home, sleeping in a strange room and a strange bed . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cH-Has it ever happened to YOU, Uncle Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Benjy.\u00a0\u00a0 A LOT!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 It was Adam.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIs everything all right?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBenjy had a bad dream, Adam.\u00a0\u00a0 It left him pretty shook up, but he\u2019s gonna be ok.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam entered the room.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019d forgotten how chilly the nights get around here,\u201d he remarked, while drawing his dark navy blue robe tighter around him.\u00a0\u00a0 Three brisk strides brought him to his son\u2019s bedside.\u00a0\u00a0 Joe quietly rose and gestured for Adam to take his place on the edge of the bed.\u00a0\u00a0 He gratefully nodded his thanks.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou ok, Buddy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI . . . I\u2019m ok, Papa,\u201d Benjy replied, as the worst of his terror began to give way to acute embarrassment.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt was just a bad dream, like Uncle Joe said.\u00a0\u00a0 May I have a drink of water?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll get it,\u201d Joe offered.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot much, half a glass maybe,\u201d Adam said.<\/p>\n

Joe nodded and set off.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want to talk about it, Benjy?\u201d Adam asked after Joe had left.<\/p>\n

Benjy shook his head.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou sure?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure, Papa.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Benjy looked away from his father, focusing his gaze on his hands tightly clasped in his lap.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019d probably think it was kind of stupid anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I wouldn\u2019t,\u201d Adam said earnestly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI heard you crying out, Benjy.\u00a0\u00a0 That tells me whatever your dream was about, it had a very profound effect on you.\u00a0\u00a0 Nothing, be it a dream or happenstance occurring during our waking hours, that affects you so deeply is stupid.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter now, Papa, because I . . . I don\u2019t remember too much of it anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pale face, rapid breathing, and the slight tremor in the boy\u2019s hands all told Adam otherwise.\u00a0\u00a0 He decided not to press, for now anyway.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBenjy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cY-Yes, Papa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you remember the dream later on, and you want to talk about it, I\u2019m ready and willing to listen.\u00a0\u00a0 I want you to know that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Benjy nodded.<\/p>\n

A knock at the bedroom door drew the attention of father and son.\u00a0\u00a0 It was Joe.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve got the water,\u201d he announced, holding up the glass.<\/p>\n

Adam motioned for Joe to enter.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere y\u2019 go, Sport,\u201d Joe said, as he placed the glass into his nephew\u2019s outstretched hands.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, Uncle Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re welcome.\u00a0\u00a0 Well, it looks like you two don\u2019t need ME anymore, so I\u2019m off to bed.\u00a0\u00a0 Good night, Adam.\u00a0\u00a0 Good night, Benjy.\u00a0\u00a0 See ya both in the morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood night, Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Benjy quickly finished his water and handed the glass to his father.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cGood night, Uncle Joe,\u201d he said with a big yawn.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou sure everything\u2019s all right, Benjy?\u201d Adam asked, after his youngest brother had gone.<\/p>\n

Benjy nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you need me for anything, I\u2019m in the room at the end of the hall with your mother.\u00a0 \u00a0All right?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOk, Papa.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam nodded, then reached for the quilt still neatly folded at the end of the bed.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t have to do that,\u201d Benjy protested.\u00a0\u00a0 He was deeply grateful it was still dark, and that his father couldn\u2019t see the hot flush of deep crimson that had all of a sudden come to his cheeks.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m a big boy now, Papa . . . I\u2019m too old to be tucked in.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst of all, it\u2019s pretty chilly in here,\u201d Adam said, as he covered his son with the quilt, then set himself to the task of tucking the edges under the mattress.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSecond . . . . \u201d he smiled.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201c . . . YOU could live to be a hundred, Young Man, and I live to be . . . well, whatever!\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019ll STILL be my prerogative as your father.\u201d<\/p>\n

An amused smile tugged hard at the corner of Benjy\u2019s mouth.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll bet Grandpa doesn\u2019t tuck in Uncle Hoss, Uncle Joe, and Aunt Stacy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll bet he DOES . . . sometimes,\u201d Adam replied.\u00a0\u00a0 He refrained from adding that Grandpa would probably tuck HIM in, too, if Teresa weren\u2019t sharing the room and bed with him.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou sure everything\u2019s all right?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Papa, I\u2019m fine now.\u201d<\/p>\n

He leaned down and kissed his son on the forehead.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cGood night, Benjy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood night, Papa.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Adam left his son\u2019s room, noiselessly closing the door behind him.\u00a0\u00a0 He, then, made his way back down the hall to the large room at the end, taking great care to tread quietly, so not to wake up anyone else.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything all right?\u201d Teresa asked, as Adam entered the room.<\/p>\n

He removed his robe and draped it over the chair next to the door.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cEverything\u2019s QUIET!\u00a0\u00a0 The jury\u2019s still out on the question of whether or not everything\u2019s all right.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cBenjy had a nightmare that left him pretty shook up,\u201d Adam replied as he climbed into bed next to his wife.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat was the nightmare about?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe wasn\u2019t forthcoming on that score, I\u2019m afraid.\u00a0\u00a0 He claimed he had forgotten most of it, but he hadn\u2019t.\u00a0\u00a0 I could tell by the frightened look on his face.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know Benjy\u2019s pretty reserved, especially around people he doesn\u2019t know very well . . . and he\u2019s travel weary, but . . . . \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Teresa sighed and shook her head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s been too quiet, today, Adam.\u00a0 Much too quiet!\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam nodded.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYeah, something\u2019s bothering him.\u00a0\u00a0 I had every intention of taking him aside and sitting him down for a private father-son chat, but between getting everyone back here, unpacked, and settled . . . not to mention visiting with each other . . . . \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He sighed very softly, and shook his head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m afraid my good intentions got shoved by the way side.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThings WERE pretty hectic today,\u201d Teresa agreed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBy the time everyone settled down, it was time to go to bed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps I\u2019ll have better luck tomorrow after the kids have their riding lesson.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the meantime, I\u2019LL try and talk with Mother sometime tomorrow.\u00a0\u00a0 She and Papa have been looking after them since you and I left to come here.\u00a0\u00a0 Maybe she can shed some light on things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood night, Adam.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Teresa leaned over and kissed him passionately on the lips.<\/p>\n

\u201c . . . uuhhh, Teresa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHmmm?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope you know we\u2019ve got to watch ourselves like hawks from here on out, Sweetheart,\u201d Adam warned.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBenjy and Dio are ten times more inquisitive than Joe and Stacy, and THEY have a much greater tendency to ask embarrassing questions at the absolute worst times.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Father Brendan Rutherford crumpled the sheet of paper, lying on the desk before him, and, with a soft, melancholy sigh, tossed it across the room toward the trash receptacle, already full to overflowing.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI might as well be honest and admit to myself that I\u2019m not going to get a blessed thing accomplished . . . leastwise, not tonight.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He rose, and stretched.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019d go to bed . . . if I thought for a minute I\u2019d actually get any sleep,\u201d he murmured, barely aware of having just spoken out loud.<\/p>\n

Aged in his late sixties, his big, square shaped face, with its wide jaw and ruddy complexion, along with the circlet of tonsured red hair, easily took twenty years away from his appearance.\u00a0\u00a0 He was a big man, standing well over six feet tall, with broad, muscular shoulders and barreled chest.\u00a0\u00a0 Although his well-defined musculature and washboard flat abdomen had softened and grown more round under the inevitable pull of age and gravity, he still presented a picture of a man physically fit.\u00a0\u00a0 Though now largely retired, he still supervised the three priests assigned to Saint Mary\u2019s in the Mountains, visited the sick and infirm among the community, counseled troubled parishioners on occasion, and filled in during mass as needed.<\/p>\n

The sound of someone knocking softly on the door to his study drew him from his troubled musings.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cCome in,\u201d he responded, inwardly grateful for the respite.<\/p>\n

Brother Algernon Wolfe, a short, portly man a dozen years his junior, quietly entered the room bearing a tray, with the nightcap monk and priest had shared before retiring for more years now than he cared to count sometimes.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt would appear that the best for all concerned would be for me to leave your, ummm . . . shall we say \u2018well aged nightly medication\u2019 on the desk and not bother you with my petty little difficulties so that you might finish that sermon for Sunday,\u201d the monk remarked wryly, as his eyes fell upon the trash receptacle, piled high with crumpled wads of paper.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve not once left me in peace for a single night over the past ten years and I\u2019ll not have you start now, thank you very much,\u201d Father Brendan retorted with mock severity, the twinkle in his blue eyes giving lie to the stern glower on his face.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNow sit down, y\u2019 ol\u2019 coot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brother Algernon chuckled with genuine mirth as he set the tray down on the priest\u2019s expansive, mahogany desk, and seated himself in the hard backed chair facing it.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou realize of course that you calling me an ol\u2019 coot\u2019s like the pot calling the kettle black, Monsignor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Father Brendan took one of the glasses, filled to the brim with a very fine brandy, from the tray and took a small sip.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAny word on how Mrs. Smith is faring?\u201d he asked, turning serious.<\/p>\n

For the past thirty years, Mrs. Lee Smith had lived among the sisters at the convent of Saint Mary\u2019s in the Mountains.\u00a0\u00a0 She had initially come as a patient in desperate need of healing, not only for her bruised, battered body, but for her stricken spirit and soul as well.\u00a0\u00a0 Though she had never sought to take the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, she had nonetheless remained, serving the kindly sisters with diligence and grace as their housekeeper, chief cook and bottle washer, bookkeeper, and as able nursing assistant after the hospital had been established.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe good news is . . . Mother Catherine has NOT sent me to fetch Doctor Martin,\u201d Brother Algernon replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cLast I heard the good lady was in her room, resting comfortably with one of the sisters in attendance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Father Brendan nodded his head slowly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYes,\u201d he murmured softly, yet guarded.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYes.\u00a0\u00a0 That IS good news.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMonsignor?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Brother?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe anniversary of . . . . \u201d the monk\u2019s voice trailed away to silence.\u00a0\u00a0 He sipped from his own glass of brandy, then continued.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s . . . soon, is it not?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFour . . . . \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Father Brendan\u2019s eyes strayed over to the tall grandfather\u2019s clock positioned against the wall directly in front of him, sandwiched between a pair of matching barrister\u2019s bookcases, packed full.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNo . . . make that THREE days from now,\u201d he amended, upon noting that the time was a few minutes past midnight.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe anniversary never HAS been a very good time for her . . . not in the time I\u2019VE known her at any rate,\u201d Brother Algernon quietly observed.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Father Brendan agreed, \u201cand now, with her heath being so precarious . . . . \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 His voice trailed away to an ominous silence that lingered for a time.<\/p>\n

\u201cMonsignor?\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cI . . . thought . . . I overheard Mother Catherine telling one of the sisters that it\u2019s been thirty years now, since . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThirty years,\u201d Father Brendan murmured, then nodded.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYes.\u00a0\u00a0 That sounds about right.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brother Algernon finished the last of his brandy in a single swallow.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI . . . would think thirty years would be more than enough time to . . . well, to forget about it . . . to put it out of her mind and go on with her life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBrother Algernon, I seriously doubt that ANY mother who loses all six of her children to death in so very short a time CAN forget about it,\u201d Father Brendan said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI suppose,\u201d Brother Algernon acquiesced in a bland tone.\u00a0\u00a0 He, then, rose and set his empty glass back down onto the tray.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m going to say good night, Monsignor.\u00a0\u00a0 Am I correct in assuming that you intend to linger over your brandy for a while?\u201d<\/p>\n

Father Brendan nodded.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cGood night, Brother . . . sleep well.\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019ll see you in the morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cMister Cartwright, two minutes!\u00a0\u00a0 Breakfast ready!\u201d\u00a0 Hop Sing announced tersely to the family gathered over next to the fireplace the following morning.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about dadburn time,\u201d Hoss groused, scowling.<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI trust you got Peggy moved yesterday afternoon without any problems?\u201d Adam asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cYep,\u201d Hoss replied, nodding his head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cShe\u2019s settled in now with Doc \u2018n Mrs. Martin, just as snug as a bug in a rug,\u201d he replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMrs. Martin says she\u2019s gonna let Peggy have a crack at straightenin\u2019 t\u2019 doctor\u2019s books.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cExcellent.\u00a0\u00a0 That\u2019ll be good practice for her,\u201d Adam nodded and smiled approvingly.<\/p>\n

The sound of booted feet slapping against the wooden steps in rapid succession brought all conversation to a halt.\u00a0\u00a0 Dio, her face shining with all of the excitement of a new day and new adventure soon to begin, rounded the corner at the middle landing, bounded two thirds of the way down the remaining steps.\u00a0\u00a0 There, she paused, then took a flying leap over the last three steps, landing on her feet with all the fluid grace of a leaping cat, if not the silence.<\/p>\n

Adam immediately leapt to his feet the instant he realized his young daughter was airborne.\u00a0 \u00a0He quickly circled around the settee, then hurried across the great room toward the steps.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDio?!\u201d he called out to his daughter anxiously.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAre you—??\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 His words ended with a loud, pained grunt, when Dio barreled into him half way between the settee and the stairs.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood morning, Pa!\u201d she cried as she wrapped her small arms tight around his thighs.\u00a0\u00a0 Her long black hair had been braided into a single braid that reached down to the middle of her back, and this morning, she was dressed in an old shirt and a pair of pants her Aunt Stacy had outgrown several years before.\u00a0\u00a0 The boots on her feet were an old pair Uncle Joe had outgrown shortly after his eighth birthday.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood morning!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Adam slipped one arm around his daughter, while unconsciously waggling the other in a valiant attempt to maintain his balance.<\/p>\n

\u201cAunt Stacy\u2019s gonna give us our first riding lesson today,\u201d Dio said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMa said it was ok . . . if it\u2019s ok with YOU . . . . \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 She peered up into her father\u2019s face, eager and hopeful.<\/p>\n

\u201cFine with me,\u201d Adam agreed, punctuating his reply with a long, slow sigh of relief when his balance finally stabilized.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour first riding lesson begins after breakfast,\u201d Stacy said, as she made her way down the stairs, moving at a brisk pace, \u201cand AFTER I finish my morning chores.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cYes, Princess?\u201d Adam queried as he took his young daughter by the hand and led her over to the fireplace where his father, brothers, and mother-in-law yet remained.\u00a0\u00a0 Stacy quietly fell in behind her brother and niece.<\/p>\n

\u201cCan I help Aunt Stacy with her morning chores?\u201d Dio begged.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cPlease?\u00a0\u00a0 Can I pretty please?!\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben laughed out loud.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDid I actually hear someone ASKING to do chores?\u00a0\u00a0 That\u2019s a first around here!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat way we can have our lesson faster,\u201d Dio explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, Kid, think you can you use an assistant teacher?\u201d Joe asked, as Stacy plopped herself down on the hearth next to the leather upholstered port wine chair, occupied by their father.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy do you ask, Grandpa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI could use a little help with MY chores in the morning, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow you see here, Baby Brother!\u00a0\u00a0 If you think for one minute I\u2019m going to allow you to exploit my daughter as slave labor . . . . \u201d Adam protested, half teasing and every inch the overly protective father.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn THAT note, I think we\u2019d better head on out to the table,\u201d Ben said as he slowly rose to his feet.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast one there\u2019s a rotten egg!\u201d Dio cried as she turned, and headed for the dining running as fast as her legs could carry her.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow hold on there, Young \u2018n!\u201d Hoss said with a smile, as he grabbed hold of his niece mid-stride, and lifted her high into the air, prompting a startled cry.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou better try \u2018n save some of that energy o\u2019 yours if you intend on helpin\u2019 Aunt Stacy out with doin\u2019 her chores,\u201d he exhorted, while gently tucking the laughing, squirming little girl under his arm.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cOtherwise you\u2019re gonna be too plumb tuckered out for that ridin\u2019 lesson.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cYes, Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be with the rest of you in a moment,\u201d Adam said quietly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI think perhaps I should run upstairs and hurry Teresa and Benjy along . . . .\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Adam found Benjy still in his pajamas, lying huddled up under the covers.\u00a0\u00a0 Teresa sat poised on the edge of the bed, gazing down at their son with a worried frown.\u00a0\u00a0 She gently smoothed a stray lock of hair from the boy\u2019s forehead.\u00a0\u00a0 He paused before the open door and softly knocked on the doorframe.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cGood morning, Teresa . . . Benjy.\u00a0\u00a0 May I come in?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood morning, Adam . . . and yes!\u00a0\u00a0 Please . . . come on in,\u201d Teresa invited.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBenjy doesn\u2019t seem to be feeling well this morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh?\u201d Adam queried as he crossed the room, and walked around to the other side of the bed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s the matter, Son?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy stomach hurts, Papa, and my fingers and toes feel kind of funny.\u201d<\/p>\n

Teresa leaned over and gently pressed her lips to Benjy\u2019s forehead.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow is he?\u201d Adam asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cCool as a cucumber,\u201d she replied, straightening.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou feel up to putting on your robe and coming downstairs for a bite of breakfast?\u201d Adam asked.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWe can ask Hop Sing to fix you some toast and brew up a bit of weak tea.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, Papa.\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019d rather go back to sleep for a little while, if I may?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right, Benjy,\u201d Adam agreed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYour mother and I\u2019ll be up to look in on you after breakfast.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPapa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Son?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWould you please tell Aunt Stacy to go ahead and start teaching Dio?\u00a0\u00a0 How to ride I mean.\u00a0\u00a0 No point in making her wait because I\u2019m feeling sick.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSure, I\u2019ll tell her,\u201d Adam promised.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIn the meantime, you get some rest.\u00a0\u00a0 We\u2019ll be back in a little while.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Chapter 3<\/p>\n

\u201cGood morning, Teresa,\u201d Ben greeted his daughter-in-law with a smile, as she and Adam approached the dining room table.\u00a0\u00a0 The rest of the family was already seated.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIs Benjy coming?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt seems he\u2019s not feeling well this morning,\u201d Teresa said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry to hear that,\u201d Ben murmured sympathetically.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI hope it\u2019s nothing serious.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam courteously held his wife\u2019s chair, as she sat down.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHe says his stomach hurts, but he doesn\u2019t seem to be running a fever, Pa.\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019m thinking the rigors of the trip took a lot more out of him than we figured yesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can send for Doctor Martin if you wish,\u201d Ben offered.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, Pa, but I don\u2019t think that\u2019ll be necessary,\u201d Adam replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cFor now, we\u2019ll just keep an eye on him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBreakfast served,\u201d Hop Sing blithely announced, as he entered the dining room carrying a large platter of pancakes.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cEat!\u00a0\u00a0 Taste best hot!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHop Sing?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Mister Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBenjy\u2019s not feeling well this morning,\u201d Adam explained.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHe says his stomach hurts.\u00a0\u00a0 Would you mind fixing him a piece of toast, and maybe a little weak tea, after you\u2019ve brought every thing to the table?\u201d<\/p>\n

Hop Sing\u2019s face fell.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cOh, very sorry Mister Adam little boy sick,\u201d he murmured sympathetically.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHop Sing fix toast and peppermint tea.\u00a0\u00a0 Peppermint tea very good for sick tummy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, Hop Sing,\u201d Teresa said quietly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIf you\u2019ll let me know when it\u2019s ready, I\u2019ll take it up to him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hop Sing nodded.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhen Hop Sing make, bring to Mrs. Teresa,\u201d he dutifully promised before returning to the kitchen.<\/p>\n

\u201cMa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Dio?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDoes that mean you won\u2019t watch me take my first riding lesson?\u201d Dio asked.\u00a0\u00a0 The disappointment she felt was reflected very clearly in her face and eyes.<\/p>\n

Teresa shook her head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou brother\u2019s not feeling well, Dio.\u00a0\u00a0 I think it would best if I kept close.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019LL be there to watch you, Princess,\u201d Adam promised, \u201cand I\u2019ll bet you anything your grandpa might come out and watch, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t miss it for the world,\u201d Ben declared . . . .<\/p>\n

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

\u201cHow am I doing, Aunt Stacy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re doing great, Dio,\u201d Stacy praised her young niece.\u00a0\u00a0 The child was a natural, no denying that, and she was fast proving to be an excellent student in all areas so far, except the most important in the mind of the young teacher . . . .<\/p>\n

\u201cDio, one thing you\u2019ve got to ALWAYS remember is . . . while it\u2019s true most horses\u2019ll do anything for you, if you treat them right . . . they\u2019re big animals,\u201d Stacy cautioned her niece first thing, just as Silver Moon had cautioned her nearly a decade ago now.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThey\u2019re big . . . they\u2019re very strong, and very powerful.\u00a0\u00a0 You\u2019ve got to respect that.\u00a0\u00a0 If not, they can hurt you . . . very badly . . . without even realizing.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll remember . . . . \u201d the child responded.\u00a0\u00a0 She stood on a nearby bale of hay, gazing into the stall at Guinevere through eyes filled with adoration.<\/em><\/p>\n

Stacy knew that her words of warning had gone in one ear and right out the other.\u00a0\u00a0 She\u2019d made herself a stern mental note then to work harder at impressing upon the girl the need to exercise caution.<\/em><\/p>\n

Dio circled around the corral on Guinevere\u2019s back, at a brisk, steady walk.\u00a0\u00a0 She sat tall in the saddle, hips and legs relaxed, hands and arms echoing the movements of Guinevere\u2019s head.\u00a0\u00a0 Her eyes and face glowed.<\/p>\n

Guinevere was a bay mare with a rich deep reddish brown coat.\u00a0\u00a0 Though still well muscled and physically fit, the liberal sprinkling of white hairs around her mouth and nostrils divulged her steadily advancing age.<\/p>\n

Ben stood outside the corral, leaning up against the fence, with Adam standing to his right.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDio\u2019s a natural, Adam,\u201d he said softly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cA real natural . . . just like her aunt.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m impressed, Pa,\u201d Adam said by way of agreement.\u00a0\u00a0 He looked over at his father and smiled.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWith BOTH of them!\u00a0\u00a0 You were right when you said that Stacy\u2019s a good teacher.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStacy!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, Pa?\u201d she replied, her eyes remaining glued to Dio and Guinevere.<\/p>\n

\u201cBetter start winding things up.\u00a0\u00a0 We eat dinner in a hour.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAww, Grandpa, already?\u201d Dio groaned.\u00a0\u00a0 Her contented glow faded into a mask of complete and utter disappointment.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa\u2019s right, Dio,\u201d Stacy said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI still have to teach you about stabling Guinevere and about keeping things straight in the tack room.\u00a0\u00a0 Pa . . . your GRANDpa . . . is a real stickler about that!\u00a0\u00a0 Barn door\u2019s THIS way . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, Adam, look who\u2019s decided to join us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam turned, his eyes following the line of Ben\u2019s outstretched hand and pointing finger.\u00a0\u00a0 Benjy, clad in a pair of dark brown trousers and a white shirt, stepped down off the porch and started across the yard.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cGood morning, Benjy,\u201d Adam greeted his son with a broad grin.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cFeeling better?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA little.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDio\u2019s in the barn with Aunt Stacy learning how to unsaddle and stable her horse, along with a thing or two about keeping the tack room straight,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhy don\u2019t you go on in and join them?\u00a0\u00a0 That way you won\u2019t be as far behind Dio tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Benjy frowned.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cTomorrow?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYour riding lesson tomorrow,\u201d Adam quickly filled in the blank.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh.\u00a0\u00a0 I kind of . . . I guess I forgot.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you don\u2019t see Stacy and Dio in the barn, you\u2019ll probably find them in the tack room on the left as you go in through the big door,\u201d Ben said, pointing.<\/p>\n

Benjy stared at the open barn door for a moment, then shook his head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI-I don\u2019t know if I should,\u201d he ventured hesitantly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t want to interrupt anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou wouldn\u2019t be interrupting anything, Benjy,\u201d Ben said with an encouraging smile.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThey\u2019ll just be getting started.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh.\u00a0\u00a0 Well, ok, I guess.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Benjy turned heel and trudged reluctantly over toward the open barn door.<\/p>\n

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

As Benjy stepped over the threshold, moving from the warm sun into the cool, dimly lit interior of the enormous barn, he heard the voices of his sister and aunt coming from somewhere directly in front of him.\u00a0\u00a0 He heard none of their words, only a soft, endless drone, that sounded far distant, despite the fact that Guinevere\u2019s stall had to be along that back wall of the barn, facing the door.\u00a0\u00a0 He peered into the odd, murky shadows ahead of him, searching for Dio and Aunt Stacy, but couldn\u2019t find them.<\/p>\n

With each step he took, the world outside, where his father and grandfather stood leaning up against the corral fence talking, seemed to recede, like the waves of the ocean retreat from the beach when the tide ebbs.\u00a0\u00a0 The sunshine, pouring in through the openings high over his head, illumined the interior of the barn with a dim, silvery gray light.\u00a0\u00a0 That and the oddly shaped deep shadows lurking within the empty stalls added to the eerie, otherworldly atmosphere.\u00a0\u00a0 A heavy, deep silence settled over him, over everything, like a heavy shroud.<\/p>\n

Benjy found himself turning right, away from the places where Papa and Grandpa had told him he would find Aunt Stacy and Dio.\u00a0\u00a0 His feet seemed to move of their own volition, drawing him further and further into the dim, murky lit interior of the barn.\u00a0\u00a0 He suddenly had the uneasy feeling of two eyes watching every single move he made.\u00a0\u00a0 A cold, icy chill ran down the entire length of his spine, and he felt the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end.<\/p>\n

Benjy glanced up sharply, expecting to see someone standing in front of him.\u00a0\u00a0 He saw no one.<\/p>\n

This time, the voice seemed to be coming from behind him.\u00a0\u00a0 He whirled in his tracks, but again, saw no one.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIs . . . is anyone . . . is anyone h-here?\u201d Benjy ventured timidly.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m here.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWh-where?\u201d\u00a0 Benjy responded.\u00a0\u00a0 He could feel his heart pounding hard against his rib cage.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhere ARE you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBenjy?\u201d<\/p>\n

Benjy started so violently, he lost his balance and fell, landing in a nearby pile of straw.<\/p>\n

\u201cBenjy, are you all right?\u201d<\/p>\n

He opened his eyes and found himself staring up into Aunt Stacy\u2019s anxious face.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry I startled you,\u201d she apologized as she gently helped him to his feet.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou all right?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cY-yes . . . yes, I AM, Aunt Stacy, thank you,\u201d he murmured as he brushed off the dust from his backside with a few sweeps of his hand.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cGrandpa and Papa said I might come in and find out about keeping the tack room clean and . . . and about stabling a horse.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stacy smiled.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cCome with me, Benjy,\u201d she invited.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDio\u2019s waiting next to Guinevere\u2019s stall, over there.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 She pointed back in the direction from whence he had initially heard their voices.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWe were just getting ready to unsaddle Guinevere.\u201d<\/p>\n

Benjy nodded and fell in step beside Stacy.\u00a0\u00a0 Suddenly, his ears were assaulted with a cacophony of sounds emanating from the world around him:\u00a0 birds singing, the gentle breezes wafting through aspen boughs and pine needles, the occasional sound of a horse whinnying in the corral outside.\u00a0\u00a0 They found Dio and Guinevere waiting, the former impatiently shifting from one foot to the other, next to the gentle mare\u2019s open stall.<\/p>\n

\u201cAunt Stacy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Dio?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCan I unsaddle Guinevere?\u00a0\u00a0 Please, Aunt Stacy?\u00a0\u00a0 Can I?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMAY I,\u201d Benjy corrected, in a lofty, imperious tone.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what I said!\u201d Dio hotly protested.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, you said CAN I,\u201d Benjy persisted, with the same disdainful condescension that, in the past, had sometimes unintentionally crept into his father\u2019s voice when HE set about to correct his younger brothers.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI assume you CAN unsaddle Guinevere, after Aunt Stacy shows you how, but you\u2019re really asking her permission to do so.\u00a0\u00a0 The correct way to ask permission is to say MAY I.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dio\u2019s cheeks flamed scarlet.\u00a0\u00a0 She quickly bowed her head, suddenly unable to bring herself to look Stacy directly in the eye.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Dio, you CAN and you MAY unsaddle Guinevere while I talk you through it,\u201d Stacy offered kindly, as she placed a comforting hand on her niece\u2019s shoulder.<\/p>\n

Dio looked up returning her aunt\u2019s encouraging smile with a tremulous one of her own.<\/p>\n

Stacy also noted with surprise and a little dismay that the girl\u2019s eyes glistened with unusual brightness.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou come on around here, Dio,\u201d she said, drawing a dark glare from her nephew.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBenjy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Aunt Stacy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWould YOU like some hands on experience unsaddling Guinevere?\u201d<\/p>\n

Benjy could feel the blood draining right out of his face.\u00a0\u00a0 He involuntarily took a step backward.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI . . . uuhh, that\u2019s ok.\u00a0\u00a0 I can WATCH Dio . . . if that\u2019s alright.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSure, that\u2019s fine,\u201d Stacy agreed.\u00a0\u00a0 She motioned Dio to come over next to her and Guinevere.<\/p>\n

Dio started walking over toward Stacy and Guinevere.\u00a0\u00a0 She had scarcely taken a half dozen steps, when she suddenly stopped and turned toward Benjy, favoring him with a smug grin.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201c \u2018Fraidy cat!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShut-up, Dio,\u201d Benjy returned, very much on the defensive.<\/p>\n

\u201cBenjy is a \u2018fraidy cat . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShut-UP, Dio . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, you ARE a big ol\u2019 \u2018fraidy cat,\u201d Dio continued, \u201cand you\u2019re a big sissy too.\u00a0\u00a0 YOU\u2019RE an even bigger sissy \u2018n Amy Collins!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDio, if you don\u2019t shut your lying mouth, I\u2019ll . . . I\u2019ll . . . so HELP me, I\u2019ll— \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou won\u2019t do NUTHIN\u2019 . . . \u2018cause you\u2019re afraid!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDio . . . Benjy, that\u2019s enough!\u201d Stacy said in a quiet, yet very firm tone.<\/p>\n

\u201cBenjy is a sissy, Benjy is a sissy, Benjy is a\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSHUT-UP, DIO, JUST SHUT-UP!\u201d\u00a0 Benjy shouted, his voice catching.<\/p>\n

\u201cWELL YOU ARE<\/strong> A BIG SISSY . . . \u2018N YOU\u2019RE A GREAT BIG \u2018FRAIDY CAT, AND YOU\u2019RE A BIG, BIG, BIG CRYBABY, TOO,\u201d Dio yelled back, her face contorting with raw fury.<\/p>\n

Stacy angrily seized her young niece by the forearm and spun her around.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDio, I SAID that\u2019s enough!\u201d she said, favoring the girl with a dark, angry glare.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, he IS a big sissy, \u2018fraidy cat, Aunt Stacy,\u201d Dio wailed defensively.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAlmost everyone I know says so!\u00a0\u00a0 And you can see for yourself he\u2019s a big crybaby!\u201d<\/p>\n

Benjy turned heel and, with a strangled cry, fled from the barn.<\/p>\n

Stacy forced herself to take a deep breath and count to ten.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDio, whether Benjy is a big sissy, \u2018fraidy cat, crybaby or not doesn\u2019t matter,\u201d she said, laboring to keep the worst of her rising anger in check.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhat you did just now was pure out \u2018n out ornery mean!\u201d<\/p>\n

Dio\u2019s face fell.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI . . . I\u2019m s-sorry, Aunt Stacy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not the one you were mean to just now, Dio.\u00a0\u00a0 You need to tell BENJY you\u2019re sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dio pulled herself up to full height and glared up at Stacy defiantly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNo!\u00a0\u00a0 I won\u2019t tell Benjy I\u2019m sorry, I won\u2019t!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen I\u2019m not giving you anymore riding lessons,\u201d Stacy said firmly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNot until you tell Benjy that you\u2019re sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dio stared up at Stacy, her defiance giving way to complete and utter despair.\u00a0\u00a0 With a heart-wrenching sob, she turned heel and fled from the barn.<\/p>\n

For a moment, Stacy stood, unmoving, her eyes glued to her young niece\u2019s retreating back, trying desperately to make some kind of sense out of the angry exchange between Dio and Benjy just now.\u00a0\u00a0 She finally just shook her head, then set herself to the task of stabling the patient, gentle Guinevere.\u00a0\u00a0 She was surprised to feel the sting of tears in her own eyes as she removed Guinevere\u2019s saddle, and carried it to its block in the tack room.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, Kid, what was THAT all about?\u201d<\/p>\n

Stacy turned and glanced over at the doorway between the tack room and the rest of the barn.\u00a0\u00a0 She saw Joe there, leaning against the side of the door, with arms folded across his chest and a puzzled look on his face.<\/p>\n

\u201cBenjy and Dio?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wish I knew!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Her voice caught on the last word.<\/p>\n

Joe unfolded his arms and walked over to his sister.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhat happened, Stace?\u201d he asked quietly, as he gave her shoulders a gentle, reassuring squeeze.<\/p>\n

Stacy haltingly gave her brother an account of what had transpired between their niece and nephew a few moments before, and of her own intervention.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor what it\u2019s worth, Little Sister, I think you did the right thing as far as Dio\u2019s concerned,\u201d Joe voiced his wholehearted agreement, punctuating his words with an emphatic nod of his head.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I d-did?\u00a0\u00a0 Then why am I<\/strong> crying?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe reached into the inside pocket of his green jacket and produced a clean handkerchief.\u00a0\u00a0 He placed the handkerchief in Stacy\u2019s hand, then slipped his own arms around her.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re probably crying because you love Dio very much, and you had to hurt her just now.\u00a0\u00a0 But, Stacy?\u201d<\/p>\n

She looked up into his face expectantly.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve got to stick to your guns on this one, because Dio not only loves YOU very much, but she also looks up to you,\u201d Joe continued in a gentle, yet firm tone.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cShe\u2019s got to know that you\u2019re not going to tolerate that kind of meanness.\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s not going to be easy, Kid, but then being the grown-up never is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI couldn\u2019t have said it better myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe and Stacy glanced up just as their father entered the tack room with an odd, bemused smile on his face.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cYes, Stacy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAm I in trouble?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben shook his head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAdam, Teresa, and I managed to piece together something of what happened after hearing what the kids had to say.\u00a0\u00a0 I just wanted to make sure YOU were all right, and let you know that we\u2019re all in agreement about you not giving Dio anymore riding lessons until she apologizes to Benjy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks . . . Both of You.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Stacy gave her brother an affectionate squeeze then stepped over and hugged Ben.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t feel very good about this whole thing, but I think I feel a little better.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019d best get ourselves into the house,\u201d Ben urged.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDinner\u2019ll be ready soon.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou two go ahead,\u201d Stacy said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI need to finish stabling Guinevere.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cSee you at the table, Little Sister,\u201d Joe said, before leaving in the company of his father.<\/p>\n

\u201cSon, you really amaze me sometimes,\u201d Ben said quietly, as they stepped together from the barn into the sunshine.<\/p>\n

Joe looked over at his father and grinned.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cOh?\u00a0\u00a0 How so, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything you said to Stacy just now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou heard?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben nodded.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI really meant it when I said that I couldn\u2019t have put it any better.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cSo.\u00a0\u00a0 Where DID you come by all those words of wisdom you just got through dispensing to your sister?\u201d Ben asked as he slipped a paternal arm about his youngest son\u2019s shoulders.<\/p>\n

\u201cEasy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Joe\u2019s smile broadened.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI just pretended I was YOU.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

The minute his father excused him from the dinner table, Benjy ran upstairs to fetch his book, then bolted outdoors in search of a tall shade tree under which he might sit and read for a little while.\u00a0\u00a0 He was gratified to learn that his parents, grandparents, even his uncles and the Chinese man, all agreed with Aunt Stacy\u2019s decision not to give Dio anymore riding lessons until she apologized to him for her meanness.\u00a0\u00a0 However, instead of blaming Aunt Stacy or the others, Dio blamed HIM.\u00a0\u00a0 She adamantly refused to speak to him, and throughout the entire noon meal, she directed the very worst angry glare that she could possibly summon, right at him.<\/p>\n

Benjy walked out past the barn toward that circle of trees, bearing a very strong resemblance to the woods in that horrible nightmare last night.\u00a0\u00a0 He paused just outside the circle and peered fearfully within.\u00a0\u00a0 The sun shone down through the overhead canopy of pine needles and branches in long rays of silver gray light, dappling the ground with spots reminiscent of a young fawn\u2019s coat.\u00a0 At the outer edges of the tree circle, deep, impenetrable shadows pooled in nooks, crannies, and crevices formed by tree roots and the uneven ground, lending the entire area within a sinister, forbidding air.<\/p>\n

Benjy swallowed, contemplating a quick return to his room to spend the afternoon reading there.<\/p>\n

\u201c \u2018Fraidy cat, \u2018fraidy cat!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

His sister\u2019s cruel, taunting words sounded once again in his ears, followed by a peal of mean laughter.<\/p>\n

\u201cBenjy\u2019s nothing but a big sissy, \u2018fraidy cat, crybaby.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI am NOT a \u2018fraidy cat!\u201d he muttered angrily, under his breath.\u00a0\u00a0 With book in hand and a sudden, steely determination, Benjy strode resolutely into the midst of the trees and sat down under the tallest ponderosa pine tree, forming the circle.\u00a0\u00a0 An eerie stillness descended upon him, as he settled himself on the ground, with his back against the tree.\u00a0\u00a0 With the stillness came a heavy, all pervading silence, not unlike what he experienced in the barn earlier.<\/p>\n

As he slowly opened his book, Benjy couldn\u2019t shake the uneasy, eerie feeling of someone watching . . . .<\/p>\n

Benjy gasped, nearly jumping clear out of his skin.\u00a0\u00a0 His book flew out of his hands and landed several yards from his feet, near the center of the circle.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWh-who\u2019s there?\u201d he demanded, his entire body trembling.<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry I scared ya.\u201d<\/p>\n

Benjy glanced up sharply, and found, much to his astonishment, a boy kneeling beside him, on his right.\u00a0\u00a0 Clad only in a pair of faded, worn overalls, he appeared to be slightly older, with a mop of unruly brown curls, a pale face, and hazel eyes, round and staring.<\/p>\n

\u201cI found your book.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTh-thank you,\u201d Benjy murmured in as steady a voice as he could muster.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou live around here?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I guess so.\u00a0\u00a0 You?\u201d<\/p>\n

Benjy shook his head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI live in Sacramento.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSacramento?!\u00a0\u00a0 Where\u2019s THAT?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCalifornia.\u201d<\/p>\n

The boy gave Benjy a bewildered look, then shook his head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIs it far away?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cKinda, I guess,\u201d Benjy replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt took my grandmother, my sister, and me a whole week to travel by stagecoach from Sacramento to Virginia City.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cI\u2019m visiting my grandfather, my uncles, and my aunt,\u201d he said as he marked his place and closed his book.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho\u2019s your grandfather?\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201c . . . Cartwright . . . Ben Cartwright . . . . \u201d the boy murmured softly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI . . . kinda remember the name . . . but, I don\u2019t remember his face.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHis real name\u2019s BENJAMIN, but most people call him Ben.\u00a0\u00a0 My name\u2019s Benjamin, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cReally?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 The boy smiled.<\/p>\n

Benjy smiled back and nodded his head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cEveryone pretty much calls me Benjy, though . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what folks call ME!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 The boy\u2019s smile broadened.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMy name\u2019s ALSO Benjamin.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHonest?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHonest!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBenjy?\u201d<\/p>\n

The other boy giggled.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYeah, Benjy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere do YOU live?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHere.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the Ponderosa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, here.\u00a0\u00a0 Ponderosa\u2019s over THAT way.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 The boy raised his right arm and pointed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThis here\u2019s— \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He frowned, trying to remember.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the Ponderosa,\u201d Benjy said, favoring the other boy with a bewildered frown.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMy grandpa, my two uncles, and my aunt live in that big log house on the other side of these trees, and the barn.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis AIN\u2019T the Ponderosa!\u201d the other Benjy insisted.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, it IS,\u201d Benjy argued.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, it ain\u2019t,\u201d the other boy declared heatedly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI tell ya Ponderosa\u2019s over there, yonder.\u00a0\u00a0 This here\u2019s my pa\u2019s land.\u00a0\u00a0 He even named it, but I . . . I can\u2019t remember.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can prove this is Ponderosa!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Benjy\u2019s own ire began to rise.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIf you go out beyond these trees you\u2019ll see the barn AND the house.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s OUR house!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, it\u2019s NOT your house!\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s my grandpa\u2019s house.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, Sport, who\u2019re you talking to?\u201d<\/p>\n

Benjy yelped, and whirled in his tracks.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He saw Uncle Joe, standing at the very edge of the tree circle.<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry I startled you, Benjy,\u201d Joe apologized as he stepped inside the circle.<\/p>\n

\u201c \u2018S ok, Uncle Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou all right?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I\u2019m all right now . . . I think . . . . \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Benjy closed his eyes and took a deep breath.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, who were you talking to?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA boy.\u00a0\u00a0 His name\u2019s Benjy, too, Uncle Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cReally?\u201d<\/p>\n

Benjy nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere\u2019d he go?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s right here!\u00a0\u00a0 Benjy, this is\u2014 \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Benjy Cartwright turned and found that his companion was gone.\u00a0\u00a0 He frowned.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t understand . . . he was just here a second ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe must\u2019ve been in a real big hurry to go,\u201d Joe remarked.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhen I stepped up to the outer edge of this tree circle just now, I only saw YOU.\u00a0\u00a0 No one else.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe WAS here, Uncle Joe,\u201d Benjy insisted.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHonest!\u00a0\u00a0 You heard us talking just now.\u00a0\u00a0 You even said so.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cActually . . . I only heard YOU talking, Benjy,\u201d Joe confessed.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou . . . you don\u2019t believe me, do you?\u201d\u00a0 Benjy queried in a sullen tone of voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow don\u2019t you go puttin\u2019 words in my mouth, Young Man,\u201d Joe admonished the boy.\u00a0\u00a0 His nephew\u2019s words and tone of voice had him feeling oddly on the defensive.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI never said that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry, Uncle Joe,\u201d the boy immediately apologized.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s just that when you said you didn\u2019t see or hear him . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust because I didn\u2019t see or hear him, doesn\u2019t mean he wasn\u2019t here,\u201d Joe explained in a kindlier tone.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cCould be this other Benjy\u2019s shy.\u00a0\u00a0 That would explain why he left so quick, and why I never heard him speak.\u00a0\u00a0 Sometimes people who are REALLY shy don\u2019t speak very loud.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess . . . . \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Benjy knew a few shy people himself, and knew his uncle spoke true.\u00a0\u00a0 The only flaw in Uncle Joe\u2019s explanation was that he and the other boy were in the midst of an argument, practically yelling at each other.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis other Benjy . . . he a new friend?\u201d<\/p>\n

Benjy thought the matter over for a moment.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He shrugged.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMaybe . . . I guess . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

Joe knew that about a dozen or so of the Ponderosa ranch hands had wives and families.\u00a0\u00a0 Among the ranch hands\u2019 children were about two or three boys around the same age as his nephew, but none of them were named Benjy.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMaybe the boy\u2019s somebody\u2019s visiting relative,\u201d<\/em> Joe silently mused.\u00a0\u00a0 Jacob and Ellen Cromwell were expecting a visit from her sister\u2019s boy, and Edgar Barnes\u2019 two nephews from St. Louis were staying with HIM for the summer.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBenjy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Uncle Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDoes your new friend have a last name?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe didn\u2019t say.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the whole, Joe was gratified by the prospect of Benjy having made the acquaintance of another boy his age.\u00a0\u00a0 His nephew\u2019s bookishness, stiff bearing, formal manners, and painful shyness, frankly worried him.\u00a0\u00a0 It relieved him to know that the boy had cultivated enough of the social graces to enable him to make friends.\u00a0\u00a0 Benjy\u2019s friendship with this OTHER Benjy would also provide him and his sister an opportunity to go their separate ways from time to time, easing some of the tension between them.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven so . . . I\u2019d STILL feel a whole heckuva lot better if I knew exactly who this other Benjy is,\u201d<\/em> Joe mused uneasily, in silence.<\/p>\n

\u201cUncle Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Benjy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you want me about something?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was a pretty rough set-to you and your sister had earlier,\u201d Joe said, fully sympathetic.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI saw her looking daggers at you across the table all through dinner.\u00a0\u00a0 I just wanted to check up on you, make sure you\u2019re all right.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m fine, Uncle Joe, thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe grinned.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cGood!\u00a0\u00a0 Unless you need or want me for anything, I\u2019ll let you get back to your book.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, Uncle Joe, for checking up on me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy pleasure, Sport.\u00a0\u00a0 We\u2019re family, after all, and that\u2019s what families do.\u00a0\u00a0 See ya later.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cIT\u2019S NOT FAIR!\u201d Dio angrily yelled at the four walls of the small spare room upstairs, her home away from home.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIT\u2019S NOT, IT\u2019S NOT, IT\u2019S NOT!\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 She stamped her foot, with the full weight of her growing rage and frustration.\u00a0\u00a0 The force of her foot striking wood floor set the windows and bric-a-brac rattling.\u00a0\u00a0 Her fury pushed her to the edge of tears.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not fair!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Dio murmured again, this time very softly, as she wiped her eyes and cheeks with angry disdain, using the heel of her hand.\u00a0\u00a0 Ma and Pa had promised her she could finally, at long last, learn to ride a horse when they came to spend the summer with Grandpa at the Ponderosa.\u00a0\u00a0 That was all the way back in September, when school started.\u00a0\u00a0 She had waited and waited for nearly a whole year.\u00a0\u00a0 Now, thanks to Benjy, she probably wouldn\u2019t get to learn at all.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s not fair!\u201d<\/p>\n

A soft knock on the door drew her from her angry musings.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cCome in,\u201d she sighed morosely.<\/p>\n

She was a little surprised to see Grandpa walk into the room.\u00a0\u00a0 She had half expected one or both of her parents, especially after that stern lecture from Pa about the dirty looks she had given Benjy throughout the entire noon meal.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s turned out to be such a beautiful afternoon, I thought I\u2019d take a buggy ride,\u201d Ben said, as he seated himself on the edge of the bed beside her.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWould you like to come?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know, Grandpa . . . . \u201d she replied, troubled and uncertain.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would sure beat keeping yourself cooped up inside all afternoon.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs Aunt Stacy coming, too?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cAunt Stacy, Uncle Joe, and Uncle Hoss are out racing Sun Dancer, getting him ready for the big Independence Day race next week.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her face fell.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cOh.\u00a0\u00a0 What about Benjy?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A dark, angry scowl deeply furrowed her brow when she spoke her brother\u2019s name.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore he left to race Sun Dancer, Uncle Joe told me that Benjy\u2019s sitting under a big shady tree somewhere, reading a book.\u00a0 It\u2019s just going to be you and me this time, Dio . . . if you want to come, that is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her face brightened.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cJust you and me, Grandpa?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cOk.\u00a0\u00a0 Can I drive the horses?\u00a0\u00a0 Please?\u00a0\u00a0 I know how.\u00a0\u00a0 Pa\u2019s been teaching me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t see why not, once we get out on the road,\u201d Ben replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cCome on, get your shoes on.\u00a0\u00a0 Before you know it, it\u2019s going to be supper time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dio quickly slipped on her shoes, then happily trotted out of the room alongside her grandfather.<\/p>\n

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

Outside, the buggy was hitched and waiting.\u00a0\u00a0 Ben lifted his granddaughter up and gently placed her in the passengers\u2019 seat, before climbing up into the driver\u2019s seat.\u00a0\u00a0 He backed the buggy away from the post to which it and the horse had been tethered, taking things slow and easy.\u00a0\u00a0 He half expected Dio to be impatiently bouncing off the sides of the buggy by the time he turned the horse and set out toward the road.\u00a0\u00a0 She almost certainly would have been had they made this trip yesterday.\u00a0\u00a0 Today, however, she sat quietly on the seat beside him, with her hands folded in her lap.<\/p>\n

\u201cGrandpa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Dio?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere are we going?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, I hadn\u2019t really given that much thought to where we might go,\u201d Ben replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIs there any place YOU\u2019D like to go?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCan we go watch Aunt Stacy, Uncle Joe, and Uncle Hoss race Sun Dancer?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben smiled.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWe sure can.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two of them rode in companionable silence until they reached the main road that led from the Ponderosa toward Virginia City.<\/p>\n

\u201cDio, if I were to make a wild guess, I\u2019d say you think a whole lot of Aunt Stacy,\u201d Ben remarked casually.<\/p>\n

Dio smiled.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI love Aunt Stacy the most in the whole wide world,\u201d she declared, her voice carrying a glimmer of the boundless enthusiasm she usually displayed for the people she loved most, and the things of greatest interest.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAfter Ma and Pa, and you, Grandma, and my other grandpa, that is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAunt Stacy loves YOU very much, too, Dio.\u201d<\/p>\n

The sparkle in her eyes dimmed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t think she does, Grandpa,\u201d Dio said in a quiet, solemn tone of voice.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNot anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben glanced over at Dio his face a caricatured mask of pure, unadulterated astonishment.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhat makes you say that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe said she\u2019s not going to give me any more riding lessons,\u201d Dio said dejectedly, her eyes dropped away from Ben\u2019s face to her small hands, resting in her lap, with fingers interlaced.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid she say why?\u201d<\/p>\n

Dio frowned.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cShe said I had to tell Benjy I was sorry for what I said, but I\u2019m not, Grandpa, I\u2019m NOT!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 She glanced up sharply, her lips thinned with anger, and her lower jaw set with the same fierce, stubborn determination Ben had seen many, many times in the faces of his own children, particularly this child\u2019s father.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see,\u201d Ben murmured softly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDid Aunt Stacy tell you WHY you have to apologize to Benjy?\u201d<\/p>\n

Dio sighed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s because I said he was a big sissy, \u2018fraidy cat, crybaby.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThose weren\u2019t very nice things to say.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know, Grandpa,\u201d Dio said contritely, \u201cbut Benjy made me look stupid in front of Aunt Stacy, just because I said CAN I, instead of MAY I.\u201d<\/p>\n

Benjy the smart, studious one, whose idea of a good time was to while away the hours of a lazy afternoon with his nose buried deep in a good book . . . and Dio, a young bundle of high energy and even higher spirits, who would far rather be outdoors, running and playing!\u00a0\u00a0 They reminded Ben so much of Adam and Joe at their respective ages, it was almost frightening.\u00a0\u00a0 Unfortunately, their closeness in age, four years as compared to the twelve between their father and uncle, meant that the two children found themselves thrown together a lot more often.\u00a0\u00a0 Worse, and perhaps even more important, Benjy and Dio had no peacemaker in the middle, as had Adam and Joe.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaking you look and feel stupid in front of Aunt Stacy wasn\u2019t very nice either,\u201d Ben agreed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBenjy probably didn\u2019t even realize he was doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou mean it was like an accident?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, that\u2019s exactly what I mean.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Dio silently digested the import of her grandfather\u2019s words.\u00a0\u00a0 At length, she looked up.\u00a0\u00a0 A lot of the angry, stubborn, defiance, so palpable a scant moment ago, had vanished.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cGrandpa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Dio?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe things I said to Benjy WEREN\u2019T like an accident,\u201d she confessed ruefully.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI said those things on purpose.\u00a0\u00a0 I guess, maybe I SHOULD tell Benjy I\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will when we get back, Grandpa.\u00a0\u00a0 I promise,\u201d Dio said, with a determined nod of her head for emphasis.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cCan I have my next riding lesson again tomorrow?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben smiled.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ll have to ask Aunt Stacy THAT question, but between you and me?\u00a0\u00a0 I think she\u2019ll probably say yes.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Chapter 4<\/p>\n

\u201cON YOUR MARK . . . GET SET . . . GO!\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0 Candy shouted, firing the starting gun on \u2018go.\u2019<\/p>\n

Susannah O\u2019Brien and her older brother, Jason, stood side by side on the rocky promontory overlooking the road, watching the race unfold between Joe Cartwright on that magnificent black and her friend, Stacy, riding the golden palomino.\u00a0\u00a0 They lived with their father, Houston, and older sister, Crystal McShane, both widowed, along with Crystal\u2019s young sons, Robert and Carey, on their own spread, the Shoshone Queen, named for their mother, a full blooded Shoshone, who had died many years ago, when Susannah was a baby.\u00a0\u00a0 The O\u2019Briens\u2019 ranch was located a few miles south of Virginia City and the Ponderosa.<\/p>\n

\u201cSusannah?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, Jason?\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cShe who?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe . . . HER!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Jason, much to her shocked amazement, pointed down toward Stacy and the palomino.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWho is SHE?\u201d<\/p>\n

His question prompted a wry roll of the eyes heavenward.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHonestly, Jason . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

Jason frowned.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou really . . . honest \u2018n truly . . . DON\u2019T know who she is?!\u201d Susannah exclaimed, incredulous.\u00a0\u00a0 He had to be pulling her leg.<\/p>\n

Jason shook his head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIs she a relative of the Cartwrights?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes . . . you COULD say that she\u2019s a . . . relative of the Cartwrights . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

Jason\u2019s face fell.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cOh no!\u00a0\u00a0 She\u2019s not ADAM\u2019S wife . . . is she?\u00a0\u00a0 Pa said Adam and his family were visiting . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

Susannah immediately shook her head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAre you kidding?\u00a0\u00a0 Adam\u2019s wife is OLD, for heaven\u2019s sake.\u00a0\u00a0 Why I\u2019ll betcha she\u2019s every bit as old as CRYSTAL, if she\u2019s a day . . . maybe even OLDER!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure glad to hear that,\u201d Jason declared with a smile, as he turned again to watch the young woman riding the golden palomino stallion.<\/p>\n

\u201cJason . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNOW what?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou really DON\u2019T know her, do you?\u201d Susannah queried, as a devilish smile spread slowly across her lips.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I\u2019d met a beautiful woman like her, who could ride a horse like that, I\u2019d NEVER forget her, not in a million years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Susannah griped the reins of her horse tightly in both hands to keep from rubbing them together in devilish, villainous glee.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll introduce you, if you\u2019d like,\u201d she offered, taking care to keep her tone neutral.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou KNOW her?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUm hmm,\u201d Susannah replied, nodding her head.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d Jason said.\u00a0\u00a0 His entire face glowed with an inner light.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI WOULD like you to introduce me.\u00a0\u00a0 When?\u201d<\/p>\n

The joyous anticipation she saw mirrored in her brother\u2019s face gave her pause.\u00a0\u00a0 For one brief, insane moment she wavered on the edge of making a full confession as to the identity of his beautiful mystery woman.\u00a0\u00a0 The moment quickly passed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHow about NOW?\u201d she queried, in a tone of voice a touch too solemn.<\/p>\n

\u201cN-Now . . . as in . . . r-right now?!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy not, Jason?\u00a0\u00a0 There\u2019s no time like the present, after all . . . . \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 With that, she gently urged her mount down the narrow path, leading to the road below.<\/p>\n

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

Ben, meanwhile, spotted his older sons, Adam and Hoss, up ahead, seated atop their mounts, Sport II and Chubb, respectively.\u00a0\u00a0 Both horses stood quietly well off the road as Bonnie Prince Charlie and Sun Dancer thundered toward them, drawing closer and closer, with each passing second.<\/p>\n

\u201cDio, you\u2019d better let ME take the reins now,\u201d Ben said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOk, Grandpa,\u201d Dio acquiesced.\u00a0\u00a0 She quickly brought the two horses pulling their buggy to a halt, then passed the reins to her grandfather.<\/p>\n

Ben immediately moved the buggy off the road, drawing up alongside Adam and Hoss a few minutes later.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa, if I didn\u2019t know better, I\u2019d say that Sun Dancer had just sprouted wings and was flying,\u201d Adam said, astonished and awed.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow can you be so sure he AIN\u2019T flyin\u2019, Adam?\u201d Hoss queried with a smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be perfectly honest, Big Brother, I\u2019m NOT sure,\u201d Adam retorted with a smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re comin\u2019 down the last stretch, Pa . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

Ben set the brake, and rose, shielding his eyes against the bright sun.\u00a0\u00a0 He could see Stacy and Sun Dancer pulling ahead of Joe and Bonnie Prince.<\/p>\n

\u201cGrandpa, I can\u2019t see!\u201d Dio wailed in complete and utter dismay.<\/p>\n

Adam glanced down, noticing his daughter\u2019s presence for the first time.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhy don\u2019t you come up here and sit with me, Princess?\u201d he invited, patting the saddle in front of him.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ll be able to see everything from up here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCan I, Pa?\u201d Dio ventured, suddenly shy.<\/p>\n

Adam smiled and held out both hands.<\/p>\n

Ben lifted his granddaughter and handed over into her father\u2019s waiting arms.\u00a0\u00a0 Adam placed Dio on the saddle in front of him, then returned his attention to the race at hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cCOME ON, AUNT STACY!\u201d\u00a0 Dio shouted, her dark eyes glowing with excitement.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cCOME ON, SUN DANCER!\u201d<\/p>\n

Stacy and Sun Dancer led by two and a half lengths over Joe and Bonnie Prince Charlie, slowly, inexorably stretching to three, then three and a half.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa, Sun Dancer really IS flying!\u201d Adam declared as the lead stretched to four, then five lengths.<\/p>\n

\u201cSun Dancer\u2019s gonna leave Blake Wilson\u2019s General Ulysses eatin\u2019 his dust, that\u2019s for dadburn sure,\u201d Hoss declared with a proud smile.<\/p>\n

Joe nudged Bonnie Prince Charlie to run faster.\u00a0\u00a0 With his mouth and jaw both set with grim determination, he began to close the lead, down from four and a half lengths, to four, then three.<\/p>\n

\u201cCOME ON, AUNT STACY!\u201d\u00a0 Dio shouted.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cCOME ON, SUN DANCER!\u00a0\u00a0 YOU CAN DO IT!\u00a0\u00a0 YOU CAN BEAT \u2018EM!\u201d<\/p>\n

Stacy nudged Sun Dancer to pour on his top speed.\u00a0\u00a0 He easily regained the ground lost and increased to five and a half, five and three quarters, six lengths, then seven.\u00a0\u00a0 He finally passed Hoss nearly eight lengths ahead of Bonnie Prince Charlie.<\/p>\n

