Home to Stay part 2

by: Lyn R.

It had been an idyllic Christmas and for the next six weeks Adam lived in a world of his own. Life was slack at the ranch as winter closed in and he spent hours dreaming. He went into town to visit Carol four or five times a week and Ben told him he might as well stay in town, for his mind was there whatever his body was doing.

Little Joe kept getting lumbered with his brother’s chores and one day, when Adam was going to town for the third day running, he complained bitterly to his father. “It’s about time Adam married her and brought her out to the Ponderosa, then he can do his own work!”

Ben laughed at his son and then pointed out that Adam hadn’t mentioned marriage. Joe shrugged “So! Anyone can see they are both head over heels in love.”

Ben could only agree but he was momentarily sombre as he said “I think your brother is trying to find the courage to propose. Every time he has thought of marriage in the past, things have gone wrong. I think this is so precious that he is scared to risk it.”

Adam wouldn’t have argued with his father’s ideas if he had heard them. Carole was becoming more and more important to him, in a way no other woman ever had and he knew she cared deeply. He was planning to ask her to marry him, but he had firm ideas on how and more importantly where. They had first started to get to know each other and first told each other of their love at the lake. Adam needed the confidence that the lake gave him to ask her to marry him, but the weather had not been suitable for long rides out since Christmas. For now he was content with her company as they slowly got to know each other better and better.

Then one day in town Carole had a shock when she suddenly found Buck Addison walking towards her. She stopped as he drew level and he smiled at her “I am very pleased to see you again Carole.” He asked her to join him for tea at the International House, for old time’s sake, and she agreed. Once they were installed in the restaurant, Carole said, “You didn’t seem very surprised to see me?”

Buck smiled “I knew you were in Virginia City. I’m here on business and I have been trying for the last three days to pluck up the courage to come and see you. I wasn’t sure what sort of reception I would get.”

Carole considered him, she could see what had attracted her, but now she could see a coldness in his eyes and compared to Adam he was nothing. She was very cool as she said “What was between us is in the past and finished with.”

“You are still unmarried.”

Carole raised her eyebrows “That is my business. Don’t try and resurrect our relationship that is dead. If you come as a friend then you are welcome, but if you come as a potential lover, then I don’t want to see you.”

Buck veered away from the dangerous subject and asked what she had been doing since the last time he saw her. They talked for half an hour and Carole agreed to have dinner with him the following night, just as a friend. Then she excused herself.

Carole walked home, her thoughts in turmoil. She couldn’t help comparing Buck with Adam. In some ways they were alike, both strong forceful men with the will and the ability to succeed, but Adam had the principles to govern his behaviour which Buck lacked. She was expecting Adam that evening and knew that she had to tell him that Buck was in town. She had always dreaded meeting him again, unsure how her principles would hold out in his presence, but now she was glad that she had. Since she had given her love and all her heart to Adam, she hadn’t even felt a twinge of the old feeling on meeting Buck. The problem was convincing Adam of that basic fact and she knew that wouldn’t be so easy.

When Adam rode in she was rather quiet. It was awkward to talk to her new love about her ex-fiancé, but if she didn’t then she knew one of the town gossips would. She had no intention of hiding anything from Adam and, when puzzled by her mood, he asked her what was wrong, she told him how she had met Buck. Adam was jealous, he couldn’t help himself. He had always known that she had loved Buck very much since her engagement still had such a profound effect on her four years later. Now he was scared that she would leave him for her first love. He hated the idea of her having dinner with Addison the following night but somehow he manage to hide the worst of his fear and jealousy. They spent a quiet evening and Adam left early. Carole had sensed his feelings, but on the principle of least said soonest mended and the knowledge that Buck would be leaving in two days time, she said nothing. When he rose to go she kissed him as usual holding him close for a moment and arranging to meet on Sunday as though nothing out of the ordinary was happening.

Adam rode home via the lake. He was sure that Carole loved him, but he didn’t know how she felt about Buck now. He spent hours staring out over the water thinking in circles but the Lake didn’t bring him the peace that it usually did. He was irritable when he got home and barely speaking to his family he went up to his room, he couldn’t sleep but at least in the sanctuary of his won room he didn’t have to face the curious gaze of his family. Eventually he went to bed but he lay awake for hours racked by jealousy. Part of him was sure that Carole wouldn’t let him down but another part reminded him of all the women in the past, who had done so, and reminded him that Buck was her first love.

None of his family had missed his mood and Joe asked his father what he thought was wrong. Ben shrugged “Lover’s tiff I expect. I just hope it isn’t serious, I like that girl.”

Joe grinned broadly “I’ll lay you odds that this one works out. She’s a real nice girl and they are made for each other.”

Ben laughed “I’ll have to get you a job with Dan, love advice for the lonely. You sound just like all the old maids in the International at tea time.”

The following day Adam went up to check the trees for logging, when the weather cleared. He knew that he wasn’t fit company for anyone but he didn’t want to cause comment from his family and he returned home for dinner. He hid himself in a book all evening although he didn’t take in a single word that he read. He kept visualising Carole with her old lover and tormented himself with thoughts of how Buck would try to win her back. Joe and Hoss were playing checkers but Ben sat and watched the play of emotions across his oldest son’s face. He didn’t say anything, as Adam obviously didn’t want to talk. Eventually Adam went up to bed, if not to sleep, knowing that at least the dinner was over.

Ben went to bed and lay awake for a while hoping than nothing was going wrong in his son’s love affair. He knew just how much Adam desired a wife and children, but it had to be true love, he’d learnt his lesson with Laura.

Adam was glad when Sunday came and he could go and see Carole, She was pleased to see him and said how much she had missed him. He knew that Buck had left and gradually during the day he relaxed, as he realised that nothing had changed. He was in a different mood entirely on the way home, very contented again. He had been tempted that day to ask her to marry him but sensed that the proximity to Buck’s visit made it inopportune.

Ben and Joe sensed his mood as soon as he came in and grinned at each other as Adam went on up to bed for the best night’s sleep in days.

Buck had also realised that he stood very little chance of winning Carole back as things stood. He was determined to move in on Nevada and the Ponderosa was a good place to start. He decided to create enough trouble at the ranch to ensure that Adam had no time to go courting. He was determined to do it long distance through a new Company, as he knew that he’d stand no chance with Carole if she knew he was trying to ruin her new lover. He had already mapped out his initial moves against the Ponderosa, sure of the power of money in the hands of a strong man.

For the time being his attack was probing on as many fronts as possible, to find the main weaknesses of the Ponderosa. He was pleased to think that it could also have the side effect of keeping the Cartwrights so busy that Carole would be lucky to see her lover more than once a week. He had discounted any possibility of attacking the Ponderosa through the courts their deeds to the land seemed watertight. The other usual method in that parched area of attacking water rights was closed, Adam had designed pipes down from Lake Tahoe and they had all the water they needed. His first attack was on the supplies they needed, he knew that a large ranch could buy these in from Frisco if necessary and cut costs by buying bulk, but at least it was an irritant. He had organised a group of men to rustle their cattle and he had planted two men on their logging crew to ferment trouble and sabotage equipment. He had managed to do the same at the saw mill and he had four men out to cause problems wherever they could, setting fires, cutting fences, stampeding horses or cattle and as a start to blow up the flume bringing logs down from the high reaches of the mountain. He had arranged for a section of the flume where it ran high above the ground to be blown up. Similarly he had arranged for rock falls to occur in their mines, making it as difficult as possible for the Cartwrights to meet their contracts. He wanted them to be faced with trouble wherever they turned and had even put pressure on the financial market to have them denied credit. All his men had been warned that they were not to take life and in general they should try to avoid injury. Although he had intimated that an ‘accident’ to one of the younger brothers could prove useful, preferably not a fatal accident but a broken limb would fit in well.

At the Ponderosa spring was in the air, the winter was always a quiet time, many of the outside jobs rendered impossible by the weather. For Adam it had been an idyllic period with the exception of the week when Addison had appeared. Gradually he and Carole learnt more about each other and were reaching the time when words were not needed between them. Adam was thinking more and more frequently in terms of marriage but he wanted to asked her up by the lake where they had first talked and where they had told each other of their love. The weather had not allowed picnics or trips out since Boxing Day and Adam was awaiting his opportunity.

For Ben the winter had been one of the happiest for many years. The problems of the ranch were all under control, at least until the spring and enough of the winter feed had been saved from the fire to carry his herds through. Far more important, his eldest son was content at home and he was gradually losing his fear that Adam would become restless and leave home again.

Hoss had split up from Sue Ann with no hard feelings on either side. It had always been more of a friendship than a love affair. Ben mused about his middle son; Hoss never seemed to have the same longing for marriage that Adam obviously felt. A big generous man with lots of casual friends, but he let very few people really close to him. Everyone liked him, although Ben was well aware that many of them underestimated his big son. Hoss was very reliant on his brothers; they meant so much to him, the only ones really close to him. He seemed very content just because his eldest brother was back home.

Little Joe was also foot-loose and fancy-free but he seemed to feel it more. He had been very fond of Katie and for two weeks after he broke it off he was irritable and unhappy. Ben had tried talking to him but Joe had just cut him off and headed up to his room. He was off his food and snapping at his brothers, but all his family could do was to wait for him to get over it.

Then one evening Ben and Hoss had headed up to bed quite early. Adam was sitting in his favourite blue chair reading his book, but he put it down as Joe moodily kicked the logs in the fireplace. Adam put his book down unable to concentrate “Tell me to butt out if you want Joe but just why did you break up with Katie if you miss her so much? She was mighty fond of you and I’m sure you can win her back.”

“Probably.” Joe sighed heavily “But that just takes me back where I started.”

“Do you want to talk Joe?”

“Not really, but I’m not getting anywhere on my own.” Joe sank down on the table and stood staring into the fire. “I started dating Katie soon after you went to Boston. We’ve had some real good times together. I enjoy being with her.”

“I don’t mean to pry. If you want me to drop it just say so.”

“No. I think you might just understand and I think I need to talk. Katie is very sweet and fun to be with, real loveable but…”

“You don’t love her.”

Joe nodded slowly “Its funny sometimes I think I do and then I decide I don’t. Then people began to talk about marriage and after a month or so when hardly a day went by without someone commenting about me losing my freedom, I made up my mind it wasn’t fair to carry on seeing her.” Joe hesitated for a moment and then very softly said, ”I remembered you and Laura.”

Adam moved onto the table next to his little brother and put his arm round Joe “I know how you feel. It’s appreciating a person and being so very friendly and close. You keep feeling that you are on the verge of falling in love, you become scared that you will miss out, so you let things run on not wanting to lose out, but its always just over the horizon.”

Little Joe nodded, leaning his aching head on his brother’s shoulder; he was quiet for a couple of minutes “Does it come Adam?”

Adam bit his lip, not wanting to say the wrong thing “When Laura was hurt, I hated the idea of losing her companionship so much, that I convinced myself that it had happened and I nearly did us both irreparable harm. Maybe some people are content with the friendship and don’t want true love in all its senses. I don’t think that love often grows out of companionship although I believe both are necessary to make a lasting relationship. You’re like me Joe, sentimental and romantic at heart and I believe we need both true romantic love and companionship. I’ve been hunting it for thirteen years and now I believe I have found it. Don't settle for second best Little Joe. I tried to and got badly hurt. You have time to find the real thing.”

Little Joe sat silently for ten minutes and then he said “Thanks Adam I guess I knew that you would understand, its good to have someone to talk to.” He gripped his brother’s shoulder “I hope you and Carole can make a go of it. I want to be an Uncle.” Adam grinned “So do I.” Joe headed on up to bed and more relaxed, slept late the next day.

As March came in the weather broke and the hands began to ride the range, to find out what damage had been done by the winter weather. Hoss rode up to the logging camp to start things moving to fulfil their contracts, while Joe headed out to check the extent of the fences that were down. Buck’s men had been working hard for the previous month and reports of damage soon started coming in to Ben. Adam had been working with his father keeping an overall list of what was happening as Ben dealt with the immediate problems. Then late in the afternoon one of the men came in to say that a section of the flume was down, he wasn’t sure what had caused it but reported about seven lengths down. Once the hand had headed out to the bunkhouse, Adam got restlessly to his feet “I think I had better ride out in the morning and check the extent of the damage and see if I can find out what has caused it.”

“Its Sunday aren’t you supposed to be meeting Carole?”

Adam nodded and said “I’ll go into town in a minute and explain.”

“It can be left one more day.”

“I’m not sure it can Pa. I want you to have a look at this list of damage we have had reported so far. I know that its always a mite depressing at this time of year, but I never remember this much and the men won’t have covered half the Ponderosa so far. I think we need to know the extent as soon as possible, because I think our resources are going to be strained to cope for the next few weeks.”

Ben sat and read the lists that Adam had been keeping. He was used to the depressing reports of damage which came in every spring but this was far much more extensive than usual, and he had been to busy dealing with the individual details to see the overall pattern. Eventually he sat back and considered his eldest son “Do you think it’s just bad luck or is someone causing trouble?”

Adam shrugged “Your guess is as good as mine. We’ll know more when I’ve checked the flume and we hear from Hoss and Joe, but I’ll make a few enquiries in town. After all Roy and Dan did say that strangers had been asking questions about the Ponderosa.”

Ben let his son go to town and sat worrying about the meaning of all this trouble. There was no one obvious behind it. He tried to put all thought of sabotage out of his mind until the information was in as Adam had suggested, but he was unable to settle. His gut instinct told him that there was something seriously wrong.

Adam rode into town with all too much on his mind. He was fairly sure that someone was deliberately causing trouble, even if, as yet, he had no proof. His main problem was a complete lack of any idea of who was behind the trouble. The prospect of a hidden enemy worried him more than he would admit to his father. In town, he went straight to Carole’s house. She was surprised to see him, but one look at his face was enough to convince her that there was trouble. Carole didn’t ask any questions until she had provided coffee and cakes and then waited for Adam to tell her. Adam took her hand “I’m afraid I won’t be able to come round tomorrow. There are some signs of real trouble at the ranch and I need to check it out.”

Carole moved closer to him and asked what sort of trouble. Adam explained the reports of damage which had been coming in and that he had to go and check the fume. Carol asked, “Is it sabotage?”

“I’m not sure yet but I’m scared it is.”

“You do think it is.”

Adam could only nod and he pulled her close to him “It’s been a wonderful winter, spending so much time with you, but if I’m right and someone is attacking the Ponderosa we are likely to be very busy. I must pull my weight and I won’t be able to come and see you so often.”

She kissed him “I understand my love. You can’t let your family down. If there’s any trouble don’t worry about me. I’ll see you whenever you can spare the time but my thoughts will always be with you.”

Adam held her tight, he had no words to express his gratitude for her attitude and the freedom she gave him to fight for his beloved ranch. He had to leave her shortly afterwards in order to make enquiries around town. He promised to send word or come and see her as often as possible. Carole kissed him “If I can help in any way, you know where I am, you only have to ask.”

Adam wandered down town to find Roy and Dan, when the bank manager Mr Harris stopped him and asked if he could spare a minute. Puzzled Adam went into the bank with Mr Harris and at first the older man was very hesitant “I’ve been trying to get hold of your father, but you know the financial position at the Ponderosa as well as he does.”

Adam frowned wondering what was coming “We had a good year last year. No large schemes eating up the money and the mines successful. As far as I know we are well in credit, not far short of a million dollars.”

Mr Harris agreed quoting the exact figure, obviously embarrassed, he went on “If it was left to me I wouldn’t have called you in.”

“Just tell me what the problem is Mr Harris.”

“I have had orders from head office. I thought it was only fair to warn you.” He shook his head “I have been told to count the Ponderosa a bad risk and extend no credit to you this year.”

Adam was stunned, whatever he had expected it wasn’t that. The Ponderosa had not had any trouble in getting covering credit for those summer months when hard cash was difficult to find, not for many years any way. They had always paid off in the autumn and had an excellent credit rating “That doesn’t make any sense.”

Mr Harris nodded “I know that Adam. I have no choice but to obey head office, but I am very happy to loan you some of my personal money if it will help.”

