agnieszka011

Creatus Arrisum Est

Agnieszka Maria (AMG)

Thank you for all your help and patience, Diana

"Have a nice trip!"

Ben Cartwright was a wealthy rancher, quickly approaching the sixth decade of age; he had raised three fine sons, with their horizons far wider than the whole Ponderosa could cover and
their hearts bigger than their horizons were wide. The Ponderosa was where they lived, a rich, beautiful land with a huge, cosy ranch house on it. Although presently greying fast, Ben
Cartwright still represented the stubborn strength that allowed him to achieve so much despite all obstacles; to hide the deeper scars so deeply that a single smile could cover them. Right
now, he was going to see his three sons again, after a good couple of days.

"Thanks, Roy," he waved at the sheriff, their old tried and trusted friend, and sat comfortably – or as comfortably as possible – in the stagecoach seat. His ‘boys’ – interesting, how
parents always perceive their children as… ehm… children, even when those have reached the age of 18, 30, or 50. Children. Boys. His boys should be waiting in Pine City, on their way
back, unless the trip took longer for some reason. Adam had a friend close by, and would certainly visit him, so Ben decided they would meet there.

The elderly lady on the opposite seat asked in a friendly manner, "Do you think it shall rain tomorrow, sir?"

"No, Ma’am, I don’t think so," Ben smiled politely at her, touching the brim of his hat in a shortened ‘Hello’.

"Oh, I am but so ill-mannered," she caught herself. "My name is Marston. Mrs Dorothy Olympia Marston."

"Ben Cartwright," this time he took off his hat for a moment. "Pleased to meet you, Ma’am."

"Oh, but so am I," she assured him, and asked with great interest, "Have you heard about the great drought coming on, too? My goodness, this is such a catastrophe!"

Ben opened his mouth to answer, then slowly closed it. The lady didn’t even notice he had wanted to speak.

"I say, this is all a penalty for this awful war, Mr Cartwright. I personally think…"

The younger lady at Mrs Marston’s side rolled her eyes, and smiled slightly at Ben. It seemed she was accustomed to, though annoyed by, her companion’s monologuish manner.

"They say there shall be another war. I’m sure you’ve heard of that, Mr Cartwright; isn’t it awful? This wonderful, democratic, blooming and flowering country devastated by another
awful war…"

Ben glanced at the desert land they were going through, and kept silent. The trip was getting impossibly and unbearably long.

"They say, you know, that if you take a Negro, and bathe him with aspergillum in holy water," continued the lady, in a tone suggesting she were telling him the most intimate secrets of
her life, "then the Negro will become white! Do you think it’s possible even with those… those… very… please excuse the word… BLACK Negroes?"

It took all of Ben’s willpower not to moan aloud. He sincerely hoped the lady would get off at the next possible stop, never to be seen by him again.

"And do you really think, Mr Cartwright, that it would be the same with… with…," she lowered her voice in a most conspiratorial manner, "… Indians? I have heard they are directly… I
mean… sons… of this… of… EVIL," she whispered dramatically and shook with disgust. "Maybe the holy water would even boil if it touched them – oh, my goodness, what horrible
monsters must they be!

"But as you know, Mr Cartwright, it is said in the Bible…"

Ben set his teeth, and smiled politely at the lady, then rather sympathetically at the younger woman; she responded with a smile and a slightest gesture of ‘just don’t pay attention’.

"It is all said in the Bible," triumphed the lady, then noticed, "We are nearing our station. Are you also heading there, Mr Cartwright? My, you are such a good companion, a
conversation with you is pure pleasure," she remarked, and the stagecoach stopped.

Ben mutely touched the brim of his hat; the younger lady winked at him, and managed not to smile, as her elderly companion "conversed" with somebody already.

What relief! Ben wiped his forehead in a theatrical gesture. He was grateful to be travelling alone now; hopefully, there were not going to be many more co-travellers at the next stop –
and NO friendly elderly ladies.

~~~~

Pine City greeted him with the familiar noises of people’s voices mingling with their steps, horses, and the creaking of the stagecoach wheels.

"Pa," Little Joe appeared from somewhere amidst the crowd, and held his arm. "Here."

Once out of the crowd, Ben hugged Joe with the arm which was free of the luggage. "Hello, son."

"Hi." Joe smiled at him, but something was amiss. He didn’t sound like the normally cheerful boy Ben knew.

"Something wrong, son? You three fine?"

"Adam’s a bit ill," admitted Joe. "I mean.. he’s been ill… he’s just not fit enough yet."

"Ill?" Ben stopped and held Joe by the arms. "What happened?"

Joe sighed. "He was out in the cold… a-and a wolf jumped him… the fever already broke, he just sleeps a lot now."

"Cold? Wolf?? Fever???"

"Easy, Pa," Joe tried to calm him quickly. "He’s almost fine now."

"Almost?!…" Ben shot forward towards the hotel building. "How is he really, Joe?"

"Just weak and tired, slow down, Pa," his son sounded annoyed. "I don’t think it’ll help any if you burst into the room, wake him up and load him with questions. He needs his rest."

If Ben slowed down, then imperceptibly. "Which room?"

"I’ll show you," answered Joe simply. "Slow down, they won’t go anywhere."

Eventually, Ben opened the door to the room, to be greeted by Hoss.

"Hey, Pa. I take it Joe told you Adam was resting?…"

"Resting?!" Ben’s voice rose a good couple of decibels.

"Shhht!" His two sons simultaneously put their fingers to their lips. Ben toned down his voice, but not his anger.

"What do you mean ‘resting’?!" If one can shout in a whisper, Ben just did.

"He’s better," explained Hoss calmly. "Just let him sleep, okay?"

"Where is he?" Relief washed anger away at once. Hoss nodded his head towards a darker corner of the room; there stood a bed, and a faint coughing answered Ben’s concerned look.

Beside Adam’s dark head there suddenly appeared a smiling muzzle of a white dog, gazing curiously at Ben.

"He helped us find Adam," explained Hoss quickly, then justified the lack of further information with a shrug of his shoulders. "Somehow."

Adam stirred, and sighed in his sleep; his face looked calm, if pale, and relaxed.

"He’d caught a chill," explained Hoss. "He was coming back from the Jones’ when a lone wolf scared his horse away, but Adam killed it."

"Not before it attacked him," growled Ben. Hoss scowled at Joe, but obediently admitted, "He got bitten, but it’s not bad, the doctor said. If he hadn’t caught the cold, he’d have already
been up and about."

"Now you’ve seen he’s fine," interrupted Joe, "and we can go eat. You must be starving."

"I’ll stay with him," Hoss decided before Ben could say anything. "Don’t worry none. Just go."

~~~~

Ben couldn’t swallow much, he was too busy glaring at the table.

"Pa, you have to eat," Joe admonished him, sipping his coffee. "Adam will be fine in no time."

Ben glanced at him, ready to say something about Joe speaking so lightly of it, then remembered Adam was indeed better; he wasn’t too warm to the touch, and seemed to be resting
peacefully enough.

"You let the dog into the bed?" he asked to divert his thoughts from Adam’s health. "Is it at least clean?"

"We washed him and brushed him," stated Joe proudly. "That’s some trained dog, he goes out if he needs to. I mean… you know… if he needs to."

For some time they were both silent, Ben trying hard not to think about Adam.

"How did you get on… in the meantime?…" Ben toyed with his cup. "Everything fine?’

"Sure," answered Joe enthusiastically, but didn’t seem to be hiding anything. "You can ask Hoss or Adam," he added honestly, sensing Ben’s scrutiny.

"Hey, okay, I believe you," his father smiled at him warmly. "I just expected you all to be fine, and…"

"We are," Joe assured him indulgently. "Come on, let’s go back to them before you bore a hole in the chair, fidgeting like that."

"That’s not the tone to be used towards your father," Ben frowned, but wasn’t very convincing; not that he tried, for that matter.