\u201cYAY!\u00a0\u00a0 AUNT STACY WON!\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0 Dio cheered.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAUNT STACY WON!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cShe and Sun Dancer sure did, Dio!\u201d Ben said, grinning from ear-to-ear with healthy doses of parental pride and the eager, almost childlike anticipation of his own competitive nature.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI can\u2019t wait to see Blake Wilson\u2019s face when Stacy and Sun Dancer cross that finish line miles ahead of Matt on General Ulysses.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGrandpa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Dio?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAren\u2019t Uncle Joe and Aunt Stacy coming back here?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Ben shook his head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSun Dancer and Bonnie Prince Charlie need to cool down after running so fast.\u00a0\u00a0 Aunt Stacy and Uncle Joe are going to let the horses cool down on their way back home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPrincess?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou and I can catch up to \u2018em on Sport here, if you wish,\u201d Adam offered.<\/p>\n

Dio thought the matter over, then shook her head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019d better not, Pa, \u2018cause I need to talk to YOU.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, Pa, we got company!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Hoss inclined his head toward two approaching riders, a tall, muscular young man a few years younger than Joe, and a young woman the same age as Stacy.\u00a0\u00a0 Both sat tall in the saddle, with a natural, straight, almost regal posture.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cLooks like Susannah \u2018n Jason.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJason?\u201d Ben queried with a raised eyebrow.<\/p>\n

Hoss nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know he\u2019d arrived home for the summer,\u201d Ben mused thoughtfully.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he was due in a day or two before Mrs. di Cordova came with Benjy \u2018n Dio,\u201d Hoss said.<\/p>\n

Adam turned and stared, his dark eyes round with surprise.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cTHAT\u2019S Susannah and Jason O\u2019Brien?!\u201d he echoed, incredulous.<\/p>\n

\u201cYep!\u201d Hoss nodded.<\/p>\n

Adam shook his head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cLast time I saw Jason, he couldn\u2019t been much older than Benjy is now, and Susannah . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTime flies when you\u2019re having fun, Adam,\u201d Ben teased.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo it would seem . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHi, Mister Cartwright . . . Hoss!\u201d Susannah greeted the Cartwright clan patriarch and his biggest son cheerfully, with a bright smile.\u00a0\u00a0 She turned toward the eldest of the Cartwright offspring and studied him for a long moment.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAdam?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAt your service, Susannah,\u201d Adam replied with a wry smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cI must say you\u2019ve filled out quite nicely,\u201d Susannah quipped without missing a beat.\u00a0\u00a0 Her eyes strayed pointedly toward Adam\u2019s girth.<\/p>\n

\u201cSusannah, manners!\u201d Jason admonished his younger sister with a smile.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHi, Mister Cartwright . . . Hoss.\u00a0\u00a0 Good seeing YOU again, Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood seeing you, too, Jason,\u201d Adam responded with a wry smile.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s a shame I can\u2019t say the same about your sister.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWould you rather I had remarked on how well you had AGED?\u201d Susannah retorted playfully.<\/p>\n

Jason, meanwhile, turned to Dio and smiled.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWho\u2019s THIS beautiful young lady?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy name\u2019s Dolores Elizabeth Cartwright,\u201d Dio politely introduced herself.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou can call me Dio.\u00a0\u00a0 That\u2019s what everybody else calls me.\u00a0\u00a0 Adam Cartwright\u2019s my pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPleased to meet you, Dio.\u00a0\u00a0 My name is Jason O\u2019Brien, and this is my sister, Susannah.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou admit it, Jason?\u201d Adam teased, drawing a dark glare from Susannah.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you two Indians?\u201d Dio asked.<\/p>\n

Jason smiled.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cOur ma was a Shoshone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWas she a chief?\u201d Dio asked, awed by the prospect of having just met a couple of real live, honest-to-goodness Indians.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Jason replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cOur mother wasn\u2019t a chief, but her father and grandfather were.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJason . . . Susannah, would you like to come back to the house?\u201d Ben invited.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHop Sing baked up a big batch of chocolate chip cookies early this morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019d LOVE to!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 The O\u2019Briens immediately chorused in unison.<\/p>\n

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

Joe Cartwright finished brushing Bonnie Prince Charlie\u2019s glossy black coat, then rubbed his long muzzle affectionately.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou did good today, Your Highness, you did REAL good!\u00a0\u00a0 Time now to mosey on over to your stall for a well de\u2014\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Hey!\u201d<\/p>\n

Stacy, in the midst of brushing Sun Dancer, glanced up sharply.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s the matter with YOU, Grandpa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHis Highness here won\u2019t go into his stall,\u201d Joe said, mystified.<\/p>\n

Stacy frowned.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBeats me!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Joe led the magnificent black gelding over to the nearest support beam and tethered his lead.\u00a0\u00a0 He, then, returned to the stall and began to gingerly poke around through the straw covering the floor.<\/p>\n

\u201cFind anything?\u201d Stacy asked, as Joe stepped out of the stall.<\/p>\n

\u201cNope!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Joe shrugged and shook his head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s a little chilly over here, though.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh?\u201d Stacy looked over at her brother askance.<\/p>\n

\u201cProbably just a draft through a small mouse hole.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Joe shrugged it off.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAfter all that running around he just got through doing, I think I\u2019ll put him in the empty stall over here, next to Blaze Face.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stacy finished brushing Sun Dancer and lead him to his own stall.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wonder what\u2019s keeping Pa and the others?\u201d Joe mused aloud as he and Stacy set themselves to the task of giving all the horses fresh hay and changing their water.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThey should\u2019ve been back by now.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cPa, I\u2019m going to tell Benjy I\u2019m sorry,\u201d Dio told her father, as they set off together on Sport II, ahead of the others.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very happy to hear you say that,\u201d Adam said, with all sincerity.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMay I ask you a question?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOk,\u201d Dio replied with an indifferent shrug.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat made you change your mind?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGrandpa and I talked about it,\u201d Dio replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHe told me that Benjy probably didn\u2019t know he was being so mean.\u00a0\u00a0 Like an accident.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHmm.\u00a0\u00a0 Your grandpa could be right about that,\u201d Adam readily agreed.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, I WAS trying to be mean, Pa,\u201d Dio continued,\u00a0 \u201c \u2018cause I thought BENJY was being mean.\u00a0\u00a0 That\u2019s why I have to tell him I\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can do that when we get back to the house,\u201d Adam said, making a mental note to speak to Benjy about this business of correcting his sister\u2019s grammar, or anything else for that matter, in front of other people, especially in front of someone Dio admired.\u00a0\u00a0 Benjy owed his sister an apology as well.<\/p>\n

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

Joe and Stacy stepped from the barn into the waning late afternoon sunshine, just as Adam and Dio rounded the back corner of the barn and turned into the yard.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s about time the lot of you got back here, Oldest Brother,\u201d Joe greeted Adam with an amused grin.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe got way laid by neighbors,\u201d Adam replied, as he brought Sport II to a stop.\u00a0\u00a0 Stacy quietly moved forward to take the reins while Adam dismounted, then turned to help his daughter down.\u00a0\u00a0 Dio immediately set off in search of her brother.<\/p>\n

\u201cWay laid by neighbors, eh?\u201d Joe echoed, favoring his oldest brother with an amused grin.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhich neighbors?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe O\u2019Briens . . . Jason and Susannah,\u201d Adam replied, taking the reins back from his sister.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWord to the wise!\u00a0\u00a0 Watch out for Susannah!\u00a0\u00a0 That young warrior princess has the tongue of an adder.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben drove the buggy into the yard a few moments later, with Susannah O\u2019Brien riding beside him.\u00a0\u00a0 Her horse, Star Fire, was tethered to the back.\u00a0\u00a0 Jason and Hoss followed behind.\u00a0\u00a0 Jacob Cromwell, with Mitch Cranston and Charlie Osbourne in tow, came to unhitch the buggy and stable the horses.<\/p>\n

Susannah, meanwhile, had jumped down from the buggy, and within seconds caught her friend, Stacy, up in a big bear hug, that was returned with equal affection and enthusiasm.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought I wasn\u2019t going to see you until the race next week,\u201d Stacy said smiling.<\/p>\n

\u201cJason and I saw Sun Dancer out on the road,\u201d Susannah said, returning her friend\u2019s smile.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s gonna be out, around the tree, and back before Mister Wilson\u2019s General Ulysses takes two steps!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what Hoss says!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019D give you a good run for your money on our Comstock King, but Crystal won\u2019t let me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause SHE insists on riding Comstock King herself,\u201d Susannah replied with a melancholy sigh, then brightened.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019d better watch out, too, \u2018cause Crystal\u2019s out to win.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell you can tell her for me, that Sun Dancer and I are out to win, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI will,\u201d Susannah eagerly promised.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIn the meantime, I have someone with me who wants very much to meet you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou do?!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Stacy scanned the faces in front of her with a frown.\u00a0\u00a0 Pa, Hoss, Joe, and Jason . . . she knew them all.<\/p>\n

Susannah took Stacy by the hand and marched over to where Jason stood talking with Hoss and Ben.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cJason, this is the young woman you asked to meet?\u201d<\/p>\n

Jason glanced up, favoring Stacy with a warm smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cJason, I\u2019d like you to meet Stacy Cartwright,\u201d she said with a deliciously evil grin.\u00a0\u00a0 Her eyes danced and gleamed with impish delight.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cStacy, I think YOU, ummm . . . RECOGNIZE . . .\u00a0 my brother, Jason?\u201d<\/p>\n

The warm smile quickly changed to one of shocked astonishment, coupled with openly frank admiration.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSt-Stacy?!\u00a0\u00a0 I . . . I . . . you . . . . \u201d Jason stammered.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhen . . . when did y-you . . . . ?!?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m pleased to meet you, too, Jason,\u201d Stacy wryly acknowledged Susannah\u2019s introduction with an amused smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I left f-for college . . . y-you . . . you were . . . you were just a KID!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 A skinny kid, all arms and legs, who had just sprouted to her present height.\u00a0\u00a0 That growth spurt had accentuated her thinness.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cN-Now . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow you come home a couple of years later and you don\u2019t even recognize me.\u00a0\u00a0 Tell you the truth, I don\u2019t know whether I should be flattered or insulted,\u201d Stacy said, as she took him gently by the arm and steered him toward the house.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile you\u2019re thinking THAT one over, I\u2019M going to think over how I\u2019m gonna kill my sister,\u201d Jason vowed, directing a baleful glare at his mischievous younger sister.<\/p>\n

Susannah flashed Jason a smug cat-that-ate-the-cream grin and thumbed her nose for extra measure.\u00a0\u00a0 Jason retaliated by sticking out his tongue.<\/p>\n

\u201cSusannah, I don\u2019t believe this business of introducing Jason to Stacy,\u201d Joe said, smiling, as he fell in step beside her.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHe honestly didn\u2019t recognize her?\u00a0\u00a0 At all?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNope.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHas anyone ever told you that you have a delightfully evil mind?<\/p>\n

\u201cNot in so many words and definitely not as a compliment,\u201d Susannah retorted, grinning from ear-to-ear.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam quietly followed Joe and Susannah into the house, while Ben and Hoss, moving a bit slower than the rest brought up the rear.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cWhat is it, Hoss?\u201d<\/p>\n

The gentle giant looked over at his father, smiling.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cKinda looks like ol\u2019 Jason\u2019s really smitten with our gal, don\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt sure does,\u201d Ben was forced to agree, if grudgingly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt sure as shootin\u2019 does!\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cBenjy?\u00a0\u00a0 Benjy, are you in here?\u201d Dio called out as she entered the barn.\u00a0\u00a0 She had already searched the house, the yard, even the corral for her brother, but had thus far come up empty handed.\u00a0\u00a0 She asked Grandma and Hop Sing, but neither one of them seemed to know where Benjy was.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember Uncle Joe saying that Benjy was out sitting under a tree reading his book,\u201d Ma had said when Dio asked her.<\/p>\n

The closest strand of trees, however, were those real big ones out behind the barn.\u00a0\u00a0 Yesterday, when she and Aunt Stacy rode past there, she noticed at once how dark it appeared within that rough circle formed by those trees.\u00a0\u00a0 She also remembered Aunt Stacy and Blaze Face giving that whole area a wide, respectful berth.\u00a0\u00a0 Dio fervently hoped and prayed that Benjy would turn up in the barn, however ridiculous that notion may be.<\/p>\n

\u201cBenjy?\u201d\u00a0 Dio poked her head into the tack room.\u00a0\u00a0 She saw all the saddles placed on their blocks, bridles and halters neatly hanging from their proper hooks on the opposite wall, the horse blankets folded and stacked on a long shelf stretching the entire length of the wall into which the door opened.\u00a0\u00a0 But there was no sign at all of Benjy.<\/p>\n

Dio turned and moved through the main portion of the barn, where the horses were stabled.\u00a0\u00a0 She recognized Blaze Face, Chubb, Cochise, Buck, her pa\u2019s favorite, Sport II, Gentleman Jim, and of course, Guinevere and Sun Dancer.\u00a0\u00a0 The horses her grandfather used to pull the buckboard, and buggy were also stabled, as was the black horse who lost that race to Sun Dancer a short while ago.\u00a0\u00a0 Bonnie Prince, everyone called him.\u00a0\u00a0 Dio frowned, upon realizing that the black horse wasn\u2019t in his usual stall.\u00a0\u00a0 She glanced down at the end of the row, and discovered, much to her surprise, that Bonnie Prince\u2019s stall was empty.\u00a0\u00a0 Curious, she walked over to investigate.<\/p>\n

The closer Dio drew to Bonnie Prince Charlie\u2019s empty stall, the colder it seemed to be.\u00a0\u00a0 She was shivering by the time she reached the stall.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cTh-this is c-crazy!\u201d she grumbled under her breath, her teeth chattering.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s SWELTERING outside!\u201d<\/p>\n

She walked up to the stall entrance, and peered inside.\u00a0\u00a0 There was clean straw on the floor for bedding and fresh hay to eat.\u00a0\u00a0 Folding her arms tightly across her chest she entered the stall and peered into the water trough.\u00a0\u00a0 The water was clean and clear, evidence that it had been recently changed, as well.\u00a0\u00a0 Why had the Bonnie Prince been moved to that stall next to Blaze Face?\u00a0\u00a0 Was it because of this strange cold?<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are YOU doing here?\u201d a voice, as ice cold as the air around Bonnie Prince Charlie\u2019s empty stall, demanded.<\/p>\n

Dio started, and whirled in her tracks.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBenjy Cartwright!\u201d she said angrily.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou scared me to\u2014 \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 She gasped.\u00a0\u00a0 There was no one there.\u00a0\u00a0 She stood, as if rooted to the spot, staring wide eyed and open mouthed, all the while vigorously rubbing her exposed forearms.<\/p>\n

\u201cGet out!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 This time, the voice came from inside the stall.<\/p>\n

Dio nearly jumped right out of her skin.\u00a0\u00a0 She turned again, with heart slamming hard against her rib cage.\u00a0\u00a0 The stall was empty.\u00a0\u00a0 She automatically took a step backward, then another, away from Bonnie Prince Charlie\u2019s stall.<\/p>\n

She heard the sound of a child\u2019s laughter, soft at first, like the sound of water moving over a rocky bed.\u00a0\u00a0 There was no joy in this laughter, no sense of fun or play.\u00a0\u00a0 It was very much like Johnny Whitman\u2019s laugh the day he slowly tortured to death a baby bird that had fallen from its nest during morning recess.\u00a0\u00a0 It seemed to be coming from behind her.<\/p>\n

\u201cB-Benjy?\u201d Dio murmured her brother\u2019s name, as she turned slowly, still shivering.\u00a0\u00a0 There was no one there.\u00a0\u00a0 Except for the horses, who were beginning to grow a little edgy themselves, she was alone.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBENJY, WHERE ARE YOU?\u201d\u00a0 Dio shouted, her eyes darting from pillar to post, in manner not unlike those of a trapped wild animal.<\/p>\n

The laughter slowly, steadily rose in volume.\u00a0\u00a0 It seemed to be coming from Bonnie Prince Charlie\u2019s stall one minute, then from behind her the next.\u00a0\u00a0 The two horses that had pulled the buggy for herself and her grandpa, snorted softly as they began to restlessly move as allowed by the confines of their stalls, flanking either side of the Bonnie Prince\u2019s empty one.<\/p>\n

\u201cBENJY, STOP IT!\u201d\u00a0 Dio screamed, her wide staring eyes and pallid complexion mirroring the terror now mushrooming by leaps and bounds within her.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYOU STOP IT RIGHT NOW, OR . . . OR I\u2019LL TELL MA AND PA!\u201d<\/p>\n

The laughter grew and swelled, until it seemed to be coming from everywhere in the barn all at once.<\/p>\n

\u201cStop it, Benjy!\u201d the voice cruelly mimicked her own.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cStop it right now, or I\u2019ll tell Ma and Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the horses, Grandpa had used to pull the buggy, began to kick at the fast closed lower door that kept him confined within the enclosure of his stall.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cochise whinnied back nervously, as did Chubb.<\/p>\n

\u201cBENJY, STOP IT!\u00a0\u00a0 IT\u2019S NOT FUNNY!\u201d\u00a0 Dio yelled, on the verge of tears.<\/p>\n

\u201cNOW who\u2019s the big sissy, \u2018fraidy cat, crybaby?\u201d the voice sneered.<\/p>\n

Dio abruptly turned heel and bolted for the open door.\u00a0\u00a0 She had scarcely gone half a dozen steps when the barn door hinges began to squeak and groan.\u00a0\u00a0 She froze.\u00a0\u00a0 The barn door shuddered, then began to move, very slowly, of its own volition.\u00a0\u00a0 Dio tried to move, to run, but her legs remained immobile, as if she had just taken root.\u00a0\u00a0 All she could do was stand there and watch helplessly, with mounting horror, as the dark shadows in the barn slowly but surely swallowed up her only means of escape.<\/p>\n

The mocking, derisive laughter grew louder, and louder.\u00a0\u00a0 Cochise, Buck, even the gentle, easy-going Guinevere began to kick against the confines of their own stalls.\u00a0\u00a0 Dio\u2019s surroundings blurred and dissolved under a watery sheen of tears, and her desperate pleas quickly degenerated to unintelligible screams, intensely primal, more bestial than human.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cI\u2019ll be working for Pa and Crystal for the rest of the summer and on into the fall, until after our cattle drive is over,\u201d Jason said, as he reached for another chocolate chip cookie.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThey\u2019ve decided to pay me wages, most of which I\u2019m putting aside so I can go back and complete my education.\u00a0\u00a0 After the round up\u2019s over, I\u2019ll be working at the post office in town\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

Suddenly, Stacy, sandwiched between Jason and her brother, Joe, on the settee gasped.\u00a0\u00a0 Her entire body went rigid.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah . . . . \u201d Joe murmured softly, his own posture straightening.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSomething\u2019s wrong!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDio!\u201d Adam and Teresa gasped in unison, as they exchanged uneasy glances.<\/p>\n

\u201cCome on!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Hoss moved out from his place behind the red, leather chair, occupied by Dolores di Cordova, and barreled across the room toward the front door with surprising speed and agility given a man of his height and mass.\u00a0\u00a0 Stacy and Joe immediately leapt to their feet and ran after their biggest brother as fast as their legs could carry them.<\/p>\n

\u201cStay here!\u201d Adam said to his wife, his voice terse with urgency.\u00a0\u00a0 He followed on the heels of his two youngest siblings.<\/p>\n

\u201cBen?\u00a0\u00a0 I . . . don\u2019t understand . . . . \u201d Dolores shook her head, trying to make sense of the Cartwright offspring\u2019s\u2019 sudden departure.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomething\u2019s . . . going on with our horses,\u201d Ben replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHoss, Joe, and Stacy have developed something of a sixth sense when it comes to their own, and mine, too . . . and from the way Adam and Teresa are acting, it would appear that Dio\u2019s right in the middle of it.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He slowly rose from his place in the blue chair.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cPlease excuse me.\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019d better go lend them a hand.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMister Cartwright, if you can use an extra hand, I\u2019m volunteering,\u201d Jason offered.<\/p>\n

\u201cMe, too, Mister Cartwright,\u201d Susannah chimed in.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you,\u201d Ben said gratefully.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll take all the help I can get.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

The instant Hoss set foot outside, his sharp ears picked up the percussive pounding of hooves against wood stalls, and something else.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDio!\u201d he whispered, in shocked astonishment.\u00a0\u00a0 With mouth and chin grimly set, he redoubled he speed, reaching the closed door in seconds.<\/p>\n

\u201cDIO!?\u00a0\u00a0 DIO, IT\u2019S UNCLE HOSS!\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019LL HAVE YA OUTTA THERE IN A JIFFY!\u201d\u00a0 he shouted at the top of his lungs, to make himself heard over the rising din of his young niece\u2019s near hysterical screaming and panicked horses beating against the confines of their stalls with their hooves.\u00a0\u00a0 He seized hold of the handle and pulled.\u00a0\u00a0 Much to his surprise and consternation, the door wouldn\u2019t budge so much as a fraction of an inch.\u00a0\u00a0 He pulled again, and again.\u00a0\u00a0 The door remained firmly in place.<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss, what\u2019s the matter?\u201d Joe demanded tersely, as he and Stacy reached the barn door.<\/p>\n

\u201cDadburn it!\u00a0\u00a0 I can\u2019t get this door open,\u201d Hoss replied, his voice filled with astonishment and dread.\u00a0\u00a0 He wrapped the fingers of his other hand tightly around the handle and pulled again.<\/p>\n

\u201cCome on, Hoss, get your back into it!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI AM, Li\u2019l Brother,\u201d Hoss said defensively, as he continued to tug with all his might.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs there something we can use as a lever?\u201d Joe mused aloud, his eyes casting about the ground surrounding him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere!\u201d Stacy said tersely, pointing.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Lying just on the ground, just inside the corral fence was a good stout tree branch.\u00a0\u00a0 She bent down, retrieved it, then turned and ran back toward her brothers all in the same quick, fluid movement.<\/p>\n

Joe gratefully nodded his thanks as he accepted the tree limb from his sister.\u00a0 Hoss\u2019 straining and pulling succeeded in moving the door nearly half an inch.\u00a0\u00a0 Joe jammed the narrowest end of the branch into the small crack and pushed with all his might, trying to help Hoss widen that opening.<\/p>\n

\u201cStacy, what\u2019s going on?\u201d Ben demanded tersely, upon reaching his three younger children.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe barn door\u2019s stuck, Pa\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben looked over at his daughter askance.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhat do you mean that door\u2019s stuck?!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss and Joe both have been pushing and pulling for all they\u2019re worth, but that\u2019s as far as they\u2019ve been able to get it open.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam reached his father and younger siblings an instant later.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cPa . . . Stacy, what\u2019s\u2014\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Suddenly, he froze as his own ears zeroed in on his daughter\u2019s terrified screams.\u00a0\u00a0 Both Ben and Stacy saw the blood drain right out of his face, leaving his complexion an ashen gray.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cOh my God!\u00a0\u00a0 Dio!\u201d<\/p>\n

Three giant steps brought Adam alongside his youngest brother, still laboring frantically to help Hoss widen the opening.\u00a0\u00a0 With a fierce scowl on his face, his mouth set in a thin, determined, angry line, he shoved Joe aside with a hard, powerful thrust of his arm.<\/p>\n

The branch fell out of Joe\u2019s hands, landing on the ground behind him with a dull thud.\u00a0\u00a0 Joe suddenly found himself stumbling backward.\u00a0\u00a0 He frantically waved his hands in ever widening circles, fighting desperately to regain his balance, to no avail.\u00a0\u00a0 His right heel smacked up against the fallen tree branch, bringing him down hard on his backside.<\/p>\n

Adam, meanwhile, wrapped his large hands and long fingers around the edge of the door handle, grasping hold as hard as he possibly could.\u00a0\u00a0 Gritting his teeth, he dug his heels firmly in the surrounding earth and pulled, throwing the entire weight of his body into the move.\u00a0\u00a0 Suddenly, the door opened with enough force to send both Adam and Hoss toppling to the ground.<\/p>\n

Dio, blinded by tears and hysteria, bolted from the barn, screaming.\u00a0\u00a0 Adam scrambled to his feet and set off after her at a dead run.<\/p>\n

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

Ben Cartwright charged into the barn, with Joe and Stacy following close at his heels.\u00a0\u00a0 Jason and Susannah O\u2019Brien ran behind the two youngest Cartwrights, with Hoss bringing up the rear.\u00a0\u00a0 Susannah, almost without thinking, turned and ran toward the door leading out to the corral, and threw it wide open.\u00a0\u00a0 Stacy and Joe quickly released their own mounts, Blaze Face and Cochise, from their stalls and herded them toward the door that would take them to the corral beyond.\u00a0\u00a0 While Stacy next turned her attention to Bonnie Prince Charlie, in the stable next to Blaze Face, Ben released Buck and Sun Dancer.\u00a0\u00a0 Jason ran to the stalls holding Guinevere and Gentleman Jim, while Hoss released Chubb and Sport II from their stalls.\u00a0\u00a0 Hoss and Jason then moved to release the horses, used to draw the Cartwrights\u2019 buckboard and buggy.<\/p>\n

The instant the horses reached the corral, they bolted toward the end farthest away from the barn.\u00a0\u00a0 There, they quickly began to calm down.<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss, it\u2019s . . . it\u2019s FREEZING in here!\u201d Jason declared, as he and Hoss moved away from the stalls holding the draw horses.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI can almost see my breath.\u201d<\/p>\n

An astonished, puzzled frown creased Hoss\u2019 brow upon realizing that Jason was absolutely right.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt shouldn\u2019t ought t\u2019 be THIS cold, dadburn it!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI admit it\u2019s a little strange,\u201d Jason agreed as he vigorously rubbed his forearms.<\/p>\n

\u201cJason . . . Susannah, thank you very much for your help,\u201d Ben said, favoring them with a grateful, if weary smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cSure thing, Mister Cartwright,\u201d Susannah returned his smile with an equally weary one of her own.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAny idea what spooked \u2018em like that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNone!\u201d Ben sighed and shook his head, completely mystified.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cEverything seems to be in order, though Joe and Stacy are double checking to make certain.\u00a0\u00a0 I just don\u2019t understand it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, Pa,\u201d it was Hoss.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI just realized somethin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s that, Son?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe ain\u2019t seen hide nor hair o\u2019 Benjy since we got back from racin\u2019 Sun Dancer \u2018n Bonnie Prince Charlie.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cD-Did someone call me?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben and Hoss turned, and saw Benjy standing framed in the barn door that opened out into the yard.\u00a0\u00a0 He held his book in his left hand.\u00a0\u00a0 His mouth opened into a big wide yawn.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere y\u2019 been, Benjy?\u201d Hoss asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI sat down to read in that grove of trees behind the barn,\u201d the boy replied, nodding his head in the general direction of the tree circle.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI fell asleep.\u00a0\u00a0 Is, uh . . . is everything ok?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt seems our horses had a bit of a scare, but everything\u2019s fine now,\u201d Ben replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cTell you what?\u00a0\u00a0 Hop Sing baked up a big batch of chocolate chip cookies this morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know, Grandpa.\u00a0\u00a0 I smelled them baking.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, why don\u2019t you go on inside and have one?\u201d Ben suggested with a smile.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cPerhaps our friends, Jason and Susannah O\u2019Brien will join you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, Mister Cartwright, but Susannah and I had best mosey along,\u201d Jason said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s getting a bit late and our big sister\u2019s worse than Hop Sing when we show up late for supper.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe and Pa aren\u2019t real easy to live with if we don\u2019t get our chores done before supper either,\u201d Susannah added.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you again for all your help,\u201d Ben said gratefully, looking from Jason to Susannah.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re welcome, Mister Cartwright,\u201d Susannah replied.<\/p>\n

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

Chapter 5<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a most curious dream . . . . \u201d<\/em> Benjy mused in silence as he ambled slowly back to the house.<\/p>\n

He and the boy he\u2019d met earlier this afternoon in that circle of trees out behind the barn, were running around, laughing and playing, completely invisible to everyone.\u00a0\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t remember how that had come about . . . exactly . . . .<\/p>\n

He had forgotten other details as well, and the few he did remember, were fading way fast.\u00a0\u00a0 He DID remember spooking the horses, and Dio, too.\u00a0\u00a0 He almost laughed out loud upon remembering the look on her face, when the other Benjy practically stood right in her face and laughed at her, and she couldn\u2019t even see him.<\/p>\n

He felt a little bit of regret over scaring Grandpa\u2019s horses, but none at all about giving his sister the fright of her life.<\/p>\n

After all . . . .<\/p>\n

. . . it was nothing less than she deserved . . . .<\/p>\n

. . . even if it WAS only a dream.<\/p>\n

By the time Benjy reached the front door, all he remembered of the dream was that it had been lots of fun.\u00a0 Upon entering the house, he froze as the sounds of a child sobbing wildly assailed his ears and awareness.\u00a0\u00a0 The crying seemed to be coming from upstairs.\u00a0\u00a0 Tucking his book under his arm, then went up to investigate.<\/p>\n

Benjy found his parents and his grandmother clustered together in Dio\u2019s room.\u00a0\u00a0 Mother sat on the edge of the bed, with her arms wrapped firmly and protectively around his younger sister.\u00a0\u00a0 Dio\u2019s arms were about her mother\u2019s neck and shoulders, clinging for dear life.\u00a0\u00a0 Grandmother sat on the other side of the bed, behind Dio, gently rubbing her back, and murmuring quiet words of reassurance in Spanish.\u00a0\u00a0 Papa stood, hovering close by, with a glass of diluted brandy in one hand, and a soupspoon in the other.<\/p>\n

\u201cMother?\u00a0\u00a0 Papa?\u00a0\u00a0 What\u2019s going on?\u201d Benjy asked as he ventured into the room.<\/p>\n

Upon hearing her brother\u2019s voice, Dio immediately lifted her head, and favored him with a malevolent glare, filled with all the anger and hatred she could summon.\u00a0\u00a0 Her eyelids and upper lip were red and swollen to at least twice their normal dimensions, and her cheeks were patchworks of angry red overtop pale skin.<\/p>\n

Benjy involuntarily took a step backward, and raised his arms in front of his face, as if preparing to ward off physical blows.\u00a0\u00a0 Her appearance shocked and frightened him.<\/p>\n

\u201cG-GET OUTTA HERE!\u201d Dio screamed, as tears continued to pour from her eyes and flow down her cheeks.<\/p>\n

Benjy stood, as if he had all of a sudden taken root, stunned by the raw intensity of his sister\u2019s rage.<\/p>\n

\u201cGET OUTTA HERE!\u201d she screamed again, as she wept.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cM-MA, PLEASE!\u00a0\u00a0 MAKE HIM G-GET OUTTA\u00a0 HERE!\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam quietly set the glass and spoon in hand down on the night table, then crossed the room to the door where his young son still remained, staring over at his sister, open mouthed with shock. \u00a0\u00a0\u201cCome with me, Benjy,\u201d he said quietly, as he slipped a paternal arm about the young boy\u2019s shoulders.\u00a0\u00a0 Together, they walked in silence down the hall toward Benjy\u2019s room.<\/p>\n

\u201cP-Papa?\u201d Benjy ventured, when they finally reached the door to his room.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhat happened?\u00a0\u00a0 Why is Dio so upset?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYour sister had a very bad scare out in the barn a little while ago,\u201d Adam said quietly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cFor some reason, she thinks YOU were responsible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Every last bit of color drained right out of Benjy\u2019s face.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMe?!\u201d\u00a0 he echoed, incredulous, in a voice barely audible.<\/p>\n

Adam nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s lying, Papa!\u201d Benjy accused, his face darkening now with anger.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cShe IS, I SWEAR she is!\u00a0\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t even in the barn . . . not when DIO was.\u00a0\u00a0 I came to the barn door later.\u00a0\u00a0 I DID, Papa, honest!\u00a0\u00a0 I did.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He gazed up into Adam\u2019s face earnestly beseeching for a moment, then looked away.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou can ask Grandpa if you don\u2019t believe me,\u201d he added in a sullen, angry tone.<\/p>\n

Adam placed his hand on the boy\u2019s shoulder and gave it a gentle, reassuring squeeze.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBenjy, I<\/strong> believe you, and I think Dio will, too, after she\u2019s had a chance to calm down and think things through a little bit.\u00a0\u00a0 In the meantime, however, until she DOES calm down, it might be a good idea for you to stay away from her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI will . . . gladly!\u201d Benjy angrily shot right back.\u00a0\u00a0 Given the way he felt at that very moment, if he never saw his sister again . . . ever . . . that would suit him just fine.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to go on back and check up on your sister and your mother,\u201d Adam said quietly.<\/p>\n

He sighed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cOk, Papa.\u201d<\/p>\n

Something in that sigh gave Adam pause.\u00a0 \u201cBenjy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Papa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs there . . . something else . . . . ?!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, Papa.\u00a0\u00a0 If it\u2019s ok, I think I\u2019ll just go to my room and read.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s fine, Son.\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019ll look in on you in a little while.\u201d<\/p>\n

Benjy stepped into his room and quietly closed the door.\u00a0\u00a0 He placed his book on top of the dresser, then walked over and dejectedly collapsed onto the bed.\u00a0\u00a0 He was so sure that the mean words Dio had said to him this morning coupled with her obstinate refusal to apologize would keep her out of favor with everyone, at least for a little while.\u00a0\u00a0 But that vision of Mother, Papa, and Grandmother, all gathered around her, fawning over her like they ALWAYS did, said otherwise.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not fair!\u201d Benjy muttered angrily under his breath as he turned his face toward the window.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s just not fair!\u201d<\/p>\n

Mother and Papa were always doting on Dio, spoiling her, indulging her every whim.\u00a0\u00a0 Even Grandmother as angry and exasperated as she had been with Dio the entire way out from their home in Sacramento, was all forgive and forget by the time they had arrived in Virginia City.\u00a0\u00a0 Dio got hugs and kisses from Grandpa, too, while all HE got was a handshake.\u00a0\u00a0 Aunt Stacy even let Dio ride home with her on Blaze Face.\u00a0\u00a0 Now, after supposedly suffering a bad scare out in the barn, she was once again back in everyone\u2019s good graces, the cruel words she had said to him, completely forgotten . . . .<\/p>\n

. . . and worst of all . . . Dio actually blamed HIM for scaring her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll bet anything Dio\u2019s faking all that screaming and crying,\u201d Benjy angrily groused aloud.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo fun being left all alone is it?\u201d<\/p>\n

Benjy started violently, nearly toppling right off the bed.\u00a0\u00a0 He turned and found his new friend standing behind him, in the middle of the room.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cY-you scared me!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Benjy propped himself up on his elbows, and studied his new friend with a bewildered frown for a moment.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHow did you get up here?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI came in.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDid my family let you in?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI came in.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 The other Benjy walked over to the dresser and glanced down at the book.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou like to read?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI never learned how,\u201d he said softly, his voice filled with regret.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMy ma, though . . . she loves to read.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Memories of his mother sitting down at the end of the day with a book in hand, brought a wistful smile to his face.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cShe used to read me stories at bedtime every night until . . . until . . . . ?!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUntil when?\u201d<\/p>\n

A bewildered frown appeared on the other Benjy\u2019s face for a moment, as he pondered the question, then shrugged with an air of supreme indifference.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d he replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI guess until they left.\u201d<\/p>\n

Benjy Cartwright moved the edge of the bed, and sat up, dangling his legs over the side.\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cTHEY left?\u201d he asked.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThey who?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of \u2018em!\u00a0\u00a0 My ma, my pa, my brothers and sisters!\u00a0\u00a0 Even my aunt and uncle and my grandparents!\u00a0\u00a0 They all left!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey left?!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey ain\u2019t here, are they?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cY-You mean . . . your parents, brothers and sisters . . . and the rest of your family . . . actually went off and left you here?!\u201d Benjy Cartwright queried, unable to believe his ears.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell if they AIN\u2019T here . . . and I still AM . . . figure it out for yourself, Stupid Head!\u201d<\/p>\n

Benjy initially bristled against his new friend\u2019s insult and condescending tone of voice, then, a moment later, shrugged it off, as his natural curiosity got the better of him.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhat happened?\u201d he demanded.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDid they . . . did they DIE?\u201d<\/p>\n

The frown on the other Benjy\u2019s face deepened.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI dunno . . . some of \u2018em did, I think . . . maybe . . . . \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He sighed and dolefully shook his head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI dunno where they went.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWho looks after you now?\u201d<\/p>\n

The other boy shrugged his shoulders, and again shook his head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI guess I do, mostly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t you live with anyone?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u00a0\u00a0 Just me, all by myself!\u00a0\u00a0 Benjy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s go outside and play.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOk!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRace ya down the stairs!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 The other Benjy abruptly turned heel and bolted out of the room.<\/p>\n

Benjy Cartwright hopped down from the bed and ran after his newfound friend.\u00a0\u00a0 The two boys tore down the hall and stairs, laughing and shouting at the tops of their voices.<\/p>\n

\u201cBenjy!\u201d<\/p>\n

He stopped at the landing mid-way between first floor and second.\u00a0\u00a0 Turning, he looked up and saw his father leaning against the banister upstairs, glaring down at him.<\/p>\n

\u201cBenjy, your mother and I just got Dio off to sleep,\u201d Adam said sternly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI would appreciate it very much if you played QUIETLY.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cO-Ok, Papa.\u00a0\u00a0 Benjy . . . . \u201d he turned to pass his father\u2019s admonition for quiet on to his friend, only to find himself quite alone.\u00a0\u00a0 Benjy walked down the stairs slowly, scratching his head the entire way.\u00a0\u00a0 What happened to his friend?\u00a0\u00a0 Was he outside already, waiting?<\/p>\n

Benjy stepped through the front door and walked out into the yard.\u00a0\u00a0 His new friend was nowhere to be seen.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBenjy?\u00a0 Benjy, are you hiding?\u201d<\/p>\n

No answer.<\/p>\n

\u201cBENJY!?\u00a0\u00a0 BENJY!\u00a0\u00a0 WHERE DID YOU GO?\u201d\u00a0 Benjy called out, louder.<\/p>\n

\u201cBenjy?\u201d<\/p>\n

He turned just as Ben stepped out of the barn.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m looking for my friend, Grandpa,\u201d he said, as he fell in step alongside his grandfather.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHis name\u2019s Benjy, just like me!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah!\u00a0\u00a0 He\u2019s a little taller than me, with brown, real curly hair,\u201d Benjy explained.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWe were racing each other down the stairs inside, until Papa came and told us to be quiet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben frowned.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou mean to tell me this boy was in the house?!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, h-he came up to my room,\u201d Benjy said warily, noting the scowl on his grandfather\u2019s face.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis boy . . . this OTHER Benjy . . . you said he\u2019s a friend of yours?\u201d<\/p>\n

Benjy slowly, warily nodded his head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI just met him today, Grandpa,\u201d he explained, \u201cout there . . . under those trees behind the barn.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He turned and pointed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s fine, Benjy,\u201d Ben said, his voice softening.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m glad to see you\u2019ve made a new friend . . . but I would really appreciate it if you\u2019d would ask him NOT to venture into the house without an invitation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI, uhhh . . . Grandpa?\u00a0\u00a0 Y-You saying that . . . n-nobody . . . let him in?!\u201d<\/p>\n

The round staring eyes, and mouth gaping open compelled Ben to swallow the sharp retort that had immediately risen to the tip of his tongue.\u00a0\u00a0 He closed his eyes briefly and took a deep breath.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNo, Benjy,\u201d he said finally, in a tone far kinder than might have been.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI was in the barn just now with Uncle Joe and Aunt Stacy, trying to figure out what spooked the horses . . . AND your sister.\u00a0\u00a0 Hoss and Hank are in the corral checking the horses, making sure THEY\u2019RE alright, and your parents and grandmother have probably been with Dio from the time we finally got her out of the barn.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow did you get up here?\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Benjy silently replayed the start of the conversation he had with the other Benjy, just a short while ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cI came in.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cDid my family let you in?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI came in . . . . \u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cSorry, Grandpa,\u201d Benjy murmured contritely, as he looked up and met Ben\u2019s warm brown eyes with his own, the same color.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI . . . I was so sure he\u2019d . . . that umm someone let him in, but I guess they didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all right,\u201d Ben placed a paternal arm around his grandson\u2019s shoulders, \u201cno harm done.\u00a0\u00a0 Just be sure to tell him not to wander in again, unless he\u2019s been invited.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI will, Grandpa,\u201d the boy promised eagerly.\u00a0\u00a0 He found the idea of his new friend, the other Benjy, walking right on into the house, without having been asked first, a little unsettling himself.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cWell, Honorable and Venerable Older Brother Sir . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

Joe grimaced, as he rubbed his forearms against the cold, still lingering in the barn.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhat happened to Grandpa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWith Benjy and Dio calling PA Grandpa and me calling YOU Grandpa, things could get a little confusing, so I decided to call you Honorable and Venerable Older Brother Sir like you asked me to the day Adam and Teresa arrived,\u201d Stacy explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cComing outta YOUR mouth, Little Sister, it sounds like the absolute worst insult anyone\u2019s ever thrown at me,\u201d Joe countered with mock severity.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI think I\u2019d rather go back to Grandpa, if it\u2019s all the same to you, confusion or NO confusion.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right . . . GRANDPA!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s better . . . KIDDO!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe and Stacy glared at each other, for a long moment.\u00a0\u00a0 The former stuck out his tongue.\u00a0\u00a0 Stacy returned the gesture before both of them dissolved into a brief fit of the giggles.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou find anything, Stace?\u201d Joe asked, as their laughter dissipated.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot a thing!\u201d Stacy shrugged.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI raked every last bit of straw out of Bonnie Prince Charlie\u2019s stall, got down on my hands and knees, and . . . nothing!\u00a0\u00a0 Not even the mouse hole the cold air\u2019s supposed to be coming through!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t find anything either,\u201d Joe shook his head, thoroughly perplexed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNo sign of any kind of wild animal . . . TWO-legged or FOUR legged, all the horses are present and accounted for, the tack room\u2019s in order, nothing seems to be missing . . . I\u2019m just plain at a loss to explain what happened with the horses and Dio.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were all pretty badly frightened.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe nodded grimly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI think our horses are STILL spooked.\u00a0\u00a0 They\u2019re moving around the corral outside freely enough, but they still shy away from the barn.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m starting to feel a little creepy myself,\u201d Stacy observed wryly as she blew warming breath on her chilled fingers.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cJoe?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, Stacy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI hate like anything to even suggest this, but . . . . \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIs it possible that Dio\u2019s right?\u00a0\u00a0 That Benjy WAS in here trying to scare her?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnything\u2019s possible, of course, but I don\u2019t think it was Benjy . . . not OUR Benjy anyway . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you mean not OUR Benjy?\u201d Stacy asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt seems Benjy\u2019s made a new friend, Kid,\u201d Joe explained, \u201ca boy whose name also happens to be Benjy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stacy frowned.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBut . . . there\u2019s no one Benjy\u2019s age . . . NAMED Benjy, living here on the Ponderosa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI figure he\u2019s more \u2018n likely a visiting relative.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah . . . you\u2019re right, Grandpa,\u201d Stacy agreed, knowing that at least two of the men who worked for their father had young people visiting them for the summer.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHave you met this new friend of Benjy\u2019s . . . OUR Benjy that is?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Joe replied, shaking his head, \u201cnot exactly . . . . \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He shared with her the circumstances by which he had learned about their nephew having made a new friend.<\/p>\n

Stacy silently mulled over everything her brother had just told her.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201c . . . and you think maybe this OTHER Benjy snuck in here and scared Dio and our horses?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s a definite possibility,\u201d Joe said grimly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI saw OUR Benjy when we finally got the barn door open.\u00a0\u00a0 He looked like somebody who had just woken up from a nap, and he had pine needles on the seat of his britches.\u00a0\u00a0 I believe he was telling the truth when he said he fell asleep while he was reading under a tree.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStacy . . . Joe, how\u2019s it coming?\u201d Ben asked, as he walked into the barn.<\/p>\n

The two younger Cartwright offspring gave their father a capsulated version of the conversation they had just had with each other.<\/p>\n

Ben scowled when Joe mentioned the possibility of Benjy\u2019s new friend having been the one responsible for scaring Dio and the horses.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHe told me his new friend actually came into the house looking for him, without being invited first.\u00a0\u00a0 I asked Benjy to tell his friend that he\u2019s not to come in the house without an invitation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe didn\u2019t do anything while he was in the house, did he?\u201d Joe asked.<\/p>\n

Ben shook his head. \u00a0\u00a0\u201cNo, nothing was broken or stolen as far as I could see, but all the same, I don\u2019t like the idea.\u00a0\u00a0 I think maybe we\u2019d all better keep a sharp lookout for this other Benjy.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cSorry, Adam, I don\u2019t know of any boy living here on the Ponderosa named Benjy, apart from your son.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Candy shook his head, after giving Adam\u2019s question careful thought.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMrs. Cromwell got a letter from her sister the other day saying that her nephew WON\u2019T be coming to visit, and Mister Barnes\u2019 nephews aren\u2019t boys really . . . they\u2019re practically grown men, what with the one being seventeen and the other fifteen.\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019ll ask around, though.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, I\u2019d appreciate that,\u201d Adam said gratefully.\u00a0\u00a0 He, then, returned to the house and walked straight upstairs to his daughter\u2019s room.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cTeresa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow\u2019s Dio?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSleeping,\u201d Teresa replied softly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cA good long nap\u2019s probably the best thing for her right now, but . . . I hope it doesn\u2019t interfere with her sleep tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot to worry,\u201d Adam said quietly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHop Sing can brew up an herbal tea after supper that will help her sleep through the night, if necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs Benjy all right?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s in his room reading at the moment,\u201d Adam replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI told him it might be a good idea to stay away from Dio, until she\u2019s had a chance to calm down, but . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is it, Adam?\u201d Teresa anxiously prompted.<\/p>\n

\u201cI . . . . \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He sighed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI . . . can\u2019t quite shake the feeling that he\u2019s . . . that he\u2019s holding out on us somehow.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I suggested that he and his sister keep their distance for awhile?\u00a0\u00a0 For a minute . . . something in his voice . . . the way he looked at me . . . left me with the impression that there was something he wanted to say . . . but couldn\u2019t,\u201d Adam tried to explain, \u201c . . . or wouldn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

They turned and found Dolores standing framed in the doorway to their daughter\u2019s room.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry . . . it wasn\u2019t my intention to eavesdrop,\u201d Dolores said ruefully as she stepped from the hall into the room occupied by her granddaughter.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI meant to show you this yesterday, but I was so exhausted when I arrived, it completely slipped my mind.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 She reached into the left pocket of her skirt and drew out an envelope, neatly folded in two, and passed it to Adam.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is it, Mother?\u201d Teresa asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cBenjy\u2019s final report card.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam glanced at the envelope, as he and Dolores continued down to the first level.\u00a0\u00a0 It was addressed, \u201cMister and Mrs. Cartwright,\u201d on the front, in the bold, angular strokes that defined the handwriting of Mister Ian Townsend, Benjy\u2019s teacher for the past year.\u00a0\u00a0 Benjamin Eduardo was written below his and Teresa\u2019s names.<\/p>\n

Adam opened the flap and pulled out Benjy\u2019s school report.\u00a0\u00a0 His eyes widened more and more with shock and astonishment as they moved down the column showing Benjy\u2019s grades for the second half of the school year.\u00a0\u00a0 The terse note written at the bottom of the report card, dated the last day of school, read as follows:<\/p>\n

\u201cTaking into account Benjamin\u2019s past scholastic performance, he is promoted to the next grade ON\u00a0 PROBATION.\u00a0\u00a0 I know he is more than capable of doing the work required.\u00a0\u00a0 However, if his grades do not improve during the course of the first nine weeks, he will be compelled to repeat the fifth grade.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stunned, shaken to the core of his being, Adam pulled a second piece of paper from the envelope.\u00a0\u00a0 It was a letter from Mister Townsend:<\/p>\n

\u201cDear Mister and Mrs. Cartwright,<\/p>\n

I am heartily disappointed not only in Adam Benjamin\u2019s poor scholastic performance over the course of the last remaining six weeks of the school year, but of what I can only view as your complete indifference.\u00a0 A letter informing you of Adam Benjamin\u2019s decline in scholastic performance and growing problems in behavior was sent home with the student one month before the end of the school year.\u00a0\u00a0 As of this writing, I have yet to hear from either you or Mrs. Cartwright.<\/p>\n

As I noted on his report, Adam Benjamin will be passed to the next grade on a probationary status.\u00a0\u00a0 He is a bright, intelligent young man, more than capable of doing the work required.\u00a0\u00a0 If his grades do NOT significantly improve during the first quarter of the next school year, we will have no choice but to compel him to repeat his fifth year.<\/p>\n

Sincerely yours, \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Mr. Ian Townsend.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDolores . . . why don\u2019t we go downstairs?\u201d Adam suggested, as he returned his son\u2019s report card and accompanying letter from the boy\u2019s teacher to the envelope.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI . . . have a few questions I\u2019ve been meaning to ask you . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, of course,\u201d Dolores immediately agreed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cTeresa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d better stay here with Dio . . . in case she wakes up,\u201d Teresa said very quietly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cGiven how frightened and upset she was . . . she\u2019s probably going to want me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you or Dio need anything, we\u2019ll be in the great room downstairs,\u201d Adam said, as he handed the envelope in hand over to his wife . . . .<\/p>\n

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

\u201cNo, Adam . . . I didn\u2019t see any correspondence from the school or Benjy\u2019s teacher,\u201d Dolores said, almost apologetically, as she made herself comfortable on the settee.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cOf course I never even thought to ask . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

Adam sat down in the blue chair next to the fireplace, to Dolores\u2019 right.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s completely understandable,\u201d he hastened to reassure his distraught mother-in-law.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou had no way of knowing that Benjy had done so poorly in his schoolwork.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI SHOULD\u2019VE known!\u201d<\/p>\n

The angry vehemence by which she had uttered those words shocked and surprised him.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m . . . not sure I understand,\u201d Adam ventured, with a bewildered frown.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, Adam . . . . \u201d Dolores groaned softly, \u201cyou know how enthusiastic Benjy is about school?\u00a0\u00a0 How eager he is to talk about what he learned with Eduardo?\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cWell, almost from the start, he said nothing,\u201d Dolores continued.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cEduardo, spent the first week questioning the boy relentlessly about school . . . and what he learned . . . but the only things Benjy would say were yes, no, and fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat IS odd,\u201d Adam had to agree.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBenjy\u2019s ALWAYS been fond of talking about what he learns in school with Eduardo.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI finally asked Eduardo to stop badgering the boy with questions,\u201d Dolores continued, her voice filled with deep regret.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI thought maybe he was going through some sort of phase, or something . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

Adam fell silent, as he did some mental figuring.\u00a0\u00a0 From the approximate dates given in Mister Townsend\u2019s letter, the decline in Benjy\u2019s grades and the start of his behavior problems seemed to coincide with the approximate date he sent a wire, asking the di Cordovas to cancel travel plans for Dolores and the children, until he and Teresa sent for them.<\/p>\n

An old friend from Adam\u2019s past had come to the Ponderosa, seeking refuge from an abusive husband, who turned out to be violently insane.\u00a0\u00a0 The husband had raped and tortured a bar maid to death back in San Francisco.\u00a0\u00a0 Her father-in-law had packed them off to exile in Placerville until he could get his son exonerated of all charges and have the entire incident swept under the rug.\u00a0\u00a0 Not wanting to expose their children or Teresa\u2019s mother to the grave danger posed by this man, Adam and Teresa had jointly agreed to send that telegram.\u00a0\u00a0 Teresa followed it up with a letter explaining the full details to her parents.<\/p>\n

\u201cDolores?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDid Benjy, by any chance happen to see either the wire I sent, or Teresa\u2019s letter, asking you not to come until we sent for you?\u201d\u00a0 he asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, absolutely NOT,\u201d Dolores declared, with an emphatic shake of her head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cEduardo locked the wire and Teresa\u2019s letter in our safe, since the latter had instructions in case something happened to the both of you.\u00a0\u00a0 But we made absolute certain that neither Benjy nor Dio saw those correspondences.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow did they take the news of the delay?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDio was the one who was most upset,\u201d Dolores replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cShe had been looking forward to visiting your family here on the Ponderosa since the beginning of school last fall.\u00a0\u00a0 She sulked at home for the better part of that first week, but I had no complaints from the school or her teachers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd Benjy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe took the news very stoically, as is typical of him most of the time, though, in retrospect, he seemed a little relieved.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRelieved?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Adam looked over at his mother-in-law, one eyebrow raised in mild surprise.<\/p>\n

Dolores, in turn, favored him with a puzzled frown. \u00a0\u00a0\u201cIn a way, that shouldn\u2019t be too much of a surprise, Adam, seeing as how much he\u2019s afraid of horses these days.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 This piece of information took Adam wholly by surprise.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSince when?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSince the feast day of Saint Francis of Assisi, last October, remember?\u00a0\u00a0 About the procession?\u00a0\u00a0 That horse nearly stepping on Benjy?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam had not attended the procession himself, but he remembered Teresa grimly filling him in on the details.\u00a0\u00a0 One of the horses, a skittish young mare, was being led to the church for the annual blessing and prayers for the animals given on the feast day of their patron saint.\u00a0\u00a0 A couple of children, young boys about Benjy\u2019s age, set off a half dozen firecrackers, terrifying the mare.\u00a0\u00a0 In her frantic attempts to flee, she broke her lead and began to run, beating a straight path toward the spot where Benjy stood, rooted by his own escalating fear.\u00a0\u00a0 The quick and timely action by a uniformed policeman, running in and carrying Benjy to safety, tucked under his arm, saved the boy from what might have been serious and debilitating injury.\u00a0\u00a0 In fact, that policeman had very likely saved Benjy\u2019s life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI honestly, I had no idea,\u201d Adam murmured, feeling heartsick at the prospect of his practically shoving Benjy into the barn earlier that day, so that he might learn how to properly stable a horse.\u00a0\u00a0 And with Dio compounding things with her cruel taunting . . . .\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDolores, did Benjy tell you this?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAbout being afraid of horses?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, Dio did actually, while they were with Eduardo and me after you and Teresa left to come here.\u00a0\u00a0 She didn\u2019t tell either of you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe didn\u2019t tell me, and I\u2019m reasonably sure she didn\u2019t tell Teresa either, because TERESA would have certainly told me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry, Adam.\u00a0\u00a0 I honestly thought you and Teresa knew.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt seems Benjy\u2019s become very good at keeping things to himself over this past year,\u201d Adam said grimly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cTOO good, perhaps.\u00a0\u00a0 Any idea what prompted Dio to tell you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBenjy\u2019s best friend, Juan Cortez, had a big birthday party the Saturday before the last week in school,\u201d Dolores replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBenjy didn\u2019t go.\u00a0\u00a0 He told Eduardo and me he hadn\u2019t been invited, but Adam, it was an out-and-out bold faced lie.\u00a0\u00a0 Cecelia, our housekeeper, found the invitation hidden under his pillow, when she went in to change the bed linens.\u00a0\u00a0 She immediately brought it in to me.<\/p>\n

\u201cEduardo and I asked Benjy about it that night at supper.\u00a0\u00a0 Benjy kept right on insisting that he had not been invited.\u00a0\u00a0 Eduardo got pretty irate, I\u2019m afraid,\u201d she continued ruefully.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cPoor Dio, I think being upset enough about the delay in coming here, blurted out about Benjy being afraid of horses and how, that whole last week, it seemed, the kids in the school had been mercilessly tormenting the boy about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt must have been pretty hard on her, too, having to stand by and watch as the older kids made fun of her brother,\u201d Adam sighed and shook his head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI think Teresa and I need to sit down and have a long serious talk with both of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease, Adam, don\u2019t be too hard on them?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTeresa and I agree that Benjy and Dio need to apologize to each other for what they said out in the tack room this morning . . . AND to Stacy as well,\u201d Adam said firmly.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes . . . she was a little upset now that you mention it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStacy was VERY upset,\u201d Adam said, \u201cand speaking for myself, I can\u2019t say as I blame her.\u00a0\u00a0 We also need to come to an understanding on a few things, not the least of which is Benjy\u2019s final report.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

A few moments later, Adam returned to the guest room Dio had chosen to be her own.\u00a0\u00a0 His young daughter lay sprawled on top of the bed, with a light cotton blanket over her, courtesy of her distraught maternal grandmother.\u00a0\u00a0 Teresa sat in a straight hard backed chair, her attention equally divided between Dio and the open book in her lap.<\/p>\n

\u201cTeresa?\u201d Adam called his wife\u2019s name very softly as he stepped into the room.<\/p>\n

Teresa turned and looked up expectantly into her husband\u2019s face and eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cDio asleep?\u201d<\/p>\n

Teresa nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cWould you feel all right about stepping out here into the hall for a few minutes?\u201d Adam asked.<\/p>\n

Teresa nodded once again.\u00a0\u00a0 She rose, and after marking her place, set her book down on the seat of her chair.<\/p>\n

\u201cHas Dio been asleep the whole time?\u201d Adam asked, as he and his wife moved out into the hallway.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe stirred a couple of times, but I can\u2019t say she actually woke up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDid she say anything more about what happened?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Teresa shook her head.<\/p>\n

Adam first shared with his wife everything Dolores has told him downstairs.\u00a0\u00a0 The stunned look on her face told him this was the first time she had heard a good deal of this, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, Adam,\u201d Teresa groaned softly, her voice filled with contrition and remorse.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI had no idea . . . no idea in the world Benjy was so frightened of horses . . . and I was there when he was nearly stampeded.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNeither of us had any way of knowing . . . not really,\u201d Adam quickly pointed out.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHe never said a word to US or his grandparents about the kids at school teasing him, and . . . he\u2019s not had to really confront his fear head on . . . until he came here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEven so, I still feel badly about not having even the slightest inking,\u201d Teresa lamented.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo do I,\u201d Adam confessed, \u201cbut at the moment, that\u2019s not our biggest worry.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI found out that Benjy made a new friend this afternoon . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cReally?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnother boy, whose name is also Benjy.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Adam shared with his wife all that his father, his youngest brother, and Candy had told him about their son\u2019s new friend.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t like the sound of this Adam,\u201d Teresa said grimly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t say I care much for it either,\u201d Adam agreed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIf this other Benjy IS responsible for what happened out in the barn, we could be dealing with someone very disturbed emotionally.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou think maybe we should tell Benjy not to associate with this boy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve thought about it,\u201d Adam replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cOn the other hand, we don\u2019t know for sure that he was responsible for what happened out in the barn.\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019d hate to break up their friendship, then find out Benjy\u2019s new friend WASN\u2019T the culprit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have a point,\u201d Teresa reluctantly agreed.<\/p>\n

