{"id":69040,"date":"2026-10-26T20:09:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-27T00:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=69040"},"modified":"2026-10-26T20:09:00","modified_gmt":"2026-10-27T00:09:00","slug":"her-song-in-the-dark-by-tavia42","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=69040","title":{"rendered":"Her Song in the Dark (by Tavia42)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary: <\/em>A What Happens Between and Instead for \u201cSong in the Dark.\u201d\u00a0 What if the Cartwrights were able to help Mary Johnson to a better ending?\u00a0 The show is an Adam episode, but this is a mostly Joe, slightly Hoss story, and part of my Lady in the House AU series.\u00a0 All you need to know to pick up the series here is that Joe married Liza near the beginning of Season 4, a handful of months before this story.<\/em><\/p>\n

Rating: PG | Word Count: 12,507<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Lady in the House Series<\/strong>
\nA Visitor from San Francisco<\/a>
\nOlder Brothers<\/a>
\nFigures from the Past<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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

Hoss was lying in bed and considering the benefits of throwing a pillow at the window (it would accomplish nothing but might be mildly satisfying) when his door creaked open and a robe-wearing Little Joe stumbled blearily in.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s at it again,\u201d Joe announced.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, I know, little brother,\u201d Hoss groaned.<\/p>\n

The strains of guitar music and Danny Morgan\u2019s voice singing endlessly about the red rock rim filtered in even through the closed window.\u00a0 Every night since he\u2019d hired on a week ago, he\u2019d been riding and singing, singing and riding, and always the same song.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve gotta get Adam to talk to him about this,\u201d Joe moaned, dropping into Hoss\u2019 armchair, head leaning on one fist.<\/p>\n

\u201cTried,\u201d Hoss grunted.\u00a0 \u201cSays he\u2019s got a right to sing.\u00a0 You know how he feels indebted to Danny for saving his life out in the desert.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, yeah.\u00a0 You\u2019d think giving him the job would be enough.\u00a0 But once older brother gets stubborn\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah.\u00a0 You sure it\u2019s not better over at your house?\u201d<\/p>\n

Little Joe shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cWorse.\u00a0 That\u2019s why Liza and me are here.\u00a0 He rides by our place even earlier.\u201d\u00a0 He cracked a slight smile.\u00a0 \u201cAnd at least here I\u2019ve got someone to complain to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe doesn\u2019t wake Liza up?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe yawned dramatically.\u00a0 \u201cNah.\u00a0 She says his voice is soothing.\u201d\u00a0 He grimaced, eyebrows bunching together.\u00a0 \u201cWomen are mysterious.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t have to tell me<\/em>, brother.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t tell Liza I said so, though.\u00a0 She likes to think she makes sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss nodded agreement.\u00a0 \u201cMust be something about singing that gets to women.\u00a0 Works when Adam does it.\u00a0 And remember how the girls all fell over Hank Miller?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe shuddered.\u00a0 \u201cBig brother, I already<\/em> can\u2019t get enough sleep.\u00a0 Don\u2019t give me nightmares.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss scratched his head, rumpling up his already rumpled hair.\u00a0 \u201cWhat I can\u2019t figure is why Danny doesn\u2019t wake Pa up.\u00a0 One of us tries to sneak in or out of the house, Pa\u2019s got ears like a bat.\u00a0 But this<\/em> he sleeps through.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust our bad luck.\u00a0 If Pa was losing sleep, he\u2019d put a stop to it quick.\u201d\u00a0 Joe yawned again and stretched.\u00a0 \u201cAll right, reckon I\u2019m up.\u00a0 Might as well go get dressed.\u201d\u00a0 He stood up and moved to the door.\u00a0 \u201cWhen do you suppose Danny<\/em> sleeps?\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cWomen ain\u2019t the only mysterious ones.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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

Mary Johnson always looked forward to her visits to the Ponderosa.\u00a0 The Cartwrights were among the few people her husband tolerated.<\/p>\n

\u201cToleration is not the same as approval, of course,\u201d he had said many times.\u00a0 So<\/em> many times.\u00a0 \u201cI know Ben Cartwright to be an upstanding, God-fearing man, but those three sons of his\u2026\u201d\u00a0 And here he always shook his head regretfully.\u00a0 \u201cThe trips to the saloon, the drinking, the fights, the women.\u00a0 A sad thing, when a father does not provide the proper guidance and discipline to his boys.\u201d<\/p>\n

Privately, Mary thought that the Cartwright boys<\/em> all seemed old enough to make their own decisions, and that on the whole, they seemed about as fine a bunch as any parent could ask for.\u00a0 Only privately, of course.\u00a0 If she expressed too much support for the Cartwrights and their supposedly wicked ways, William would only shake his head sorrowfully, pray at her for hours and, much worse, decide that it would be best if she no longer accompanied him on trips to the Ponderosa.<\/p>\n

And all William\u2019s tolerations and reservations didn\u2019t stop him from borrowing a plow from the Cartwrights, or from smiling pleasantly when they drove over to the Ponderosa to return the plow, and to bring over her fresh-made preserves.\u00a0 William had private doubts about the godliness of such sweet things as jams and jellies, but he liked the money they brought in when she sold them.<\/p>\n

Adam was playing the guitar on the porch when they drove their wagon up, so Mary knew William\u2019s prayers that evening would be long on the evils of music. \u00a0She had played the piano, when she was a girl.\u00a0 William had tolerated it in the house in the early days of their marriage, as long as she played nothing but hymns.\u00a0 But even that had been many years ago now. His feelings on music \u2013 on everything \u2013 had grown more and more severe over the years.\u00a0 Still, a long prayer about the Devil\u2019s tools, guitars and pianofortes, would be an improvement on William\u2019s treatises on the inherent evils of women.\u00a0 So on balance, it was another reason to smile as Adam greeted them.<\/p>\n

Mary thought she recognized the ranch hand who came to help carry the big boxes of preserves.\u00a0 She was almost sure she had seen him before, through her window, riding through the night on a big white horse.<\/p>\n

When she followed him to the Ponderosa kitchen with the preserves, she even dared to ask him about it, after there was a door closed between them and William outside.\u00a0 \u201cAre you the one who rides at night?\u00a0 With your guitar?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, ma\u2019am, reckon that\u2019s me,\u201d the ranch hand said, voice slow, with an easy smile.\u00a0 \u201cHope I wasn\u2019t disturbing you none.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh no,\u201d she said quickly.\u00a0 \u201cNo.\u201d\u00a0 She liked the chance to hear music.\u00a0 He was always singing just the one song, and somehow, even though she knew it wasn\u2019t true, she liked to pretend that he was singing to her.\u00a0 Maybe because the woman referenced in the song was named Mary.\u00a0 Though of course Mary was a desperately common name, and unlike that other Mary of the song, no one would describe her<\/em> as young and fair.\u00a0 Once, maybe, but not now.<\/p>\n

He set the boxes down on the big block in the center of the room and turned to go.<\/p>\n

In a fit of daring, Mary asked, \u201cWhat\u2019s your name?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDanny, ma\u2019am.\u00a0 Danny Morgan.\u00a0 And I heard that yer Mrs. Johnson.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u00a0 Mary Johnson,\u201d she said, because at least her first name was her own.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s a pleasure to meet you, Danny Morgan.\u201d<\/p>\n

From the bashful look in his eye, she wasn\u2019t sure he would say anything more.\u00a0 Maybe.<\/p>\n

But Liza, Joe Cartwright\u2019s wife, came into the kitchen from the dining room, smiling and calling, \u201cHello, Mary!\u00a0 I just heard that you\u2019d dropped by.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mary liked Liza.\u00a0 She was friendly and warm and no-nonsense at the same time, and even though she and Joe had their own house, they seemed to live half at Ben Cartwright\u2019s house too.\u00a0 That was nice, family all together.<\/p>\n

William didn\u2019t like Liza.\u00a0 He said it was one of Mary\u2019s flaws, that she liked so many people.\u00a0 Especially people who he not only didn\u2019t approve of, but could only just barely tolerate.\u00a0 After all, Liza had worked in newspapers before she was married; William said that was no fit occupation for a delicate female, as it meant exposure to all sorts of sordid people and incidents, and newspaper offices were known havens of drinking, smoking and vulgar language.\u00a0 Even more damning, it was rumored that Liza wrote stories<\/em>.\u00a0 Mary had liked the stray novel, once upon a time, but William didn\u2019t approve of fiction, or tolerate it in his presence.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you still sure I can\u2019t tease your recipe for strawberry rhubarb jam out of you?\u201d Liza asked, lifting up jars of preserves to read the labels.<\/p>\n

Out of the corner of her eye, Mary saw Danny Morgan slip out the door again.\u00a0 \u201cIf I gave all my recipes away,\u201d Mary said, \u201cwhat would happen to my reputation?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot all<\/em> the recipes, just Joe\u2019s favorite,\u201d Liza countered, smiling.\u00a0 \u201cBut I understand, we all need our secrets.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mary felt a pang at that, because her life was far too full of secrets.<\/p>\n

\u201cCan I persuade you about the sewing circle I want to start up, though?\u201d Liza continued.\u00a0 \u201cThe men all have their cattle drives and their posses and their trips to the saloons, and I still say there ought to be more ways for the women to be sociable too.\u201d<\/p>\n

They had spoken about this the last time the Johnsons had visited, when they came to borrow the plow a week ago.\u00a0 Liza was trying to gather together women from the nearby ranches in some sort of regular social meeting, to sew together but also to talk together, share news and recipes and stave off the loneliness of these big, empty spreads of land.<\/p>\n