"Hey," Hoss smiled at them triumphantly, as they entered the room. "He woke up for a moment; he’s fine, just a bit sleepy."

Ben exhaled with relief. "Is he really fine?"

"Yep," Hoss nodded with a smile. "Hey, anybody willing to go for a walk with me? These old chairs are mighty uncomfortable," he massaged his lower back dramatically.

"I’m tired," declared Joe. "Go with Pa. Besides, somebody has to stay in case Adam needs anything."

"Come on, Pa," Hoss put his hat on. "You must work out the kinks from the stagecoach, and the beer isn’t all that bad here."

Ben hesitated, then decided he was still too nervous to sit about. Maybe he could buy something for Adam, too.

Truthfully, if it wasn’t for Marie and Joe, Ben wouldn’t quite know how to spoil a child. His wife and his youngest, however, turned out to be good teachers – so good, that Ben carefully
began trying to spoil his other two sons, if somewhat subconsciously. Even now, as he thought of it, it was funny to buy treats for a 30-year-old man; on the other hand, Adam had been
the least spoiled one, and deserved something to reassure him of his father’s love. When he was weakened, he was most likely to take something, otherwise he’d have been too
embarrassed. Ben found the strangest pleasure in spoiling his eldest son – it was so unusual – weird rather – for both of them.

He’d buy him something for sure – just to make him feel better.

~~~~

Ben stroked Adam’s dark head gently.

"Yeah, he was just fine, even ate something," he heard Joe say; Hoss murmured something in reply. Ben dearly wanted Adam to wake up, yet understood his need for rest, and
consequently felt torn.

The black eyelashes fluttered, and Adam smiled sleepily at his father.

"Hi, Pa."

"Hey," Ben leaned over to him to be closer. "How do you feel?"

"Sleepy," admitted Adam. "Otherwise fine. Will Hop Sing be there next time I wake up?", he asked curiously.

"What…?", Ben seemed puzzled. Adam wasn’t feverish, yet the question seemed strange, at the very least. "Do you need him for anything?", he asked carefully.

Adam smiled, sensing his father’s unease. "Never mind, Pa, just a random thought."

He yawned. "I’m rather sleepy, Pa. ‘Night."

"Good night, son." He must have dreamt something, Ben thought. Only after he’d talked to Adam himself, did he feel reassured that everything was going to be fine.

The dog gazed at him, with a friendly twinkle in his eyes, then moved his tail enthusiastically.

"Hi," replied Ben quietly, and left Adam’s bed with reluctance, to talk to his other two sons about going home as soon as Adam was fit enough.

~~~~

Ben looked at Arris, the white dog of Adam’s. The animal had grown to almost twice the size he was when Ben first saw him, but was still the smiling furry ball of energy he turned out to
be at the beginning. Ben thought of this particular adventure of Adam, and once again felt thankful for the unexpected intervention of a white doggy angel.

*********************

After dealing with the bank accounts, Joe decided a beer would be nice. The saloon was clean, or cleaner than you would normally expect, and pleasantly humming.

"One beer, please."

"Buy me a drink, stranger?"

The little lady seemed rather nice, and wasn’t very importunate. Though Joe wasn’t genuinely interested, he motioned the barman for a drink, out of sheer politeness.

Suddenly, an unpleasant shadow appeared at his side.

"This here is me girl," the shadow remarked. His voice wasn’t pleasant, either.

"‘This’ you can say about a dog," retorted Joe before he had time to think. In the next half second he did have time for an afterthought, though, and just had enough time left to dodge
the fist. It was as unpleasant as the rest of the man, he concluded.

His own fist landed in the man’s stomach, making him double up in pain, but not before the intruder’s knuckles connected with Joe’s chin.

"Howdy there," the calm voice reminded Joe of his eldest brother Adam, just as the attacker was brutally yanked backwards. The young sheriff smiled pleasantly, casually, at the two
fighters. "Who started it, Billy?"

The bartender leaned over his bar calmly. "The Dockson fellow. The stranger here bought Lara a drink as she asked him to. That’s it."

"Dockson, I think I’ll reserve a nice little cell all for yourself, you know, like for regular guests," continued the sheriff in the most relaxed manner, quickly and effectively taking the man in.
Again, Joe was reminded of Adam; whatever he was saying, you had better watch out for what he was doing, as these two didn’t always go together.

He felt his chin, but even if there was a bruise, it wouldn’t be too big. "Thanks," he smiled leisurely at the man behind the bar, and sipped his beer, exchanging some casual remarks with
the bartender, and Lara, who kept smiling at him in a friendly manner, as though such events happened here every day. Or maybe she just didn’t care too much about this Dockson.

Heading back to the hotel, Joe noticed a change in the weather; some heavy downpour was on its way, maybe even a storm.

"Hey, you two old bears, I’m back!"

"So I’ve noticed," grumbled Hoss from his bed. "Thought it was Adam; for once you’re earlier than him."

Joe shrugged his shoulders. "He’s not back yet?"

"Uh-uh," Hoss shook his head, getting up slowly. "He said he was coming back before supper; he’s not here yet."

"I’ve noticed some nasty clouds in the sky," said Joe, a certain amount of concern in his voice. "You think he’s on the way back?"

"I hope so," judging by his brother’s tone, the nasty clouds weren’t any news. Hoss was visibly concerned. "I’m sure Adam would like to be back before the storm, and he’s unlikely not
to notice the look of the sky."

"Maybe he’ll make it yet," Joe shrugged his shoulders again, and sat down comfortably. "Let’s wait, shall we?"

~~~~

"Get up, Joe, I’ve had it."

Joe yawned and stretched, as he woke. "What is THAT all about, Hoss?"

A flash of lightning was immediately answered by a roll of thunder. Hoss towered over Joe like a real old bear, and impatiently waited for him to get up.

"I’ve had enough of this. Adam’s not back, and that old skinny horse that just came alone to the livery looks awful like the one he went on."

Joe pulled himself up, and glanced worriedly out of the window. "Adam’s not back?"

"Nope, he’s not," Hoss growled.

"And… you’re sure that was his horse?"

"Yep, I’m sure," growled his brother again, this time somehow lower.

"I’ll get my gear." You didn’t want to risk reasoning with an angry Hoss, and besides, he himself was a bit concerned at Adam’s absence. It wasn’t like him to stay out in such weather,
even with friends, if he said he would be back.

The weather was indeed dreadful. After half an hour ride, Joe dearly wished he had never left the hotel room. Just then, Hoss nudged him, not all-too-delicately.

"Hear that?"

"What?", barked Joe tiredly.

"That," Hoss moved towards something he was hearing.

Now Joe heard it, too. A barking of a dog, somewhere near by.

"Adam doesn’t have a dog," he observed, but knew the answer before he heard it.

"If a dog barks like that, it’s to draw somebody’s attention. Whoever is there, is definitely in trouble."

"How do you know?", argued Joe. A deep roll of thunder shook them both.

"That’s how I know," answered Hoss briefly. He sometimes did have Adam’s sarcastic manner, Joe thought.

The barking was closer now, and eventually they were able to spot a white patch among the trees, which soon turned out to be a rather big, white dog. Hoss approached it gently, yet
quickly.

"What is it, doggy?"

As though it could answer.

"Joe!"

Obviously, it could.

Hoss pulled off his jacket and slicker, and wrapped the limp form before him in the garments.

"He’s injured, must have been a wolf or something," he said quickly. "He’s bad off."

"A wolf," agreed Joe weakly, glancing at the bloodied mass a few steps away. "I think he killed it."

He noticed the pallor of Adam’s skin, and was immediately aware of the dangers: infection, chill, pneumonia, shock… he felt himself pale a bit. No, not Adam.

"Get him on your horse, and I’ll mount behind him," he said quickly. "Mine won’t hold us both, and I’m lighter than you. How’s his leg?"

"Stopped bleeding," said Hoss briefly. "Mount up, I’ll pass him to you."

The dog barked, as though still nervous, and kept by their side.

"It’s okay, we have him," said Hoss reassuringly, and clicked the horse to go faster, as did Joe.