“Thank you very much Mr Harris. I know it’s not your fault, but have you any idea what is behind this? It’s not business sense.”

“I queried it with them but couldn’t get any sense. I can only imagine that there is political pressure from somewhere.”

“Thank you for giving us the advance warning Sir. My father will appreciate it as much as I do.” Adam smiled at the older man, knowing he had gone against his orders in giving them advance warning.

Then he headed on down the street to the Palace to find Dan. He found the reporter at the bar and Dan willingly joined him for a drink. Adam reminded him of his warning on Christmas Day and asked if he had heard anymore since. Dan shrugged “They were around until about a month ago. One of them had a real good look at the deeds in the Land Registry.”

“That doesn’t worry me those deeds are water tight. I’m sure they would stand up in any court of law I’ve been over them often enough looking for loopholes.”

Dan asked “Are you in trouble?”

Adam swirled the whiskey around in his glass “Are you asking as a friend or as a reporter?”

“As a friend.”

Adam swallowed the drink in one “We aren’t in trouble yet, just a few pinpricks but I have the impression that someone intends us to hit real trouble sometime soon.”

“Anything I can do?”

“If you see either of those men around again, can you get word to us?”

“Sure can and I’ll check around see what I can pick up.” Adam thanked his old friend and wandered off to check with some of his other friends. He didn’t pick up any more relevant information, but he did alert a number of people, including Roy, to keep an eye out for him. For now he wanted to get home and discuss what he had learnt with his father. Ben was waiting up for him and from the expression on Adam’s face he knew the news wasn’t good. Adam told him about the warning from the bank and Ben stared in blank amazement. Ben got out the figures of their present position and with Adam began to try and work out just how much ready money they would need, to fulfil their present contracts and collect on them. They had four main contracts, wood for the mines and for a railroad trestle, cattle and horses for the army and a mining contract.

Adam tried to look on the positive side “We’ve been extended further in the past, when we were building the flume for instance.”

“Yes Son but don’t forget we still don’t know the extent of the damage to that. If things go smoothly, we are just about covered financially, but if we also have to continually repair damage, as seems likely, we are going to be in trouble.”

Adam could only agree but said “Let’s make sure of our facts before we get too uptight. I’ll ride out to the flume at first light and, with luck, I can be back tomorrow evening with an estimate of how much it will take to repair.”

Adam rode out at first light and by late morning he was examining the damaged area. The damage was several weeks old and there had been a lot of rain since it was done. Adam knew he would have difficulty in proving a case in a court of law, but he was convinced himself that the damage had been caused by dynamite. He hunted around for some charred pieces of wood and put them in his saddlebag, just in case. Then he set to work to examine the sections at each end of the damaged area, making notes of the wood and labour, which would be required to repair it. In all eleven sections needed replacing and Adam knew that with their present resources, and the number of men he could divert to the work, it would take five or six weeks to make good. He rode home in a furious temper, which wasn’t improved by not knowing whom he had to blame.

Hoss was also on his way home and in no better mood. At the logging camp vital pieces of equipment were missing and what was there wasn’t in a good state of repair. Saws which he had greased himself, so that they wouldn’t rust over the winter, were left dry and rusty as though someone had wiped all the grease off and the men were sullen and awkward for no apparent reason. He’d spent two days bullying and cajoling them to get the equipment in order and now he had to go and report the extent of the damage and the spares and replacements that he needed. Hoss might not be too good at adding up figures, but he knew the list of things he needed was three or four times longer than it usually was, and he sensed the atmosphere of trouble.

Little Joe had made a check on some of the fences and found that not only were fences down but they were missing both cattle and horses. Then he had ridden up to the mines on the north east of the ranch. It was from these mines that they had to complete a contract for tin and silver ore. Joe never felt the mines were truly a part of the Ponderosa, like the rest of his family he infinitely preferred the wide open spaces of the ranch and hated going down the mines. When he rode in he was met by a miner’s meeting. They were all talking at once and at first Joe couldn’t make sense of what they were saying. Eventually he managed to get quiet and asked a long time hand Swann, just what the trouble was. Swann said that the mine was no longer safe, so far no-one had been hurt but five times in the last two weeks there had been rockfalls affecting all three main tunnels. Luckily they had all occurred when no-one was in the mine but that luck wouldn’t last. With clearing the falls and re-shoring, they had got little ore out of the mine. Little Joe insisted on going into the mine and inspecting the damage for himself. He was no mining engineer but it seemed odd to him. He took Swann and one other old hand with him and had a look at the latest fall. The fall had been cleared and the rock around looked firm enough. Little Joe asked the two men if they thought it was natural, or was someone causing the falls. They evaded the question but agreed to set guards over the entrance to the mine when it wasn’t being worked. Little Joe said “Adam worked very hard to get the square sets installed in town. We will do all we can to minimise the risks to your lives working this mine. I’ll get my brother out to inspect the mine in a couple of days and until then we will suspend operations.”

Joe’s announcement was well received by most of the men, but then some men began grumbling about pay. Joe was surprised, they had always had a reputation for looking after their men and he didn’t know why it was being queried now. He was quite abrupt as he said “You will continue to be paid the basic rate, although bonuses will stop until we can get the mine operational again.” Then he left to go home for discussions. He knew he had taken the only available course but it would make it difficult to complete their contracts. Joe felt trouble in the air and he was eager to get home and find out the overall picture and let his father and brothers know about the trouble at the mine.

Joe headed home by the shortest route and it was dark. One of the men that Addison had placed at the night had slipped away ahead of Joe. He had guessed that Joe would probably take the shortest route back to the main house and that should mean that he would come along a rough trail halfway up a canyon wall. The canyon bottom was rock strewn which was why the trail wasn’t at the bottom A fall there should incapacitate the youngest Cartwright for a while. The man stretched a rope across the trail between a rock and an old tree and set it at knee height for a horse. Then he went back to the mine. If the rope worked then Joe should have a nasty fall and if it didn’t nothing was lost. Either way he intended to remove the rope at first light before anyone found it. Little Joe had indeed taken the route along the canyon and he was letting Cochise pick his own way, confident of his horse’s ability and trying to work out what was going on. Buck’s man had chosen his place well and after negotiating the tricky steep part of the trail Joe went into a lope along the grassy wider trail. He felt Cochise jar as the rope caught the horse’s knees. Joe went over Cochise’s head down the steep side of the canyon and he couldn’t prevent himself falling. He felt the jar as he hit a rock and then knew nothing more. Cochise, frightened, had managed to disentangle himself from the rope but there was no sign of his master, so he headed on home.

Hoss was the first to reach home and Ben knew he had found trouble. Hoss outlined the problems he’d found and handed over the list of things they needed. Then he excused himself to wash up before they went into the details. Ben was sitting reading the list as Adam came in. Adam’s news was no better but he said that he’d wait to explain it until Hoss was down, save having to go over it twice. Then he asked about his youngest brother.

Ben said, “Little Joe should be home this evening. He was going to come home as soon as he had checked up at the mine, according to the report he sent home with one of the men.”

“Do we wait for him and have a complete family discussion or carry on without him? If he found trouble at the mine, which seems likely the way things are going, he probably won’t be back until tomorrow.”

Ben made the decision that they would at least have dinner in peace and then talk things out that evening, whether Joe was home or not.

They were halfway through their meal when they heard a horse come in. Adam said, “I expect that’s Joe” Restless and not really hungry, he put his fork down and went out to check with his youngest brother. He saw Cochise standing by the hitch rail and yelled for his brother but there was no answer. Puzzled Adam went over to Cochise to find the horse wasn’t tied up. He went to lead the horse over to the stable to look for his brother, starting to worry and when he felt the horse limp, his concern flared up. He yelled “Pa, Hoss get out here and bring a light.”

Hoss was first out with a lantern and by its light Adam found the ominous cuts just above Cochise’s knees. They none of them needed telling what had happened, the only question was where. Hoss was grim as he said, “I’ll go saddle up.” Ben went to raise the men out to help while Adam collected blankets and medical supplies, praying that his young brother wasn’t seriously hurt.

When they were all mounted Ben and his sons discussed where to start the search. It was still bitterly cold and if possible they had to find Joe and get him home before exposure worsened whatever damage had been done. Ben had himself firmly under control and said, “We know that he was going to the mine. I think we had better assume he was on his way home from there. Now which route would he take?”

Adam said, “I think he’d come the shortest route and that means Rock Canyon.”

Ben wasn’t sure “It would have already been dark and that’s a real rough road in places.”

Hoss agreed with his eldest brother “Joe trusts Cochise to be sure footed I reckon Adam’s right. Dark and cold, Little Joe would want to get on home.”

Ben could only go along with his sons, it was the best guess they could make and they had to start somewhere. He ordered the men to spread out either side of the trail, scared of missing a crumpled body in the dark. Progress was slow as they couldn’t afford to miss anything and it was over three hours later that Hoss spotted a crumpled shape on a ledge halfway down the canyon wall.

Adam and Ben both dismounted and joined Hoss, who was about to go down to his little brother, but Adam stopped him. “We are gonna need your strength up here to pull him up. I’ll go down to him. Hoss had to admit that Adam was right and he helped Adam tie a rope round his waist and then Adam was half lowered and half walked down the side of the canyon to where Joe lay.

As soon as he was down Ben lowered him a lamp and some brandy, while Adam quickly checked his brother. He yelled up “He’s alive”. Ben felt as though he had stopped breathing when he saw his son down in the canyon and it was almost painful as he started to breath again at Adam’s confirmation that his youngest son lived. Even so fear for his son gave him a very real pain in his chest as he waited to know what damage had been done. At least Joe had only fallen twenty feet or so before coming to rest on the ledge, the bottom of the canyon was as far again below him. While he waited Ben felt around and found the ends of the thin rope which had done the damage. He knew that it was deliberate, someone wanted to maim if not kill a Cartwright. His main worry, apart from his son’s health, was that he had no idea who was behind this attack on the Ponderosa, although it must be someone who was rich and powerful in order to influence the bank to withdraw credit.

Adam was examining his brother, to those waiting above he seemed to be taking a very long time, but he had to be careful to find out the extent of Joe’s injuries before moving him. Finally he called up “Okay Joe’s got a nasty gash on his head, no limbs broken far as I can tell but I reckon there are a couple of broken ribs. Hoss can you manage both of us? I’m scared to tie a rope round him, but if I tie it round me and carry him can you pull us both up?”

Hoss yelled back that he would cope and Ben helped his middle son tie the rope to Buck, who would take the main weight, while Hoss controlled the slack. Ben sent one of his men to town to fetch Doc, they would meet him back at the house. Ben gave him strict orders to say nothing, except the basic fact that Joe had had a fall.

Then Ben took control of Buck and Hoss called down “Ready when you are Adam.”
Joe was cold so Adam had taken off his own coat and buttoned it round his brother. Then Adam had tied the rope round his own waist and carefully lifted his brother, settling Joe over his right shoulder and holding his brother carefully to him, while he used his left hand to try and ease the bite of the rope on his body. Eventually he gave Hoss the go ahead and Hoss began to pull them in. There was very little Adam could do to help himself, Joe was a dead weight and it took all his strength to hold Joe and keep himself upright. For all of them it seemed an age until Adam appeared and two of the hands could reach down and grab his left arm and help him over the edge. In fact it was only about five minutes, but that had taken all Adam’s strength and as Ben lifted Joe away from him. Adam sank down in a heap on the ground fighting for his breathe.

While Ben examined his youngest son Hoss untied the rope, which had ridden up under his arms, from Adam. The rub of the rope as he was pulled up had broken the skin in a number of places from his waist to his armpits and his torn shirt was slowly darkening as the blood seeped out. Hoss wanted to examine his injuries but Adam pushed him away. It could wait until they got home, the last thing his family needed was him passing out too and it was very sore without anyone poking at his side. He did accept a brandy from Hoss but then got stiffly to his feet and moved over to his father. Ben had wrapped Joe in a couple of blankets and he wanted his son home so he could be treated properly. Ben mounted Buck and then Hoss handed his little brother up to his father. Ben settled Joe as comfortably as he could and then moved slowly out to the house. Hoss helped Adam ease back into the saddle and tried to pass his brother his own coat but Adam really didn’t want anything touching his sore body and he refused. He would rather be cold. He moved out behind their father and Hoss moved in close beside him, determined to keep a close watch on his eldest brother until they were home and he could treat the bruises and raw patches.

Ben felt easier once he had Joe safely in his own bed. His son’s breathing seemed normal and he was apparently sleeping now rather than unconscious. Once the worst of his anxiety about Little Joe had eased, Ben turned to his eldest son. Hoss was helping Adam wash the rope burns with disinfectant and putting on the ointment that he had had for his arm. Ben carefully examined the wounds and whistled softly “You are going to be so stiff and sore you won’t be moving for a fortnight.”

Adam grinned “Do you want to bet Pa? They will soon heal. More important how is Little Joe?”

“I think he’ll be fine.” Ben led the way back to Joe with Adam and Hoss close on his heels. Adam had put on his dressing gown but he refused to go to bed until he had heard what Paul had to say. A couple of minutes later Joe began to moan softly and Ben moved closer to his son, gently holding him still. After a few minutes Joe opened his eyes, squinting against the light. Adam moved the lamp out of the way and Joe grinned up weakly “I took a tumble. Silly old Cochise stopped suddenly.”

“We know that, but how do you feel?” Ben asked

Joe considered that and then said “I’ve got a headache and my ribs hurt but otherwise I guess I’m okay.”

Just then they heard Doc’s buggy arrive and Hoss went down to meet him. Doc came up and considered the three but with Joe grinning, albeit it rather weakly, he decided there was no point entering into the argument it would need to get rid of them and he moved over to examine his young patient. “Lucky as ever young man, a slight concussion and two cracked ribs. I’ll get those strapped and then two or three days complete rest in bed and take it very easy for the following couple of weeks. Mind you Joe, you are going to have some very interesting coloured bruises by tomorrow.”

Joe winced “I know I can feel some of them developing!”

Doc strapped Joe up and gave him a mild painkiller and then left Ben to settle his son down. Before he left Ben asked Doc to have a look at his eldest son, he explained how they had had to pull Joe up some twenty feet of sheer rock and that Adam had collected some nasty rope burns. Doc went through to Adam’s room where Hoss was trying to persuade his brother to go to bed. Rather begrudgingly Adam let Doc see the rope burns but Doc didn’t interfere with Hoss’ handiwork “You’ve done a real good job there Hoss, I couldn’t do better myself.” Then he turned to Adam “You are going to be one bruise from the waist upwards but there’s no real harm done. Keep it clean and take it easy for a week or ten days. Not that I need to tell you, with that bruising you are going to be so stiff you’ll have no choice.” He grinned at the brothers “However if it is any consolation you did the right thing. A rope round those cracked ribs of young Joe’s might have caused them to move and it could easily have pierced a lung. Meantime Adam, your brother is right there isn’t anything more you can do so get to bed.”

Leaving Hoss to make sure that his eldest brother did settle Doc went down to reassure Ben about both his sons, they would have forgotten all about it within a month. Ben felt a little happier about their health but he was still very worried about the general trouble, which was hitting the ranch and he got little sleep that night, as he thought round in circles, worrying about it.

The following morning all four Cartwrights met in Joe’s room for a conference on the situation. Joe had learnt from his father how Adam had carried him up the cliff and that his brother was stiff and sore from rope burns. When Adam came in Joe thanked him and then asked how he felt. Adam grinned as he lowered himself rather gingerly into a chair “Bit stiff but it will clear in a few days, main thing is you’re okay.”

Little Joe pulled a face, he ached all over but Adam was right he would be fine in a couple of weeks “Pa told me how I was caught. At least it proves all this trouble isn’t down to natural causes.”

Hoss came in with a tray of coffee and doughnuts and once everyone was settled, Ben brought them down to business. “I want a full report from each of you in turn and then once we know the facts we’ll try and decide how to handle things.”