It sounded like a nice idea.\u00a0 A cheerful, sociable sort of idea.<\/p>\n

William approved of sewing, but he wouldn\u2019t see why women had to do it gathered together.\u00a0 She could hear exactly what he would say, that it was simply an opportunity for gossip and idleness.\u00a0 She hadn\u2019t bothered to actually mention it to him, because he would certainly never even tolerate such an idea proposed by Liza Cartwright, writer of stories and former newspaper woman.\u00a0 The Cartwright name only bought so much sufferance.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt does sound lovely,\u201d Mary said reluctantly, not wanting to offend, \u201cand I do<\/em> thank you for inviting me.\u00a0 But I don\u2019t think I\u2019ll be able to join you.\u00a0 There\u2019s just so much to do at home, you know.\u201d<\/p>\n

She saw it all on Liza\u2019s face, the way her eyes gleamed with more persuasions, the way she started to open her mouth to make them, and then how her eyes narrowed as she saw something \u2013 but what exactly? \u2013 on Mary\u2019s face that made her change her mind.\u00a0 \u201cIf that\u2019s how you feel,\u201d she said slowly, gaze still fixed on Mary, \u201cit was only an idea.\u00a0 Just let me know if you ever change your mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course,\u201d Mary murmured.\u00a0 Had she offended Liza?\u00a0 Or had the other woman seen something of Mary\u2019s biggest secret, something of what she kept carefully hidden away from everyone?<\/p>\n

The secret was such a nebulous thing, such an insubstantial thing.\u00a0 After all, her husband didn\u2019t beat her or starve her.\u00a0 She had a good house, good clothes, a respectable place in society.\u00a0 So many women had less than that.\u00a0 It was only that, day after day and year after year, one by one William had turned away every little happy thing, every part of life that gave a little joy or a little pleasure.\u00a0 Music or friends or even jam on toast in the morning.\u00a0 And always, always, he prayed and lectured and reasoned and insisted, in that ringing voice meant for a wide-open church building and not their narrow, cramped rooms, until finally she agreed, until finally she told him he was right, that such things could only be bad for the soul.\u00a0 Until finally she said Amen<\/em> to all of his hateful, hate-filled prayers.<\/p>\n

Sometimes she thought it was those Amens<\/em> that were the worst part, the part that most fed the secret lodged just beneath her heart.\u00a0 Which was that she was utterly and entirely miserable.\u00a0 That she was so lonely that a stranger\u2019s voice singing in the dark these last few nights had felt like a gleam of light such as she hadn\u2019t seen in years.<\/p>\n

Liza was still looking at her, brow creasing as though she was trying to puzzle something out, and in another moment she was going to say something, ask something\u2014<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d best get back outside to William,\u201d Mary said hurriedly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll walk out with you,\u201d Liza said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo need, I\u2019m sure you\u2019re very busy,\u201d Mary said, knowing she was being rude, knowing that by all rights that would<\/em> offend the other woman.\u00a0 But if she walked out with Liza, William would want to know what they had been discussing, and he would be so sure that it had been dreadful, sordid things that the full and entire truth wouldn\u2019t be enough to satisfy him.\u00a0 He\u2019d spend all evening on the evils of Liza Cartwright instead of music after all.\u00a0 And she didn\u2019t want to have to say Amen<\/em> to that.<\/p>\n

So she hurried back outside, pretending she hadn\u2019t seen Liza\u2019s frown, and the other woman didn\u2019t emerge from the kitchen behind her.\u00a0 The rest of the Cartwrights were outside now, but it still took only a brief flurry of conversation before Mary and William were back in the wagon, turning the horses to go home.<\/p>\n

Mary saw Danny Morgan standing by the barn as they drove past, caught just a glimpse of his soft smile as he watched them drive out of the yard.<\/p>\n

She remembered that smile on the way home.\u00a0 And she remembered it when she heard the news that Danny Morgan had been arrested for murdering the Widow Baker.\u00a0 For strangling her with his bare hands, as William had said when he told the story, with a note in his voice that, in another man, she would have said sounded almost like glee.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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

Liza didn\u2019t have a strong belief about Danny Morgan\u2019s guilt or innocence.\u00a0 It was shocking, of course, when he was accused of murder and arrested, but more because of proximity than because of the individual involved.\u00a0 It was disturbing to think of a man who worked for the Cartwrights, who had been in the kitchen with her and Mary Johnson that very day, as a man accused of strangling a woman.\u00a0 But she knew from her time with The Morning Call<\/em> that the most unexpected people could be hiding dark secrets, or have unimagined depths within them.<\/p>\n

She thought Mary Johnson was hiding something, though she couldn\u2019t see what.<\/p>\n

She also knew that sometimes the law made mistakes, that Danny Morgan had only been arrested, not yet tried and not yet convicted.\u00a0 And Adam was adamant that Danny was innocent, that he couldn\u2019t possibly have killed and robbed anyone, not after he\u2019d saved Adam\u2019s life in the desert and left thousands of dollars untouched in his saddlebags.<\/p>\n

Liza wasn\u2019t averse to arguing with Adam as a general principle, not even when he got that stubborn set to his mouth that said he was going to go dog-headedly on no matter what anyone said, no matter the evidence, no matter anything.\u00a0 But she didn\u2019t have a strong stance to take in this case.<\/p>\n

So when Danny Morgan showed up at the door during supper, escaped from jail, and Adam sent him out to the bunkhouse instead of hauling him back into town, she left it to Joe to shake his head in disapproval, and to Ben to question the decision.\u00a0 And when Hoss walked in the door and announced that Danny had ridden off on his big white horse, she wasn\u2019t going to be the one to tell Adam that he\u2019d made a mistake as he grabbed his hat and gun, and headed into town to talk to Deputy Sykes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t understand,\u201d Hoss rumbled, as he began eating the plate of food Adam had handed him on his way out the door, originally intended for the now-fled Danny Morgan.\u00a0 \u201cWhy weren\u2019t you taking Danny back to jail?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam thought it would be dangerous for him in the jail, with the town riled up,\u201d Ben said, stalking back to the table and dropping into his seat with a frustrated air.<\/p>\n

\u201cGonna be even worse if someone comes across him out loose,\u201d Hoss pointed out.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor him or for anyone he meets?\u201d Joe asked, eyebrows scrunched low.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I don\u2019t know,\u201d Hoss said, and carried the plate over to the table.\u00a0 \u201cBoth, maybe?\u00a0 Either?\u201d<\/p>\n

Liza had never stood up from the table to begin with, Joe stepping in front of her chair as soon as Danny appeared in the doorway.\u00a0 She nudged at the last of her food, but didn\u2019t feel much appetite.\u00a0 She had the nasty feeling that something terrible was going to happen tonight, that they couldn\u2019t possibly make it all the way to dawn without a new tragedy.\u00a0 Not with all the things stacked against it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should probably let the nearby ranches know,\u201d Ben said with a sigh, and got to his feet again.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll walk out to the bunkhouse, send a few men out to warn the neighbors.\u00a0 And\u00a0 warn the hands out there, in case Danny rides back in after all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou think he will?\u201d Joe asked.<\/p>\n

Ben\u2019s exasperated expression was eloquent.\u00a0 \u201cNo,\u201d was all he said before striding to the door.<\/p>\n

\u201cOlder brother\u2019s really done it this time,\u201d Hoss said, shaking his head as he worked through the plate of food.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, if he can\u2019t get Danny back, isn\u2019t that a crime for letting him go?\u00a0 Accessory or obstruction or something?\u201d Joe said, finally reclaiming his seat at the table too.<\/p>\n

Hoss shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cAdam\u2019d know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t understand, though,\u201d Liza spoke up.\u00a0 \u201cWhy isn\u2019t anyone trying to catch<\/em> Danny?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d\u2019ve stopped him if I\u2019d realized,\u201d Hoss said, \u201cbut he\u2019s long out of sight now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut do you think you could track him?\u201d Liza asked.\u00a0 Hoss was the acknowledged best tracker of the family.<\/p>\n

Hoss frowned, scratched at his hair.\u00a0 \u201cNot usually worth trying to track anybody until daylight.\u00a0 Finding a trail\u2019s pretty tough by dark.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUsually, yeah, but you at least know what direction he started out,\u201d Joe said, leaning across the table towards Hoss, eyes alight.\u00a0 \u201cDanny only left five minutes ago, and it\u2019s a bright, clear night, with that full moon.\u00a0 And that big white horse of his will be visible for miles in open country.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf he\u2019s smart, he won\u2019t make for open country,\u201d Hoss pointed out.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen has Danny ever ridden around trying to hide?\u201d Joe countered.\u00a0 \u201cWouldn\u2019t surprise me if he\u2019s out there singing again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, we could at least try it, see if there\u2019s any trail to pick up,\u201d Hoss said, picking up the last biscuit as he rose from the table again.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then we can tell brother Adam all about how we found his escaped criminal,\u201d Joe said, grinning as he got up too.\u00a0 \u201cLiza, honey, you\u2019d better stay here\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

She shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cNo, I\u2019m coming with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s grin vanished.\u00a0 \u201cWe don\u2019t know what\u2019ll happen if we catch up to Danny.\u00a0 This could be dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe didn\u2019t haul off and attack anyone when he was standing right over there,\u201d Liza said, pointing at the entryway.\u00a0 She knew it could be different out in the dark night, though, and that was exactly why she wanted to go.\u00a0 It had to be better than sitting here, worrying about what might be happening.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll stay in the back if we see him.\u00a0 And either I go with you or I stay here alone, and that<\/em> doesn\u2019t seem safe either.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was probably safer than going, but she knew it was still the argument that would weigh most with Joe.\u00a0 He was frowning now, visibly thinking this through, when Hoss said, \u201cWe\u2019re going to lose any chance if we wait much longer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe sighed, a gusty exhale of frustration.\u00a0 \u201cAll right, fine.\u00a0 Come with us.\u00a0 But stay behind us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Getting what she wanted, Liza had better sense than to dispute the details.\u00a0 So she just nodded, and they all headed for the barn and the horses.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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

It frightened Mary when Danny Morgan emerged from the shadows, when she was out getting water at the well.\u00a0 She was remembering about the Widow Baker, seeing him as the man accused of a terrible crime.\u00a0 But he smiled, and talked about the stars, and soon she could see him again as the man who\u2019d carried her jam into the Cartwrights\u2019 kitchen, the man with the shy smile who rode singing in the nighttime.\u00a0 A voice that somehow reflected her own loneliness back to her and made it just a little bit lighter.<\/p>\n

And how could she believe that such a man had strangled anyone?\u00a0 Danny Morgan was in trouble, yes, but she couldn\u2019t believe it was trouble of his own making.\u00a0 So she lifted her eyes up to those endless stars and breathed a brief, heartfelt prayer for Danny Morgan.<\/p>\n

As her husband\u2019s prayers had grown longer and more eloquent over the years, her own had grown shorter and shorter.\u00a0 William wanted to guide and control her in this area too, even more than any other, and yet there was something, some stubborn spark inside her that still believed in a God who was loving and merciful and listened to the softest plea, no matter how many times she had to say Amen<\/em> to William\u2019s horrid prayers of judgement and vengeance.<\/p>\n

When William found her outside and glimpsed Danny Morgan leaving, he insisted she come inside to pray with him, in the attic room where he guarded his beloved wooden pulpit.\u00a0 Tonight she even dared to question him, when he spoke of praying for Danny Morgan\u2019s death, and of William\u2019s imagined church for only the pure.<\/p>\n

It set William off even worse, as questioning always did.\u00a0 It was predictable, even, after all these years, and yet there was something new here, some new note that didn\u2019t quite fit the litany she was so horribly familiar with.<\/p>\n

As William stood at his pulpit, waxing on and on about the church he would build, the strict rules for who would be permitted to enter his pure and holy church, Mary sat in her low chair thinking furiously through the hints and glimmers that something was very, very wrong.<\/p>\n

William wanted Danny Morgan to hang.\u00a0 Nothing so strange in that, William had always believed in the punishment of sinners, harsh and absolute.<\/p>\n

William believed he could begin building his church next week.\u00a0 Very strange because there had never been enough money before, so why would there be money now?<\/p>\n

William had hated the Widow Baker.\u00a0 Mary had heard him speak and pray and rant many times about the Widow\u2019s unholy doings, about the drinking and gambling and worse that went on at her place.\u00a0 William regarded her, his wife, as a Mary Magdalene, possessed of devils but still with the potential to be saved by a holy man.\u00a0 She couldn\u2019t, of course, be Holy Mother Mary, since she had never been able to bear children, but Christ had redeemed Mary Magdalene of her seven demons.\u00a0 The Widow Baker, though, William believed she<\/em> was a Jezebel, an irredeemable, unsavable sinner.<\/p>\n

William believed that sinners must die to protect the righteous, that it was good and right for such people to die.<\/p>\n

Whoever killed the Widow Baker had stolen ten-thousand dollars from her.<\/p>\n

And she could just see the edges of scratches on William\u2019s arm, barely visible below the cuff of his sleeve as he gripped the sides of his pulpit, scratches he hadn\u2019t mentioned or explained.<\/p>\n

William thought he had money to build a church.\u00a0 The Widow Baker\u2019s murderer had taken her money.\u00a0 William believed the Widow Baker was a sinner.\u00a0 William believed sinners should die.<\/p>\n

Round and round and round the thoughts went, and Mary knew where they were going, she could see<\/em> the conclusion, but it was terrible, terrifying, she didn\u2019t want to close the circle and land in that place.\u00a0 William was still praying and Mary was still caught in her round of thoughts, trying to find another way out, when a sudden pounding on the door made Mary jump and William break-off mid-prayer.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s him,\u201d William hissed, a wild gleam in his eyes.\u00a0 \u201cMorgan\u2019s come back!\u201d<\/p>\n

And then he was out of the room, thundering down the stairs.\u00a0 Mary hesitated, looking at the pulpit, wondering if there might be some clue there.\u00a0 And then she remembered that William kept a rifle by the front door, and with a gasp she ran after him.<\/p>\n

She was only halfway down the stairs, stumbling in her haste so that only her hand gripping the banister kept her from falling, when William wrenched open the door, rifle in hand.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t Danny Morgan anyway.\u00a0 It was Hoss and Little Joe Cartwright, and as Mary came down the last few steps she could see their horses behind them through the open door, Liza on her silver horse in the yard.<\/p>\n

\u201cEasy there, Mr. Johnson, it\u2019s just us,\u201d Hoss said, hands lifted and gaze on the rifle.<\/p>\n

William grimaced, lowered the rifle and snapped, \u201cYou shouldn\u2019t be pounding on the doors of respectable people in the middle of the night.\u00a0 There\u2019s a murderer on the loose out there!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why we\u2019re here, Mr. Johnson,\u201d Little Joe said.\u00a0 \u201cDo you know where Danny Morgan might\u2019ve gone?\u00a0 We tracked him this far, but we\u2019re trying to figure which way he went next.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to see if you were all right too,\u201d Hoss contributed.<\/p>\n

William\u2019s shoulders relaxed, a good sign.\u00a0 The Cartwrights had aligned themselves on the right side according to him, if they were hunting Danny Morgan.\u00a0 \u201cYes, my wife saw him.\u00a0 Out by our well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss\u2019 gaze found Mary as she moved up next to William.\u00a0 \u201cWhen was that, ma\u2019am?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, I think\u2026perhaps fifteen minutes ago?\u201d Mary faltered, a guess at most.\u00a0 On the best day it was hard to judge time passing when William was deep in his prayers, and tonight she felt in such a tumult of confusion\u2026<\/p>\n

Hoss nodded.\u00a0 \u201cNot too long, then.\u00a0 Mr. Johnson, you know your land.\u00a0 Maybe you could come into the yard and at least point some ways he might\u2019ve gone, or judge if there\u2019s any sign of him passing?\u201d<\/p>\n

William liked that, liked being an authority and a guide.\u00a0 Puffed-up and pleased, he stepped out into the yard at once with the Cartwrights, pointing to the different paths and directions leading away from the house.<\/p>\n

Mary let out a breath, suddenly feeling entirely wrung-out.\u00a0 She leaned against the doorframe, clung to it with one hand.<\/p>\n

The men weren\u2019t paying any attention to her.\u00a0 William was full of his own self-importance, and Hoss and Little Joe were talking to him, and none of them were looking at her.<\/p>\n

But Liza was.\u00a0 Liza was sitting there on her horse and looking at Mary, and Mary suddenly felt that everything she was feeling must be written plainly across her face.\u00a0 All her fears and her doubts and her confusion, and even the horrible conclusion she still hadn\u2019t, quite, been able to admit to herself.<\/p>\n

She straightened, tried to pull her tattered composure back together, but Liza was already swinging down from her horse, coming over to join her at the door.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s such a cold night,\u201d Liza said, voice light, loud enough that the men could probably hear her too.\u00a0 \u201cWould you mind if I stepped inside with you while they decide which way to go next?\u00a0 Perhaps we could make some tea.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh\u2026yes, I suppose,\u201d Mary said uncertainly.\u00a0 William wouldn\u2019t like Liza Cartwright in their house, but William also wouldn\u2019t like to offend the Cartwrights and\u2014and she<\/em> wanted Liza to come in.\u00a0 So she stepped out of the doorway, and led the way back to the kitchen, and put the kettle on the stove with a hand that shook.<\/p>\n

\u201cMary,\u201d Liza said in a low voice, \u201cwhat\u2019s upset you?\u00a0 Can I help somehow?\u201d<\/p>\n

It was the kindness in the other woman\u2019s voice that undid her.\u00a0 Mary sat down at her well-scrubbed kitchen table, put her face in her hands, and burst into tears.<\/p>\n

Liza patted her shoulder and said it would be all right, they\u2019d find some way to make it all right, and she made the tea, and by the time the tea was ready Mary found she could lift her head and take a sip from the cup Liza pushed in front of her.<\/p>\n

She could say it was the encounter with Danny Morgan that had upset her.\u00a0 She could blame it all on that.\u00a0 But it would be a lie, and what if she was right?\u00a0 What if that terrible circle of ideas was leading to a true conclusion?<\/p>\n

\u201cI think,\u201d she said carefully, \u201cthat William has done something horrible.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Johnson was not nearly as helpful as they had hoped, or as he seemed to think he was.\u00a0 Joe had never felt entirely easy around the man, to tell the truth.\u00a0 Mrs. Johnson, now, she seemed like a sweet lady, and she made the best strawberry rhubarb jam in the territory.\u00a0 Even Hop Sing admitted it.\u00a0 But Mr. Johnson, well, he had a way of staring in stern disapproval, and of declaring much too confidently all the things that God disapproved of too.<\/p>\n