\u201cTeresa . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe both agree that the four of us need to sit down together . . . as a family . . . and nip some things in the bud,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m beginning to think that needs to happen sooner rather than later.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI agree with you, Adam, one hundred percent . . . but not tonight,\u201d Teresa said firmly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDio needs time to calm down.\u00a0\u00a0 I think tomorrow morning, after breakfast, would be a better time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have an idea,\u201d Adam said slowly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIf Pa doesn\u2019t need the buckboard tomorrow, maybe we could borrow it and drive out to the lake.\u00a0\u00a0 Just the FOUR of us!\u00a0\u00a0 That way, we\u2019ll have the entire day to talk things out, and come to some understandings . . . WITHOUT interruptions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Teresa favored her husband with an odd, bemused look.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWithout interruptions?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam smiled.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cFrom grandparents, uncles, and aunt,\u201d he replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cTheir intentions may be well meant, but I\u2019m of the opinion we need to keep this between us and the kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAbsolutely,\u201d Teresa declared with a curt nod of her head for emphasis, \u201cand the trip out to the lake . . . just the FOUR of us, is a wonderful idea.\u00a0\u00a0 You think Hop Sing might be willing to pack us a picnic lunch?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam smiled.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI think he can be persuaded.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Chapter 6<\/p>\n

Young Benjy Cartwright, meanwhile, spent the better part of an hour reading the same paragraph over and over, before finally tossing aside his book in disgust.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not fair!\u201d he groused aloud as he slid off of his bed.\u00a0\u00a0 His feet hit the floor with a light thud.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThey ALWAYS believe HER<\/strong>!\u00a0\u00a0 ALWAYS!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

They\u2019re liars.\u00a0\u00a0 ALL of \u2018em.\u00a0\u00a0 Nuthin\u2019 but no-good, dirty, stinkin\u2019 LIARS.<\/em><\/p>\n

Benjy froze.\u00a0\u00a0 The words echoing through his head spoke with his new friend\u2019s voice.\u00a0\u00a0 He slowly, reluctantly glanced around the room, but saw no one.\u00a0\u00a0 He was very much alone.\u00a0\u00a0 He exhaled a long, slow sigh of relief.\u00a0\u00a0 He was in enough trouble already with Dio accusing him of whatever it was that had scared her so badly out in the barn earlier this afternoon.\u00a0\u00a0 The last thing he needed was to be in more trouble with Grandpa because the other Benjy had decided to just let himself into the house again.<\/em><\/p>\n

They ARE, you know.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat they?\u201d Benjy asked as he began to unconsciously pace alongside his bed.<\/em><\/p>\n

Little Sisters.\u00a0\u00a0 I should know.\u00a0\u00a0 I have two.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cDid yours get you in trouble all the time?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

You betcha.\u00a0\u00a0 They\u2019d do all sorts of bad things, then run and tell Ma \u2018n Pa that Ellie and me did it.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWho\u2019s Ellie?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

My OLDER sister.\u00a0\u00a0 Older sisters ain\u2019t so bad actually.\u00a0\u00a0 Just YOUNGER sisters.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t know.\u00a0\u00a0 I don\u2019t have any older sisters.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

I have an older sister, two YOUNGER sisters, and two younger brothers.\u00a0\u00a0 Younger brothers can be bad, too, sometimes, but no where NEAR as bad as younger SISTERS.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not fair,\u201d Benjy groused.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBad enough they love Dio best, but when they believe all her LIES . . . well, its just plain not fair.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

You wanna make \u2018em sorry?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWho?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Why . . . ALL of \u2018em, of course!\u00a0\u00a0 Your ma and pa, your grandma, your grandpa, your uncles and your aunt.\u00a0\u00a0 Even Dio.\u00a0\u00a0 You can make HER sorry, too.<\/em><\/p>\n

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

Come with me.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cGo with you?!\u00a0\u00a0 Where?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Nowhere.\u00a0\u00a0 We\u2019ll stay right here.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cHow will THAT make \u2018em sorry?\u201d\u00a0 Benjy asked, intrigued by his new friend\u2019s suggestion.<\/em><\/p>\n

Because we can see THEM, but they won\u2019t be able to see US.\u00a0\u00a0 Remember?<\/em><\/p>\n

He smiled.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cOh yeah . . . . \u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Benjy?!<\/p>\n

Hey, come on, Benjy!\u00a0\u00a0 Wake up \u2018n shake a leg!<\/p>\n

Benjy\u2019s eyes immediately snapped open and with a loud, startled gasp, he bolted from prone to sitting.<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry I startled you, Sport.\u201d<\/p>\n

He abruptly turned and found himself staring into the anxious face of Uncle Joe.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s ok,\u201d Benjy murmured softly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI . . . I guess I must\u2019ve been really tired.\u00a0\u00a0 I don\u2019t even remember falling asleep.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou ok?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I\u2019m fine now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI just came up to tell you that supper\u2019ll be ready in five minutes!\u00a0\u00a0 You\u2019ve got just enough time to get washed up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUncle Joe, may I ask you a question?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSure.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAunt Stacy . . . she\u2019s kind of like your little sister, isn\u2019t she?\u201d\u00a0 Benjy asked, as he slid across the bed and dropped silently to the floor.<\/p>\n

A smile slowly spread across Joe\u2019s lips.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNo kind of about it, Sport.\u00a0\u00a0 Your aunt, Stacy, IS my little sister.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDoes she ever lie about you and get you into trouble?\u201d Benjy asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Joe replied, with an emphatic shake of his head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s one thing we . . . your grandpa, Uncle Hoss, and I found out pretty early on about Aunt Stacy.\u00a0\u00a0 She\u2019ll own up to her own part in something, but she won\u2019t tell on anyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNever?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNever,\u201d Joe confirmed.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re lucky,\u201d Benjy sighed morosely.<\/p>\n

Joe paused at the door for a moment, then turned.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBenjy, I hope you\u2019re not worried about being in trouble because of what happened to Dio out in the barn earlier.\u201d<\/p>\n

Benjy gazed up at his uncle for a long moment, his eyes round with awe.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cUncle Joe, h-how . . . how did y-you . . . how did you KNOW?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI took a wild guess, actually,\u201d Joe admitted as the two of them moved out into the upstairs hall.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI guess with Dio being so shook up \u2018n all, no one\u2019s had the chance to talk to you, but we all know you had nothing to do with what happened to your sister and our horses out in the barn.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo YOU believe me, too, Uncle Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe looked down at his troubled young nephew and smiled.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBenjy, when you told your grandpa and me that you had fallen asleep out under that circle of trees behind the barn, I believed you because you\u2019ve never given me cause NOT to believe what you say.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cY-You mean . . . you just took my word for it . . . just like that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Benjy, just like that,\u201d Joe replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m a firm believer in giving a man . . . or woman, for that matter, the benefit of the doubt in the absence of evidence to the contrary.\u201d<\/p>\n

Benjy favored his uncle with a bewildered frown.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhat does THAT mean?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt means I\u2019m willing to believe what you say, Benjy,\u201d Joe replied, \u201cand as long as you continue to be honest with me, I\u2019ll ALWAYS believe you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cR-Really?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, really.\u00a0\u00a0 Now we\u2019d both best shake a leg,\u201d Joe said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSupper\u2019s in two minutes now, and Hop Sing tends to get a wee bit upset if we\u2019re not washed and seated at the table on time.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

The other members of the family, except for Dio and Theresa, were already seated at the table, when Joe and Benjy arrived.\u00a0\u00a0 The former seated himself between Hoss and Stacy, while the latter squeezed in between his father and maternal grandmother.<\/p>\n

\u201cPapa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Benjy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere\u2019s Mother and Dio?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDio\u2019s upstairs sound asleep,\u201d Adam replied, accepting the bowl of mashed potatoes from Hoss, seated on his left.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYour mother and I decided to just let her sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs Mother upstairs with Dio?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam nodded.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIn case she wakes up,\u201d he said, as he dished out a large spoonful of potatoes on his plate.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWould you like some mashed potatoes, Son?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess,\u201d Benjy murmured sullenly.<\/p>\n

Adam held the large bowl in one hand and offered the serving spoon to his son with the other.\u00a0\u00a0 Benjy took the serving spoon from his father and gingerly scraped it across the largely unbroken surface.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, Benjy, that ain\u2019t enough t\u2019 keep a newborn kitten alive let alone a growin\u2019 boy,\u201d Hoss remarked as his young nephew scraped half of what he had collected from the serving spoon onto his plate with his own fork.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s ok, Uncle Hoss.\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019m not very hungry,\u201d Benjy said as he placed the serving spoon back into the bowl of mashed potatoes.<\/p>\n

Adam passed the bowl on to his mother-in-law, then turned his attention back to his son.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAre you feeling alright, Buddy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy stomach hurts a little, and I still feel kind of tired,\u201d Benjy replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cOther than that, I guess I\u2019m ok.\u201d<\/p>\n

The anxious frown, already etched into Adam\u2019s brow, deepened as he reached over and touched the back of his hand to his son\u2019s forehead.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNo fever,\u201d he murmured quietly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBenjy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Papa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou haven\u2019t eaten very much since you\u2019ve arrived here,\u201d Adam said quietly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt could be that your stomach hurts because you need to put some food in it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not very hungry, Papa.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cYes, Adam?\u201d\u00a0 Ben replied, the anxious frown on his own brow nearly an exact mirror of the same on the face of his eldest son.<\/p>\n

\u201cWould you mind passing me that bowl of mashed potatoes again, and the bowls with vegetables and applesauce?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben picked up the bowl of what remained of the mashed potatoes and handed it to Joe, seated at his right.\u00a0\u00a0 Joe passed the mashed potatoes to his brother, Hoss, who in turn handed it back to Adam.\u00a0\u00a0 In the meantime, Stacy and Dolores picked up the bowls of vegetables and applesauce respectively and passed those on to Adam.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you,\u201d Adam said gratefully.\u00a0\u00a0 He scooped out another spoonful of mashed potatoes on Benjy\u2019s plate, then reached for the vegetables.<\/p>\n

\u201cPapa, I said I wasn\u2019t hungry.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know,\u201d Adam replied in a quiet, yet firm tone.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBut, you still need to eat.\u00a0\u00a0 Uncle Hoss was absolutely right in observing that you\u2019re a growing boy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, my stomach hurts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou aren\u2019t running a fever,\u201d Adam said as he served up half a spoonful of vegetables and a generous spoonful of applesauce.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI think part of the reason your stomach hurts is that you aren\u2019t eating enough.\u00a0\u00a0 The food I\u2019m giving you is bland and should be easy enough to digest.\u00a0 Stacy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWould you mind running out to the kitchen and asking Hop Sing to make up some of his peppermint tea for Benjy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot at all, Oldest Brother,\u201d Stacy said rising.<\/p>\n

\u201cStacy, I think you\u2019d better look for him upstairs in Dio\u2019s room,\u201d Joe said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI thought I just saw him go up with a tray in hand . . . probably for Teresa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks, Grandpa.\u201d<\/p>\n

Suddenly, a loud crash came from the kitchen, sounding as if every last breakable object out there had been hurled to the floor all at once.\u00a0\u00a0 Stacy set off toward the kitchen at a dead run.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m right behind her, Pa,\u201d Joe declared, as he pushed back his chair and jumped to his own feet all in the same, quick move.<\/p>\n

A long string of terse, clipped Chinese syllables, shouted at top volume could also be heard by everyone still seated at the table, long before Hop Sing actually appeared at the top of the stairs, his face ominously dark as the thunderclouds accompanying the most dangerous and violent summer storms.\u00a0\u00a0 Hop Sing\u2019s angry invectives were in turn swallowed up in the deafening roar of metal pots, pans, lids, bowls and utensils, along with the large cast iron frying pan, all raining down on the stone floor of the kitchen.<\/p>\n

At that juncture Ben shot right out of his seat with enough force and momentum to send his chair tumbling over on its back.<\/p>\n

Benjy yelped fearfully as his grandfather\u2019s wood chair clattered loudly against the hard wood dining room floor.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d better go see what\u2019s going on out in the kitchen,\u201d Ben muttered angrily under his breath.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want me t\u2019 come along, too, Pa?\u201d Hoss asked, his own features melting into an indignant, angry scowl.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Ben tersely shook his head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou and Adam had best stay here . . . just in case.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss nodded curtly.<\/p>\n

As Ben headed out toward the kitchen, Adam placed his napkin beside his plate and rose.<\/p>\n

\u201cP-Papa?\u201d Benjy queried fearfully.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cPapa, where are you going?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUpstairs, to make sure your mother and sister are alright,\u201d Adam replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou stay here with your grandmother and Uncle Hoss.\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019ll be right back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Benjy stared after his father\u2019s retreating back for a moment, completely and utterly crestfallen.\u00a0\u00a0 Finally, he turned away with an exasperated sigh, and focused his gaze on the dinner plate resting on the table in front of him.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s not fair,\u201d he grumbled softly, under his breath.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s not fair.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben, meanwhile, burst into the kitchen with heart thudding wildly against his rib cage.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHOP SING, WHAT IN THUN\u2014 \u201d he stopped abruptly, mid-syllable as the reality of the situation slammed into him with all the brutal force of a hard sucker punch to the solar plexus.<\/p>\n

\u201cM-Mister Cartwright?\u201d Hop Sing queried, peering anxiously into the stricken face of his employer and old friend.<\/p>\n

\u201cI . . . I don\u2019t believe this . . . . \u201d Ben stammered, upon finding his voice.<\/p>\n

Nothing in the kitchen was the least bit out of place.\u00a0\u00a0 All of the glassware, the everyday earthenware dishes, the fine china that had once belonged to Elizabeth and Inger, was intact, safely stored away in their proper cabinets.\u00a0\u00a0 The cast iron frying pan hung in its place on the wall next to the stove, and the cooking utensils all hung from their racks above the counter.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t understand this,\u201d Ben muttered, shaking his head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cA minute ago, it sounded as if all hell was breaking loose in here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe noise come from outside,\u201d Hop Sing suggested.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cLittle Joe, Miss Stacy go out, look around.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben closed his eyes and took a deep breath.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m going to go see if they\u2019ve found anything,\u201d he said a moment later, in as steady a voice as he could muster.\u00a0\u00a0 He turned and started toward the back door.\u00a0\u00a0 A moment later, he stopped abruptly and turned.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHop Sing?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Mister Cartwright?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe you\u2019d better close that window.\u00a0\u00a0 It feels a mite chilly in here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMister Cartwright, no window open.\u00a0\u00a0 All close tight.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cGRANDPA, I DIDN\u2019T DO IT!\u201d Stacy declared emphatically, the outrage in her tone loud and clear.<\/p>\n

\u201cTHEN YOU<\/strong> TELL ME WHO DID<\/strong>!\u201d Joe snapped back, without missing a beat, equally outraged and angry.<\/p>\n

The exchange of angry words between his two younger children assailed Ben\u2019s ears the instant he stepped through the back door from the kitchen into the lush, verdant herb and vegetable garden Hop Sing maintained.\u00a0\u00a0 He rolled his eyes sardonically heavenward, begging for strength, before setting off, following the sounds of Joe and Stacy\u2019s voices.<\/p>\n

\u201cHOW SHOULD I KNOW WHO PUSHED YOU IN?!\u201d Stacy demanded.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI WAS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE GARDEN LOOKING IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI WAS PUSHED!\u00a0\u00a0 I WAS DEFINITELY PUSHED!\u201d Joe obstinately maintained his ground.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cEXPLAIN THAT<\/strong> ONE AWAY . . . IF YOU CAN!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEASY!\u00a0\u00a0 YOU WEREN\u2019T PUSHED!\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 YOU PROBABLY TRIPPED OVER YOUR OWN BIG FEET!\u201d Stacy immediately returned.<\/p>\n

Ben found his youngest son and only daughter facing off at the far end of the garden in front of the rain barrel.\u00a0\u00a0 Joe, dripping wet, stood glaring at his young sister with arms folded tightly across his chest.\u00a0\u00a0 Stacy, with hands firmly planted on hips, returned her brother\u2019s glare, with an equally ferocious one of her own.<\/p>\n

\u201cYOU CALLING ME A LIAR?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWHY NOT?!\u00a0\u00a0 YOU\u2019VE BEEN CALLING ME<\/strong> ONE!\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben sighed, then pursed his thinned lips together and let out a loud shrill whistle whose decibel easily cut through the rising volume of Joe and Stacy\u2019s angry voices.\u00a0\u00a0 The pair of them started and turned.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right . . . what\u2019s going on between you two?\u201d Ben demanded in that long-suffering tone he most often used upon reaching the final edge of patience.<\/p>\n

\u201cAsk HER!\u201d\u00a0 Joe snapped back in a sullen tone, directing a murderous glare at his sister.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSHE started it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI did NOT!\u201d\u00a0 Stacy countered, her ire rising.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh yes you did!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh no I DIDN\u2019T!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoseph Francis . . . Stacy Rose . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

Their father\u2019s use of full first coupled with middle names immediately caught and held their attention.<\/p>\n

\u201c . . . I don\u2019t care WHO started it, I\u2019M FINISHING it!\u201d\u00a0 Ben declared, with his own arms folded across his chest.\u00a0\u00a0 He directed a threatening glare at both of them that promised a whole world of trouble if they did not immediately cease and desist.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Sir,\u201d both mumbled in near unison.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s better,\u201d Ben said curtly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNow what happened?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSomeone PUSHED me into that rain barrel, Pa,\u201d Joe replied through clenched teeth.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI was over next to it, looking around for something . . . anything that might have made those crashing sounds we heard at the table.\u00a0\u00a0 I heard someone laugh, then I felt two hands on my back.\u00a0\u00a0 The next thing I knew I was taking a bath in the rain barrel.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPa, that someone who pushed Joe into the rain barrel WASN\u2019T me!\u201d\u00a0 Stacy stoutly, angrily maintained her innocence.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI was over on the other side of the garden getting ready to climb over the wall.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh?\u201d Ben queried, favoring his daughter with a puzzled glare.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Joe and I came out here, I . . . well, I thought I caught sight of someone out of the corner of my eye,\u201d Stacy explained.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cA boy.\u00a0\u00a0 I didn\u2019t get a real good look at him, but I DID see that he had brown, curly hair . . . kinda like Joe\u2019s.\u00a0\u00a0 I thought I saw him run that way . . . . \u201d she pointed, \u201cbut, when I turned all the way around?\u00a0\u00a0 He was GONE!\u00a0\u00a0 I figured he\u2019d gone over the garden wall.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStacy, why didn\u2019t you tell me?\u201d Joe demanded with a touch of exasperation.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause YOU were too busy of accusing me of pushing you into that rain barrel,\u201d she snapped.<\/p>\n

Her words, her explanation immediately took all the angry wind out of Joe\u2019s sails.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSorry, Stace,\u201d he murmured contritely.<\/p>\n

She sighed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry, too, Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood!\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019m glad THAT\u2019S settled!\u201d\u00a0 Ben declared with an emphatic nod of his head.\u00a0\u00a0 He then turned his attention to his daughter.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNow about this boy, Stacy . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about him, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou said he had brown, curly hair . . . like your brother\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 She nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the description Benjy gave me of his friend earlier this afternoon,\u201d Ben mused thoughtfully.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHave YOU met this boy?\u201d<\/p>\n

Stacy shook head.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, we\u2019d better get back to the table, before Hop Sing and your brothers decide to organize a posse,\u201d Ben sighed.<\/p>\n

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

Mother Catherine Margarita Gibson, reverend mother of the nursing order assigned to Saint Mary in the Mountains Catholic Church and Saint Brigid Hospital, was rudely awakened from a deep and sound sleep by a loud cry, filled with an anguish that shattered her kind heart into a thousand million pieces.\u00a0\u00a0 The eerie, disquieting silence that immediately followed was broken within less than the passage of time between one heartbeat and the next by the explosive pounding of fist against the wood of the fast closed door to her cell.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne moment . . . . \u201d Mother Catherine gasped, as she frantically worked to gather her wits about her.\u00a0\u00a0 She threw aside her bedclothes with a powerful sweeping motion of her well-muscled arm, and scrambled to her feet.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWh-Who\u2019s there?\u201d she called out.<\/p>\n

\u201cSister Frances, Mother,\u201d came the response in a voice, calm and steady, that carried within it a note of urgency.<\/p>\n

Mother Catherine closed her eyes and took a deep breath.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cCome in, Sister Frances,\u201d she invited, as she snatched up her robe from its customary place across the foot of her bed.<\/p>\n

\u201cMother, Mrs. Smith, God love her, has taken a terrible turn for the worse,\u201d Sister Frances reported in a brisk, no nonsense tone of voice, upon entering the room.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s go,\u201d Mother Catherine said grimly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou can tell me on the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Sister Anne and I went to check on her after Vespers, we found her pacing back and forth like a . . . a . . . like a wild animal locked in a cage,\u201d Sister Frances huffed and puffed through her dismal report.\u00a0\u00a0 Being a small, diminutive young woman, she had to jog in order to keep pace with the tall, statuesque mother superior.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSister . . . Sister Anne asked her . . . what was the matter, and . . . she said she had to . . . to . . . stop her son from . . . from doing something that would . . . endanger . . . his mortal soul.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you say her son, Sister Frances?\u201d Mother Catherine inquired, without breaking stride.\u00a0\u00a0 A cold lump had begun to form deep within the pit of her stomach.<\/p>\n

\u201cY-Yes, Mother,\u201d Sister Frances affirmed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cH-Her son.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re sure?\u00a0\u00a0 She actually said her son?!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure.\u00a0\u00a0 Mother?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Sister?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI d-didn\u2019t know she had a son.\u00a0\u00a0 I . . . was under the impression she\u00a0 . . . that she had no one.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe had THREE sons once . . . and three daughters,\u201d Mother Catherine replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happened?\u00a0\u00a0 Where are they now?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey died, Sister.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cALL of them?!\u201d Sister Frances gasped, stunned to the very core of her being by this grim revelation.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of them,\u201d Mother Catherine affirmed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cFather Rutherford told me that they died from some kind of food poisoning.\u00a0\u00a0 Tomorrow— no!\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s well after midnight!\u00a0\u00a0 Mrs. Smith\u2019s eldest son was the last of her six children to die . . . thirty years ago TODAY!\u201d<\/p>\n

On the heels of that devastating loss, the woman known to the sisters as Mrs. Lee Smith was brought to Saint Brigid\u2019s Hospital, more dead than alive, by Ben Cartwright and the two men he had just hired as ranch hands:\u00a0 Micah Everett and Jean di Marigny [ii].\u00a0 Her physical wounds were serious, but not life threatening, because they were given prompt treatment.\u00a0\u00a0 Within a matter of weeks, her body had almost completely recovered.<\/p>\n

Her spirit and soul, however, were different matters entirely.\u00a0\u00a0 During the course of that entire first year she had spent first in the hospital, then cloistered within the walls of the convent, she was consumed with anguish and guilt.\u00a0\u00a0 Nearly every waking moment was spent in prayer, begging God to take her life.\u00a0\u00a0 Mrs. Smith\u2019s innate will to survive proved very strong, however, and had ultimately prevailed, despite her very best intentions to the contrary.<\/p>\n

Impelled by her pragmatic nature and a work ethos, very strongly entrenched, Mrs. Smith began carving out her own niche among the community of sisters, until finally establishing herself as chief cook, bottle washer, housekeeper, hospital orderly, assistant nurse, and listening ear.\u00a0\u00a0 Though she had no desire whatsoever to, in her words, \u201ctake the veil,\u201d she was every bit as much a member of the community as the sisters and their mother superior.\u00a0\u00a0 Even so, the loss of her family still haunted Mrs. Smith to this very day, and would continue to haunt her until she finally breathed her last.\u00a0\u00a0 This was a given that Mother Catherine understood very well.<\/p>\n

When Mother Catherine and Sister Frances had finally arrived at the door to Mrs. Smith\u2019s cell within the convent, the former paused.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSister Frances,\u201d she said, taking great care to lower her voice, \u201cyou MAY speak of what I have just told you about Mrs. Smith with myself and Father Rutherford.\u00a0\u00a0 No one else.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cY-Yes, Mother,\u201d Sister Frances solemnly responded, taken aback by the stern scowl on the mother superior\u2019s face and the grim, determined set of her mouth and jaw line.<\/p>\n

\u201cMrs. Smith has found a measure of peace within our community . . . a peace for which she has labored very long and hard,\u201d Mother Catherine explained.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIf word of the circumstances that brought her to us were to go beyond the doors of our convent . . . that peace will be irrevocably lost.\u00a0\u00a0 Do you understand, Sister?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cY-Yes, Ma\u2019am,\u201d Sister Frances replied, nodding her head vigorously.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI won\u2019t say anything of what you have told me to any ONE apart from you and Father Rutherford.\u00a0\u00a0 On that you have my solemn vow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mother Catherine nodded, satisfied with the young sister\u2019s answer.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAll right . . . now that THAT\u2019S understood, let\u2019s go in.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Chapter 7<\/p>\n

The sound of a child\u2019s laughter roused Stacy Cartwright from the depths of sleep, drawing her reluctantly toward awareness.\u00a0\u00a0 She opened one eye, then the other slowly, and eased herself from prone to sitting.\u00a0\u00a0 All was silent, save for the steady ticking of the clock hanging on the wall next to her door, and the occasional whinnying of the horses still out in the corral.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMust\u2019ve dreamed it,\u201d she murmured as she snuggled back down under the warmth of her quilt, blanket, and sheets.<\/p>\n

Stacy had no sooner closed her eyes, when she once again heard the child\u2019s laughter, this time followed by the sound of running footsteps.\u00a0\u00a0 She bolted upright and threw off the covers.\u00a0\u00a0 Within less than a heartbeat, she was out of bed, stealthily making her way across her room to the door.\u00a0\u00a0 She paused, with her hand on the doorknob, and listened.\u00a0\u00a0 The laughter and running footsteps grew fainter.\u00a0\u00a0 She opened her bedroom door and stepped out into the hall.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s . . . it\u2019s f-freezing!\u201d Stacy muttered, heartily regretting that she hadn\u2019t grabbed her robe.\u00a0\u00a0 Folding her arms tight across her chest, she glanced up just in time to see a child, a boy, with brown, curly hair, clad in a white luminous nightshirt, turn and start down the stairs.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHEY!\u201d she yelled.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYOU COME BACK HERE!\u201d<\/p>\n

The boy paused at the steps, and turned.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019LL BETCHA YOU CAN\u2019T CATCH ME!\u201d\u00a0 he taunted, then with a scornful laugh turned and fled down the stairs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll see about THAT!\u201d\u00a0 Stacy muttered under her breath, as she took off after the boy at a dead run.\u00a0\u00a0 When she reached the top of the stairs, less than a second later, there was no sign of the boy whatsoever.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHe couldn\u2019t have gotten away THAT quickly . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWho\u2019s that, Little Sister?\u201d\u00a0 a sleepy voice demanded cantankerously.<\/p>\n

Stacy gasped, nearly jumping out of her skin.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cJoseph Francis Cartwright, don\u2019t you know better than to sneak up behind someone in the middle of the\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHey!\u00a0\u00a0 Simmer down, will ya?!\u00a0\u00a0 Before you wake up everyone ELSE?\u201d<\/p>\n

Stacy took a deep breath.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s that kid.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWHAT kid?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe boy I saw out in the garden,\u201d Stacy replied, her eyes moving all over the area of the great room visible from her vantage point.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s somehow gotten inside the house.\u00a0\u00a0 I saw him just now, running down the hall, laughing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere\u2019d he go?\u201d Joe demanded, suddenly alert, every last vestige of sleep gone.<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw him run down stairs,\u201d Stacy said grimly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHe couldn\u2019t have gone far . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s go!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe and Stacy noiselessly ran down the stairs, one behind the other.\u00a0\u00a0 They spent the next hour and a half diligently conducting a thorough search of the great room.<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing,\u201d Joe murmured wearily, punctuating his declaration with a big yawn.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t understand this,\u201d Stacy said, gazing around the darkened room in complete bewilderment.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHe couldn\u2019t have gone into the kitchen.\u00a0\u00a0 Hop Sing would have nailed him for sure.\u00a0\u00a0 Could he have gone out through the front door?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Joe shook his head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI checked.\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s bolted . . . from the inside.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 This was their father\u2019s custom whenever the payroll money was in the house, even if it was always locked tight in the safe.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s no way that kid could have left by the front door and bolted it shut behind him . . . which begs the question of how he got inside in the first place.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI . . . . \u201d Stacy shrugged, and shook her head.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou SURE you didn\u2019t dream this, Little Sister?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow I . . . I\u2019m NOT so sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCome on, Stace,\u201d Joe sighed, then yawned again, \u201cno harm done.\u00a0\u00a0 Let\u2019s g\u2019won back to bed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAlright . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

Joe and Stacy climbed the steps in silence.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBrrr!\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s freezing!\u201d the former remarked, shivering.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s colder NOW, than it was when I chased that kid down the stairs,\u201d Stacy declared, her teeth chattering.<\/p>\n

Joe saw Stacy back to her room, then turned and started back up to hall toward his own.\u00a0\u00a0 He paused for a moment at the door, with hand on doorknob, to cast a quick, furtive glance over his shoulder.\u00a0\u00a0 All of a sudden, he felt the eerie sensation of eyes, hidden and unseen, watching him very closely.<\/p>\n

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

The following morning, Ben was rudely jolted out of a sound sleep by an onslaught of Chinese words screamed at top volume.\u00a0\u00a0 Had that tirade been translated into English, it would have almost certainly brought a bright crimson flush to the cheeks of even the most hardened men who had served aboard the Wanderer, under Captain Abel Stoddard in days gone by.<\/p>\n

\u201cNO BREAKFAST!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He heard Hop Sing yell, as he stumbled down the stairs, uncombed and unshaven, clad in nightshirt, robe, and slippers.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHOP SING QUIT<\/strong>!!\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 GO TO SAN FRANCISCO!\u00a0\u00a0 HELP NUMBER NINE COUSIN IN RESTAURANT!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAww . . . dadburnit, Hop Sing . . . . \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 That wheedling tone belonged to Hoss.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNow why don\u2019t ya fix us all up a nice big breakfast, \u2018n— \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNO BREAKFAST!\u201d Hop Sing rudely cut Hoss off, mid-sentence.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNO EGGS<\/strong>!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWHADDYA MEAN NO EGGS?!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNO . . . EGGS!\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 EGGS ALL GONE!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDADBURNIT, HOP SING, IF Y\u2019 DON\u2019T QUIT SPEAKIN\u2019 IN RIDDLES— \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTHERE!\u00a0\u00a0 THERE, THERE, THERE, THERE!\u00a0\u00a0 YOU LOOK!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cAww, for the luvva . . . . \u201d Ben growled, as he ran down what remained of the stairs, then beat a straight path toward the kitchen.\u00a0\u00a0 The scowl on his face deepened with each step.\u00a0\u00a0 Less than a moment later, he burst into the kitchen like a barrel of exploding nitroglycerin.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWould you two mind keeping your voices DOWN?!\u201d he reprimanded his middle boy and number one cook.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSome of us ARE trying to sleep— \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMister Cartwright, YOU look!\u201d Hop Sing angrily turned on Ben.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou look real good!\u00a0\u00a0 See yourself what bad boy do!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He thrust an arm and pointing finger toward the floor right by his feet.<\/p>\n

Ben\u2019s eyes dropped down to the place at which Hop Sing pointed.\u00a0\u00a0 The dried remains of three-dozen eggs littered the kitchen floor, yolk and white mixing with tiny shards of shell to form a dull, lacquer-like substance with all the tough durability of concrete.<\/p>\n

\u201cI KNEW it!\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss yelped and jumped backward upon hearing his sister\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere WAS someone in this house last night!\u201d Stacy blithely rambled on, with a note of smug triumph in her voice.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI KNEW I wasn\u2019t dreaming.\u00a0\u00a0 Wait\u2019ll I tell Grandpa!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDadburn it, Little Sister, you just scared me outta ten years\u2019 growth,\u201d Hoss growled, as he struggled to regain a small measure of composure.\u00a0\u00a0 He favored Stacy with a menacing glare.<\/p>\n

\u201c . . . uhhh, sorry,\u201d Stacy apologized.<\/p>\n

\u201cY\u2019 might try \u2018n let a body know you\u2019re comin\u2019 instead o\u2019 sneakin\u2019 up on him like a prowlin\u2019 cougar or bob cat,\u201d Hoss continued.<\/p>\n

Stacy drew herself up to the fullness of her height and planted a pair of tight fists on her hips.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHoss . . . I SAID I was sorry,\u201d she hotly defended herself.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s ENOUGH outta the BOTH of ya!\u201d Ben sternly admonished his middle son and only daughter.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, Pa . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStacy Rose Cartwright, I SAID that\u2019s enough!\u201d Ben reiterated his position, with a dark thunderous glare aimed in Stacy\u2019s direction for emphasis.<\/p>\n

\u201c . . . uhhh . . . yes, Sir,\u201d she murmured softly.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow then, Young Woman, why don\u2019t we begin with YOU telling us exactly what you know about the bad boy responsible for making this mess,\u201d Ben said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI DID NOT<\/strong>!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Benjy yelled at the top of his voice, before Stacy had a chance to answer.<\/p>\n

\u201cYOU DID SO!\u201d Dio yelled back, every bit as angry.<\/p>\n

\u201cI DID NOT!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cLIAR!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201c . . . uhhh . . . Pa?\u201d Hoss ventured.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cY\u2019 want me t\u2019 break it up?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben adamantly shook his head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI . . . think that\u2019s a chore best left to their parents,\u201d he replied . . . .<\/p>\n

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

\u201cYOU\u2019RE<\/strong> THE LIAR!\u201d Benjy accused.\u00a0\u00a0 The dark scowl on his face, and his stance, with posture erect and arms folded defiantly across his chest, was reminiscent of his father at the same age and in the same mood.<\/p>\n

\u201cI AM NOT<\/strong>!\u201d Dio returned belligerently.<\/p>\n

\u201cY\u2019 ARE SO . . . AND YOU\u2019RE MEANER THAN A SNAKE, TOO!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWELL, YOU\u2019RE A BIG \u2018FRAIDY CAT CRY BABY SISSY, AND I HATE YOU, BENJY CARTWRIGHT!\u00a0 \u00a0I HATE YOU, I HATE YOU, I HATE<\/strong> YOU!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI HATE YOU, TOO, YOU . . . YOU LYING BITCH!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYOU\u2019RE A LYING BITCH, TOO . . . . \u201d Dio yelled back.\u00a0\u00a0 She had no idea what that word actually meant.\u00a0\u00a0 She only knew it was a bad one, that its utterance got her best friend\u2019s mouth washed out with soap by their irate school teacher early on during the school year.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI WISH YOU WERE DEAD<\/strong>!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBENJY . . . DIO . . . . THAT WILL BE ENOUGH<\/strong>!\u201d Adam roared, as he bolted into the hallway, belting his navy blue robe as he ran.\u00a0\u00a0 Teresa followed closely at his heels.<\/p>\n

\u201cHE started it!\u201d Dio charged.<\/p>\n

\u201cI DID NOT!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYOU DID SO<\/strong>!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNO, I DIDN\u2019T, YOU—<\/strong> \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBENJAMIN EDUARDO . . . DELORES ELIZABETH, I SAID THAT\u2019S ENOUGH!\u201d<\/strong> Adam roared, glaring at his son first, then over at his daughter.<\/p>\n

The two children lapsed into an angry, sullen silence.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want the two of you to go to your rooms right now and stay there until your mother and I call you,\u201d Adam continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cBUT, PA-AAAA-AAAHHH . . . HE<\/strong> STARTED IT!\u201d Dio wailed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI DID NOT!\u201d Benjy returned.<\/p>\n

\u201cI DON\u2019T CARE WHO<\/strong> STARTED IT . . . I\u2019M <\/strong>PUTTING AN END TO IT!\u201d Adam yelled.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNOW GO TO YOUR ROOMS.\u201d<\/p>\n

The children turned and stomped their way back to their rooms, without sparing each other, or their parents so much as a backward glance.<\/p>\n

Adam closed his eyes and slowly . . . very slowly . . . counted to ten.\u00a0\u00a0 Three times.\u00a0\u00a0 Twice in English and once in Spanish.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat in the world is going on with those two?!\u201d Teresa demanded, bewildered, deeply concerned, and thoroughly exasperated.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSure, they fight occasionally . . . all brothers and sisters do!\u00a0\u00a0 But, not like this!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know, Teresa, but one way or another, we WILL get to the bottom of all this,\u201d Adam grimly vowed, \u201cbut not now.\u00a0\u00a0 The kids need time to cool off, and frankly . . . so do I.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c . . . uhhh, Adam?\u00a0\u00a0 Teresa?\u201d Ben ventured, hesitant, mentally bracing himself.<\/p>\n

Adam reluctantly turned and found himself staring into the anxious faces of his father, his younger bigger brother, his sister, and Hop Sing.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHoo boy!\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019m sorry the kids woke you,\u201d he murmured contritely.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t Benjy \u2018n Dio who woke ME,\u201d Hoss said, directing an angry glare over at Hop Sing.<\/p>\n

\u201cBad boy!\u201d Hop Sing said, his face darkening once again with anger.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cLast night, bad boy come in.\u00a0\u00a0 Take eggs Hop Sing get from chicken.\u00a0\u00a0 Smash all over kitchen floor.\u00a0\u00a0 Big mess.\u00a0\u00a0 Hop Sing had plenty enough.\u00a0\u00a0 Hop Sing QUIT!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHop Sing, are you saying that Benjy—?!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, Mister Adam!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Hop Sing shook his head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBad boy NOT Mister Adam\u2019s little boy.\u00a0\u00a0 Bad boy OTHER Benjy.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Benjy Cartwright noiselessly eased the door to his room closed, then turned his attention to the boy, with light brown, curly hair, clad only in a pair of well-worn overalls, who stood on the center of the room.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBenjy . . . you didn\u2019t— \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re liars,\u201d the other Benjy said, \u201call of \u2018em!\u00a0\u00a0 They\u2019re nothin\u2019 but dirty, rotten, stinkin\u2019 liars . . . just like your sister.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, they\u2019re not,\u201d Benjy stoutly defended his family.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMy mother and father— \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re about to tell me your ma \u2018n pa are as honest as the day\u2019s long . . . save your breath,\u201d the other boy snorted derisively.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey ARE,\u201d Benjy stubbornly maintained his ground.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, they ain\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are so!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh yeah?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, how about all the times they\u2019ve told you they love ya every bit as much as they love your sister?\u201d the other boy sneered.<\/p>\n

That gave Benjy Cartwright pause.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou KNOW they love HER best, don\u2019tcha?\u201d<\/p>\n

Benjy slowly, reluctantly nodded his head.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen ya gotta know when they say they love YOU every bit as much . . . it just plain \u2018n simple ain\u2019t true,\u201d the other boy continued, \u201cand if what they say ain\u2019t true, then they\u2019re liars.\u00a0\u00a0 Simple as that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI . . . I never thought of it like that,\u201d Benjy murmured softly.\u00a0\u00a0 Never in his entire life had he ever felt so terribly alone.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour grandmother\u2019s as bad as your ma and pa,\u201d the other boy continued.\u00a0\u00a0 A bare hint of a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cShe might get mad at your sister sometimes, but a few minutes later, it\u2019s all forgive and forget.\u00a0\u00a0 You saw . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah . . . I\u2019ve seen alright . . . lot\u2019s of times,\u201d Benjy grumbled, his face darkening with anger.<\/p>\n

\u201cBenjy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat!?\u201d Benjy snapped, grief stricken and angry.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou CAN make \u2018em sorry, if you want to,\u201d the other Benjy said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou can make \u2018em REAL sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow?\u201d Benjy demanded, eager and impatient . . . .<\/p>\n

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

Hop Sing, meanwhile, fixed a hearty breakfast of fried ham and potatoes, toast, fruit, coffee, and milk for the two children.\u00a0\u00a0 Benjy occupied the chair at the foot of the table, flanked on either side by his father and his maternal grandmother.\u00a0\u00a0 Dio sat between her between her parents.\u00a0\u00a0 The two children ate the food placed before them in silence, with heads bowed, and eyes glued to their plates.\u00a0\u00a0 Stacy, seated directly across the table from her niece, flanked by Joe on one side and Dolores on the other, had just finished recounting the events that had transpired the night before.<\/p>\n

\u201c . . . and you took it upon yourself to go after this boy?\u201d Ben demanded.<\/p>\n

\u201cI<\/strong> was with her, Pa,\u201d Joe immediately spoke up.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid she come and wake you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d Joe replied without hesitation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI woke Joe up last night, but, ummm . . . not the way you\u2019re asking, Pa,\u201d Stacy ruefully admitted.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see,\u201d Ben said curtly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cStacy, if I\u2019ve told you once, I\u2019m sure I\u2019ve told you a million times . . . you are NOT to investigate strange noises you hear in the middle of the night BY YOURSELF.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cI\u2019ve got a real good mind to march you right out to the barn and make you REAL sorry,\u201d Ben continued, fearful and angry.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhat if that boy you saw in the hallway last night had turned out to be an armed intruder?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe wasn\u2019t, Pa,\u201d Stacy replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHe was a boy . . . a little younger than me . . . with curly hair like Joe . . . wearing a nightshirt.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHer running around, screaming woke ME up, Pa.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Joe\u2019s tone of voice was properly deferential, but it was clear to one and all that he was taking up for his young sister.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cLike she said . . . we searched downstairs pretty thoroughly and couldn\u2019t find hide nor hair of anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDid the two of ya search the kitchen?\u201d Ben demanded, glaring at his daughter first, then over at his youngest son.<\/p>\n

\u201c . . . uhhh . . . no . . . . \u201d Stacy sheepishly replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know how light a sleeper Hop Sing is,\u201d Joe quickly added.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWe figured if anyone HAD gone back in the kitchen . . . Hop Sing would\u2019ve nailed him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe you two should\u2019ve searched the kitchen, Brother,\u201d Adam said, while buttering his second piece of toast.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIf you had, Hop Sing wouldn\u2019t be in such a snit right now about all those broken eggs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor cryin\u2019 out loud, Adam,\u201d Joe snapped, favoring his oldest brother with a murderous glare.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThe front door was closed, with the deadbolt in place.\u00a0\u00a0 Now you tell me how in the he— \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoseph!\u201d Ben snapped, cutting his son off before he could finish that thought.<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry,\u201d Joe muttered through clenched teeth.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThe front door was closed.\u00a0\u00a0 The deadbolt was in place.\u00a0\u00a0 Stacy and I found no sign whatsoever of forced entry.\u00a0\u00a0 We honest and truly thought she had dreamed the whole thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s clear she didn\u2019t,\u201d Ben said sternly.\u00a0\u00a0 He, then, turned his attention to his grandson.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBenjy, about this new friend of yours— \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe didn\u2019t do it, Grandpa!\u201d Benjy fiercely took up for his new friend.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHonest!\u00a0\u00a0 He DIDN\u2019T!\u00a0\u00a0 If Aunt Stacy DIDN\u2019T dream the whole thing . . . then some OTHER kid messed up Hop Sing\u2019s kitchen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBenjy, you will NOT take that tone with your grandfather,\u201d Adam sternly admonished his son.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry, Grandpa,\u201d the boy apologized in a sullen tone of voice.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBut my friend didn\u2019t do it . . . and he didn\u2019t scare the horses in the barn either.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh yes, he did!\u201d Dio angrily countered.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSo did YOU!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI did NOT!\u201d Benjy hotly defended himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cBenjy . . . Dio . . . if you don\u2019t cease and desist— \u201d Adam began.<\/p>\n

\u201cNO!\u201d Benjy cried, leaping from his chair with force sufficient to send it clattering to the floor.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSHE\u2019S LYING!\u201d he accused at the top of his voice, thrusting his arm and pointing finger at Dio.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSHE\u2019S LYING!<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 I WASN\u2019T ANYWHERE NEAR<\/strong> THAT BARN YESTERDAY!\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019LL JUST BET SHE FAKED THE WHOLE THING TO GET ME INTO TROUBLE!\u201d<\/p>\n

Dio gasped, astonished, outranged, and highly indignant.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYOU WERE SO IN THE BARN YESTERDAY, YOU AND THAT OTHER MEAN LITTLE BOY!\u201d she accused.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI HEARD YOU!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYOU\u2019RE A LIAR, DIO!\u00a0\u00a0 A DIRTY, ROTTEN, STINKIN\u2019 LIAR, AND I HATE<\/strong> YOU!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 With that, Benjy turned, and with a strangled sob, fled to the upper environs and the safety of his room.<\/p>\n

\u201cDio, have you finished your breakfast?\u201d Teresa asked her daughter.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Ma\u2019am . . . . \u201d the girl responded warily, taking due note of the ferocious scowl on her mother\u2019s face.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen you g\u2019won upstairs to your room, too,\u201d Teresa ordered.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, Ma . . . I didn\u2019t do anything!\u201d Dio immediately protested.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou heard your mother,\u201d Adam said sternly.<\/p>\n

An exasperated sigh exploded from between the girl\u2019s pursed lips, as she rose and threw her napkin down on the table.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s not fair,\u201d she groused, as she stomped her way from the dining room to the stairs.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s not fair . . . it\u2019s not fair . . . it\u2019s not fair!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBen,\u201d Teresa said ruefully, as she turned her full attention to her father-in-law, still seated in his place at the head of the table, \u201cI\u2019m sorry . . . I don\u2019t know what\u2019s gotten into those two . . . they aren\u2019t USUALLY like that . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know,\u201d Ben hastened to reassure.<\/p>\n

\u201cGiven the way Benjy feels about horses right now, perhaps a trip out to the proverbial WOODSHED\u2019S in order,\u201d Teresa said grimly, \u201cfor the both of \u2018em.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m inclined to agree,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019d thought their tempers might cool when I sent them to their rooms earlier, but that hasn\u2019t happened.\u00a0\u00a0 If anything, their initial anger\u2019s increased.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt won\u2019t do one speck of good, Adam,\u201d Dolores spoke for the first time since the family had sat down to breakfast.\u00a0\u00a0 Her grim, morose tone of voice drew the attention of everyone still seated around the dining room table.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s an evil spirit in this house.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a . . . a . . . what?!\u201d Ben demanded, alternating between shocked disbelief and an insane urge to simply throw back his head and laugh out loud.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh for— \u201d Teresa grumbled, while sarcastically rolling her eyes heavenward.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMother, for goodness sake!\u00a0\u00a0 This is the nineteenth century not the dark ages . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBe that as it may,\u201d Dolores said stiffly, \u201cthere IS an evil spirit in this house.\u00a0\u00a0 I felt it the minute I walked through that door, though at the time I didn\u2019t recognize it for what it was . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNonsense!\u201d Teresa snapped, directing an angry, baleful glare in her mother\u2019s general direction.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cEvil spirits indeed!\u00a0\u00a0 Stuff and . . . and . . . superstitious nonsense!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right, Young Lady . . . suppose YOU tell ME . . . . \u201d Dolores shot right back, addressing her daughter in the same condescending tone of voice she might use in addressing a very young child, \u201c . . . how a boy, or for that matter, how ANY human being, can get into this house with deadbolts thrown on the front and back doors . . . no broken windows . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis boy OBVIOUSLY snuck into the house BEFORE we locked up for the night, and hid someplace . . . a closet perhaps, or an empty bedroom,\u201d Teresa replied in a tone of voice every bit as condescending as her mother\u2019s.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAfter Stacy chased him down the stairs, he no doubt retreated to his hiding place and waited until he was sure we\u2019d all gone back to sleep before making his mischief out in the kitchen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019M inclined to think Benjy\u2019s come under the bad influence of a new friend,\u201d Adam said very quietly, and very pointedly, \u201cone who, for reasons unknown, seems bound and determined to drive a wedge between the boy and the rest of his family.\u00a0\u00a0 I think the best for all concerned is to simply tell Benjy he\u2019s not to associate with this boy, though I\u2019d still like to find out who his parents are.\u00a0\u00a0 They need to know what their son\u2019s been up to over the last couple of days.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI<\/strong> say we need to get a priest to come and bless this house,\u201d Dolores declared with an emphatic nod of her head.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cThank you for coming, Father,\u201d Mother Catherine said, her voice filled with a mixture of gratitude and profound relief.\u00a0\u00a0 She set aside the small ledger book, lying open before her, and rose.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI know you\u2019ve been kept busy for the last couple of weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the least I can do,\u201d Father Brendan said quietly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI . . . heard she had a rough night?\u201d<\/p>\n

Mother Catherine nodded.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cVery,\u201d she replied with a touch of wryness.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cShe\u2019s become quite obsessed with her oldest son over the last couple of days . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDoesn\u2019t she always . . . around this time?\u201d the priest queried gently.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot like this,\u201d the mother superior replied, shaking her head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIn all the years she\u2019s been with us . . . she has never been like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow is she now?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe slept all morning as you might imagine,\u201d Mother Catherine replied.\u00a0\u00a0 She turned and lowered the cover of the roll top desk, dominating her cubbyhole-sized office within the building housing Saint Brigid\u2019s Hospital.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDid Brother Algernon tell you that she had almost reached the edge of town before he finally caught up with her?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Father Brendan replied, shocked and astonished.\u00a0\u00a0 Never, not even in the wildest of his dreams and imaginings given the woman\u2019s fragility, would he have believed it possible for Lee Smith to make it all the way from her hospital room all the way to the edge of town.<\/p>\n

Mother Catherine gestured for the priest to leave the office first.\u00a0\u00a0 He nodded, and stepped into the narrow corridor beyond.\u00a0\u00a0 The mother superior followed close behind, gently closing the door behind her.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cShe\u2019s had a bit of lunch . . . toast and a small glass of milk.\u00a0\u00a0 Her appetite has diminished considerably over the last month or so . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

Father Brendan nodded, as they turned and started down the hall.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s resting comfortably enough, and . . . apart from her insistence that her oldest son is about to do . . . something . . . that will endanger his mortal soul . . . she seems very lucid,\u201d the mother superior continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny thoughts on how she came by the notion of her oldest son endangering his immortal soul?\u201d Father Brendan asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cNone,\u201d Mother Catherine replied with a helpless shrug.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI remember her going through this before . . . . \u201d she fell silent for a moment to do a bit of mental figuring, \u201c . . . twelve . . . maybe thirteen years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s right . . . she did.\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019d forgotten.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSame time as Ben Cartwright had some strange goings on in his home, as I recall,\u201d Mother Catherine continued.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI remember my sister telling me some of the rumors that started to circulate around town shortly thereafter.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Her sister was the late Hazel Gibson, the schoolteacher who had graced the hallowed halls of learning at the Virginia City School just before Abigail Jones.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think most of those rumors might be more accurately classified as flights of fancy, Mother Catherine,\u201d Father Brendan said with a wry smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of those stories are long forgotten, thank the Good Lord,\u201d Mother Catherine declared in a brisk, no nonsense tone of voice.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThe change from boy to man is hard enough on any young lad, the Lord Above knows . . . and for Joe Cartwright, I dare say it was harder than most.\u00a0\u00a0 The last thing he needed was having all of that fol-de-rol about ghosts, goblins, and things that go bump in the night clinging to him like glue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many men would be shocked by Mother Catherine\u2019s frank way of speaking, the priest silently mused, his smile broadening, particularly men of the cloth like himself.\u00a0\u00a0 Over the years his association and friendship with the mother superior had endured, he had come to understand this was her way, with having grown up on a farm and gone into nursing as her vocation.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYoung Joseph is made of the same sterner stuff as his father and brothers,\u201d Father Brendan quietly observed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHe withered the storm with nary a whimper.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank the Lord for small mercies, and I dare say a very understanding father and older brothers,\u201d Mother Catherine observed as they came to a stop before the closed door to the tiny room occupied by Lee Smith, the patient Father Brendan had come to see.\u00a0\u00a0 She turned, and gently knocked on the door.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes?\u00a0\u00a0 Who is it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMother Superior, Sister Anne,\u201d Mother Catherine identified herself.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m here with Father Brendan.\u00a0\u00a0 Is Mrs. Smith . . . . ?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Mother,\u201d Sister Anne replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cPlease come in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mother Catherine opened the door and stepped inside, with the priest following close behind.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cGood afternoon, Mrs. Smith,\u201d she greeted the patient, a diminutive elderly woman with bright green eyes and white hair, the same bright purity of new fallen snow.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHow are you feeling?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA little better, thank you,\u201d Lee replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cFather Brendan has come in response to your request,\u201d the mother superior continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood afternoon, Mrs. Smith,\u201d Father Brendan greeted the patient with a warm smile as he stepped out from behind the mother superior.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you so much for coming, Father,\u201d Lee murmured, returning the priest\u2019s smile and extending her hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cFather . . . Mrs. Smith . . . Sister Anne and I will leave you alone,\u201d Mother Catherine said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ll be right outside, if either of you need us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Father Brendan silently acknowledged the mother superior\u2019s words with a nod, as he sat down in the chair beside the bed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhat can I do for you, Mrs. Smith?\u201d he asked, after the nuns had left the room.<\/p>\n

A wistful smile spread slowly across her lips.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not long for this world, Father,\u201d Lee said very quietly.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve suffered other attacks,\u201d Father Brendan complacently pointed out.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThe last was worse . . . far worse than this . . . yet you pulled through like a champ.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s one of the things I like most about you,\u201d she said, her smile broadening.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re always looking on the bright side . . . always looking for that silver lining behind the dark thundercloud.\u00a0\u00a0 Father . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Mrs. Smith?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI want you to know I have no fear of dying . . . nor do I have any regrets,\u201d she said, her smile fading.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m grateful to the sisters . . . for all they\u2019ve done for me . . . for embracing me as one of their own, though I\u2019ve never desired to take the vows . . . for allowing me to make my own place among them . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c . . . and YOU\u2019VE done so much . . . given so much . . . to them . . . to all of us in return,\u201d Father Brendan said, with all sincerity, his voice filled with gratitude.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhen your time DOES come, Mrs. Smith, it\u2019s going to take three . . . maybe four of the sisters to do all the work YOU do . . . and that\u2019s with Brother Algernon pitching in.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, Father.\u00a0\u00a0 Your words . . . and your gratitude do my heart good.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 She closed her eyes, and with a very soft sigh, leaned heavily into the down pillows stacked behind her head.\u00a0\u00a0 Her breathing relaxed into a gentle, even pattern.<\/p>\n

Father Brendan watched her for a time, then, figuring her to be asleep, eased the chair away from the bed, taking great care to be as quiet as he possibly could.\u00a0\u00a0 He rose, with the intention of leaving her to her rest.<\/p>\n

\u201cFather?\u201d she murmured softly; so softly, the priest almost missed hearing her words.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Mrs. Smith?\u201d he queried, as he returned to his seat.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo YOU believe in ghosts?\u201d Lee asked.\u00a0\u00a0 She lay unmoving under her bedclothes, with hands resting at her sides, and eyes still closed.<\/p>\n

Father Brendan smiled.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cOfficially . . . no.\u00a0\u00a0 Mother Church does not recognize the possibility of spirits remaining earthbound after the body dies,\u201d he replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHowever . . . . \u201d his smile broadened, \u201cI\u2019ve certainly heard stories and experienced a thing or two personally that, ummm . . . might be best classified as unexplained . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou remember my oldest boy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI do, indeed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s still there, Father . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

Father Brendan frowned.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s still . . . where, Mrs. Smith?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere our farm was,\u201d she replied, her voice catching.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t you remember?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes . . . . \u201d Father Brendan replied, the bewildered scowl on his face deepening.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve GOT to warn Ben.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWarn Ben?\u201d Father Brendan echoed, feeling as if he had just stepped off the end of a pier into very deep water.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAbout . . . what, exactly?\u201d<\/p>\n

Her eyes softened and glazed over.\u00a0\u00a0 A single tear slipped over her eyelid and ran down her cheek.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHe . . . w-wasn\u2019t a bad boy . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Father Brendan agreed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cQuite the opposite, in fact.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI wish . . . oh, how I wish he\u2019d had the chance to attend school,\u201d Lee sighed, her voice filled with sadness and regret.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHe was a smart boy, y\u2019 know . . . bright as a brand new penny.\u00a0\u00a0 He could\u2019ve gone far with a half decent education, but . . . . \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 She sighed again and dolefully shook her head, \u201cmy husband didn\u2019t put much stock schools, \u2018n learning . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes . . . I remember that, too,\u201d Father Brendan said quietly.\u00a0\u00a0 Her husband and his father were a couple of lazy, good for nothing drunkards.\u00a0\u00a0 That was the way of it, pure and simple.\u00a0\u00a0 Although he, personally, tried his best not to think or speak ill of the dead, or presumed dead, those were the kindest things he could think of to say about the husband and father-in-law of the woman known for the better part of the last three decades as Lee Smith.\u00a0\u00a0 How a woman like her ever ended up leg-shackled to a man like that . . . it was \u2018way beyond his poor ability to comprehend.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a bundle of energy, that one . . . . \u201d Lee remembered.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour oldest boy?\u201d<\/p>\n