Adam got out a pad “I need to take notes or we are going to forget something so give me a chance to catch up if necessary.” His brothers nodded in agreement and then Ben asked Little Joe to start them off. Joe described the fences which were down from the notes that he had made at the time. In at least half a dozen places he was sure the fence had been deliberately cut. In two places there was sign of small bunches of cattle being driven away from the Ponderosa and in a third it was horses that were missing, six of them as best he could judge from the old sign. Joe said “I tried to follow the sign but it was old and there had been too much rain so I couldn’t get very far.”

Adam asked “How many head Little Joe?”

“I made it about twenty maybe twenty five in each bunch, but the sign was old, a week or more I’d guess, and it was hard to be sure.”

Adam sighed “I wonder how many other groups there were, where the sign had all disappeared?”

Ben shrugged “Let’s stay with what we do know. Carry on Little Joe.” Joe went on to describe events at the mine and said that he had had to suspend operations until the rock falls could be checked and he had promised that Adam would go up and check things out. Ben looked worried at that, sure his eldest son wasn’t fit enough for the long ride up to the mine and wouldn’t be for several days.

Adam questioned his brother carefully on the appearance of the rock falls. Little Joe told him that he felt someone had used dynamite or something to blast them off, but admitted he wasn’t an expert. All he could do was to ensure there was a guard so that no-one would be able to cause further trouble. Adam knew his little brother well enough to take his opinion seriously; Joe had been around mines all his adult life.

For now Ben decided that Joe looked very tired and drawn and called a halt, sending Hoss for fresh coffee, as Joe and Hoss discussed the sign he had seen, Ben moved over to his eldest son. More to distract his father and stop him fussing than from any real hope of getting an answer Adam asked “Who do you think is behind this pa?”

Ben shook his head “I wish I knew. Its not the first time someone has tried to ruin us but if it is just some outside operator trying to move in on Nevada, we are not the obvious target just now. There are plenty of others who are far more vulnerable.”

“So is it a deliberate attack on us, a personal dislike of the Cartwrights?”

“Maybe, there certainly seems some spite involved, attempts to undermine our reputation.” Ben was sombre but he insisted they continue to get the relevant facts and asked Hoss to explain exactly what he had found up at the logging camp and the mill. Hoss’ anger at finding equipment that he had left secure for the winter in a damaged state was all too evident, but there was nothing too disastrous and Joe began to look a little more cheerful.

Then Adam filled his brothers in on the reports of damage that had come in from the hands and the damage at the flume. Little Joe said, “Most of these things are pinpricks. Whoever is doing this must realise a ranch the size of the Ponderosa can absorb trouble.”

“I know what you mean Joe but the flume is rather more than a pinprick and the mine could well prove to be.” He sighed “There is one more major item which is definitely not a pinprick. Mr Harris called me into the bank and told me that he had orders from his head office to count the Ponderosa a bad risk this year. We are not to be allowed any credit.”

Hoss and Joe looked at each other, stunned by this news. Hoss finally broke the silence and said “You two know ‘bout the money, what will this mean to us?”

Ben said “We had a good year last year and we have nearly a million in the bank from the ranch and the mines. The normal running of the ranch until we can collect on our contracts will cost us about three-quarters of that. It leaves us nearly $250 000 for emergencies. Usually that would be sufficient but the damage we already have reported will cost about half of that, which doesn’t leave us much in hand.”

Little Joe asked, “When do we collect on the contracts and just how much are they worth?”

Adam said “Just under two million in total, if we deliver on time, but there are penalties if we deliver late. The timber for the trestle is the biggest contract. Delivery should begin at the end of June and the final delivery at the end of September. The first payment is due on the 17th July, provided we deliver on time. The timber for the mines starts a month earlier and is paid monthly, but neither the ore or the livestock are due for delivery until September and we will be lucky to see any cash for them before October.”

Hoss frowned as he tried to take in all the facts his brother had given him he knew that the ranch had grown more prosperous but he wasn’t used to thinking in such large sums of money. He tended to bank his share of the profits and just used his wages, often wondering if he had enough for a few beers at the end of the month, particularly if his younger brother had been on the cadge. Eventually Hoss asked “How much money do we need to have on call so we’re sure we got enough?”

Adam looked at his father but Ben seemed lost in thought so Adam said slowly “We don’t know what we are fighting, but we have to assume we need guards for equipment and for the animals. Guess we have to assume there will be more damage. I think we need at least another million.”

Ben agreed with his son “I think our first job must be to arrange financial cover.” He sighed heavily “Trouble is we don’t know how far afield this pressure can reach.”

Little Joe had been quiet too long and he protested “I would have thought that the first thing we need to know is just who is doing all this, who are we fighting?”

That statement brought into the open their main fear. All of them hated the idea of fighting in the dark Attacks had been made on the Ponderosa before, but they had always known who was behind them. They had known which direction to watch for trouble.

For once Adam agreed with his little brother “I think Joe’s right Pa. Sure the money is important but we must find out just who is behind all this. We know that the men who were asking questions in town came in from California and the bank’s head office is in San Francisco. Probably political pressure can be applied most easily by someone who lives there. In addition I had all that trouble booking shipping there. It may be a coincidence or it may be a part of this.”

Ben could only agree, but as he said it didn’t exactly help. Half the major interests in the West were centred on San Francisco. They already knew it was someone with a large amount of power, or the bank wouldn’t antagonise the Cartwrights.

Joe asked “Do Flood and O’Brien still work that saloon cum stock exchange in Frisco?”

Ben nodded and Joe went on “If anyone can find out who’s behind this I bet they can and you’re old friends.” Memories of how they had become close came back to all of them. It had happened while Adam was in Europe and he had only found out how close they had come to losing the Ponderosa, and even more important nearly losing his big brother, after the event. Adam wandered over to the window and stared out. He had always blamed himself for being so far away when his family needed him.

Hoss said, “Sharon always hated you Pa, fer not backing his mills and transport monopoly scheme. You reckon he’s behind this?”

Ben shook his head “Even when we were fighting head on Sharon didn’t do this sort of thing. All the trouble we had was caused by Matt Vogel. I’m sure Sharon would be delighted to help destroy us but it would be financial only. He wouldn’t demean himself by getting involved in sabotage. On the other hand if someone asked him to get our credit stopped I’m sure he would oblige.”

Adam stayed over by the window, remembering the bitter miserable days in Cambridge when he had received a long letter from his father, giving an outline of the trouble they had had. Ben had told him that Hoss had been badly hurt but was well on the way to recovery. He hadn’t known then just how bad things had been, Ben had glossed over the details. Ben had only told his eldest son as much as he had because he knew that Adam had access to some US newspapers and the fight with the Bank of California had been nation-wide news. Adam had spent several weeks bitterly angry and hating himself. Certainly as a lawyer he could help but he could have studied as well in the States and been able to reach home within a couple of weeks if trouble threatened. He had gone to Europe to run away after the hurt he had received over Laura, but he hadn’t been able to run away from himself. Those weeks were among the worst he had ever spent and now hearing his family talk familiarly, of things he only knew by report, brought all the self blame back

Then Adam suddenly realised that they had stopped talking and were staring at him. With a wrench he brought himself back to the present, now at least he could pull his weight. That thought reminded him of the freedom that Carole had given him and he was able to turn round and smile at them “Sorry I was miles away. Little Joe’s idea sounds good to me. I would think that Flood and O’Brien stand the best chance of finding out just who is behind all this. Only trouble is we mustn’t ask them by telegraph, if it leaks out they’ll have no chance.”

Ben nodded but said “That’s true but Beth is going to Frisco in a couple of weeks, we can trust her and get her to ask Flood and O’Brien for help.”

All of them agreed on that but action at third hand never pleased Little Joe. He grunted “That’s all very well but I still think we ought to find out more about those men who were asking questions.”

Ben shook his head “Easier said than done Joe and why should they talk anyway?”
To his surprise his eldest son said, “I agree with Joe.” Seeing his father’s surprise Adam went on “Whoever is behind this must know that we will realise something is going on. They will expect us to make some move. This is an obvious one and if we don’t make it, he will begin to wonder what we are doing instead.”

Ben could only agree with his son’s reasoning and said “Right Hoss you go into town in the morning and start making some enquiries.” Then he considered his other two sons. Both looked tired and drawn and it was nearly dinnertime so Ben called a halt. He told Joe to try and get some sleep after dinner, he had some figures that he needed to check and they would carry on about four. Little Joe nodded he was very sore and had a bad headache. He knew that the more sleep he got the sooner he would be back on his feet, able to do his share.

Ben took his son up a tray and then joined the other two. Adam was only picking at his food and Ben said, “A sleep wouldn’t do you any harm. I don’t imagine you got much last night.” Adam grinned wryly “It was rather difficult to get comfortable, but I’m okay. I want to start sorting out the best way to arrange for credit.”

Ben shook his head “Alright but just remember that this shows every sign of being a long summer. You’ll have plenty to do and it won’t help to knock yourself out right at the beginning.”

Adam sat down and started to list the sources of credit open to them, from personal loans from friends near at hand, to the size of loan they would be good for in Boston, New York, even Salt Lake City, before the charges became too exorbitant. He deliberately avoided any of the Californian banks, if pressure could be put on here in Nevada, he’d lay odds it would be even worse in California, Adam soon had a list which on the most pessimistic estimate would enable them to draw on over two million dollars. Ben came over and discussed the list with his son. They both felt that it was safest to spread their requests around, in case pressure could be exerted at a later date on any one choice. Eventually they decided to ask for a quarter of a million credit from each of four finance houses. They had dealt with all of them before and were fairly happy with their chances of success. Adam also proposed asking for quarter of a million from friends locally, to tide them over safely in the immediate future. The bank manager had already signified his willingness to help and their partners in the Hale and Norcross, Fair and Mckay should be happy to help out. They were rich men because Ben had put the power of the Ponderosa behind the mine. Ben accepted the sense of that and he would go and see them in the next day or so.

It was already gone four o’clock and Adam led the way back up to Joe’s room, with his father following bringing fresh coffee. Joe had just woken up and Hoss was there remaking his bed. Hoss had been busy with catalogues and had prepared an exact list of the replacement needed for the logging, complete with catalogue numbers and prices. Adam glanced over it and compared it with the notes he had made that morning. It seemed complete and he jotted down the total price, just reminding Hoss to check on the cost of carriage.

Ben passed over coffee and then he outlined for his younger sons just how they intended to get credit to cover the summer. It sounded fairly straightforward and then Little Joe asked if it could be arranged long distance or would someone have to go personally to arrange it. That was exactly the point that Adam and Ben had been carefully avoiding in their discussions. Adam said rather tentatively “It can be done long distance, but..” he stopped as he met his father’s eye and gave a rueful grin.

Ben sighed, not wanting to be away from the ranch when trouble was coming, anymore than his eldest son did. “Come on Adam we both know that if we try to arrange it long distance we will be lucky if it’s in place for next summer! One of us must go. It’s only a two day job if you are there in person.”

Hoss and Joe looked at each other, anxiously and Hoss asked, “Why do we have to go so far afield?”

Adam said “Two reasons. Firstly we have dealt with them before and are therefore more likely to get the credit and secondly the further off they are the less likely it is that whoever if causing this trouble will be able to influence them.”

Hoss considered that and then said “Yeah okay that makes sense, so who goes?”

Ben and Adam looked at each other, neither wanting to be the one but then Ben made up his mind. “It will be easiest all round if I go. Adam is going to be needed here as an engineer, both at the mine and the flume.”

Adam was relieved at his father’s decision but he asked, “When will you go?”

“As soon as possible. We need the cover and I want to get back. Probably the day after tomorrow. I need to see Beth before I go and arrange for the local loans. With luck I can be back in three to four weeks, there’s rail most of the way now.”

Once that was settled the four began to discuss just what else needed doing, including hiring more men to act as guards on the herds and the timber, and men to mend the fence. Apart from the mine the main outstanding problem was the flume. Adam had been thinking about the flume, worried that he didn’t have the men available to mend it quickly. However as it was still so early in the year Adam thought he might be able to persuade an old friend, John Chance, a classmate from college, to bring his railroad crew and rebuild it. If the whole crew came then it could probably be completed in ten days. At the moment it was still bitterly cold in the mountains and Adam was betting that with the ground still frozen only survey work would be taking place. The crew was less than a hundred miles away building the Californian railroad for the Southern Pacific. When he made his suggestion, Ben had to agree that it would relieve the pressure but he looked very suspiciously at his son “Just how were you thinking of contacting John?”

Adam grinned at the expression on his father’s face “I’ll ride over and see John tomorrow. Provided he can help I’ll leave him to come onto the Ponderosa and I’ll head to the end of rail and get the train to Salt Lake City arrange the credit there.”

“It’s a long ride Son and you are very bruised.”

Adam just laughed “Nothing that will stop me Pa. Anyway sitting in the saddle is about the only place where nothing rubs on the sore patches!”

Ben had to agree to his son’s plan but then Joe reminded them about the mine, after all he had promised that Adam would go up and check things out. The men weren’t earning any bonuses while it was out of action and they couldn’t let the situation drag on, they would lose good men to the mines in town. For a few minutes the four debated what came first but they all agreed the flume had to have priority, two large contracts depended on it. Then Hoss had an inspiration “Philip Deidersheimer is still mine superintendent at the Ophir ain’t he? I’m sure if we asked him, he’d go inspect our mine. The men’ll take his word, maybe even better than Adam’s after all he ain’t involved.”

His family sat open mouthed considering Hoss and Little Joe was the first to speak “Okay next time I make rude comments about your thinking ability, just remind me of this I didn’t know we had two geniuses in the family.”

Ben and Adam looked at each other and then Adam said “You’ve miscounted little brother, we have three and one fool who can’t even stay on a horse.” Little Joe couldn’t reach to hit him but threw a pillow and for the first time in days they all laughed.

Little Joe was brooding somewhat, all his family were busy and he was tied to bed for at least another couple of days. He had tried getting up but had to concede that he wasn’t fit as the whole room spun round him, due to the concussion. Ben sensed his youngest son’s mood and after dinner he went up to see Joe. Ben took up the detailed lists of damage that he had been making and the summary Adam had kept. He pointed out to Joe where men had already been sent to carry out repairs and the next priorities.

“We’re going to have to get you set-up on the sofa and you will have to cope. Men will be reporting to the house, with either more damage or having repaired some. You need to make careful notes. While so much is going on, one of must remain available, in contact all the time, or we are going to get totally disorganised.”

“I can manage” Joe said looking rather more cheerful at the prospect of being able to help but his father was still very serious. “I’m not talking about just tomorrow Joseph. It is going to be difficult over the next few weeks while I’m away, but it has to be done. Hoss isn’t too good with figures and you have never been interested, but you helped me out before when we were in trouble. Now I am relying on you to help Adam while I’m away. He can’t be organiser, lawyer, engineer and financier all on his own, although I am sure he’ll try.”

“I think he sees it as a way to make up for being in Europe when we were fighting the Bank before.”

Ben smiled and gently ruffled his son’s curly hair “You don’t miss much young man. I know he has always blamed himself for being away then but he’s never talked about it. One other thing Joe, try to make sure he does get into see Carole. I’d hate that to break down because of his sense of duty to the ranch.”

Little Joe laughed “Pa it’s a long time since you have been able to make Adam do anything, what makes you think I stand any chance of doing it?” Ben had to admit the justice of that but he had considerable faith in his younger sons, they would find a way, then he left Joe to get some sleep.

Adam was still studying figures and his father told him to go and get some sleep. Adam shook his head “I must finish drawing up the details of what wood we need for the flume so that Hoss can have it ready, if I can raise the labour. It’ll only take half an hour.”

Ben was determined that his eldest son should get a reasonable night’s sleep and slipped a dose of laudanum into Adam’s coffee. It took effect and a while later he found Adam fast asleep, still at the desk. His work was finished and relaxing the drug had done its job. Ben called Hoss over and between them they got Adam up to his own bed without waking him and left him to sleep

The following morning Adam was up early and he was soon ready, with food packed. He had a ride of about eighty miles to the railroad end and then when he had finished there he would ride another fifty miles to the present terminus east of Reno, where he could catch a train for the four hundred and fifty miles to Salt Lake City. Ben wasn’t very keen on them both being gone at the same time but had had to admit that it was necessary. Adam had written a long letter to Carole, explaining where he was going and why. He asked his father to deliver the letter and then he had to leave.