~~~~

Adam moaned again, but the doctor seemed oblivious to that. He carefully cleaned and washed the last of the bite traces, then bandaged the leg tightly and covered it. Adam coughed,
and this time the doctor grimaced a little.

"Let’s see his throat," he said to Hoss. The big man carefully raised the fevered body so that the doctor could get a glimpse at his brother’s throat. The physician then took out his
stethoscope, and listened carefully to the ill man’s breathing.

"Wouldn’t be as bad if he hadn’t suffered a shock," admitted the doctor at last. "His leg is fairly clean, he didn’t lose as much blood as I was afraid he would. However, he was out in the
cold for some time, and is still in shock. I suppose, if you follow my instructions to the letter, we can pull him through."

Hoss and Joe both relaxed visibly, but still not completely.

"Is this fever a danger?", asked Hoss.

"I’d like it lower," admitted the doctor, "but we can keep it from soaring, I believe. First of all, he must be half-sitting, at least as long there is a danger of pneumonia, so that he can
breathe more easily. I’ll leave you some medicine to give him, and please make sure he’s warm, even if he thinks it’s too warm for him. Is it his dog?"

Joe looked forlornly at the animal. It was wet, and dirty, but definitely not aggressive, if not outright friendly. He didn’t feel like answering. He was too worried.

"Sure," he heard Hoss say. "We didn’t have time to wash it properly, sorry."

The doctor nodded. "Does it sleep with his master?"

Hoss pursed his lips, but answered self-consciously, "Sure."

"He could use another source of warmth as well," explained the man. "Once you’ve washed it you can let it into the bed, for as long as your brother is ill, so that he’s warmer. I’ll check on
him tomorrow," he got up wearily. "We’ll know more then."

Hoss smiled at the doctor, and let Joe handle the finances.

"He’ll be fine, Hoss?" Joe couldn’t help asking.

"Sure, buddy."

~~~~

"Definitely," added the doctor. "His fever is clearly down, and the coughing fits are less frequent. He should wake up soon. I’m no longer needed here." He rose from the bed’s side.
"Good day to you, gentlemen."

"Thank you, doctor."

"Thank you."

Adam coughed weakly, but nowhere near so awfully as before. Joe sighed in relief, then, after a few moments, met Hoss’ gaze, remembering.

"Pa’s coming tomorrow, right?", he asked, not wanting to hear the answer really.

~~~~

"Pa," Little Joe at last spotted his father, and held his arm. "Here."

Once out of the crowd, Ben hugged Joe with the arm free of luggage. "Hello, son."

"Hi." Joe smiled at him, but seemingly didn’t manage it very convincingly. He could see by his father’s face that the unease was written all over his own.

"Something wrong, son? You three fine?"

"Adam’s a bit ill," admitted Joe, ruefully, trying to choose the most delicate and careful wording. "I mean.. he’s been ill… he’s just not fit enough yet."

"Ill?" Ben stopped and held Joe by the arms. "What happened?" There we had it.

Joe sighed involuntarily. "He was out in the cold… a-and a wolf jumped him… the fever already broke, he just sleeps a lot now."

"Cold? Wolf?? Fever???" Too much had been revealed already, clearly.

"Easy, Pa," Joe tried to calm him quickly. "He’s almost fine now."

"Almost?!…" Ben shot forward towards the hotel building. "How is he really, Joe?"

"Just weak and tired, slow down, Pa," Joe was rather annoyed. He could understand the worry, but this here was unreasonable. "I don’t think it’ll help any if you burst into the room,
wake him up and load him with questions. He needs his rest."

If Ben slowed down, then imperceptibly. "Which room?"

"I’ll show you," answered Joe simply. Maybe this would help. "Slow down, they won’t go anywhere."

Eventually, Ben opened the door to the room, to be greeted by Hoss.

"Hey, Pa. I take it Joe told you Adam was resting?…"

"Resting?!" Ben’s voice rose a good couple of decibels.

"Shhht!" His two sons simultaneously put their fingers to their lips. Adam was better, and when he was well, he was a light sleeper.

"What do you mean ‘resting’?!" If one can shout in a whisper, Ben just did. At least he toned down.

"He’s better," explained Hoss calmly. "Just let him sleep, okay?"

"Where is he?" Relief was clear on their father’s face. Hoss nodded his head towards a darker corner of the room; Adam coughed faintly from the bed. Beside his head there appeared the
smiling muzzle.

"He helped us find Adam," explained Hoss quickly, then justified the lack of further information with a shrug of his shoulders. "Somehow."

Adam stirred, and sighed in his sleep; he was visibly relaxed.

"He’d caught a chill," explained Hoss. "He was coming back from the Joneses when a lone wolf scared his horse away, but Adam killed it."

"Not before it attacked him," growled Ben. Joe caught Hoss’ scowl, and couldn’t help but chastise himself mentally for his carelessness. Hoss obediently admitted, "He got bitten, but
it’s not bad, the doctor said. If he hadn’t caught the cold, he’d have already been up and about."

"Now you’ve seen he’s fine," interrupted Joe, "and we can go eat. You must be starving." Hopefully, Pa would have calmed down by the time they were back, and maybe Adam would
have woken up already, or at least have stopped coughing… And maybe Pa wouldn’t go into much detail.