She nodded.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou know, I never once had to ask him to do the chores . . . chop kindling . . . look after the younger ones when I . . . when I had to fetch the doctor to see to their pa or . . . or go t\u2019 town \u2018n bail him out of jail.\u00a0\u00a0 No, Sir . . . he just saw what had to be done and did it.\u00a0\u00a0 Never complained . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know he worried about YOU, Mrs. Smith . . . a lot,\u201d Father Brendan said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSeems he\u2019s was always concerned about you working too hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember,\u201d she said, smiling indulgently through the stream of tears now streaming down her cheeks.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHe was a real worrywart, that\u2019s for sure.\u00a0\u00a0 Day he died . . . I wished . . . I wished with all my heart, with all my being, with everything I\u2019ve got within me . . . that I could curl up \u2018n die, too.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Her smile faded.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThey were so young, Father . . . so young . . . wasn\u2019t fair they should die like that, before they had a chance to live . . . to really experience life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Father Brendan agreed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt happens all too often, but you\u2019re right.\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s NOT fair.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe wanted so bad to live . . . and he fought. . . he fought so very hard, but he just . . . plain \u2018n simply . . . didn\u2019t have the strength,\u201d she said sadly.\u00a0\u00a0 She paused, just long enough to blot her wet cheeks against the sleeve of her nightgown.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI guess that\u2019s why he stayed around.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI s\u2019pose . . . . \u201d Father Brendan murmured softly, not quite knowing what else to say.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrouble is . . . hard as he wishes otherwise . . . he\u2019s NOT alive,\u201d Lee continued.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHe can\u2019t take part any more.\u00a0\u00a0 All he can do is watch . . . and with no one to see or hear him . . . he\u2019s lonely, Father . . . so terribly lonely.\u00a0\u00a0 I can\u2019t fault him none for wanting company, but he\u2019s going about it wrong.\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019ve gotta warn Ben . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWarn Ben about . . . WHAT, exactly?\u201d Father Brendan asked, treading with great care.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThat your son is still there?\u00a0\u00a0 That he wants company?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not crazy, Father,\u201d Lee said, all of a sudden very much on the defensive.<\/p>\n

She gazed up at him through eyes round and unblinking, reminding the priest of a frightened rabbit caught in a trap.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry, Mrs. Smith.\u00a0\u00a0 I didn\u2019t mean to suggest— \u201d<\/p>\n

Lee seized hold of her blanket and threw it aside with a force and strength Father Brendan was astonished to see in an elderly woman so frail.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYes, you do!\u201d she rudely cut him off.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cCan\u2019t blame you none, I s\u2019pose . . . once upon a time I<\/strong> would\u2019ve thought an old woman like me nuttier \u2018n great big pecan pie, too.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 She sat up before the priest could even think to stop her.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNow what\u2019d they do with my slippers?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMrs. Smith, please . . . . \u201d Father Brendan begged, as he placed gentle, yet restraining hands on her shoulders.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou shouldn\u2019t be out of bed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLet me GO, Father . . . please.\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019ve gotta stop him, don\u2019t you see?\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019ve gotta stop him before . . . before he . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStop WHO, Mrs. Smith?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMY BOY!\u201d Lee wailed. \u00a0\u00a0\u201cI\u2019VE GOTTA STOP MY BOY BEFORE HE GOES TOO FAR AND ENDS UP LOSING HIS MORTAL SOUL!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cY-You . . . you CAN\u2019T make the trip out to the Ponderosa,\u201d Father Brendan desperately tried to reason with the woman, suddenly turned ferocious tigress, struggling mightily to free herself from his grip.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s . . . with your health . . . it\u2019s . . . simply . . . out of the question.\u00a0\u00a0 Perhaps I— \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNO!\u201d she snarled, her fear and desperation rising steadily toward hysteria.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHE WON\u2019T LISTEN TO YOU!\u00a0\u00a0 I JUST HOPE AND PRAY TO GOD HE\u2019LL LISTEN TO ME<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

At that moment, the door to Lee Smith\u2019s room flew open, with enough force and momentum to send it crashing into the wall perpendicular.\u00a0\u00a0 Mother Catherine strode briskly into the room, moving with all the easy strength and power of clipper ship with the wind in her sails.\u00a0\u00a0 Brother Algernon and two postulates followed close at her heels, with Sister Anne bringing up the rear, breathless, running as fast as he short legs could carry her.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll take over from here, Father,\u201d Mother Catherine said briskly, all business.<\/p>\n

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

Chapter 8<\/p>\n

Brother Algernon and one of the postulants, a big woman, well muscled, standing at near the same height as Father Brendan, moved in on either side of the distraught woman, each taking firm, yet gentle hold of an arm.\u00a0\u00a0 The monk softly spoke words of reassurance and comfort as he and the postulant eased Lee back down onto the bed.<\/p>\n

\u201cLaudanum!\u201d the mother superior snapped, as she turned and glared over as Sister Anne.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Mother,\u201d Anne murmured, still breathless.\u00a0\u00a0 She turned heel and fled from the room, returning less than a moment later with bottle and spoon in hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cShall I send someone to fetch Doctor Martin?\u201d the priest asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Father . . . by all means,\u201d Mother Catherine replied . . . .<\/p>\n

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

The moon rose; every bit as full and as round as the tender, swollen udder of a cow, in desperate need of milking.\u00a0\u00a0 Its color was the same hot white of molten iron, just taken from the forge.\u00a0\u00a0 As it cleared the distant line of jagged mountain peaks, the hot white-blue summer sky quickly darkened to indigo, then black.\u00a0\u00a0 The approach of night, however, brought no relief from the blistering heat of the day, quickly fading.\u00a0\u00a0 If anything, the air grew hotter, more stultifying.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

The exposed portions of his sweat-soaked body, his face, neck, and hands, gleamed with a dull luster by the dim light from an old lantern, hanging from the wall, suspended somewhere above his head.\u00a0\u00a0 The rest of his body lay bundled under a mountain of sheets, blankets, two well worn quits, and a down comforter.\u00a0\u00a0 His mouth fell open as the muscles of his chest labored valiantly against the pressing, burdensome weight of his pajamas and all those bedclothes, to expand allowing his lungs to draw breath, then expel it.\u00a0\u00a0 He seized the top edge of the comforter in both hands and threw it off, followed by the quilts, and woolen blanket.<\/em><\/p>\n

Two sheets drifted down on top of him, followed by another wool blanket, two more quilts, and the comforter.<\/em><\/p>\n

He threw off the comforter, only to have two more and another quilt drop down on him.\u00a0\u00a0 He opened his mouth wider and sucked in a breath of air.\u00a0\u00a0 Not enough.\u00a0\u00a0 Not nearly enough.\u00a0\u00a0 Intense panic rose, fast and furious, from a place somewhere deep within.\u00a0\u00a0 He drew in another deep, ragged breath, then another, and another in rapid succession, desperate to take in enough air to fill lungs, empty and hungry.\u00a0\u00a0 He began to feel light headed and dizzy in short order. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019ll be ok, Benjy . . . . \u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

His lips and mouth labored frantically to speak, but no words issued forth.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIt WILL be ok.\u00a0\u00a0 I promise you . . . it WILL.\u00a0\u00a0 I know it hurts now . . . but it WILL be ok.\u00a0\u00a0 I KNOW it will.\u00a0\u00a0 Then, you\u2019ll make \u2018em all sorry.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Suddenly, inexplicably, he was afraid.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201c \u2018Fraidy cat!\u00a0\u00a0 \u2018Fraidy cat!\u00a0\u00a0 Benjy is a \u2018fraidy cat!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

It was his sister.\u00a0 Though he couldn\u2019t see Dio, her childish, singsong chant filled the room, coming from everywhere all at once.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cBenjy is a \u2018fraidy cat!\u00a0\u00a0 Benjy is a \u2018fraidy cat!\u00a0\u00a0 Benjy is a \u2018fraidy cat!\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

A feeble moan issued forth from dry throat and parched lips.\u00a0\u00a0 Again he tried to speak, tried to tell his tormenter to shut-up and go away, can\u2019t she see he was sick, for heaven\u2019s sake?!\u00a0\u00a0 But as before, no words came.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201c \u2018Fraidy cat . . . \u2018fraidy cat . . . Benjy is a \u2018fraidy cat!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Her voice rose steadily in volume, growing louder and more shrill, as the moon, shining in through his window with the same blinding brilliance as the sun, rose higher in the dark night sky. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

He raised his hands to his ears, pressing against the side of his head so hard, he half feared his skull would crack and shatter into a million pieces.\u00a0\u00a0 Still his sister\u2019s voice, and her childish laughter, so full of malice and hatred, rose to deafening volume.<\/em><\/p>\n

He squeezed his eyes tight shut, and inhaled a deep lung full of air, hotter than fire, his chest and lungs protesting with searing agony . . . .<\/em><\/p>\n

. . . and screamed.<\/em><\/p>\n

Benjy bolted upright in bed, screaming.\u00a0\u00a0 For a moment, he remained, unmoving, his eyes darting frantically around the darkened room, trying desperately to remember where he was.\u00a0\u00a0 The dark, near opaque shadows in the corners of the room began to swell and grow.\u00a0\u00a0 He sat in the middle of his bed, his thin arms wrapped tight around his shivering body, watching with rapt, morbid fascination as thin tendrils of impenetrable coal blackness slowly snaked out from the corners of the room toward him.\u00a0\u00a0 He tried to move . . . to run . . . to flee from this room and the horror reaching out to him, but his arms and legs remained frozen.<\/p>\n

He began to wag his head slowly, back and forth.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201c . . . nuh-nuh-nuh . . . nuh . . . NO!\u201d he finally screamed, and in so doing freed himself of the mysterious paralysis that scant moments before had nearly overwhelmed him.<\/p>\n

With a strangled cry, Benjy leapt from the bed and tore across the room toward the closed door.\u00a0 \u00a0Both hands closed tightly on the white porcelain knob.\u00a0\u00a0 He frantically turned this way and that, but the latch wouldn\u2019t give.<\/p>\n

\u201cCome on, come on, come on,\u201d he begged, as tears borne of fear and desperation began to blur his vision.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cCome ON, please . . . please, please, please open!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He could feel the shadow at his back now . . . cold . . . so terribly cold . . . colder than anything he had ever felt in his entire life.<\/p>\n

Then, suddenly, the latch gave.\u00a0\u00a0 He flung the door wide open and ran down the hall, fast as his legs could carry him.\u00a0\u00a0 The shadow boiled out of the room and flowed down the hall after him, swift, powerful, and relentless like a mighty river swollen with the melt of spring.\u00a0\u00a0 Benjy half ran, half stumbled down the stairs, to the front door.\u00a0\u00a0 After a terrifying, endless eternity of fumbling with deadbolt, and latch, he finally threw the door open with all his strength and plunged headlong into the night.<\/p>\n

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

Upstairs, the sound of the front door striking the credenza, rudely jolted Adam and Teresa from a sound sleep.<\/p>\n

\u201cA-Adam, wha—?!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSomeone\u2019s downstairs,\u201d Adam said softly.\u00a0\u00a0 He sat up and threw aside sheet, blanket, and quilt in a single powerful, yet very fluid move.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere are you going?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to go downstairs and have a look around,\u201d he replied, remembering that his father still had the payroll money locked up in the safe behind his desk.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m coming with you,\u201d Teresa declared, as she, also scrambled out of bed.<\/p>\n

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

She frowned.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAdam . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

He silenced her protestations with a curt gesture.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWake up Pa, Hoss, and Joe.\u00a0\u00a0 Tell them someone\u2019s broken into the house,\u201d Adam ordered with a shudder, remembering the stern lecture Pa had given his sister earlier, outlining all the reasons why she shouldn\u2019t investigate strange noises in the middle of the night by herself.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019d better check on the kids, too . . . make sure THEY\u2019RE all right.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right,\u201d she reluctantly agreed, \u201cbut you be careful.\u00a0\u00a0 You hear me, Mister?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLoud and clear, Ma\u2019am,\u201d Adam replied, trying very hard not to smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean it, Adam.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Though she spoke in a very firm, no-nonsense tone of voice, the uneasiness growing within her came through very clearly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know you do,\u201d Adam said, his voice softening, \u201cand I promise you . . . I WILL be careful.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He slipped on his robe, and, acting purely on impulse, gave his wife a quick, chaste kiss on her lips.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYOU be careful, too.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 With that, he slipped out of the room, silently closing the door behind him.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam?!\u00a0\u00a0 That you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Turning, he saw his brother, Hoss, barreling down the hall, armed with the poker kept next to the fireplace in his room.\u00a0\u00a0 There was a ferocious scowl on his face, and his jaw was set with grim determination.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYeah, Hoss . . . it\u2019s me,\u201d Adam responded to his brother\u2019s question, taking great care to keep his voice low.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou heard . . . . ?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat . . . bangin\u2019 sound?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYep.\u00a0\u00a0 I heard it alright,\u201d Hoss said grimly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWoke me right out of a real sweet dream, too.\u00a0\u00a0 I WAS gonna just turn over \u2018n g\u2019won back t\u2019 sleep, \u2018til I all uva sudden remembered Pa\u2019s got t\u2019 payroll locked up downstairs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI remembered that, too,\u201d Adam replied.<\/p>\n

The older Cartwright brothers started down the stairs, with Adam taking the lead, treading silently, \u201clike the snow fall,\u201d as Young Wolf [iii] had long ago taught them both.\u00a0\u00a0 They had just passed the middle landing, when their ears were assailed by a long string of clipped Chinese invectives yelled at top volume.\u00a0\u00a0 Hop Sing bounded into the room a moment later, clad in nightshirt, robe, and slippers, armed with a sharp meat cleaver.<\/p>\n

\u201cWHAT GO ON HERE?\u201d Hop Sing yelled.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSOMEBODY \u2018ROUND HERE GROW UP IN BARN?!\u00a0\u00a0 WHO LEAVE OPEN FRONT DOOR?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe dunno, Hop Sing,\u201d Hoss said grimly, as he and Adam stepped down onto the first floor, \u201cbut we sure aim t\u2019 find out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hop Sing screamed and jumped backward, crashing into the credenza, upon hearing the sound of Hoss\u2019 voice.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWHAT YOU DO?!\u201d the Chinese man angrily demanded.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSCARE TEN YEAR GROWING OUTTA HOP SING?!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cS-Sorry,\u201d Hoss murmured softly, with a wary glance at the meat cleaver and Hop Sing\u2019s white knuckled grip on its handle.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 It was Teresa.<\/p>\n

Adam turned and saw her standing at the top landing.<\/p>\n

\u201cBenjy\u2019s NOT in his room,\u201d she said, speaking as loud as she dared, her voice filled with urgency.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll find him,\u201d Adam promised.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou stay there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam, he\u2019s MY son, too,\u201d she said in a cold tone of voice that sent ice cold shivers down the spines of the three men gathered beside the still open front door.\u00a0\u00a0 She quickly drew the edges of her robe together, and tied the sash, hanging loose in its belt loops, before starting down the stairs.<\/p>\n

\u201cTeresa, NO!\u201d Hoss cried out, watching his determined sister-in-law bounding down the stairs, taking them two and three at a time. \u00a0\u00a0\u201cWE\u2019LL find him . . . Adam, Hop Sing, \u2018n me.\u00a0\u00a0 Dadburnit, we could be surrounded by a whole gang o\u2019 outlaws, armed t\u2019 the teeth.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c . . . and if that whole gang of outlaws have so much as harmed a single hair on Benjy\u2019s head, so help me . . . I\u2019ll skin every last one of them alive and nail their sorry hides to the barn wall,\u201d Teresa angrily vowed.<\/p>\n

\u201cDang, Adam . . . SHE\u2019S every bit as bad as PA!\u201d Hoss muttered, as he grabbed his gun belt from its place on the credenza, making sure he kept a respectful distance between himself and his sister-in-law.<\/p>\n

\u201cMister Ben father AND mother, too, like Mrs. Teresa mother,\u201d Hop Sing sagely observed, keeping himself well out of Teresa\u2019s reach as well.<\/p>\n

Adam sprinted across the room to his father\u2019s desk and pulled open the top right hand drawer.\u00a0\u00a0 There, much to his great relief, he found the revolver his father kept there in case of an emergency.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHop Sing . . . Teresa . . . you two double back through the kitchen,\u201d he ordered, while Hoss quickly strapped on his own gun belt.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHoss and I\u2019ll circle around outside.\u00a0\u00a0 We\u2019ll meet out on the back porch.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

As Dolores di Cordova reached for the quilt, lying across the foot of her bed, neatly folded, she caught movement at the very edge of her peripheral vision and immediately froze.\u00a0\u00a0 For a long moment she sat, unmoving, with the quilt pressed up hard against her chest, her eyes darting furtively about the darkened room.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho . . . who\u2019s there?\u201d she finally ventured, hesitantly, with fear and trembling.<\/p>\n

There was no answer.<\/p>\n

Fully awake now, Dolores peered into the surrounding darkness, again frantically searching.\u00a0\u00a0 Her heart pounded within her chest, and she felt the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end . . . this time, not entirely due to the cold.<\/p>\n

Someone was in the room . . . watching her.\u00a0\u00a0 She could feel it.<\/p>\n

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

A woman\u2019s terrified scream shattered the silence of the pre-dawn hours, and rudely awakened Stacy from a deep sleep.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cTha\u2019 soun\u2019s like Miz di Cordova,\u201d she muttered, while struggling mightily to sit up.<\/p>\n

Somewhere in the dark, the woman screamed again, this time driving every last vestige of sleep from Stacy\u2019s weary brain.\u00a0\u00a0 With face set with grim, stubborn determination, she threw off her covers and grabbed hold of the cane leaning up against the wall beside her bed.\u00a0\u00a0 It was hewn from a solid piece of mahogany, with a brass horse head affixed to the top.\u00a0\u00a0 Pa had loaned it to her a few months ago, when a tumble from a gelding she and Hoss had been training left her with a badly sprained ankle.<\/p>\n

She noiselessly passed from her bedroom to the hall, and started for the stairs, pausing before she had so much as taken a dozen steps as memory of that blistering lecture from Pa earlier returned with brutal intensity.\u00a0\u00a0 She immediately turned and started back down the hall toward Hoss\u2019 room.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, Kiddo . . . where do you think YOU\u2019RE going?\u201d<\/p>\n

Upon hearing Joe\u2019s voice, Stacy gasped, and jumped backward.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDadburnit, Grandpa, you sure gotta way of scaring a body half to death,\u201d she growled, her heart still pounding.<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry,\u201d Joe apologized.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI just wanted to make sure you weren\u2019t running downstairs to check out . . . whatever that was . . . all by your lonesome.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUnh UNNNNHHH . . . not after that go \u2018round with Pa this morning,\u201d she said soberly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI was on my way to wake up Hoss.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe nodded.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou g\u2019won, then,\u201d he said, \u201cand roust Big Brother up outta bed.\u00a0\u00a0 While you do that I\u2019LL go \u2018n wake up . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cPA-AAAA-AAAA . . . .\u201d\u00a0 Joe screamed as the narrow outcropping of rock, known as Eagle\u2019s Nest, broke off from the mountain and plummeted toward earth, taking him and the rifle, for which he had gone again and again and again, along with it.\u00a0\u00a0 He had come so close . . . so very close . . . he could have actually reached out and touched it. \u00a0All Ben could do was cling to the side of the mountain, where he had \u201cfallen\u201d just a few moments before, and watch his youngest son fall to the horrifying death that had haunted his dreams every night since he had lost the rifle . . . .<\/em><\/p>\n

. . . and scream.<\/em><\/p>\n

Pa?!<\/em><\/p>\n

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

\u201cPa!\u00a0\u00a0 Wake up!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWha\u2019 th—?!\u201d Ben gasped, as his eyes suddenly snapped wide open.\u00a0\u00a0 One minute, he was clinging for dear life to the side of the mountain, from which the rocky promontory, known as Eagle\u2019s Nest, had broken . . . and the next, he was lying . . . here . . . where ever here was . . . in the dark.\u00a0\u00a0 He tried to move, but found, much to his horror, that his body refused to respond.\u00a0\u00a0 Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a flurry of movement . . . .<\/p>\n

\u201cWh-Who\u2019s . . . who\u2019s there?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s me, Pa,\u201d Joe replied, anxiously taking note of his father\u2019s rapid, shallow breathing and the dull gleam of sweat upon his brow.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe?!\u201d Ben queried, as his eyes moved toward the direction from whence his son\u2019s voice came.\u00a0\u00a0 He peered intently into the darkness, through eyes round and unblinking, desperately seeking his youngest boy\u2019s face . . . .<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t LEAVE me, Ben . . . please . . . .\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The face that emerged from the opaque shroud of darkness, covering the entire room wasn\u2019t Joe\u2019s . . . .<\/em><\/p>\n

It was Marie\u2019s.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cPlease . . . . \u201d she sobbed, reaching out her arms, with the palms of her hands turned upward.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBen . . . My Love, My Darling . . . please?!\u00a0\u00a0 Please . . . don\u2019t LEAVE me . . . . \u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

It was the same dream he\u2019d had night after night after night, for . . . it was a very long time, nearly a whole year after Marie had taken that fatal tumble from her horse . . . .<\/em><\/p>\n

. . . and with the dream\u2019s sudden, inexplicable return, came all of the grief, the rage, the guilt, and that bottomless abyss of hopeless mind-numbing despair . . . as raw, as fresh, and every bit as intense as they had been the moment he saw her, lying sprawled on the ground, her neck clearly, without the slightest shred of doubt, broken . . . .<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI . . . I know the truth, Sir . . . . \u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

He slowly lifted his head and found himself staring into the face of his son . . . THEIR son . . . his and Marie\u2019s . . . so like his mother . . . so very like his mother in looks and in temperament, it sometimes broke his heart.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI . . . I know the truth, Sir.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

This face was the face of a boy, who had just taken those first steps across the threshold toward manhood.\u00a0\u00a0 It retained the cherubic roundness of the child, yet carried within its lines, and its planes, a subtle trace of the handsome young man who would all too soon emerge.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI . . . I know the truth, Sir.\u00a0\u00a0 About y-you and . . . and about m-my mother!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The child-man stared up into his face through eyes, round and staring, gleaming with the liquid brightness of tears not yet shed, filled with the same hopeless grief and despair that had nearly devoured him when the life of his wife, the mother of the young man now standing before him, was so tragically, so brutally cut short.\u00a0\u00a0 The boy\u2019s eyelids, his upper lip, and his cheeks were an angry shade of red, and swollen after having spent many hours weeping secretly . . . alone.<\/em><\/p>\n

He once again stood facing the boy up in the hayloft of a barn burning down around them.\u00a0 Now, as then, he pulled the troubled, angry, grief stricken boy into his arms, without pause or hesitation, and held him tight.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cM-Mister Cartwright, please!\u00a0\u00a0 S-save yourself!\u201d the boy sobbed heart wrenchingly.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWh-Why do you keep calling me Mister Cartwright?\u201d he demanded, bewildered and hurt, yet seeking desperately to understand.\u00a0\u00a0 The flames consuming the barn around them leapt higher and burned brighter, as if fueled, not by wood, hay, and straw, but by the boy\u2019s escalating distress.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cDON\u2019T YOU UNDERSTAND?\u201d the boy screamed, as tears, borne of his fear, anger, and grief flowed like rivers down his cheeks.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI KNOW!\u00a0\u00a0 I KNOW THE TRUTH!\u00a0\u00a0 I KNOW . . . YOU\u2019RE NOT MY FATHER . . . YOU\u2019RE NOT MY F-F-FATHER . . . . \u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

He sensed the presence of another in the hayloft with him and the son he held on to so fiercely . . . another just as determined to take the boy as he was to keep him.\u00a0\u00a0 The smoke, rising from below, eddied and pooled under that portion of roof covering the hayloft.\u00a0\u00a0 Yet even as the smoke and the acrid tears now stinging his own eyes began to slowly rob him of his sight, he saw the other beginning to take form.\u00a0\u00a0 As its core began to solidify, he saw tendrils of smoke growing, reaching out, as wild grape vines reach out, searching . . . groping for something . . . anything . . . to grab and . . . .. . . and to strangle.<\/em><\/p>\n

In the next instant, revelation came.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cJoe, I want you to listen to me!\u201d\u00a0 he begged, holding the boy a little apart from him so that he might look directly into his face and eyes.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou ARE my son,\u201d he declared earnestly, \u201dI AM your father.\u00a0\u00a0 You belong HERE with your brothers and me.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The boy stared up into his face with a blank look, shaking his head slowly back and forth.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cSay it, Joe.\u00a0\u00a0 You\u2019ve got to say it!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI . . . I c-can\u2019t . . . . \u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201c . . . say id, Joe . . . y\u2019 godda say id . . . . \u201d Ben softly, yet earnestly, pleaded.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201c \u2018S the truth, Boy . . . y\u2019 godda say id . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDear God . . . Pa!\u00a0\u00a0 Wake UP!\u201d Joe begged, with heart in mouth.\u00a0\u00a0 He placed his hands on Ben\u2019s shoulders and began to shake him gently.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cPlease, Pa . . . please . . . you\u2019ve gotta wake up— \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJOE!\u201d Ben cried out, as his eyes suddenly snapped wide open.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m here, Pa,\u201d Joe tried to reassure in a low, soothing tone.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m right here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank God!\u201d Ben exclaimed softly, as he threw aside his bedclothes, and bolted from lying down to sitting up.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThank G-God . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all right, Pa,\u201d Joe continued, \u201ceverything\u2019s all right.\u00a0\u00a0 You were dreaming.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c . . . d-dreaming?!\u201d Ben echoed, bewildered and uncertain.\u00a0\u00a0 He reached out with trembling hand and gently touched Joe\u2019s cheek to assure himself that his youngest son really and truly sat here . . . on the side of his bed, in the darkness before him, safe and sound . . . alive, whole, and in one piece.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDreaming,\u201d he murmured again, in a steadier voice, as wave upon wave of blessed relief rolled over him, one after the other.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa?!\u00a0\u00a0 Grandpa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStacy?\u201d Joe queried, turning his face toward the door of his father\u2019s bedroom, standing wide open.\u00a0\u00a0 His sister stood at the threshold, clad in nightshirt, robe, and slippers, still clutching Pa\u2019s horse head cane in her right hand.<\/p>\n

\u201c . . . is, ummm . . . everything ok?\u201d she ventured hesitantly.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt WILL be,\u201d Joe promised.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou can come on in, if you want . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou sure . . . . ?!\u201d she queried, casting an apprehensive glance at their father.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIs Pa, uhhh . . . . ?!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m decent, Stacy . . . and I\u2019m gonna be all right,\u201d Ben said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI just need a moment to wake up fully \u2018s all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBad dream, Pa?\u201d Stacy asked, as she stepped across the threshold from the hall into her father\u2019s bedroom.<\/p>\n

Ben nodded, grateful beyond measure that the vivid scenarios he had just lived through again, WERE only dreams.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry I woke YOU up, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYOU didn\u2019t,\u201d Stacy replied as she circled around to the other side of the bed, and sat down directly across from Joe.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt was Mrs. di Cordova, I think.\u00a0\u00a0 I heard her scream.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere\u2019s Hoss?\u201d Joe asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe wasn\u2019t in his room,\u201d Stacy replied.<\/p>\n

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

Meanwhile, Hop Sing and Teresa froze in their tracks when Dolores\u2019 terrified scream rent the night, rudely waking Hop Sing\u2019s chickens out of a deep slumber.<\/p>\n

\u201cMother!\u201d Teresa exclaimed, raising her voice that she might be heard about the chickens\u2019 frantic squawking.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHop Sing . . . THAT was mother.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 She stood, wringing her hands, visibly torn between finding her son and seeing to her mother.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou wait!\u00a0\u00a0 In kitchen!\u00a0\u00a0 You wait \u2018til Mister Adam, Mister Hoss come.\u00a0\u00a0 Hop Sing go, see Mrs. Teresa\u2019s mama.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, Hop Sing,\u201d she murmured, grateful beyond measure to have that particular decision taken out of her hands.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cWhat the—!?\u201d Hoss gasped.<\/p>\n

\u201cDolores!\u201d Adam said grimly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThat was Dolores . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSounded more like a spooked bob cat,\u201d Hoss murmured softly.\u00a0\u00a0 The elderly woman\u2019s scream had left the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end, and now, all of a sudden, he couldn\u2019t shake the feeling of someone watching them . . . him and Adam . . . somewhere in the night\u2019s deep shadows.<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cI\u2019ve GOT to find Benjy before Teresa takes it into her head to come looking for the both of us,\u201d Adam said, his tone grim, yet there was a pleading note there as well.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIf Dolores inadvertently stumbled upon an intruder . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI . . . dunno,\u201d Hoss said, visibly torn.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAdam, I don\u2019t feel right \u2018bout leavin\u2019 YOU t\u2019 face whoever\u2019s out here all by your lonesome.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be all right.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam . . . Hop Sing \u2018n Teresa are in the house . . . \u2018n I hafta tell ya, I can\u2019t help but feel sorry for whoever\u2019s broken in once he\u2019s met up with the two o\u2019 them,\u201d Hoss grimly pointed out, \u201c \u2018n besides . . . ain\u2019t no way Pa, Joe, \u2018n Stacy slept through Mrs. di Cordova screamin\u2019 like that . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTrue,\u201d Adam had to agree.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cBrrr!\u00a0\u00a0 This floor is . . . it\u2019s ice c-cold!\u201d Ben remarked with a shudder as he stepped into the blessed warmth of the slippers he kept on the floor beside his bed.\u00a0\u00a0 He grabbed his robe from its place on the bedpost and slipped it on.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201c . . . uhhh, Joseph?!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAren\u2019t YOU cold?\u201d he asked, upon noticing that Joe had on pajama pants, with no shirt, and that his robe hung open.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt IS a mite nippy in here,\u201d Joe confessed, \u201cbut I figured you\u2019d left your window open.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Ben shook his head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIn fact, I made a point of closing my window just before I went to bed because the past couple of nights have been chilly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s even colder out in the hall,\u201d Stacy said, as the three of them made their way across Ben\u2019s room to the door.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re joshin\u2019!\u201d Joe accused.<\/p>\n

\u201cNope.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAww, c\u2019mon, Stace . . . that\u2019s crazy!\u201d Joe exclaimed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAll the doors up here are closed . . . at least they were when I passed through the hall a little while ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSO, Little Sister . . . even if someone DID leave a window open, the hall should still be warmer,\u201d Joe insisted.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s gotta be a draft coming in through a hole somewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA draft, \u2018ey?\u201d she queried, favoring her brother with a jaundiced glare.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike the supposed draft coming through the mouse hole we never found in Bonnie Prince Charlie\u2019s stall?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe shuddered.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cCut it out, Kid.\u00a0\u00a0 That over active imagination of yours is starting to give me a real bad case of the willies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSave the ghosts, goblins, and all the other things that go bump in the night for Halloween,\u201d Ben admonished both of his younger children sternly. \u00a0\u00a0\u201cRight now, we need to get ourselves down stairs and see to Mrs. di Cor— \u201d<\/p>\n

A loud bang emanating from somewhere downstairs rudely silenced Ben mid-sentence.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cWhat the hell was THAT?\u201d Adam demanded, upon hearing a bang issue from somewhere inside the house.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou tell ME, Brother, \u2018n we\u2019ll BOTH know,\u201d Hoss muttered.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSay, uhhh . . . Adam . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t s\u2019pose . . . . \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Hoss\u2019 voice trailed off into the uneasy stillness that had fallen over the entire household.<\/p>\n

Before Adam could even begin to form the words, asking Hoss to finish saying what was on his mind, another bang, louder this time, roared from inside the house, followed by another.<\/p>\n

\u201cDadburnit!\u201d Hoss muttered, as he drew his gun from its holster.\u00a0\u00a0 He pivoted, with a speed, agility, and grace, found in very few men of his mass and stature, then, ran toward the open front door.<\/p>\n

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

Chapter 9<\/p>\n

Inside the house, the banging continued, increasing steadily in volume, coming one after the other faster and faster.\u00a0\u00a0 Hoss burst in through the front door, with gun in hand and a thunderous scowl on his face in the very same instant, Hop Sing barreled around the corner from the dining room, brandishing his meat cleaver, screaming a long string of Chinese invectives at the top of his voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cCome on,\u201d Joe urged, with a determined scowl on his face.\u00a0\u00a0 He slipped past his sister and father, with the ease and agility of a rabbit fleeing through the brush, and bounded the rest of the way down the stairs, taking them two and three at a time.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoseph!\u201d Ben tersely called to his youngest son, to no avail.<\/p>\n

\u201cDaggone it, Grandpa, wait for ME, willya?!\u201d Stacy growled, as she neatly sidestepped around her father.<\/p>\n

Ben quickly reached out and snagged hold of the sash holding her robe together, bringing his daughter\u2019s intended dash into a situation where angels, no doubt, fear to tread to an abrupt halt, and drawing a squawk of indignant protest.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYOU STAY BEHIND<\/strong> ME, YOUNG WOMAN,\u201d he sternly admonished his impetuous, headstrong daughter, raising his voice in order to be heard over the constant banging.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYOU UNDERSTAND ME?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Sir,\u201d Stacy meekly responded.<\/p>\n

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

Downstairs in the great room, Hop Sing froze when the banging suddenly stopped, leaving in its wake an eerie silence more deafening.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHunh?!\u201d he grunted, as his dark eyes darted uneasily back and forth across the room.<\/p>\n

\u201c . . . uhhh, Pa?\u201d Stacy queried, as she and her father came to an abrupt halt mid way between the middle handing and the first floor.\u00a0\u00a0 Her face was white as a sheet and her hands trembled slightly.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Stacy?\u201d Ben responded, laboring valiantly to keep his tone of voice low, calm, and even.\u00a0\u00a0 He quickly balled his hands into a pair of tight fists to conceal their trembling.<\/p>\n

\u201cI dunno which is worse,\u201d Stacy said, unconsciously drawing closer to Ben, \u201call that racket just a minute ago . . . or this . . . this quiet.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Before anyone could find the wherewithal to act, an explosion of shattering glass broke the stillness, sounding as if every window, every piece of fine china, earthenware, and every other breakable in the house had just been smashed into thousands of tiny pieces all in the same instant.\u00a0\u00a0 Dolores di Cordova and her young namesake upstairs threw open their respective doors, and fled from their rooms, screaming, crying, on the very edge of hysterics, with the angry, scornful laughter of a young boy echoing in their ears.<\/p>\n

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

Dolores sat in the middle of the settee, with blanket and quilt loosely wrapped about her slender frame, staring into the depths of the deep amber liquid filling the snifter she clutched with trembling hands.<\/p>\n

\u201cDrink,\u201d Hop Sing pressed.<\/p>\n

Dolores closed her eyes and took a deep breath.\u00a0\u00a0 She silently counted three, then lifted the snifter to her lips and swallowed down half its contents in a single gulp.\u00a0\u00a0 Her throat burned.\u00a0\u00a0 She gasped, then succumbed to a brief, yet intense coughing spasm.<\/p>\n

Hop Sing unobtrusively took the brandy snifter from her hands.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cLittle more,\u201d he gently coaxed, as the attack finally began to subside.<\/p>\n

Dolores immediately put up her hand, and wagged her head vigorously back and forth.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cN-No . . . please!\u00a0\u00a0 No more brandy!\u201d she half gasped, half sobbed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben sat in the big, port wine colored chair, over next to the fireplace, cradling Dio on his lap.\u00a0\u00a0 Thankfully, the worst of her fear had dissipated, though the child continued to whimper very softly, with her arms clasped tight about his waist.<\/p>\n

Dio had woken up out of a very sound sleep \u201c . . . small wonder, that,\u201d<\/em> Ben sardonically, silently mused, \u201cwhat with all the odd goings on around here tonight . . . . \u201d<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 She tearfully insisted that she saw the mean boy standing at the foot of her bed, smiling down at her; the same \u201cmean, nasty boy\u201d who had scared her so badly in the barn earlier.\u00a0\u00a0 This time, she made no mention of her brother.\u00a0\u00a0 Ben, wisely, opted not to ask about that omission.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa . . . Hop Sing . . . the tea\u2019s ready,\u201d Stacy quietly announced, as she entered the great room from the kitchen, bearing a tray with a tea pot filled to the brim with steaming hot herbal tea, along with a pair of matching cups and saucers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, Miss Stacy,\u201d Hop Sing said, favoring the girl with a weary smile.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cPlease . . . set down here, on coffee table.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stacy nodded, as did as she had been told.<\/p>\n

\u201cStacy?\u201d Dolores queried.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Ma\u2019am?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWh-What k-kind of tea is that?\u201d Dolores asked, still shaken and wary.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt smells rather nice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s chamomile tea, Mrs. di Cordova\u201d Stacy replied, as she filled both cups with tea, steaming hot.<\/p>\n

\u201cChamomile little tiny flower . . . grow wild in field,\u201d Hop Sing explained.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMake soothing tea, help relax.\u00a0\u00a0 Maybe help sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you,\u201d Dolores murmured softly, as she accepted cup and saucer from Stacy.\u00a0\u00a0 She would need all the help she could get in order to salvage anything remotely resembling a night\u2019s rest of the scant remaining hours until sunrise.\u00a0\u00a0 As far as she was concerned, tea was infinitely preferable to brandy.<\/p>\n

\u201cDolores?\u201d Ben ventured, after she had taken a few tentative sips from the teacup in hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Ben?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you feel up to telling us what happened?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI . . . I think so, but . . . may we speak privately?\u201d Dolores asked her eyes straying to Dio, still curled up on her grandfather\u2019s lap.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course,\u201d Ben immediately agreed.\u00a0\u00a0 He glanced down at the little girl still ensconced within the protective circle of his arms.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDio?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cY-Yes, Grandpa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI want you to stay here with Aunt Stacy and Hop Sing,\u201d he said in a gentle yet firm tone.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThey\u2019ll keep you safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou betcha!\u201d Hop Sing affirmed with a big, reassuring smile and an emphatic nod of his head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNo bad boy get past Hop Sing or Miss Stacy!\u00a0 \u00a0Hop Sing and Miss Stacy owe bad boy lumps!\u00a0\u00a0 Many, lotsa, lotsa lumps!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve got THAT right . . . . \u201d Stacy readily agreed, remembering again that lecture from Pa and the eggs smashed all over the kitchen floor.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa?\u201d Joe ventured by way of announcing himself, as he bounded down the steps a few moments after Ben and Dolores had moved into the dining room.<\/p>\n

\u201cPapa there, at table with Mrs. Dolores,\u201d Hop Sing said, as he rose from the settee, where he and Stacy now sat on either side of Dio.\u00a0\u00a0 He crossed the room, moving at a brisk pace on an interception course with Joe.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just got through checking the rooms upstairs,\u201d Joe began.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you find that mean, nasty boy, Uncle Joe?\u201d Dio demanded.<\/p>\n

Joe sighed very softly and shook his head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSorry, Sweetheart, but I\u2019m afraid I couldn\u2019t find hide nor hair of anybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou look in all rooms?\u00a0\u00a0 Look under bed?\u00a0\u00a0 In closet?\u00a0\u00a0 In wardrobe?!\u201d Hop Sing demanded, as he trotted along side Joe.<\/p>\n

\u201cI checked all the bedrooms,\u201d Joe replied, \u201cand yes.\u00a0\u00a0 I looked in all the closets, the wardrobes, and under all the beds.\u00a0\u00a0 My knees will never be quite the same again.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cI checked all the windows upstairs, too, Hop Sing,\u201d Joe replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cEvery last one of \u2018em\u2019s closed, locked up tight, and in one piece.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnything missing, Grandpa?\u201d Stacy asked, as her brother sank down heavily into the blue chair.\u00a0\u00a0 Hop Sing resumed his place on the settee beside Dio.<\/p>\n

\u201cNope . . . not as far as I<\/strong> could see anyway,\u201d Joe replied, \u201cand all of the other breakable things upstairs were in one piece, too . . . just like the windows.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cBen, I\u2019m sorry,\u201d Dolores meekly apologized, as she and Ben sat down together at the dining room table, \u201cbut, Dio\u2019s so upset, I . . . I didn\u2019t want to say this in front of her . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand,\u201d Ben said quietly.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was awful,\u201d Dolores moaned very softly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAWFUL!\u00a0\u00a0 I . . . I\u2019ve NEVER . . . EVER<\/strong> . . . been so frightened\u00a0 in m-my whole entire life.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 She picked up the teacup from its saucer, sitting before her on the dining room table, with both hands.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI woke up because it was cold in my room,\u201d she continued, after taking another sip of tea, \u201cso cold, I . . . I could actually see my breath.\u00a0\u00a0 When I reached down to take the quilt from the foot of my bed . . . .<\/p>\n

\u201cBen, there was someone in my room!\u201d she cried.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI SAW him . . . first out of the corner of my eyes, then . . . I . . . I saw his face . . . ITS face.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 She shuddered again.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt was ghastly!\u00a0\u00a0 White as a sheet, with dark circles under . . . under where his eyes should\u2019ve been . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

Ben frowned.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhat . . . exactly . . . did you mean when you said . . . where his eyes . . . should have been?\u201d he probed carefully.<\/p>\n

Dolores stole a glance over at the settee, where Dio, Joe, and Stacy seemed to be setting up a game of checkers.\u00a0\u00a0 Satisfied that the child would, for the next few moments at least, be sufficiently occupied, she returned her attention to Ben.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHe had no eyes!\u201d she said, taking great care to lower her voice.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHe . . . had . . . NO eyes . . . like . . . like a skull has no eyes!\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Only a p-pair of . . . of d-dark circles . . . w-with nothing!\u201d<\/p>\n

There was no doubt in Ben\u2019s mind that an intruder had gained entrance to the house, though he was far more inclined to believe him to be more corporal in nature.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDolores . . . I . . . know . . . you were frightened . . . you had every reason to be— \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t PATRONIZE me, Ben Cartwright!\u00a0\u00a0 Don\u2019t you DARE patronize me!\u201d Dolores rudely cut him off.\u00a0\u00a0 She slowly pushed back her chair and rose to her feet, drawing herself up to the fullness of her height.\u00a0\u00a0 Folding her arms across her chest, she favored Ben with a withering glare that would have sent any one of her household servants, from the highest to the lowest, scurrying.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI am not a crazy woman, despite what my daughter might say to the contrary . . . I\u2019m NOT!\u00a0\u00a0 I KNOW I didn\u2019t dream what I saw . . . and I didn\u2019t imagine it, either.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t my intention to suggest you had,\u201d Ben said very quietly, meeting her glare without flinching.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDolores, it\u2019s clear that someone HAS broken into this house.\u00a0\u00a0 HOW he got in, I don\u2019t know.\u00a0\u00a0 Yet.\u00a0\u00a0 But, there\u2019s no doubt in MY mind he\u2019s of flesh and blood, just like the rest of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do you explain the fact that he had no eyes?!\u201d she demanded, flustered and angry.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI saw him, Ben.\u00a0\u00a0 He had NO eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was dark in your room,\u201d Ben said very quietly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAnyone with eyes deeply set within his head would— \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI KNOW what I saw!\u201d Dolores stubbornly maintained.<\/p>\n

\u201c . . . and I don\u2019t disbelieve what you say, Dolores, but I AM saying there\u2019s a perfectly logical explanation for— \u201d<\/p>\n

Mercifully, the sound of the front door opening cut short the escalating altercation between Ben and Dolores.\u00a0\u00a0 The former rose to his feet, his eyes never leaving the front door, and placed himself between whoever was about to enter and his houseguest.\u00a0\u00a0 Across the room, Hop Sing and Joe circled around to the back of the settee, positioning themselves between the front door and the two girls behind them.<\/p>\n

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

Teresa entered the house first, visibly shaken, her face white as a sheet.\u00a0\u00a0 The instant she stepped over the threshold, she moved aside and held the door open for Adam, who followed close behind, with the ominously still form of their son, Benjy, gently cradled his arms.<\/p>\n

Ben moved away from the dining room table, and struck out across the great room towards his eldest son, his daughter-in-law, and grandson.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cA-Adam?\u201d he queried, his own face and eyes mirroring the same bewilderment and fear he saw very clearly in Adam and Teresa\u2019s.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhat—?!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know, Pa . . . . \u201d Adam replied, wagging his head slowly back and forth, his voice barely above the decibel of a soft whisper.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe . . . we f-found him outside, Ben,\u201d Teresa continued, her voice tremulous, \u201chalf way between the h-house and . . . and the barn.\u00a0\u00a0 He was . . . h-he was . . . literally . . . d-down on his hands and knees . . . in the midst of a very violent spasm of dry heaving.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere Mister Hoss?\u201d Hop Sing demanded, noting for the first time that the big man seemed to be missing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the barn,\u201d Adam replied, speaking in a wooden monotone.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSaddling Chubb, I . . . I asked him to get the doctor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBring Benjy over to the settee,\u201d\u00a0 Ben ordered, taking charge of the situation.<\/p>\n

Stacy took Dio by the hand and led her from the great room to the dining room, where Dolores remained on her feet, watching through eyes round with astonishment and dread, as Adam beat a straight path from the front door over to the settee in front of the fireplace.\u00a0\u00a0 Dio followed behind her aunt, casting an occasional furtive glance over her shoulder.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis entire body\u2019s colder than ice,\u201d Adam murmured softly, as he gently placed his insensate son on the settee, then covered him with his own bathrobe.<\/p>\n

Teresa seated herself on the edge of the coffee table.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re right, Adam,\u201d she said, her voice catching as she gently took both of his hands and held them gently sandwiched between her own.<\/p>\n

\u201cStacy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRun upstairs and grab some blankets out of the armoire in the spare room at the top of the stairs,\u201d Ben ordered, \u201cand grab the pillow off the bed, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stacy nodded, and bounded upstairs, taking them two at a time.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happened?\u201d Ben asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wish I knew,\u201d Adam replied.\u00a0\u00a0 He sat down beside his son and began to vigorously rub the boy\u2019s bare feet.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHe was conscious . . . barely . . . when Teresa, Hoss, and I found him . . . in the midst of some pretty intense dry heaving.\u00a0\u00a0 In between spasms, h-he . . . he was babbling, but none of what he said made any sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll bet anything he\u2019s faking,\u201d<\/em> Dio silently, angrily groused.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s FAKING being sick so he won\u2019t get in trouble for all the mean things he did in the barn today . . . and for scaring Grandmother and me tonight.\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s NOT FAIR<\/strong>!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Had she been asked, Dio would be very hard pressed to explain exactly how Benjy had managed to do all of those things, but that didn\u2019t matter one bit.\u00a0\u00a0 SHE knew beyond a single doubt her brother was guilty . . . and that plain and simply was that.\u00a0\u00a0 What troubled and surprised her was none of the other grown-ups saw through Benjy\u2019s act . . . including Ma and Pa . . . and THEY almost always knew everything!<\/p>\n

\u201cPa . . . I\u2019ve got the pillow and blankets you asked for,\u201d Stacy said by way of announcing herself, as she leapt down over the last two steps to the floor, and strode briskly across the room.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, Stacy,\u201d Adam murmured, weary, frightened, yet grateful.\u00a0\u00a0 He took the big, down pillow and carefully eased it under Benjy\u2019s head, while Ben and Stacy covered him with the blankets.<\/p>\n

Hop Sing, meanwhile, reached down and gently touched Benjy\u2019s forehead.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHow—?!\u201d he gasped, then vigorously shook his head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou say boy cold,\u201d he continued looking over at Teresa first, then at Adam.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBut here . . . boy HOT!\u00a0\u00a0 Burning up!\u201d<\/p>\n

Frowning, Teresa gently placed her son\u2019s hands down onto his chest and pulled up the blankets.\u00a0\u00a0 She, then, leaned over and touched her lips to Benjy\u2019s forehead.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cH-Hop Sing\u2019s right!\u201d she gasped . . . .<\/p>\n

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

He and his new friend stood together, side by side, on the fireplace hearth and watched the front door opening.\u00a0\u00a0 The other boy shifted from foot to foot, smiling the kind of smile kids do when they have a secret they want to tell in just about the worst kind of way, but can\u2019t for whatever reason . . . .<\/em><\/p>\n

. . . or won\u2019t.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d he demanded, not bothering to hide his annoyance.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWatch,\u201d the other boy said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cJust watch.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Mother entered the house first, then Papa, carrying something . . . no!\u00a0\u00a0 SomeONE! in his arms.\u00a0\u00a0 He stood on tiptoes, trying very hard to see.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cGod\u2019s nightshirt!\u201d the other boy groused, rolling his eyes heavenward.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cCan\u2019t you stand still for two seconds?!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about YOU?!\u201d he shot right back.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWith all your rutching around, trying not to laugh . . . . \u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI am NOT!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cY\u2019 ARE SO!\u201d<\/strong> he yelled, then, horrified, clapped his hands over his mouth.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThey can\u2019t hear you . . . remember!?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cOh . . . yeah . . . . \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He turned and watched the others . . . his parents, grandparents, aunt and uncle, his sister, and the Chinese man . . . warily, with his hands still over his mouth.\u00a0\u00a0 They suddenly erupted into a flurry of frenetic activity, everyone scurrying about like . . . like chickens with their heads cut off.\u00a0\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t quite sure what that meant, but one of his uncles said that about situations like the one unfolding before his eyes.<\/em><\/p>\n

Yet, incredibly, no once so much as glanced over in the direction of the fireplace.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI TOLD you . . . they can\u2019t see us or hear us,\u201d the other boy reminded him smugly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWe can yell, scream, jump up and down . . . anything we want.\u00a0\u00a0 They won\u2019t yell at us, or tell us to be quiet, or punish us . . . . \u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cAre we invisible?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cTo THEM we are.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The thought of being invisible to everyone around him was lots of fun, but it felt very strange, too.\u00a0\u00a0 He saw Papa remove his bathrobe and place over whoever it was now lying on the settee, like a blanket.\u00a0\u00a0 Mother sat on the coffee table, with her back to him, blocking his view of . . . of the someone Papa just carried into the house.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cCome on.\u00a0\u00a0 Let\u2019s go play,\u201d the other boy urged.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI wanna see who it is,\u201d he protested.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWho CARES who it is?\u00a0\u00a0 I<\/strong> wanna play.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNow?!\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s the middle of the night!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cSo?!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cSo . . . if they catch me running around outside in the middle of the night, I\u2019ll be in big trouble . . . worse than I\u2019m in already.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The other boy laughed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou stupid head!\u00a0\u00a0 How many times do I hafta tell ya . . . they can\u2019t SEE or HEAR you!?\u00a0\u00a0 They won\u2019t even KNOW you\u2019re outside playing!\u00a0\u00a0 Come on!\u00a0\u00a0 Last one out\u2019s a rotten egg . . . . \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He ran for the door, beating a straight path . . . as the crow flies, his uncle might say . . . . \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

He saw with dismay that his new friend was already half way to the door.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cFIRST <\/strong>ONE OUTSIDE\u2019S GOTTA EAT <\/strong>IT,\u201d he shouted, as he moved away from the hearth and started past Mother.<\/em><\/p>\n

As he passed the settee, he paused just long enough to take a peek at the whoever Papa had carried into the house.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cCome ON!\u201d the other boy impatiently called from the door.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cJust a minute!\u201d he angrily snapped back.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI SAID come ON!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWillya STOP telling me what to do?!\u201d he angrily turned on his new friend.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m getting sick \u2018n tired of you telling me what to do all the time!\u00a0\u00a0 You\u2019re NOT my . . . uhhh, m-my . . . . \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 His words trailed away to stunned silence the instant his eyes fell upon . . . .<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201c . . . m-me!\u201d he whispered, staring down at his own body through eyes round with horror.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s . . . it\u2019s ME!\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cBenjy, does this hurt?\u201d Paul Martin asked, as he pushed against the boy\u2019s abdomen on the right side.<\/p>\n

\u201cN-No, Sir.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow about now?\u201d\u00a0 Paul pushed again, same spot, but a little harder.<\/p>\n

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

With help from his father and Hop Sing, Benjy had changed into a fresh nightshirt, and moved to the bed in the guest room on the first floor.\u00a0\u00a0 Doctor Paul Martin sat on one side of the bed, while the boy\u2019s mother, Teresa, anxiously looked on from her place, seated on the other side of the bed.\u00a0\u00a0 Adam stood behind his wife, with both hands resting lightly, reassuringly on her shoulders, and Ben hovering at his elbow.\u00a0\u00a0 Hoss and Joe stood together just inside the bedroom door.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoes THIS hurt?\u201d\u00a0 Doctor Martin pushed in the middle of the abdomen.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Benjy replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow about here?\u201d\u00a0 The doctor\u2019s hands moved to the right.<\/p>\n

\u201cN-No, Sir.\u00a0\u00a0 That doesn\u2019t hurt either.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDoes this hurt?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Paul\u2019s hands moved further to the right and pushed in hard.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt . . . it doesn\u2019t feel very good, but it doesn\u2019t really hurt,\u201d Benjy murmured in a weak voice, barely audible.<\/p>\n

Paul checked Benjy\u2019s pulse then removed his stethoscope from his black bag and listened to the boy\u2019s heart.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHis heart sounds very good, though his pulse rate\u2019s up,\u201d the doctor said quietly, as returned his stethoscope to his bag, sitting open on the night table beside the bed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNormal consequence, I expect, of him running all the way out into the middle of the yard from his room upstairs, and being sick on top of that.\u00a0\u00a0 Benjy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cY-Yes, Sir?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you hurt anywhere else besides your stomach?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy hands feel kind of f-funny and . . . I can\u2019t feel my feet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paul immediately threw the covers aside.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoctor, m-may I h-h-have the blankets b-back?\u00a0\u00a0 Please?\u201d Benjy begged.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m . . . I\u2019m freezing!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou may in just a moment, Benjy,\u201d Paul replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI want to see whether or not you can move your feet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Benjy frowned.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not sure . . . if I . . . if I can . . . exactly . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Benjy squeezed his eyes shut and concentrated.<\/p>\n

Paul nodded, satisfied, as his patient moved both feet up and down, circled them, then moved them from side to side with the ease and dexterity normal for a child his age.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBenjy . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Sir?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d like you to finish the rest of that peppermint tea Hop Sing brewed for you, then close your eyes and go back to sleep,\u201d the doctor said as he covered Benjy with the sheets, blanket, and quilt.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m going to step out side and speak with your ma and pa for a few minutes.\u00a0\u00a0 Will you be alright?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess so.\u00a0\u00a0 Doctor Martin, may I ask you a question first?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCertainly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI-I\u2019m not going to . . . I . . . I\u2019m not going to DIE . . . am I?\u201d<\/p>\n

Paul favored the boy with a weary smile and shook his head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNo, Son, not from an upset stomach.\u00a0\u00a0 If you get yourself plenty of rest, stick to a soft, bland diet, and drink plenty of liquids for the next couple of days, you ought to be good as new.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam . . . Teresa . . . I\u2019ll stay with Benjy while you two speak with the doctor,\u201d Ben offered.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t HAVE to stay, if you don\u2019t want to, Grandpa,\u201d Benjy said quietly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI AM a big boy now . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know you\u2019re a big boy, Benjy,\u201d his grandfather said, as he pulled up a chair along the side of the bed Doctor Martin had just vacated.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBut . . . I think you know how much mothers and fathers tend to worry when their children aren\u2019t feeling well . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

Benjy nodded his head, then sighed. \u00a0\u00a0\u201cMothers and papas DO tend to worry a lot, don\u2019t they.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 It was a statement of fact not an inquiry.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou betcha!\u201d Hoss chortled before Ben could reply.\u00a0\u00a0 He entered the room and walked over to the foot of the bed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201c \u2018Round here, WE call it \u2018Pa\u2019s Prerogative.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

Benjy looked up at his uncle with a puzzled frown.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cPa\u2019s prerogative?\u201d he asked, with left eyebrow slightly upraised.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa\u2019s Prerogative\u2019s a pa\u2019s right \u2018n privilege to worry himself silly over a child who\u2019s hurt, or not feelin\u2019 well,\u201d Hoss explained with a smile.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNow in the case o\u2019 you \u2018n your sister, it\u2019s \u2018Ma\u2019s \u2018n Pa\u2019s Prerogative.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c . . . and among us Cartwrights, that prerogative gets exercised twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week,\u201d Joe added with a naughty grin and a wry roll of the eyes heavenward.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs what you call \u2018Pa\u2019s Prerogative\u2019 because Grandpa had to do all the worrying for Grandma, Grandma Inger, Grandma Marie, and . . . and Aunt Stacy\u2019s mother . . . in addition to his own?\u201d Benjy asked.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s what Papa said . . . .\u201d<\/p>\n

His inquiry elicited a bark of laughter from Uncle Hoss and a peal of rapid-fire high-pitched giggles from Uncle Joe.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh he DID, hunh?\u201d Ben queried, again with mock severity.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWell you just wait \u2018til I get hold of your papa.\u201d<\/p>\n

A soft knock against the frame of the open door, drew Joe and Hoss\u2019 attention from their mirth.\u00a0\u00a0 It was Stacy.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cOk if I come in?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cSure,\u201d Ben readily granted his daughter permission to enter.<\/p>\n

\u201cI heard you guys laughing your heads off just now,\u201d she said as she stepped inside, glancing over at Hoss first, then at Joe.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s so funny?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Benjy here just landed his father . . . our OLDEST brother . . . right smack dab into a whole world of trouble,\u201d Joe teased, his eyes sparkling with impish delight.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUm hmm!\u201d Ben affirmed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt seems the father of this young man . . . . \u201d he inclined his head slightly in Benjy\u2019s direction, \u201c . . . said that I\u2019M a worrywart.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou ARE, Pa,\u201d Stacy said with a smile, as she walked across the room toward her father.\u00a0\u00a0 She slipped her arms loosely about his shoulders and gave him a gentle, affectionate squeeze.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s ONE of the reasons why we love ya so much.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGrandpa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Benjy?\u201d Ben responded as he reached up and gave Stacy\u2019s hand, now resting on his shoulder, a gentle, affectionate squeeze.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou mean you . . . that you STILL worry about Uncle Joe and Uncle Hoss?!\u201d Benjy asked, casting a furtive look of near comical disbelief over at his two uncles.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI mean, Aunt Stacy . . . she\u2019s still just a girl, sorta . . . almost . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHmpf!\u00a0\u00a0 I like that!\u201d Stacy snorted with mock derision.<\/p>\n

Between the solemn way in which Benjy had just uttered those words and the farcical look on his sister\u2019s face, Joe had to turn his back on all present and stick his balled fist in his mouth to keep from laughing out loud.<\/p>\n

\u201c . . . but Uncle Hoss and Uncle Joe are grown-ups, Grandpa,\u201d Benjy continued, \u201cjust like you, Papa, Mother, Grandmother, and Hop Sing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben smiled.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBenjy, I\u2019m gonna tell ya something you probably won\u2019t understand fully right now, but you will someday . . . after you take a wife and have children of your own,\u201d he said quietly.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s that, Grandpa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEven if these uncles of yours . . . your aunt . . . and your papa, too, for that matter, all live to be well over a hundred, and I that much older . . . I\u2019ll STILL worry about them,\u201d Ben said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNot all the time, mind . . . and certainly not twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, like SOME people around here might suggest . . . . \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He turned and glared over at his youngest son for emphasis.<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t the SLIGHTEST idea what you\u2019re talking about, Pa,\u201d Joe declared in a tone of voice too innocent.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt any rate, Benjy . . . as their father, I love the four of \u2018em very much,\u201d Ben continued, \u201cand part of loving them means being concerned about them, about how they\u2019re doing . . . how they\u2019re feeling . . . if things aren\u2019t going well for them, whether they\u2019re sick, or injured . . . I worry about them even though your father and uncles ARE grown men, and your aunt\u2019s almost a grown woman . . . sorta.\u00a0\u00a0 Same, I expect, as YOUR father . . . and mother, too, worry about you and your sister.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI s\u2019pose,\u201d Benjy murmured very quietly, in a voice barely audible, his mind all of a sudden assailed with doubt.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell . . . you\u2019d best finish up that peppermint tea like Doctor Martin asked,\u201d Ben quietly urged, breaking the silence that had momentarily fallen upon them all.<\/p>\n