Ben settled Joe downstairs; at least Hop Sing was there to get Joe anything that he needed. Then Ben had to go to town to arrange the local loans. He wasn’t looking forward to it, hating having to ask for help, forgetting all the times he had offered help. Still at least he had to see Beth and he could look forward to that. Beth was such a serene woman and although in his heart he knew he didn’t want to marry her, still Ben enjoyed Beth’s company and was grateful to retain her friendship on those terms.

Hoss rode into town with his father. He had to get the orders off for all the new equipment and to make enquiries about the men who had been asking questions. He enjoyed his father’s company on the ride in; more relaxed now that a plan of action had been agreed. He said goodbye to his father and headed off to the Ophir as they reached town, each with a number of jobs to do, they would head home independently.

Hoss was in luck, Philip was having a break sitting in the main office drinking coffee and was always pleased to see any of the Cartwrights. Philip had grown very friendly with the Cartwrights as he worked with Adam to design the square sets and get them installed in the mines. Like Dan de Quille he loved the Ponderosa and often stayed for a few days to enjoy the peace and quiet. He listened to Hoss’ story of the rock falls and he had heard from Dan that someone was causing trouble for the ranch. He immediately agreed to take two or three days off and go out and investigate what was causing the problem. There was nothing terribly urgent at the Ophir and he promised Hoss to make arrangements to come out to the Ponderosa first thing in the morning. Hoss was very grateful and made that clear but then he had to get on with his long list of jobs.

Hoss decided that he needed a beer before he started seeing to all the orders and he was in luck. Dan was in his usual position, his office, a table in the corner by the bar. Hoss asked him if he had seen either of the men who had been asking questions about the ranch. Dan nodded “One was around last night, if I see him I’ll get word to you. Where are you going to be?”

“Over at the telegraph office for the next couple of hours and then I’ll be in the Silver Dollar.” Dan nodded he would find his big friend. Hoss headed down to the jail to have a word with Roy. He had decided to warn the sheriff that he was going to lean on one of the men who had been asking questions. Roy knew the big man well enough to be sure that although Hoss would use his size as a threat, he wasn’t capable of actually doing any harm. Even so he did warn Hoss not to overstep the line in order to get answers, with that promise Roy nodded he would ensure he was somewhere else at the relevant time. Hoss thanked him and then headed down to the telegraph office. As he went he reflected that the Cartwrights were very lucky in their friends and anyone attacking them would do well to remember it. Once Hoss had ordered all the items on his list he had to hang around to get confirmation and as it was dinnertime, he decided to go and have a word with Carole. Ben had dropped in the letter from Adam but the pupils were beginning to arrive and he didn’t have the chance to say anything very much to her. Carole had read Adam’s letter but she couldn’t help feeling that he had left out more than he had actually said and she was delighted to see Hoss approaching.

Hoss hadn’t spoken very much to Carole but he liked what he had seen of her. He had the feeling that she would never let his brother down. He found her sitting on the porch re-reading Adam’s letter and looking very worried. Seeing the big man approach she offered him coffee and Hoss willingly accepted. “I had to hang around for some answers at the telegraph office so I thought I’d come round, see if you had any questions.”

Carole smiled “You know your brother very well! I get the feeling he is only telling me half the story. He says that Joe had a fall, is he alright?”

“Couple of cracked ribs and some bruises.” Hoss told Carole how Joe had been hurt and where they had found him. He made it clear that Adam had had to carry his brother up the cliff and admitted his eldest brother had got some bruises but insisted that Adam was fine, just a few bruises. He tried to explain just why it was so important to get the flume repaired and what his eldest brother was trying to do.

Carole sighed “I only wish that I could help him but I’m tied to town. I have responsibilities here at the school.”

Hoss got to his feet “You’ll help him best just by being here. As soon as he gets back I’m sure he’ll be in to see you.” It was time for Carole to return to class, and impulsively she took his hand, “Thank you so much for coming round. Look after him for me.” Then realising how it sounded, she blushed hotly and hurried back to the classroom.

As Hoss headed back towards the telegraph office Dan beckoned him over. One of the men he was looking for was in the Palace. Hoss followed him in and Dan pointed out a slightly built middle-aged man standing at the bar drinking beer. Hoss moved over next to him and ordered a beer himself. Then moving very close to the older man he said conversationally “I hear you bin asking questions about the Ponderosa. Now why don’t you ask me? I know all about the Ponderosa.”

It was not difficult for the little man to guess who this giant was and he tried to move away “I gotta go.” However Hoss took hold of his arm and if he went it was obvious his arm was staying, so he lent back against the bar, looking up at Hoss with fear obvious in his eyes. Hoss lent a little closer, looming terrifyingly over the smaller man “You had a chance to ask your questions, reckon it’s my turn now.”

The little man was shaking so much that his teeth were literally chattering as he stammered “I.. I .. do..don’t know what you mean.”

Hoss pulled him closer “I think you do. Who hired you to find out about the Ponderosa?”

“No..no one. I was just.. mm.. just curious.”

Hoss changed his grip and taking the little man up by the collar, he lifted him into the air and shook him hard. Then he let him down and asked the same question again “Who paid you?”

By this time the whole saloon was watching the fun and betting was running high on Hoss. No-one was about to interfere, they knew better than to tangle unnecessarily with the Cartwrights. Hoss shook the man once more and he caved in “Curly Baker. It was Curly.”

“Where do I find this Curly Baker?”

“In San Francisco. The Golden Nuggett on the Barbary Coast. He just wanted to know all about the Ponderosa and the Cartwrights. I swear I don’t know why. It’s what I do get information. Don’t mean no harm, just facts. That’s all just facts.”

Hoss let him down “Where do you send your facts?”

“The saloon.”

“Yeah well you are finished here. I suggest you get out of town right now.” The little man scurried out of the saloon as though all the dogs of hell were on his tail, followed by the scornful laughter of the other patrons. He was just thankful to get out unhurt and wanted nothing to do with the Cartwrights or Curly Baker ever again.

Hoss turned his attention back to his beer, well satisfied by his first attempt at retaliation. Twenty minutes later down at the telegraph office he was pleased to find telegrams from Frisco, all the parts that he had ordered were in stock and would be despatched first thing in the morning, delivered within the week. That was Addison’s first failure he had tried to block acceptance of an order which he knew would be coming, but he had no real influence with the firm or the transport company, neither of which were prepared to upset a customer as good as the Ponderosa. It had proved to him just how powerful the Cartwrights were and he knew that he had a difficult task ahead if he was to succeed in ruining them.

Ben’s day had been equally satisfactory, he had arranged loans of a quarter of a million dollars with ease and had been offered as much again if he needed it. The knowledge that he had so many good friends pleased him enormously and he felt better than he had at any time since Adam first pointed out the probability of trouble. To make things even better he was on his way to Beth’s. Beth was as lovely as ever and welcomed him with a hug. He went into the sitting room for coffee and then Beth asked, “What’s wrong?”

Ben parried “Is it that obvious?”

“Frankly yes. I have known you a very long time Ben, but I have also heard a number of rumours. Just what is going on?”

Ben told her briefly what had been happening and she was concerned about Joe and Adam, very fond of all the Cartwrights. He was quick to reassure her that both his sons would be fit and well in a couple of weeks. Then he lent forward “I need your help Beth.”

“You’ve got it.” She said instantly and for a minute Ben’s eyes twinkled “You don’t know what I am going to ask.”

She got up and topped up his coffee, kissing his forehead as she did so “I know you Ben Cartwright, you wouldn’t ask anything that I couldn’t give.”

“Well I certainly hope not.” Ben turned serious again “I need to get a message to Flood and O’Brien without letting the whole world know.”

“That’s easy. I’m going to Frisco a week tomorrow. Is that soon enough? I can go earlier.”

“No don’t change it, people know we are friends but as this has been arranged for ages it may escape attention.”

“Is there anything else I can do to help?”

Ben smiled “Be here and let me come to this haven of peace occasionally.”

“You know you are always welcome here Ben.” They spent a companionable hour and then Hoss came to see if his father was ready to go home. Hoss passed over the information he had found out about Curly Baker and she promised to pass that onto Flood and O’Brien as well as the letter Ben had written. Then as Hoss didn’t want coffee, they headed on home. Ben promised to come and see Beth as soon as he got back from Boston. Hoss went out to get the horses and Ben kissed her goodbye and followed his son.

On the way home they exchanged news and were well satisfied with their achievements. Ben had even managed to hire a dozen men and Mackay had promised to put his offer to another thirty men who were going to be turned off at the Savage mine, which was in borrasca. Ben was anxious to check on his youngest son and they were both eager to hear what news had reached Joe. Ben frowned and when Hoss queried it, Ben said “We still have a major problem unless Adam can manage to borrow that railroad crew. Even if I get all the men from the Savage we don’t have enough man power.”

“We had the luck Pa, no reason to think Adam won’t have luck too. We’ll win through we’ve too many good friends not to.”

Ben grinned at his on and then said “You go ahead and check with Joe. I want to take a ride up by the lake.”

Hoss looked anxiously at his father “You alright Pa?”

Ben reached over to grip his son’s arm momentarily “I’m fine but Boston is a long way off and I’d just like to visit the lake once more before I go.” Hoss nodded knowing that it wasn’t just the lake his father wanted to visit, but his wife’s grave. He headed onto the house leaving Ben to cut up by the lake.

Ben rode up to the point and stood for the moment admiring the view, then he bent and cleared some fallen branches from his wife’s grave. He thought of all three of his wives, all so different. Elizabeth was beautiful and intelligent but he remembered most her serenity which was Beth’s main quality and in many ways Adam resembled his Mother, especially now he was happy with Carole. Inger had been so different, perhaps the least beautiful of the three, much larger than either Elizabeth or Marie, but so kind and gentle, animals and children had always gravitated towards her and in her own way she was lovely, blonde and Nordic. His big son had his mother’s way with animals. Then there was Marie, she was unpredictable, gay with a fierce temper and very beautiful. He felt that all the time he had Little Joe, Marie wasn’t really dead, of all his sons Joe most closely resembled his mother in looks and temperament. Ben knew that all his sons came often to this place and for a minute he faced the idea of losing it and all that it meant. Then he remembered Hoss’ words, he had many good friends and even more important three fine sons, and they would win. He headed back for the ranch house sure and determined.

Little Joe didn’t have much news, a few more reports of damage had come in but nothing startling. He had it all listed. Some men had reported work finished and he had set them to preparing the timber needed for the flume. The men Ben had hired had arrived and he had signed them on and sent them out in pairs to mend fence having assigned them bunks and seen they were fed. On the whole he got the impression most of the were glad to get out of the mines and back to work in the open air. All in all he had had a busy and reasonably satisfactory day, albeit not exciting. Joe insisted that his head felt much better but he wouldn’t meet his father’s eyes and Ben insisted that he go back to bed. Little Joe wasn’t really sorry and gratefully accepted Hoss’ help upstairs. Hoss had filled him in on what had happened in town and as soon as he had eaten, Joe went to sleep.

Ben set out early the following morning, giving Hoss a list of places where he would be staying so that he could be kept in touch. He also gave Hoss instructions to prevent his brothers overdoing things, although as Hoss pointed out that that was easier said than done. Ben hoped that he would be back within a month but with someone attacking the ranch, a month was a very long time and as he rode out he took a long look at the ranch-house as though he feared he would never see it again.

Meanwhile Adam had had a rough ride, he knew the country well and he had decided to go direct to his friend’s camp rather than via Reno, but the ground was rough and he found horseback less comfortable than he had hoped. It was still bitterly cold and he was wearing his thick logging coat but that didn’t really move with him and rubbed on his sore chest and sides. By the time darkness came he was grateful to get down build a fire and relax but he couldn’t get comfortable and knew he would get little sleep, so when the moon came out he moved on. He went slowly saving his horse, but Sport was strong and Adam, wasn’t really worried about his mount.

Adam finally rode into the railroad camp in the mid-morning. He was pleased to see that there was no sign of work, the men were lounging around chatting or playing cards. Then John Chance saw him and let out a yell as he spotted his old friend. Adam rode over to him and dismounted. John grinned hugely “Adam you’re a sight for sore eyes. Come have some coffee and tell me what you’re doing way out here.” He led the way into his tent and Adam stiffly followed his old friend. They had been close friends at college and as both were working in the west had met about once a year on average since. John had stayed at the Ponderosa between jobs twice, and enjoyed the ranch and the welcome from his friend’s family. John passed over coffee “Right why are you here in the back of beyond?”

“Looking for you.”

John frowned as he took in the strain obvious on Adam’s face and he perched on the table “Okay what can I do for you?”

“How long before you expect the crew to be able to work?”

John pulled a face “The weather has been foul this year and the survey team only went out two days ago. I suppose they will sit on their backsides eating up my money for another fortnight, it might be only ten days with luck. It’s costing me a fortune but if you let men go it’s impossible to fill a new crew when you need it.”

Adam asked “What does your contract tie you to, with the crew?”

“I pay them and collect the job price. I have a responsibility to have a full crew on the job within forty eight hours of the survey boys giving me the go ahead.”

“Can you take on other jobs while you’re waiting?”

John shrugged “Sure, but there aren’t many jobs that can be done when railroading can’t. Why?”

“I came here to persuade you to loan me the crew for one week. I’ll pay their wages and a bonus if they finish the job in a week and there’s a thousand dollars on top for you.” Adam lent forward the intensity of his need very obvious in his eyes and John frowned worried what had happened to disturb his normally reserved friend. “What’s wrong Adam you look pretty desperate?”

“Someone is trying to ruin the Ponderosa.”

John whistled softly “No wonder you are so tense, but I would have thought that was a massive job with a ranch the size of yours.”

“It is, at the moment it’s mainly pinpricks but they keep us pretty busy and someone sent little Joe over a cliff, luckily he landed on a ledge and got away with a couple of broken ribs but it is serious. If they can prevent us making out contracts this year it could take us years to recover. You know I designed a flume down from Lake Tahoe and Bill finished it off for me when I went to Europe?” John nodded he’d been unable to do the job and another classmate Bill Davidson had taken over for Adam. Adam went on “We rely on the flume to meet our timber contracts and sometime during the winter someone dynamited it. There are eleven sections down and with trouble elsewhere I can’t pull off enough men to repair it quickly, it would take a couple of months. With your men it could be done in a week.”

“You’re on but forget that thousand, pay my men and feed me, you don’t need to bribe old friends.” Adam managed a grin but was too choked to speak and just put out a hand. John shook it and then clapped Adam on the back. He felt Adam wince and realised that his friend was only just restraining a groan. “What’s wrong Adam?”

“Nothing really I’m just a bit stiff. I had to carry Joe up the cliff and collected some rope burns. I’ll put some ointment on them tonight.” John wasn’t having that and insisted that Adam strip then and there and he carefully applied the soothing ointment for his friend. Knowing just how sore his friend was when he made the long ride brought home to hit the urgency of the situation and he yelled to his men ordering them to get ready to move in two hours.

Adam explained that he had to go on to Salt Lake City but his two brothers would have everything ready for John and he’d be at the Ponderosa only a couple of days after then with luck. John told him that a train ran from the present terminus to Salt Lake City every afternoon and back each morning. It didn’t leave until four so Adam had plenty of time to ride the fifteen miles to the end of the line terminus. Adam grabbed some food and drew out for John exactly what needed doing and then set out.

By ten that evening he arrived in the Mormon capital. He had been there before and it had always seemed an orderly and well policed town but Adam felt uncomfortable. He disliked the idea of multiple marriages although he had been impressed by what Joe had found when he stayed with the ill-fated Heber Clauson. Certainly the bond between the two wives had been very strong. Adam liked to feel he was not prejudiced against any race or creed, but to him marriage was a love affair, and an equal partnership between one man and one woman. It was the reaction of the Mormons en masse which he hated. He knew that it doubtless arose out of persecution and he had met many Mormons whom he liked as individuals but all together they were overpowering. Adam booked into a hotel and spent a restless night and was up early the following morning. By ten o’clock he had completed his business, the finance house was quite willing to give him a quarter of a million dollars credit until the autumn. Indeed the stock that Adam and Ben held in the Hale and Norcross was worth that without even considering the Ponderosa. The train back had already gone for the day and Adam had to hang around. Even so he knew that it was a lot faster to wait for the next train, despite the urge to hire a horse and just get moving. Adam sent telegrams to both his brothers and to his father’s first stop to tell them of his double success and then took an early lunch. He tried to doze off in his room to no avail and spent the next few hours fruitlessly trying to work out who could be behind their trouble. Eventually he settled down to write to Carole and spent a pleasant time before dinner writing her a long letter. Restless and eager to get back, in case further trouble had erupted, he could only wait until morning.