Joe had always figured God as being a lot like his father.\u00a0 Definitely there were rules, lines that shouldn\u2019t be crossed, and He could be stern if you fell over some of those lines, but ultimately He was loving, forgiving, and understood that a fellow needed to have some fun along the way too.<\/p>\n

But anyway, a man\u2019s religion shouldn\u2019t matter for whether he could track a horseman.\u00a0 Only it looked like Mr. Johnson couldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ground is torn up here,\u201d Hoss said, voice more patient than Joe\u2019s would have been.\u00a0 \u201cDid you bring any horses or other animals through here today?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, now that\u2019s a bit difficult to say,\u201d Mr. Johnson said vaguely.\u00a0 \u201cI might have.\u00a0 But you do think it\u2019s quite sure they\u2019ll hang Morgan when they catch him, isn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019ll be up to the judge,\u201d Hoss said.\u00a0 \u201cWhat about those bushes that way, were they trampled before?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSurely they wouldn\u2019t let him go again,\u201d Mr. Johnson protested.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll have a stern word with the sheriff.\u00a0 Matters need to be handled properly in this town.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe rolled his eyes at Hoss, trying to signal that they\u2019d better get rid of Johnson, collect Liza, and either try to pick up the trail themselves or give it all up as a bad business if they couldn\u2019t, because this<\/em> wasn\u2019t working.<\/p>\n

Only it turned out they didn\u2019t actually need to know anything about tracking for this.\u00a0 Because suddenly, unmistakable on the night air, came the sound of Danny Morgan\u2019s voice, singing his everlasting song about the red rock rim.<\/p>\n

\u201cTold you he\u2019d be out here singing,\u201d Joe said triumphantly, turning in the direction of the voice.\u00a0 Sure enough, there was Danny on his big white horse, practically shining in the moonlight, guitar held in front of him.\u00a0 \u201cHey, Danny!\u201d Joe called, raising a hand.<\/p>\n

To his surprise, Johnson shoved past him, lifting his rifle, shouting, \u201cDevil!\u00a0 Murderous devil!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe and Hoss both converged on him.\u00a0 Joe grabbed the rifle and Hoss grabbed Johnson and they bodily separated the two.\u00a0 \u201cHe ain\u2019t even armed,\u201d Hoss said furiously.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s the devil,\u201d Johnson spat, struggling entirely ineffectually against Hoss\u2019 grip.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s the devil riding abroad in the night!\u201d<\/p>\n

By this point, Joe thoroughly wished they\u2019d never even knocked on the Johnsons\u2019 door.\u00a0 By all reasonable expectations, this should have been the moment when Danny Morgan spurred his horse into a gallop and was never seen again, possibly fleeing all the way to Mexico.\u00a0 And then they\u2019d have to explain to the sheriff and Adam and Pa how they\u2019d found and lost Danny Morgan again.<\/p>\n

But improbably, Danny brought his horse forward at a slow amble, then slid down and stood there with his guitar in hand.\u00a0 \u201cI ain\u2019t gonna hurt nobody, Mr. Johnson,\u201d he said in his slow, earnest way.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s what I told Mrs. Johnson too.\u00a0 H\u2019lo, Hoss, Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t talk about my wife!\u201d Johnson snapped, but he\u2019d at least stopped struggling against Hoss and was standing straighter again, like he was stepping back into the smug man of God style he usually had.<\/p>\n

Joe reached out with his free hand, rifle in the other, and gripped Danny by the upper arm.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ve been looking for you,\u201d he said, pitching his voice calm.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ve got to come back with us.\u00a0 Adam will be in a lot of trouble if you don\u2019t come back with us to town.\u201d<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t pretend to understand Danny Morgan, but the man did seem to care about Adam some way, so he thought that last point might do it.\u00a0 It seemed to, as Danny just nodded and said, \u201cWell, all right, Joe, if you think that\u2019s best.\u201d<\/p>\n

He wasn\u2019t as sure as Adam, but it was<\/em> hard to imagine Danny Morgan flying into a rage and strangling a woman.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood!\u201d Johnson said, pulling free of Hoss \u2013 who must have decided to let him go \u2013 and straightening his coat.\u00a0 \u201cAnd then justice will be done, and the world will be cleansed of tangles and snares for the pure-hearted.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe only half-followed that and he was still pretty certain he didn\u2019t like Mr. Johnson.\u00a0 They managed to get back to the house without anything else going wrong, though, and Liza opened the front door as they approached, Mary Johnson standing just behind her.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh good, you found him,\u201d Liza said, gaze on Danny.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, we found him,\u201d Joe acknowledged.\u00a0 Danny didn\u2019t seem likely to make a run for it, so he let go of him to walk up to the door and lean Johnson\u2019s rifle against the wall.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd everything was all right?\u201d Mrs. Johnson asked, voice tremulous and gaze on the rifle.\u00a0 \u201cNo one was hurt?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, everybody\u2019s fine,\u201d Joe said, and didn\u2019t add that it was no thanks to her husband.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s such a relief,\u201d Liza said and there was an odd note in her voice he couldn\u2019t quite figure.\u00a0 She stepped closer to him, slid one arm through his.\u00a0 \u201cJoe, could you hitch up the Johnsons\u2019 horses to the wagon?\u00a0 I\u2019m feeling a bit faint, and Mary has very kindly offered to come home with us, just in case.\u201d<\/p>\n

Worries about Danny Morgan and Mr. Johnson and this whole mess went right out of Joe\u2019s head.\u00a0 \u201cWhat?\u00a0 You don\u2019t feel well?\u00a0 What\u2019s wrong?\u00a0 What happened?\u201d\u00a0 He studied her face, looking for clues.\u00a0 She didn\u2019t look<\/em> sick, just a little tense, but it wasn\u2019t like he\u2019d always managed to realize, when a woman was sick before.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything will be fine,\u201d Liza said, and there was some intensity in her gaze that made him think she was trying to tell him something, but he didn\u2019t know what<\/em>.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s just best if we go.\u00a0 Quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy does Mary need to go with you?\u201d Johnson demanded.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t want my wife out in the middle of the night.\u00a0 Surely you don\u2019t need her\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought it would be neighborly, William,\u201d Mary said hesitantly, \u201cbut if\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a woman\u2019s complaint,\u201d Liza interrupted.\u00a0 \u201cYou know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe didn\u2019t.\u00a0 He really didn\u2019t.\u00a0 Maybe if he had been married longer, he would, but Johnson looked equally or even more at sea about this.\u00a0 He and Joe and Hoss all looked at each other awkwardly \u2013 Danny Morgan barely seemed to be paying attention \u2013 and then looked away again in mutual discomfort.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, well, I suppose\u2026\u201d Johnson said uncertainly.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, that means so<\/em> much,\u201d Liza said, letting go of Joe to stand with Mary again.\u00a0 \u201cAnd then you can go with Hoss to help bring Danny Morgan to town.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnson liked that idea.\u00a0 He liked it so visibly that he swelled up with approval, chest puffing and head rising.\u00a0 \u201cYes.\u00a0 Yes, that would be the right and proper thing to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll just get the horses,\u201d Joe said, darting a glance at Liza again before he turned to the barn.\u00a0 She really didn\u2019t look<\/em> sick, and even if she was sort of leaning against Mary Johnson, well, it wasn\u2019t that easy to see which of them was holding the other one up.\u00a0 There was something Liza wasn\u2019t saying, that was about all he could work out.<\/p>\n

So he hitched up the horses, and Johnson was a little more helpful with that than he had been tracking, and pretty quickly they were all on their way.\u00a0 Hoss and Johnson rode towards town with Danny, and Joe started the wagon towards the Ponderosa, Mary sitting next to him and Liza in the back, their own horses on leads behind the wagon.<\/p>\n

Joe craned his neck to look back over his shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cYou sure<\/em> you\u2019re all right back there?\u201d he asked, because he still didn\u2019t understand what was going on here, and if Liza was<\/em> ill, maybe they ought to stay at the Johnsons\u2014<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not sick, Joe,\u201d Liza said, sitting up and looking in the direction Hoss and the others had gone.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry about all that.\u00a0 We just needed an excuse to get Mary away from her husband.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe blinked, the whole night turning upside down again in a different direction.\u00a0 \u201cWhat?\u201d\u00a0 He looked at the reins in his hands, suddenly wondering if he\u2019d been inveigled into a kidnapping or a desertion.\u00a0 He trusted Liza, but all the same\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d Mary murmured.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m probably just being foolish.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou aren\u2019t,\u201d Liza countered.\u00a0 \u201cThey\u2019re out of sight.\u00a0 Stop the wagon, Joe, I\u2019d rather ride Janie than bounce back here.\u201d<\/p>\n

He stopped, which did not resolve any of the confusion, though it was a relief to see Liza slip nimbly down from the wagon.\u00a0 \u201cSo, you aren\u2019t having a woman\u2019s complaint?\u201d he attempted to clarify.\u00a0 \u201cWhat was that even supposed to be?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know, it\u2019s just a thing that makes men stop asking questions,\u201d Liza said, untying her horse from the wagon.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd why are we doing all of this?\u201d Joe asked desperately.<\/p>\n

Mary\u2019s voice was faint but steady on the night air.\u00a0 \u201cBecause I think my husband killed the Widow Baker.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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

After Mary\u2019s announcement, they rode the rest of the way back to the Ponderosa ranch house mostly in silence.\u00a0 Liza was relieved that Joe didn\u2019t turn the wagon around, that he took this seriously enough, and trusted her judgment enough, to continue on.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t say much but he smiled at her when she drew Janie up alongside the wagon, so she knew she was forgiven for lying to him about being ill.<\/p>\n