\u201cGrandpa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Benjy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI . . . I don\u2019t see my book,\u201d the boy said, his eyes moving across the bed, and coming to rest on the night table, where Paul Martin\u2019s black bag still remained.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s probably upstairs in your room,\u201d Ben said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sure you\u2019ll find it on your night table there, when we take you back up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Benjy\u2019s face suddenly lost what little color it had regained since his parents and Uncle Hoss found him outside.<\/p>\n

\u201cBenjy?!\u00a0\u00a0 Are you all right?\u201d Ben queried, half afraid the boy was going to pass out.<\/p>\n

\u201cGrandpa . . . I . . . please, I . . . I d-don\u2019t wanna go back to that room upstairs,\u201d the boy barely managed getting the words out.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMay I stay HERE?\u00a0\u00a0 Please?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think so, Benjy,\u201d Ben replied.\u00a0\u00a0 His grandson\u2019s desperate pleas had taken him completely by surprise.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThis IS you grandmother\u2019s room.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cYes, Stacy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMrs. di Cordova asked me to tell you that she\u2019s moved herself to one of the spare rooms upstairs,\u201d Stacy said very quietly.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince Grandmother\u2019s moved to another room upstairs, may I please stay here, Grandfather?\u201d Benjy begged.<\/p>\n

\u201cSuppose we ask your father and mother . . . and see what THEY have to say,\u201d Ben suggested.<\/p>\n

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

Chapter 10<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam . . . Teresa, has the boy been running a high fever?\u201d\u00a0 Paul Martin, meanwhile, asked the boy\u2019s parents, after the three of them had moved from the downstairs guest room to the great room.<\/p>\n

\u201cI . . . don\u2019t know, Doctor,\u201d Adam replied with a helpless shrug.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhen Teresa, Hoss, and I found him, his entire body was cold as ice . . . yet Hop Sing and Teresa both said his forehead was hot just after I placed him down on the settee in the living room.\u00a0\u00a0 I haven\u2019t the slightest idea what to make of that . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow about BEFORE tonight?\u201d Paul asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, Doctor,\u201d Teresa adamantly shook her head, \u201capart from an occasional complaint about an upset stomach, he\u2019s been just fine since he, his grandmother, and sister arrived.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c . . . and Mrs. di Cordova made no mention of either child being ill during the time they were with her and Teresa\u2019s father,\u201d Adam added.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow long the boy was outside before you found him?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt couldn\u2019t have been all that long, Doctor Martin,\u201d Adam replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThe sound of the front door banging against the credenza woke all three of us . . . Teresa, Hoss, and me.\u00a0\u00a0 Though we initially thought it was someone breaking into the house, I\u2019m pretty sure it was Benjy.\u00a0\u00a0 It had to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo . . . an hour maybe?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam shook his head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cLess,\u201d he replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019d say closer to half an hour, maybe forty-five minutes at the very outside.\u00a0\u00a0 But even so, when we found him, he was so cold . . . he felt as if he\u2019d been outside all night long.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt IS pretty chilly out,\u201d Paul agreed.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot that chilly, Doctor Martin,\u201d Adam insisted.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThe only time I\u2019ve EVER felt a human being that cold was the time Joe ended up spending an entire night huddled in a lean-to against a blizzard when he was sixteen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHave Dio or Mrs. di Cordova complained of similar symptoms?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat . . . symptoms are you talking about, Doctor?\u201d Teresa asked.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSorry, I . . . with everything that\u2019s gone on here tonight, I\u2019m afraid I\u2019m not thinking very clearly . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPerfectly understandable,\u201d Paul said kindly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIn addition to his stomach hurting, Benjy also said that his hands felt funny, and that he couldn\u2019t feel his feet.\u00a0\u00a0 Have either Mrs. di Cordova or Dio complained of having those symptoms?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Teresa answered immediately.<\/p>\n

Adam simply shook his head.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow about the rest of the family?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam and Teresa exchanged puzzled glances for a moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Adam finally replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cTeresa and I\u2019ve been here . . . it\u2019s been a little over a month now, and everyone seems to be perfectly healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDoctor, what . . . exactly . . . IS wrong with our son?\u201d Teresa asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI WAS afraid he might be suffering from appendicitis,\u201d Paul replied, \u201cbut thank the Good Lord, he\u2019s not.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAmen to that,\u201d Adam heartily agreed.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince he\u2019s not running a high fever, my recommendation for the next couple of days is rest,\u201d Paul Martin quietly imparted his instructions.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI . . . know how you Cartwrights tend to be about keeping still when you\u2019re not well, so you\u2019ll be relieved to hear you DON\u2019T have to confine young Benjy to bed, as long as he takes things easy.\u201d<\/p>\n

His words brought an amused smile to Teresa\u2019s lips, in the midst of her anxiety and concern.<\/p>\n

\u201cKeep him on a soft, bland diet, and see that he gets plenty of liquids . . . water, weak tea, broth . . . as much as you can get in him,\u201d Paul continued.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019d go easy on the milk, though . . . sometimes it can be a little difficult to digest.\u00a0\u00a0 When the pharmacy in town opens, I\u2019ll ask Amos to send out some medication to ease his nausea and settle his stomach.\u00a0\u00a0 That and Hop Sing\u2019s peppermint tea should help the boy keep things down so he can regain his strength.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow often should we give Benjy the medicine, Doctor?\u201d Teresa asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cA spoonful before and after each meal, and at bed time,\u201d Paul replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t worry.\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019ll write out the instructions.\u00a0\u00a0 Now if Benjy DOES start running a high fever, or if his symptoms worsen, please send for me immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will, Doctor,\u201d Adam promised.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you so much for coming out, Doctor Martin,\u201d Teresa said gratefully.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNow if you\u2019ll both excuse me, I\u2019d better see to Benjy and let Ben go back to bed, and try to salvage what he can of a good night\u2019s sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, of course,\u201d Paul readily assented.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll be back around in a couple of days to look in on him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll see you out, Doctor Martin,\u201d Adam offered.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no need, Adam,\u201d Paul said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAfter all these years, I can find my way out blindfolded.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to ask you about a couple of those symptoms Benjy mentioned,\u201d Adam said, as he fell in step beside the physician, \u201cspecifically the funny feelings in his hands and not being able to feel his feet.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Adam sighed very softly and shook his head, as he opened the front door for the doctor.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI hope you don\u2019t think me an overwrought father, but . . . those symptoms and some of the questions you asked Teresa and me . . . there\u2019s something nagging at the back of my mind about all that, but for the life of me, I can\u2019t recall . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFrankly, I\u2019m surprised you remember anything about that,\u201d Paul said, \u201cyou couldn\u2019t have been much older than your son at the time . . . IF that . . . and, as I recall you were pretty sick yourself.\u00a0\u00a0 So was Hoss.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSick with . . . the same symptoms Benjy complained about earlier?\u201d<\/p>\n

Paul nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat kind if illness did Hoss and I have . . . exactly?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou and Hoss were stricken with ergot poisoning,\u201d Paul explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cErgot . . . isn\u2019t that some kind of rye mold?\u201d Adam asked.<\/p>\n

Paul nodded his head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou two were very lucky,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBy the time you and Hoss were stricken, old Doctor Pritchard and I had figured out that the epidemic going around Virginia City was a wide spread case of ergot poisoning.\u00a0\u00a0 You boys recovered very quickly after your pa removed all the rye bread and flour from his larder.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe moldy rye was found in the general store, wasn\u2019t it,\u201d Adam said, stating fact rather than making an inquiry.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, it was,\u201d Paul replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cCaleb Marsh, the proprietor . . . Adam, in the normal course of things, I don\u2019t make it a general practice to speak ill of the dead, but the kindest things I can think of to say about that man are . . . he was a meaner than a snake, and as miserly, and as greedy as they come.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The doctor was surprised at high his feelings still ran after all these years at the mere mention of the man\u2019s name.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust before the first children were stricken with ergot poisoning, Caleb had gotten hold of a very large quantity of rye, a whole barn full, in fact . . . in what was \u2018just about the sweetest deal ever made.\u2019\u00a0\u00a0 HIS words when he bragged about it to anyone in earshot . . . not mine,\u201d the doctor continued.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBy the time Doctor Pritchard, then Deputy Sheriff Coffee, your pa, and I traced the bad rye to the general store . . . nearly twenty children had already died.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the less fortunate among us who most commonly buy rye flour to make their bread because it\u2019s cheaper than flour ground from wheat,\u201d Adam said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the time that description would have fit nearly everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c . . . Pa included,\u201d Adam agreed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWe were what most would call land poor.\u00a0\u00a0 All the money Pa worked for and saved went to purchase the first parcel of land that would someday become the Ponderosa, and when I was around Benjy\u2019s age, most of the money we made then went back into the operation.\u00a0\u00a0 Back then, it seemed a good portion of our meals were rye bread, milk, and eggs, especially during the winter months, when the apples and potatoes we\u2019d harvested earlier began to run low.\u00a0\u00a0 I also remember Pa doing without supper, and dinner, too, on many occasions so there would be enough for Hoss and me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of other parents did as your pa did so that their children could eat,\u201d Paul said sadly, yet with a touch of anger.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s why so many children were down sick, but so few adults.\u00a0\u00a0 It was a cruel irony . . . a very cruel irony indeed . . . that the parents\u2019 sacrifice ultimately doomed their children.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt runs in my mind there was a family nearby who was particularly hard hit,\u201d Adam said slowly.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u00a0\u00a0 They were neighbors of yours, Adam . . . mother, father, the father\u2019s parents, and six children,\u201d the doctor affirmed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cTheir farm was right here, in fact.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you remember their name?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe family\u2019s name was Menken,\u201d Paul replied, then shook his head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m afraid their first names escape me, though I can still see their faces.\u00a0\u00a0 All six children ended up dying of ergot poisoning.\u00a0\u00a0 That was a tragedy that should NEVER have happed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy do you say that?\u201d Adam asked.\u00a0\u00a0 An ice-cold shiver ran down the entire length of his spine.\u00a0\u00a0 He turned and cast a quick furtive glance over his shoulder.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Menken children were stricken not long AFTER you and Hoss,\u201d Paul explained.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYOUR pa got rid of the bad rye flour when he found out what you boys were suffering from and why.\u00a0\u00a0 Mister Menken . . . didn\u2019t, though I didn\u2019t find that out until after their eldest boy died.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was the last of the Menken children to die?\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cI wonder why Mister Menken didn\u2019t get rid of the bad rye?\u201d Adam quietly wondered aloud.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m afraid I don\u2019t know . . . not for absolute certain,\u201d Paul replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMY guess is they were too poor to buy anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow could THAT be?!\u201d Adam demanded, incredulous.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou said their farm was where our house and barn are now . . . right?\u201d<\/p>\n

Paul nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe land here is very good land, very fertile with a stream running not far from where Pa and I built the house.\u00a0\u00a0 I think YOU know that as well as I do.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Adam sighed and shook his head in complete bewilderment.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThey could\u2019ve easily supported themselves at the very least.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cKey word there is work, Adam, as, I think, YOU know very well,\u201d Paul replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMrs. Menken and their oldest boy tried, bless their hearts.\u00a0\u00a0 They tried very hard, but it was too much for them to handle alone . . . even WITH your pa giving them a hand from time to time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about Mister Menken . . . and his parents?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNeither Mister Menken nor his parents could be bothered,\u201d Paul said, his voice filled with contempt.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHe and his father were a couple of drunkards and his mother was a bitter, angry old woman, who by and large kept to herself . . . but I digress.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe morning the oldest Menken boy was laid to rest, Mister Menken and his father both were drunk,\u201d the doctor continued.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cLooking back, I\u2019m inclined to think the elder Mister Menken, the grandfather, may have been the instigator behind a lot of this.\u00a0\u00a0 While your pa and Roy buried the boy, the boy\u2019s father ranted on and on about how he didn\u2019t believe for one minute the rye was bad . . . that Roy and I\u2019d said so was because we wanted to starve him and his family into pulling up stakes and moving on . . . he even went so far as to accuse ME of murdering all six children.\u00a0\u00a0 Between that and the fact that the Menken children were the first patients I\u2019d ever lost . . . I almost took down my shingle then and there . . . for good.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I for one, am very glad you DIDN\u2019T take down your shingle for good,\u201d Adam said earnestly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI trusted you in years past to look after my pa and brothers, and I trust you now to look after my son.\u00a0\u00a0 Now mind, I\u2019m not expecting it, but if . . . if anything untoward DOES happen, I\u2019ll know that you did everything you could.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, Adam . . . for that vote of confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

The air all around him smelled like roses.<\/em><\/p>\n

The cloying scent lay heavy on the air, a palpable thing, like a heavy vapor rising from a warm body of water on a cold, icy morning.\u00a0\u00a0 So heavy, he could actually taste the roses every time he drew breath.\u00a0\u00a0 He slowly opened his eyes and found himself lying in the middle of the bed in Grandmother\u2019s room.\u00a0\u00a0 The bright morning sun shone through the windows, projecting a patchwork of light and shadow on the carpet below.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat am I doing HERE?\u201d\u00a0 He asked himself.\u00a0\u00a0 Then, suddenly, he remembered.\u00a0\u00a0 He took sick during the night, and couldn\u2019t go back to his own room for some reason . . . . \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Since Grandmother decided to move upstairs, they decided he could stay here . . . with Papa.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cPapa?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

He glanced around the room, his eyes darting frantically from pillar to post.\u00a0\u00a0 Papa was nowhere in sight.\u00a0\u00a0 He was alone.\u00a0\u00a0 Completely and utterly alone.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNO!\u00a0\u00a0 OH NO, OH NO . . . NO!\u201d \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

It was Mother.\u00a0 The grief, the hopeless despair he heard in her anguished cries broke his heart.\u00a0 Through eyes half closed, he saw her bending over him, her face pale, its lines deeply etched by a weariness that seemed to infuse her entire being.\u00a0\u00a0 The fine tendrils of red hair framed her face like a ruddy cloud, and her blue eyes shone with newly formed tears that fed the rivulets already flowing down her red, swollen cheeks.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWake up, Baby!\u201d she begged, in a voice barely audible.\u00a0\u00a0 She gently tapped his cheeks with her rough, callused hand.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cPlease, Baby.\u00a0\u00a0 Please, please wake up!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cStop that!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Papa\u2019s face now loomed above him, unshaven, his eyes gray and lifeless.\u00a0\u00a0 He had brown, curly hair, a wide mouth, and broad jaw line.\u00a0\u00a0 His breath reeked of homemade hooch.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cGotta wake up m\u2019 boy.\u00a0\u00a0 I need him.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Mother patted his cheeks again.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cCome ON, Baby, please?\u00a0\u00a0 Please?\u00a0\u00a0 Wake up for Mama?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

He tried desperately to move, to blink his eyes, say something, but a strange, frightening paralysis seemed to have risen up out of nowhere and overtaken his body.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cOh, Baby, please . . . please,\u201d Mother groaned, patting his cheeks with a firmer, more insistent hand.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou GOTTA wake up!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Her anguish stirred up sadness and regret, the like of which he had never known.\u00a0\u00a0 He wanted to cry, would have given just about anything to cry, but the tears would not come.\u00a0\u00a0 All he could do was lie there, helpless, unable to move or communicate . . . .<\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019m sorry, Mother, he silently lamented.\u00a0\u00a0 I want to wake up, I wish I COULD wake up . . . more than I\u2019ve ever wished for anything, but I can\u2019t. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cSTOP IT!\u201d Papa yelled, his face red as the roses he kept smelling.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYOU STOP IT RIGHT NOW, Y\u2019 HEAR? \u00a0\u00a0I ALREADY DONE TOL\u2019JA . . . HE AIN\u2019T <\/strong>GONNA WAKE UP.\u00a0\u00a0 NOT NOW, NOT NEVER!\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 HE AIN\u2019T NEVER, EVER, GONNA WAKE UP . . . NOT EVER AGAIN.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

A low guttural wail, primal in its anguish, rose from the depths of Mother\u2019s throat, as Papa dragged her to her feet and pulled her away from the bed.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 A third face appeared.\u00a0\u00a0 A man\u2019s face, framed by a thick, wavy mane of hair the deep rich color of newly turned earth.\u00a0\u00a0 His kind eyes were filled with deep sadness and bitter regret. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

He had seen that face and those eyes before.\u00a0\u00a0 He desperately wracked his brains, trying to remember.<\/em><\/p>\n

The man with the sad eyes and kind face grabbed something in his hands and started pulling it toward him.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d he said again.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m really . . . very . . . very . . . sorry.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cPaul . . . . \u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Grandpa?!\u00a0\u00a0 The face now peering down at him over the shoulder of the kind man with sad eyes was much younger than the face he was accustomed to seeing, but he knew without a shred of doubt it WAS Grandpa\u2019s face.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201c . . . you did everything you possibly could.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, it wasn\u2019t enough . . . it wasn\u2019t anywhere NEAR enough,\u201d the man Grandpa called Paul said.\u00a0\u00a0 The something he held in both hands was a sheet.\u00a0\u00a0 For one brief moment he thought Paul was going to tuck him in, the way Papa had . . . was it last night?\u00a0\u00a0 The night before perhaps?\u00a0\u00a0 Last YEAR?!\u00a0\u00a0 All of a sudden, he couldn\u2019t quite remember.<\/em><\/p>\n

But, Paul didn\u2019t tuck him in . . . .<\/em><\/p>\n

He pulled the sheet up over his head.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Mother wept, somewhere on the other side of the sheet.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNot my baby!\u00a0\u00a0 Not . . . MY . . . baby!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Grandpa?! he whimpered, frightened and feeling very much alone.\u00a0\u00a0 Help me, Grandpa!\u00a0\u00a0 Please . . . you\u2019ve gotta help me . . . .<\/em><\/p>\n

Grandpa never came.<\/em><\/p>\n

He called, and called, and called, yelling so loud, he gave himself a headache.<\/em><\/p>\n

But no one came.<\/em><\/p>\n

Eventually, the men\u2019s voices and Mother\u2019s piteous weeping diminished, taking with them the music of the occasional summer breezes wafting through the trees, the buzzing of locusts, the near constant chattering of birds, and the mournful lowing of their hungry milk cow and her half starved calf.\u00a0\u00a0 The stillness left in the wake of their passing frightened him.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201c \u2018Fraidy cat, fraidy cat . . . . \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 His sister\u2019s whisper soft chanting shattered the silence with a near deafening roar.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201c \u2018Fraidy cat, \u2018fraidy cat . . . Benjy is a \u2018fraidy cat . . . . \u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Shut-up, Dio.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s TRUE, Benjy!\u201d she taunted.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou ARE a \u2018fraidy cat.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

I TOLD you to shut-up.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re nothin\u2019 but a great big . . . . \u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

STOP IT!<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201c . . . \u2018fraidy cat, cry baby!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

STOP IT, DIO!\u00a0\u00a0 DO YOU HEAR ME?\u00a0\u00a0 STOP IT!<\/em><\/p>\n

Benjy?<\/em><\/p>\n

Benjy, it\u2019s Papa!<\/em><\/p>\n

Wake up, Benjy . . . .<\/em><\/p>\n

His eyes snapped open.\u00a0\u00a0 Taking a deep, ragged breath, he screamed at the top of his lungs.<\/p>\n

Adam was immediately at his son\u2019s side, gathering the terrified boy in his arms, holding him close.\u00a0\u00a0 At length, Benjy\u2019s terrified screaming gave way to near hysterical sobbing.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s all right, Buddy, it\u2019s all right,\u201d Adam murmured softly, his voice catching.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m here . . . I\u2019m right here, Son, and I\u2019m going to stay right here!\u201d<\/p>\n

Benjy, clinging to his father for dear life, buried his face tight against Adam\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cOh, Papa . . . Papa,\u201d he wept, \u201cit w-was . . . it was horrible!\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam\u2019s sharp ears picked up the faint sounds of someone lightly rapping on the closed door to the downstairs bedroom.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWho is it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHop Sing, Mister Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCome on in, Hop Sing, please.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hop Sing opened the door and ambled into the room, carrying the brandy snifter in one hand and a glass in the other.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHelp boy calm down, maybe sleep better.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, Hop Sing,\u201d Adam said gratefully.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWould you mind pouring some into that glass?\u201d<\/p>\n

Hop Sing nodded and filled the glass half way, then handed it to Adam.<\/p>\n

\u201cBenjy . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

Adam tried to turn him around, but the boy hung on, his arms firmly clasped around Adam\u2019s neck.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all right, Buddy,\u201d Adam said in a quiet, reassuring tone.\u00a0\u00a0 He handed the glass back to Hop Sing, then gently turned the still sobbing Benjy around and placed him on his lap.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019d like you to drink a little of this . . . . \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He reached out his hand to take back the brandy glass.<\/p>\n

\u201cD-don\u2019t go, Papa, please?\u00a0\u00a0 Please, don\u2019t go!\u201d Benjy sobbed.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t you worry one bit about that, Son.\u00a0\u00a0 I am not going ANYWHERE,\u201d Adam hastened to assure the boy.\u00a0\u00a0 He brought the brandy glass close to his son\u2019s lips.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBenjy, I\u2019d like you to take a sip of this . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

Sobbing, Benjy swallowed from the glass touching his bottom lip, and coughed.<\/p>\n

Adam held his son and gently stroked his back, until the boy\u2019s coughing subsided.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThis brandy\u2019s strong stuff, Buddy.\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019d like you to take one more sip, if you can manage?\u201d<\/p>\n

Benjy nodded.\u00a0\u00a0 When his father brought the glass to his lips again, he sipped gingerly.<\/p>\n

The boy\u2019s weeping lessened, and Adam felt his body sagging more heavily against him.\u00a0\u00a0 He handed the brandy glass back to Hop Sing.<\/p>\n

\u201cMister Adam need Hop Sing for anything more?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam wearily shook his head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ll be alright now, Hop Sing.\u00a0\u00a0 Thank you for bringing that brandy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHop Sing go to bed now.\u00a0\u00a0 Leave brandy for Mister Adam on table beside bed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood night, Mister Adam, and you, too, Benjy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood night, Hop Sing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, Papa, it was horrible!\u201d Benjy murmured in a small, frightened voice, after Hop Sing had gone.<\/p>\n

Adam hugged his son closer.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDo you want to talk about it?\u201d he quietly invited.<\/p>\n

\u201cD-Do I have to?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam was taken aback by the question.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNo, Benjy, you don\u2019t HAVE to tell me.\u00a0\u00a0 I . . . just thought maybe you\u2019d WANT to tell me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Benjy buried his face against his father\u2019s shoulder, drawing from him comfort and reassurance.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNo!\u00a0\u00a0 I . . . I\u2019d rather NOT, Papa.\u00a0\u00a0 Please don\u2019t make me!\u00a0\u00a0 Please!\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s . . . it\u2019s too scary!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI won\u2019t make you tell me, Buddy,\u201d Adam promised.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, Papa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMay I tell you a story instead?\u201d<\/p>\n

Benjy found himself smiling despite the terror that yet remained with him.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cY-you haven\u2019t told me any bedtime stories since . . . I guess since I was Dio\u2019s age.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis one\u2019s a little different because it\u2019s true,\u201d Adam said.<\/p>\n

\u201cReally?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUm hmm.\u00a0\u00a0 Would you like to hear it?\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cThis story begins on Christmas Eve . . . oh, it\u2019s been a few years now.\u00a0\u00a0 It was the year you told your mother and me that you no longer believed in Santa Claus,\u201d Adam began.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou also asked me about my mother,\u201d Adam continued.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI think your exact words were, \u2018How come Mother has a mother and papa, but you only have a papa?\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou told me that YOUR mother died a long time ago, when you were a baby.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam nodded.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI know what she looked like.\u00a0\u00a0 My pa, your grandpa, had those two miniatures of him and her for a long time.\u00a0\u00a0 I think someone gave them those paintings as a wedding gift.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre those the portraits you keep on the desk in your study, Papa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, they are, Benjy,\u201d Adam replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBecause we had that picture, I always knew what my mother looked like, but I never had the chance to know her because I was so young when she died.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut . . . you\u2019ve told Dio and me all kinds of things about her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of what I\u2019ve told the two of you, are memories your grandpa has shared with me over the years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDidn\u2019t he also give you her diary for a present that same Christmas?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam smiled.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYes, he did, along with a bound, printed copy of his own journal that covers the time he courted my mother, their marriage, and my coming into the world.\u00a0\u00a0 He also gave me the letters both of them wrote back and forth to each other all the times he was at sea.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember.\u00a0\u00a0 You\u2019ve read some of them to Mother, Dio, and me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I have,\u201d Adam replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cOver the years, I\u2019ve come to know about my mother through what my father told me, and through words she, herself, wrote in her diary.\u00a0\u00a0 But I have no memories of my own about her.\u00a0\u00a0 The first mother I really knew was a wonderful, kind, beautiful lady from Sweden.\u00a0\u00a0 Her name was Inger Borgstrom.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGrandma Inger?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam smiled and nodded his head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s right.\u00a0\u00a0 Grandma Inger.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was Uncle Hoss\u2019 mother.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, she was, but in a very real way, she was just as much MY mother, too,\u201d Adam continued.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI know she loved me very much.\u00a0\u00a0 I remember her singing me to sleep almost every night with lullabies in Swedish.\u00a0\u00a0 She had a very lovely voice.\u00a0\u00a0 That first night, after Uncle Hoss came into the world, she sang the both of us to sleep.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Adam felt his eyes misting as he remembered.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThat night, Benjy, I think Inger sang her most beautiful lullaby ever.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe died, too, didn\u2019t she?\u201d Benjy asked.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhen Uncle Hoss was a baby?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, she did.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cShe was killed in an Indian raid at the Ash Hallow Way Station,\u201d Adam said, his voice catching.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cOne minute, she was at the window with rifle in hand, the next she lay dying in your grandpa\u2019s arms with an arrow in her back.\u00a0\u00a0 We, your grandpa and I, were devastated.\u00a0\u00a0 After we buried Inger and moved on, I began to have some terrifying nightmares.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLike . . . the one\u2019s I\u2019ve had?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think so, Benjy, because they left me every bit as upset and frightened as you\u2019re feeling right now.\u00a0\u00a0 Because Inger died so suddenly, I was terrified I\u2019d lose Pa, too.\u00a0\u00a0 I wanted to talk to him about it, but I just couldn\u2019t bring myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t want him to think I was some kind of sissy,\u201d Adam replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI was the big boy after all, and with Inger gone, I had to help Pa look after your uncle, Hoss.\u00a0\u00a0 So, night after night I kept on having these horrible nightmares of Hoss and Pa being killed, or of them going off and forgetting me.\u00a0\u00a0 One night, I woke up screaming from what had to have been the scariest one of them all . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

Memory of that dream came back with all the sharp, crystal clarity of an event that had happened five minutes ago.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>They were all back at the way station at Ash Hallow.\u00a0\u00a0 He could hear the angry and terrifying cries of the war party, as they rode down over the hill toward the way station, sounding like a shrieking bird of prey as it swoops down on its hapless victim.\u00a0\u00a0 As before, he was huddled in a safe corner, with baby Hoss in his arms, feeling horribly alone and more frightened than he could recall ever having felt in his entire life.\u00a0\u00a0 Ma, he had called Inger that from the very beginning, and Pa were at the windows with the others, armed with rifles fighting for their very lives.<\/em><\/p>\n

Then, suddenly, an arrow flew in through the open window and found its mark deep in Inger\u2019s back.\u00a0\u00a0 She cried out, then collapsed, with a strange, agonizing slowness.\u00a0\u00a0 Before she reached the floor, a second arrow embedded itself in Pa\u2019s chest.\u00a0\u00a0 He stumbled back, his face a terrible mixture of astonishment and rage.\u00a0\u00a0 His movements were also terribly slowed, like Ma\u2019s.\u00a0\u00a0 The impact of their bodies striking the floor, Ma first, then Pa, sounded for all the world like rolling thunder.<\/em><\/p>\n

Adam bolted from the safety of the corner, clutching his infant brother in his arms, screaming.\u00a0\u00a0 A third arrow flew into the window and found its mark in Hoss\u2019 heart.\u00a0\u00a0 The baby in his arms let out an ear piercing, high-pitched wail, before going completely limp.<\/em><\/p>\n

Adam remembered frantically, desperately running back and forth from Pa, to Ma, and to Baby Hoss, calling to them and shaking them.\u00a0 No one moved.\u00a0\u00a0 The three of them lay together in a pile, their eyes round and staring, seeing nothing.\u00a0\u00a0 Adam screamed again, until he was hoarse.\u00a0\u00a0 Afterward a heavy, deafening silence fell.\u00a0\u00a0 He turned away for a moment.\u00a0\u00a0 When he turned back, they were gone.\u00a0\u00a0 Ma, Pa, Hoss.\u00a0\u00a0 Gone, as if they had never been.\u00a0\u00a0 The people who had accompanied them to the way station were gone, too.\u00a0\u00a0 He was all alone in a big, empty world . . . .<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cPapa?\u201d<\/p>\n

The sound of Benjy\u2019s voice brought Adam back to present time and place, shocked and astonished by the how clear and vivid that dream remained in his memory.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cY-yes, Benjy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happened?\u00a0\u00a0 When you woke from that dream?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYour grandpa took me in his arms and held me while I cried, like he always did.\u00a0\u00a0 After I settled down, he asked me what the dream was about.\u00a0\u00a0 I wouldn\u2019t tell him.\u00a0\u00a0 That night, however, he told me something I never forgot.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat was THAT, Papa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe told me that most dreams are letters we write to ourselves,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cInstead of writing those letters in words, we write them in pictures.\u00a0\u00a0 The good dreams let us know that everything\u2019s all right.\u00a0\u00a0 The bad ones are trying to tell us that something needs to be fixed.\u00a0\u00a0 He told me that the only way something can be fixed is to take a good, long, hard look at it, and see where it\u2019s broken.\u00a0\u00a0 That night, I told Pa about the dream, and I also told him about my fear of losing him.\u00a0\u00a0 You know what?\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cHe DIDN\u2019T laugh at me or get mad at me for being a sissy.\u00a0\u00a0 He just sat there and held me in his arms for a very long time, the exact same way I\u2019m holding you right now.\u00a0\u00a0 He told me how much he loved me and that he and Hoss would never, ever leave without me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you stop having the bad dreams?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot right away.\u00a0\u00a0 But when they came, they weren\u2019t as scary as they had been,\u201d Adam replied, \u201cand as time passed they came less and less often, until they eventually stopped altogether.\u201d<\/p>\n

Benjy silently digested all that his father had told him.\u00a0\u00a0 He desperately wanted to tell his father about the dreams, and of his feelings toward Dio.\u00a0\u00a0 Yet, he held back, feeling oddly afraid.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cPapa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Son?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI . . . would it be ok if I read for a little while?\u201d Benjy asked.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cJust long enough to get sleepy . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAlright,\u201d Adam quietly gave permission.<\/p>\n

Benjy turned to the night table beside this bed, and, not finding his book there, began to search among his bedclothes.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201c . . . uhhh, Papa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Son?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t find it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou probably left it in the room upstairs,\u201d Adam said quietly.<\/p>\n

Benjy lifted his eyes and face slowly, very reluctantly toward the ceiling.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cP-Papa?\u00a0\u00a0 Would you . . . would you please g-get it for me?\u201d he asked, his voice shaking.<\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps you should just lie back and close your eyes,\u201d Adam suggested.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease, Papa?\u201d the boy begged, his fearful gaze still on the ceiling.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI . . . I\u2019m afraid if I . . . if I close my eyes, that dream will c-come back . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019ll take me a few minutes to go upstairs and get the book.\u00a0\u00a0 Will you be all right . . . by yourself?\u201d Adam asked, remembering his son\u2019s terror at the prospect of being left alone just a short time before.<\/p>\n

\u201cI-I\u2019ll be ok,\u201d Benjy said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re sure?\u201d<\/p>\n

Benjy nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be back in a few minutes, then,\u201d Adam promised, as he rose to his feet.<\/p>\n

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

Chapter 11<\/p>\n

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

Mid-way between the mid and top landings, he froze upon hearing his name.\u00a0\u00a0 Teresa emerged from the deep shadow less than a moment later.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIs everything all right?\u201d he asked, mentally bracing himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cFine,\u201d Teresa replied, as he husband walked up the remaining steps.<\/p>\n

\u201cDio?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe and Mother are both sound asleep, thank goodness,\u201d Teresa replied, weary and with a measure of relief.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhat about Benjy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe woke up out of a nightmare . . . a real bad one, given the way he was screaming,\u201d Adam replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHe asked if he might read for a little while to help him back to sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps if you got him to talk about that nightmare— \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI asked him, Teresa, but he won\u2019t,\u201d Adam said curtly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve done everything I can think of to let him know that the both of us are willing to listen, that we won\u2019t in anyway think the less of him, but I can\u2019t force him to speak against his will.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry, Adam,\u201d Teresa immediately apologized.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry, too,\u201d Adam said ruefully.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cRight now, I\u2019m feeling frustrated, a little angry, and worried sick, but I had no right to take all that out on you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDid Benjy leave his book in the spare room he just vacated?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy don\u2019t you go on back downstairs?\u201d Teresa suggested.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll get his book and bring it down . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou needn\u2019t trouble yourself, Sweetheart.\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019m already upstairs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo trouble,\u201d Teresa firmly assured him.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI was just getting ready to come downstairs and look in on you and Benjy anyway . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

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

Teresa made her way back up the hall toward the small room Benjy had vacated, shivering against the cold in the hallway.\u00a0\u00a0 She placed her flattened hand against the door, standing ajar, and gently pushed open it all the way.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cGoodness!\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s . . . it\u2019s FREEZING in here!\u201d she murmured softly, as she entered the room.\u00a0\u00a0 It was a deep, bone chilling cold, against which her nightgown, robe, and slippers offered scant protection.\u00a0\u00a0 She saw Benjy\u2019s book lying on the nightstand, where the boy had apparently left it before going to sleep earlier.\u00a0\u00a0 She crossed the room, teeth chattering, and picked up the book.<\/p>\n

Teresa started to leave the room, then paused.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019d better check that window,\u201d she decided.\u00a0\u00a0 Walking over to the window, she saw immediately that it was closed and locked tight.\u00a0\u00a0 Teresa turned again to leave.\u00a0\u00a0 Before she had gone a half dozen steps, she froze mid-stride and gasped.\u00a0\u00a0 Out of the corner of his eye, she caught the blurring movement of something luminous white.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey!\u00a0\u00a0 Where\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n

She quickly turned, but saw no one.<\/p>\n

\u201cHmpf!\u00a0\u00a0 Now MY imagination\u2019s starting to run away with me,\u201d Teresa grumbled under her breath, as she tucked the book up under her arm and turned to leave for the third time.\u00a0\u00a0 She stopped at the threshold between the bedroom and the hallway, thinking for one brief insane moment, she had heard the sound of a boy\u2019s laughter, fading in the distance.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNah!\u201d she muttered aloud, as he left the room.<\/p>\n

A few moments later, a young boy with a pale face and brown curls, clad in a luminous white nightshirt emerged from the deepest shadows in the room and smiled.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cMama?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Dio stood at the threshold between hall and the room given to her parents, knocking against the doorframe, though the door was standing wide open.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMama, can . . . . \u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 She frowned, and exhaled a soft, disparaging sigh.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMAY I come in?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course,\u201d Teresa immediately gave her daughter permission.<\/p>\n

\u201cMama, I wanna go home,\u201d Dio announced, as she entered the room, clad still in nightgown, and a pair of slippers.\u00a0\u00a0 Her voice caught on the last word.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want to go home?!\u201d Teresa echoed, incredulous.\u00a0\u00a0 She deftly tucked her blouse in behind the waist band of her long, full skirt, then motioned for her young daughter to follow her over to the bed she and Adam shared.<\/p>\n

Dio silently fell in step behind her mother and, upon reaching the bed, climbed up and settled in beside her.<\/p>\n

Teresa was surprised to see that the little girl\u2019s eyes blinked to excess and that her cheeks were wet.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s the matter?\u201d she asked, as she gently pushed back a stray lock of dark hair that had fallen down into the child\u2019s face.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ve been looking forward to visiting your grandpa for . . . well . . . for the better part of the last year, at least . . . and now you want to go home?\u201d<\/p>\n

Dio nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c \u2018Cause I\u2019m not having any fun!\u201d Dio half sobbed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAunt Stacy hates me— \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSweetheart, your aunt doesn\u2019t hate you,\u201d Teresa tried to reassure the distraught little girl.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, she does.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Aunt Stacy hated you, she wouldn\u2019t have let you ride home with her on Blaze Face when you, Benjy, and Grandmother arrived in Virginia City,\u201d Teresa very reasonably pointed out, \u201cand she certainly wouldn\u2019t have tucked you into bed that night.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I hate HER!\u201d Dio declared, her face darkening with anger.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy do you hate Aunt Stacy?\u201d Teresa asked, astonished and completely bewildered.<\/p>\n

\u201c \u2018Cause she won\u2019t give me anymore riding lessons.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDio, we talked about that.\u00a0\u00a0 Remember?\u201d\u00a0 Teresa responded in a very quiet, yet very firm tone of voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not fair!\u201d Dio argued.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBenjy made me look stupid!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDio, it wasn\u2019t very nice of Benjy to correct you in front of your aunt,\u201d Teresa freely admitted, \u201cbut the things you said to your brother weren\u2019t very nice either.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBenjy was mean first.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c . . . and two wrongs don\u2019t make a right,\u201d Teresa immediately pointed out.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s NOT fair!\u201d Dio hotly protested, the angry scowl on her face deepening.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s not!\u00a0\u00a0 That makes it so Benjy can be as mean to me as he wants, but I can\u2019t be mean back!\u201d<\/p>\n

`\u201cDio, that\u2019s not— \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou \u2018n Papa like HIM best!\u201d she accused, her voice rising.<\/p>\n

\u201cDolores Elizabeth Cartwright . . . you will NOT speak to me in that way,\u201d Teresa sternly admonished her daughter.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, it\u2019s TRUE, Mama . . . it\u2019s TRUE!\u201d the child plunged on recklessly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou \u2018n Papa DO like Benjy best, \u2018cause you always let HIM do whatever he wants, but you won\u2019t let ME.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s enough, Young Lady,\u201d Teresa snapped, then closed her eyes and slowly, very slowly counted to ten in a valiant, desperate attempt to keep her rising temper in check.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDio, it sounds to me like you need to calm down,\u201d she said, laboring to keep her own rising temper in check.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAfter breakfast— \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI hate him!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDio!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI DO, Mama!\u00a0\u00a0 I HATE Benjy . . . I hate that other mean boy . . . and I hate YOU!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 With that she jumped down from the bed before Teresa could even think to stop her, and fled from the room weeping more from anger, frustration, and fear than from sadness.<\/p>\n

For a time, Teresa remained where she was, unmoving, angry, yet stunned to the very core of being, her eyes glued to her daughter\u2019s fast retreating back.<\/p>\n

\u201cHold on there, Young \u2018n!\u201d Hoss exclaimed, startled, when Dio barreled into him less than a half dozen steps into the hall.\u00a0\u00a0 He reached out and with gentle, yet firm grasp, took hold of her right forearm.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhere are YOU off t\u2019 in such an all fired hurry?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLEMME GO!\u201d Dio yelled, with tears streaming down her face like rivers.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cLEMME GO!\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss all of a sudden felt as if he had just taken hold of a cougar by its tail, as his niece struggled to free herself.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cEasy there, Lil\u2019 Gal . . . take—!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 His exhortation ended in a loud bellow of pain, when Dio reared around and sunk her teeth deep into the tender flesh of his right hand.\u00a0\u00a0 His fingers automatically uncurled, setting the child free.<\/p>\n

With a strangled cry, Dio half ran, half stumbled the remaining way to her room.\u00a0\u00a0 She ran inside and slammed the door shut behind her with all the strength and might she could summon.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat in the world set that li\u2019l gal off?\u201d Hoss wondered aloud, perplexed and bewildered.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wish I knew,\u201d Teresa replied, angry, yet miserable, uncertain, and feeling completely, and utterly helpless.\u00a0\u00a0 Her eyes immediately dropped down to the telltale horseshoe shape, etched deep enough into his hand, to draw forth a thin trickle of blood.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cOh no,\u201d she groaned.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHoss, did Dio—?!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I\u2019m afraid so,\u201d Hoss said ruefully.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMy fault, Teresa.\u00a0\u00a0 I was tryin\u2019 t\u2019 slow her down a li\u2019l . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s no excuse for biting,\u201d Teresa said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAs soon as she and I both calm down, I intend to have a long talk with her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou ain\u2019t gonna tan her . . . uhhh . . . are ya?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is going depend on how well or badly she acts when we have that talk later on,\u201d Teresa said firmly, then softened.\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cIn the meantime, we\u2019d better get you downstairs to Hop Sing so that bite can be properly treated.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAww . . . no need t\u2019 bother Hop Sing,\u201d Hoss protested.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s just a li\u2019l flesh wound . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes it\u2019s the little flesh wounds that end up getting the most infected,\u201d Teresa said as she took firm hold of his left hand.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNow let\u2019s g\u2019won downstairs and see Hop Sing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c \u2018Morning, Teresa . . . \u2018morning, H— \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Joe gasped upon seeing the red, angry looking horseshoe shaped wound on Hoss\u2019 right hand.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHol-leee—!?\u00a0\u00a0 What in the world happened to YOU, Big Brother?\u00a0\u00a0 You tangle with an angry bob cat or something this morning?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m afraid the angry bob cat in question was Dio,\u201d Teresa said, wincing against the sudden rush of blood to her cheeks.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIs Hop Sing up yet?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah . . . . \u201d Joe replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cI sure hope t\u2019 heaven he\u2019s in a better mood than he was yesterday mornin\u2019,\u201d Hoss groused.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t count on it, Big Brother,\u201d Joe said somberly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cJudging from the way he\u2019s been slamming his pots \u2018n pans around in the kitchen . . . . \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He sighed and sarcastically rolled his eyes heavenward.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201c . . . I\u2019d say he\u2019s in a WORSE mood this morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAh!\u00a0\u00a0 Good morning, good morning, good morning!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Hop Sing flew out of the kitchen with a big, bright sunny smile on his face.\u00a0\u00a0 He carried a large tray with pot, matching sugar and creamer, and enough clean, white mugs to accommodate the adults in the family.<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s face turned white as a sheet.\u00a0\u00a0 With a soft groan, he turned and looked over at Hoss, his face and eyes mirroring the horror and dread he felt within.\u00a0\u00a0 His big brother\u2019s face was an exact copy of his own.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought you said Hop Sing was in a bad mood,\u201d Teresa said, with a bewildered frown.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is,\u201d Joe replied, making sure he kept a respectful distance between himself and the family\u2019s chief cook.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut he . . . he\u2019s smiling!\u201d Teresa pointed out, her frown deepening.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo do crocodiles, Ma\u2019am,\u201d Joe returned, making it a point to lower his voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoseph Francis Cartwright, if I find out you\u2019re pulling my leg . . . . \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 The bewilderment in Teresa\u2019s face underwent a lightening quick transformation to something significantly more threatening.<\/p>\n

\u201cLeastwise we got some coffee,\u201d Hoss said, as he poured himself a generous mug full.\u00a0\u00a0 He raised the mug nearly half way to his lips them froze.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhat th—?!\u201d he exclaimed, as his gaze settled on the nearly transparent golden amber liquid.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDoggone it, Hop Sing . . . this coffee\u2019s so dang weak I can see right through it!\u201d he complained.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat NOT coffee!\u201d Hop Sing snapped, smile and overdone good humor evaporating in an instant.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThat TEA!\u00a0\u00a0 All we got!\u00a0\u00a0 Bad boy spill coffee and tea all over counter and floor.\u00a0\u00a0 No more coffee left . . . and THAT last of tea!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDadburn it!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTeresa . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

She started violently and whirled in her tracks, upon hearing her name.<\/p>\n

\u201cH-Hoss . . . Joe . . . Hop Sing . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

It was Adam.\u00a0\u00a0 He stood in the open doorway to the downstairs bedroom, leaning heavily against the frame.\u00a0\u00a0 His face was alarmingly pale and his breathing ragged and shallow.<\/p>\n

\u201cHelp . . . I . . . I need your h— \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He groaned softly, then collapsed like a marionette whose strings had just been cut.<\/p>\n

\u201cADAM!\u201d Teresa cried, pushing her way past Joe first, then Hop Sing.\u00a0\u00a0 She tore across the room with Hoss following close at her heels.\u00a0\u00a0 Upon reaching her husband, she half fell, half collapsed on her knees beside him.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cH-How . . . he\u2019s freezing!\u201d she exclaimed when she touched him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is nuts!\u201d Joe declared.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s the middle of summer for cryin\u2019 out loud.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBenjy!\u201d Teresa gasped, as she turned and peered into the room.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll get him,\u201d Joe volunteered.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThe both of ya g\u2019won . . . get Adam over to the settee and get him warmed up.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Joe entered the downstairs bedroom and found, much to his amazement, that the temperature was so cold, he could see his own breath.\u00a0\u00a0 He saw his nephew lying in the middle of the bed, unmoving, bundled under at least three winter blankets and a quilt.\u00a0\u00a0 Joe started toward the night table, rubbing his forearms vigorously for warmth.\u00a0\u00a0 He found himself pausing occasionally, and glancing back over his shoulder.<\/p>\n

Go away.<\/em><\/p>\n

Joe immediately paused, mid-stride, his body tense, his eyes and ears alert for any sound, any kind of movement, no matter how slight.<\/p>\n

I SAID go away.<\/em><\/p>\n

Joe turned and looked over at his nephew.\u00a0\u00a0 He knew immediately that the boy hadn\u2019t even moved, let alone spoken aloud.<\/p>\n

Get out!<\/em><\/p>\n

Suddenly Joe felt a small, rock hard fist sucker punch him hard in the solar plexus.\u00a0\u00a0 He doubled over, unable to get his breath.\u00a0\u00a0 Before he realized what was happening, a pair of invisible hands grabbed two fists full of his hair and yanked him forward, bringing him down onto his knees with a dull thud.\u00a0\u00a0 Tears stung Joe\u2019s eyes.\u00a0\u00a0 He would have cried out, had he sufficient breath to do so.<\/p>\n

I HATE you.\u00a0\u00a0 I HATE your stinkin\u2019 guts!\u00a0\u00a0 Get out.<\/em><\/p>\n

Fists, hundreds of child sized fists, began to rain down heavily on his back, one after the other after the other in rapid succession.\u00a0\u00a0 Joe tried to rise, only to be brought down to his knees again, by a hard blow to the head.\u00a0\u00a0 He lowered his head pressing his chin tight his chest, then instinctively raised his left arm to shield his face.\u00a0\u00a0 Using two legs and one arm, he managed to crawl another half dozen steps, while his invisible assailant continued to rain blows down on his back shoulders and neck.\u00a0\u00a0 His last conscious memory was of stumbling and the floor rising up fast and furious to meet him.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cPa?\u00a0\u00a0 I think he\u2019s coming around.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoseph?\u201d<\/p>\n

His eyes lids flickered, then parted slightly.\u00a0\u00a0 He winced against the bright sunlight pouring into his room, and squeezed his eyes shut once again.<\/p>\n

\u201cStacy, would you please pull the curtains closed?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSure, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

He heard the soft scraping sound of a chair being pushed back and the sound of his sister\u2019s quiet footfalls moving across the room.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe?\u00a0\u00a0 You still with us, Boy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cH-Here, Pa . . . . \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He groaned weakly, his voice sounding many miles distant.\u00a0\u00a0 He opened his eyes again, slowly.\u00a0\u00a0 Very slowly.\u00a0\u00a0 The anxious faces of his father and sister swam before his eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cGlad to have you back, Grandpa,\u201d Stacy greeted him with a weary, anxious smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do you feel, Son?\u201d Ben asked anxiously.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got one rip roarin\u2019 headache, n\u2019 I feel like I just been trampled over by a hundred cattle stampedes . . . one right after the other,\u201d Joe groaned.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWha\u2019 happened?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re hoping YOU could tell US,\u201d Stacy said anxiously.<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss told me you\u2019d gone into the bedroom downstairs to get Benjy,\u201d Ben explained.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHe began to wonder what was taking you so long, and went back to investigate.\u00a0\u00a0 He found you lying in the middle of the room, out cold.\u201d<\/p>\n

Suddenly, everything came back in a rushing flood.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAdam!\u00a0\u00a0 Pa, is he— . . . how is he—?!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s conscious, Joe,\u201d Ben replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHe came to within a few minutes after Hoss, Teresa, and Hop Sing got him settled on the settee.\u00a0\u00a0 Doctor Martin\u2019s looking after him right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about Benjy?\u201d Joe snapped out the question.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cPa, we\u2019ve gotta get him outta that room!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He threw aside his bedclothes, and started to sit up.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe?!\u00a0\u00a0 Grandpa, what in the heck do ya think you\u2019re doing?!\u201d Stacy demanded, indignant yet very fearful.\u00a0\u00a0 She reached out and caught hold of his forearm.<\/p>\n

Joe easily shook her off.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cGotta get Benjy,\u201d he muttered as he quickly rose from lying prone to sitting.\u00a0\u00a0 He groaned softly and squeezed his eyes tight shut when the room, his father, and sister began to pulsate and spin with nauseating intensity.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet that be a good lesson for ya, Young Man,\u201d Ben sternly admonished his youngest son, with voice filled with anxiety and exasperation.\u00a0\u00a0 He slipped his arm around Joe\u2019s shoulders, and holding tight, eased him back down onto the bed.<\/p>\n

\u201cGrandpa?\u201d Stacy softly ventured as she helped their father pull the covers back up over Joe.<\/p>\n

\u201cY-Yeah?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBenjy uhhh . . . didn\u2019t . . . . ?!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe started to shake his head, then thought better of it.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNo, Kid.\u00a0\u00a0 Not our Benjy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stacy exhaled a long, soft sigh of relief.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere\u2019s OUR Benjy now?\u201d Joe demanded.<\/p>\n

\u201cTeresa and Hop Sing moved him upstairs to Adam\u2019s old room,\u201d Ben replied, as he deftly tucked his son back in.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s the warmest room in the house and with him there, she can keep an eye on him and Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow\u2019s Benjy doin\u2019?\u201d Joe asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want you to worry yourself one bit about Benjy, Young Man,\u201d Ben replied a little too quickly in that brisk tone of voice not particularly inviting to further questions regarding the subject under discussion.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s gonna be just fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cYes, Son?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTell Teresa . . . \u2018n Adam, too!\u00a0\u00a0 Tell \u2018em to keep a real close eye on Benjy,\u201d Joe said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ve gotta tell \u2018em, Pa . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe, you don\u2019t need to worry yourself about that,\u201d Ben gently admonished his youngest boy, while smoothing back that unruly lock of hair that was forever falling down in the middle of his face.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cTeresa\u2019s not let either one of \u2018em out of her sight.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPa . . . . \u201d Joe begged.<\/p>\n

\u201cNever . . . not even in my wildest of dreams, would I ever have imagined that YOU\u2019D grow up to be such a worry wart,\u201d Ben remarked, shaking his head slowly back and forth.<\/p>\n

\u201cI come by it honestly,\u201d Joe quipped, unable to resist, despite his growing concern for his young nephew.\u00a0\u00a0 The amused grin on his face quickly faded.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cPa . . . that room downstairs . . . it was cold in there . . . so cold, I . . . I could see my breath!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust like it was in the barn day before yesterday,\u201d Stacy said very slowly, her eyes round with a growing apprehension.<\/p>\n

\u201cY-yeah . . . just like it was in the barn,\u201d Joe affirmed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhen I went t\u2019 get Benjy?\u00a0\u00a0 I heard someone . . . sounded like a kid, Pa . . . a little older \u2018n Benjy . . . OUR Benjy . . . but not much.\u00a0\u00a0 Anyway— \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe, you don\u2019t have to talk about this right now,\u201d Ben said, noting with apprehension that his son seemed to be growing more agitated.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt might be better if you just rest— \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, Pa . . . I gotta tell ya,\u201d Joe insisted.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou . . . y-you gotta lemme tell ya.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGrandpa . . . was it that new friend of Benjy\u2019s?\u201d Stacy asked, frowning.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIs HE the one who . . . who . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI dunno, Kiddo . . . I honestly dunno,\u201d Joe groaned, \u201cbut I . . . I just remembered somethin\u2019 ELSE . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s that, Son?\u201d Ben asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cBenjy\u2019s room . . . the room he asked for upstairs?\u00a0\u00a0 It was MY old room, Pa . . . back when I was Benjy\u2019s age . . . that was MY room.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before Ben could question Joe further about this peculiar train of thought, the door opened and Paul Martin entered, with black bag firmly in hand.\u00a0\u00a0 His normally straight, regal posture was slightly stooped, with shoulders sagging.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve checked Adam and his son over,\u201d the sawbones said wearily.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNow it\u2019s YOUR turn, Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stacy immediately leapt to her feet.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI guess I\u2019d better leave so you can examine Grandpa properly,\u201d she said, as she started for the door.<\/p>\n

Ben made himself a mental note to pursue the line of conversation, interrupted by Doctor Martin\u2019s entrance, as soon as he could possibly manage to do so, then rose from his place on the edge of Joe\u2019s bed to allow the doctor access.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cWhoever it was . . . he worked you over real good, Joe, no question about that,\u201d Paul said grimly, upon completion of his examination.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cLots of bruises, and a few minor cuts, which will all heal in time.\u00a0\u00a0 That one place on your wrist . . . . \u201d he shook his head in complete bewilderment, \u201c . . . looks like your assailant actually BIT you.\u00a0\u00a0 However . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever WHAT, Paul?\u201d Ben queried anxiously.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat lump on the back of Joe\u2019s head is cause for concern.\u00a0\u00a0 Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, Doc?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAny headaches?\u00a0\u00a0 Dizziness?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy head d-doesn\u2019t hurt any more \u2018n the rest of me,\u201d Joe replied slowly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI DO get a b-bit dizzy . . . if I move too fast.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAny nausea or vomiting?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI kinda felt like I was gonna throw up when I . . . I think when I came to a while ago, but it\u2019s passed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat being the case, Young Man, my orders are bed rest for the remainder of the day,\u201d Paul Martin said very sternly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIf you aren\u2019t experiencing any dizziness come tomorrow, you may get up and go downstairs for meals, or to sit and read, but you take things very easy for the rest of the week.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cC-Can I . . . can I still work on b-bustin\u2019 that bronc I\u2019ve been workin\u2019 on?\u00a0\u00a0 That b-big black we n-named H-Holy Terror?\u201d<\/p>\n

Paul Martin opened his mouth intending to read Joe Cartwright the proverbial riot act, until he saw the amused smile tugging at the corner of his patient\u2019s mouth.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou smart mouthed young pup!\u201d he growled, the twinkle in his eyes giving lie to the ferocious glower on his face.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIn any case, stiff \u2018n sore as you\u2019ll be tomorrow, I doubt seriously you\u2019ll be wanting to move around very much, let alone bust any broncs.\u201d<\/p>\n

The doctor closed his black bag, then rose.\u00a0\u00a0 Ben followed suit.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cRest, Young Man, plenty of rest!\u201d\u00a0 Paul said, favoring the youngest Cartwright son with a stern, almost baleful eye.\u00a0\u00a0 He then turned his attention back to Ben.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWould you mind seeing me out?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSure thing, Paul.\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019ll send Stacy back in to— \u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cYes, Son?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMuch as I enjoy The Kid\u2019s company . . . most o\u2019 the time anyway . . . I think I\u2019d kinda like t\u2019 take a nap for a while . . . . \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He glanced over at the doctor.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIzzat ok?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHeaven knows sleep\u2019s probably the best thing for you,\u201d Paul replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI think it\u2019ll be alright for you to nap, Joe, as long as someone wakes you up every couple of hours, at least until supper time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll look in on you later, Son,\u201d Ben promised, before following the doctor out into the hall.<\/p>\n

\u201cKeep him to a soft diet for the remainder of the day, and see that he gets plenty of liquids,\u201d Paul instructed as they walked toward the stairs.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHe can resume his normal diet tomorrow, as long as he\u2019s not having problems with nausea or upset stomach.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019ll be alright?\u201d Ben asked anxiously.<\/p>\n

\u201cI expect him to make a full and complete recovery, Ben, as long as he rests and follows doctor\u2019s orders.\u00a0\u00a0 He\u2019ll be plenty stiff and sore for the next few days, but that\u2019s par for the course.\u00a0\u00a0 You can send Stacy or Hoss for me if any problems develop.\u00a0\u00a0 Otherwise, I\u2019ll be by at the beginning of next week to check up on him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPaul . . . . \u201d Ben stopped walking, and gazed earnestly into the face of his physician and very good friend.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhat about Adam and Benjy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam\u2019s going to be fine, Ben.\u00a0\u00a0 If he rests and takes things nice \u2018n easy today, he should be back to normal physically by tomorrow morning,\u201d Paul replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cWere you able to figure out what was wrong with him in the first place?\u201d Ben anxiously pressed.<\/p>\n

Paul reluctantly shook his head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIf this were the dead of winter, I\u2019d have said that Adam was suffering from mild hypothermia, no question about it,\u201d the doctor replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBut, it\u2019s the middle of SUMMER.\u00a0\u00a0 Unless he\u2019s gone up into the mountains where the snow remains all year \u2018round . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe hasn\u2019t,\u201d Ben said grimly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just plain don\u2019t know WHAT to make of it,\u201d Paul candidly admitted.<\/p>\n

