BY THE FIRE’S LIGHT

By: Debra P.

Adam Cartwright hummed a tune to himself in time to his horse’s gait as he made his way down the steep trail.  He had spent most of the day supervising, and working along with, the crew that were cutting timber for an important railroad contract.  The job was going very well, ahead of schedule in fact.  He  was very pleased, and he knew that his pa would be too.  Adam was in a contented mood, and Sport seemed to pick up on it, trotting along smoothly with his head held high and his ears pricked up to catch his master’s voice.

Finally they reached the point where the sloping trail flattened out and the wooded foothills of the mountain turned into a meadow.  Adam clucked to his horse and Sport responded eagerly, shifting into an easy canter.  Man and horse were both enjoying the fresh, clean air and the warmth of the sun, which was well along the downward arc of its day’s journey.

After going along so pleasantly for some minutes, Adam caught sight of something a far distance down the trail that made him rein in his horse and shade his eyes with his hand, trying to see it better.  At first it looked like a couple of moving dots, but as they moved closer the dots turned into two figures on horseback.  Eventually they came close enough that Adam was able to recognize the riders as his father and Sheriff Roy Coffee.  His mood turned quickly to one of concern as he wondered what they were doing out here.   He urged Sport quickly forward to meet them.

As Adam neared them, Ben and Roy waved to him in greeting and halted their horses waiting for him.

“Hello, son!,” Ben called out as Adam came in range.  “I’m certainly glad we ran into you.”

“Hi, Pa,” Adam returned as he reined in Sport facing them.  He looked from his father to Roy questioningly.  “I’m sure the two of you didn’t come all the way out here on a pleasure ride.  What’s going on?”

“Well, Adam,” Roy drawled.  “Fact is, there was some trouble in town this morning, and there’s reason to think the man we’re after for it is tryin’ to escape across the Ponderosa.”

“Trouble?  What kind of trouble?”  Adam’s concern was intensifying.

“Mike Newman over at the livery stable was shot and killed son,” Ben answered him quietly.

“Mike?,” Adam said, his eyes showing shock.  Mike Newman was a hard working young fellow of nineteen who had dreams of raising horses himself.  Believing his ambitions to be worthy of encouragement, Adam had attempted to offer him help on a couple of occasions, but Mike had been too proud to accept.  Adam liked the boy, and the news of his death was a blow.  Both Ben and Ray noticed the look that passed across Adam’s face, a look of sorrow...and of determination.

“You say you know who did it?,” Adam said after a moment, his voice tense.

Roy nodded.  “It was Peter Durant. You’ve seen him around town, I’m sure.”

“Oh, I’ve run into him, all right,” Adam responded.  “I can’t say it was a pleasure.”

“I’ve had my eye on him for some time,” Roy continued.  “Had a feeling he was gonna cause problems, and it turns out I was right.  Seems Mike came on him robbin’ the livery stable, so Durant shot him, then stole one of the horses and hightailed it out of there.  He got away with maybe a thousand dollars cash.  Probably not near as much as he was expectin’.  Soon as I was notified I got together some men to go after him.  We tracked him for quite a ways, but we lost the trail shortly after he crossed onto Ponderosa land.  I sent the men who were with me out in pairs in different directions, then I went to get your pa.  We thought Durant might have tried to head up into the high ground, so we decided to see if we could find any trace of him in that direction.”  Roy indicated the trail heading up into the wooded foothills which Adam had just come down.

Ben took it from there.  “I knew you were out here in this direction, son, and I hoped we’d come across you so you could help us search.”

Adam’s expression turned thoughtful.  “I’ll be happy to join you, of course.  I’m just thinking...If I were Durant, I might think it was a good idea to find a stream somewhere.  Going  into the water is a classic tactic to throw off any pursuers.”  He paused for a moment.  “There’s a likely stream right over there.”  He gestured with his hand back in the general direction he had come from.  “Follow it upstream and you trace it to where it rises in the foothills.  Follow it downstream and it cuts across the north meadow and right off the Ponderosa.  We could split up and follow it in both directions.  How would the two of you like to take upstream while I follow it downstream?”

“Sounds like as good a plan as any to me,” Roy opined.  “Let’s get goin’ then.”  And he gathered up his horse’s reins and turned in the direction Adam had indicated.  Ben and Adam quickly followed him.  In only a few minutes they had reached the stream.

As they were preparing to part ways something occurred to Adam and he turned toward his father.  “Pa, wasn’t Joe supposed to be checking on the cattle in the north meadow, getting a count on how many new calves there are to be branded?”

“Yes, that’s right.”  Ben frowned.  “I just hope he hasn’t run into any trouble.  Well, since you’re headed in that direction, you can keep an eye out for him.  Adam, I don’t like to see you go off by yourself.  I only wish that Hoss was with us today instead of over in Danville so he could pair up with you.  But if you do meet  with Joe you can get him to join you in the search.”