At the ranch Joe was back on his feet, rather stiff and sore with very colourful bruises but otherwise none the worse for his fall. He had received Adam’s telegram as Ben had made arrangements for one of the boys in town to bring out all mail that arrived for the Cartwrights every evening. The boy was only fourteen and very pleased to earn some cash by delivering the mail. Joe was delighted everything seemed to be going their way and the troubles so far were being dealt with, although he was realist enough to know that this was only the beginning.

The head of the timber gang, Jack Catfish, had come in to report that the timber for repairing the flume was ready and Joe had asked him to arrange for the sixty men on Chance’s gang to sleep up near the flume and for sufficient supplies to be taken out. Joe had spent the whole day dealing with details, since Hoss and Philip had ridden out to the mine. It was far more tiring than Joe had ever realised; he kept going over things scared that he had forgotten something vital. It was the first time he had had to deal with the whole organisation of the ranch when it was in trouble. He had done it for periods before but always when things were going smoothly, otherwise Ben or Adam had coped. At the end of two days on his own he was beginning to wonder how they coped for weeks and still managed to plan ahead. Mentally he apologised to them for times he had been cross at their irritability at such times. He had thought that he knew what was involved, but it wasn’t until now when he actually has to do it, that he really understood.

Hoss and Philip had reached the mine early and Philip spent the whole day carefully examining the mine. All the men knew the part he had played in improving safety in the mines of Virginia City and were prepared to listen to him. He called a meeting after the evening meal and all the men gathered round. Philip was slightly hesitant to begin with “You men all know that this mine is a surface mine, not deep like the mines in town. I would imagine that’s why many of you prefer it here. In town the cave-ins have all been at least 150 feet lower than any of this mine. Here the rock is sound, not so crumbly. This ore it is mixed silver and tin. I do not think there is any reason for these cave-ins, no natural reason. I think it is sabotage.”
That comment caused a buzz of conversation as the men began to argue. Many of them had worked for the Cartwrights for several years, and Philip’s comments only reinforced their own beliefs, they knew the mine. One or two insisted that the Cartwrights were just talking to persuade them to work on, everyone knew that Deidersheimer was a friend of theirs. Eventually Hoss quietened them down and asked “Has there been a fall since guards were posted on the tunnel?” It was a good point after five falls in a fortnight they had had four days with no sign of trouble. Most of the men were older than the average miner and many were family men. They enjoyed the peace and quiet on the Ponderosa. Ben had helped them to set up their own houses and encouraged then to keep a few animals and grow some food. Able to save their wages, they had established a small community out by the mine and weren’t about to be easily stampeded. The Cartwrights had proved themselves good bosses over several years. Their spokesman Swann asked for some time to consider what Philip had said. It was late in the day anyway and Hoss suggested that they all sleep on it and continue the discussions in the morning. It was too late to return to the house anyway.

The miners carried on their discussions late into the night. There were two of Buck’s men and they carried four hotheads along with them, but the rest believed Philip. They had all worked in the mine for a long time and they knew he was making sense, there was no reason for the sudden cave-ins. They decided that they were happy to continue working the mine with the proviso that guards must be kept on the mine entrance over night and those involved in guard duty should share the bonuses. The proposition was put to Hoss the following morning and he willingly agreed. Hoss arranged a rota of guards, two per shift, and he made sure that all of those who had dissented were paired with one of the older trustworthy men.

Philip suggested that the main work be concentrated in the left-hand tunnel where he had seen a crosscut which he felt was worth following. Swann willingly agreed to check it out. Anything that increased the value of the ore they found was reflected in the bonuses the Cartwrights paid them, so he had every incentive. Well satisfied with their success Philip and Hoss headed back to the house. Hoss was very grateful to his old friend for sparing the time and made that very clear, but Philip shrugged it off, what were friends for.

When they got home they found Little Joe sitting on the hearthrug surrounded by papers, the desk had got too small. Hoss frowned, shaking his head worriedly, “Little Joe do you know what you’re doing?”

Joe gave his brother a withering look and said coldly “It’s all under control and I know where everything is.” Hoss looked disbelieving but Joe ignored him and rooted for Adam’s telegram, which he passed over. Hoss was delighted and said “Things sure are going our way.” Hoss filled in Little Joe on events at the mine and the brothers relaxed, for the moment things seemed to be going their way.

Joe was busy working out when John Chance was likely to arrive and guessed it should be the following day, Jack Catfish should have everything ready for them. Joe was debating whether or not to set men to patrol the boundaries of the Ponderosa, it could only be a gesture but his father had considered it worth while when they were fighting Matt Vogel. He asked his brother for his opinion and Hoss shook his head “The men are all over the place mending fence at the moment, that’s as good as a patrol, so let’s wait and see what Adam thinks. He’ll be back in a couple of days.” That made sense to Joe and as Hop Sing was ready with dinner, he left the papers on the floor and headed up to table. Philip sat back very full “That was superb as usual Hop Sing.”

Hop Sing smiled, enjoying the compliment, but he just hurried out to the kitchen for more coffee and pie. Philip refused more pie but he was glad of the coffee. He told the brothers that he would head back to town in the morning, he knew that they were too preoccupied to want visitors around just now. Joe made a token protest but Philip was insistent.

Early the following day, Hoss rode up to the flume and mid-morning he welcomed John Chance and his crew. After lunch he stood watching with satisfaction as the men swarmed over the flume. It was a wonderful feat of engineering, a meticulously built trestle of two inch planks nailed together, two and a half feet in width, its main supports firmly anchored, each unit box sixteen feet long and so braced that normal breaks couldn’t be carried beyond one section. The hundreds of sections were smoothly fitted so that the speeding logs wouldn’t jam. The grade was always four feet to the rod, passing over canyons coming down thousands of feet, over fifteen miles to the terminus. When working the heavy logs travelled at up to sixty miles an hour, sometimes as much as seventy feet in the air. Hoss had been an opponent of the idea when Adam first suggested it, but he had become a firm supporter. Now he felt enormous pride, the flume had been working for two years prior to the damage and already paid for itself in saving costs. It was unique in the west and it was all their own work. Adam had designed it and he and Joe had supervised the labour to build it. Whenever he looked at it, Hoss marvelled that his eldest brother could have visualised such a thing and then sat down with pen and paper and drawn plans which hadn’t been altered at all in bringing about the reality. Hoss was very proud of his clever eldest brother. The only trouble with the flume was that it would always be vulnerable to attack. It was impossible to guard the whole length and where it was high in the air, dynamite could cause great devastation. This was the second time it had been attacked and Hoss could see no way of preventing it happening again.

News of the measures being taken by the Cartwrights, to combat his first probing attacks, were gradually filtering back to Buck in Frisco. The reports took time to reach him as he was taking great care to ensure that his name didn’t come up in connection with the attacks. Even ruining Adam might not win back Carole, but if she ever learnt who had ruined her new man, then all hope would be lost. However the reports he received showed him just what a job he had taken on in attempting to ruin the Ponderosa. He hadn’t expected very much from his first probing attacks; all he had wanted was to find out the best place to focus his main attack, but on every front the Cartwrights were fighting back. Buck was furious to find that the Cartwrights were arranging credit elsewhere, he had expected the lack of credit to bite hard later in the summer. The attempt to disrupt things at the mine was a total failure and he decided to ignore the mines for now, at least until the ore was moved to the mills later in the year. He would concentrate on the timber and cattle for now. It was already obvious that he was going to have to escalate the attack, if he was to prevent the ranch meeting contracts.

Addison had been given a false impression of the youngest Cartwright and was amazed to discover that both Ben and Adam were away, leaving the whole organisation of the ranch to Joe. Addison had been told of the gay, devil may care flirt, impulsive and with a quick temper. He hadn’t realised that Joe was also reliable, and always ready to pull his weight and curb his temper, in the event of his family needing him, or that Joe had a good brain. He might not have applied it in the same way as his eldest brother but Joe was no fool, very capable when he put his mind to it. Buck was furious to discover that he had underestimated this youngest member of the family. Events so far had kept Adam away from Carole, but unless he did something fast, Buck knew that Adam would have time to go courting again.

Buck sat in his office, inwardly raging at the lack of success so far, and blaming Joe for possessing qualities that he hadn’t expected. Buck had hired two men Parker and Wooton. They knew who he was, but he said that he had reasons for staying in the background, and as long as they were well paid they didn’t care. The two men had got a gang together, who would carry out any tasks as long as the money was good. Buck had decided to systematically poison the cattle on the ranch and he had had special tablets made. The tablets looked like normal salt lick tablets, which all ranchers used and indeed the special ones were mainly salt but they had sufficient poison in them to kill any cow, which licked it. Buck intended to have the poisoned tablets scattered all over the Ponderosa, so that the Cartwrights were faced with dead and dying cattle throughout their range. Buck also intended to use fire as a weapon amongst the magnificent stands of timber but it was too early in the year for that to be effective. If his men got the chance Buck wanted the flume attacked again and some shots thrown at the hands to frighten them off, although he warned them against killing the hands. Buck didn’t want the law intervening and too many killings always brought the law in. Fences to be cut and cattle stampeded and Buck made it clear that he didn’t mind if his men helped themselves to some of the Cartwright herd.

Buck was leaving Parker to choose his own moves depending on circumstances but he did issue one order. The first job to be done, when they reached Virginia City, was to get Joe Cartwright. His orders were very specific, he wanted Joe beaten up badly enough to put him out of action for at least a month preferably longer, but he was not to be killed. If the kid needed nursing that would be another job to be done and the longer the better. With Ben away, if Joe was sick, then the whole weight of the ranch would fall on Adam’s shoulders and anyway he felt annoyed at Joe for possessing qualities he hadn’t been told about. Buck gave one last order Adam Cartwright was not to be touched, anyone else could be injured, although avoid killing, but not Adam. The men he gave the orders knew exactly what such a job entailed and the money was good. They did wonder what Addison was up to but still the work was congenial and well paid so they didn’t care.

Adam was on his way home, the weather had broken and it was pouring with rain. He was soaked through and it had taken longer than he expected to get back. It was mid evening when he rode up to the flume. To his delight the repair work was well started, railroad gangs were used to working in all weathers and had carried on oblivious of the rain. There was a guard on duty and he came out and challenged Adam. He didn’t know who Adam was and insisted on calling John. John came out and identified his old friend, who was much amused at being challenged on his own ranch. John said “We are doing fine but you’re soaked, are you stopping or heading on home?”

“I need to check with my brothers so I’d better get home. I’ll come back in the morning.” Adam took time for a cup of hot coffee and then headed out for the final leg. It was well past midnight when he finally came into the yard. Joe and Hoss had expected him earlier but had guessed that the bad weather was holding him up. They had both stayed up and as he rode in Hoss went out to take his horse “I’ll see to Sport, get on in you’re soaked.”

Adam was grateful for that and went on in, but seeing his little brother he shook his head “You should be in bed Joe you look whacked.”

Little Joe passed him over a hot toddy, which he had just heated up with a hot poker “Have you looked in a mirror lately? We knew you’d be back tonight and wet through. There’s hot water and Hop Sing is filling the bath so get out of those wet things, have a bath and then get to bed. We can’t risk you getting a cold”

Adam laughed at his little brother “Yes mother!” but he was touched and he went to do as Joe suggested. Little Joe knew his brother was tough but he did tend to get bad chests, and had had pneumonia before from exposure after being wounded, and the doctor had warned them it would leave a slight weakness on his chest, so exposure was to be feared. Adam was more than grateful to warm up in a bath and then go to bed, too tired to even be interested in food.

Hoss was up early but both his brothers slept in and Hoss left them to rest. There was nothing urgent outstanding. It didn’t seem possible it was just a week since they had pulled Joe up the cliff, so much had been done. For the moment Hoss felt that they were winning, although he knew that their unseen opponent could strike again at any time. Hoss was just finishing up some of the barn chores when his brothers finally appeared downstairs soon after nine. Hop Sing told them off for being late but he had a good breakfast waiting for them and Hoss joined them for a second breakfast, feeling that he had earned it, he had been up for three hours.

Over the meal the brothers filled each other in, on what had been going on, and at the end they all relaxed with coffee. It had been a hard week but they were in control on all fronts. Adam straightened up “I need to go and check with John up at the flume, make sure he has everything he needs.”

Hoss grunted “I need to go to town, the replacements I ordered are in, word came out last night.” Adam looked at his little brother, Ben had made it clear that he didn’t want them going to town alone, just in case some one was out to get a Cartwright. They were too vulnerable on the way home when they were known to be in town. At least with two of them they could watch each other’s backs. Adam expected his younger brother to jump at the chance to go to town, having been tied to the house all week but Joe just grinned “All I want to do is to take Cochise out, he’s fit and I want some fresh air, you go to town with Hoss.”

Adam looked quizzically at his youngest brother but Joe said “All I want is a quiet ride, you go and see Carole.”

Adam grinned “I’ll take you up on that little brother. Thanks.” He arranged to meet Hoss in town and then headed out to the flume. After the rain it was a beautiful morning the whole land was clean and Adam rode along enjoying every minute of his ride over the land they had made their own. He had been seven and Hoss two when first they settled there, five years later he had helped his father build their present house. Even then he had had an instinctive feel for design and Ben had let his young son have his head. Adam remembered those days with Joe an active three year old under everyone’s feet. Since those days the ranch had grown immeasurably and they had become wealthy. He had left the ranch for college on three occasions, by his own choice, but he was always glad to get home. Adam knew part of his pleasure was the anticipation of seeing Carole and he began to plan his own house, but this time he would get married first. He wasn’t tempting providence again. Then Adam saw the flume and hurried on to get this job over so that he could go to Carole.

Ben was sitting on a train travelling east. The journey was a lot faster than when he first came west with his infant son, but it was still too long for comfort with the Ponderosa in trouble. Ben had great faith in his sons, especially Adam. He often took Adam’s judgement rather than his own but he hated being out of touch when danger threatened, and all he could do on this journey was to think. He had a great affinity for his eldest son’s thoughts, probably because Adam had been forced to grown up fast in that motherless family in order to care for his brothers, as Ben fought to build the ranch. As he sat on the train heading for New York, Ben remembered his son telling him that was the hardest part of the trip to Europe. Once he was on the ship he had made the break, but on the train he could have got off and turned back. Ben could imagine all too clearly how his son had felt, still not physically or emotionally fit after his bad fall and determined to break away and yet tied to the land and family he loved.
Ben had tried running away after Marie’s death, he’d gone to New Orleans to escape the memories that faced him everywhere round the ranch, in some odd way to try and find his wife again. It hadn’t helped, he had been unable to run away from himself and he had known that Adam would find the same. Ben had wanted to beg his son to stay, especially that morning they had gone to town to see him off, knowing Adam was undertaking a five year course and not knowing when or even if he would return. Ben could still see all his sons’ faces as Adam mounted the stage. Little Joe had fled as soon as the stage left and Ben knew how much he had missed his eldest brother. Hoss had slowly and meticulously got very drunk, something that Ben never remembered his big son doing on any other occasion. Ben himself had shut up in a shell and carried on as usual. He remembered Adam’s return in the night unheralded when Joe was missing, kidnapped for ransom. Ben could see, as though Adam sat in front of him, the fear on Adam’s face when he learnt that and the expression on Joe’s face when he regaining consciousness he found the brother that he had missed so much sitting by his bed. Ben’s thought ranged far back over the past as he waited to reach his destination and learn how his sons were getting on.