She had wished she could come up with a different excuse; she\u2019d known this one would alarm Joe.\u00a0 But she hadn\u2019t seen any other way, and she had known, with a deep, clear instinct, that they couldn\u2019t leave Mary in that house.\u00a0 Not if she was right about William, and not even if she wasn\u2019t, because there had been enough hints about Mary\u2019s life, in there in between Mary\u2019s attempts to explain why she thought William might have committed murder, to show that she needed help.<\/p>\n

Ben was already back at the house when they arrived, poised to scold about going out in the night, but he managed a swift reversal when he saw Mary Johnson with them, and heard that they had caught Danny Morgan and sent him with Hoss back to the jail.<\/p>\n

Hop Sing emerged from his room, irate about the noise and disturbance so late at night, but he also underwent a quick turn when he saw Mary\u2019s face, and bustled off to the kitchen to make soothing tea.\u00a0 That, too, felt like some kind of validation of this course, if Hop Sing could see the terror and the misery lurking in Mary\u2019s eyes, even as she tried to hide it.<\/p>\n

Adam returned from town just as they were all sitting in the great room, Hop Sing bustling around with the tea.\u00a0 They greeted Adam with the news that Danny Morgan had been apprehended.<\/p>\n

Adam let out a gusty sigh, and reached for the gunbelt he\u2019d only just unbuckled.\u00a0 \u201cI must\u2019ve missed them on the road.\u00a0 I suppose I\u2019d better ride back into town and talk to Danny,\u201d he said grimly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think you should hear what Mary has to say first,\u201d Liza said, sitting on the settee with Joe and nodding to the other woman.<\/p>\n

Mary was sitting in the blue armchair, dwarfed by its high back, clutching a teacup in white fingers.\u00a0 She shot one glance at Liza, who tried to smile encouragingly, and then didn\u2019t look at anyone as she falteringly tried to explain.\u00a0 \u201cWilliam hated the Widow Baker, and he hates Danny Morgan.\u00a0 He wants him to hang so much, it isn\u2019t right, it doesn\u2019t \u2013 and William said he has money now, to build the church he\u2019s wanted to build for years and years, but I know<\/em> there was no money, nowhere for him to get any.\u00a0 And he wants Danny Morgan to hang before he builds the church, that was important to him, and I thought \u2013 William thinks sinners should die, and he thought the Widow Baker was a sinner, an unsavable sinner, and someone stole her money, so\u2026\u201d\u00a0 Her voice dropped nearly to a whisper.\u00a0 \u201cSo it could have been William.\u00a0 He was out, the night she was murdered, and he wouldn\u2019t tell me where.\u00a0 But when he came back, there were scratches on his arm.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t say anything about them, and now he says he has money and\u2026oh, I know<\/em> none of this makes any sense!\u00a0 I don\u2019t know how to explain!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Adam said, voice heavy, \u201cit makes sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

And when Adam pronounced judgment on a thing, it had weight.\u00a0 Sometimes so much weight that Liza found it exasperating, but in this case she was glad to have him on the same side she was on.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe definitely hates Danny Morgan,\u201d Joe said, frowning, fingers drumming the back of the settee, his arm behind Liza\u2019s shoulders.\u00a0 \u201cHe would have shot him out there, if Hoss and I hadn\u2019t interfered.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope we didn\u2019t do the wrong thing,\u201d Mary whispered, \u201csending him to town with poor Danny.\u00a0 If he tries to do something\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss\u2019ll handle it,\u201d Joe said quickly.\u00a0 \u201cNothing\u2019s going to happen.\u00a0 Though I guess if he tried, at least that would be proof of something.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd as it stand, we don\u2019t have any proof,\u201d Ben said, then quickly added, \u201cIt\u2019s not that I don\u2019t believe what you\u2019re saying, Mary.\u00a0 But it\u2019s not enough to accuse a man of murder, and certainly not enough to reach a conviction.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have an idea on that,\u201d Adam said slowly.\u00a0 \u201cA way I could rattle a confession out of him.\u00a0 It\u2019s too late tonight, but if we can put him off until tomorrow night, I can try something.\u00a0 If I can borrow Danny\u2019s white horse.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mary spent the night in the Cartwrights\u2019 guest bedroom, and was astonished to find that she slept very well.\u00a0 She would have thought she would be awake thinking and worrying all night.\u00a0 But she was exhausted from everything that had happened, and it was such an incredible relief<\/em>, not to be alone with her secrets and her fears.\u00a0 There was something so warm and steadying about the Cartwrights, the way they simply accepted her into their home, and accepted her problems as something they were going to help her handle.<\/p>\n

Adam had been a bit vague about his plans, but he appeared confident in his own idea, whatever it was.\u00a0 He seemed like a man who never doubted his own ideas, and she wondered what it would be like, to feel that way.\u00a0 William felt that way too, but it was different.\u00a0 Adam simply believed what he believed, and didn\u2019t seem to care if anyone else agreed with him or not.<\/p>\n

In the morning, the taste of her own blueberry jam on Hop Sing\u2019s good bread at breakfast nearly brought her to tears.\u00a0 It had been years<\/em> since she\u2019d had jam on toast, since William had decided such things were a sinful indulgence.\u00a0 She had tasted her own jam while making it \u2013 one had to, to check the flavor \u2013 but to eat it as part of a meal, sitting down, having pleasant conversation at the breakfast table\u2026it was like a different world.<\/p>\n

As the meal went on, she began to feel she could breathe again for the first time in far too long.\u00a0 It was so easy<\/em> here.\u00a0 No one critiquing every move she made, no stern lectures on how the devil had been at work recently, no endless prayers calling down wrath on half the community.\u00a0 And the Cartwrights enjoyed<\/em> each other\u2019s company, talking and teasing and laughing all up and down the table.<\/p>\n

Eating her jam on toast, listening to the laughter at the table, Mary knew she was never going back to William, no matter what had happened to the Widow Baker.\u00a0 Even if William wasn\u2019t guilty of that<\/em> \u2013 no, she could never, never go back.\u00a0 She didn\u2019t see exactly how she would go forward, but back wasn\u2019t an option.<\/p>\n

She went out riding with Liza and Joe late in the morning.\u00a0 She hadn\u2019t been on a horse in years either, but she had ridden often as a girl, and the skills came back even if some muscles were out of practice.\u00a0 It was worth it, though, for the sheer freedom in the feeling.\u00a0 Somehow, in the future she couldn\u2019t really imagine, perhaps she would try to buy a horse.<\/p>\n

And because they were out riding, she wasn\u2019t at the house when William came looking for her.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat did he say?\u00a0 Is he coming back later?\u201d she asked Ben, feeling fear crawl up her throat, feeling the bars of the cage closing around her again.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, not today,\u201d Ben said, patting her hand reassuringly.\u00a0 \u201cI made an excuse.\u201d<\/p>\n

Upright, upstanding and honorable Ben Cartwright surely must have lied to her husband to keep him away, and she had rarely seen a kinder deed.\u00a0 \u201cThank you,\u201d she managed, voice faint.\u00a0 \u201cFor\u2014for everything.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know how I can ever\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNeighbors help each other when they can,\u201d Ben said simply.\u00a0 \u201cAnd besides, if you\u2019re right about William and the Widow Baker, and Adam can prove it, that will help Danny Morgan too.\u00a0 It will help everyone, in seeing justice done.\u201d<\/p>\n

She liked his way of seeing the world, of how connected everyone was with everyone else.\u00a0 There was an uncertainty at the heart of this idea though.\u00a0 \u201cDo you think Adam can<\/em> prove anything?\u201d she asked in a low voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that son of mine can do just about anything he sets his mind to.\u00a0 And he<\/em> certainly thinks he can, which is half the battle.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said it with a smile, and she managed a faint smile back, and left unsaid the other terror in all of this.\u00a0 Because if Adam did<\/em> prove that William had murdered the Widow Baker \u2013 what happened then?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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

Joe knew that he had come up with some wild schemes at times.\u00a0 Like how no one in the family would ever let him live down robbing that bank that one time (though if he really wanted to forget it, he wouldn\u2019t have put the wanted poster up on his wall).\u00a0 Even so, when Adam finally laid out the details of his plan to get a confession out of William Johnson, all Joe could do was shake his head.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a real beaut, Adam,\u201d Joe said, in mingled disbelief and admiration.\u00a0 They were out in the barn, saddling up Sport and Danny\u2019s white horse.\u00a0 Adam had brought the white horse from town earlier in the afternoon.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s as far out there as anything I\u2019ve<\/em> ever come up with.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam frowned, heaving his saddle up onto Sport\u2019s back.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s a perfectly solid plan.\u00a0 It will rattle Mr. Johnson, and set up the right circumstances for him to trust me and reveal the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n

That was the thing about Adam.\u00a0 He could be just as bull-headed about his own unlikely schemes as anyone in the family, but he wouldn\u2019t admit<\/em> it.\u00a0 Like how he still insisted that it was perfectly reasonable he\u2019d been able to recognize Bill Enders with a sack over his entire upper body, without being able to identify a single distinguishing feature, and yeah, he\u2019d turned out to be right, but it had still been a pretty wild claim.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right, explain this part to me,\u201d Joe said.\u00a0 \u201cYou ride past the house on Danny\u2019s horse, singing that red rock rim song, and Mr. Johnson thinks you\u2019re Danny.\u00a0 What\u2019s to stop him from grabbing his rifle and shooting you dead?\u201d<\/p>\n

There was the barest pause before Adam said, \u201cI\u2019ll be careful.\u201d<\/p>\n