For a moment, Ben considered telling the sawbones about the cold spots out in the barn, and in the small spare room Benjy had originally chosen for himself the day he, his sister, and grandmother had arrived; the same small room that had once been Joe\u2019s.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIn addition to seeing that Adam gets plenty of rest and takes things easy, we\u2019ll see that he\u2019s kept warm,\u201d Ben promised, deciding that the better part of wisdom might be in keeping those matters to himself.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhat about Benjy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBen, it\u2019s the damndest thing!\u201d Paul exclaimed, shaking his head in utter bewilderment.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBenjy\u2019s exhibiting nearly all of the symptoms of an advanced case of Saint Anthony\u2019s Fire, except for the rash, the high fever, and gangrene in the extremities.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWHAT?!\u201d<\/p>\n

Paul nodded mutely.<\/p>\n

\u201cShould I ask Hop Sing to get rid of all our flour and buy new?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt certainly wouldn\u2019t hurt, Ben,\u201d Paul replied, \u201cthough in all likelihood, it\u2019s probably unnecessary.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the other strange thing about all this,\u201d the doctor sighed and shook his head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAs advanced as Benjy\u2019s symptoms are, every last one of YOU should be down with it.\u00a0\u00a0 Yet here the rest of you are, completely free of symptoms, by all appearances.\u00a0\u00a0 He hasn\u2019t been eating anything made from flour from anyplace other than Hop Sing\u2019s kitchen, has he?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I\u2019m reasonably sure of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen did he arrive in Virginia City?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA few days ago . . . in the afternoon.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat means even if the flour in Hop Sing\u2019s kitchen WAS contaminated, your grandson hasn\u2019t been here long enough for his symptoms to have become so far advanced,\u201d Paul said soberly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201c and, as I just said, you, Hoss, Joe, Stacy, Hop Sing . . . even Adam and Teresa would be much sicker than young Benjy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you have an explanation?\u201d Ben demanded.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a theory . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd that is?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBen, I believe the boy\u2019s symptoms may be hysterical in nature.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHysterical?!\u201d\u00a0 Ben echoed, incredulous.<\/p>\n

Paul nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs there anything you can do, Paul?\u201d Ben anxiously pressed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAnything at all?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe key to his cure is to discover what\u2019s troubling him emotionally,\u201d Paul replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve left instructions with Teresa and Hop Sing with regard to treating his symptoms . . . and for keeping the boy comfortable.\u00a0\u00a0 The rest . . . . \u201d He again shrugged helplessly.<\/p>\n

\u201cIsn\u2019t there anything else you can do for the boy?\u201d<\/p>\n

Paul dolefully shook his head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI do very well in treating PHYSICAL ailments and injuries, Ben,\u201d he said soberly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBut matters of the mind, are beyond my meager skill, I\u2019m afraid.\u00a0 \u00a0For that you need to consult with a psychologist . . . or perhaps a clergyman.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Chapter 12<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, Baby Brother.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe glanced up upon hearing the sound of his oldest brother\u2019s voice.\u00a0\u00a0 Adam stood in the open door leaning heavily against the doorjamb with arms folded across his chest.\u00a0\u00a0 Though a small measure of color had returned to his cheeks, his face, by and large, remained the color of chalk.\u00a0\u00a0 Flesh and muscle hung from his bones the same way as just washed laundry hangs limp from a clothes line on a day without wind or even the slightest breeze.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey yourself, Oldest Brother,\u201d Joe returned the greeting with a wan smile.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cCheckin\u2019 up on me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d Adam replied as he unfolded his arms and ambled slowly into the room.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI told Pa I\u2019d wake you up about an hour before dinner.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDinner?!\u201d Joe echoed, incredulous.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAlready?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUm hmm!\u201d Adam grunted.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMind if I sit down?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHelp yourself.\u00a0\u00a0 I WAS getting a bit lonesome.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam nodded his thanks, as he pulled the nearest chair over to the side of Joe\u2019s bed and sat down.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHow are you feeling?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI still hurt all over, though my head doesn\u2019t hurt as much as it did after the doc got through with all his poking and prodding,\u201d Joe replied with a grimace.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHow about YOU?\u00a0\u00a0 To be blunt, Adam, you look death warmed over.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll survive.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow\u2019re the kids faring?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDio\u2019s been very quiet and clingy . . . mostly to Teresa and me,\u201d Adam sighed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAs for Benjy . . . no change since early this morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat did Doc Martin say?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam gave his youngest brother the details of Doctor Martin\u2019s prognosis concerning Benjy.<\/p>\n

\u201cSaint Anthony\u2019s fire?!\u201d\u00a0 Joe echoed, incredulous.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDoesn\u2019t that come from eating bad rye?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere do you suppose he got it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTherein lies the rub, Little Brother,\u201d Adam sighed and shrugged helplessly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHe couldn\u2019t have eaten it HERE.\u00a0\u00a0 Had that been the case, the lot of US . . . including Teresa and me since we arrived here six weeks before the kids . . . we\u2019d all be down sick . . . if not DEAD.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow about at one of the way stations between here and Sacramento?\u201d Joe asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d\u00a0 Adam shook his head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNot enough time for Benjy to have developed the advanced symptoms he\u2019s manifesting.\u00a0\u00a0 Furthermore, Dolores . . . Mrs. di Cordova . . . and Dio would also be sick.\u00a0\u00a0 Doctor Martin\u2019s of the opinion that Benjy\u2019s illness is more hysterical than physical.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHysterical?!\u00a0\u00a0 Like . . . maybe he\u2019s . . . he\u2019s faking it, or something?\u201d Joe asked with a puzzled frown.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot in the sense of malingering,\u201d Adam replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMore in the sense of something\u2019s troubling the boy deeply, and it\u2019s manifesting itself in the form of symptoms of advanced Saint Anthony\u2019s fire, except for the rash and gangrene in the extremities.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI wonder why Saint Anthony\u2019s fire?\u201d Joe wondered aloud.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have no idea, Little Brother,\u201d Adam said, his voice filled with pain and sadness.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI wish to God I did.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He fell silent for a long moment, then added, as an afterthought, \u201cThere was an outbreak once . . . here . . . in Virginia City.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was?\u201d Joe queried, mildly surprised.<\/p>\n

Adam nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen was this?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMany years ago, Little Brother, before you were born,\u201d Adam replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI was about Benjy\u2019s age at the time . . . that would\u2019ve put Hoss around two years younger than Dio.\u00a0\u00a0 Most of those stricken were children, including Hoss and me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cReally!\u201d<\/p>\n

Again, Adam nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never knew,\u201d Joe said slowly.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be up front and honest, Joe, I\u2019d all but forgotten until Doctor Martin made mention of it last night, after he got through examining Benjy,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0\u00a0 He, then, shared with Joe all that the family physician remembered of that time.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThe hardest hit was our nearest neighbors.\u00a0\u00a0 There were six kids in the family . . . all of them died.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll six?!\u201d Joe echoed, incredulous.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMy God . . . their poor parents,\u201d he murmured softly, shaking his head back and forth very slowly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou said they were our nearest neighbors?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u00a0\u00a0 Their farm was right here,\u201d Adam replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere?\u00a0\u00a0 Where our house is?!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, though if memory serves, I think their house was where the barn is now,\u201d Adam said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow well did YOU know them?\u201d Joe asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember Pa helping them out sometimes, but I don\u2019t remember very much about them . . . apart from the fact that they lived here, and there were six children in the family,\u201d Adam replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI can\u2019t even recall their names.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAny idea what happened to the parents . . . AFTER the children died?\u201d Joe asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey sold their farm to Pa . . . obviously,\u201d Adam replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI remember hearing that they pulled up stakes soon after and moved on, but I have no idea where they went, or what\u2019s become of them since.\u201d<\/p>\n

Benjy\u2019s illness . . . the cold in the barn, the downstairs bedroom, and the spare room, Benjy had chosen to be his home away from home . . . the story Adam had just told him . . . and a series of frightening incidents that had centered around him roughly thirteen years ago . . . .<\/p>\n

\u201cPuzzle pieces,\u201d Joe murmured softly, upon coming to the sudden realization all of those incidents were pieces to a big jigsaw puzzle, its picture for the most part, completely hidden.\u00a0\u00a0 Though he couldn\u2019t begin to explain the how or why, he also knew beyond any doubt whatsoever that he had to somehow find all the missing pieces and put the entire puzzle together.\u00a0\u00a0 Benjy Cartwright\u2019s life depended on it.<\/p>\n

But where to begin?<\/p>\n

There was only one person he knew of, who just might be able to at the very least, point him in the right direction.<\/p>\n

\u201cMrs. Wilkens,\u201d Joe said very softly.<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry, Joe . . . did you just say something?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe started, having forgotten for the moment that his oldest brother was still in the room.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYes!\u00a0\u00a0 I, uhhh . . . just wanted to, umm, make sure that you\u2019d just said that . . . uhhh . . . that dinner\u2019s gonna be ready in another hour or so . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

Adam very slowly folded his arms across his chest and favored his youngest brother with a jaundiced glare, unable to quite shake the feeling that there was some sort of secret mischief afoot.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell?\u201d Joe pressed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDid you, or didn\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Joe, I did,\u201d Adam replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhy do you ask?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 The scowl on his face intensified.<\/p>\n

Joe yawned again, and gingerly stretched for extra and special measure.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNothin\u2019, Adam,\u201d he replied, yawning again.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m feelin\u2019 kinda sleepy again, is all, and . . . though I DO enjoy your company . . . especially now that you \u2018n I aren\u2019t kids anymore . . . I think I\u2019d like to nap a little before I, ummm . . . come down for dinner?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf memory serves, Little Brother, the doctor ordered YOU to remain in bed for the rest of the day,\u201d Adam sternly reminded the impish scalawag now inhabiting the body and soul of a grown man.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sure Hop Sing will be bringing up a tray.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, PA!\u201d Joe responded with a disparaging sigh and a sarcastic roll of the eyes heavenward.<\/p>\n

\u201cGranted you aren\u2019t a kid anymore, like you just said, but don\u2019t think for one minute you\u2019re to old to be taken out to the barn for a good lesson from the board of education applied to YOUR seat of learning, Buddy,\u201d Adam countered, \u201cby Pa or ME.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe chortled, then winced against pain that seemed to shoot right through his head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll h-have YOU know, Adam Stoddard Cartwright, that Marie\u2019s li\u2019l boy here doesn\u2019t pay too much mind to idle threats,\u201d he retorted, smiling in the midst of his sudden misery.<\/p>\n

\u201c . . . and I\u2019ll have YOU know, Joseph Francis, that Elizabeth\u2019s BIG boy doesn\u2019t make threats,\u201d Adam immediately returned. \u00a0\u00a0\u201cHE makes PROMISES . . . and keeps every last one of \u2018em.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe very pointedly yawned yet again.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cG\u2019night, Adam,\u201d he murmured, as he turned his back and pulled the covers up over his head.<\/p>\n

Adam rose from the chair beside his brother\u2019s bed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cGood night, Joe.\u00a0\u00a0 You just remember what I said.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

The minute Joe heard his bedroom door latch, he threw aside the covers and sat up.\u00a0\u00a0 Slowly.\u00a0\u00a0 Very, very, VERY slowly.\u00a0\u00a0 He sat on the edge of his bed, waiting.\u00a0\u00a0 One minute passed, then two.\u00a0\u00a0 He exhaled a long, slow sigh of relief, grateful that he experienced no lightheadedness or dizziness, then rose very slowly to his feet.\u00a0\u00a0 Once again, Joe waited, resting his hand lightly against the headboard.\u00a0\u00a0 He experienced some lightheadedness, along with a curious buzzing sound in his ears, but no dizziness.\u00a0\u00a0 He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then cautiously crossed the room toward his dresser and wardrobe.<\/p>\n

His sharp ears picked up the sounds of two voices, women\u2019s voices, raised in anger, as he very gingerly pulled his nightshirt up and over his head.\u00a0\u00a0 He recognized them almost immediately as his sister-in-law and her mother.\u00a0\u00a0 A moment later, Adam\u2019s voice entered the fray.<\/p>\n

As he dressed himself, Joe offered a silent, deeply heartfelt prayer of thanksgiving and gratitude that row between Adam, Teresa, and Mrs. di Cordova showed no apparent sign of abating anytime soon.\u00a0\u00a0 At the rate things seemed to be escalating, the shouting match should continue for at least another half an hour, allowing him ample time to finish dressing, saddle Cochise, and be off.<\/p>\n

\u201c . . . assuming Pa and Hoss don\u2019t come running up here to break it up,\u201d Joe muttered very softly under his breath.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cPlease,\u201d<\/em> he silently beseeched any and all who might be listening, \u201cplease . . . let that not be so!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Joe quickly slipped on a pair of heavy socks, and after grabbing his boots from their place next to his bed up against the wall, he silently made his way across the room to the door.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cThis is nonsense!\u00a0\u00a0 Complete and utter superstitious NONSENSE!\u201d\u00a0 Teresa fumed, giving vent to all of her fears and anxious concerns about Benjy and Dio, and her own helpless, angry frustration at not being able to do anything to change the dire situation facing them all.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are things out there, Teresa,\u201d Dolores countered, her own face dark with anger and grief.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThings not easily explained by so-called science, logic, and intellect.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMother . . . if anything, Benjy needs to be in a HOSPITAL . . . not lying on a hard pew in a church.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe will be safer on hallowed ground.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLook!\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019ve said it before . . . I\u2019ll say it again.\u00a0\u00a0 I have no objections to you remaining at his side lighting candles and saying prayers,\u201d Teresa said through clenched teeth, as she labored valiantly to keep her ire firmly in check.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAlthough I personally have serious doubts as to the efficacy of such things, I\u2019ve ALSO allowed you to hang your crucifix above Benjy\u2019s head, place that rosary in his hands, and set up your Saint Anthony statue.\u00a0\u00a0 But, I draw the line at removing Benjy from the comfort of his bed, taking him, sick as he is, over bumpy dirt roads all the way to Virginia City, just so he can sleep on a hard pew in a church not heated\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the middle of the summer!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMother, this is NOT Sacramento!\u00a0 \u00a0This is NEVADA . . . high up in the Sierra Nevada mountains!\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The nights tend to be chilly . . . much chillier than Benjy has been used to, having lived in Sacramento all his life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDolores, I have to agree with Teresa on that point,\u201d Adam said firmly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBenjy WILL be a lot more comfortable here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBUT, BENJY\u2019S LIFE IS IN DANGER HERE!\u201d Dolores raged at both her daughter and son-in-law.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cCAN\u2019T THE TWO OF YOU SEE THAT?!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDolores, Teresa is absolutely right about the climate and the bumpy dirt roads between here and Virginia City,\u201d Adam argued.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMoving him would endanger his life more than simply keeping him here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe, meanwhile, paused and placed his ear up flush against the still closed door to his bedroom.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right!\u00a0\u00a0 Since the two of you are so dead set against moving the boy, can I AT LEAST summon a priest here to exorcise the evil spirit that\u2019s come into this house?\u201d\u00a0 Dolores pressed.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvil spirit?!\u201d Teresa echoed, unable to quite believe the words that had just issued from her mother\u2019s mouth.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMother, this is . . . is . . . it\u2019s beyond enough!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDolores . . . Teresa . . . we COULD ask Father Rutherford to come and pray for Benjy,\u201d Adam quietly suggested.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHe and Pa have been very good friends for many years now, and\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam, I have no objection to this Father Rutherford or any other man of the cloth coming out to say a few prayers, but I will NOT subject our son to . . . to the CRUELTY of some stupid, superstitious . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t think he\u2019ll ever quite be the peacemaker HOSS is, but I gotta give ol\u2019 Adam credit for trying,\u201d<\/em> Joe mused silently, smiling despite his body\u2019s acutely painful protest against being up and about so soon.\u00a0\u00a0 He wrapped his fingers loosely around the doorknob and turned it very slowly, then cracked the door open, just enough for him to see without being seen.<\/p>\n

Mrs. di Cordova, Adam, and Teresa stood clustered together at the very end of the hall.\u00a0\u00a0 His brother and sister-in-law had their backs toward him, and, although Mrs. di Cordova stood directly facing her daughter and son-in-law, the ferocious look on her face told Joe she was likely too wrapped up in the escalating row to notice him sneaking by.<\/p>\n

Grasping his boots tightly in his right hand, Joe opened his bedroom door wider with his left and stole noiselessly across the threshold into the hall.\u00a0\u00a0 Once there, he quickly moved into the deepest shadows and flattened himself tight against the wall, and waited.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve tried with doctors and medicine!\u201d Dolores di Cordova raged at the other end of the hall.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYour Doctor Martin himself said there was nothing he could do.\u00a0\u00a0 HE even suggested calling in a clergyman.\u00a0\u00a0 I heard him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe ALSO said Benjy\u2019s symptoms were emotional . . . psychological in nature, NOT the result of evil spirits,\u201d Teresa shot right back.<\/p>\n

\u201cI keep telling you, Teresa . . . there are things out there . . . things about which so called medical science is completely IGNORANT!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMother, I don\u2019t understand this!\u201d Teresa rounded furiously on her mother.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re a very smart, very intelligent woman.\u00a0\u00a0 How can you possibly stand there and tell me that evil spirits are the cause of Benjy\u2019s illness?!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTeresa, she\u2019s desperate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you taking HER side, Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n

More than satisfied that the trio down at the other end of the hall were far too engrossed in their argument to notice much else, Joe inched his way in the opposite direction, moving stealthily toward the stairs with his back flush against the wall, keeping himself well within the deep shadows.\u00a0\u00a0 Tender, bruised muscles, stiffened by injury and inactivity made their protests painfully clear with every move he made.\u00a0\u00a0 Several times, Joe had to bite his lip to keep from crying out.<\/p>\n

\u201cMa?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe froze.\u00a0\u00a0 That was Dio.\u00a0\u00a0 He held his breath and watched with mounting dread as the doorknob turned on the closed door of her room, positioned almost directly across the hall.<\/p>\n

\u201cMa!\u00a0\u00a0 Pa!\u00a0\u00a0 Grandma!\u201d she sobbed as she bolted from the room and ran down the hall toward her parents and grandmother.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cStop it!\u00a0\u00a0 Please stop it!\u201d<\/p>\n

Thankfully Dio never spared so much as a passing glance in Joe\u2019s direction.\u00a0\u00a0 He slowly exhaled that breath he had been holding, keeping his eyes trained on the three adults at the end of the hall.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease . . . don\u2019t yell anymore!\u00a0\u00a0 You\u2019re scaring me!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSweetheart, I\u2019m sorry,\u201d Teresa immediately apologized.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am, too, Princess,\u201d Adam murmured contritely.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry, too, Dio.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 That was Mrs. di Cordova.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right,\u201d Teresa sighed wearily.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMother, why don\u2019t you ask Ben to send someone into town and ask Father Rutherford to come.\u00a0\u00a0 NOT to perform an exorcism, but to pray with Benjy . . . and . . . and maybe . . . with the rest of us, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTeresa . . . I<\/strong> could go— \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam . . . I\u2019m not so sure you SHOULD,\u201d Teresa immediately protested.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re STILL looking a bit peaked, and— \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be fine, Sweetheart, honest!\u00a0\u00a0 I will,\u201d Adam said earnestly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m feeling a lot better now than I did earlier this morning, and I promise you that tomorrow, I\u2019ll rest, and take things very easy to make up for today.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019M going with you, Adam!\u201d Dolores declared with an emphatic nod of her head.<\/p>\n

\u201cMuuhhh-ther . . . . \u201d Teresa groaned.<\/p>\n

\u201cDolores,\u201d Adam said very quickly the instant he saw his mother-in-law open her mouth to make response, \u201cit\u2019s bound to get chilly before we get back.\u00a0\u00a0 Why don\u2019t you get your shawl and wait for me downstairs?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right, Adam,\u201d Dolores agreed stiffly.\u00a0\u00a0 She, then, abruptly turned heel, and strode briskly back up the hall toward the spare room she had moved into the night before last, with back stiffly erect and fingers drawn together to form a pair of tight, rock hard fists.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam— \u201d Teresa growled as she turned her full attention to her husband, her dark eyes filled with anger.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019ll be all right, Sweetheart,\u201d Adam said in a gentle yet very firm tone of voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, it WON\u2019T!\u201d Teresa argued.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNot, if she goes flouncing into the priest\u2019s office yammering on and on about evil spirits—!!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt won\u2019t matter if she DOES,\u201d Adam said in a very firm, yet calm tone of voice.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cFather Brendan has been a very good friend of the family since Joe was a baby.\u00a0\u00a0 Yes . . . he IS very much a man of faith, but he\u2019s also very down to earth, with both feet planted firmly on the ground.\u00a0\u00a0 He\u2019s a learned man, who has a great deal of respect for and, I dare say, is fascinated by what we\u2019ve learned and are learning in the fields of medicine and science.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very relieved to hear this Father Brendan ISN\u2019T a superstitious fanatic like the one who—!!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 She angrily broke off, unable to continue.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, Sweetheart,\u201d Adam hastened to reassure her.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cFather Brendan is nothing like that one . . . nothing at all!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEven so, I\u2019d still rather you didn\u2019t take Mother with you,\u201d Teresa insisted.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re ALL on edge right now,\u201d Adam kindly explained.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cLosing our tempers . . . fighting amongst ourselves, as we\u2019ve been doing over the last couple of days isn\u2019t going to help or change our situation . . . in fact, I\u2019M inclined to think doing so might tend to exacerbate things.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re right, Adam,\u201d Teresa had to admit.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want YOU to know that I don\u2019t believe for one minute Dolores saw an evil spirit last night,\u201d Adam continued.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI believe the intruder was someone of flesh and blood, like Pa said.\u00a0\u00a0 However, we can\u2019t deny that Dolores was badly frightened.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know she was,\u201d Teresa said with a weary sigh.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve never . . . not in my entire life EVER heard Mother scream like that . . . and I hope I never do again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019M thinking it might do her some good to get out and away from the house for a little while,\u201d Adam continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps you\u2019re right, Adam,\u201d Teresa reluctantly allowed, \u201cand speaking for myself, I know I<\/strong> need to calm down, especially after that set-to between Mother and me just now.\u00a0\u00a0 I probably stand a better chance of doing that if she\u2019s not around for a little while.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c . . . and some time away from the house . . . away from the things going on here might enable her to see things in a different light, and maybe put things in proper perspective.\u201d Adam added.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m still concerned about YOU making that trip all the way into town, given the shape you were in earlier,\u201d Teresa said with an anxious frown.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be very careful, Teresa,\u201d Adam promised.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019d better be,\u201d Teresa said briskly, \u201cand I think you\u2019d better take your jacket.\u00a0\u00a0 Like you told Mother, it\u2019ll be getting chilly before you start back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Mother,\u201d Adam quipped with a naughty, mischievous grin.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s hanging downstairs by the front door.\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019ll grab it on my way out.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He then turned his attention to his young daughter.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDio?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought I saw Aunt Stacy down by the corral,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIf you and I go down together, I have a feeling, between the two of us, we just might be able to talk her into giving you another riding lesson.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDoggone it, Adam!\u00a0\u00a0 So help me, the minute I start feeling better, I\u2019m gonna pound you good!\u201c<\/em> Joe vowed silently, knowing that he would, in all likelihood, be found the minute Adam and Dio passed by.<\/p>\n

Dio, however, burst into tears, much to the surprise of her father and uncle.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cP-Pa?\u00a0\u00a0 I . . . I d-don\u2019t wanna go anywhere n-near that horrible ol\u2019 b-b-barn, n-not ever . . . ever AGAIN!\u201d she sobbed, burying her face against her father\u2019s abdomen.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cPlease . . . c-can I . . . can I just stay here . . . w-with Ma \u2018n B-Benjy?\u00a0\u00a0 Pretty please?!\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam looked over at his wife.<\/p>\n

Teresa nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, you may, Princess,\u201d Adam said, placing a comforting arm around his daughter\u2019s shoulders, \u201cbut, you\u2019ll have to be very quiet and do what your mother tells you.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Wave upon wave of relief washed over Joe\u2019s entire being as Adam and Dio followed Teresa into the room at the end of the hall, closing the door behind them, leaving him feeling giddy and lightheaded.\u00a0\u00a0 He paused for a moment, bending over at the waist, hoping against hope that the act of bringing his head down to the same level as his heart would relieve him of the lightheadedness.\u00a0\u00a0 A moment later, Joe very slowly erected himself, and continued toward the steps, grateful that his lightheadedness had passed so quickly.<\/p>\n

After what seemed a dreadful eternity of moving along by stealth, keeping himself hidden within the deep shadows, Joe finally reached the top of the stairs.\u00a0\u00a0 He flattened himself once more against the wall and scanned the great room below, all the while training his ears to the closed door at the far end of the hall.\u00a0\u00a0 There, much to his dismay, he saw his father seated behind his desk, looking over a stack of unopened mail.<\/p>\n

\u201cDang!\u00a0\u00a0 Wouldn\u2019t you know it!\u201d<\/em> Joe silently groaned.\u00a0\u00a0 For one brief insane moment, he seriously contemplated a quick retreat back to his room and leaving the house by the same route he used as a teenager to sneak out.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cForget it, Joseph Francis,\u201d <\/em>\u00a0he silently admonished himself.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019d be hard pressed to go that route nowadays, even if you were in tip top shape.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Ben suddenly glanced up.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAdam?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe pressed so hard against the wall, he half feared he was going to push right through it.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam?\u00a0\u00a0 Teresa?\u201d\u00a0 Ben rose, with that penetrating gaze of his still trained in the general direction of the stairs.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIs . . . is someone there?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe held his breath and pressed himself harder against the wall.\u00a0\u00a0 For an interminable, heart stopping moment, his father just stood there, peering into the darkness at the top of the steps with a quizzical look on his face.\u00a0\u00a0 Then, finally, Ben shrugged and sat back down at his desk.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh great!\u201d<\/em> Joe groused in miserable silence.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHow am I EVER gonna get past ol\u2019 Eagle Eye Cartwright down there?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Down below, Ben reached for the coffee mug at his elbow and finished what remained.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHOP SING?\u201d he called out, rising.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIS THERE ANYMORE TEA?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNO MORE TEA, MISTER CARTWRIGHT,\u201d Hop Sing yelled back from the dining room.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cALL GONE.\u00a0\u00a0 REMEMBER?\u00a0\u00a0 BAD BOY THROW ALL OVER HOP SING KITCHEN FLOOR.\u00a0\u00a0 YOU JUST DRINK LITTLE BIT LEFT WHEN HE GET THROUGH.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben sighed.\u00a0\u00a0 Closing his eyes, he reached up and gently massaged the bridge of his nose for a moment.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHOP SING, WHAT DO<\/strong> WE HAVE?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLITTLE BIT OF MILK,\u201d Hop Sing yelled back.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cVERY, VERY<\/strong> LITTLE BIT.\u00a0\u00a0 SAVE FOR CHILDREN.\u00a0\u00a0 ALSO HAVE WATER.\u00a0\u00a0 HOP SING FIX.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDON\u2019T TROUBLE YOURSELF,\u201d Ben said as he rose, and moved from around the desk.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019LL<\/strong> FIX IT.\u00a0 I NEED TO GET UP AND STRETCH MY LEGS A BIT ANYWAY!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe watched as Ben walked from the desk, back toward the dining room, hardly able to believe that sudden stroke of good luck.\u00a0\u00a0 The minute his father disappeared into the dining room, he tore down the stairs, with heart thudding against his chest like a stampeding herd of frightened cattle.\u00a0\u00a0 Every muscle, every joint in his body lodged excruciating complaints against this action literally every step of the way.\u00a0\u00a0 The minute he reached the first floor, Joe bit his lip against the pain and bolted toward the front door, pausing to shift his boots over to his left hand, and snatch up hat, gun belt, and green jacket in his right.<\/p>\n

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

\u201c . . . an\u2019 just where do you think YOU\u2019RE goin\u2019, Li\u2019l Brother?\u201d\u00a0 Hoss demanded as Joe half stumbled, half fell through the front door onto the porch.<\/p>\n

Joe screamed and jumped backward.\u00a0\u00a0 His boots and gun belt dropped from his hands, and clattered noisily on the wood porch.\u00a0\u00a0 Clutching one of the porch columns for support, he looked up and saw his big brother and sister standing on the porch steps, with arms folded across their chests, glaring darkly in his general direction.<\/p>\n

\u201cGeeze-loo-weeze!\u00a0\u00a0 What\u2019re the two of ya tryin\u2019 to do?!\u00a0\u00a0 Scare me outta ten years\u2019 growth?\u201d Joe demanded, matching their glares with a murderous one of his own.<\/p>\n

\u201cCome on, Li\u2019l Brother, you belong back upstairs in bed,\u201d Hoss said firmly.\u00a0\u00a0 He reached out to gently take his younger brother by the elbow.<\/p>\n

\u201cWillya keep your voice DOWN?!\u201d\u00a0 Joe hissed, moving well away from Hoss\u2019 outstretched arm.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cPa might hear you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPa probably heard you scream already,\u201d Stacy pointed out.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIn fact, I think everyone within ten miles of here heard you scream.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s get you back inside,\u201d Hoss said in a kindlier tone.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMaybe, with a li\u2019l luck, we can getcha back upstairs \u2018n in bed \u2018fore Pa\u2019s any the wiser.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Joe gritted his teeth, then gingerly leaned over to retrieve his boots.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy can\u2019t you?\u201d Stacy asked.<\/p>\n

Joe hobbled over to the nearest chair and sat down.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve got to go into town, do some research,\u201d he said, as he slipped on his right boot.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe Hoss and I can do the research for you, Grandpa,\u201d Stacy suggested.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhat do you want to know?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would take too long for me to explain,\u201d Joe replied, as he slipped on his other boot.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBenjy . . . OUR Benjy . . . can\u2019t spare the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe, you ain\u2019t talkin\u2019 sense,\u201d Hoss protested.<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss, you remember that strange incident that happened to me . . . to all of us, just after I\u2019d turned thirteen?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah . . . what about it? \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWHAT strange incident?\u201d Stacy demanded, as she picked up her brother\u2019s hat, green jacket, and gun belt.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot now, Kid, there\u2019s no time,\u201d Joe said, hoping to forestall any further questions.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ll tell you everything later.\u00a0\u00a0 I promise.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He rose to his feet, wavering as wave upon wave of dizziness suddenly assaulted him.<\/p>\n

Hoss put out a hand to steady him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks,\u201d Joe murmured gratefully.<\/p>\n

\u201cGrandpa, you can\u2019t even stand on your own two feet!\u201d Stacy pointed out the obvious, her blue eyes round with alarm.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHow in the world do you expect to sit a horse all the way to Virginia City?!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can manage . . . if Hoss comes with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss rolled his eyes heavenward, earnestly beseeching, \u201cWhy me?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He, then, sighed and shook his head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cLi\u2019l Brother, if you honest \u2018n truly expect me t\u2019 take part in this . . . whatever this crazy scheme o\u2019 yours is, you got some real tall explainin\u2019 to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat strange incident, Hoss, remember?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI told ya I did.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think we got rid of that spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n

A puzzled frown creased Hoss\u2019 brow.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSURE we did, actually YOU did.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think so,\u201d Joe insisted.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI stopped it from bothering us, maybe sent it back to sleep, but I didn\u2019t send it AWAY.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s this got to do with what\u2019s ailin\u2019 Benjy?\u201d Hoss demanded.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything!\u00a0\u00a0 I think that same spirit . . . the one that plagued me more years ago than I wanna think about some days . . . it\u2019s come back.\u00a0\u00a0 This time, for Benjy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe, you sure that beatin\u2019 you took didn\u2019t damage your head?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll explain it on the way to town.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right,\u201d Hoss sighed.<\/p>\n

\u201cCome on, we\u2019ve got no time to waste,\u201d Joe urged.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m coming along, too,\u201d Stacy said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot this trip, Kid.\u00a0\u00a0 Hoss and I need YOU here to run interference with Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks a lot!\u201d Stacy groaned, casting a nervous glance toward the front door.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou know I can\u2019t lie to him.\u00a0\u00a0 Sooner or later he ALWAYS catches me up in it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTrue,\u201d Hoss said, then grinned.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBut you can lead him on a longer merry chase than Joe \u2018n I ever could.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cActually, Little Sister, you don\u2019t have to lie to him at all,\u201d Joe said with a complacent smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cUh oh!\u201d Stacy murmured darkly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cLooks like Hoss was right about that head damage.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStacy, you can truthfully tell Pa that I snuck out of the house and rode off half cocked . . . and Hoss went after me.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Chapter 13 by pkmoonshine<\/p>\n

\u201cWell howdy, Eric . . . Joseph!\u00a0\u00a0 Long time no see!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Georgianna Wilkens, president of the Virginia City Literary Society and librarian emeritus of the Virginia City Lending Library, greeted the two younger Cartwright brothers effusively, her soft voice dripping with mint julep and magnolia.<\/p>\n

She kept her actual age a closely guarded secret.\u00a0\u00a0 Those who knew her best believed her to be anywhere from her late-fifties to her early eighties.\u00a0\u00a0 She was a petite, diminutive woman, standing an inch shy of five feet and weighing in at ninety-five pounds, soaking wet.\u00a0\u00a0 Her luxuriant hair, worn usually in a simple chignon or French twist, had been snow white as far back as most could remember, and she had a pair sharp, piercing blue eyes that missed absolutely nothing.<\/p>\n

\u201cJenna Lee, please . . . be a nice darlin\u2019 and fetch us all some of that lemonade punch I made up this morning?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Ma\u2019am.\u201d\u00a0 Jenna Lee Dennison curtly nodded her head, then turned heel and strode briskly from the Wilkens drawing room.\u00a0\u00a0 She was a tall, stolidly built black woman, with iron gray hair, and penetrating brown-almost black eyes capable of peering into a person\u2019s heart and seeing the true innermost self.\u00a0\u00a0 She was an exceedingly good judge of character, a trait Georgianna Wilkens had quickly learned to trust over the long years of their association.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the meantime, why don\u2019t the three o\u2019 US move on into the parlor, where we\u2019ll be more com— \u201d Georgianna\u2019s words abruptly terminated in a loud gasp of alarm, upon getting a good hard look at Joe\u2019s bruised, battered face.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cFlapjacks \u2018n fol-de-rol, Boy!\u201d she exclaimed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSomeone sure as shootin\u2019 worked you over but GOOD!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe barely managed a wan smile.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIf y\u2019 think I<\/strong> look bad, Mrs. Wilkens, ya oughtta see the OTHER guy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou smart assed young pup!\u00a0\u00a0 If you weren\u2019t already black \u2018n blue, I\u2019d haul ya out to that woodshed I\u2019ve got out back, \u2018n give that ornery hide of yours a tannin\u2019 it\u2019ll NEVER forget,\u201d Georgianna growled, favoring the youngest Cartwright son with a dark, withering glare.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDoes your pa know you\u2019re out \u2018n about in your condition, Young Man?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s smile immediately faded.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201c . . . uhhh, no, Ma\u2019am.\u00a0\u00a0 If he did, this, ornery young hide of mine would be looking at TWO tannings it\u2019ll never forget,\u201d he replied in a tone of voice a little too solemn, with that cherubic, whipped puppy dog look on his face.<\/p>\n

\u201cA big, tall glass of my secret recipe lemonade punch\u2019ll fix you right up, lickity-spit,\u201d Georgianna said brusquely, as she slid open the pocket door to her formal parlor.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou SURE you\u2019re all right, Boy?\u00a0\u00a0 Now that I see you up close, you look awfully pale under all that black and blue . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m fine, Mrs. Wilkens,\u201d Joe hastened to reassure.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHonest.\u00a0\u00a0 It just LOOKS a lot worse \u2018n it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Georgianna invited them to sit down with a broad, sweeping gesture in the general direction of the divan.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSo what brings you boys out to MY neck of the woods?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to pick your brains, Ma\u2019am, seeing as how you\u2019re the expert in local history,\u201d Joe replied, as he collapsed heavily onto the divan.\u00a0\u00a0 Hoss took a seat in the overstuffed wingback chair that the late Eli Wilkens had brought to the marriage nearly sixty-odd years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cExpert?!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Georgianna threw back her head and laughed heartily.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHardly that, Boy.\u00a0\u00a0 Oh sure, I\u2019ve done a bit of reading here and there, and put some information together, but I\u2019m hardly what you\u2019d call an expert.\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019ll do my best to answer your questions, but I make no guarantees.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFair enough,\u201d Joe quipped with a saucy grin.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you want to know?\u201d Georgianna asked, as she eased herself into the ancient rocking chair that had once belonged to her mother and maternal grandmother.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo begin with . . . who ELSE besides my family lived on what\u2019s now the Ponderosa?\u201d Joe asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cLot\u2019s o\u2019 folks, Boy,\u201d Georgianna replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIndians, mostly . . . some trappers, \u2018n a few settlers passin\u2019 through.\u00a0\u00a0 That Ponderosa of yours is a mighty big piece of land.\u00a0\u00a0 You tryin\u2019 t\u2019 find out about somebody specific?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Ma\u2019am,\u201d Joe replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cEarlier today, Adam told me about a family whose farm was where our house and barn are now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019d be the Menkens,\u201d Georgianna said immediately.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhat about \u2018em?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll six of the children in the family died of some kinda food poisoning?\u201d Joe asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cSaint Anthony\u2019s fire!\u201d Georgianna snapped, her face suddenly dark as a thundercloud just before the storm breaks.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cComes from eating bad rye!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 She, then, sighed very softly, her anger gone just as quickly as it had arisen.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSorry, Joseph,\u201d she murmured contritely, \u201cI didn\u2019t mean t\u2019 take your head off just now.\u00a0\u00a0 Fact o\u2019 the matter is . . . those poor children, God bless \u2018em, had no damned business dying like that . . . \u2018n just thinking about it STILL makes my blood boil!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat did ya mean when ya said they had no business dying like that, Ma\u2019am?\u201d Hoss asked, with a bewildered frown.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had in epidemic here in town,\u201d Georgianna said, her eyes glazing over as memories of that time and place began to surface.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAdam was a young fella, \u2018n YOU Eric,\u201d a wistful smile spread slowly across her lips, \u201cI always had a hard time trying t\u2019 figure out your age when you were little . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHim?!\u00a0\u00a0 Little?\u201d Joe couldn\u2019t resist, even in the midst of his misery and extreme discomfort.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMrs. Wilkens . . . WHEN was this brother of mine EVER little??\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFuuhhhh-neee, Li\u2019l Brother,\u201d Hoss growled.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSo dang funny, I plumb forgot t\u2019 laugh.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGlad t\u2019 see all that black \u2018n blue\u2019s not addled your wit, Boy,\u201d Georgianna said with a touch of sarcasm.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAnyway . . . can\u2019t recall exactly how old YOU were at the time, Eric,\u201d she resumed her story, \u201cbut you couldn\u2019t have been much more \u2018n a baby yourself.\u00a0\u00a0 The Coulter twins were struck down first, then Bonnie Luke \u2018n her baby boy.\u00a0\u00a0 After that . . . . \u201d she sighed, then very sadly shook her head, \u201cchildren, the littlest ones at first . . . suckling babes \u2018n their mamas . . . were struck down like flies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust the little children, babies, and . . . nursing mothers?\u201d Joe asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cBack then, Joseph, ALL o\u2019 us were what folks today refer t\u2019 as \u2018those less fortunate than ourselves,\u2019 \u201d Georgianna explained.\u00a0\u00a0 Her wry tone of voice brought an amused grin to the Cartwright brothers\u2019 faces.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI think you boys know that rye\u2019s the poor man\u2019s bread . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Ma\u2019am,\u201d Hoss replied.<\/p>\n

Joe simply nodded his head.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany a man, woman, \u2018n child made their meals o\u2019 rye bread \u2018n milk, if they were lucky enough t\u2019 own a cow or a goat,\u201d Georgianna continued, \u201c \u2018n many a mama \u2018n papa went without so their children\u2019d have enough t\u2019 eat.\u00a0\u00a0 That\u2019s why so many more children were stricken with Saint Anthony\u2019s fire . . . \u2018n ended up dying.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy Eli, God rest his soul, \u2018n the doc knew that bad rye had to\u2019ve come from Caleb Marsh\u2019s general store.\u00a0\u00a0 His was the only one in town, but that ol\u2019 skinflint denied it, when he wasn\u2019t strutting around town like a . . . a rutting bantam rooster, crowing about buying up a whole big barn full o\u2019 ground rye for less \u2018n fifty dollars.\u00a0\u00a0 They . . . Eli \u2018n the doc that is, tried their damndest t\u2019 get Roy t\u2019 do something, but HE told \u2018em his hands were tied.\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019d be their word against Caleb\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbout a month or so after the first ones stricken had died, Eric . . . you \u2018n Adam were stricken . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWith Saint Anthony\u2019s fire?!\u201d Hoss queried with a puzzled frown.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t remember that . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLike I said before, you weren\u2019t much more \u2018n a baby at the time,\u201d Georgianna said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYour pa, of course, got rid o\u2019 every last speck o\u2019 rye in his pantry, like the doc told him, \u2018n you boys began t\u2019 get better. \u00a0\u00a0He was fit t\u2019 be tied, too, when HE found out that Roy couldn\u2019t do anything t\u2019 stop Caleb from selling rye we knew was bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat did Pa do about it?\u201d Joe asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe \u2018n Eli tracked down the man Caleb bought all that rye from,\u201d Georgianna replied, cackling with genuine mirth.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cShady deal that, all the way around.\u00a0\u00a0 The man confessed that he owed Caleb money, \u2018n that he suspected a good bit o\u2019 rye in that barn o\u2019 his might be bad.\u00a0\u00a0 He\u2019d figured by making that deal with Caleb, he could knock off two birds with one stone.\u00a0\u00a0 After your pa \u2018n Eli made him repeat what he told them t\u2019 the sheriff, they were able t\u2019 go into the general store \u2018n force Caleb t\u2019 hand over every last bit o\u2019 rye he had.<\/p>\n

\u201cT\u2019 say that miserly ol\u2019 coot was fit t\u2019 be tied when the sheriff \u2018n the doc told him, would be making light o\u2019 the whole thing.\u00a0\u00a0 The sheriff ended up having t\u2019 tell Roy Coffee t\u2019 lock Caleb up, so he \u2018n the others could haul it all outta the general store \u2018n burn it.\u00a0\u00a0 By that time, everyone else had rid themselves of what rye they had on hand, \u2018n those who weren\u2019t too far gone started t\u2019 recover.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Menken children were stricken . . . . \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Georgianna fell silent for a moment to do some mental figuring, \u201c . . . it had t\u2019 be a good two weeks . . . maybe even three, AFTER your pa, Roy Coffee, the doc, n\u2019 Eli took all the bad rye out o\u2019 Caleb Marsh\u2019s general store, \u2018n burned it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Pa, Mister Wilkens, \u2018n the others burned all the rye this Caleb Marsh had in his general store . . . how\u2019d the Menken children end up getting\u2019 sick?\u201d Hoss asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt didn\u2019t occur t\u2019 any of us that Caleb might have more o\u2019 that bad rye stored somewhere else,\u201d Georgianna replied, her ire rising once again.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThe oldest Menken boy did a lot o\u2019 work for Caleb . . . stocking the shelves \u2018n sweeping up in his store . . . muckin\u2019 out his barn . . . splitting his wood into kindling . . . \u2018n a whole host of other chores \u2018n odd jobs.\u00a0\u00a0 Many\u2019s the time I thought sure that ol\u2019 skinflint was gonna end up working that poor child to his death.\u00a0\u00a0 The very last time that boy did work for him, Caleb must\u2019ve paid him with a sack or two o\u2019 that bad rye.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou talkin\u2019 \u2018bout that poor farmer boy that used t\u2019 come \u2018round here all the time . . . lookin\u2019 for work . . . back when The Mister, God bless \u2018im, was still with us?\u201d Jenna Lee asked as she sauntered into the parlor, bearing an enormous tray with a big pitcher filled to the brim with Georgianna Wilkens\u2019 infamous lemonade punch, four tall glasses, and a platter full of ginger snaps, piping hot right out of the oven.<\/p>\n

Joe immediately rose on a pair of unsteady legs.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHere, Ma\u2019am . . . let ME take that tray,\u201d he offered.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou sit yourself right back down this instant, or so HELP me, I\u2019LL take a switch to ya, black \u2018n blue or NO black \u2018n blue,\u201d Jenna Lee reprimanded the youngest Cartwright son severely.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll have the BOTH of ya know,\u201d she continued, glaring over at Hoss as well, \u201cI\u2019m a big, strong, healthy gal, just like m\u2019 mama \u2018n my grandma, thank you very much—\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAww fer—!!\u00a0\u00a0 Jenna Lee, would ya puh-leeze . . . quit your yammering \u2018n park your ass before that lemonade punch gets warm, \u2018n those cookies get cold?!\u201d Georgianna growled.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s a spot for ya right there . . . . \u201d she pointed, \u201cnext t\u2019 young Joseph.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t eat much, Mrs. Dennison.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Joe favored the older woman with his most charming smile, while patting the empty place beside him.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou mind your manners, Boy,\u201d Jenna Lee admonished the youngest Cartwright son severely, then smiled.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201c \u2018Course if I was forty years younger, or somewhere thereabouts, I mightn\u2019t be such a stickler \u2018bout you mindin\u2019 your manners.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c . . . and if I was, um that much older, Miz Jenna Lee, mindin\u2019 my manners\u2019d be the last thing on my mind,\u201d Joe declared with a broad grin.<\/p>\n

\u201cScamp!\u201d Jenna Lee returned with a broad grin, as she set herself to the task of pouring the lemonade punch.<\/p>\n

\u201cMrs. Dennison . . . that poor farmer boy that used t\u2019 come \u2018round, looking f\u2019r work . . . was he the oldest Menken boy?\u201d Hoss asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cMenken . . . . \u201d Jenna Lee murmured the name softly, as she handed Joe a glass of lemonade punch first, then poured one for Hoss.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMenken . . . yep!\u00a0\u00a0 Sounds right!\u00a0\u00a0 All o\u2019 thirteen years old when he died, poor soul, but bein\u2019 short \u2018n slight, like his mama, he looked like he was no more \u2018n ten, maybe eleven.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI . . . don\u2019t understand something . . . . \u201d Joe said with a bewildered frown.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIf the Menkens had a farm . . . why was their oldest boy always going around asking folks for work?\u00a0\u00a0 Surely he must\u2019ve had his hands full helping his ma \u2018n pa out— \u201d<\/p>\n

Jenna Lee passed the glass of punch in hand over to Hoss, then poured two more, while vigorously shaking her head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThe Menken men . . . that\u2019d be the mister \u2018n his pa . . . were a couple o\u2019 lazy, shiftless, mean \u2018n nasty, no account, drunkards,\u201d she said, with a murderous scowl on her face.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThe only time either one of \u2018em could be bothered t\u2019 lift a finger was when they sat down t\u2019 that home made hooch o\u2019 theirs or that watered down rotgut a lotta cheap saloons pass off as whiskey whenever they got hold o\u2019 some pocket money.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou hadn\u2019t oughtta be speakin\u2019 so ill o\u2019 the dead, Miz Jenna Lee Dennison,\u201d Georgianna admonished her companion as she reached for a gingersnap.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst off, we don\u2019t know for fact they\u2019re dead,\u201d Jenna Lee retorted primly, \u201c \u2018n second, that\u2019s about the kindest things I CAN say \u2018bout that pair o ornery, nasty ol\u2019 sidewinders.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, NOW, Miz Dennison,\u201d Joe chided her with mock severity, his eyes sparkling with mischief.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou shouldn\u2019t be insulting poor ol\u2019 sidewinders that way, linking them in the same breath with the Menken men.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jenna Lee chuckled softly as she reached for a cookie.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re right as rain about that, Boy,\u201d she said, wagging her head back and forth.<\/p>\n

\u201cT\u2019 give some credit where it\u2019s due, Mrs. Menken tried her damndest t\u2019 make a go of that farm,\u201d Georgianna said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cShe was a proud woman . . . a VERY proud woman . . . with a stubborn streak about a hundred miles long \u2018n ten miles wide.\u00a0\u00a0 Had she also been a big, strong, healthy farm gal . . . it STILL wouldn\u2019t have been easy, Lord above knows, but . . . I think she might\u2019ve done all right.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, she was a small woman, small \u2018n dainty like me,\u201d Georgianna continued.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNever said word one \u2018bout her family, or her beginnin\u2019s, but she was a very soft-spoken woman, \u2018n had the ways of gentility about her.\u00a0\u00a0 Had a real strong sense o\u2019 duty, but I don\u2019t think she ever had t\u2019 do a whole lotta physical work, leastwise not before she married Mister Menken.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do ya figure THAT, Ma\u2019am?\u201d Hoss asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cHer hands,\u201d Georgianna replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThe skin was smooth \u2018n soft . . . with nary a callus on \u2018em.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow a woman like her ended up leg shackled to a good-for-nothin\u2019 like her mister, I\u2019ll NEVER know!\u201d Jenna Lee declared.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam told me that Pa sometimes helped \u2018em out,\u201d Joe said quietly.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour pa had a lot o\u2019 respect for Mrs. Menken,\u201d Georgianna said, \u201c \u2018n knowing your pa as I do, I\u2019d say he couldn\u2019t help but feel sorry for her.\u00a0\u00a0 He did what little he could t\u2019 help her out, even though HE had no time t\u2019 spare what with tryin\u2019 to build up his own spread \u2018n raise a couple o\u2019 young, rambunctious motherless boys.\u00a0\u00a0 A few o\u2019 the other neighbors helped out, too, as best they could, but at the end o\u2019 the day?\u00a0\u00a0 It just plain \u2018n simple wasn\u2019t enough.\u00a0\u00a0 Had those children o\u2019 hers, \u2018specially that oldest boy, NOT died o\u2019 Saint Anthony\u2019s fire?\u00a0\u00a0 Young Benjy \u2018n his mother would\u2019ve worked themselves right into their own graves, the kindness o\u2019 neighbors like your pa, not withstandin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Upon hearing the Menken boy\u2019s name, Joe\u2019s jaw dropped.\u00a0\u00a0 The blood drained right out of his face, taking away what little color, apart from the lurid bruising, he might have regained.\u00a0\u00a0 His hands shook so badly, he almost certainly would have dropped the glass of punch he held, had it not been for the quick thinking and quicker action on the part of Jenna Lee Dennison.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou ailin\u2019, Boy?\u201d she demanded with an anxious frown, after snatching the glass out of his hands.<\/p>\n

\u201cM-Mrs. Wilkens . . . d-did you just s-say that the Menkens\u2019 oldest boy\u2019s name was . . . that it w-was . . . Benjy?!\u201d Joe barely managed to stammer out the question.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s right,\u201d Georgianna replied.\u00a0\u00a0 She studied the youngest Cartwright son with an anxious frown.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou SURE you\u2019re all right, Boy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI . . . f-fine,\u201d Joe gasped, as he fought desperately to regain some small measure of composure, leastwise enough so Mrs. Wilkens and Mrs. Dennison both wouldn\u2019t be staring at him like he was tottering on his last legs at the edge of his own grave.\u00a0\u00a0 He squeezed his eyes shut, and took a deep, ragged breath.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMrs. Wilkens . . . Mrs. Dennison . . . I\u2019m fine,\u201d he said again in a tone of voice too carefully measured.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHonest.\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019m just fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI dunno, Li\u2019l Brother . . . . \u201d Hoss said very quietly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m thinkin\u2019 I oughtta get you home \u2018n put ya t\u2019 bed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGlad to see ONE of ya finally showin\u2019 some sense,\u201d Georgianna acerbically remarked, as she and Jenna Lee set their glasses down on the coffee table and rose.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right if I ask one more question?\u201d Joe asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne more question, if you\u2019ll promise me that once your big brother puts ya t\u2019 bed, you\u2019ll STAY there,\u201d Georgianna said sternly,<\/p>\n

\u201cI promise, Mrs. Wilkens,\u201d Joe replied in a solemn tone of voice, while Hoss very carefully helped him to his feet.<\/p>\n

\u201cSee that ya do!\u201d Georgianna snapped.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNow what didja wanna ask me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat did Benjy Menken look like?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a little fella, small \u2018n slight built, like Jenna Lee said,\u201d Georgianna replied, then added, \u201cHe also had a mop o\u2019 unruly, brown, curly hair . . . just like YOURS gets sometimes, Joe . . . \u2018n he had eyes like you, too . . . y\u2019 know . . . chameleon eyes that can change t\u2019 whatever color they want t\u2019 be.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNever had much in t\u2019 way o\u2019 clothes,\u201d Jenna Lee said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAlways had on that same pair o\u2019 worn, threadbare overalls, day after day . . . day in, \u2018n day out, no shirt, went barefoot that last summer . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

An ice-cold chill shot down the entire length of Joe\u2019s spine, and he felt the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end.\u00a0\u00a0 He and Hoss looked over at each other with the same uneasy wariness in their eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI sure hope that young man makes it back home in one piece,\u201d Georgianna grumbled under her breath, as she and Jenna Lee watched the Cartwright brothers ride toward the main road that would ultimately take them home.<\/p>\n

\u201cHmpf!\u201d Jenna Lee snorted, as she turned and started back down the walk toward the front door.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIf I didn\u2019t know better . . . I\u2019D say those boys just saw themselves a ghost.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cHoss, I\u2019ll lay you odds ten to one that Benjy Menken\u2019s body lies buried in that circle of tress out behind the barn,\u201d Joe said, his excitement mingling with his increasing distress.\u00a0\u00a0 He sat astride Cochise, leaning over with his arms clasped loosely around the pinto\u2019s neck, and eyes squeezed shut.\u00a0\u00a0 Hoss rode slightly ahead, with a firm hand on Cochise\u2019s lead, casting a worried glace back at his younger brother every few minutes.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMaybe the bodies of his brothers and sisters, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat makes ya say that, Li\u2019l Brother?\u201d Hoss asked, anxious to keep Joe talking.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat place has ALWAYS . . . long as I can remember . . . seemed dark and creepy,\u201d Joe replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou never liked to play in there either.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I sure didn\u2019t,\u201d Hoss replied with a shudder.<\/p>\n

\u201c . . . and Stacy goes outta HER way to avoid that circle of trees, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo do our horses,\u201d Hoss said, \u201cthe ones we got now, \u2018n just about every other we\u2019ve ever had.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery DOG we\u2019ve ever had, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c \u2018n the barn cats . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c \u2018specially Mama Cat,\u201d Joe added with a shudder.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cGets a little creepy, the way she stares into that circle sometimes, growling, hissing, and carrying on with her hackles up, \u2018n tail puffed to about three times it\u2019s normal size . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c . . . uhhh, Joe?\u201d Hoss queried after they had lapsed into silence for a moment.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cI really think you oughtta get on Chubb with me,\u201d Hoss said, his growing concern deepening the furrows already present in his brow.<\/p>\n

\u201cAwww . . . come ON, Big Brother . . . how many times do I hafta tell ya . . . I\u2019m ok?!\u201d Joe demanded, thoroughly exasperated, yet desperately afraid he was going to pitch headlong right out of the saddle, into the dust at his horse\u2019s feet.<\/p>\n

Hoss sighed.\u00a0\u00a0 That little brother of his could be so dadburned stubborn sometimes . . . at the very worst of times, more often than not.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAll right, Joe, let\u2019s say Benjy Menken\u2019s grave DOES lie in that circle o\u2019 pine trees out behind the barn,\u201d he said, deciding that the better part of valor, for the time being at least, would be to continue along the line of conversation had started after they\u2019d left Mrs. Wilkens\u2019 home.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHow does figurin\u2019 that out gonna help us?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI dunno, Hoss,\u201d Joe replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cTHAT\u2019S why we\u2019re gonna see Father Brendan.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re gonna . . . WHAT?!\u201d Hoss demanded incredulously.\u00a0\u00a0 A murderous scowl darkened his face.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou heard me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOoohh no, Li\u2019l Brother,\u201d Hoss immediately dug in his proverbial heels.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cPa\u2019s, like as not, already waitin\u2019 for the two o\u2019 us t\u2019 get home, so he can skin us alive . . . \u2018n YOU promised Mrs. Wilkens \u2018n Mrs. Dennison both you\u2019d go home \u2018n keep yourself in bed once I\u2019d put ya back there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah . . . but, I didn\u2019t promise \u2018em WHEN I\u2019d go home \u2018n letcha put me back to bed,\u201d Joe gamely pointed out, \u201c \u2018n, Brother?\u00a0\u00a0 If it\u2019s all the same to you, I\u2019d just as soon put off facing Pa as long as I possibly can.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cY\u2019 gotta point there, I reckon,\u201d Hoss reluctantly had to concede . . . .<\/p>\n

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

\u201cFather, PLEASE!\u201d\u00a0 Dolores di Cordova begged, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou MUST come back with us and perform an exorcism for my grandson.\u201d<\/p>\n

An exasperated sign exploded from between Adam\u2019s lips, thinned by his escalating anger and frustration, to a near straight line.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDolores, we agreed\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, Adam,\u201d she snapped, her voice filled with anger and desperate fear.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYOU agreed.\u00a0\u00a0 You and Teresa.\u00a0\u00a0 NOT me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDolores . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

Father Brendan Rutherford quelled Adam\u2019s angry protest with a sharp glance.\u00a0\u00a0 He sat behind the expansive mahogany desk in his study, with elbows resting on its surface, his emerald green eyes moving from Dolores di Cordova to Adam Cartwright, and back again over the tips of his steepled fingers.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMrs. di Cordova, why do you believe your grandson to be possessed of an evil spirit?\u201d the priest inquired in a quiet voice.<\/p>\n