Adam chatted for an hour with John and was delighted at the speed with which the work was progressing. John insisted that he had all he needed to complete the work and suggested that his old friend go and help his brothers. Adam wasn’t going to argue and he made good time to town and Carole. Hoss was already there and Adam stopped by his big brother offering to help with the supplies. Hoss had already checked that everything was there and written out a bank draft to pay for them. He was just beginning to load them but insisted that he could cope. Adam hesitated but Hoss grinned “I can deal with this and then I want to go and treat myself to a meal at the International Hotel. If you can meet me and ride guard on the way home.”

“Sure, how long do you need?”

“I want to have a word with Dan and Roy as well, see if any one else has been acting odd or asking questions.” Hoss looked up at the sky “It’s about two now, let’s say seven o’clock here.”

Adam grinned broadly “That’s fine by me.” Hoss nodded “I somehow thought it would be, give my best to Carole.” Adam punched his brother on the shoulder and then headed down for the schoolhouse.

Carole was preparing food in the kitchen when she heard the door. Hastily drying her hands she hurried out. As she opened the door, Adam lifted her up and kissed her before coming in. She was delighted to see him if rather surprised and took off her pinny and tried to straighten her hair. Adam kissed her again “Don’t bother you are the most beautiful sight I’ve seen all week.” She went into his arms and Adam relaxed, so content to be with her, and so happy that she felt the same. He settled down on the sofa with her next to him and told her how his brothers had combined to send him to her. She had to laugh but was delighted that his family approved of her sufficiently to send Adam to her and that she was to have him for five hours. Eventually she pulled away and headed back to the kitchen to get a second steak out and prepare to cook. Adam lent against the door watching her enjoying the grace of all her movements, and slowly he told her what had been happening during the week. It gave him a chance to get things into perspective. Carole considered what he had said “You seem to be doing well.”

Adam nodded “We’ve had a busy week, and Pa is a long way off, but I think round one has ended about even.”

“You think that was just the beginning?”

Adam moved to the window staring out not really wanting to even face Carole and nodded slowly “It must be. No-one is damaging our property for fun. So far it’s only minor, probably probing to find the best way to attack. It will get worse. If only we had some idea who was behind it.”

Carole asked, “Where do you think the next attack will come?”

“I’m not sure. Some how to really damage us they have to prevent us fulfilling our contracts. The mines should be fairly safe we have good men and noone is going to find it easy to ferment trouble, but the flume is always vulnerable, or the sawmill. The thing I fear most is personal attacks.”

“What do you mean?”

Adam sighed heavily “The ranch is in joint ownership between the four of us. They have already attacked Joe, I don’t know whether it was meant to kill or not but it could have done. I’m scared they will attack us, each in turn. We have to be moving around a lot with trouble and we could be very vulnerable, Hoss alone, or indeed any of us alone, couldn’t run the ranch and probably wouldn’t even want to.” Adam had been thinking aloud and as he caught the look of horror on Carole’s face, he could have kicked himself for being such a fool and scaring her, as she said very worriedly “Please be careful darling.”

“I always am.” Adam pulled her close and hugged her “Sorry I’m just being morbid. It’s not the first time we have been in this sort of situation and we are all still here, fit and healthy.” With that he firmly changed the subject, the last thing he wanted to do was to upset her.

Carole prepared food and they tired to keep to other topics but it wasn’t easy. Still as the afternoon wore on Adam slowly relaxed. He wanted to know when the school broke up for Easter and learnt it was in ten days. He asked Carole to come and stay at the Ponderosa for a few days. She wasn’t at all sure, worried how the town gossips would react. Adam wasn't too bothered they often had guests to stay, including single women, but in the absence of his father she wasn’t sure whether it would be correct, still she at least promised to consider it. Then it was time for Adam to leave and meet up with his brother “I’m not sure when I will be able to get back to town, but I’ll come just as soon as I possibly can.”

“I’ll be here when ever you have the time. Please Darling promise me you’ll be very careful.” Carole held him tight burying her face on his shoulder not wanting him to see the depth of her fear. Adam gently pulled back and lifted her chin up kissing her passionately “No need to worry about me I’ve got far too much to live for to take any chances.” He kissed her once more and then turned to hurry back to join his brother.

It took the brothers quite a long time to get the heavily loaded wagon home but apart from that the journey was uneventful. Hoss was delighted to find his eldest brother far more relaxed than he had been on the way to town, even if lost in his dreams Adam wasn’t the best of companions.

Little Joe had spent part of the afternoon up by the lake, just sitting looking at the view, and trying to work out who was attacking them. Like Adam he knew that the first round was a draw and was wondering when the second round would begin. He was already on tenterhooks awaiting the next attack, although the longer it was delayed the better, as it put them that much closer to completing their contracts, and gave his father time to complete his business and return home. Eventually Joe got cold and returned to the house to begin sorting out some priorities for the next week works. He was glad when his brothers finally rode in about 10 p.m. It was getting late and although he had expected Hoss to give Adam some time with Carole he was beginning to get worried as the evening dragged on.

Joe went out to help his brothers unload and see to the horses and then went to fetch coffee for them For a while they sat chatting idly, but like a tongue probing a sore tooth the discussion headed back to the problems they had been having. Adam sat forward staring into the fire. "Look we don’t know which direction the next attack will come from, about the only thing that is certain is that there will be more attacks.”

His brothers could only agree noone would waste their time trying to cause damage and stop without achieving their goals and so far they hadn’t won anything. Adam went on “I’m scared that the next attack will be a personal one. Four Cartwrights have always proved a tough handful. Whoever is behind this might consider one or two would be easier to handle.”

Joe looked up horrified “You think someone is going to try and kill us?”

Adam sighed heavily “There’s already been one attack on you.”

Hoss looked unconvinced “Surely the same thing has been true in the past but noone has tried to kill us, what makes you think this time is any different?”

Adam got to his feet and moved over restlessly to stir the fire “There’s one big difference Hoss. In every other case when we have been fighting we have known who the enemy is. They have all known damn well that if they ordered any of us ambushed, backshot, then the others would be after them; not just the gunman but the man who gave the order. Back shooting has normally been out. Sure we have had to face full frontal attacks when that was the only option left and they wanted to kill all of us, but not picking us of one at a time. This time things are different. If Joe or I were killed tomorrow you would still have no idea, who was behind the killing. You might get a hired killer, but they are easily available a dime a dozen, the man who gave the order would still be perfectly safe. That’s why I think its top priority to find out just who is behind all this. It will make us far safer because we can retaliate.”

Hoss and Joe looked at each other, as they took in what Adam had said. They couldn’t argue it made perfect sense but it was frightening. Eventually Little Joe let his breath out slowly and shook his head as he looked at his eldest brother “You’re right of course I just hadn’t thought of it like that. But what are we supposed to do? We can’t just hide here. All the time there is trouble we have to be out and about, we have to see what is happening. We’re bound to be vulnerable.”

Adam nodded “I know that Joe and you’re right we have no choice, but we must remain on our guard. It may give us the extra second, which will save our lives. I know its difficult but try and remember all the time that someone may be out to kill you. Watch out for possible ambush spots; don’t settle into any routine, use different routes when you are going anywhere on the ranch. Just be very careful.” He moved over to his younger brother “Anyway on that dismal thought I’m heading for bed” and he suited the action to the word.

Hoss and Joe moved closer together and sat for several minutes staring into the fire. They knew that Adam was right but the thought of a would-be killer, somewhere on their thousand square miles, was a daunting one. Eventually little Joe stood up and said “Routine or not I'm going up those stairs to my bed and I think I feel like checking under it!” Hoss grinned and followed Joe upstairs.

That week was quiet with no alarms and by Friday the flume was complete again much to their relief. Adam put a series of guards on vantage pints along the length of the flume, especially the high sections, which were the most likely to be attacked. He knew that an attack in force would still be able to do exactly what it wanted, but the guards might make it more difficult for a lone man trying to set dynamite. It was the only thing that he could think of to try and protect the flume. Adam headed up to see John and paid his men off including a large bonus for completing the job so rapidly. They were delighted and were heading into town to celebrate. John accepted that but gave them a stern warning, they were to be ready to ride out on Sunday morning. For himself he accepted an invitation to join his old friend at the ranch house. He knew that there would be some very sore heads amongst his men but they had been with him long enough to know that anyone not back on time would get very short shrift and he wasn’t worried about their non-return. For now he was happy to relax with his old friend and be nosy, checking the original plans of the flume, and seeing just what else Adam was dreaming up.

Hoss and Joe had gone to town to send a long telegram to Ben and let him have the latest news. In return they received a telegram from their father, who had completed his business in New York with complete success and was going onto Boston. Since Adam’s talk the brothers had made sure that they went to town in pairs without really considering it, but they felt safe in the town they had known ever since the first few shacks were built.

Their business completed, the brothers went for a drink. As usual Dan was at the bar and seeing them he beckoned them over “Any news?”

Hoss shrugged “Nope. The flume is repaired and that’s it.”

Dan considered them and signalled Sam to bring a bottle “Come on you two join me you look as though you could do with a drink. As a friend not a journalist. What’s going on?”

The brothers looked at each other and Joe nodded so the three settled at a table in the corner. Joe was the first to speak “I only wish we had any idea what’s going on Dan. You heard about all the trouble last week, but this week not a thing. I feel as though I’m sitting on a powder keg. One that’s about due to go off.”

Hoss grunted “If only we knew who was behind it. It don’t make sense Dan, with all the major interests around we ain’t that vulnerable, not just now.”

Dan poured out three more whiskeys, “I’ve been keeping my ear to the ground but there’s not even a whisper of who is behind it.”

Joe stared into the glass turning it slowly, watching the light reflect off the liquid, finally he said “That’s the trouble Dan. It’s getting us down. I don’t mind a fight but this is like fighting in a mist, just can’t find the enemy.”

Dan said “I had a letter from Beth. She says Flood and O’Brien have promised to see what they can find out, but so far nothing.”

Joe shook his head “It don’t make any sense. Why stay hidden? In the past we have always known who we are fighting. Whoever it is will have to come out sometime.”

Dan shrugged “True Joe but for the moment you can’t retaliate. I should watch your backs.”

Hoss grinned “We’ve already had that lecture Dan. Adam made it very clear the other night.”

“Well just make sure you listen to your brother. I would hate to have to report your funerals, be much more difficult to fill my paper without you three around!” The brothers laughed at that and the tension eased and for a few hours at least they were able to forget the trouble hanging over them.

Adam had spent the Friday evening and most of Saturday relaxed and chatting with John. They had only seen each other twice for short times, since Adam came back from Europe, and had plenty to talk about. Adam enjoyed talking to his old friend but he like his brothers was waiting for the next move. John had a couple of practical suggestions to make for further bracing for the flume, to try and prevent even dynamite affecting more than the immediate sections. Adam agreed they were probably worth trying.

On the Saturday afternoon all three brothers rode with John up to Lake Tahoe. On the way there was a vantage point from which a long sweep of the flume could be seen. John reined in to look “Mighty impressive Adam, you must be very proud of it.”

Adam didn’t answer but his little brother piped up “We all are John and proud of its designer. Adam felt his cheeks warm and not wanting his brothers to see the flush he hastily rode off, not helped by hearing his brothers’ amusement as he rode off. They spent a pleasant couple of hours fishing up by the lake, enjoying the peace and quiet.

That Saturday was the last peaceful day they were going to get for a long time, but the brothers didn’t realise, as on Sunday Adam and Joe headed for town while Hoss went up to the East Range to check on the spring round up.

In town Adam collected a telegram from his father. Ben was in Boston, and the business was progressing but couldn’t be hurried. Ben thought he would be stuck in Boston for another four days before heading home. The brothers knew it would take him about a fortnight to get home once he started, so it would be another two and a half weeks before they could expect him.

Adam wanted to go and see Carole so Joe offered to write out a telegram to their father. Not that there was any news, but he could at least reassure his father. Joe grinned “Once I’ve done that I’m gonna get some grub and see Johnny and Mitch. I’ll come pick you up around five.”

Adam gripped his little brother’s shoulder in gratitude “Thanks Joe but just be real careful, keep away from dark alleyways.”

“I’ll be safe enough in broad daylight, but just to stop you fussing, I’ll stick real close to Roy or Dan.”

Adam grinned and went to join Carole. She had half expected him and cooked enough for two, thinking that she could always reheat it the next day if Adam didn’t come. When Adam knocked she ran through to open the door and Adam picked her up and crushed her to him “I’ve missed you darling.”

Carole put her face up to be kissed and tried to show him just how much she had missed him. Adam went in with his arm round her and sat down on the sofa holding her close beside him and then he was able to update her on the week’s events, reassuring her that there were no alarms false or otherwise at the ranch. Once they had had a meal, Adam decided that it was too long since she had had a guitar lesson and sent her to collect her guitar. They spent a hilarious afternoon raising terrible discords. Carole could play a little but Adam’s presence didn’t help her concentration. The lesson kept getting interrupted as each time she did something extra well or extra badly Adam gave her a kiss.

Meanwhile Little Joe was sitting chatting to Johnny over a beer; he still had an hour to fill before he collected Adam. Then a young boy came in and said “Your brother Adam wants to see you down at the schoolhouse.”

Joe was puzzled but not worried and saying goodbye to Johnny he went out. It was just getting dark but Joe felt perfectly safe in the town he knew so well and was just wondering why his brother wanted him Then as Joe passed an alley some men grabbed him. Two men held him and two others set out to beat him up. The first blow caught him on the adam’s apple and he couldn’t call for help, barely even able to breathe. Joe had been beaten up before, but these men were experts, each blow seemed designed to cause the maximum damage and pain. Within a minute his eyes were closed by blood running down his face and after that Joe knew very little. Held tight, he couldn’t even roll with the blows and the scene was going round and round as he glimpsed it through a red haze. He fell to the ground and a vicious kick to the groin put him out completely. The four men knew exactly what they needed to do and used gunbutts and feet to break ribs, dislocate his shoulder and treading on his hand they ground it into the dust. With great delight the four men ripped Joe’s trousers with their spurs and tried to see who could make the longest cut in his legs, then when that game palled, Parker gave Joe a final couple of kicks to the head and moved onto the next step in their plan. They wanted Joe out at the ranch, where his family would have to nurse him, not in town where someone else would take over the burden of nursing. They knew that once found, the kid would be taken to the nearest place where he could be tended, so he had to be found near the ranch. Parker called the same young kid over and told him to go and collect Cochise from the livery stable where Joe had left him. Everyone round town was used to kids running errands for a few cents and the stable hand didn’t hesitate to hand over the pinto. They tied Joe face down over his pinto and one of the men led Cochise out the back way while his friends covered him to ensure he got away unseen. They were going to give him half an hour’s head start and then the same kid could take a message to Adam. They managed to get the pinto out of town without seeing anyone and had a beer while they waited for the final step.

Adam was thoroughly relaxed and enjoying his break with Carole but he was vaguely expecting his brother and when there was a knock at the door he went to let Joe in only to find a young kid standing there. The boy could only say that he had a message for Mr Cartwright to say that his brother had had to go back to the ranch, could he come as soon as possible.

Adam stared at the kid but the boy was only about nine so he just passed over a coin and went back in looking very worried. Carole came to her feet as she saw the expression on his face “What’s wrong?”

“I’m not sure.” It was exactly what he had tried to avoid, one of them returning home alone. It was so easy for a trap to be laid when they were known to be in town, Carole knew his fears but wasn’t sure if they were for Joe or for himself. Adam kissed her “I must go, if Joe has already gone, he may have sprung a trap and be in trouble.”

“Be very careful darling.” Carole hugged him tight “please take care.”

“I will, don’t worry. I’ll send word as soon as I can.” Adam kissed her again and hurried for the stable. He found Cochise had already gone and he set out after his brother as quickly as he could, fear for his brother made him feel cold and he pushed Sport hard.