In other words, nothing at all.\u00a0 Joe sighed.\u00a0 \u201cRight.\u00a0 I\u2019ll saddle Cochise after this, and lead Sport while you\u2019re riding the white horse.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can leave Sport ground-tethered out of sight.\u00a0 You don\u2019t need to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd<\/em> I can pick you up if Johnson shoots you off the horse,\u201d Joe continued.\u00a0 \u201cLook, either I come, or else I go back inside and tell Pa all the details, and then we\u2019ll have to let him<\/em> decide if you ought to ride out there alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was an ace card and they both knew it.\u00a0 When you were chasing a wild, improbable scheme that you just knew was going to work somehow, against the odds, you never<\/em> tried to explain it to Pa.<\/p>\n

Adam glowered at him.\u00a0 \u201cFine.\u00a0 But you stay out of sight, or the whole thing won\u2019t work.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou won\u2019t even know I\u2019m there,\u201d Joe promised.<\/p>\n

They couldn\u2019t avoid making a few<\/em> explanations to Pa and Hoss when they went inside, to justify going back out \u2013 and to Liza, who Joe was coming to realize could be just about as searching on a thing as Pa.\u00a0 Though she saw the joke more often too, and it all had a different flavor anyhow.\u00a0 A wife worrying was a different thing than a father worrying.<\/p>\n

The only one who didn\u2019t ask any questions was Mary Johnson, who listened to the discussion, very light on specifics as it was, with a pale face and set lips.\u00a0 Joe had realized in this past day how little he actually knew her, even though they\u2019d been neighbors for eight years, even though he would have said he knew her well.\u00a0 But she had laughed today, while they were out riding, and it had struck him that he\u2019d never heard her laugh \u2013 not like that, not really<\/em> \u2013 in all those years.\u00a0 And he didn\u2019t know what she was thinking now, when they were setting off to try to find evidence that her husband was a murderer.<\/p>\n

At first, the plan seemed to go along on course.\u00a0 Adam looked and sounded uncannily like Danny Morgan, riding towards the Johnson house while Joe hung back in the trees on Cochise, Sport next to them.\u00a0 And Mr. Johnson came tearing out of his house, shouting about murderers and devils just like they\u2019d expected.\u00a0 Joe couldn\u2019t see him well, with the trees in the way, so it was a shock when he heard the rifle shot go off.<\/p>\n

Only kind of a shock, because he\u2019d warned<\/em> Adam about this, but still, that wouldn\u2019t help if Adam had<\/em> been shot off the horse.\u00a0 Joe drew his own gun, heart in his throat, and started Cochise forward, because if Adam had been shot, getting to him was more important than any crazy plan\u2014<\/p>\n

But he\u2019d only gone a few paces when Adam appeared through the shadows, striding up to Sport and swinging into the saddle as though this was all perfectly normal.\u00a0 He looked at Joe\u2019s gun in his hand and frowned.\u00a0 \u201cPut that away.\u00a0 Johnson\u2019s got Danny\u2019s horse now, and if you start firing at him you\u2019ll ruin everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe shook his head, and shoved the gun back into its holster.\u00a0 \u201cHe took a shot at you, though?\u00a0 And missed?\u00a0 He did<\/em> miss, right?\u201d\u00a0 He scanned Adam up and down and he wasn\u2019t sitting the horse like anything hurt, but in the dark like this, it would be hard to see blood on Adam\u2019s black clothes.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, he missed,\u201d Adam said, \u201cbut I flung myself off the horse like I\u2019d been killed, so he ought to be very confused not to find Danny\u2019s body.\u00a0 Let\u2019s get over to where we can see the house, so we know if he heads into town.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnson did go into town, leading Danny\u2019s horse, and they followed at a distance the whole way.\u00a0 Johnson sure didn\u2019t seem like he was paying any attention to the road behind him, riding fast towards Virginia City, shoulders hunched and head down.\u00a0 In town, he hitched both horses at the rail outside the sheriff\u2019s office and charged inside, where he was going to find out that Danny Morgan was still locked up and had never left jail.\u00a0 So far, all exactly like Adam had predicted.\u00a0 Joe took the white horse over to the livery stable, where Adam had borrowed it earlier, and by the time he got back to the sheriff\u2019s office, Johnson\u2019s horse was gone.\u00a0 Adam was gone too, presumably following Johnson, for the next, even wilder, part of the plan.\u00a0 Sure, Johnson was rattled, but it didn\u2019t necessarily follow that he was going to start confiding murders to Adam.<\/p>\n

Joe hesitated out on the deserted street.\u00a0 He was supposed to go back home now.\u00a0 That was Adam\u2019s plan.\u00a0 But maybe he ought to go after Adam.\u00a0 Just in case older brother\u2019s predictions stopped coming true.<\/p>\n

Or\u2026\u00a0 He studied the door of the sheriff\u2019s office, trying to convince himself to turn and go.\u00a0 But he had a feeling<\/em>, one he couldn\u2019t explain, except that he\u2019d chased some pretty wild schemes of his own and eventually you hit that point where it was more like an avalanche than a plan, and all you could do was keep running and hope like Hell you could stay ahead of it, even while you knew it was coming faster and faster and was going to get you at any moment.\u00a0 Adam\u2019s plan had gone almost too well so far, and he had a feeling the avalanche was picking up speed.\u00a0 Maybe older brother could outrun it.<\/p>\n

Or maybe he was going to need more back-up than he figured.<\/p>\n

Frowning, Joe led Cochise over to the hitching rail outside the sheriff\u2019s office, then headed inside.<\/p>\n

Deputy Sykes looked up from his desk as Joe came in, and squinted at him with a stern look.\u00a0 \u201cOh, Little Joe.\u00a0 William Johnson was just in here, and rode out like the devil himself was after him.\u00a0 Adam said that would happen, but are you sure he knows what he\u2019s doing?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOlder brother usually does,\u201d Joe said, but he still couldn\u2019t shake the feeling this was all going to go wrong.\u00a0 \u201cI should ride after Adam, but I just thought\u2026\u201d\u00a0 He didn\u2019t know how to explain it, or what he was trying to ask.<\/p>\n

Sykes\u2019 frown deepened.\u00a0 \u201cAlways seemed to me that the smartest thing to do in this business is try to guess at how things might go wrong, and then get ahead of them.\u00a0 Adam figured on Johnson going back to his own place, right?\u00a0 Supposing he doesn\u2019t, though.\u00a0 What else might he do?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe felt a wash of relief just to be talking like this, even if nothing had been solved yet.\u00a0 At least the deputy seemed to feel a similar concern.\u00a0 \u201cJohnson might come after Danny,\u201d Joe suggested, glancing towards the closed door to the cells.\u00a0 If he listened, he could faintly hear Danny singing in there.\u00a0 About the red rock rim, of course.<\/p>\n

\u201cCould be,\u201d Sykes acknowledged, \u201cbut Johnson just left here.\u00a0 Don\u2019t know as he\u2019d decide to turn around again.\u00a0 What about his wife?\u00a0 Think he might ride after her at your pa\u2019s house?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, he might,\u201d Joe said.\u00a0 They\u2019d got Mary away from him and Pa had talked Johnson away this morning, but if he got worked up \u2013 it made sense, a man going after his wife when he got upset.\u00a0 But that gave Joe a new dilemma.\u00a0 \u201cI should ride after Adam, but\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

But suppose Adam lost Johnson, and Johnson did<\/em> go after Mary, and Mary was at the house with Liza and Pa and Hoss, and they were all pretty good at handling a situation but even so, Joe didn\u2019t like the way Johnson had waved that rifle around before.\u00a0 An unhinged man could be even more deadly than a skilled killer, just from sheer unpredictability.\u00a0 A man with bad aim could hit anyone.<\/p>\n

Sykes nodded once, and stood up from his desk.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve got three different men I can tap to watch the jail for me, just in case.\u00a0 You go after Adam and I\u2019ll ride over to your pa\u2019s house and see if there\u2019s any trouble there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks,\u201d Joe said gratefully.\u00a0 And now he had to hurry if he wanted to catch up to Adam.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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

Joe was certain Cochise was faster than Sport, but they still didn\u2019t manage to overtake Adam.\u00a0 It was possible they weren\u2019t even on the right trail, since it was too dark for tracking.\u00a0 Joe stuck stubbornly on that path though, and hoped it was the right choice.<\/p>\n

The Johnsons\u2019 house was all lit up when it finally came into view through the trees and, better sign, Sport was standing in the yard next to Johnson\u2019s horse.\u00a0 Joe was about to go around to the back of the house, to try to slip in discreetly, when Johnson came tearing into the yard.\u00a0 Joe backed Cochise up into the deeper shadows of the trees, but Johnson never looked around.\u00a0 He clambered onto his horse and set off at a gallop, heading the direction of the Ponderosa.<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s eyebrows scrunched together, watching Johnson retreat.\u00a0 Should he go after him, or\u2014<\/p>\n

The front door of the house was swinging open, and from inside the sound of Adam\u2019s voice swearing came through audibly on the night air.<\/p>\n

Well, he couldn\u2019t ride away from that, could he?\u00a0 Joe brought Cochise into the yard, swung down and ran inside.<\/p>\n