"I’ll stay with him," Hoss decided before Ben could say anything. Whew. "Don’t worry none. Just go."

~~~~

Ben kept glaring at the table, his meal forgotten.

"Pa, you have to eat," Joe admonished him, sipping his coffee. "Adam will be fine in no time."

For a moment Ben looked at him with something akin to anger, but then his gaze softened.

"You let the dog into the bed?", he asked almost absently, clearly trying to divert his thoughts from Adam’s health. "Is it at least clean?"

"We washed him and brushed him," stated Joe proudly. It was fun – especially how Hoss got splashed all over. The dog was fun, generally. "That’s some trained dog, he goes out if he
needs to. I mean… you know… if he needs to."

For some time they were both silent, Ben deep in thought; about Adam, probably.

"How did you get on… in the meantime?…," he toyed with his cup, even more absently than before. "Everything fine?’

"Sure," answered Joe enthusiastically, and caught Ben’s scrutinising look. You never change in this respect, right, Pa? "You can ask Hoss or Adam," he added honestly. At least this
once he could.

"Hey, okay, I believe you," his father smiled at him warmly. He was probably too upset about Adam to be angry. "I just expected you all to be fine, and…"

"We are," Joe assured him indulgently. "Come on, let’s go to them before you bore a hole in the chair, fidgeting like that."

"That’s not the tone to be used towards your father," Ben frowned, but it didn’t sound as though he were too concerned. Joe knew when he could allow himself such comments.

"Hey," Hoss smiled at them triumphantly, as they entered the room. "He woke up for a moment; he’s fine, just a bit sleepy."

Ben exhaled with relief. "Is he really fine?"

"Yep," Hoss nodded with a smile. "Hey, anybody willing to go for a walk with me? These old chairs are mighty uncomfortable," he massaged his lower back dramatically.

"I’m tired," declared Joe. Maybe Adam would wake up again; Joe was glad he had woken up in Hoss’ presence; however, he quietly hoped to talk to him too, and see for himself how fit
Adam was. He noticed Hoss’ gaze rest on his father, and went to his aid. "Go with Pa. Besides, somebody has to stay in case Adam needs anything."

"Come on, Pa," Hoss put his hat on. "You must work out the kinks from the stagecoach, and the beer isn’t all that bad here."

Ben hesitated, then went with Hoss.

Joe sat himself comfortably by Adam’s bed, and stroked the dog absently. He was glad Pa had not taken it as badly as he could have, though he had to admit it might have gone
smoother as well.

Looking down at Adam, he suddenly felt hungry. Then he realised Adam had not had anything to eat – not that he could eat much when unconscious – but now, as he had woken…
He’d surely be hungry next time. Broth seemed like the best choice; Joe tiptoed out of the room and asked the cook in the restaurant downstairs to send somebody up with some broth
for his ill brother. The cook, always grave, unless unpleasant, with a huge frame rather of a bouncer than a gastronomic master, nodded solemnly, and even asked:

"Woken up yet, your brother?"

"Yeah," Joe smiled with evident relief. "I think he’ll even be hungry next time."

The cook curved his lips in something close to a smile. "‘Make a light broth, he can’t take anything too heavy for the stomach yet. I’ll see someone up with it."

"Thanks. Oh, I owe you…" Joe let the sentence hang, waiting for the price. The cook muttered in reply, then smirked again. "Hope your brother gets well soon. A likable guy."

Joe felt sort of… shaken at the change in the cook’s demeanour, but paid, smiled his thanks once again, and came back to the room.

"Me older brother here’s some charmer," he whispered to the dog. "Here, I got you something, too."

The dog reluctantly left Adam’s side, and swallowed the piece of meat quickly, though not so much out of hunger, but rather so as not to waste time. Then he immediately placed himself
on the bed, and wagged his thanks, when Joe pulled up the covers some to let him under them.

Soon, the broth was there. Joe cooled it a bit, then left it on the table, pondering – how to get it into Adam now?

He sat by his brother’s side, thinking, when he heard it.

"Hey."

His brother was smirking up at him; he did not look too bad, Joe decided; even did some stretching.

"Hey yourself," Joe broke out in a huge smile. "I thought Hoss told you to go to sleep."

"In fact, he did," admitted Adam. "I just woke."

"How are you?"

Adam mumbled something like, "Why does everybody ask me that question?", then smiled reassuringly at Joe. "Fine enough." Sounded true enough.

"Have you thought of naming the dog, actually?", Joe stroked the dog; he just couldn’t help asking.

"Yeeah," Adam sounded thoughtful. "I’m not sure if it wasn’t that that woke me. Something on my mind."

Joe got up, still grinning – and he cared none if he appeared silly with the huge grin of relief or not, as long as Adam sounded like himself, so that you knew everything was fine with him
– and he went to the table. He heard Adam mumble, and turned to him, thinking Adam may be calling him.

"Creare… Creatum… Arrideo – dere… arridere…"

"Adam, what are you mumbling?", asked Joe with kind curiosity.

"Something Hoss told me… Arridere… Arrisum. Now… Creare…"

"I don’t think Hoss told you anything like that," Joe shook his head in mock concern. Hoss wouldn’t even know how to pronounce such things, whatever they meant. He fetched the
bowl and returned from the table.

"Do I smell broth?" Adam shifted expectantly. Mumbling seemed momentarily forgotten.

"I was kind of hoping to get it inside you," admitted Joe. "You think you’ll be able to manage if I hold you a bit more… up?"

"Sure."

Surprisingly, Adam managed to eat all the broth; must have been real hungry, decided Joe, thankful for his own thoughtfulness. Finished, Adam remembered the dog.

"Did he get anything?"

"Sure did, Adam," Joe assured him. "He saved your life, as it were. My, isn’t he a cute dog? He’s smiling at you all the time, have you noticed?"

"A ‘Yes’ on all fronts," answered Adam thoughtfully. Well, if he was thinking, he wasn’t as bad off.

"Made to smile, huh?" Joe stroked the dog’s head.

"Mhm," Adam gazed at the dog for a while, then slowly said, "Ille creatus arrisum est."

"Eerrr… Huh?", asked Joe innocently. He wasn’t sure what – or who – the comment was about. If Adam meant to offend him…

"Hoss said something like: he was created to smile," explained Adam absently, still buried in thought. "And that’s exactly what I have just said. In Latin," he added quickly. "I’ve been
thinking of a name for him… some unusual name, he’s quite an unusual dog…"

"This whatever-you-said is quite a mouthful," decided Joe, too kindly. Adam was definitely doing too much thinking. "Go to sleep now, and dream of something better, huh?"

"I know I can’t name him with a whole sentence," Adam lay down obediently, letting Joe help him. That meant he wasn’t completely well yet. Maybe the leg hurt him, or he was simply
tired. "Maybe… Arrisum? That’s the part about smiling…"

"Still too big," Joe smoothed the covers handsomely, and patted the dog. "Go to sleep, will you?", he admonished Adam kindly. Oh, this big brother of his…

"Arris," decided Adam sleepily. "That’s shorter. I’ll call him Arris." With that, he closed his eyes, and soon his breathing took on a familiar to Joe, steady rhythm.

~~~~

Upon returning, Ben went to Adam immediately, while Joe shared the details with Hoss.

"Yeah, he was just fine, even ate something."

"Whew, at least Pa will calm down eventually," murmured Hoss in reply.

Hearing Adam’s weak voice, they turned to the bed, but held back so as to allow their father some privacy with their brother.

"He should sleep," muttered Hoss, but cared for his father not to hear it.

"Hi, Pa."

"Hey," Ben leaned over to him to be closer. "How do you feel?"

"Sleepy," admitted Adam weakly. "Otherwise fine. Will Hop Sing be there next time I wake up?", he asked curiously. Joe and Hoss exchanged glances, but it was Ben who asked, puzzled.

"What…? Do you need him for anything?", he asked carefully.

Adam smiled, possibly sensing his father’s unease. "Never mind, Pa, just a random thought."

He yawned. "I’m rather sleepy, Pa. ‘Night."

"Good night, son." Ben at last seemed reassured that everything was going to be fine.

The dog gazed at him, then wagged his tail enthusiastically. Hoss smiled and winked at Joe. Ben left Adam’s bed, eventually, though not without reluctance, and together they began
planning the trip back home.

~~~~

Joe couldn’t help admiring the dog, Arris. Intelligent, playful, obedient, strong… he wished he had such a dog. Then he remembered the last time Arris greeted Adam back home,
throwing him down with the weight and the impact… Well, anyway, the dog was just fine with Adam as his master, he decided. The dog had grown since then another couple of inches,
and Adam would not allow such greetings anymore.

Though, maybe, a smaller one… No, he guessed his father wouldn’t have allowed that. Unless it saved Joe’s life, like Arris had saved Adam’s.

Hmmmm….

*********************

Hoss’ yawning shook the window panes; the bed squeaked and creaked under his big frame; countless sheep jumped through the fence – and he still couldn’t fall asleep. This was
unnerving. For once, he was alone, Adam having gone to see a friend, Joe to town; instead of rocky ground there was a comfortable bed, and it seemed like a perfect time for a nap. If he
could just fall asleep, that is. Or at least doze off.

He turned back on the other side, with some grumbling noises, and yawned more widely and loudly than before.

Maybe he should get up, he thought. Huh. All right, so he would get up.

The bed groaned.

He fingered the pages of Adam’s book, then decided he wasn’t in the mood for reading. He took Joe’s unfinished carving; no, that wasn’t it, either.

With a powerful sigh, he sat himself by the window. He gazed at the bright dresses of the pretty ladies, at the laughing men on the pavement, at the old man with the pipe, at the two
neighing horses by the water trough, and the two silent ones, at the darkening sky, then at his bed. Adam would be back soon, if he wanted to make it before the storm, and he had said
he’d be there for supper, anyway. Joe wouldn’t stay in the saloon forever, either.

If he was to have his nap, it had to be now.

~~~~

When he heard steps, he sighed greatly. Though, this didn’t quite sound like…

"Hey, you two old bears, I’m back!" This was clearly Joe.