Ben’s evident anxiety for his boys caused Adam to smile in an attempt to reassure him.  “Don’t worry, Pa.  Joe and I can both take care of ourselves...as you very well know.”

Ben managed to smile in return.  “Of course I do, son.  Still, as a father I can’t simply turn off all my concern.  Just don’t hold it against me if I tell you to be careful...will you?”

“Pa, if you didn’t tell me that I’d wonder what was wrong with you.”  Adam gave his father a wink, then raised his hand to the brim of his hat in a parting gesture as he turned to pursue his route downstream.

For the next  hour Adam rode slowly along the side of the stream keeping a careful watch for any indication that anyone had gone into or come up out of the water. The spring season had been a relatively rainy one and the water flowed full and strong, creating powerful music as it danced around the rocks and any other impediments in its way.  By this time the sun had moved far down toward the horizon.  Adam knew that there was not that much time left before it would set, and the ensuing darkness would force him to abandon the search for the day, and he wanted to get as far as possible before then.

At last he came to a bend in the stream, and at that point there were  a number of large rocks lining it’s banks.  His eye caught a splash of bright red color on the ground next to one of them, and he got down from his horse to investigate.  When he reached the spot he discovered that what he had seen was a piece of red cloth.  He stooped to pick it up...and froze.

This was not just any piece of red cloth.  It was a  red neckerchief with a design of white scrolls around the edges.  With a sinking feeling in his gut Adam recognized it as the very neckerchief his brother Joe had been wearing at breakfast that morning before they each rode out to their day’s work.

And there were blood stains on it.

Adam closed his eyes as he clenched the piece of cloth in his hand and tried to gather the thoughts that were whirling in his mind.

Just what had happened to his brother?  He opened his eyes again and began to search frantically for any other clues.  A few yards away right by the edge of the water he found some.  There the mud revealed  marks  which he was certain had been made by his brother’s boots.  But there were also marks of a different set of boots and the two sets were scrambled together.  There were indications of a good deal of slipping and sliding which suggested some kind of struggle.  A little farther on, in the soft ground of the trail itself, he picked up traces of hoof prints that, by their size and shape, were made by two different horses.  Both appeared to be heading in the downstream direction.

“Oh God, no!” The  groan escaped Adam as the realization hit him that the second man was almost certainly Peter Durant, and that meant that Joe had fallen into the hands of a known killer.

He stared at the blood stained red neckerchief, thinking of the effect that this would have on their father, and he prayed that his youngest brother was still alive.

Adam took the neckerchief and carefully attached it to his belt.  Then he smoothly mounted Sport, and, with an increased sense of urgency, he spurred the horse down the trail. 

Now that he knew Durant and Joe were definitely out there ahead of him, Adam was anxious to catch up to them quickly.  Sport seemed to share the feeling, snorting impatiently as he strained against the reins.  By this time the sun was finally setting and the traces of the two horses he was following were becoming difficult to see.  But Adam could not stop now, and he pressed on, hoping fervently that his quarry would not depart from the trail they were following and that he would not lose their tracks completely. 

Eventually he caught sight of the large boulder that marked the boundary of the Ponderosa.  As he passed it, leaving his family’s domain behind, he felt his uneasiness increase.  He would have preferred to keep any confrontation on “home turf “ so to speak. 

Within a few moments he had reached a spot where the trail divided.  One branch continued to follow the course of the stream, while the other veered off to the left onto a small wooden bridge that crossed the stream, then wound it’s way in the direction of Sun Mountain.  Adam brought his horse to a halt and paused for a moment, trying to figure out which path Durant...and Joe...had taken.  Try as he might he could not make out any traces on either side in the deepening shadows. 
He looked from one direction to the other, and as he did so he began to sense something drawing him in the direction of the mountain.  He could not have given a logical reason for it, but somehow he was certain that he felt Joe’s presence there.

Adam Cartwright was an eminently logical man.  Normally he did not like playing hunches.  And in this case, if his hunch was wrong, it could cost dearly.  But there were times when there was no logical basis on which to make a decision, and following a hunch was the only alternative.  And this hunch was as strong as any he had ever felt.  Adam took a deep breath and gathered up his reins, turning Sport to the left.  They made their way across the bridge and up the path, following the call of the mountain.  A few stars were beginning to appear in the sky, accompanying the newly risen half moon, but there was at least sufficient
light for Adam to make out the trail. 