Dolores shot her son-in-law a look of smug triumph, then returned her attention to the priest.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThis illness he has,\u201d she replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThe doctor told us himself that he could do nothing for the boy.\u00a0\u00a0 He even suggested we consult with a priest.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very sorry to hear your son is so ill, Adam,\u201d Father Brendan said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhat, exactly, is the nature of his illness?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDoctor Martin told us that Benjy\u2019s symptoms seem to be consistent with an advanced case of Saint Anthony\u2019s fire,\u201d Adam replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThe only things missing are fever, rash, and gangrene in the extremities.\u00a0\u00a0 The doctor also told me that he\u2019s of the opinion Benjy\u2019s symptoms are hysterical rather than physical.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI see.\u00a0\u00a0 I trust the other members of your family are symptom free?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam immediately nodded his head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSo far as I know, the only meals my son\u2019s taken since he, his sister, and grandmother arrived, have been at the house.\u00a0\u00a0 The week before that, they were on the road and ate at the way stations and inns, where the stage stopped.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMrs. di Cordova, I trust you and your granddaughter are symptom free?\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cAs are my father, brothers, sister, Hop Sing, and, as far as I know, the men who work for my father,\u201d Adam added.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIf Benjy did truly have an advanced case of Saint Anthony\u2019s fire, we ALL would.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c . . . and you are certain your son has not partaken of food from a source apart from the other members of your family?\u201d Father Brendan asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs certain as I can be,\u201d Adam replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cYet this illness is killing him,\u201d Dolores pressed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt MUST be an evil spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMrs. di Cordova, I\u2019d like a few words alone with Adam, if I may,\u201d the priest said quietly.<\/p>\n

\u201cCertainly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Father Brendan rose and walked over to the closed door.\u00a0\u00a0 He put his large, massive hand to the doorknob and turned.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBrother Algernon?\u201d<\/p>\n

The portly monk ambled in to the office.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYes, Father?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBrother Algernon, you remember Adam Cartwright?\u201d<\/p>\n

Brother Algernon looked over at the eldest of Ben Cartwright\u2019s sons and smiled.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWell, bless my soul,\u201d he murmured softly, grinning from ear-to-ear.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s been a long time, Adam . . . too long, in fact.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, indeed,\u201d Adam replied, favoring the monk with a warm smile.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDolores, Brother Algernon Wolfe tutored me in math to help me prepare for Harvard.\u00a0\u00a0 Brother Algernon, this is my mother-in-law, Dolores di Cordova.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood afternoon, Senora di Cordova,\u201d Brother Algernon acknowledged the introduction in Spanish, with impeccable accent and grammar.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt is a pleasure to meet you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGracias, Hermano Wolfe,\u201d Dolores murmured graciously.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrother Algernon, I need to speak with Adam privately for a few moments,\u201d Father Brendan said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWould you mind escorting Mrs. di Cordova to the drawing room and serving her a light refreshment?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCertainly, Father.\u00a0\u00a0 Mrs. di Cordova, if you would come with me?\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Chapter 14 by pkmoonshine<\/p>\n

Father Brendan waited patiently until Dolores and Brother Algernon had left his office, closing the door behind them.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAdam,\u201d he said, returning his attention to the weary, distraught man seated before him, \u201chow are things right now with your family?\u00a0\u00a0 By family, I mean you, your wife, and the children.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTeresa and I are doing just fine,\u201d Adam replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThe children on the other hand . . . . \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He sighed and dolefully shook his head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cTo be candid, Father Brendan, things could definitely stand an improvement.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn what way?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell . . . for openers, Benjy, who\u2019s always bought home very high grades ended this school year with a very dismal report,\u201d Adam began dolefully.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHe has been passed to the sixth grade on probation because the teacher he had this past year knows he\u2019s more than capable of doing the work.\u00a0\u00a0 But he\u2019s also made it very clear that if Benjy\u2019s grades don\u2019t improve during the first quarter, however, he\u2019ll be sent back to repeat the fifth grade.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam, I remember you as being a very bright, very creative, very intelligent young man,\u201d the priest began.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou had, and I would imagine STILL have, an eagerness . . . a willingness to learn, I\u2019ve not seen in anyone else.\u00a0\u00a0 You graduated with a degree in engineering from Harvard University magna cum laud, no less— \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFather Brendan, are you trying to ask me whether or not I\u2019ve placed demands and expectations on my son that he\u2019s not capable of meeting?\u201d Adam asked, with eyebrow slightly upraised, meeting the priest\u2019s eyes with his own, unflinching.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d Father Brendan ruefully admitted, while silently noting how much Adam, with that look on his face, reminded him of Ben.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI had to ask, Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI might also add that my wife . . . the boy\u2019s mother . . . was a school teacher, who had the rare privilege of getting a true classical education.\u00a0\u00a0 As a result, she is quite fluent in Greek and Latin as well as English and her native Spanish,\u201d Adam said, then paused momentarily, to allow the man seated across the desk to absorb the import of those words.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo answer your question, Father Brendan,\u201d he continued a moment later, speaking in a more kindly tone of voice, \u201cI feel that while Teresa and I certainly expect our children to do their best in their school work and anything else they choose to undertake, I honestly don\u2019t feel we\u2019ve held either one to unrealistically high expectations.\u00a0\u00a0 In fact we\u2019ve tried our best to avoid that pitfall.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI take it Benjy enjoys going to school?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes . . . very much, up until now at any rate.\u00a0\u00a0 If you\u2019d ever had an opportunity to listen in on him discussing what he\u2019d learned in school with Eduardo, his maternal grandfather . . . .\u201d Adam managed a wan smile.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou wouldn\u2019t have asked that question.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo trouble at school?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI just found out yesterday that some of Benjy\u2019s classmates had recently been teasing him about his fear of horses toward the end of the school year,\u201d Adam said ruefully.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam nodded.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAs you know, Teresa and I arrived in Virginia City . . . I guess it\u2019s been going on six weeks ago now, so I could be best man for Matt Wilson.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAh yes,\u201d Father Brendan said quietly.\u00a0\u00a0 A smile tugged hard at the corner of his mouth.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cVirginia City\u2019s Wedding of the Century.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why I knew nothing about Benjy\u2019s grades or of his troubles with the other children until recently,\u201d Adam explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho watched over your children during your absence?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe di Cordovas . . . Eduardo and Dolores.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAm I correct in assuming that they\u2019ve not deliberately sought to withhold any of this from you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Adam emphatically shook his head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDolores and I talked about all this yesterday.\u00a0\u00a0 Neither she nor Eduardo knew about Benjy\u2019s poor report card until the end of the school year.\u00a0\u00a0 Mister Townsend, Benjy\u2019s teacher, told me in a note included with the boy\u2019s final report, that he had sent a letter home with him to let us know about his declining scholastic performance.\u00a0\u00a0 Benjy never gave it to his grandparents.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat of his troubles with the other children?\u201d the priest asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cDolores told me THAT came out . . . from Dio . . . when the di Cordovas confronted Benjy for lying about having been invited to the birthday celebration of a boy who\u2019s been his best friend since to two of them uttered their first words as babies,\u201d Adam replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019re pretty sure he didn\u2019t want to attend the party because of the teasing from the other children.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou mentioned that the boy is afraid of horses,\u201d Father Brendan said.<\/p>\n

Adam told the priest about the incident that had taken place during the course of a procession in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi on his Feast Day.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cFrankly, I can\u2019t blame the boy for being frightened,\u201d he said quietly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cFacing down a frightened horse bearing down on you can be a real terrifying experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHave you tried to help your son overcome his fear?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, because neither Teresa nor I had any idea he WAS so terribly afraid of horses until yesterday,\u201d Adam said, his voice filled with remorse and regret.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs Benjy a child who comes either to you or your wife when he\u2019s upset about something?\u201d Father Brendan asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s always been a quiet child, very shy around people he doesn\u2019t know,\u201d Adam replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSometimes he DOES come to Teresa and me on his own.\u00a0\u00a0 More often than not, however, we notice that he\u2019s being a little too quiet and end up asking him whether or not something\u2019s wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs he forthcoming when you ask?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d Adam replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHe has been . . . up until now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs there anything he else he\u2019s not told you about?\u201d Father Brendan continued.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBesides his report card, his troubles with the other children at school, and his fear of horses, I mean.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s had some horrendous nightmares since his arrival here,\u201d Adam replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cOne the first night, two last night.\u00a0\u00a0 He won\u2019t talk about them.\u00a0\u00a0 He claimed he had forgotten about the first two, but I knew he hadn\u2019t.\u00a0\u00a0 The third, when I asked him, scared him too much . . . so he claimed anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou also intimated that things were not as they should be between him and his sister,\u201d Father Brendan said quietly.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s always been . . . probably always will be a measure of sibling rivalry until such time as they grow out of it,\u201d Adam replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cPa\u2019s remarked on many occasions how much they remind him of Joe and me.\u00a0\u00a0 His observations are accurate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 A small smile appeared on his lips upon remembering some of the arguments that had arisen in the past between the man seated before him and his youngest brother.\u00a0\u00a0 The smile very quickly faded.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI take it the children\u2019s relationship with each other right now is something of a nature beyond the sibling rivalry you and your wife are accustomed to dealing with?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u00a0\u00a0 Out in the barn yesterday for instance . . . to back track a little, my sister, Stacy, agreed to teach Benjy and Dio how to ride,\u201d Adam explained.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWe don\u2019t keep a stable in Sacramento, therefore neither of them has had much opportunity to learn.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI take it all this was agreed upon before you and your wife found out that Benjy is afraid of horses.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam nodded.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNOT knowing that, I had sent Benjy out to the barn where Stacy was getting ready to teach Dio how to stable her horse,\u201d he continued.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cFrom what Teresa and I have been able to piece together, the children had a very intense set-to out in the barn.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cBased on what the kids and my sister said afterward, Benjy corrected Dio\u2019s grammar in front of Stacy, embarrassing her thoroughly.\u00a0\u00a0 Dio, in turn, got very angry and ended up humiliating her brother by poking fun at his fear of horses.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI see.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter a heart-to-heart talk with Grandpa, Dio decided that Benjy didn\u2019t realize how much his correcting her grammar hurt and embarrassed her,\u201d Adam continued.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cShe told me she needed to apologize to her brother because she\u2019d MEANT to be cruel.\u00a0\u00a0 Not long after, Dio somehow got herself trapped in the barn.\u00a0 I haven\u2019t been able to get a straight account of exactly what happened.\u00a0\u00a0 I only know that she was badly frightened . . . and so were our horses.\u00a0\u00a0 In fact, they still shy away from the barn door.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cInteresting,\u201d the priest remarked.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhat about Dio?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe won\u2019t go near the barn either,\u201d Adam replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI can\u2019t blame her . . . she was hysterical when we finally got her out.\u00a0\u00a0 She insists that Benjy was responsible.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWas he?\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cYou\u2019re certain?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAbsolutely.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAny idea as to who WAS?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have my suspicions, but no proof,\u201d Adam replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMy son\u2019s apparently become acquainted with a boy, I assume to be around his age.\u00a0\u00a0 His first name is also Benjy.\u00a0\u00a0 No one seems to know this boy\u2019s last name, and according to my son, he\u2019s not been forthcoming.\u201d<\/p>\n

Father Brendan frowned.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s not the son of one of the men working for your father?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u00a0\u00a0 Nor is he a visiting relation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMost curious,\u201d Father Brendan mused.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDo you have any idea where this other Benjy came from?\u00a0\u00a0 Who he might belong to?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately . . . no,\u201d Adam shrugged helplessly and shook his head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019d sure like to know, because we think this boy\u2019s responsible for some other disturbing incidents last night and this morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

A quiet knock on the closed door drew Father Brendan and Adam from their conversation.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cPlease excuse me a moment, Adam,\u201d the former said.<\/p>\n

\u201cCertainly.\u201d<\/p>\n

The priest rose to his feet, and ambled across the small room to the door.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYes, Brother Algernon?\u201d he queried upon opening the door.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt seems you\u2019re very popular this afternoon,\u201d Brother Algernon said wryly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHoss and Joe Cartwright are waiting in the parlor.\u00a0\u00a0 They insist on seeing you at once.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cReally!\u201d Father Brendan replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cOrdinarily, I\u2019d have told those young bucks to be patient and wait their turn,\u201d Brother Algernon pressed, \u201cbut Joe insisted it\u2019s an emergency.\u00a0\u00a0 Father . . . I dunno . . . something in his voice . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease wait here, Brother Algernon . . . I\u2019ll be right back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brother Algernon nodded.<\/p>\n

Father Brendan quietly closed the door, and turned his attention back to Adam.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBrother Algernon just told me that your brothers are here.\u00a0\u00a0 They said it\u2019s an emergency . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

Adam blanched.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cOh Dear Lord, I . . . I hope nothing\u2019s happened to Benjy.\u00a0\u00a0 You\u2019d better ask Brother Algernon to show them in . . . and Dolores, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brother Algernon returned a few moments later with Dolores di Cordova and the two younger Cartwright sons in tow.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, Adam, what\u2019re you \u2018n Mrs. di Cordova doin\u2019 here?\u201d Hoss asked as he followed Joe, Dolores, and the priest\u2019s housekeeper into the room.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was getting ready to ask you two the same thing,\u201d Adam said soberly, rising to his feet.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHas something happened to Benjy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, not since we left,\u201d Hoss replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen what, may I ask are the two of YOU doing here?\u00a0\u00a0 Especially you, Joe!\u201d Adam demanded with an anxious frown.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cPa\u2019s going to skin you alive when he finds out you\u2019ve come into town . . . if I<\/strong> don\u2019t beat him to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou and Pa will hafta get in line,\u201d Joe said tersely.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMrs. Wilkens has first dibs on that pleasure.\u00a0\u00a0 Adam . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cWe . . . Hoss and I . . . KNOW who Benjy\u2019s new friend is . . . or rather . . . who Benjy\u2019s new friend WAS.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWas?!\u201d\u00a0 Adam\u2019s eyes narrowed with suspicion.<\/p>\n

\u201cWas,\u201d Joe reiterated.<\/p>\n

An exasperated sigh exploded from between Adam\u2019s lips.\u00a0\u00a0 He turned to face his mother-in-law, who had just seated herself primly in the chair he had just vacated.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDolores, so help me . . . if you\u2019ve put these brothers of mine up to running some kind of a . . . a . . . fool\u2019s errand— \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam, I didn\u2019t put your brothers up to anything . . . nor do I have the slightest idea as to what they\u2019re talking about,\u201d Dolores defended herself in a tone of voice, dripping with icicles.<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss . . . . \u201d Adam turned to his younger, bigger brother with baleful eye.\u00a0\u00a0 During the course of their growing up years, Hoss, by his own admission, couldn\u2019t lie his way out of a burlap sack.\u00a0\u00a0 Adam hoped and prayed that hadn\u2019t changed in the years he had been away.<\/p>\n

\u201cMrs. di Cordova\u2019s right, Adam,\u201d Hoss declared, with a glint of steel in his eyes and a fierce determined look on his face.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cShe\u2019s got nothin\u2019 t\u2019 do with why Joe \u2018n me are here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam saw, with a touch of dismay, that Hoss told the absolute truth.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAll right . . . . \u201d he acquiesced with a weary sigh, \u201cwhy don\u2019t you begin by telling me who Benjy\u2019s new friend was?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHis name\u2019s Benjy Menken, Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam\u2019s scowl deepened.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHoss, that\u2019s NOT funny.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam . . . do you see either one of us laughing?!\u201d Joe demanded.\u00a0\u00a0 He folded his arms across his chest and met his oldest brother\u2019s angry glare with a defiant one of his own.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho are the Menkens?\u201d Dolores asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Menkens owned a farm that was located where Ben Cartwright\u2019s house and barn now stand,\u201d Father Brendan quietly answered.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIf memory serves, their house was where the barn is . . . more or less.\u00a0\u00a0 They had six children, Benjy being their second child and the oldest boy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere are they now, Father?\u201d Dolores asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe children died many years ago of Saint Anthony\u2019s fire.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cALL of them?!\u201d Dolores gasped.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAll SIX of them?!\u201d<\/p>\n

Father Brendan nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cDear God!\u201d Dolores murmured softly, as she quickly, furtively crossed herself.<\/p>\n

\u201cBenjy was the last of the Menken children to die,\u201d Father Brendan continued.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAfter burying their son, the Menkens . . . the children\u2019s\u2019 parents and paternal grandparents . . . sold the land to Ben Cartwright and left.\u00a0\u00a0 No one\u2019s seen or heard from them since.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew it!\u201d Dolores crowed triumphantly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI KNEW there was an evil spirit in that house, I just KNEW it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh great!\u201d Adam muttered, thoroughly exasperated.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThis is just great!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMrs. di Cordova, please . . . forgive my bluntness, but Benjy Menken is NOT an evil spirit,\u201d Joe said tersely.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s a boy . . . just a boy . . . a sad, frightened, lonely, angry boy . . . who led a very unhappy life the few years he walked this earth, and died before he had much of a chance to change things . . . or . . . or to make something of himself.\u00a0\u00a0 Adam . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d Adam coldly demanded.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou remember the strange occurrences that happened just after my thirteenth birthday . . . when Billy Caine told me that Pa wasn\u2019t my pa?\u201d Joe demanded.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I remember,\u201d Adam said stiffly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhat does that have to do with my son, or for that matter, with Benjy Menken?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the spirit of Benjy Menken who came after me then,\u201d Joe explained.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sure of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe, that\u2019s ridiculous!\u201d Adam hotly protested.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, it\u2019s NOT!\u00a0\u00a0 Think about it, Adam,\u201d Joe urgently pressed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAt the time, I\u2019d honestly come to believe that the men I\u2019d always thought were my father and my brothers. . . weren\u2019t.\u00a0\u00a0 I can\u2019t begin to tell ya how scared . . . how desperately lonely . . . and yes, how angry that made me feel.\u00a0\u00a0 Benjy Menken picked up on all that, because that\u2019s the way HE felt then . . . and that\u2019s the way he STILL feels now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right,\u201d Adam said stiffly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cFor the sake of argument, let\u2019s say we ARE dealing with the spirit of Benjy Menken.\u00a0\u00a0 I have to admit . . . reluctantly . . . that you make a good case as to why he would have come for you when he did.\u00a0\u00a0 That DOESN\u2019T explain why he\u2019d come for Benjy CARTWRIGHT.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it DOES, Adam,\u201d Father Brendan said quietly.<\/p>\n

\u201cExcuse me?\u201d Adam demanded, sparing no pains, no energy to conceal his growing ire and frustration, priest or no priest.<\/p>\n

\u201cThink back on everything you just told me,\u201d Father Brendan kindly, yet very firmly suggested.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThe similarities between Joe\u2019s situation then . . . and your son, Benjy\u2019s situation now . . . will become clear.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam set aside his fears for his son and all the exasperation, anger, and frustration he felt toward present company, and gave grudging thought to the priest\u2019s words.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYes . . . . \u201d he finally said in a voice barely audible, filled with great remorse.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYes . . . I . . . I see . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank God!\u201d Dolores breathed a genuine, heartfelt, if brief, prayer of gratitude.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThen you\u2019ll come, Father?\u00a0\u00a0 You\u2019ll come and bless the house?\u00a0\u00a0 Drive out that boy\u2019s spirit?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll come, Mrs. di Cordova . . . if Adam, Hoss, and Joe also agree . . . but as Joe so aptly pointed out . . . Benjy Menken is no daemon, or evil spirit,\u201d Father Brendan said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThough his body died many years ago, he is still a human being . . . and like ALL human beings . . . possesses free will.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you saying you WON\u2019T do the exorcism, Father?\u201d Dolores demanded, indignant, not fully comprehending.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, Dolores,\u201d Adam said gently.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI think the good father is trying to tell us he can splash holy water, say the words of exorcism, even burn sage as is the custom of some of the Indian tribes who make their homes here, until . . . until the cows come home as my brother, Hoss, here would say . . . but none of it\u2019ll do one bit of good against a sad, frightened, lonely, and angry boy . . . who doesn\u2019t want to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen . . . what\u2019ll we do?!\u201d Dolores wailed.<\/p>\n

\u201cFather . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

All eyes turned toward the open door between Father Rutherford\u2019s office and the small ante room just beyond.\u00a0\u00a0 An elderly woman stood at the threshold.\u00a0\u00a0 She had pulled the long, wispy strands of snow-white hair back away from her gaunt face, and secured them with a plain wooden barrette.\u00a0\u00a0 Her pallid complexion, the dark, half-moon shaped circles under her eyes, the slight tremor in both hands, and the way her clothing bagged on her slight, emaciated frame bespoke of a lengthy illness from which she had very recently begun to recover.<\/p>\n

\u201c . . . perhaps I<\/strong> might be of assistance?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMrs. Smith!\u201d Father Brendan exclaimed, astonished and deeply concerned for her well being.\u00a0\u00a0 He shot right out of his chair and barreled around his desk, narrowly missing a head on collision with Hoss, who stood next to the chair, occupied by his younger brother.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDear Lord in Heaven!\u201d he murmured softly as he crossed the room.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMrs. Smith, you . . . you really ought to be in bed.\u00a0\u00a0 Let me call Brother Algernon— \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFather, time is precious and fleeting\u201d Lee Smith said in a very firm, no nonsense tone of voice that carried within it a subtle note of urgency.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWe must leave for the Ponderosa at once.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam stared at the woman, whom the priest had just addressed as Mrs. Smith with a perplexed frown.\u00a0\u00a0 He had met her before, he was certain of it, but try as he might, he simply could not remember where or when.<\/p>\n

\u201c . . . uhh, Ma\u2019am?\u201d Hoss ventured hesitantly, eyeing her gaunt, emaciated frame apprehensively.<\/p>\n

Lee turned her attention to Hoss, but remained silent.<\/p>\n

\u201cMa\u2019am, it\u2019s a long way out t\u2019 the Ponderosa, over some real bumpy roads,\u201d Hoss continued.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI hope y\u2019 won\u2019t be embarrassed none by my plain way o\u2019 speakin\u2019 but from the look of ya . . . you just plain \u2018n simple ain\u2019t up t\u2019— \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey . . . uhhh, they call you . . . Hoss . . . right?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, \u2018m.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI appreciate your concern, but there\u2019s no need,\u201d Lee continued in a very calm, matter-of-fact tone of voice.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBENJY\u2019S the one who matters now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMrs. Smith, please,\u201d Father Brendan begged, \u201crest assured we\u2019re going to do all we can to help Benjy . . . Cartwright AND Menken.\u00a0\u00a0 You . . . risking injury . . . possibly your life— \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFather, nothing . . . least of all a buggy trip from here out to the Ponderosa over a few bumpy roads . . . can inflict any lasting harm on me any more,\u201d Lee said firmly.\u00a0\u00a0 There was a glint of steel in those deep sapphire blue eyes the priest had not seen in a very long time.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBut, we need to leave now . . . right now, this minute . . . in order to save Benjy.\u00a0\u00a0 I just hope and pray we aren\u2019t already too late.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFather Brendan . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI left our buggy and horses tethered to the post outside,\u201d Adam said briskly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWould YOU be good enough to drive it, and take Mrs. Smith, my mother-in-law, AND my youngest brother with you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cME?!\u201d Joe yelped.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, YOU, Little Brother,\u201d Adam replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow will YOU get back, Adam?\u201d Dolores ventured, hesitant and uncertain.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll ride back with Hoss . . . on Joe\u2019s horse,\u201d Adam replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cAww NO!!\u00a0\u00a0 Doggone it, Adam, I\u2019m perfectly capable of making it home on Cochise— \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, you ain\u2019t,\u201d Hoss said firmly.<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss—!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe ain\u2019t got time for me t\u2019 be arguin\u2019 with ya, Li\u2019l Brother, so I\u2019m givin\u2019 ya a choice.\u00a0\u00a0 You can ride back in t\u2019 buggy with Father Brendan \u2018n the ladies . . . or you can ride on Chubb with me,\u201d Hoss said in a tone of voice that brooked no argument, no further discussion of the matter.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNow which\u2019ll it be?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right . . . all RIGHT!\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019ll go in the buggy,\u201d Joe said, glaring murderously at both of his brothers.<\/p>\n

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

Ben Cartwright, meanwhile, sat before his desk, with both elbows resting on either side of an open ledger book, gingerly massaging his temples against what promised to be, if not the worst headache he\u2019d ever suffered, then something awfully close to it.<\/p>\n

Sadly, the only changes in his grandson\u2019s condition continued to be for the worse.\u00a0\u00a0 Teresa had moved the boy upstairs to the room she and Adam shared, with Hop Sing\u2019s able assistance, earlier that day, after the family had eaten breakfast.<\/p>\n

\u201c . . . what there was of breakfast to eat,\u201d Ben muttered just under his breath.<\/p>\n

\u201cHop Sing said it\u2019s the warmest room in the house,\u201d his daughter-in-law said, by way of explanation, \u201cand . . . Adam and I both can stay close.\u00a0\u00a0 If you\u2019d rather we DIDN\u2019T move him— \u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIf moving him upstairs will help make him more comfortable, then by all means, go ahead,\u201d Ben readily assented. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

She had nodded her thanks, then turned to leave, to go back to her son, hers and Adam\u2019s, who clearly to one and all . . . even if no one spoke of it . . . was in fact lying on his deathbed.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cTeresa . . . . \u201d he very gently called to her.<\/em><\/p>\n

She stopped and waited.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very sorry all this has happened . . . . \u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not YOUR fault, Ben,\u201d Teresa said.\u00a0\u00a0 Though she spoke calmly, her eyes were unusually bright, and blinked to excess.\u00a0\u00a0 She turned again, with the intention of returning to the bedroom downstairs, where Hop Sing worked at getting the still insensate boy ready for the move upstairs.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBen?\u201d she queried, pausing at the closed door, with her fingers loosely wrapped around the knob.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Teresa?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI want you to know that I don\u2019t believe for one minute you have an evil spirit haunting this house,\u201d she said firmly, with anger now mingling with worry and grief.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI . . . I\u2019m sorry if Mother— \u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cYou needn\u2019t apologize for your mother, Teresa,\u201d Ben said kindly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re NOT responsible for her thoughts and opinions . . . and if this will help ease your mind . . . . \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 As much as her mind could be eased given the circumstances.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve come to realize that people sometimes ascribe to beliefs I personally have difficulty understanding let alone believing in myself, but, by and large, I don\u2019t take offense.\u201d \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

He was gratified to see a small measure of tension leave her body.\u00a0 \u201cThank you, Ben,\u201d she said very quietly, before disappearing inside the room.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI appreciate that.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Dio had undergone a dark transformation from the happy, eager, and rambunctious child who arrived at the stage depot in Virginia City a day and a half ago, to a sullen child, more quiet and withdrawn than her older brother had ever been, fearful of letting her mother out of her sight.\u00a0\u00a0 Ben had tried to interest the child in a game of checkers several times throughout the day, and after dinner, he had invited her to partake of a big tall glass of lemonade with him outside on the porch, in the hope of giving mother and desperately ill son upstairs some much needed breathing space.\u00a0\u00a0 Dio, however, would have none of it.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa . . . the worst thing \u2018bout all this . . . worse, even than comin\u2019 home that day n\u2019 . . . n\u2019 . . . f-findin\u2019 out she was dyin\u2019 . . . was knowin\u2019 I couldn\u2019t be WITH her.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Hoss\u2019 words, tearfully uttered a few days after Emily Pennington [iv], a young woman he had come to care for very deeply, had left with a wagon train for San Francisco . . . .<\/p>\n

. . . to die.<\/p>\n

In a hospital, presumably.<\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps it IS for the best if Dio stays with Teresa and Benjy . . . . \u201d Ben reluctantly decided, sure in his own mind things couldn\u2019t possibly get any worse . . . .<\/p>\n

. . . that was, of course, was before he had stopped by Joe\u2019s room, to check up on HIM, after Teresa and Hop Sing had gotten Benjy settled in upstairs, and found him no where in sight.\u00a0\u00a0 Worse, Hoss was also gone.\u00a0\u00a0 The only child of his that he was able to locate . . . finally . . . stood out by the corral, ostensibly watching their horses, looking guiltier than sin . . . .<\/p>\n

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

Chapter 15<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right, Young Woman,\u201d Ben Cartwright addressed his daughter in a very low, dangerously quiet voice, as thought and mind returned to present time and place, \u201cyou and I are going to go over this once more FROM the beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stacy stood in front of the desk, with hands loosely clasped behind her back, nervously shifting her weight from one foot to the other.<\/p>\n

\u201cTHIS time,\u201d Ben continued, seething with anger, all but consumed with frustration, worry, and grief, \u201cI expect you to tell me the truth . . . the WHOLE truth . . . pure and simple . . . WITHOUT.\u00a0\u00a0 embellishments.\u00a0\u00a0 If you don\u2019t, we\u2019ll continue this discussion . . . OUT<\/strong> IN THE BARN.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He lifted his head, and favored her with a dark scowl, as he uttered those last few words.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDo I make myself clear?\u201d<\/p>\n

Stacy swallowed nervously.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cY-Yes, Sir,\u201d she replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood,\u201d Ben said, satisfied that from here on out, she would level with him and tell him exactly what was going on between Joe, Hoss, and herself.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cFirst question,\u201d he snapped.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhere have your brothers gone?\u00a0\u00a0 By brothers, I mean HOSS and JOE.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 This last he added wryly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAnd I don\u2019t want to hear any more nonsense about Joe running off half cocked, out of his head, and Hoss going after him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey, ummm . . . they . . . w-went to . . . to, uhhh . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSpit it out, Girl,\u201d Ben growled.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey went to Virginia City, Pa— \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey . . . WHAT<\/strong>?!\u201d Ben roared.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey went to Virginia City, Pa,\u201d Stacy said again, very quickly, with healthy doses of fear and trembling.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen was THIS?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not sure . . . an hour, maybe a little less . . . before Hop Sing told us dinner was ready.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c . . . AND YOU DIDN\u2019T SEE FIT TO TELL ANYONE?!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPa, Joe said he HAD to go into town immediately if not sooner, because Benjy\u2019s life depends on it.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Stacy\u2019s words tumbled out of her mouth, one after the other, in a disconcerted rush.<\/p>\n

\u201cStacy . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

She swallowed nervously once again upon hearing all too clearly the threatening note in her father\u2019s voice.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s the truth, Pa.\u00a0\u00a0 Honest!\u00a0\u00a0 It IS!\u201d she said again, this time with a pleading note in her voice.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cJoe told Hoss and me he had to go into town and research something.\u00a0\u00a0 We offered to do it for him, but he told us he didn\u2019t have time to tell us what he needs to know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben folded his arms across his chest, and leaned back in his chair.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou KNOW what Doctor Martin said earlier,\u201d he said slowly, in a tone of voice too even, too carefully measured.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Sir,\u201d Stacy responded warily, with fast sinking heart.\u00a0\u00a0 Whenever her father spoke thusly to her or her brothers, it was almost always a very bad sign.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen I trust you have some idea as to how dangerous it is for him to be gallivanting about all over the country side,\u201d Ben continued, his voice rising.<\/p>\n

\u201cY-Yes, Sir . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen WHY didn\u2019t you tell me that he had gone?!\u201d Ben demanded.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cOr . . . perhaps MORE to the point . . . why didn\u2019t you and Hoss stop him?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cH-He said something about a . . . a strange incident that happened when he was thirteen years old,\u201d Stacy said.<\/p>\n

This drew a sharp, penetrating glance from her father.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have no idea what he meant by that, Pa,\u201d Stacy said nervously, with a helpless shrug.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI-I\u2019m pretty sure Joe wasn\u2019t talking out of his head or anything like that, because Hoss seemed to know about . . . whatever . . . whatever it was . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat . . . exactly . . . did Joe say about that incident?\u201d Ben asked, lowering his voice.\u00a0\u00a0 His eyes darted momentarily toward the stairs.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe told Hoss the spirit that plagued him then is plaguing Benjy NOW,\u201d Stacy said, unconsciously taking her cue from Ben and lowering her voice as well.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI tried to ask questions, Pa, but they told me they\u2019d explain it all to me later.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI . . . I thought that . . . that thing . . . had been exorcized . . . laid to rest,\u201d Ben muttered angrily, through clenched teeth.<\/p>\n

\u201cHOSS said that, too,\u201d Stacy said, \u201cbut Joe told him . . . that he . . . that he had stopped it then, but\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n

The sound horses galloping at full speed into the yard, cut Stacy off mid-sentence and drew her attention, and her father\u2019s to the front door.<\/p>\n

\u201cStay here!\u201d Ben tersely ordered his daughter.\u00a0\u00a0 He quickly rose to his feet and beat a straight path toward the front door.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSooo . . . help . . . me . . . . \u201d he angrily muttered under his breath.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSoo-oooo-ooo . . . HELP me . . . if that young scallywag\u2019s just galloped that pinto of his into the yard, banged up as he is—!\u201d<\/p>\n

The front door burst wide open a split second before Ben would taken hold of the latch.\u00a0\u00a0 Acting entirely by instinct, he sidestepped, just before his oldest son barreled headlong into the house.\u00a0\u00a0 Hoss followed his older brother close behind, moving at a brisk, yet more decorous pace.<\/p>\n

Adam froze upon catching sight of his father, his entire body tense, and pressed tight against the credenza, gazing over at him through eyes round with shock and astonishment.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa?!\u00a0\u00a0 Pa, I\u2019m sorry, I didn\u2019t realize you w-were . . . that y-you were— \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all right, Adam,\u201d Ben said in as calm a voice as he could muster.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019M all right . . . no harm done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam closed his eyes and slowly exhaled the breath he had been holding.<\/p>\n

\u201cWere you and Dolores able to speak with Brendan?\u201d Ben asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d Adam replied, nodding his head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cFather Brendan\u2019s coming . . . he and the others should be along in a few minutes.\u00a0\u00a0 Pa . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Son?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere\u2019s Teresa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUpstairs,\u201d Ben replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cShe and Hop Sing moved Benjy up to your old room.\u00a0\u00a0 Dio\u2019s with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo me a couple of favors?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, Son.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it best if I talk with Teresa privately,\u201d Adam explained.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m going to send Dio downstairs.\u00a0\u00a0 Would you mind looking after her?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot in the least.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can enlist Dolores\u2019 help when she arrives with Father Brendan,\u201d Adam continued.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cShe can be quite the handful, as you\u2019ve seen . . . and that WILL occupy Dolores while I talk with Teresa.\u201d<\/p>\n

A grim task Ben for which didn\u2019t envy his son one bit, if that argument between Mother and Daughter earlier was any kind of indication.\u00a0\u00a0 He also found himself silently wishing to high heaven Dio WOULD prove to be a rambunctious handful, but sadly knew that such wouldn\u2019t be.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t worry about Dio or Dolores either, Son,\u201d Ben said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll make sure they\u2019re kept occupied.\u00a0\u00a0 You\u2019ll let me know when it\u2019s all right to send Father Brendan upstairs?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI will, Pa . . . and thank you.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Adam, then, turned and bolted up the stairs, taking them two and three at a time.<\/p>\n

\u201cYoung Man, if you know what\u2019s good for ya . . . you\u2019ll stop right where you are,\u201d Ben growled, after Adam had gone upstairs.\u00a0\u00a0 He knew without looking that Hoss was half way through the dining room, on a path that would take him though the kitchen and right out the back door.<\/p>\n

\u201c . . . uhhh, Lordy,\u201d Hoss groaned very softly.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s better,\u201d Ben observed in a tone of voice deceptively calm, gratified to see that his middle son had literally halted in his flight mid-stride.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNow why don\u2019t the two of us g\u2019won over and join your sister, who\u2019d BETTER be waiting beside my desk.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYessir,\u201d Hoss reluctantly surrendered to the inevitable.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the way, you can tell me where Joe is,\u201d Ben invited.<\/p>\n

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

Benjy Cartwright knelt down beside his sister and peered into the tear stained face with a smile of immense satisfaction.\u00a0\u00a0 She sat on the floor, near the foot of Mother and Papa\u2019s bed, with her arms clasped tight around legs drawn up close to her body, and head resting heavily upon her knees.\u00a0\u00a0 Her eyelids, upper lip, and cheeks were red and swollen, painfully so by the look of them.\u00a0\u00a0 Tears flowed unchecked from her eyes, down her cheeks, all the way to her chin.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI tol\u2019ja she\u2019d be sorry . . . . \u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

He raised his head and found his friend, Benjy, standing over him and Dio, clad in a pair of well-worn overalls, with no shirt.\u00a0\u00a0 The unruly tangle of curls on top of his head looked as if they hadn\u2019t felt the business end of a comb for at least a week . . . maybe even a whole month.\u00a0\u00a0 He smiled triumphantly. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201c . . . and SHE\u2019S gonna be the sorriest one of all,\u201d he continued with grim relish, \u201cbecause they\u2019re gonna HATE her.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThey . . . who?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone,\u201d the other Benjy replied, speaking with the bland matter-of-factness of one who knows absolutely, beyond any shred of doubt whatsoever, \u201cyour mother \u2018n father, your grandmother, your grandpa, your uncles and aunt . . . even the China man.\u00a0\u00a0 He\u2019ll hate her, too.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNo, they WON\u2019T!\u201d Benjy said in a sullen tone of voice, as he replayed the events over the past few days.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cYes, they will.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThey won\u2019t!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThey WILL, I tell ya . . . . \u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNo!\u201d he said bitterly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThey WON\u2019T!\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019ll be just like all the other times she said and did mean things . . . or she wouldn\u2019t sit still, \u2018n do what she was told.\u00a0\u00a0 Something happens . . . something ALWAYS happens!\u00a0\u00a0 She gets sick, or she cries, or . . . or does other things, and they forget.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWell, they won\u2019t forget THIS time,\u201d the other Benjy insisted.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cHow do YOU know?\u201d he demanded.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI just know,\u201d his friend smugly assured him.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cTHIS time, they WON\u2019T forget when she was bad, or the mean, nasty things she said and did . . . and they\u2019re gonna remember all the lies she said about ya, too,\u201d his friend assured him.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI seen it happen.\u00a0\u00a0 Not lots o\u2019 times, but enough t\u2019 know it does.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cYou have?\u00a0\u00a0 Really?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cYep . . . \u2018n you know what else?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

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

\u201cThe biggest reason why they\u2019re gonna hate her is . . . they\u2019re gonna think it\u2019s HER fault you got so sick and— \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He suddenly broke off and looked away.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201c . . . they\u2019re gonna think it\u2019s her fault I got sick and . . . what?\u201d he asked, trying to ignore the uneasiness that had just begun to gnaw deep within the pit of his stomach.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNothin\u2019!\u201d the other Benjy snapped, then brightened.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cCome on.\u00a0\u00a0 Let\u2019s go out \u2018n play.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat ELSE were you going to say?\u201d he pressed.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI tol\u2019ja!\u00a0\u00a0 Nuthin\u2019!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWas SO!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWas NOT!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cYES, IT WAS!\u201d he yelled, then braced himself for a reprimand from Mother, who sat on the edge of the bed, holding his hand tightly between both of hers.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cShe can\u2019t hear you, Stupid, Stupid Head,\u201d the other boy taunted him, his voice filled with cruel scorn and derision.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cBenjy, I\u2019m NOT gonna go outside and play with you unless you tell me what ELSE you were gonna say,\u201d he declared as he rose to his feet, bound and determined to have his way in this.\u00a0\u00a0 He was getting sick and tired of the other Benjy calling him stupid head, and he wasn\u2019t real sure he particularly cared for the way he bossed him around all the time.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI CAN\u2019T, \u2018cause whatever it was . . . I forgot,\u201d the other Benjy said in a sullen tone of voice.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNow come on— \u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Though it was lots of fun when it started, he was fast growing bored and uneasy with this dream about running around invisible to the eyes and ears of everyone around him, everyone that is except the boy who yet loomed high over him and Dio like a vulture, waiting. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

He had no regret about making Dio sorry, and making everyone else hate her.\u00a0\u00a0 That was nothing less than what she deserved, especially after the way she made fun of him about his fear of horses in front of Aunt Stacy and later, when she lied and said he had been the one to scare her so badly in the barn.<\/em><\/p>\n

But the others . . . .<\/em><\/p>\n

. . . memories rose of the stories Grandpa Ben told of all the strange and wonderful places he\u2019d visited, and people he\u2019d met many years ago when he was a sailor, serving as first mate to Great Grandfather Stoddard aboard a ship called Wonderer.\u00a0 \u00a0The words and the wondrous pictures they invoked all crammed into his head at once, filling it to near aching, just the way his stomach felt whenever he ate too much.<\/em><\/p>\n

He remembered the stories Papa told, too, of all the places he\u2019d been, the adventures he\u2019d had before he met and married Mother.<\/em><\/p>\n

The best stories of all though, were the ones Papa and Grandpa Ben told of the years they\u2019d spent traveling thousands of miles across this land of their birth, all the way from Boston to Nevada.\u00a0\u00a0 He enjoyed hearing stories about Grandma Inger, too.<\/em><\/p>\n

Remembering all those stories began to stir anew his own secret dreams of visiting the places Papa and Grandpa Ben had spoken of, and seeing them for himself.<\/em><\/p>\n

A bark of derisive laughter turned his remembering and the feelings they stirred within him from things that had seemed so solid, so real, he could reach out and take hold of them, to wisps of cloud and smoke that rose out from between his fingers to be scattered by the wind.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cJust a bunch o\u2019 nuthin\u2019!\u201d the other Benjy snorted with disdain.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNuthin\u2019 but a bunch o\u2019 lies \u2018n tall tales made up by drunk ol\u2019 men who ain\u2019t got nuthin\u2019 better t\u2019 do . . . \u2018n they\u2019re always tellin\u2019 \u2018em t\u2019 folks that got better things t\u2019 do than sit around \u2018n listen to \u2018em.\u00a0\u00a0 That\u2019s what my pa says . . . . \u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t care WHAT your pa says!\u201d Benjy said defiantly.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cYou better watch what you say \u2018bout my pa,\u201d the other boy warned.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWhy?\u201d he hotly demanded.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhy should I watch what I say about a man who\u2019d go off and leave his boy, and not come back?\u00a0\u00a0 Your pa doesn\u2019t sound like he\u2019s a very nice man . . . \u2018n he\u2019s a liar!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cOh, no he ain\u2019t!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cHE IS SO, TOO!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cHE AIN\u2019T!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cHE IS!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cTAKE IT BACK<\/strong>!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNO!<\/strong>\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cTAKE IT BACK, OR ELSE<\/strong>!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cOR ELSE WHAT<\/strong>?!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cOR ELSE I\u2019LL . . . I\u2019LL . . . YOU BIG, DUMB, STUPID, STUPID, STUPID!\u00a0\u00a0 STAY<\/strong> HERE IF YA WANT TO!\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019LL GO PLAY BY MYSELF<\/strong>!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWELL YOU<\/strong> CAN JUST GO RIGHT AHEAD!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The other Benjy just stood there, glaring at him with a mixture of anger, surprise, smugness and something else . . . something he couldn\u2019t recall ever seeing in the other Benjy\u2019s face before.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cBig dumb stupid head!\u201d the other Benjy growled in a voice low and menacing, before turning heel and fleeing across the room, beating a straight path to the door.<\/em><\/p>\n

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

As Father Brendan maneuvered the Cartwrights\u2019 buggy around the barn and on into the yard, Dolores di Cordova, exhaled a long, slow sigh of relief upon seeing Doctor Martin\u2019s conveyance nowhere in sight.\u00a0\u00a0 The priest brought the horses to a stop in front of the hitching post next to the house, then clambered down, with an ease and agility, not commonly seen in a man of his years.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe, you stay put for a moment,\u201d Father Brendan sternly exhorted the youngest Cartwright son, as he ran around the back of the buggy to the passengers\u2019 side of the front seat, to give Dolores a hand in getting down.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll be around to help you and Mrs. Smith as soon as I see to Mrs. di Cordova.\u201d<\/p>\n

With a soft groan, Joe glanced up at the heavens, silently demanding of anyone who just might be listening, \u201cGeeze Loo-weeze, why ME?\u201d<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0 He sighed, then grumbled aloud, \u201cJust because a guy has a couple o\u2019 black \u2018n blue marks on \u2018im— \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn YOUR case, Joe, I think it would be more accurate to say a couple of black and blue marks ALL OVER him,\u201d the priest retorted, as he reached up and lifted Dolores from the buggy and set her down on Terra Firma.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, fuuu-uuuuhhh-neee!\u201d Joe groused.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cA few bruises does NOT mean I\u2019m an invalid.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He grabbed hold of the back of the driver\u2019s seat for support, then gingerly eased himself from the buggy to the ground, grimacing against the agonizing protest of stiff joints and bruised muscles.\u00a0\u00a0 Once both feet were planted firmly on the ground, he took a deep breath, then reached up a hand toward Lee Smith, who had ridden out from Virginia City in the seat next to him.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMa\u2019am, if you need a hand getting d-d-d-uuuhhh— \u201d<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s words died away to stunned silence when he looked up and saw only an empty seat.\u00a0\u00a0 Lee Smith was nowhere to be seen.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cOh, Benjy, why?\u201d <\/em>Teresa silently agonized for the thousandth time.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

She sat on the edge of the bed, holding Benjy\u2019s cold, flaccid hand sandwiched between both of her own, occasionally rubbing them in a desperate, valiant attempt to will warmth and life back into it.<\/p>\n

Her thoughts drifted back to the day she and Adam had left Sacramento to come here, so that he might be the best man in the wedding of an old friend.\u00a0\u00a0 They, her parents, her youngest brother, Miguel, Benjy, and Dio were gathered at the stage depot to see them off . . . .<\/p>\n

\u201cTeresa . . . Adam . . . don\u2019t you DARE worry about a thing,\u201d her father, Eduardo di Cordova, exhorted with a reassuring smile.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBenjy and Dio will be just fine here with their grandmother and me.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll look in on \u2018em, too,\u201d Miguel promised, \u201cand make sure Mother and Father aren\u2019t spoiling \u2018em too rotten.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cUh oh . . . . \u201d Adam groaned.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cTeresa, I think you and I\u2019d better change our plans again pronto!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He turned and favored Miguel, the youngest of his three brothers-in-law, with a withering, jaundiced glare.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIf there\u2019s anyone . . . anyone at all in this world who spoils our children worse than your parents and my father . . . it\u2019s YOU.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cMea culpa!\u201d Miguel quipped with that saucy grin of his.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBut, hey!\u00a0\u00a0 That\u2019s what indulgent uncles are for.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cStop that, Miguel,\u201d Dolores chided her youngest son, \u201cbefore Adam and Teresa really DO change their plans.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cAdam . . . Teresa . . . you have MY solemn word that the children WILL attend to their school work . . . though there\u2019s never any problem with Benjy in that regard . . . and they WILL go to bed on time,\u201d Eduardo promised.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIn return, I want the both of YOU to have a good, safe journey and, for heaven\u2019s sake, enjoy yourselves.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWe will, Eduardo,\u201d Adam promised.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201c . . . and one more thing, Adam . . . . \u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Sir?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cPlease give my regards to your papa?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI certainly will.\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019m sorry you won\u2019t be accompanying Dolores and the children later.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cAs am I, Adam.\u00a0\u00a0 I was looking forward to seeing Ben again, and your brothers.\u00a0\u00a0 We\u2019ve not seen THEM since the wedding.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNot to mention my sister, who I\u2019M going to be meeting face to face for the first time.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, some pressing business has come up . . . . \u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

At that juncture, Teresa remembered turning her attention to the children.\u00a0\u00a0 Benjy, as usual, sat on the bench over next to the stage depot building with nose firmly entrenched in book.\u00a0\u00a0 Dio, a veritable tornado packed into human form, skipped in circles around her exasperated, weary grandmother, much to the great delight of her uncle, Miguel.<\/p>\n

\u201cDio . . . and, you, too, Benjy . . . . \u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

At the sound of her voice, her daughter halted mid-stride and her son glanced up from his book. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI expect both of you to be on your best behavior for your grandparents.\u00a0\u00a0 That means doing your school work when you first come home, minding what they say\u2014 \u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be good, Mother, I promise,\u201d Dio said in a very solemn tone of voice.<\/em><\/p>\n

Benjy smiled a small, Mona Lisa kind of smile, nodded assent, and returned to his book . . . .<\/em><\/p>\n

All had SEEMED well that day . . . .<\/p>\n

Teresa wracked her brains, searching the memories of her son in the weeks before, going back to the day she and Adam had decided to come a month early, searching desperately for something . . . anything, no matter how small or insignificant, that might have been an indicator of the events that had finally led them all to THIS impasse.\u00a0\u00a0 She couldn\u2019t decide which would be the most heartbreaking, should the unthinkable come to pass . . . .<\/p>\n

Seeing a sign of something NOW that she had missed seeing then?<\/p>\n

Or find absolutely nothing.<\/p>\n

\u201cTeresa?\u201d<\/p>\n

She turned slowly at the sound of her name and found herself gazing up into the pale, weary, frightened face of her husband.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cThe same,\u201d she replied listlessly, turning her attention back to their son, his pale skin alarmingly translucent, his eyes closed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhere\u2019s Mother?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019ll be along in a few minutes,\u201d Adam replied, then turned to his daughter, still seated on the floor near the foot of the bed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDio . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

The child glanced up sharply.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cY-Yes, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI want you to go downstairs and visit with your grandpa for a little while,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI need to speak privately with your mother.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d the girl adamantly shook her head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t wanna go, Pa.\u00a0\u00a0 I wanna stay here, with you, Ma, \u2018n Benjy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo as your father says, Dio,\u201d Teresa said sternly.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, Ma . . . please.\u00a0\u00a0 I wanna stay here,\u201d Dio whined.<\/p>\n

\u201cDio . . . . \u201d Adam said sternly, his brows coming together to form an angry scowl.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, Adam, please!\u00a0\u00a0 Let her be,\u201d Teresa sighed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWe can step out in the hall for a few minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right,\u201d Adam reluctantly agreed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDio . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI need to speak to your mother privately for a few minutes,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ll be right outside in the hall.\u00a0\u00a0 I want you to keep an eye on Benjy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dio very solemnly nodded her head.<\/p>\n

\u201cAm I correct in assuming that the priest you and Mother went to see is coming?\u201d she asked, after she and her husband had stepped out into the hall closing the door behind them.\u00a0\u00a0 There was a sharp, angry edge to her tone of voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, but ONLY to pray with our son and . . . and with anyone ELSE who wishes it,\u201d Adam replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHe may also bless the house, if Pa gives him permission, but he is NOT going to perform an exorcism.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo I have your word on that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Teresa.\u00a0\u00a0 You have my word.\u201d<\/p>\n

Teresa nodded, satisfied.\u00a0\u00a0 Though wary of Mother Church and her priests, she did trust her husband.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhen they come, you may invite them up,\u201d she said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAs I told Mother before, I have no objections to anyone saying prayers.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 She turned with the intention of going back into the bedroom.<\/p>\n

\u201cTeresa . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s more . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

Adam closed his eyes for a moment, then took a deep breath.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cTeresa, I want you to promise me that you\u2019ll listen to what I have to say . . . to everything I have to say . . . without argument or interruption,\u201d he began.<\/p>\n

Her face immediately darkened with anger.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAdam, you promised me . . . you PROMISED me . . . that the priest wasn\u2019t going to do an exorcism— \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s NOT,\u201d Adam said curtly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cTeresa, please— \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right!\u201d she snapped.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll listen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c . . . without argument or interruption?\u201d<\/p>\n

An exasperated sigh exploded from between her lips.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWithout interrupting or arguing,\u201d Teresa promised through clenched teeth.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst of all,\u201d he began, \u201cI want to assure you that I don\u2019t believe for one minute that Benjy\u2019s illness is the result of his being possessed by an evil spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n

The scowl on Teresa\u2019s face deepened.\u00a0\u00a0 She folded her arms tight across her chest, and waited, determined to honor the promise she had made, no matter how difficult.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever . . . I . . . DO believe that he\u2019s come under the influence of a ghost,\u201d Adam continued, \u201cthe ghost of a boy, whose name is . . . WAS . . . also Benjy, who died when he was a little older than our Benjy is now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam, surely you don\u2019t believe in— \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGenerally speaking, no.\u00a0\u00a0 I DON\u2019T believe in ghosts,\u201d Adam replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMOST of the time, if you look hard enough, there\u2019s a logical explanation.\u00a0\u00a0 This, unfortunately, it NOT one of those times.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cYes, Teresa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore you continue, may I ask you one question?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right . . . . \u201d Adam replied warily.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid MOTHER tell the priest—?!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, Teresa.\u00a0\u00a0 Dolores said nothing about ghosts,\u201d Adam immediately replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf SHE didn\u2019t bring up the subject of ghosts . . . then, who DID?\u201d she asked, suspicious and wary, yet curious in spite of her best intentions.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe,\u201d Adam replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe?!\u201d she echoed, astonished.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhat was JOE doing in town?\u00a0\u00a0 Didn\u2019t Doctor Martin—?!\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam nodded.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYes, Doctor Martin DID order Joe to stay in bed for the remainder of the day, and to take things very easy,\u201d he replied, \u201cbut when my baby brother gets a proverbial burr under his saddle . . . . \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He raised his face to the heavens, with a wry roll of the eyes.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cJoe was . . . and IS . . . convinced that Benjy, OUR Benjy\u2019s life depended on him getting into town and doing a bit of historical research about the family who lived here before us . . . and, upon finding out what he did, paid Father Brendan a visit— \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c . . . in order to find out what to do about it,\u201d Teresa finished.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAdam, to be absolutely honest, I don\u2019t WANT to ask this next question, but I must . . . mainly because Joe, although young and . . . and very much like Miguel in many ways . . . . \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 She shook her head, perplexed and bewildered.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIf HE believes there\u2019s a ghost . . . not that I\u2019m completely ruling out the possibility of a good sound LOGICAL explanation somewhere . . . . \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 This last she added very quickly, with a touch of defiance.<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand, Sweetheart.\u201d<\/p>\n

Teresa closed her eyes and took a deep breath.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhat . . . exactly, did Joe tell you about this other Benjy . . . this supposed ghost of a boy who died when he was just a little older than our son now?\u201d she asked reluctantly.<\/p>\n

Adam told Teresa everything he knew about Benjy Menken, and about the strange, frightening incidents that had centered around Joe at the age thirteen.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAt the time, Joe honest and truly believed that Pa wasn\u2019t his father and that Hoss and I weren\u2019t really his brothers,\u201d Adam continued.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThe things Joe felt then . . . are very close to what our son has been feeling . . . starting from around the time you and I left Sacramento.\u00a0\u00a0 Those feelings have apparently roused Benjy Menken\u2019s ghost from its slumber . . . when JOE was thirteen AND now . . . because BENJY\u2019S grief stricken . . . lonely . . . frightened . . . and very angry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Teresa silently mulled over and digested everything Adam had just shared with her.\u00a0\u00a0 There was so much to take in.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201c . . . so much,\u201d<\/em> she mused silently.\u00a0\u00a0 For so long, for as long as she could remember in fact, she had believed as her father did in the things that could be seen, heard, smelled, tasted, and touched, leaving things of the spirit to her devout mother and her oldest brother, Ricardo, the mystic in the family.<\/p>\n

\u201cTeresa?\u201d Adam gently prompted, at length, as his wife began to pace slowly in front of the closed door to his old room, with head bowed and arms folded tight across her chest.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cTeresa, please . . . talk to me?\u201d<\/p>\n

She stopped, and when she turned, he saw that her cheeks were wet with tears.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAdam,\u201d she sobbed, \u201cever since . . . ever since that set-to between the kids in the b-barn, and . . . and finding out about Benjy\u2019s dismal report c-card, I . . . I\u2019ve been wracking my brains trying to find a sign . . . something that w-would\u2019ve indicated that . . . that something was t-terribly wrong . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you find anything?\u201d<\/p>\n

Teresa vigorously shook her head, unable to speak.<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t either,\u201d Adam said very quietly, drawing a sharp look of surprise from his wife.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, Adam, I . . . I\u2019ve n-never . . . in m-my whole life ever . . . f-felt so . . . so helpless,\u201d she continued, weeping piteously, \u201cI-I\u2019m like a . . . a b-boat cast adrift . . . with no rudder . . . n-no mast or s-sail . . . not even a single star in the n-night sky to . . . to guide me . . . to tell me where I am . . . where I . . . where I might b-be heading . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know exactly how you feel, Sweetheart,\u201d Adam said softly, his own voice breaking, as he gathered his wife into his arms, \u201cbecause I . . . I feel the same way.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He felt her pressing very close, her arms tightening about his waist with strength born of terror and desperation.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cYes, Teresa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI . . . most of the t-time I . . . I have a l-lot of difficulty believing in G-God,\u201d she sobbed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou think m-maybe . . . YOU c-could believe . . . f-for the both of us?\u201d<\/p>\n

It was a concession of great significance on her part.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll d-do my best,\u201d he promised, his voice shaking, \u201cbut there\u2019s one thing I . . . that I want you to remember, n-no . . . no matter what happens . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s that?\u201d she asked very softly, her head dropping down onto his broad chest.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat you and I are in this together,\u201d Adam replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m here, Sweetheart . . . and I\u2019m going to stay . . . right here . . . f-for better or . . . or for worse.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Chapter 16<\/p>\n

He turned away from his parents, standing in the hallway outside their room, clinging to one another, as if for dear life.\u00a0\u00a0 He wanted to cry, would have given just about anything at that very moment to be able to cry, but the tears wouldn\u2019t come.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t believe them,\u201d a cold, angry voice said.\u00a0\u00a0 It was Benjy.\u00a0\u00a0 The other Benjy.\u00a0\u00a0 He stood right in front of him, with a pair of tight fists planted firmly on his hips, with a defiant scowl on his face.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s an act, Stupid Head.\u00a0\u00a0 Can\u2019t you see that?!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cHow do YOU know?\u201d he demanded.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cAwww fer—!!\u00a0\u00a0 It don\u2019t take a genius to see what\u2019s what, you dumb stupid,\u201d the other Benjy responded, punctuating his words with a long-suffering sigh and a sarcastic roll of the eyes heavenward.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cGo away,\u201d he growled, weary of this game, this dream, this . . . whatever it was, weary of his new friend deriding nearly everything he said or did as stupid.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s play!\u201d the other Benjy said, all sunshine and light, every last trace of the anger and disdain so present a moment ago, now gone.<\/em><\/p>\n

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

\u201cCome on . . . please?\u201d the other Benjy wheedled.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry I called you stupid head . . . . \u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u00a0\u00a0 I don\u2019t want to play because . . . because this game\u2019s not fun anymore,\u201d he told his new friend, his voice filled with remorse.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cYou SAID you wanted to make \u2018em all sorry . . . . \u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>\u201cI know . . . and I did,\u201d he admitted.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI wanted to make my sister the sorriest of all, but I didn\u2019t.\u00a0\u00a0 I . . . I think I\u2019ve made ME the sorriest one of all.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The other Benjy laughed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cTag, you\u2019re it!\u201d he cried, tapping him on the shoulder.\u00a0\u00a0 He pivoted and ran down the long hallway toward the top of the stairs.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cCatch me if you can,\u201d he taunted.<\/em><\/p>\n