The scene had been well set and Adam was two thirds of the way home when he saw Cochise with his unconscious burden, tied face down across the saddle. So scared that it was a dead body Adam kicked Sport on and dismounted at a run. Cochise willingly came to him so glad to see something familiar with the frightening smell of blood. Adam was trembling, so scared for his brother and for a moment he couldn’t find any pulse. Then as he finally managed to hold his own hand still he found the pulse faint but there. He untied Little Joe and lifted him down. As he cradled the broken body of his young brother, he swore vengeance on whoever had done this to him. His brother’s face was so swollen and bloody that he was barely recognisable and Adam didn’t even dare think about the injuries he couldn’t see. Adam felt thoroughly sick but he knew he had to get his brother home where his injuries could be treated. There wasn’t any time to waste, the only important thing was to keep his brother alive. Adam lifted Joe upon to Sport and then managed to mount himself and cradling Joe against him he headed out for the house; leaving Cochise to follow on behind.

As soon as he got home Adam carried Joe straight up to his room yelling for Hop Sing as he did so. As Hop Sing came in Adam looked up in near despair “Joe’s been terribly hurt watch him while I send for Doc.”

Badly shaken by what he could see Hop Sing could only nod and Adam took the stairs three at time as he ran for the bunkhouse. He sent one of the hands to fetch Doc, emphasising that it was a case of life and death, and they desperately needed Doc as soon as possible. He didn’t really need to say that; one look at the strain on his white face was more than enough to convince the men that it was urgent. A couple of others asked if there was anything they could do to help, but Adam shook his head and hurried back to his brother.

For now Adam could only concentrate on doing what he could in order to keep his brother alive. With Hop Sing’s help he got Joe undressed and then stood horrified at the extent of the damage. There was hardly an inch of his little brother’s body which wasn’t red and angry. The steel toe-caps on the men’s boots had broken the skin in dozens of places. Adam examined his brother as gently as he could, he found broken ribs and arm and he couldn’t even begin to guess at the damage done to Joe’s right hand, it was just a swollen ball. Adam could see that there was extensive cutting round the groin but as he tried to examine it, his brother screamed from the depths of unconsciousness. All he could do was bathe the worst cuts and wrap his brother warmly to fight the shock of his wounds and then wait for Doc.

Adam sat by his brother, swearing that he would find the men who had ordered this and make them suffer a small portion of what Joe was suffering. For now all he could do was pray for his youngest brother’s survival and it seemed to take forever for Doc to arrive, the only one who might be able to help Joe. In fact it was less than two hours before Hop Sing showed Doc upstairs. Paul was badly shaken when he saw how pale and drawn the eldest Cartwright looked “What’s wrong Adam?”

“Its Joe he’s taken one hell of a beating.” Adam moved aside to let Doc get to the bed. Paul took one look “Oh my God! When did this happen?”

“I can’t be sure, I found him near the house, he was in town. It must have been around five o’clock. I’ve tried to clean him up but..” Adam swallowed hard fighting for control, Paul needed his help, now wasn’t the time to go to pieces. Doc took off his coat and washed his hands and then gently examined Joe while Adam sat there watching. Eventually Doc sat back and met Adam’s anxious gaze “I’m very sorry Adam. I’ve seen many beatings in my time but I’ve never seen one as vicious as this.”

Adam swallowed hard fighting for control of his voice “He is going to be alright?” he asked hoarsely.

Doc gripped the younger man’s shoulder, knowing just how close the brothers were, “You know as well as I do that I can’t answer that. The first thing is going to be a fight for the next two or three days to hold onto him at all, then we can’t know how bad those head wounds are until he comes round. You know he could be blind or there could be brain damage. If not then the rest, bad as it looks, is mainly superficial. There will be some scarring but nothing drastic.”

Adam stared down at his little brother so scared for him, the tears rolling unheeded down his cheeks. Doc knew that Joe was in shock but privately thought that his elder brother wasn’t that far removed from it either. He knew his way round the house very well and went downstairs to get a brandy and to ask Hop Sing for boiling water. Adam hadn’t even registered that Doc had left and he didn’t even hear the offer of brandy, so Doc expertly fed him some. Adam choked on the raw spirit, but at least he was paying attention. Doc patted his shoulder “Drink this Adam you need it and then I need your help. He has a dislocated shoulder and we need to put it back and then I have to try and set his hand. Come on Adam your brother is in shock, we have to do what we can for his wounds, and then try and bring him out of it. Joe needs you Adam if he is to still be alive come morning.”

Adam drained the brandy, and went over to the pitcher and doused his face, and then back in control he went to help Doc. They managed to put the dislocated shoulder back and set Joe’s arm, and then Adam held his arm still while Doc tried to manipulate the bones in his right hand back into place. It was so swollen that Doc couldn’t be sure that he had it all back in place. Adam was feeling sick and ill, terrified by the complete lack of reaction from his brother as the bones were set, emphasising just how deeply unconscious Joe was.

Doc cleaned and bandaged the head wounds and applied ointment to Joe’s swollen, bruised face. Just to be on the safe side in case Joe’s sight was damaged, Doc bandaged his eyes, which were virtually shut by swelling anyway. Then Adam held his brother still as Doc bathed and disinfected the cuts and bruises on Joe’s stomach and groin. There were long cuts from spurs down both legs, all too many of them. Doc guessed correctly that they had been trying to get the longest cut. Doc was just bathing those when Adam left him for a minute and Doc heard him being violently sick in the basin. Adam managed to get control and washed his face coming back to help. There was nothing that Paul could say, he’d been sickened by the beating and he knew how it must be tormenting Joe’s brother.

Eventually they had done all they could and they wrapped Joe up warmly to counteract the cold due to shock. Even so from time to time he was shivering uncontrollably. Paul and Adam sat with Joe all night and by morning the thin thread of a pulse was still there, albeit only just. Paul got to his feet and stretched “Adam, your brother is going to need someone with him every minute for the next couple of weeks at least. When he does come round, he’s going to be in a lot of pain, and too weak to do anything to help himself.”

Adam stared down at his little brother “I realise that and if careful nursing can pull him through he is going to get everything we can give.”

“Adam your father is away, only you and Hoss here and the ranch is in trouble.”

“I know that Doc. I won’t risk Joe’s life, I’d rather lose the Ponderosa.” Adam bent over his brother again to wipe his face and moisten his lips, the mingled worry and love so very clear on his face. Paul gripped the younger man's shoulder “There’s nothing more I can do until he comes round and I suspect that won’t be for a couple of days. Send for me as soon as he does, but resting is the best thing for him, allow his body to start healing. He’s still in shock and his life will be at risk until he comes out of it. Then I expect his fever to rise, but you and Hop Sing know how to treat that as well as I do.”

Adam nodded slowly, he had all too much experience at nursing his father and brothers. Doc asked “Do you want me to send word to your father?”

Adam shook his head “He’s in Boston and it will take him a fortnight to get home anyway. By that time it will be settled one way or the other.” His voice broke momentarily as he looked down at his brother’s beaten body and was so scared which was the most likely ending, but swallowing hard he got his voice under control. “No point in worrying Pa when he can’t do anything.”

Paul was concerned about the eldest brother too “Adam you must get some sleep, let Hop Sing sit with Joe for a while, or you’re not gonna be in a fit state to help Joe when he comes round. That’s when Joe is going to need you most.”

Adam nodded, he knew that Doc was talking sense but he couldn’t seem to move away from his little brother. He felt that if he turned his back Joe might give up the fight and he couldn’t bear the thought of his brother dying alone. If his father couldn’t be with Joe then the older brother, who had played such a large part in helping him to grow up, had to try and take his father’s place.

Meanwhile Hoss, out on the east range, was met with the news of a dozen dead cattle. José Bettencourt, the foreman of the cattle side of the business, an elegant Californian vaquero who would move heaven and earth for the Cartwrights, reported them to Hoss. José couldn’t understand it, there was no sign of disease in the others just a dozen dead, all over the place, different grazing, different waterholes. Hoss checked over with José and they found two more dead but Hoss couldn’t think of any reason either. All he could think to do was to take one of the carcasses back with him and see if Adam could arrange for some tests to be done. Maybe they could find out just what had killed the steer and then they might be in a position to do something about it. With José’s help he made a rough travois and strapped the body of the animal onto it.

José assured him that otherwise the round-up was going well and he could cope. Hoss made it very clear that José had his complete confidence and just how grateful he was for the proffered help but asked “Please make sure that you keep in touch with the house. Send in a messenger every couple of days, let us know what’s going on, how many more dead you find. If’n you need help just say.”

“Sure will but you worry about the logging side, nothing will prevent us making the cattle contract.” Hoss slapped his old friend on the back “I sure believe that José, see you soon.” Then he headed back to the ranch.

It was very late by the time Hoss rode into the ranch; the dead cow had slowed him considerably. He put it in the barn and saw to Chub and then headed into the house calling for his brothers. Adam heard him and went downstairs. Hoss took one look at Adam’s white drawn face and knew that there was something terribly wrong. The question was clear on his face and Adam answered it “Joe’s been hurt, beaten almost to death. At least I pray it’s only almost.”

Hoss wordlessly went and poured two large brandies and then followed his brother up to Joe’s room. He placed the brandies on the side table and then moved over to the bed where his little brother lay so still. Adam watched as Hoss stared down at their brother’s bruised swollen face, seeing the big man’s fists clench. Hoss was so scared for his little brother and furious at the animals that had done this to him, wanting to lash out, but with no idea where to aim the anger. Adam moved to tuck the blanket a little closer round his brother and moistened his lips again.

Hoss asked tentatively “How bad is it, he don’t even look like Joe.”

“Doc had never seen such a brutal beating. Joe’s bruised and cut from head to toe, he’s got a broken arm and ribs, had a dislocated shoulder and just about every bone in his right hand was bust. Just how bad the head injuries are we won’t know until he comes round.”

“Who did it?”

Adam shook his head “I don’t know. Doc was going to report it to Roy and let him make some enquiries. If I ever find them I’ll make them pay but it’s the man who gave the orders that I want.” His voice was very quiet but Hoss had never seen his brother look so implacable and he was scared, that if his brother found the men in the near future, Adam might do something he would regret.

Hoss stared down at his little brother and then looked up at Adam, tears bright in his eyes “Is he gonna look like himself again?”

“I think so, when the swelling has died down. There will be some scarring but hopefully not much.” He bit his lip staring down at Joe gently smoothing the bedclothes round his brother “It’s all my fault Hoss.”

Hoss was used to Adam’s propensity to take the world on his shoulders but he couldn’t see any possible way that it was Adam’s fault and said as much “ How in tarnation can it be your fault?”

Adam couldn’t look at his big brother and pickled at the blanket mindlessly as he said “I warned you both not to settle into any routines but I did exactly that. Went to town to see Carole on a Sunday and dragged one of you two along for protection and then abandoned you. I knew town was dangerous but that didn’t stop me. If I hadn’t wanted to go courting, Little Joe wouldn’t be lying here.”

Hoss moved to grip Adam’s shoulder “That’s foolish and you know it. So they took the chance when Joe was waiting for you in town, but if they wanted to do this, they would soon have found an opportunity. I don’t think you’re to blame and I know Joe’ll agree with me.”

Lack of sleep and worry caught up with Adam and he moved over to the window to hide his tears. Hoss went over and put his arm round his brother “We’ll pull him through Adam. I’ll stay with him for a while, go and get some sleep you’re almost out on your feet.” Warmed by the compassion in his brother’s voice and desperately tired Adam accepted that offer and, too tired for even worry to keep him awake, he was asleep when Hoss checked ten minutes later.

Hoss sat, occasionally wiping his little brother’s face, moistening his lips or tucking the blankets closer round him. He swore he would find out who had done this. Little Joe even at 23 was the baby of the family and his big brother hated for him to be hurt. This time someone had hurt Joe more than he would have thought possible. Someone had deliberately set out to hurt and maim and Hoss, who couldn’t bear for a rabbit to be hurt unnecessarily, decided that the world would be better without such men.

Adam slept through until 5 a.m. and then went back through to join his brothers, feeling more human for some sleep. Once he had checked that Joe was no worse Adam gently smoothed his brother’s curly hair back from his forehead and leaving Hoss to cope for a few minutes he went down to fetch coffee. Hoss was grateful for it he had got cold and stiff sitting by his brother.

As they sat sipping coffee, Hoss remembered that he hadn’t told Adam about the dead cattle and filled his brother in on what José had found. Adam questioned him closely about the localities in which they were found but had to admit himself beaten. He couldn’t think of any common factors, which weren’t true for dozens of other places. He asked Hoss to cut the head off the animal and get one of the men to take it into town, to the vet, with a full note on what was happening. Hoss promised to arrange it and then looking down at Joe’s battered body he asked, “Should I get Doc to come back out?”

Adam sighed heavily as he looked at his little brother. It needed close examination to detect the slight rise and fall of Joe’s chest, which showed life was still present, but even so Adam shook his head “There’s nothing more anyone can do until he comes round. All we can do is keep him quiet and warm and try to get a little broth into him.”

Hoss gave way knowing that Adam was right there was nothing anyone could really do to help Joe, his little brother had to fight it himself. The limited help they could give either he or Adam could do with Hop Sing’s help. His attention was drawn back to the matters of the ranch, they couldn’t just give up. He looked up at his brother knowing that for the foreseeable future there would only be the pair of them to cover the work, even when Joe started to recover it would be months before he was fit enough to carry his share of the load. Hoss didn’t even let himself imagine the alternative. Hoss said tentatively “José can cope with the cattle and the mine is running smooth enough. Jack Catfish will cope at the sawmill, but there’s noone we can leave for long up at the lumber camp.”

Adam knew that his brother was right, it was a job that needed one of them present most of the summer. The next set of trees for cutting must be marked soon and without a strong hand on them logging crews soon got out of hand. He had served his time as Bull of the Woods and knew just how much work was involved. It would take one of them, full time all summer, to meet their contracts. It would be tough on Hoss because there was a lot of paper work involved, which he hated, but he was very capable. Even when Ben returned the work would have to be split three ways, because Joe would be out of action for a long time.

Hoss went on “I’m gonna have to stay up there most of the time. How are you gonna cope?”

Adam straightened his shoulders they couldn’t just give up “I’ll work up here. Hop Sing can spell me. We’ll manage and I’ll send a messenger up each morning to exchange news.”

Hoss nodded “Okay brother. You’ll send for me if there’s any change?”

Adam tried to stay positive “You’ll know just as soon as he comes round. Now you’ve been up all night. I’ll look after Joe, go and grab three or four hours before you head up to the lumber camp.” Hoss could only accept it and go to his room and a few minutes later Adam heard the reassuring rumble of his brother’s snores.

Adam sat by Joe’s bed trying to plan what needed doing. He needed to check on the mine and the smaller roundup on the west range and decided that he needed to send men out on patrol and to check the fences. Luckily he had an extra twenty-three men at his disposal, they had been turned off at the Savage mine as it moved into borrasca. He decided to split them up amongst the crews and pair off each with one of the experienced men. He knew that José and Jack Catfish wouldn’t be pleased to lose experienced men but they were the ones he needed on patrol. A few he sent to augment the mine staff and half a dozen he would keep at the ranch to do the chores and act as messengers. He called Hop Sing to watch Joe and went down to the bunkhouse.

The new men had already heard stories of the Cartwrights and in the two days since they had arrived they had heard a lot from the long established hands, many of whom would willingly have died for any of the Cartwrights. Ben had always been determined to give his men a fair deal and he had a reputation as a good boss. The men would follow him and his sons into anything, partly because they had the gift of leadership and partly because they knew the Cartwrights would always keep the worst jobs themselves and would never force a man to fight. They were paid to work and if they didn’t want to fight it was never held against them. They had already heard what had been done to Little Joe and were furious, even the new men.
Dan Tolliver, a hand who had been with them almost since the beginning, now taking charge of the jobs on the home range, spoke for all of them when he said “Adam we heard what they done to Joe and we sure hope he’ll be okay. Meantime until you can get to grips with them that done it, you just tell us what you want done and we’ll get it done. Without you bothering your head about it.”