"So I’ve noticed," grumbled Hoss from his bed. The nagging worry in the back of his mind increased somewhat. "Thought it was Adam; for once you’re earlier than him."

Joe shrugged his shoulders, but seemed to lose some of his good humour. "He’s not back yet?"

"Uh-uh," Hoss shook his head, getting up slowly. This didn’t look too good. "He said he was coming back before supper; he’s not here yet."

"I’ve noticed some nasty clouds in the sky," said Joe, a certain amount of concern in his voice. "You think he’s on the way back?"

"I hope so." He’d noticed the weather had got worse, and it did nothing to tone down his concern. "I’m sure Adam would like to be back before the storm, and he’s unlikely not to notice
the look of the sky."

"Maybe he’ll make it yet," Joe shrugged his shoulders again, and sat down comfortably. "Let’s wait, shall we?"

Sure, they could wait. But Joe’s leisurely manner unnerved Hoss, if he were to be honest. He was truly worried, more so with each passing minute.

~~~~

And even more so with each flash of lightning and each roll of thunder. Adam either wasn’t coming back today – which was unlikely – or he was stopped on his way. And Hoss didn’t
think Adam would stop willingly in the middle of such weather.

He drummed his fingers on the table; then he pursed his lips thoughtfully; then he got up. Okay, enough was enough.

"Get up, Joe, I’ve had it."

Joe yawned and stretched on his bed. It seemed he HAD managed to fall asleep. "What is THAT all about, Hoss?"

A bright flash and a deep roll of thunder answered Joe’s question fully, in Hoss’ opinion. He impatiently waited for his brother to get up.

"I’ve had enough of this. Adam’s not back, and that old skinny horse that just came alone to the livery looks awful like the one he went on."

Joe pulled himself up, and glanced rather worriedly out of the window. "Adam’s not back?" The news unsettled him, Hoss could see that.

"Nope, he’s not," he growled, unable to hide his irritation.

"And… you’re sure that was his horse?" Now this was distrust. If he said so, then it was so!

"Yep, I’m sure," he growled again.

"I’ll get my gear," Joe sounded concerned at Adam’s absence, too. It wasn’t like Adam to stay out in foul weather, even with friends, if he said he would be back.

The wind howled wildly around them, and Hoss thought it was no use calling out for Adam. Both he and Joe kept their eyes open, against the rain and the blinding lightning flashes,
hoping for any signs their brother would give them. He could see Joe was tiring quickly, but doggedly wouldn’t admit that aloud. Just when Joe cursed silently, Hoss thought he’d heard
something else through the wind and the rain. He nudged Joe in the side.

"Hear that?" That was clearly…

"What?", barked Joe tiredly. He HAD had enough, just as Hoss had suspected. But Hoss felt suddenly that they weren’t on a hopeless search.

"That," he moved on towards the distant barking of the dog. It had to be somewhere nearby, just muffled some by the trees, rocks, and weather.

"Adam doesn’t have a dog," he heard Joe mutter.

"If a dog barks like that, it’s to draw somebody’s attention," he replied impatiently. "Whoever is there, is definitely in trouble."

"How do you know?", argued Joe. A roll of thunder shook the earth, and Hoss answered briefly, holding his emotions reined, "That’s how I know."

The barking was closer now. Soon, Hoss was able to spot its source – a fairly big, white dog. Hoss dismounted, and approached it as quickly as he could without scaring it.

"What is it, doggy?"

Then he saw it. Or rather heard it first; the soft moans of pain, coming from the dark shelter. Adam’s dark clothes were wet, his trousers cut open down from the right knee, and he
shivered badly. Hoss carefully pulled Adam’s knee from his chest, eliciting new groans from the unconscious figure.

"Joe!", he called impatiently.

He pulled off his jacket and slicker, and wrapped Adam in them. He noticed his brother wasn’t as cold in the front as in the back, and then saw the print of a heavy form on the leaves
beside. The dog.

"He’s injured, must have been a wolf or something," he said quickly to Joe. "He’s bad off."

"A wolf." Joe’s voice was rather weak, and only now did Hoss notice the animal’s corpse. Nothing pretty, he had to agree with Joe here. He heard his brother say, "I think he killed it."
Supposedly. The knife and Adam’s hand were both bloodied. He put the knife in his pocket for now, and concentrated on getting Adam back to a dry, warm bed.

Joe looked for a moment as though he were going to be sick, but instead he said quickly, "Get him on your horse, and I’ll mount behind him. Mine won’t hold us both, and I’m lighter than
you. How’s his leg?"

"Stopped bleeding," said Hoss briefly, and was thankful for this little blessing. "Mount up, I’ll pass him to you."

The dog barked; it had followed them, or maybe Adam, to the horses.

"It’s okay, we have him," he said to reassure the nervous animal, and clicked the horse to go faster. Adam needed a doctor.

Adam moaned quietly throughout the way, in the hotel, and during the doctor’s administrations. The doctor seemed oblivious to that, or at least too concentrated on cleaning and
washing the injuries, or maybe he was used to it. When he bandaged the leg, Adam coughed, and this time the doctor looked worried.

"Let’s see his throat," he said, and Hoss carefully raised his brother to enable the doctor to examine him. The man listened then carefully to the ill man’s breathing.

Hoss took a deep breath, waiting for the diagnosis.

"Wouldn’t be as bad if he hadn’t suffered a shock," spoke the doctor at last. "His leg is fairly clean, he didn’t lose as much blood as I was afraid he would." Good. "However, he was out
in the cold for some time, and is still in shock. I suppose, if you follow my instructions to the letter, we can pull him through nicely."

They both relaxed visibly, but still not completely; Hoss was becoming alarmed with Adam’s rising fever.

"I’d like it lower," admitted the doctor, "but we can keep it from soaring, I believe. First of all, he must be half-sitting, at least as long there is a danger of pneumonia, so that he can breath
more easily. I’ll leave you some medicine to give him, and please make sure he’s warm, even if he thinks it’s too warm for him. Is it his dog?"

Joe looked blankly at the animal, and Hoss decided quickly, "Sure. We didn’t have time to wash it properly, sorry."

The doctor just nodded. "Does it sleep with his master?"

Oops… Wait a second, it tried to… It might. "Sure."

"He could use another source of warmth as well," explained the man. So that was it. "Once you’ve washed it you can let it into the bed, for as long as your brother is ill, so that he’s
warmer. I’ll check on him tomorrow," he got up wearily. "We’ll know more then."

Hoss smiled at the doctor, and let Joe handle the finances. He was still worried sick, and had to think of some way of getting Adam better. If it be the dog, be it the dog.

Then he heard Joe, or rather Little Joe, lost, scared, and as worried as he was.

"He’ll be fine, Hoss?"

"Sure, buddy."

~~~~

"Definitely," confirmed the doctor. "His fever is clearly down, and the coughing fits are less frequent. He should wake up soon. I’m no longer needed here," he rose from the bed’s side.
"Good day to you, gentlemen."

They quickly said their thanks, not wanting to sound ungrateful, but too relieved to mind the formalities very much. Adam still coughed, but nowhere near so much or so bad as he had.
Joe sighed in relief; Hoss gazed at his young brother pensively, a distinct thought materialising in his head – a certain thing that he just remembered. After a few moments, Joe met Hoss’
gaze, and Hoss could see he remembered, too.