A part of him longed to chase after the other Benjy, but another part, one just as strong, wanted to stay here with his mother and father, with grandpa and grandmother, and yes, even with his hated sister, Dio.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cBenjy . . . come ON!\u201d the other boy urged . . . .<\/em><\/p>\n

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

\u201cWhat in the world is taking Adam so LONG?!\u201d Dolores softly fretted, as she paced back and forth in front of the staircase, casting an occasional furtive glance up into the dim hallway above the top landing, wringing her hands in dismay.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cTime is of the essence!\u00a0\u00a0 I thought Adam KNEW that . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPa . . . . \u201d Joe groaned very softly.\u00a0\u00a0 He threw aside the Indian blanket covering and tried to rise from his place on the settee.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh no you don\u2019t, Li\u2019l Brother,\u201d Hoss said, weary yet very firm.\u00a0\u00a0 He gently placed both hands on Joe\u2019s shoulders effectively restraining him, while Stacy retrieved the Indian blanket from its place on the floor.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut— \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve done all y\u2019 can, Joe,\u201d Hoss said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, if I added MY two cents to what Adam\u2019s tryin\u2019 t\u2019 say, maybe . . . just maybe . . . he and I could move that conversation along a bit,\u201d Joe argued, while struggling mightily to pry Hoss\u2019 hands and fingers off of his shoulders.<\/p>\n

\u201c . . . \u2018n you MIGHT just as easily stall that conversation by doin\u2019 or sayin\u2019 somethin\u2019 t\u2019 get Teresa\u2019s back up,\u201d Hoss wisely pointed out.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThe rest of us have just plain gotta stay put right where we are, \u2018n trust Adam enough t\u2019 let HIM do what he\u2019s gotta.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss is right, Grandpa,\u201d Stacy said very quietly, as she placed the blanket back over Joe, \u201cand besides . . . the three of us are clear up to our necks in hot water already, without . . . one of us charging upstairs after Pa told us all to stay right here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut Dolores is right about time being of the essence,\u201d Joe argued, throwing off the blanket once again.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know, Li\u2019l Brother,\u201d Hoss replied, \u201cbut I also trust Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know Adam very well yet, what with having just met him six weeks ago,\u201d Stacy added, \u201cbut I think I\u2019ve gotten to know him well enough to trust him right now, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the meantime, Ben had risen from the leather upholstered port wine chair next to the fireplace with a sigh and walked over to the fearful, distraught woman, still pacing before the bottom of the stairs.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNow, Dolores . . . . \u201d he began in a calm, placating tone of voice, \u201cAdam\u2019s doing the best— \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure he is, but Teresa . . . that daughter of mine can be more stubborn than all the mules making up a twenty mule train put together,\u201d Dolores sputtered angrily.<\/p>\n

Ben wisely refrained from making an observation about mother and daughter being cut from the same bolt of cloth in that regard.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got a good mind to go up there myself and— \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDolores, that\u2019s not going to help one bit and YOU know it,\u201d Ben said, hoping against hope to forestall a long, heated diatribe, \u201cand you pacing up and down, back and forth, like . . . well, like a caged wild animal isn\u2019t going to hurry things along either.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Now . . . . \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He gently took her hand and tucked it firmly into the crook of his arm.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201c . . . why don\u2019t you come on over here with the rest of us, and— \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t you patronize me, Ben Cartwright!\u201d Dolores exhorted in a lofty, imperious tone of voice, raised a few notches higher in volume than was normal.\u00a0\u00a0 She snatched her hand well away with a dramatic, sweeping gesture, then for a moment, stood, unmoving, favoring Ben with a withering glare that would have sent any one of the servants, she and Eduardo employed back home in Sacramento, scurrying for the nearest cover.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t you DARE patronize me!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDolores, Teresa needs time,\u201d Ben pressed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAll this business of . . . of the ghost of boy many years dead looking for someone to keep him company . . . well, for a woman, very practical and very much down to earth like Teresa, it\u2019s a lot to take in.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c . . . and while SHE\u2019S so busy trying to take it all in, MY<\/strong> grandson lies upstairs DYING!\u201d Dolores declared with a curt nod of her head for emphasis.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBen . . . so help me . . . if she\u2019s up there stonewalling— \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 She immediately turned heel and started up the stairs, with back ramrod straight, and a fierce, angry, determined look on her face.<\/p>\n

She was nearly half way to the middle landing when Ben caught up with her.<\/p>\n

\u201cBen, get OUT of my way!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDolores, please . . . . \u201d Ben pleaded, though he did not move.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am NOT going to let MY grandson die because . . . because my daughter insists on being proud and stiff-necked at a time she should be humble, and down on her knees,\u201d Dolores raged.<\/p>\n

Ben reached out and seized firm hold of her forearm.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIn case you\u2019ve forgotten, Benjy\u2019s MY grandson, too,\u201d he reminded his eldest son\u2019s mother-in-law in a tone of voice harder than steel, \u201cand, perhaps more important . . . he\u2019s TERESA\u2019S SON<\/strong> . . . Teresa\u2019s and Adam\u2019s.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He closed his eyes, and forced himself to count to ten.<\/p>\n

\u201cDolores, I know exactly how you feel,\u201d he continued, \u201cbecause, I\u2019M feeling the same things myself.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 It took nearly every ounce of strength he possessed to speak to her in a calmer, more subdued tone of voice.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m deeply concerned about Benjy, but I\u2019m even more concerned about his parents.\u00a0\u00a0 Right now my son and your daughter are facing the prospect of losing a child.\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019ve had to face that many times with all three of my sons, and with my daughter, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs have I,\u201d Dolores said, her voice colder than ice.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell if you can think back, remember what you felt . . . what you went through all those times, maybe you can summon from within yourself a measure of what that frightened, bewildered, and grief-stricken mother and father upstairs need from us most right now,\u201d Ben replied, unable to quite keep back all of the impatience and anger now rising within him.<\/p>\n

\u201c . . . and what might that be?\u201d she demanded imperiously.<\/p>\n

\u201cCompassion.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBen?\u00a0\u00a0 Mrs. di Cordova?\u201d<\/p>\n

Dolores silently, inwardly groaned.\u00a0\u00a0 It was Father Rutherford.\u00a0\u00a0 She had entirely forgotten he was even there.\u00a0\u00a0 The priest stood at the bottom of the steps with his hand lightly resting on the finial atop the newel post, his face schooled into a mask of stoic calm.\u00a0\u00a0 Shamefaced, she snatched her arm from Ben\u2019s grip.<\/p>\n

\u201c . . . if I might offer a suggestion?\u201d Father Brendan continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, Father,\u201d Dolores murmured softly, unable to quite bring herself to look him straight in the eye.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m listening, Brendan,\u201d Ben said stiffly.<\/p>\n

\u201cMrs. di Cordova, I\u2019ve often found prayer to be of great comfort and assurance, most especially in times, places, and under circumstances when I knew I had nothing to offer, that there was nothing more I could do, as a priest or as a human being,\u201d Father Brendan said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI would be honored if you would consent to join me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d Dolores readily agreed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYes, I would like that very much, Father.\u00a0\u00a0 Thank you.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 She edged her way past Ben, and started back down the stairs.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cYes, Brendan?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCan you suggest a quiet place, free from distractions, where Mrs. di Cordova and I might go?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes . . . the porch out back, overlooking Hop Sing\u2019s garden,\u201d Ben immediately replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s quiet back there . . . VERY quiet, and peaceful.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, Ben,\u201d Father Brendan said quietly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ll let us know when Adam and Teresa are . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d Ben promised.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll let you know.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He waited, allowing Father Brendan and Dolores ample time to traverse through the kitchen and find their way out into the vegetable and herb garden, Hop Sing maintained out back.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHoss . . . Joe . . . Stacy . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Pa?\u201d Hoss responded.\u00a0\u00a0 The other two merely looked up at him, expectant, and waiting.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to go upstairs and look in on your brother and sister-in-law,\u201d he said quietly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI expect the three of ya to remain right there.\u00a0\u00a0 Understood?\u201d<\/p>\n

A soft, barely audible chorus of \u201cyes pa,\u201d followed in response.<\/p>\n

Satisfied, Ben turned and walked resolutely toward the stairs.<\/p>\n

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

Joe waited until Ben had finally reached the top of the stairs and disappeared from view into the hallway beyond.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cStacy . . . Hoss, come on,\u201d he urged, his voice not much above the volume and decibel of a stage whisper.<\/p>\n

\u201cWherever it is you THINK you\u2019re goin\u2019 . . . forget it!\u201d Hoss said.\u00a0\u00a0 He slowly folded his big, well-muscled arms across his chest, and from the high vantage point given him by his height, he favored his younger brother with a menacing glare.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cPa told us to wait right here, and that\u2019s EXACTLY what we\u2019re gonna do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss is right, Grandpa,\u201d Stacy, seated on the coffee table, said morosely.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThe three of us are in more than enough trouble right now as it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease!\u201d Joe begged.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s something we . . . something I\u2019VE gotta do, but I . . . I can\u2019t do it by myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019d better not be thinkin\u2019 \u2018bout another trip to Virginia City,\u201d Hoss warned.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201c \u2018Cause if you are, Li\u2019l Brother, so help me— \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, Hoss . . . behind the barn, inside that circle of trees.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stacy shuddered.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou want to go out to THAT creepy place?!\u201d she demanded, incredulous.<\/p>\n

\u201cStacy . . . Hoss, they\u2019re out there,\u201d Joe pressed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThey are, I KNOW they are.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stacy and Hoss exchanged glances filled with apprehension and dread.<\/p>\n

\u201c . . . uhhhh . . . WHO\u2019S out there, Li\u2019l Brother?\u201d Hoss ventured, not wanting to ask, yet afraid of not asking.<\/p>\n

\u201cBenjy Menken and . . . Benjy Cartwright.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss stared down at his younger brother with mounting dread, fearing that Joe had taken complete leave of his senses.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cJoe, listen to me . . . please,\u201d he begged, \u201cBenjy Cartwright . . . our nephew . . . is upstairs . . . in Adam \u2018n Teresa\u2019s room.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHis BODY is,\u201d Joe argued.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBut his spirit?\u00a0\u00a0 Soul?\u00a0\u00a0 Whatever it is that makes Benjy Cartwright . . .\u00a0 his own man . . . ok, for now BOY . . . that part of Benjy Cartwright is outside with Benjy MENKEN in that circle of trees.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe, that\u2019s crazy talk!\u201d\u00a0 Hoss declared, convinced now that the bump on the head had left his brother permanently unhinged.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo crazier than anything ELSE that\u2019s been going on around here lately,\u201d Stacy hastened to point out.<\/p>\n

Hoss silently mulled the whole matter over, in light of his sister\u2019s words.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYeah,\u201d he said at length.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYeah, you\u2019re right about THAT, Li\u2019l Sister.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGrandpa, how do you know Benjy Cartwright and Benjy Menken are out in that tree circle behind the barn?\u201d Stacy asked as she and Hoss gently helped ease Joe from a sitting to a prone position.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDid you see \u2018em?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom talking to Mrs. Wilkens and Mrs. Dennison, I . . . to be honest, Stace, I don\u2019t know this for absolute certain, but I think Benjy Menken\u2019s body lies buried out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHmmm.\u00a0\u00a0 Maybe that\u2019s why that place has always seemed so creepy.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Stacy shuddered again.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never liked that place, either,\u201d Joe said, \u201cand I\u2019m sure you can\u2019t help BUT notice the way our horses give that place wide berth.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell . . . now that I think about it . . . drowning in hot water\u2019s no better or worse than being scalded by it,\u201d Stacy sighed, resigning herself to the inevitable.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know \u2018bout that,\u201d Hoss countered soberly, \u201cbut, if it means the difference between whether Benjy Cartwright lives or . . . or not . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

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

As Ben drew near to the closed door at the far end of the hallway upstairs, he was surprised to find Dio sitting on the floor, huddled in the dim shadows, just to the right, with her face pressed tight to her knees.\u00a0\u00a0 He quickened his pace slightly, and upon reaching his granddaughter, he knelt down in front of her.<\/p>\n

\u201cDio?\u201d Ben called to her very softly, hoping not to unduly frighten or startle the child.<\/p>\n

Dio gasped.\u00a0\u00a0 She raised her head and for a moment peered up at him through eyelids red and swollen.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cOh,\u201d she finally sighed, relief evident in her voice.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s . . . it\u2019s y-you, Grandpa . . . . \u201d she half sobbed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you doing out here?\u201d Ben asked, as he settled himself on the floor beside the distraught little girl.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m scared,\u201d she replied, in a voice barely audible.<\/p>\n

Ben placed his arm around Dio\u2019s shoulders and drew her close.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s MY fault, Grandpa,\u201d Dio sobbed as she nestled in close to her grandfather.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s all MY fault Benjy\u2019s sick \u2018n he\u2019s . . . he\u2019s . . . h-he\u2019s gonna die . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow who said anything about Benjy dying?\u201d Ben asked, speaking with far more confidence than he felt.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe IS, Grandpa . . . the mean boy said so . . . \u2018n he told me it\u2019s all MY fault \u2018cause I . . . I . . . . \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Dio turned and cast a quick, furtive glance at the closed door to her parents\u2019 room.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cOh, G-Grandpa,\u201d she lowered her voice, to just barely above the volume of the softest whisper.<\/p>\n

Ben leaned over, straining to hear his granddaughter\u2019s next words.<\/p>\n

\u201c . . . it\u2019s all m-my fault \u2018cause I . . . I wished Benjy dead, \u2018cause he\u2019s been so mean!\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben could feel his blood boil within him.\u00a0\u00a0 He knew that children could be cruel, but telling a little girl that she was to blame for her older brother falling ill, and . . . possibly . . . dying . . . in his humble opinion, that went \u2018way above and beyond the pale.\u00a0\u00a0 He silently vowed that should the mean boy his granddaughter had just spoken of turn out to be a living child, rather than the ghost of a boy long dead, he would give that child and both of his parents the tanning of their lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cDio,\u201d he said, in as calm and steady a voice as he could muster, \u201cfirst of all, though we know Benjy\u2019s very sick, we DON\u2019T know that he\u2019s going to die, and second . . . even if he . . . even if he does, heaven forbid! . . . it\u2019s NOT your fault.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, it is, Grandpa,\u201d the child tearfully insisted.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy?\u00a0\u00a0 Because you wished him dead?\u201d<\/p>\n

Dio very solemnly nodded her head.<\/p>\n

\u201cSweetheart, I want you to listen to me . . . and pay very close attention to what I have to tell ya,\u201d Ben begged.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cPromise me you\u2019ll do that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI promise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben closed his eyes and took a deep breath.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou just got through telling me that you\u2019d wished Benjy dead because he was being mean,\u201d he began.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou must\u2019ve been pretty mad at him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah . . . I s\u2019pose I was . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDio, often when people get mad at each other, they say things . . . terrible things, sometimes . . . that they don\u2019t really mean,\u201d Ben tried desperately to explain.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAfter they get over being mad, they feel bad about the things they said.\u00a0\u00a0 Now, I know . . . deep down, I KNOW . . . that you love your brother very much.\u00a0\u00a0 You said what you did because you were mad at him, but I know you didn\u2019t mean it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, yes, I did,\u201d she replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you sorry now that you thought and said those things?\u201d<\/p>\n

Dio nodded.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI t-told that mean boy so, but . . . h-he said \u2018cause I w-wished Benjy dead . . . he\u2019s gonna die, and it doesn\u2019t matter none that I\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis . . . mean boy, whoever he is . . . lied to ya, Sweetheart,\u201d Ben said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWe don\u2019t know why Benjy\u2019s sick . . . where he might\u2019ve caught the germs that\u2019ve made him sick, but I . . . WE . . . do know this.\u00a0\u00a0 Benjy is NOT sick because of something you wished for in the heat of anger.\u00a0\u00a0 Promise me you\u2019ll remember that?\u201d<\/p>\n

Dio wiped her eyes against the heel of her hand.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll try, Grandpa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Ben rose to his feet, then turned and offered the girl his hand.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNow why don\u2019t the two of us go look in on your mother, father, and brother?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOk, Grandpa,\u201d she agreed, as she also rose to her feet and slipped her tiny hand into Ben\u2019s much larger one, \u201cbut the mean boy won\u2019t like it.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 She edged closer to her grandfather, and cast a quick, furtive over her shoulder.<\/p>\n

\u201cDio, right now, you need to be with your family . . . and they need you there, too,\u201d Ben said, \u201cand if the mean boy doesn\u2019t like it . . . that\u2019s his tough luck.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cBenjy?\u00a0\u00a0 Benjy Menken?\u00a0\u00a0 I want to talk to you,\u201d Joe called out in a firm, clear voice as he limped into the circle of tall, ancient ponderosa pine trees out behind the Cartwrights\u2019 barn.\u00a0\u00a0 Hoss followed close at his heels, with Stacy slowly, reluctantly bringing up the rear.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI KNOW you\u2019re out here.\u201d<\/p>\n

The gentle breeze, wafting through the pine branches scant seconds ago, suddenly stilled.\u00a0\u00a0 An uneasy, all pervading silence descended upon them all.\u00a0\u00a0 Joe, Hoss, and Stacy instinctively moved in closer to one another.<\/p>\n

He turned at the sound of his name, his whole name first and last, in shock and astonishment.\u00a0\u00a0 It was the little one, the one from before, who treated him badly, worse than his own pa had treated him.\u00a0\u00a0 He had yelled at him, told him to go away.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s Uncle Joe,\u201d his new friend and playmate said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cUncle Joe, Uncle Hoss, and Aunt Stacy.\u00a0\u00a0 I wonder what they\u2019re doing here?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cGo away,\u201d the other Benjy said, his anger rising.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cGo away and leave us alone.\u00a0\u00a0 We don\u2019t want you here.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m NOT going to go away, Benjy Menken,\u201d Joe said, as he moved in toward the center of the circle.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNot this time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t want you here.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cBenjy Menken may not want me here, but what about Benjy CARTWRIGHT?\u201d\u00a0 Joe demanded.<\/p>\n

\u201cI TOLD you to GO <\/em>AWAY!\u201d<\/em><\/strong>the other Benjy said, his rising anger fueled now by fear.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t want you here!\u00a0\u00a0 I HATE you.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cBenjy . . . Benjy Menken, I\u2019m sorry,\u201d Joe said, as a chill shot down the entire length of his spine.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry you . . . that you had to die so young . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

Benjy Cartwright looked over at his friend through eyes round with alarm.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cY-you\u2019re DEAD, Benjy?\u201d he asked.<\/em><\/p>\n

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

\u201cUncle Joe just said you were.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s LYING.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Benjy Cartwright resolutely shook his head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cUncle Joe wouldn\u2019t lie to me.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cHe is so too lying.\u00a0\u00a0 Don\u2019t listen to him.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201c . . . I\u2019m also sorry you\u2019ve been so terribly lonely for all these years,\u201d Joe continued, \u201cand for my not understanding when you made your presence known before.\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s not fair that you had to die so young, before having had the chance to know very much of life . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSHUT-UP!\u201d\u00a0 Benjy Menken yelled.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSHUT-UP, DO YOU HEAR ME?\u00a0\u00a0 SHUT-UP!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cBenjy, I . . . I don\u2019t want to die,\u201d Benjy Cartwright said, staring over at his friend through eyes round with terror.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cDON\u2019T LISTEN TO HIM,\u201d the other Benjy rounded on his companion giving full vent to the rage, the frustration, and the fear within him.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHE\u2019S LYING!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Suddenly, a strong, powerful wind began to blow within the circle of pine trees, a chill wind, steadily rising in volume and intensity.<\/p>\n

\u201cIT\u2019S ALSO<\/strong> NOT FAIR TO TAKE BENJY CARTWRIGHT BEFORE HIS TIME,\u201d Joe shouted that he might be heard above the roar of the wind.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDO YOU HEAR ME, BENJY MENKEN?!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSHUT-UP, SHUT-UP, SHUT-UP!<\/em><\/strong> \u201d<\/strong> Benjy Menken shouted, trying to drown out Joe\u2019s words and the truth that lay within them.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201c<\/strong><\/em>SHUT-UP AND GO AWAY!\u00a0\u00a0 WE HATE YOU!\u00a0\u00a0 WE HATE YOUR LOUSY, ROTTEN, STINKIN\u2019 GUTS!\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cBENJY CARTWRIGHT, I KNOW YOU\u2019RE<\/strong> HERE AND I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME,\u201d Joe continued.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBENJY, PLEASE . . . DON\u2019T GO WITH HIM.\u00a0\u00a0 NOT LIKE THIS!\u00a0\u00a0 IT\u2019S NOT YOUR TIME.\u00a0\u00a0 DO YOU HEAR ME?\u00a0\u00a0 IT\u2019S NOT <\/strong>YOUR TIME!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDON\u2019T LISTEN TO HIM!\u201d\u00a0 Benjy Menken yelled.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDON\u2019T LISTEN TO HIM.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cBut . . . I don\u2019t WANT to die.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Benjy Menken, his face contorted with a mixture of rage and fear balled his fist and punched Joe in the stomach hard, with all his might.<\/em><\/p>\n

Joe groaned and dropped to his hands and knees, gasping for breath.\u00a0\u00a0 Stacy was at her brother\u2019s side within less than a heartbeat, watching in horror as another bruise appeared on his cheek and red welts, forming the rough horseshoe shape of human teeth suddenly appeared in his hand.\u00a0\u00a0 She gathered him in her arms and held him close, trying to shield his body with her own as much as possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cBENJY MENKEN, YOU COWARDLY ****!!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 That last word was one of the more vile Paiute obscenities.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cLEAVE MY BROTHER ALONE!\u00a0\u00a0 YOU HEAR ME?\u201d she shouted, her face darkening with anger.\u00a0\u00a0 A hard punch to her stomach drove the wind from her own lungs.\u00a0\u00a0 Gasping for breath, she edged closer to Joe, trying desperately to shield him with her own body.\u00a0\u00a0 A rain of rock hard, angry, invisible fists pummeled her back and shoulders.<\/p>\n

Hoss, upon hearing Stacy cry out, immediately rushed over toward his brother and sister.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cALRIGHT, BENJY MENKEN, YOU LISTEN T\u2019 ME \u2018N YOU LISTEN REAL GOOD!\u201d\u00a0 he shouted as he dragged his stricken brother and sister into the protective circle of his own massive, strong arms.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019M SORRY FOR YA . . . I AM!\u00a0\u00a0 BUT Y\u2019 GOT NO RIGHT T\u2019 TAKE BENJY CARTWRIGHT . . . \u2018N YA GOT NO RIGHT T\u2019 HURT MY BROTHER \u2018N SISTER.\u201d<\/p>\n

The response to Hoss\u2019 words was a hard punch in the eye, with sufficient force to knock him off his feet.\u00a0\u00a0 He fell to the ground hard, landing on his backside, taking Joe and Stacy over with him.<\/p>\n

\u201cBenjy, no!\u00a0\u00a0 Stop it!\u00a0 You hear me?\u00a0\u00a0 Stop it!\u201d\u00a0 Benjy Cartwright begged.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cLeave them alone!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI HATE them!\u00a0\u00a0 I hate them ALL!\u201d the other Benjy sobbed.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cBecause I do.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWHY?!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cBECAUSE,\u201d Benjy Menken shouted.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cJUST BECAUSE.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cBenjy Menken, beatin\u2019 up on my brother, my sister, \u2018n me ain\u2019t gonna change things,\u201d Hoss pressed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou hear me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNO!\u201d<\/strong> \u00a0\u00a0Benjy Menken clapped his hands tight over his ears.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201c . . . \u2018cause you\u2019re still gonna be dead, \u2018n Benjy CARTWRIGHT\u2019S gonna be alive.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNO!<\/em> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Benjy Cartwright\u2019s gonna stay here with me.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNO!\u201d\u00a0 Benjy Cartwright shouted.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNOT IF I HAVE TO DIE!\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I DON\u2019T WANT TO STAY WITH YOU, IF I HAVE TO DIE, TOO.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cYou better,\u201d Benjy Menken turned on Benjy Cartwright.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou better stay with me, or else.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cOr else WHAT?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cOr else THEY\u2019LL die.\u00a0\u00a0 All of \u2018em!\u00a0\u00a0 Your two uncles, your aunt, your ma and pa, your grandma and grandpa, the Chinese man, even your sister.\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019ll kill them all, if you don\u2019t stay with me.\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019ll kill \u2018em all!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Benjy Cartwright stared over at the other Benjy Menken, horrified.<\/em><\/p>\n

A smug, triumphant smile spread slowly across the other Benjy\u2019s face.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI can do it, too,\u201d he continued.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t think I can\u2019t.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cBenjy, that\u2019s ENOUGH.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss and Stacy turned.\u00a0\u00a0 There, standing behind them at the edge of the pine tree circle, stood an old woman.\u00a0\u00a0 She strode into the circle of trees, moving at a brisk pace, her posture straight and tall.<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss . . . Joe . . . who\u2019s THAT?\u201d\u00a0 Stacy queried with a bewildered frown.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s Mrs. Smith,\u201d Hoss replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cShe\u2019s spent a whole lotta years keepin\u2019 house at the convent . . . helpin\u2019 the nuns with their hospital, \u2018n all . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought Molly and Susannah told me she was sick . . . very sick,\u201d Stacy said.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s gotten better . . . obviously,\u201d Joe said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cShe rode out in the buggy with Father Brendan, Mrs. di Cordova, and me . . . then disappeared.\u00a0\u00a0 I was wondering where she\u2019d gotten herself off to . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

Lee Smith passed Hoss, Joe, and Stacy, without sparing so much as a glance, or a nod of her head to acknowledge their presence.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 She strode resolutely toward the center of the circle.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBenjy, did you hear me?\u00a0\u00a0 I SAID that\u2019s enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Chapter 17<\/p>\n

Benjy stared up at the woman through eyes round with complete and utter astonishment.\u00a0\u00a0 She had red hair when he saw her last, and the lines and planes of her face, though weary, had always been set so firmly with the fierce, stubborn pride that had lent her strength enough to do anything.\u00a0\u00a0 Absolutely anything.\u00a0\u00a0 Now the fierceness, the pride was gone, replaced by a profound sadness that permeated her entire being.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cBenjy,\u201d the woman addressed Benjy Menken in a far kindlier tone.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s time to go.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Benjy Menken drew back in terror.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t belong here anymore.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNo!\u00a0\u00a0 I don\u2019t WANT to go.\u00a0\u00a0 I want to stay here.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cBecause I want to.\u201d \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWHY do you want to?\u201d Lee demanded. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

The deep, aching sadness in her voice made Benjy Menken feel like crying himself.\u00a0 \u201cI . . . . I have a friend to play with now,\u201d he said.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cBenjy, I told you.\u00a0\u00a0 I don\u2019t want to die,\u201d Benjy Cartwright reiterated his wishes. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI thought you were my friend,\u201d Benjy Menken pouted.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI am.\u00a0\u00a0 I WANT to stay and play with you, but not if I have to die.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI hate you, Benjy Cartwright.\u00a0\u00a0 I hate you, I hate you, I HATE you.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Benjy Cartwright winced upon hearing the other Benjy\u2019s voice catch on the last \u2018HATE,\u2019 uttered with such vehemence.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry you died, Benjy,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt wasn\u2019t fair you had to die when you were just a kid.\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019m sorry because of all the years you\u2019ve been here by yourself . . . because no one could see you or hear you.\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019m . . . I\u2019m also sorry they had to go away and . . . and j-just leave you here.\u00a0\u00a0 But, I still don\u2019t want to die, and it\u2019s not fair for you to make me.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cYour friend needs to go back, Benjy,\u201d Lee said firmly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHe needs to go back to his family, his friends, his whole life.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about ME?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cYour brother and sisters are waiting.\u00a0\u00a0 I will be there, too.\u00a0\u00a0 You will never, ever be lonely . . . not ever again.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t wanna go.\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019m afraid.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s nothing to be afraid of.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Lee smiled and held out her hand.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWe can go together, Benjy.\u00a0\u00a0 You and me.\u00a0\u00a0 You take my hand and hold on real tight, and we\u2019ll go together.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cPromise?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI promise.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cP-Promise you . . . you won\u2019t let go?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI promise.\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019ll be holding on to your hand very tight, Benjy.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Benjy Menken took the woman\u2019s hand in both of his and clung as if for dear life.\u00a0\u00a0 She smiled and slipped her arm about his shoulders and drew him close.\u00a0\u00a0 With an agonized, heart wrenching cry, he buried his face against her chest and held on for a very, long time.<\/em><\/p>\n

Stacy saw them, through the eyes of mind and heart.\u00a0\u00a0 The barefoot boy, with brown curly hair, clad now in a pair of overalls, <\/em>clung desperately to the white haired woman.\u00a0\u00a0 She embraced him fiercely in return, bending her head toward his, finally resting her face upon the crown of his head.\u00a0\u00a0 Stacy remembered then, the day they laid her mother, Paris McKenna, to her final rest not so terribly long ago.\u00a0\u00a0 She had not only lost her mother, but came very close to losing her father as well.\u00a0\u00a0 Not to death of the body, but to the guilt that overwhelmed him.<\/p>\n

Her own eyes burned with tears, remembering how she and Pa had held onto one another in the woods surrounding the lake near the place Paris McKenna was buried, with the same fierce desperation she saw Benjy Menken and the woman, her brothers had identified as Lee Smith, now holding onto one another.<\/p>\n

Joe watched, with tears streaming down his own face, as the woman pressed her lips against the top of Benjy\u2019s head.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m here, Benjy.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Joe heard the woman\u2019s words very clearly, very succinctly, as if they had been spoken aloud.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m here, Benjy.\u00a0\u00a0 I will always be here.\u00a0\u00a0 I will never, ever leave you again.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The woman\u2019s words, spoken clearly in a very gentle, very sad voice, reminded Joe of another night, and of another little boy with brown, curly hair, and \u201ceyes that can change color,\u201d to quote Mrs. Wilkens.\u00a0\u00a0 That little boy\u2019s mother had died seven going on eight months ago.<\/p>\n

Less than a month after she had been laid to her final rest, Pa was gone, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy, Adam?\u00a0\u00a0 Why did Pa leave us?\u00a0\u00a0 Don\u2019t he love us no more?\u201d he demanded that terrible morning he woke up and found that Pa had left on what, from all appearances, promised to be a very long trip. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cOf course he loves us, Little Buddy,\u201d Adam stoutly declared.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBut, Pa needs some time alone right now to . . . to . . . . \u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Adam frowned, trying, no doubt, to find the words to form an explanation for their father\u2019s abrupt departure in the middle of the night, that his five-year-old brother could understand.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cPapa need time by himself,\u201d Hop Sing said very quietly.\u00a0\u00a0 Neither he nor Adam had any idea the Chinese man was there, standing in the shadows, listening.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cPapa need time, get over being so terrible sad.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The look on Adam\u2019s face was one Joe now recognized as being full of deep, profound relief, and gratitude.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen\u2019s Pa gonna come back?\u201d Joe tearfully asked, looking from Adam to Hop Sing, then back again to Adam.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know, Buddy,\u201d Adam replied, \u201cbut he WILL be back.\u00a0\u00a0 That I promise you.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

He remembered that Pa had communicated with them regularly the first couple of months he was away, by wire mostly, and the occasional letter.<\/p>\n

Then, nothing.<\/p>\n

Adam had written a letter and mailed it to the last known address Pa had been living.\u00a0\u00a0 The envelope came back, unopened, with \u201creturn to sender\u201d stamped boldly over the address.\u00a0\u00a0 His oldest brother had also dispatched wires to a few people his father knew.\u00a0\u00a0 Only one had the courtesy to respond.\u00a0\u00a0 Short and to the point, it read, \u201cBen Cartwright gone.\u00a0\u00a0 Left no forwarding address.\u00a0\u00a0 Sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Joe\u2019s sixth birthday approached, Pa had been gone nearly eight months, and despite Adam and Hop Sing\u2019s declarations to the contrary, he had begun to doubt that his father would ever return home again.\u00a0\u00a0 He remembered going to bed early the night before his birthday, and waking up from one of the worst nightmares ever.<\/p>\n

But, it wasn\u2019t Adam or Hop Sing who came to him that night . . . .<\/p>\n

It was Pa, filled with remorse and deep regret, with tears streaming freely down his cheeks.\u00a0\u00a0 Joe stiffened and tried to pull away when Pa reached out to gather him in his arms.<\/em><\/p>\n

But Pa held fast.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry, Little Joe,\u201d Pa sobbed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI . . . know I hurt you . . . and your brothers by . . . by leaving the way I did.\u00a0\u00a0 If you c-can\u2019t forgive me now, I . . . I understand, but I want you to know I . . . that I\u2019m here now.\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019m here NOW, Son, I\u2019m here now . . . . \u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The next thing Joe knew, his tiny arms were wrapped tight about his father\u2019s waist, clinging for dear life, as Benjy Menken now clung to Mrs. Smith.<\/p>\n

Finally, after what had seemed an eternity, yet was merely the passage of but a few seconds, Benjy Menken and the white haired woman separated.\u00a0\u00a0 The latter, still clinging to the former\u2019s hand, turned toward Benjy Cartwright.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d he said contritely.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry for everything.\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019m glad we could be friends for a little while.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cMe, too.\u00a0\u00a0 Good-bye, Benjy . . . . \u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

A strange vision played itself out within Hoss\u2019 mind.\u00a0\u00a0 He saw the woman take the hand of a frightened, lonely young boy, barefoot, dressed in overalls, with no shirt.\u00a0\u00a0 His hair was brown and curly, so very much like his younger brother\u2019s.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Together, hand-in-hand, woman and boy walked toward the center of the circle, toward a brilliant ball of silver-white light.\u00a0\u00a0 As they drew near, the light seemed to grow and expand, surrounding them, as a mother or father wraps their arms around their newborn baby.\u00a0\u00a0 Lee Smith and Benjy Menken slowly merged with the light, until finally, they and the light disappeared.<\/p>\n

Unable to move, barely daring even to breathe, Hoss remained, kneeling on the ground, with his arms wrapped tight around his younger siblings and eyes riveted to the spot where the ball of light stood in the center of the circle.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHoooo-wheee!\u201d he murmured softly, reverently, when at long last, he had recovered his voice.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThat was some dream.\u201d<\/p>\n

His words drew a look of surprise from his sister.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cY-You m-mean . . . you saw it, too?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cToo?\u201d<\/p>\n

Stacy nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I saw it, too, Li\u2019l Sister,\u201d `<\/p>\n

\u201cS-So did I,\u201d Joe groaned in a voice, barely audible.<\/p>\n

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

Upstairs, Benjy Cartwright opened one eye, winced, then squeezed it shut for a moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cMa?\u00a0\u00a0 Pa?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 It was Dio.\u00a0\u00a0 Her voice sounded choked somehow, as if she had been crying.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is it, Dio?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s Benjy, Pa.\u00a0\u00a0 I thought I saw him move.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBenjy?\u201d<\/p>\n

Upon hearing the sound of his mother\u2019s voice, he turned and slitted his eyes open.\u00a0\u00a0 He knew from the angry red cheeks, the swollen eyes lids and upper lip, and the redness under her eyes, that she had been crying.<\/p>\n

\u201cBenjy!?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Teresa called to him again, her voice filled with great trepidation edged by a small measure of hope.<\/p>\n

\u201cM-Mother?\u201d Benjy responded, surprised and frightened at how weak and hoarse his voice sounded in his ears.<\/p>\n

Teresa immediately gathered her son in her arms and hugged him tight, as tears streamed freely, in great profusion, down her cheeks.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cOh, Benjy, Benjy, thank God!\u201d she sobbed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThank God.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWelcome back, Buddy,\u201d Adam said, his own voice breaking.\u00a0\u00a0 He gathered his wife and son together with one arm and held out the other to his young daughter.\u00a0\u00a0 With a heart-wrenching sob, Dio threw herself into her father\u2019s embrace.<\/p>\n

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

Ben wiped the tears from his own cheeks on the sleeve of his shirt, then rose, and crossed the room to the open door.\u00a0 \u00a0As he stepped over the threshold between bedroom and hallway, he noiselessly closed the door behind him, leaving his oldest son alone with his wife and children.<\/p>\n

A few moments later, he stepped out through the back door, onto the small porch overlooking Hop Sing\u2019s vegetable and herb garden, and found Father Brendan Rutherford and Dolores di Cordova seated on the old bench set up against the house.<\/p>\n

Dolores immediately shot right to her feet the instant she heard Ben\u2019s footfalls on the porch.\u00a0\u00a0 Father Brendan turned and glanced up.\u00a0\u00a0 Dolores\u2019 pale, weary tear stained face filled with dread apprehension presented a stark contrast to the near serene expectancy mirrored in the priest\u2019s eyes and face.<\/p>\n

\u201cBenjy\u2019s awake,\u201d Ben said favoring his eldest son\u2019s mother-in-law and old friend with a weary smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh thank God,\u201d Dolores murmured, vastly relieved and with deep, heartfelt gratitude.\u00a0\u00a0 She started toward the kitchen door, moving at a surprisingly brisk pace, given a woman of her years.<\/p>\n

Ben immediately moved toward her on an intercept course.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNot yet, Dolores,\u201d he said quietly, placing restraining hands on both of her shoulders.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the time being, I think they need to be together . . . by themselves . . . as a family.\u00a0\u00a0 You and I can go up and look in on Benjy later.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dolores nodded.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAll right, Ben,\u201d she acquiesced reluctant, but seeing the wisdom in her host\u2019s words.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIn the meantime, I\u2019d like to go upstairs to my room and perhaps rest awhile?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course,\u201d Ben replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am pleased to have met you, Mrs. di Cordova, though I would have preferred better circumstances,\u201d Father Brendan said with a smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cAgreed, Father,\u201d Dolores said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI hope we meet again soon.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m scheduled to celebrate The Mass every Wednesday morning for the next month or so,\u201d the priest said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou are more than welcome.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you,\u201d Dolores replied, before taking her leave.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, Ben, it looks like you didn\u2019t need my help after all,\u201d Father Brendan said with a smile, after Dolores had gone back into the house, closing the door behind her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a firm believer in the importance and the power of prayer, Brendan,\u201d Ben said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBy inviting her to pray with you . . . that gave her something special to do, that served in keeping her well away from what was happening upstairs.\u00a0\u00a0 After that set-to she and Teresa had earlier . . . . \u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He shuddered.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen, I\u2019m glad I COULD be of service.\u00a0\u00a0 Unless you need me for anything else, I\u2019d better find Mrs. Smith, and head on back to town.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere IS one more thing you can do for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t be such a stranger,\u201d Ben said with a warm smile.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s been awhile.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re right.\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s been too long,\u201d the priest agreed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMaybe you could have me over for supper some night after all your company has left.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll do that,\u201d Ben promised.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cCome on, Brendan, I\u2019ll walk you out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Upon reaching the front door, Ben opened it and was astonished to find his three younger children standing on the doorstep.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWait a minute!\u00a0\u00a0 What are you three doing HERE?\u201d he demanded, suddenly remembering.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI thought I told you to\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n

His words, his entire train of thought, was rudely severed as Joe and Stacy moved forward and embraced him fiercely.\u00a0\u00a0 Ben, though utterly dumbfounded, placed his own arms around them and held them close.\u00a0\u00a0 He was even more surprised to feel the moistness of tears still on the cheeks of the son and daughter who filled the circle of his arms.<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss . . . . ?!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 As he glanced up at the biggest and most gentle of his offspring, Ben was astonished to see HIS blue eyes shining with the brightness of tears, yet unshed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWh-What\u2019s . . . what\u2019s wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAin\u2019t n-nothin\u2019 WRONG, Pa,\u201d Hoss said, his voice breaking.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cEverything\u2019s . . . everything\u2019s right now . . . everything\u2019s all right.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cB-Benjy Menken\u2019s . . . gone,\u201d Joe sobbed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s . . . finally at peace.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c . . . and . . . OUR Benjy\u2019s gonna be ok,\u201d Stacy said, keeping one arm firmly about her father\u2019s waist, and wiping her eyes with the heel of her other hand.<\/p>\n

Ben took note of his daughter\u2019s bruised and swollen right cheek, and the ragged bite on Joe\u2019s hand with dismay.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhat . . . what HAPPENED to the both of ya?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cL-Long story, Pa,\u201d Joe replied, wiping the last of his tears from his eyes and cheeks on his sleeve.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cCan we tell you later?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI s\u2019pose . . . . \u201d Ben murmured softly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNow . . . wait a minute . . . where\u2019d Hoss go?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got company comin\u2019, Pa,\u201d Joe replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHoss went to see who.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMore?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cBe that as it may,\u201d Ben sighed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIn the meantime, Young Fella . . . YOU are going back to bed where ya belong.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAww, Pa . . . . \u201d Joe groaned.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t you \u2018aww, Pa\u2019 ME, Joseph Francis,\u201d Ben said sternly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve got a real good mind to tell Doctor Martin about your trip into town earlier . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

Joe blanched.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cY-You wouldn\u2019t!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTry me!\u201d Ben challenged.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAs for YOU, Young Woman,\u201d he continued, turning his attention to Stacy.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou and your brother . . . your BIG brother that is, get to do Joe\u2019s chores while he\u2019s recovering as consequence for your part in allowing him to, in your words, \u2018ride off half cocked.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Pa,\u201d Stacy replied, grateful that he hadn\u2019t decided to haul the three of them out to the barn for a round of hard lessons from Pa Cartwright\u2019s Board of Education applied to the Cartwright offspring\u2019s tender seats of learning.<\/p>\n

\u201c . . . and you can wipe that smug grin off your face, Young Man,\u201d Ben turned and admonished his youngest son, as he, with the help of his daughter, dragged him over the threshold into the house.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201c \u2018Cause after YOU\u2019RE fully recovered, you\u2019re gonna be doing Hoss\u2019 and Stacy\u2019s chores, until I say otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Sir,\u201d Joe gulped nervously, the smug, cat-that-ate-the-canary grin instantly evaporating.<\/p>\n

Hoss, in the meantime, held Brother Algernon\u2019s horse, while the portly monk dismounted, breathless and saddle sore from his long, hard ride from town.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, Hoss,\u201d Brother Algernon gasped, the instant both feet touched terra firma.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cFather Brendan . . . is he . . . is he still here?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m right here, Brother Algernon,\u201d the priest announced himself, as he crossed the small patch of yard lying between the front porch of the house and the hitching post near the trough.\u00a0\u00a0 The sight of the monk\u2019s red face and lathered horse brought an anxious frown to his face.<\/p>\n

\u201cMother Catherine sent me after you,\u201d Brother Algernon said, coming right to the point of his visit.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s Mrs. Smith.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know,\u201d Father Brendan said quietly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cShe\u2019s . . . well, I can\u2019t in all honesty say she\u2019s made a full, complete recovery once again, but she seems to have survived the worst well enough to have accompanied Joe, Mrs. di Cordova, and myself out here.\u201d<\/p>\n

His words drew a look of shocked astonishment from Brother Algernon.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cF-Father, I . . . I don\u2019t know who . . . or what r-rode out here with you . . . but I know it wasn\u2019t Mrs. Smith.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He paused briefly to try and collect some small measure of his wits.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cFather, Lee Smith died this afternoon . . . shortly before you left.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Epilogue<\/p>\n

Three days later, Ben Cartwright and his three younger children, Hoss, Joe, and Stacy, gathered at the Virginia City Cemetery with Georgianna Wilkens, Jenna Lee Dennison, and Father Brendan Rutherford.\u00a0\u00a0 Joe stood between his father and sister, with his biggest brother standing directly behind.\u00a0\u00a0 Though his wounds had begun to heal, and his bruises fade, he still experienced occasional bouts of lightheadedness.\u00a0\u00a0 He was grateful beyond words for his father\u2019s arm draped protectively across his shoulders, his sister\u2019s wrapped securely about his waist, and for the massive, granite like presence of his big brother standing behind him.\u00a0\u00a0 Georgianna Wilkens and Jenna Lee Dennison stood together on the other side of Ben.<\/p>\n

Before them lay seven graves, newly opened, the smell of fresh turned earth still scenting the air. \u00a0\u00a0Seven coffins, ranging in size from adult to not larger than an infant or perhaps a toddler rested on the ground to the right of each newly opened grave.\u00a0\u00a0 Father Brendan silently moved among the simple, pine box coffins, solemnly sprinkling each with holy water and blessing them with the sign of the cross.\u00a0\u00a0 He then stepped behind the head of the largest coffin and opened the missal in his hands, as he turned to face the small gathering clustered together at the feet of all seven coffins.<\/p>\n

\u201cRequiem aeternam dona ei, Domine,\u201d the priest reverently, with sadness, intoned the final words of the Mass for the Dead, \u201cet lux perpetua luceat ei.\u00a0\u00a0 Requiescat in pace.\u00a0\u00a0 Amen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAmen,\u201d the six gathered to mourn murmured very softly.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnima ejus, et animae omnium fidelium defunctorum, per miseric ordiam Dei requiescant in pace.\u00a0\u00a0 Amen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAmen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGrant unto them eternal rest, O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon them,\u201d Father Brendan ably translated the Latin into English.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMay they rest in peace.\u00a0\u00a0 May their souls, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.\u00a0\u00a0 Amen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAmen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Father Brendan nodded to the gravedigger, standing with shovel in hand a discreet distance from the mourners.\u00a0\u00a0 The gravedigger nodded back the priest, then moved forward toward the seven coffins resting on the ground next to the opened graves.<\/p>\n

\u201cFather, you did a wonderful job, as always,\u201d Georgianna said with heartfelt sincerity, as she and Jenna Lee, in turn, shook the priest\u2019s hand.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThat poor woman!\u00a0\u00a0 All these years . . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just glad them poor children finally got a decent burial,\u201d Jenna Lee declared with a dark angry scowl.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmen to THAT!\u201d\u00a0 Georgianna voiced her wholehearted agreement.<\/p>\n

\u201cWould you folks like to return to the rectory with me and share a bottle of brandy?\u201d Father Brendan asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d love to, Father, but I\u2019m afraid Jenna Lee and I must decline,\u201d Geogianna said with much reluctance.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI thank you very much for the invitation.\u00a0\u00a0 Perhaps another time?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can count on it, Mrs. Wilkens . . . and you, too, Mrs. Dennison,\u201d Father Brendan promised, before turning his attention to the Cartwrights.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBen?\u00a0\u00a0 How about you, Hoss, Joe, and Stacy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry, Brendan.\u00a0\u00a0 Thank you for inviting us, but we need to be getting back home ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFather Brendan?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Hoss?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow lemme make sure I have all this straight.\u00a0\u00a0 Mrs. Smith . . . the rectory housekeeper . . . was really Mrs. MENKEN?!\u201d<\/p>\n

Father Brendan nodded.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAfter Benjy died, the Menkens sold their farm to your pa, and left,\u201d he explained.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThey didn\u2019t get very far, however.\u00a0\u00a0 Their wagon went off the road just above Montpelier Gorge.\u00a0\u00a0 The two women, the elder and the younger Mrs. Menken were found by Mother Anne Catherine . . . at the time she was the mother superior at the convent . . . on a return trip from visiting her sister in San Francisco.\u00a0\u00a0 They were lying at the bottom of the gorge, amid what remained of their wagon and meager possessions.\u00a0\u00a0 The elder Mrs. Menken was dead, and the younger, Mrs. Leah Menken, was ALMOST dead.\u00a0\u00a0 Mother Anne, fortunately, had many, many years of nursing experience.\u00a0\u00a0 She and the other nuns at the convent cared for the younger Mrs. Menken and nursed her back to health.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happened to the Menken MEN?\u201d Stacy queried.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat . . . no one knows, Stacy, not for sure,\u201d Father Brendan replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMother Anne told us that both of the horses were gone and the men nowhere in sight.\u00a0\u00a0 By all appearances, they had gone away, leaving their wives for dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey didn\u2019t even stop to make sure?!\u201d Stacy exclaimed, incredulous.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs much as it pains me to say this, not stopping would have been in keeping with their character,\u201d Father Brendan said with a sigh.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThe Menken men, to put it very diplomatically, were very much wrapped up in themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTHAT being the case, Mrs. Smith . . . I mean Mrs. Menken was well RID of \u2018em,\u201d Joe declared, his face darkening with anger.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry she had to loose her children and everything else.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFather Brendan, why did Mrs. Menken change her name to Smith?\u201d Hoss asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe feared what people would think,\u201d Father Brendan replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAs her children died, one by one, a lot of ignorant people swore up and down that the poor woman was cursed.\u00a0\u00a0 Others went so far as to suggest that she may have been directly responsible for their deaths.\u00a0\u00a0 Since the experience of watching helplessly as her children died one by one had turned her hair snow white, no one recognized her as being Mrs. Menken.\u00a0\u00a0 The only ones who knew were myself, Mother Anne, may God rest HER soul, Mother Catherine, and a handful of the older sisters who were here at the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know you, Mother Anne, Mother Catherine, and the sisters at the convent, gave her a good life with you,\u201d Ben said quietly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cShe was able to live out her days peacefully, looking after the people who had cared for her with love.\u00a0 No one could have given her a finer gift, Brendan.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, Ben.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 The priest smiled.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNow, I like to think that she\u2019s in Heaven, reunited with her children.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe IS, Father Brendan,\u201d Joe said with a knowing smile.\u00a0\u00a0 Hoss and Stacy nodded in agreement.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cYes, Brendan?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was very generous of you to pay the funeral expenses for having Mrs. Menken and her children interred here . . . properly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy regret is that I . . . well, that I didn\u2019t do something to help Mrs. Menken with her children\u2019s funeral expenses back then,\u201d Ben said ruefully.<\/p>\n

\u201cHad you offered, she almost certainly would have turned you down.\u00a0\u00a0 That woman had an enormous amount of pride, Lord love her,\u201d Father Brendan said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cJust asking you to help her bury the children had to be excruciatingly humbling in and of itself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo THAT\u2019S how you knew where the Menken children were buried,\u201d Joe said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cJenna Lee told us you\u2019d know, if anyone did.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt didn\u2019t surprise ME any to find out that the area inside those trees was actually a cemetery,\u201d Stacy said with a shudder.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve always thought that spot to be kinda creepy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell it\u2019s not anymore,\u201d Joe said reassuringly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt feels a lot different, more peaceful, somehow.\u00a0\u00a0 I went out there this morning for a little while, before breakfast.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a novelty, Son . . . YOU rising BEFORE breakfast,\u201d Ben teased good-naturedly.<\/p>\n

\u201cFunny, Pa,\u201d Joe retorted with a broad grin.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI even took Cochise into the circle, and he came right along, without the slightest hesitation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoseph, I thought Doctor Martin told you\u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t RIDE Cochise, Pa,\u201d Joe said very quickly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI didn\u2019t even saddle him.\u00a0\u00a0 I just slipped on his bridle and led him into that tree circle.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right, Young Man,\u201d Ben said severely, \u201cbut until Doc Martin gives the ok, I don\u2019t want you anywhere NEAR the tack room.\u00a0\u00a0 You understand me?\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cI\u2019m sorry Adam wasn\u2019t able to join us,\u201d Father Brendan said as he and the Cartwrights reached the cemetery gate.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIs Benjy . . . . ?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s still a little weak yet, but his recovery\u2019s been nothing short of miraculous,\u201d Ben replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAdam and Teresa took the kids and a great big picnic basket down to the lake this morning, with Paul Martin\u2019s blessing.\u00a0\u00a0 It seems you gave Adam a lot of food for thought the day he and Mrs. di Cordova came to see you.\u00a0\u00a0 He and Teresa told me that the four of \u2018em need time together . . . as a family . . . to talk about and work through some of the things that came up during his conversation with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know they\u2019re going to be all right, Ben,\u201d Father Brendan said with confidence.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAdam, after all, learned about being a father from one of the best, if not THE best.\u00a0\u00a0 As for Teresa . . . I have a feeling SHE learned from one of the best, too, her mother\u2019s histrionics not withstanding.\u00a0\u00a0 Please tell them I wish them all the best?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI will, Brendan,\u201d Ben promised.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The End<\/p>\n

March 2003<\/p>\n

1st Revision November 2007<\/p>\n

2nd Revision August 2008<\/p>\n

Next Story in the Bloodlines Series:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Independence Day<\/a>
\nVirginia City Detour<\/a>
\nThe Guardian<\/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

 <\/p>\n

Notes:<\/p>\n

[i] \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A bit of a historical note . . . .<\/p>\n

Cream cheese was invented by American dairymen trying to recreate the French cheese, Neufchatel, in 1872.\u00a0\u00a0 Cream cheese was first marketed under the brand name Philadelphia Brand Cream Cheese in 1880.\u00a0\u00a0 In 1912, James L. Kraft invented pasteurized cheese.\u00a0\u00a0 This led to the development of the pasteurized Philadelphia cream cheese, which has become the most popular ingredient used in making cheesecake today.\u00a0\u00a0 The Kraft Cheese Company purchased the Phenix Cheese Company, the original manufacturers of the Philadelphia Brand Cream Cheese, in 1928.<\/p>\n

Cheesecake also traces its origins back to ancient Greece.\u00a0\u00a0 In 776 B.C.E., it is mentioned for the first time in recorded history as having been served to athletes participating in the first Olympic Games.<\/p>\n

[ii]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Jean di Marigny was Marie\u2019s first husband, as seen in Bonanza Episode #120, \u201cMarie, My Love,\u201d written by Anthony Lawrence and Anne Howard Bailey.<\/p>\n

[iii]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 See Bonanza Episode #4, \u201cThe Paiute War,\u201d written by Gene L. Coon.\u00a0 Young Wolf, son of Chief Winnemucca, and Adam were friends as boys.<\/p>\n

[vi] \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Emily Pennington appears in Bonanza Episode #3, \u201cThe Newcomers,\u201d written by Thomas Thompson.<\/p>\n

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

All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are property of their respective owners.\u00a0 The original characters and plot are property of the author.\u00a0\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\u00a0\u00a0 No copyright infringement is intended.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

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

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

Summary:\u00a0 Adam\u2019s two children arrive in the company of their maternal grandmother to join their parents for a summer vacation on the Ponderosa.\u00a0\u00a0 Their arrival sets off a chain of inexplicable, frightening events in the Cartwright household.<\/p>\n

Rating: K+ (80,249 words)<\/p>\n

Bloodlines Series, links to all the stories within the series are included.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":8499,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"template-full-width-post.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[7,23,29],"tags":[14,15,17,16],"class_list":["post-6425","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-a-u","category-drama","category-halloween","tag-adam-cartwright","tag-ben","tag-hoss","tag-joe","wpcat-7-id","wpcat-23-id","wpcat-29-id"],"a3_pvc":{"activated":true,"total_views":1363,"today_views":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Pine-Trees-Mist-01a.jpg?fit=575%2C970&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":13630,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=13630","url_meta":{"origin":6425,"position":0},"title":"A Cry for Freedom (by JennieA)","author":"JennieA","date":"January 7, 2003","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary:\u00a0 It started with Ben giving Little Joe more responsibility for the Ponderosa.\u00a0 Little did the family realize the course Ben was setting in motion. Rating:\u00a0 R\u00a0 (65,725 words) Due to subject matter contained in this series, the stories are only available via e:mail from the author -- ryjennie@comcast.net","rel":"","context":"In "Action\/Adventure"","block_context":{"text":"Action\/Adventure","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/4Cs.jpg?fit=400%2C401&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5454,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=5454","url_meta":{"origin":6425,"position":1},"title":"Autumn’s Surprise (by deansgirl)","author":"deansgirl","date":"October 30, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary:\u00a0 Autumn is setting around the Ponderosa and with it comes a very dear and long awaited surprise.\u00a0 \u00a0 Rated:\u00a0K+ (1,180 words) Autumn Series, links to all the stories within the series are included.","rel":"","context":"In "Chaps and Spurs"","block_context":{"text":"Chaps and Spurs","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=39"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Showdown3.jpg?fit=761%2C669&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Showdown3.jpg?fit=761%2C669&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Showdown3.jpg?fit=761%2C669&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Showdown3.jpg?fit=761%2C669&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":61165,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=61165","url_meta":{"origin":6425,"position":2},"title":"Ponderosa Yuletide Wit (by wx4rmk)","author":"wx4rmk","date":"December 24, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary:\u00a0A poem about Adam\u2019s clever wit bringing joy and cheer during the holidays. Rating:\u00a0 G\u00a0\u00a0(210 words) Written for the 2025 Bonanza Brand Advent Calendar","rel":"","context":"In "Poetry"","block_context":{"text":"Poetry","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=9"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Christmas-Traditions.jpg?fit=639%2C480&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Christmas-Traditions.jpg?fit=639%2C480&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Christmas-Traditions.jpg?fit=639%2C480&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8543,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=8543","url_meta":{"origin":6425,"position":3},"title":"San Francisco Revisited (by pkmoonshine)","author":"pkmoonshine","date":"August 15, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"The Cartwrights have come to San Francisco to negotiate a contract and enjoy a relaxing family vacation together. All thoughts of relaxation fly right out the window when two family members and a friend go missing, and the police are infuriatingly indifferent. A WHN for \u201cSan Francisco\u201d and \u201cThe Mountain\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Action\/Adventure"","block_context":{"text":"Action\/Adventure","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/San-Francisco.jpg?fit=463%2C336&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":18034,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=18034","url_meta":{"origin":6425,"position":4},"title":"Joe (by A-P)","author":"A-P","date":"August 15, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary: A group of poems about Joe Cartwright . Rating: K Word Count: 578","rel":"","context":"In "Poetry"","block_context":{"text":"Poetry","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=9"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Joe1.png?fit=608%2C570&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Joe1.png?fit=608%2C570&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Joe1.png?fit=608%2C570&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15611,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=15611","url_meta":{"origin":6425,"position":5},"title":"Shepherds (by Sierra Girl)","author":"Sierra Girl","date":"December 25, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"This image was created for the 2017 Advent Calendar - Day 10 Summary:\u00a0 Christmas greetings. Rating:\u00a0 G\u00a0 \u00a0(30 words)","rel":"","context":"In "Humor"","block_context":{"text":"Humor","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=4"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Advent.jpg?fit=791%2C680&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Advent.jpg?fit=791%2C680&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Advent.jpg?fit=791%2C680&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Advent.jpg?fit=791%2C680&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6425","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6425"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6425\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8499"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6425"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6425"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}