Adam was very touched and he swallowed hard to try and move the lump in his throat before answering “ Thank you Tom, indeed thank you all. Joe is seriously ill and I shall be tied to the house for the moment, but I think he will be alright given time.” Adam rubbed his hand across his mouth and then became all business as he laid out what he wanted the men to do. Most of the men filed out of the bunkhouse, but one of the new men came over to speak to Adam. His name was Neeley and he said “Mr Cartwright I’m sorta a spokesmen for the miners. We’re not used to working cattle, logging and the like but we are sure grateful for a job and you can rely on us at least til autumn. We don’t approve of what we bin hearing, beatings, dynamitings and the like. We’ll sure do the best we can for you.”

Adam was much moved by this vote of confidence from men he had never even met before and he was totally incapable of saying more than thanks. He went back to Joe’s bedside warmed by the response he had found from the men. Even if evil men who could so savagely damage another human being existed, there were also good men who were sickened by such things and willing to fight, even though their own flesh and blood weren’t involved. The men’s reaction had relaxed Adam a little and his brain was working rather better. Adam knew exactly what needed doing and he collected all he needed. He dragged a desk through into Joe’s room so that he could work while he sat with his brother. He began to list exactly what resources they had in manpower and where they were. He had a constant stream of messengers with reports from various parts of the road. New fences were cut and a herd of some thirty head had been stolen judging by the signs. Adam had seen each of the messengers in his own bedroom as close to Joe as possible. He decided that he couldn’t afford the manpower to go chase the rustlers, just sending word to Roy. He didn’t dare leave any part of the ranch uncovered for a possible wild goose chase. More worrying was the report that came in late that afternoon of four dead steers on the west range. Adam couldn’t imagine what was causing it in so many diverse places, but there was little he could do until they had the vet’s report. The one thing he feared was that one of many poisonous plants had got a foothold. Adam knew that such things existed and they could only be destroyed by burning of the affected pasture, and there was an awful lot of their pasture affected. However it seemed unlikely that anyone could have introduced such a plant over a wide area and Adam couldn’t believe that this was not tied in with the other attacks, it seemed too big a coincidence.

Throughout that long day Adam checked his brother every ten minutes or so, wiping him down as he was running a high temperature and trying to get him to swallow, water and beef broth. Adept at nursing his little brother Adam managed to get a certain amount of both down his brother but Joe’s pulse was still so weak. At times Adam had to listen to Joe’s heart, resting his ear on his brother’s chest, unable to find a pulse in order to assure himself the Joe was still alive.

Meanwhile in town Doc Martin had reported to Roy just what had happened to Little Joe. Roy was horrified as the Doc outlined the extent of the beating. Roy was an old friend of the Cartwrights and very fond of Joe. He could understand how helpless and angry Adam and Hoss must be feeling, not even knowing on whom to vent their wrath. Roy promised to make all the enquiries he could, but he didn’t hold out much hope. Roy knew Virginia City too well and its citizens turned deaf dumb and blind when there was trouble. Doc said “I’ll go tell Dan. He’ll learn about it fast enough anyway, so he might as well have the right facts for once, maybe it’ll shame someone into coming forward. Joe’s a popular kid.” Roy wasn’t convinced it would help but had to agree that it wouldn’t do any harm.

Doc wandered down to Dan’s ‘office’ namely the saloon and sure enough there was Dan with the inevitable beer in front of him. Doc went over to join him “I have some news for you.” Dam grinned “Right whose been born or died?” Then taking another look at the Doc he knew this was no joke and the grin vanished “What’s going on Doc?”

“Little Joe has been beaten, so badly that it’s fifty-fifty whether he lives or dies.”

Dan was shocked and asked “When did this happen?” Doc told him all that he knew including the extent of Joe’s injuries. Dan was fond of all the family and asked “How are Adam and Hoss coping?”

Doc shook his head “I’m not sure. Didn’t see Hoss but Adam was taking it real hard. This isn’t for print but Adam said that Joe came first and he would nurse his brother back to health even if they lost the Ponderosa.”

Dan wasn’t surprised “That sounds about right but he’ll just try and do both.” Then he suddenly clicked his fingers and said “It’s nearly Easter.”

Doc looked at him as though he was mad but Doc went on “It’s Easter so Carole King will be on holiday. The school will break up tomorrow. She’s got three weeks to help out with the nursing and by then Ben will be back and, with God’s good grace, Joe will be over the worst.”

Doc shook his head doubtfully “In some ways it sounds like a good idea but you know Adam. I know their names have been linked, but he’ll never ask her for help.”

Dan grinned “I know that, but on the other hand he won’t turn her down if she goes out and offers. I’m sure she would want to help.” He stood up and the Doc said “Where are you going?” Dan stared at Doc as though he was half-witted “Where do you think? She can’t offer to help until she knows what’s wrong so I’m going to tell her.” The Doc shook his head as Dan left but just maybe the schoolteacher was the help that his friend needed.

Dan went straight down to the schoolhouse where Carole was preparing supper. She let Dan in, he was always a welcome visitor and she poured coffee. Once they were sitting down Dan took her hand “I’m afraid I have some bad news for you Carole.” She went white and asked “Adam?” Dan shook his head “Only indirectly its Little Joe.”

Carole bit her lip “It was a trap. Adam was scared it was last night.” Dan got her to explain and made her describe the boy, then he had to fill her in just how badly Joe had been beaten. He finished up “Doc Martin has been out there all night and he’s waiting for Adam to send word if and when Joe comes round.”

Horrified Carole asked “If?”

Dan nodded slowly “The boy has been given the worst beating Doc has ever seen and he’s seen all too many. He has a broken arm and broken ribs and severe head wounds, to say nothing of cuts and bruises all over his body” Carol sat there thinking of the vital young man she had come to know over the Christmas holiday. She had been nervous of him at first but had come to know him better and when he told her abut Laura, she had come to realise why he and Adam were so close. Now she could imagine all too clearly just how upset Adam must be
Dan just sat there watching the play of emotion across her face. Then he said “Joe will need constant nursing if he’s to pull through.”

Carole considered that “There’s only Adam and Hoss and I guess Hop Sing. Mr Cartwright won’t be back for a fortnight.” Dan waited and Carole made her mind up “Adam invited me for a few days over Easter. School breaks up tomorrow. At least I can take some of the burden of nursing of their shoulders.”

Dan grinned broadly “Bravo! That’s what I hoped you would say.”

Carole asked “Do you know where Doc is?” Dan was rather puzzled, but nodded, and Carole went on “Would you ask him to drop by. If I’m going to help then I need to know the best way of doing it.”

Dan got to his feet and dropped a kiss on her forehead “Thank you. I’m fond of all the Cartwrights and you are just what they need at the moment. You’re the only person, apart from Hop Sing, that I can visualise Adam and Hoss entrusting their brother to at the moment.”
Then Dan headed back into town to tell Roy what he had discovered and to send Doc to see Carole, before writing his story. Roy and Doc were both glad to hear the Carole was going out to help, knowing Adam badly needed it.

Carole began to sort out clothes and things that she would need for a three week stay at the Ponderosa. The Doc came in and said “Dan reckoned you wanted to see me?”

Carole nodded “I have done some nursing, looking after young children through childhood ailments, but not a grown man who has been beaten. I just wanted to know what I can do to help Little Joe.”

“Not that much different. Until he comes round, it mainly a case of keeping him quiet and warm. He was beginning to run a fever and may well be restless, bathe him down with cold water, maybe ice, try and get fluids into him. Adam knows as well as anyone what to do. He’s nursed his brothers and his father in the past.” Doc smiled faintly “You can also try to keep Adam calm. That may be more difficult. We aren’t going to know the extent of Joe’s head injuries until he comes round. Adam knows the possible problems, there could be brain damage or there could be blindness.”

“Dear God.” Carole breathed out, horror on her face.

Doc patted her shoulder “Adam is most scared by blindness. Joe was hurt when some nitro blew up a couple of years back and he lost his sight. He was blind for a couple of months before the pressure eased and he got his sight back. Took it very badly although he did learn to cope. It might just have made him more vulnerable this time. We can’t know until he comes round. Anyway even if nothing so severe has happened, he’s going to be in a lot of pain and as weak as a kitten. Someone is going to have to wash him and feed him and generally tend him, for at least a couple of weeks, before he will be able to do much to help himself.”

Carole bit her lip “Even after what Dan said I hadn’t realised just how badly hurt Joe was.”

“You won’t until you see him.” Doc said bluntly “He isn’t even recognisable although the damage is largely superficial, but I don’t think I convinced Adam of that. Joe certainly looks nothing like the debonair elegant flirt we are used to. I’m very glad you are going out. Adam is near the end of his tether and he still has a ranch to run. Your help is just what he needs.”

“School breaks up at lunchtime tomorrow. I’m going to have everything ready so I can head straight on out to the ranch as soon as I’ve dismissed the children.” Doc grinned at her and left her to get everything ready.

The following afternoon Carole hired a buggy and headed out to the Ponderosa. She knew the way and it was impossible to get lost, but it was the furthest she had been alone since coming to town, and she was very glad to see the house come into view. She tied the horses up and went into the house.

Adam heard the door and yelled down “Come upstairs.” He finished wiping Joe’s face and moved out onto the landing to see who it was this time. Most messengers that day had brought more bad news and he tensed up expecting yet more trouble. When he saw Carole, he hardly dared to believe his eyes. She moved swiftly over to him and took his hand “You invited me for Easter, so I decided to come.”

Adam was about to try and explain that events had changed things, but she put her finger on his lips “I heard about Little Joe. Doc explained what had happened and I though you could do with some help.” Adam pulled her close to him and held her tight unable to find the words to express his feelings. She kissed him and then pulled away a little, seeing the exhaustion and signs of strain and tension clear on his face. “Darling I’m no expert nurse. I have done some in the past and Doc has explained what needs doing. At the least I can help ease some of the burden from you.”

Adam pulled her close again burying his face in her hair “Bless you darling. I need all the help I can get. It’s not a pleasant job, changing dressings, mess to clear up and Joe barely looks human.”

Carole said “I know all that but it will be worth it to get him well again.”

Adam nodded and made a visible effort to pull himself together “I must get back to him. How did you get here darling?”

“Hired a buggy, its outside.”

Adam ran downstairs and called for Dan Tolliver. He asked Dan to get her things into the guest room opposite Adam’s own bedroom and then get one of the men to take the buggy back to town, explaining that Carole had come to stay for a while to help tend Joe. Dan nodded approvingly, knowing just how much Adam needed the help.

Meanwhile Carole had gone into Joe’s room. She thought that she was ready for the sight but even so she was horrified at the mess he was in. He was restless so she bathed his head and turned the pillow over for him. Adam stood at the door watching as she tenderly laid his little brother’s head down again on the fresh pillow. Then he joined her by the bed. Carole looked up at him, shock clear on her face “How could anyone do such a thing?”

Adams shrugged “I don’t know but if I ever find out who it was they will pay.” Carole shivered seeing the implacability, making Adam look hard and cold, but she found herself in complete accord with his sentiments. Then as Adam gently pulled a blanket closer round his brother his expression melted and she glimpsed the love and concern he felt for his little brother. They sat quietly talking by Joe for about an hour and then Carole said “I came here to help. You look absolutely exhausted. Go and get some sleep. I’ll call you later to take over.” Adam was so tired that he accepted without argument. He kissed her and held her tight for a moment and then leaning over his brother he gently smoothed the hair back from Joe’s forehead and said a silent prayer for his brother, before he headed for bed.

Carole sat by Joe’s bed and the vision of Adam’s face as he prayed for his brother, seemed to stay with her. She bathed Joe’s body down and he seemed to rest mores easily for a while. She was badly shaken by the extent of his injuries and maybe even more by the number of old scars the twenty three year old had amassed. She couldn’t help wondering if Adam also had scars that she didn’t know about. She had half promised to call Adam at midnight, but he was fast asleep and she didn’t feel that tired, so she left him to sleep until 3 am.

Adam felt much better for some sleep and Joe had survived another night. Adam checked his brother and thought that his pulse was a little stronger. He crushed Carole to him and kissed her, then he sent her to get some sleep. She did so but was down for some breakfast by ten. After eating she went into the kitchen to talk to Hop Sing. He looked up surprised to find her in his kitchen and Carole smiled at the old Chinese man. “I don’t know whether Adam has told you, but I shall be staying for about three weeks. I hope it won’t be too inconvenient.”

“You help nurse Little Joe. Hop Sing glad you are here.”

Carole thanked him and then headed up to Joe’s room. Adam was with his brother trying to wipe his face with one hand and write a note with the other. Carole took over tending Joe and then turned to Adam “You need to move your things downstairs. I’ll sit with Joe during the day, then you can take over for a while in the evening while I get some sleep and I’ll take over during the early hours.” Adam pulled her close to him and kissed her “I won’t see much of you.”

Carole lent into his embrace “Darling we have jobs to do, to get Joe fit and you have a ranch to run. As long as we have the odd five minutes like this to hold each other I will be satisfied.”

Adam kissed her passionately and said huskily “I love you so much. You’re a woman in a million.” Carole felt warmed by his words and his arms, more than content to be near him. She promised to call Adam the moment there was any change in Joe’s condition and Adam took his things downstairs, sure he was leaving his brother in the best of hands.

Relaxing slightly with her help, Adam prepared a letter for Hoss to tell him of the slight improvement and about the extra help he had and then settled to the million and one details inherent in running the ranch. He seemed to get on so much faster than he had for the last two days, as his concern for his little brother eased fractionally.

After lunch when the stream of messages eased of for a while Adam went up to see Joe. Carole smiled at him as he came in “His fever is dropping.”

Adam went to check for himself and there was no doubt that Joe’s temperature was down and he was resting more easily although there was still no sign of returning consciousness. While Adam was there Carole had him hold his brother while she remade the bed with fresh sheets. Adam was surprised that she had found everything but Carole explained that Hop Sing had helped. The sheets were messy where Carole had changed Joe’s dressings and Carole bundled them up and put them to soak.

Adam settled his brother back in the clean bed and considered Joe carefully. The swelling on Joe’s face was down considerably and he looked rather more like himself. The black lashes were dark against the pallor of his skin as Adam considered whether he ought to rebandage Joe’s eyes. Carole came up next to him “He looks so young.” Adam nodded not trusting his voice as he stared down at his brother. Then he heard the door go, but before he could react Hoss had taken the stairs three at a time as he came to check on his little brother.

Adam looked worried but Hoss was quick to reassure him “We needed some more oil and I knew there was some here in the store so I left Johnny to keep things moving and sent myself to fetch the oil. Things are going real smooth.” Carole moved back to allow the big man to get to the bed. Hoss very gently felt his brother’s forehead, stroking his hair and then looked questioningly up at his elder brother.

Adam gripped the big man’s shoulder “Still early days Hoss we don’t know the extent of the head injuries but his pulse is better and he’s resting easier.”

Hoss let his breath out and then for the first time seemed to notice Carole as she stood over by the window. He went over to her and turned her to face him “Adam wrote me that you had come to nurse our little brother. Bless you for your kind heart.” He kissed her on the forehead and then saying “I’d better wash up” he left the room.

Carole had tears in her eyes and Adam went across to her and held her tight. He tilted her face up to him and kissed her “You know how we both feel I don’t know how we would cope without you.” Then he stared down at her with an expression she had never seen before on his face. Adam had been planning to ask her to marry him but he had wanted to do it up by the lake where they had first talked and first told each other of their love, but circumstances had ruined that. Now thinking of what he had just said he knew he didn’t want to ever cope without her again. He kissed her very gently “This may not be the right time or place but I can’t wait any longer. Darling I love you so very much, will you marry me?”

Carole stared up at him for a moment, she had visualised this moment so often but it had never been set in Joe’s sickroom. Not that she cared and there was only one possible answer. “Adam I love you so much. Once all this is settled I’ll be the happiest woman in the world when we get married, but for now the whole world can know that I belong to you as your fiancé.”

Adam pulled her close burying his face in her hair. Whatever the future would bring he could face it with this woman by his side, and for now he had found a haven of peace. He had dreamt so often of finding a woman to share his life but this was so much better. This beautiful, passionate, intelligent woman with the compassion and love of this country who already fitted in so well with his family was far more than he had ever dared to dream. Somehow he would find a way to deal with all this trouble so he could give her all his attention. For now he was more at peace with himself than he had been in years.

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