Adam was sitting at the bottom of the staircase, clutching one ankle.\u00a0 Bizarrely, a huge wooden pulpit was lying on its side nearby, visibly cracked and splintered.\u00a0 Equally strange, money was scattered all over the floor.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you all right?\u201d Joe demanded, though it couldn\u2019t be too bad if Adam was sitting up and using language that would\u2019ve got either of them a hiding when they were younger.\u00a0 \u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m fine, go after Johnson,\u201d Adam said, waving with one arm.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t be ridiculous,\u201d Joe said, crouching next to Adam.\u00a0 \u201cHere, I\u2019ll help you get to Sport.\u00a0 And what happened<\/em>?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam grimaced but threw an arm over Joe\u2019s shoulders and they maneuvered to get upright.\u00a0 \u201cIt was all working fine.\u00a0 I came in and Johnson was dragging this pulpit down the stairs, raving about the devil riding abroad and the beautiful church he was going to build.\u00a0 I told him I needed guidance, all that nonsense, and he slipped into admitting he was going to use the Widow Baker\u2019s money to build his church.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s all this?\u201d Joe said, nodding to the bills scattered around them.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe had the money hidden in the pulpit.\u201d\u00a0 They stumbled together out the front door, and Adam continued, \u201cEverything was on track right until the pulpit went crashing down the stairs and hit my leg on the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThink it\u2019s broken?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Adam said, so quickly that Joe knew it didn\u2019t mean a thing, except that Adam didn\u2019t want to admit it if it was<\/em> broken.\u00a0 They\u2019d have to get to Doc Martin later.\u00a0 \u201cThe pulpit broke and it\u2019s like something broke in Johnson too.\u00a0 He collapsed moaning about how it was a magic pulpit, and I thought it was going to be easy to get him tied up and hauled back to town, even with a bad leg.\u00a0 But then he suddenly reared up again, roared something about how it was all Mary\u2019s fault, and took off into the yard.\u201d<\/p>\n

How could it be Mary\u2019s<\/em> fault?\u00a0 But it wasn\u2019t like madmen had to make sense.\u00a0 The unease in the pit of Joe\u2019s stomach that had been there since he saw Johnson riding away, that had really been there all evening, was flaring up bigger and stronger and\u2013 \u00a0\u201cHe was riding towards the Ponderosa.\u00a0 This is bad, Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know<\/em>,\u201d Adam snarled, grabbing at Sport\u2019s reins.\u00a0 \u201cSo let\u2019s go<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It had been, on the surface, a peaceful evening at the Ponderosa.\u00a0 Except Liza had turned very few pages in her book, Hoss kept finding excuses to get up and walk around, and from the quality of the silence coming from Ben\u2019s desk, Liza didn\u2019t think he was making much progress on paperwork.\u00a0 Mary was maybe the most honest of them all, simply sitting and staring into the fire, and not pretending to be doing anything else.<\/p>\n

Liza hated this sort of thing, the sitting and the waiting and the not knowing what was happening.\u00a0 It was why she had insisted on going with Joe and Hoss to follow Danny Morgan.\u00a0 She\u2019d rather be with Joe now, because at least she\u2019d know<\/em> \u2013 and it only sort of helped to tell herself that it was helpful to be here with Mary.<\/p>\n

The tense, uneasy silence broke with the thunder of hooves in the yard.\u00a0 Hoss was on his feet at once, as though he\u2019d been coiled and ready to spring up all the time, and Ben was up from his desk barely a breath later.\u00a0 They exchanged glances, and Hoss said, \u201cI\u2019ll check who it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

But he didn\u2019t have to open the door for all of them to find out.\u00a0 They could hear the shouting through the heavy wooden door.<\/p>\n

\u201cJezebel!\u00a0 Daughter of the devil!\u00a0 How dare you abandon a righteous man in his greatest need!\u201d<\/p>\n

Liza looked at Hoss, who was grimacing as he glanced at Ben, and then she looked at Mary, who had gone white as a sheet, trembling hands clasped in her lap.\u00a0 Liza rose from the settee, put a hand on the older woman\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cIt will be all right,\u201d she said, as firmly as she could when she had no real evidence on the subject.\u00a0 Except for her faith in the Cartwrights which was, in fact, quite strong evidence in its way.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ll deal with this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll talk to him,\u201d Ben said, in the decisive tone of the master of the Ponderosa, as he joined Hoss by the door.\u00a0 \u201cLiza, get Mary out of sight, just in case.\u201d<\/p>\n

In case it set Johnson off worse?\u00a0 In case he had a gun?\u00a0 There were no good possibilities here.<\/p>\n

Mary stood, wringing her hands together.\u00a0 \u201cMaybe\u2014this is my<\/em> problem\u2014I should talk to him\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLet us handle it, ma\u2019am,\u201d Hoss said, with his characteristic rough politeness.\u00a0 \u201cHe ain\u2019t in no fit state right now to be talking to a lady.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCome on,\u201d Liza said, tugging Mary\u2019s arm.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ll go in the kitchen.\u00a0 That\u2019s out of the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mary still looked reluctant, but she followed Liza through the dining room and around the corner into the kitchen.\u00a0 Hop Sing was already there, face a thundercloud.\u00a0 Judging by the cookbooks open on the center island, he had been planning future meals, but he hadn\u2019t missed what was going on.\u00a0 The kitchen was well out of sight of the front door, but shouting in the yard carried just as clearly in here as it did into the great room.<\/p>\n

\u201cBad business, bad business,\u201d Hop Sing muttered, and gave Mary\u2019s arm a reassuring pat.\u00a0 \u201cHop Sing make tea for you.\u00a0 Make tea for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you,\u201d Mary said absently, moving to one of the windows that looked out on the yard.<\/p>\n

Which was good thinking, actually.\u00a0 Liza joined her, twitching aside a bit of the lacy curtain.\u00a0 It was darker in the yard, but the lantern was lit on the porch, and between that and the moon there was just enough light to make out Johnson, standing a dozen feet from the front door, arms outstretched as he shouted his abuse.\u00a0 It was hard to see details, but it was clear enough that he wasn\u2019t carrying his rifle, a considerable mercy on the situation.<\/p>\n

The front door opened, casting more light onto the scene, and Ben stepped out with Hoss flanking him.\u00a0 \u201cNow, there\u2019s no call for all of this,\u201d Ben said, voice starting out stern, then shifting into something more soothing.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ve known each other a lot of years, William.\u00a0 Let\u2019s talk about this like neighbors.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHand of the devil!\u201d Johnson thundered, pointing at Ben.\u00a0 \u201cYou fooled me for years, but I should have known, I should have seen!\u00a0 A truly godly man could not have such reprobate sons \u2013 the music, the drunkenness, the women!\u00a0 And Danny Morgan, he worked for you<\/em>.\u00a0 You harbored him here.\u00a0 And now you seek to keep my wife from me, to keep me from giving her punishment and guidance, to keep her from giving me the support I need.\u00a0 It is the hand of the devil at work!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is enough<\/em>,\u201d Ben said sharply.\u00a0 \u201cYou are not well, William, but that is enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, Ben, no,\u201d Johnson breathed.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s not near enough.\u00a0 Justice must be served!\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben and Hoss both started to move forward, but before they made more than a step, Johnson dropped his jabbing, pointing arm to his side.\u00a0 And brought it up again, lanternlight glinting on the gun in his hand.<\/p>\n

Liza heard Mary gasp and her own stomach went queasy and why, why<\/em> had she assumed that the absence of a big, obvious rifle meant Johnson was unarmed?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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

This was wrong.\u00a0 Mary knew this was all, all wrong.\u00a0 It was wrong that good men like Ben Cartwright and his son should be mixed up in this terrible mess, that her husband should heap such abuse on people who had only ever helped him, her and all their neighbors.<\/p>\n

And it was much more wrong that William should threaten them, that he had found the old handgun he rarely ever wore, and use it to threaten and perhaps harm or even kill these good men.<\/p>\n

William was a terrible shot, but that was no comfort.\u00a0 A bullet might go anywhere if William started firing.<\/p>\n

Mary looked at that gun in her husband\u2019s hand, and didn\u2019t stop to consider options or to weigh what was best or right or wrong.\u00a0 Because this<\/em> was so entirely wrong that it couldn\u2019t be allowed.<\/p>\n

She was already standing by the kitchen window, and it was only a step to move to the door, to wrench it open, ignoring Liza calling her name, and to step out into the yard.<\/p>\n

\u201cStop this, William,\u201d she said, voice loud and even and strong in a way that surprised her very much.\u00a0 \u201cThis is not right, William, and you must stop.\u201d<\/p>\n

William\u2019s head reared back, his eyes wide, and it was an expression she had only seen a few times before, his wildest, most unpredictable expression, when he was deep, deep into his most hateful, most hurtful lectures and prayers and proclamations about the world.\u00a0 \u201cYou dare<\/em>, harlot?\u201d he breathed.\u00a0 \u201cYou dare, daughter of Satan, to tell me<\/em> what is right and what is wrong?\u00a0 I am the elect, the pure of heart, and I shall not listen to your traps and snares!\u201d<\/p>\n