"Pa’s coming tomorrow, right?", asked Joe, unhappily.

~~~~

The next day came too quickly for their liking. At least it wasn’t Hoss who had to break the news to Pa, and prepare him for the sight of Adam in bed.

Eventually, they were there.

"Hey, Pa. I take it Joe told you Adam was resting?…," tried Hoss defensively. Here goes nothing.

"Resting?!" Ben’s voice rose a good couple of decibels.

"Shhht!" Pa should really think of Adam’s light sleep, sometimes.

"What do you mean ‘resting’?!" Ben almost shouted. Well, at least now he did it quietly enough.

"He’s better," explained Hoss calmly. ‘Cause he was. "Just let him sleep, okay?"

"Where is he?" The relief was evident. Hoss nodded his head towards Adam’s bed. Adam coughed faintly, and, of course, Ben flinched. The dog smiled at the newcomer nicely – at least
Hoss could have sworn he smiled.

"He helped us find Adam," he explained quickly, then suddenly lacked further explanation, so he just shrugged his shoulders. "Somehow."

Adam stirred, and sighed in his sleep; he looked relaxed, and sleeping peacefully.

"He’d caught a chill," explained Hoss. He had prepared some explanation, giving much consideration to what Adam called ‘leaving out the minor details’. "He was coming back from the
Joneses when a lone wolf scared his horse away, but Adam killed it."

"Not before it attacked him," growled Ben. Hoss scowled at Joe – this had already been going so nicely – but obediently admitted, "He got bitten, but it’s not bad, the doctor said. If he
hadn’t caught the cold, he’d have already been up and about."

"Now you’ve seen he’s fine, and we can go eat." Joe interrupted them, clearly sorry for having revealed the ‘minor details’. They had agreed Pa should hear as little of Adam’s coughing
as possible, and most ideally not hear it at all, as it was already subsiding anyway. "You must be starving," added Joe casually, but his eyes betrayed his hope to persuade Ben.
Hopefully, thought Hoss, Pa hadn’t noticed.

"I’ll stay with him," Hoss said, to aid his brother, before Ben could say anything. "Don’t worry none. Just go."

Left alone with Adam, Hoss sat himself in the old armchair, and stretched. He took a deep, relaxing breath, closing his eyes for a moment.

Then, suddenly, coughing reached his ears, and he opened his eyes in panic. Had he fallen asleep? So he felt… Adam? Had Adam coughed? He shot out of the armchair to reach his
brother’s side.

He was greeted by a weak, almost apologetic smile.

"Hey," said Adam, and coughed.

He woke up, he woke up!!! Hurray!!! "Hey."

Adam was stroking the dog absently – gee, he wouldn’t ever admit to a soft heart, but he had one for sure – and gazed at Hoss for a while. Welcome among the conscious, brother.

"Sorry I gave you trouble." His voice was quite strong, for somebody who had coughed over the better part of the last two days, Hoss thought.

"Nothing we couldn’t handle," Hoss winked at him.

"How’s my leg?", Adam wanted to know. If he remembered anything, he had a reason to worry, Hoss had to admit.

"Whole," he said. "Not as bad as you could expect. You’ll be up and about in no time."

Adam seemed more at ease now. This must have been what he was so worried about.

"You got yourself a nice cold, close to pneumonia, I could say," added Hoss honestly. "The doc said it wouldn’t have been as bad if you hadn’t been in shock."

"I see." He glanced at the dog, and the animal wagged his tail eagerly.

"He was barking over you, and that’s how we found you," confessed Hoss. He felt a pang of guilt that he probably wouldn’t have found Adam by himself. "No earthly power can take
him from your side – or your bed, for that matter. It’s possible he’s been somebody’s dog for a time, he’s quite trained, you know, and after the bath and brushing he looks quite a
champion," Hoss grinned. "What will you call him?"

The dog barked loudly, happily. He knew he was spoken about.

"Yyuck!"

Hoss had to suppress a chuckle at the dog’s caresses, as Adam ran his sleeve across his face with obvious disgust.

"I… don’t think that is a good name," started Hoss shyly, then grinned at Adam’s glare. "Hey, come on, he just looks like he was created for smiling," he reasoned, with a wink. "Okay,
now seriously, what will you call him?"

"I’ll think of it," Adam informed him in his usually so annoying all-too-kind tone, then patiently, slowly, wiped his face again after a renewed licking. Hoss couldn’t help but chuckle now;
Adam threw him a bad imitation of a smile.

"I’m beginning…"

"Whoof! Whoof!," the dog joined in the conversation happily.

"I’m beginning to consider," continued Adam with martyrdom on his face. "To consider ‘Yuck’ exactly the name we need."

"Lie down, doggy," offered Hoss. The dog lay down quietly, obediently, and wagged his tail. Hoss grinned sheepishly. Adam grumbled something, then winked at him anyway.

"He chose the wrong master, I guess. Listen… I’m kind of tired… will you mind if I get some shuteye?"

"Well, I’ll mind if you don’t," Hoss pulled the covers up. It was wonderful to see Adam awake again, but he needed his rest badly, whether or not he would admit it. Adam seemed to
understand that, or maybe he was simply tired, for he did as he was told.

"‘Night, Hoss."

"‘Night, Adam."

"Whoof!"

"‘Night, Yuck," mumbled Adam, and Hoss swallowed a guffaw. Shht, Adam needed his sleep, he admonished himself. Now, anyway, he could calmly wait for them to come back – no, not
in the armchair, he decided, for as uncomfortable as it was, it somehow put him to sleep.

Not much later, his father and brother knocked at the door.

"Hey," Hoss smiled at them triumphantly. "He woke up for a moment; he’s fine, just a bit sleepy."

Ben exhaled with relief. "Is he really fine?"

"Yep," Hoss nodded with a smile. He was clearly just as relieved. "Hey, anybody willing to go for a walk with me? These old chairs are mighty uncomfortable," he massaged his lower
back dramatically. Hopefully, Joe would take the hint. Pa was supposed to go. Adam had coughed once or twice, and besides, something had to be done to calm Ben down, as he was
evidently nervous, and worried about his eldest.

"I’m tired," declared Joe. Thanks, brother. "Go with Pa. Besides, somebody has to stay in case Adam needs anything."

"Come on, Pa," Hoss put his hat on, not giving his father a chance to argue. "You must work out the kinks from the stagecoach, and the beer isn’t all that bad here."

Ben hesitated, but eventually followed.

Hoss saw all too clearly, that Ben’s mind wasn’t with his middle son, but with his eldest one; he didn’t mind. Ben always worried if any of them were in a worse shape than usual. Hoss
still found it funny, the way Ben tried to cover his wish to buy something for Adam. Hoss would have been the slightest bit envious, maybe, if he did not know Adam would not even
know how to ask for something, never mind think to ask it.

Since Marie, Ben seemed to carefully try to spoil them all, including Adam. The thought of spoiling Adam was quite funny for Hoss, but on the other hand, Adam had never asked
anything, and it genuinely surprised him each time to be given something for nothing. That’s why Hoss also liked giving presents to Adam. Well, he could at least help Pa now.

His father seemed genuinely embarrassed at Hoss’ insight, but after a second accepted his help gratefully, and they searched for something together.

~~~~

Back in the hotel, Ben kept glued to Adam’s side, the purchased book forgotten for now, while Joe shared his news with Hoss in a more detailed manner.

"Yeah, he was just fine, even ate something," he was saying, with certain relief in his voice. Even if he made as though unconcerned, Hoss wasn’t fooled.

"Whew, at least Pa will calm down eventually," murmured Hoss in reply. When Pa was worried, or nervous, or angry, the atmosphere seemed unbearable for Hoss. Upon hearing Adam’s
weak voice, both he and Joe turned to the bed, but held back so as to allow their father some privacy with their brother.

"He should sleep," muttered Hoss, concerned that Adam wasn’t resting as he should be, but he knew better than to let their father hear it.

"Hi, Pa."

"Hey," Ben leaned over to him to be closer, as he always did when any of them was unwell. "How do you feel?"

"Sleepy," admitted Adam. Nothing new. "Otherwise fine. Will Hop Sing be there next time I wake up?", he asked curiously. Hoss raised his eyebrow and exchanged a glance with Joe;
Hoss did not follow Adam’s line of thought in much clearer cases, however, and therefore decided to let it go.