It never worked to oppose William straight-on.\u00a0 He only pushed back, harder and fiercer and more violently.\u00a0 But sometimes, just sometimes, she could persuade him that she was on his side, and lead him in another direction by making him believe it was the direction he himself had guided her towards.\u00a0 \u201cYes, of course, William,\u201d she said, hands rising automatically in a placating gesture.\u00a0 \u201cOf course you are.\u00a0 And it\u2019s been so difficult, so confusing, without you to guide me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Expressions flitted across William\u2019s face \u2013 rage, surprise, uncertainty, hesitation.\u00a0 He had not expected her to say this, to take this attitude.\u00a0 And then came something that was second cousin to hope, hope with a manic desperation inside of it, seizing on something poisonous and dark as though it was life.\u00a0 \u201cYes,\u201d William said, nodding vigorously.\u00a0 \u201cOf course, you went astray because you left me, because you lost the benefit of my guidance.\u00a0 That was wrong, very wrong to leave.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t protect you, when you left.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, I know, William,\u201d Mary said, daring to take a step closer.\u00a0 William was still holding the gun, pointed towards Ben and Hoss, and the two men hadn\u2019t tried to move.\u00a0 They were still so far away, too far to grab William or the gun.\u00a0 But perhaps if she could calm him\u2026or, at least, distract him long enough for someone to do something<\/em>.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve felt so lost, ever since I left home,\u201d she lied glibly, just the opposite of her true feelings, but it was exactly what William would want to hear.\u00a0 \u201cI haven\u2019t known which way to turn.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOnly to be expected, my dear.\u201d\u00a0 William\u2019s voice began to shift into a more familiar tone, his lecturing, wise, confident tone.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve told you so many times, you mustn\u2019t rely on your own understanding.\u00a0 You must trust me for moral guidance.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh yes, yes, I know,\u201d Mary managed, easing another step forward and by now she was within arm\u2019s-length of William.<\/p>\n

The Cartwrights were still too far away, but out of the corner of her eye she could see Hoss shifting his stance, as though he meant to do something.\u00a0 But he would never make it, not with a dozen feet to cross, not with William still pointing the gun that direction.<\/p>\n

So Mary darted her hand out, tried to grab for the gun, because maybe if she could catch him unawares, maybe if she was fast enough \u2013 her hand closed on the cold barrel of the pistol but William jerked his hand back, and though she tried to hold on he yanked the gun from her grip.<\/p>\n

\u201cJudas!\u201d he thundered, and then he swung with the gun and it crashed against her shoulder, the pain and the surprise combined with her already unsteady stance from trying to grab the gun knocking her off her feet.<\/p>\n

She fell heavily to the ground, barely catching herself with one palm against the dirt, lifting her other hand in an instinctive, useless shield above her head.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t move!\u201d William roared, pointing the gun at the Cartwrights again, and they had only advanced a step or two, not enough to matter.\u00a0 Not enough to do anything when he swung the gun around to point at Mary again.\u00a0 \u201cI tried, Mary,\u201d he said, voice almost sorrowful.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve tried for so many years.\u00a0 But I was wrong about you.\u00a0 You\u2019re no better than the Widow Baker after all.\u00a0 And sinners must die.\u201d<\/p>\n

All she could see was the barrel of the gun, silver and gleaming and pointing right at her, at a range close enough for even William to aim truly.\u00a0 When a shot rang through the night air she flinched, breath catching in her lungs.<\/p>\n

But there wasn\u2019t any pain, and after a confused heartbeat she realized there was blood blossoming on William\u2019s shirt.\u00a0 He looked down at it, expression bewildered too, and then his eyes rolled up towards the heavens as his knees buckled.<\/p>\n

\u201cJustice,\u201d he breathed, and the light had gone out of his eyes before he\u2019d even hit the ground.<\/p>\n

\u201cWilliam?\u201d Mary whispered, rising onto her knees, reaching out to put a hand on his chest, to feel for a heartbeat, even though she knew, she could see<\/em>, that he was already gone beyond any justice on this earth.<\/p>\n

For the barest moment it was only the two of them, and Mary cast up a prayer that was only please<\/em> and didn\u2019t know what should follow that single word.<\/p>\n

And then there were people everywhere.\u00a0 Ben and Hoss came forward from the front porch and Liza must have come out of the kitchen because her hand was on Mary\u2019s shoulder and somewhere overhead she could hear Hop Sing clucking his concern.\u00a0 And, more unexpectedly, hoofbeats signaled the arrival of more riders, and looking up she saw Deputy Sykes swinging down from his horse, his rifle still in his hand.\u00a0 So that must be the justice that had reached out for William, and probably saved her own life.\u00a0 Just behind Deputy Sykes came Adam and Little Joe, riding in at a fast clip and swinging down almost before their horses had halted.\u00a0 Adam knelt down to check on William, and Joe went to Liza, and everything was a confusion of voices and questions and exclamations, all cascading above her head.<\/p>\n

The words that reached her first were from Deputy Sykes.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry, Mrs. Johnson.\u00a0 He was threatening you.\u00a0 I had no other choice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mary looked up, to see the deputy looking at her with sorrow in his eyes.\u00a0 \u201cI know,\u201d she said quietly.\u00a0 \u201cThank you for\u2026\u201d\u00a0 And then she didn\u2019t know how to finish that, so she didn\u2019t try.\u00a0 \u201cI think William killed the Widow Baker, not poor Danny Morgan,\u201d she said, because that was more important now.\u00a0 Taking care of the living, helping a man who was guilty only of singing in the dark.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Johnson as good as confessed it to me earlier,\u201d Adam spoke up.\u00a0 \u201cAnd the Widow\u2019s money is scattered all over the Johnsons\u2019 entryway.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat should do it then,\u201d Sykes said heavily.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ll probably find even more evidence now that we know which way to look.\u00a0 There\u2019s a process, but we\u2019ll be able to clear Morgan.\u201d\u00a0 He was looking at Mary again, and his voice was hesitant as he said, \u201cMrs. Johnson, I can try to keep this quiet.\u201d\u00a0 He gestured to William\u2019s body, and she wasn\u2019t certain if he meant the Widow Baker\u2019s true murderer or William\u2019s death.\u00a0 Either.\u00a0 Both.<\/p>\n

She could see he was trying to do her a kindness.\u00a0 Though it had not yet occurred to her to think past the present moment, it surely would not be a pleasant thing, to be known ever after this as the widow of a murderer, of a man who was shot by a deputy in the act of trying to kill her.\u00a0 It would be a scandal for a long time to come.<\/p>\n

Perhaps it could all be hushed up, though she doubted it.\u00a0 And if it somehow was, then doubts and suspicions would continue to follow the innocent Danny Morgan, and that wasn\u2019t right.<\/p>\n

And she was so tired<\/em> of living with secrets.<\/p>\n

\u201cWilliam was a great believer in the truth, Deputy Sykes,\u201d Mary said, voice clear, and rose to her feet.\u00a0 There was no blood on her hands, and so she brushed the dirt from her skirts in an easy, automatic gesture.\u00a0 \u201cI<\/em> would like the truth to be told.\u00a0 That would be justice for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

The deputy nodded slowly.\u00a0 \u201cAs you say, Mrs. Johnson.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben took her arm, starting to guide her away and towards the house.\u00a0 \u201cYou know you\u2019re welcome to stay here as long as you need to, Mary,\u201d he said, and she heard it for what it was, a promise of support, of friendship, of standing by her in whatever this uncertain future was going to be.\u00a0 \u201cAnd we\u2019ll be glad to help however we can, in whatever you decide to do next.\u201d<\/p>\n

It would<\/em> be a great many decisions.\u00a0 Perhaps she\u2019d sell the house and the farm and live somewhere new that was just hers alone.\u00a0 Perhaps she\u2019d buy a horse and a pianoforte.<\/p>\n

\u201cLiza,\u201d Mary said over her shoulder, as she and Ben stepped onto the porch, \u201cI believe I will join your sewing circle after all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Liza was standing with Joe, his arm around her shoulders, and her smile was warm in the lanternlight.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019d be very glad to have you, Mary.\u201d<\/p>\n

So that was one thing.\u00a0 And whatever else happened, whatever else she decided, she would certainly<\/em> have jam on her toast at breakfast from now on.<\/p>\n

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

 <\/p>\n

For those who enjoy knowing episode references\u2026there aren\u2019t many in this story, but the singing Hank Miller appeared in \u201cThe Wooing of Abigail Jones\u201d and Joe robbed a bank (with good intentions!) in \u201cThe Bank Run.\u201d\u00a0 Otherwise, this is all \u201cSong in the Dark.\u201d\u00a0 Watching the episode, I became very intrigued by Mrs. Johnson, who could pray for Danny Morgan but then was forced to listen to her husband\u2019s rants and say amen at the end.\u00a0 And unfortunately, she died almost immediately after that!<\/em><\/p>\n

In the original version (spoilers ahead!), the Cartwrights didn\u2019t come to the Johnsons\u2019 door the night Danny Morgan escaped, Mary discovered the Widow Baker\u2019s money in her husband\u2019s pulpit, and fell down the stairs to her death in the resulting confrontation.\u00a0 After her funeral, Adam successfully carried out his scheme to pose as Danny and entrap Johnson in a confession.\u00a0 I kept Adam\u2019s plan essentially the same, though it ends differently.\u00a0 Even in the episode, although we don\u2019t see Joe in those scenes, he could have been in the background helping out!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summary: A What Happens Between and Instead for \u201cSong in the Dark.\u201d\u00a0 What if the Cartwrights were able to help Mary Johnson to a better ending? Part of my Lady in the House AU series.
\nRating: PG | Word Count: 12,507<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12522,"featured_media":69061,"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_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[7,23,1007,61,27],"tags":[1584],"class_list":["post-69040","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-a-u","category-drama","category-joe-cartwright","category-missing-scene","category-whi","tag-song-in-the-dark","wpcat-7-id","wpcat-23-id","wpcat-1007-id","wpcat-61-id","wpcat-27-id"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/S04.16_Song-in-the-Dark-3.1.png?fit=1584%2C1194&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69040","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\/12522"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=69040"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69040\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":70567,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69040\/revisions\/70567"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/69061"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=69040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=69040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=69040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}