"What…?", Ben seemed puzzled, and carefully asked, "Do you need him for anything?"

Adam smiled; he knew his father’s unease. "Never mind, Pa, just a random thought."

He yawned. "I’m rather sleepy, Pa. ‘Night."

"Good night, son."

At last asleep again, Hoss thought; also Ben seemed reassured that everything was going to be fine.

The dog gazed at Ben, then wagged his tail enthusiastically. Animals always sensed a good man; Hoss contrasted that with the usual image of his father as a stern patriarch, and couldn’t
help but smile.

Ben left Adam’s bed, reluctantly, and they could plan to get Adam home as soon as possible. You rested nowhere as you rested at home.

~~~~

Arris – Adam’s dog – was one you didn’t want to have against you. Actually, too much admiration for his master was equally dangerous at times, as Hoss had observed. With his
current weight and size, and the impact of his greetings, Arris would have had Hoss down easily, not too mention poor Adam. Then again, Arris was a lovely, and a loyal dog. A friend in
need… and so on.

Now, how to tell Pa about those little kittens… And how to tell Arris?…

*******************

The horse was not one of the best, but it would have to do. Adam would rather if he made it back to the hotel before it began to rain, which was why he had cut short his visit to the
Joneses. He did not trust the horse to develop any extraordinary speed.

Oh, my. The first rain drops greeted his face. He clicked his tongue to make the horse go faster. The animal suddenly shied from something, however, and Adam hardly managed to
control it.

"Now, would you go!…"

A dark shadow hit the side of the horse, and this time Adam met the ground.

"Oooff!…" That hurt.

He no sooner heard the low growl than a sharp pain bit into his leg. He kicked convulsively to free himself, but then the pain tore his leg apart. "Aaagh!"

His gun – gone – he cast a panicked glance around – the teeth dug deeper into flesh – knife. He stabbed once, then once more. And once more. And once more.

The dark greyish mass at his leg stopped moving. He struck once more, just to be sure. Then, at first calmly, then more and more furiously, he pulled at the wolf’s jaws to free himself. The
rain was coming down hard now. Around… what was around… that looked a good shelter… He moaned with each movement, crawling towards the dark nest, cuddled into a tangle of
trees, branches and leaves.

Looked dry.

He shook with cold as he fell onto the leaves. The leg hurt horribly, and he realised he had to stem the flow of blood. He cut the trousers leg apart, and pulled out his handkerchief. The
leg was covered in blood; he tied the cloth around it, covering most of the bleeding cuts, and pulled the knee to his chest, as he didn’t have any tourniquet, and was afraid to lose more
blood.

The cold shot through him with tiny paralysing arrows. Wind threw shadows at and around him; they played and danced in his fevered mind.

Slowly, very slowly, the cold’s piercing arrows left an almost pleasant numbness, and he imagined he was warmer.

~~~~

When he first woke up, the warmth was there. It touched his chest, leg, back. He was still cold inside, but he distinctly felt warmth around him. He was alone. It was a hotel room, vaguely
familiar, and a bed. He was lying in bed. Something cold and wet touched his face, and he turned his head towards the warm heaviness beside him. It was a white dog, with a smiling
muzzle, and it lay beside him, under the covers.

He felt weak, and understood he must have been ill. The dog snuggled closer, and he absently reached to stroke its white hair. His head was heavy, and the world waltzed into a whirl, his
eyelids like lead.

~~~~

When he woke up again, his head was clearer. The dog still lay by his side, and raised his smiling muzzle to greet his new friend. Adam wiped his face with disgust. "Yuck!"

He stroked the dog, however; the animal was clearly happy with that.

Adam took his time to take in his surroundings thoroughly. By the window, his gaze fell on a huge frame, rather inertly filling the armchair. This HAD to be an armchair, at least some 10
years ago it could have been called one. Poor Hoss. Must have fallen asleep on his nursing duties.

The leg was less of a nuisance now – Ow. At least as long as it was left alone and still. It was clear to him now that he had been ill. He felt somewhat weak, but otherwise fine. Well, yes,
apart from the cough.

The coughing obviously reached Hoss, for he woke, shot out of the armchair and was suddenly by Adam’s side, to be greeted by a weak, apologetic smile.

"Hey," said Adam, and coughed.

No face could light up with radiating joy like Hoss’ could, he thought. No voice could be as strengthening and warm as Hoss’.

"Hey."

Adam was still stroking the dog absently, as he searched for signs of tiredness on Hoss’ face.

"Sorry I gave you trouble." His voice was quite strong, even he himself felt better for that.

"Nothing we couldn’t handle." Hoss was always the firmest rock of reassurance and comfort.

"How’s my leg?", Adam wanted to know. It felt whole, but he hadn’t seen it yet.

"Whole," confirmed Hoss. "Not as bad as you could expect. You’ll be up and about in no time."

His matter-of-fact rather than soothing tone put Adam at ease. Hoss never lied – he didn’t really know how to.

"You got yourself a nice cold, close to pneumonia, I could say," added Hoss honestly. "The doc said it wouldn’t have been as bad if you hadn’t been in shock."

"I see." He glanced at the dog, which was visibly smiling at him, for its tail moved as quickly as the covers allowed.

"He was barking over you, and that’s how we found you," confessed Hoss. "No earthly power can take him from your side – or your bed, for that matter. It’s possible he’s been
somebody’s dog for a time, he’s quite trained, you know, and after the bath and brushing he looks quite a champion. What will you call him?"

Truthfully, the white hair was very white, clean and soft to the touch. The dog barked loudly, happy with the attention he was getting, and greeted Adam heartily once more.

"Yyuck!"

Adam ran his sleeve across his face with obvious disgust.

"I… don’t think that is a good name," started Hoss shyly, then grinned at Adam’s glare. "Hey, come on, he just looks like he was created for smiling. Okay, now seriously," his smile was
friendly, and curious now. "What will you call him?"

"I’ll think of it," Adam informed him all-too-kindly, then patiently, slowly, wiped his face again, after a renewed greeting. Hoss chuckled, forcing Adam into a bad imitation of a smile.

"I’m beginning…"

"Whoof! Whoof!," the dog joined in happily.

"I’m beginning to consider," continued Adam with martyrdom on his face. "To consider ‘Yuck’ exactly the name we need."

"Lie down, doggy," offered Hoss. The dog lay down quietly, obediently, and wagged his tail. Adam grumbled something, then winked at Hoss anyway.

"He chose the wrong master, I guess. Listen… I’m kind of tired… will you mind if I get some shuteye?"

"Well, I’ll mind if you don’t," Hoss pulled the covers up. His presence felt soothing, and relaxing to Adam. Also, the knowledge of his surroundings and his own condition let him rest,
for only now did he realise how tense he had been when ignorant.

"‘Night, Hoss."

"‘Night, Adam."

"Whoof!"

"‘Night, Yuck."

~~~~

Next time, he woke to find Joe at his side.

"Hey," he smirked up at him, allowing himself some pleasant stretching.

"Hey yourself," Joe broke out in a huge smile. Adam found his genuine joy touching, every time. "I thought Hoss told you to go to sleep."

"In fact, he did," admitted Adam. "I just woke."

"How are you?"

"Why does everybody ask me that question?", mumbled Adam, then smiled reassuringly at Joe. "Fine enough."

"Have you thought of naming the dog, actually?", Joe stroked the animal’s white fur.

"Yeeah," Adam sounded thoughtful. "I’m not sure if it wasn’t that that woke me. Something on my mind."

Joe got up with a huge grin of relief, somewhat silly even, and he went to the table. He obviously heard Adam think aloud, for he turned back to the bed.

"Creare… Creatum… Arrideo – dere… arridere…"

"Adam, what are you mumbling?", asked Joe with kind curiosity.

"Something Hoss told me… Arridere… Arrisum. Now… Creare…"

"I don’t think Hoss told you anything like that," Joe shook his head in mock concern, then returned from the table, holding something in both hands.

"Do I smell broth?" Adam shifted expectantly, his mumbling momentarily forgotten.

"I was kind of hoping to get it inside you," admitted Joe. "You think you’ll be able to manage if I hold you a bit more… up?"

"Sure."

Surprisingly even to himself, Adam managed to get all the broth in; then, suddenly, he remembered the dog.

"Did he get anything?"

"Sure did, Adam," Joe assured him. "He saved your life, as it were. My, isn’t he a cute dog? He’s smiling at you all the time, have you noticed?"

"A ‘Yes’ on all fronts," answered Adam thoughtfully.

"Made to smile, huh?"

"Mhm," Adam gazed at the dog pensively for a while, then said, with some effort of memory, "Ille creatus arrisum est."

"Eerrr… Huh?", asked Joe innocently. He looked unsure what – or who – the comment was about.

"Hoss said something like: he was created to smile," explained Adam, still buried in thought. "And that’s exactly what I have just said. In Latin," he added quickly, by way of explanation.
"I’ve been thinking of a name for him… some unusual name, he’s quite an unusual dog…"

"This whatever-you-said is quite a mouthful," decided Joe, too kindly. "Go to sleep now, and dream of something better, huh?"

"I know I can’t name him with a whole sentence," with some help on Joe’s part, Adam lay down obediently. The leg still hurt. "Maybe… Arrisum? That’s the part about smiling…"

"Still too big," Joe smoothed the covers, and gave the dog a last pat. "Go to sleep, will you?"

"Arris," decided Adam sleepily. "That’s shorter. I’ll call him Arris." With that, he closed his eyes, and soon he drifted off.

~~~~

In his sleep, Adam felt his father’s presence by his side. He always felt strange when Pa stroked him gently like Adam was a child. There were voices somewhere. He wanted to respond.
Surely his father wanted to see he was fine.

Eventually, he managed to open his eyes, and smiled sleepily at his father. Nothing unexpected, huh, Pa?

"Hi, Pa."

"Hey," Ben leaned over to him to be closer. Adam again felt uneasy, though in fact comforted by the closeness. "How do you feel?"

"Sleepy," he admitted. Well, he was. "Otherwise fine." Hey, first Hoss, then Joe was there when he woke up, now Pa… "Will Hop Sing be there next time I wake up?", he asked curiously.

"What…?", Ben seemed puzzled. "Do you need him for anything?", he probed carefully.

Adam smiled; this must have sounded strange, judging by his father’s face. "Never mind, Pa, just a random thought."

He yawned. "I’m rather sleepy, Pa. ‘Night."

"Good night, son."

He scratched the dog’s ear, sleepily, then allowed himself to relax.

~~~~

Arris turned out a happy and enjoyable companion, full of understanding whenever Adam wasn’t able to play with him, or simply couldn’t, but still enjoying some fun with his master.
This could be a nuisance at times, yes; Adam looked at the huge, heavy white mass of playful energy, and dearly hoped Arris wouldn’t suddenly want to jump onto his knees, not since
he’d grown as big as his master, and at least twice as heavy.

A wonderful dog, anyway.

*******************

He shook sadly and lay down. His people were gone. He didn’t quite know where to go. The weather was getting worse, and he had problems finding food.

He smelled a horse; usually where there were horses, there were people. Now he heard the horse again, and the unmistakable low growl of attack.

Two shadows wrestled on the ground; the horse must have run away. He watched the fight, uncertain as to whether to join in, whether the beast or the human was the friend. And which
the foe.

The wolf stopped moving. He felt the smell of death in the air, and the smell of blood. The human was injured. The man had killed the wolf, but it was still uncertain: friend, or foe?

The human walked on his forelegs, and one hind leg. The other was injured.

He came closer. He heard the human moan in pain, and saw him crawl into the shade of trees. There could be dry shelter there, he decided, stealing towards the trees; thankfully, that
allowed him to escape the worst shower.

The human still moaned, but clumsily pulled out some cloth from somewhere, and tried to put it around the injured leg. There was a lot of blood.

The dog felt suddenly hungry. The human was human. Just like his little mistress. Darling. She had called him so. No; he had only once attacked a human, for the human attacked him,
and beat him. This human did not attack. This human was injured.

He slowly approached the human. The man was still moaning, and held his leg; he seemed badly injured, and shook. He was cold and wet to the touch.

The human probably didn’t even know the dog was there. But he stopped shaking so much, eventually, with the dog at his side. He still moaned. No soothing sounds seemed to calm
him; maybe, he didn’t hear them.

The dog, for that matter, heard horses, and people. The human needed to be helped – the dog called to them for help.

"Whoof! Whoof!"

He barked louder, when he heard the people come closer. There were two of them. He heard the bigger one shout, then talk in a calmer manner. It was some friendly human, he felt.

He went with them, as they were taking his human away. He’d have liked a master.

~~~~

The dog definitely hated bathing in soap; was this so difficult to understand for humans?

"Either that, or you stay downstairs," boomed Hoss, the biggest of the people. "You can’t go to bed with that load of dirt on you."

The dog wanted to be as close to his human as possible. They called him Adam. They took care of him, stopped the blood, made him warm; but a friendly touch would never do any
harm.

Eventually, he was free from the soap; he did prefer water. Drying – his little mistress did that, too. Was that a brush? He liked brushing.

"Whoof! Whoof!"

"He likes brushing," noted Hoss.

"Maybe he wants to play with the brush," offered the smaller human, Joe.

"Nah, just look at him," Hoss quickly and effectively brushed the ruffled white hair. "There you go, boy."

Whee, at last – bed, covers – his human.

"Hey, don’t you go there!" Joe was a little late in stopping the white mass of energy from jumping onto the bed and settling next to his brother Adam. Hoss didn’t seem upset.

"The doctor allowed him," he shrugged his shoulders.

His human was hot now; he still shook, and incessantly coughed. He ever so slightly reacted to the touch, however.

~~~~

He slowly, gradually, felt his human go cooler, and calmer, and fitter. At last, Adam opened his eyes; then, he noticed the dog beside, and stroked him – allowed him to stay. Then the
human fell asleep again.

Next time, it was simply impossible not to greet the human. Adam didn’t seem pleased, yet he stroked the dog. The other human woke, and talked to his human. Then they talked about
the dog; he kept smiling, and told them he was happy. His master again didn’t sound happy, but didn’t shout at him. Next time, Adam didn’t say anything at the dog’s affection, or his
happy barking.

"Lie down, doggy," said Hoss. His little mistress taught him that – he lay down, and smiled in triumph – he did not forget.

Meanwhile, there came yet another human – likable, and smelling like the Papa of his little mistress – but none took him away from his master. Adam even began playing with him
sometimes, then more often. The new little man was also nice, and gave Arris – he was named anew – good food. There was a lot of place to play, new tricks to learn, a new master to play
with and defend – he knew how to defend. His people didn’t allow him certain games anymore as he got bigger, but all in all, it was the best thing ever.

*****************

Adam Cartwright was definitely a wealthy man.

And right now, he was alone.

Now… head, arm, horse… He’d take the head, he decided. A scratch on the temple wasn’t worth mentioning, and the money in Cartwright’s pocket certainly was.

He took careful aim.

The growl beside him was too close, so close he didn’t dare breathe. The dog took one more step towards the man, and tore the gun out of his grasp. The metal groaned agonizingly in
the massive jaws, and he was suddenly certain that the gun wasn’t usable anymore.

"Arris!"

The man in the clearing looked around expectantly.

"Arris! Where are you, boy?"

The animal stepped back, and he was able to back into the bushes. The dog gazed after him, then joined his master, barking happily.

~~~~

He decided, California wasn’t as bad a place after all. At least there were no huge white dogs eating guns.

The End, eventually.

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