Up ahead there loomed a small grove of trees, and from between them Adam caught a glimpse of a flickering light.  Could it be a campfire?  As he came nearer Adam became more convinced that it was so.  Just before reaching the trees he brought Sport to a halt and dismounted.  Then he drew his gun and cautiously moved forward into the grove.  Slipping among the trees as silently as possible he came to a spot where, standing behind one of them and peeking around the trunk he had a good view of the clearing in the middle of the grove.  A fire burned brightly in the center of the clearing, sending smoke and an occasional spark up into the sky.

By the fire’s light Adam saw the figure of a young man lying on a blanket, his face illuminated by the flames.  A little gasp came from Adam as he recognized the unconscious young man...Joe.  Even from where he stood Adam could tell that his brother’s wrists and ankles were tied and that his face appeared badly bruised with a gash above one eye.  The sight added a cold edge to the anger he was already feeling against Peter Durant.  And where was Durant anyway?  Adam cast his eyes all around the clearing but saw no trace of the wanted man.  His concern for Joe overcoming his wariness at Durant’s absence, Adam emerged from behind the tree, holstering his gun, and quickly crossed the clearing to kneel beside his brother.  Carefully he turned Joe onto his back and began to try to rouse him.

“Joe...Joe...come on now, buddy...wake up.”

Joe moaned and  his eyes fluttered open.  It took a few seconds for him to realize who it was that was kneeling over him, and when he did, a look almost of disbelief came to his face.

“Adam, is that really you?  How’d you find me?”  Joe spoke painfully, past a split lip.

“It’s me all right, Joe.  I’ll tell you the whole story when there’s time.  For right now...do you know where Peter Durant went off to?”  Adam was untying the ropes at his brother’s wrists and ankles as he spoke. 

Joe shook his head wearily.  “You mean the guy who jumped me?  I didn’t even know who that was.  I was just kneeling by the stream back in the meadow filling my canteen when someone came up behind me and put his arm around my throat.   We struggled and it seems he knocked me out.  I didn’t know anything else until just now.  I guess he must have thrown me across Cooch’s saddle and brought me with him here...wherever this is.  I have no idea why he did it or where he is now. You obviously know more about what’s going on than I do.  Who is this guy anyway?”

Adam’s face turned grim.  “Peter Durant robbed the livery in Virginia City this morning, Joe.  And he shot Mike Newman to death in the process.”

“Mike’s dead?”  Joe was appalled.

“Yes,” Adam confirmed, his voice tight.   “Durant was trying to make his escape across the Ponderosa.  I’d guess that when he came across you he decided it might be a good idea to grab a hostage in case any of his pursuers caught up with him.”

“Sounds like a real nice fella,” Joe said scornfully.  “Boy what I wouldn’t give for another crack at him...without him getting the jump on me this time!”

“Now just take it easy, Joe.  I don’t think you’re in much shape to try to take him on again.  You seem pretty badly beaten up.”  Adam tossed aside the ropes he had untied.

Joe began to rub his extremities to restore circulation.  “I suppose you’re right.  Heck, right now I’d probably have some trouble trying to stand up.”

“Here, let me help you.”  Adam gripped Joe’s arm to pull him up.  Joe was a little bit wobbly, so Adam reached out to grasp his shoulders and steady him on his feet.

“Thanks, Adam.”  Joe smiled at his brother as best he could under the circumstances.

“Any time, younger brother.”  Adam returned the smile briefly, then his face turned very serious.  “You know, Joe, I was really worried about you,” he said quietly.  “When I found your neckerchief and saw that there was blood on it...well, it brought to mind some very unpleasant possibilities.”

“Did it really?”  Joe was warmed by the depth of his brother’s concern, the more so since it was so unusual for Adam to openly admit such feelings.

“I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it...would I?,” Adam responded.  And the two brothers exchanged a long, meaningful look.

“So, what now?”  Joe finally broke the moment.  He looked around the clearing .and began to frown.  “What do you suppose happened to Cooch?”

Adam had been so curious about Peter Durant’s absence that it hadn’t occurred to him that neither Durant’s horse nor Joe’s were there either.  “I don’t know.  Maybe Durant is taking care of your horses somewhere nearby.  I think we may have to worry about Cochise later.”  He saw Joe’s face fall at that.  “Right now my main concern is to get you away from here before he gets back.”

“I’m afraid it’s too late for that, mister,” a voice intruded.

Adam and Joe both abruptly turned their heads in the direction of the sound, and saw a man stepping out of the shadows into the area illuminated by the fire  with his gun drawn.  He was about the same size as Adam and perhaps a few years older, with wavy brown hair and a thick mustache.  He was dressed in a faded blue shirt and jeans and wore a grey felt hat. 

Durant advanced on them slowly, keeping the gun leveled.  “Well, if it ain’t Adam Cartwright himself,” he said.  He nodded his head toward Joe.  “This young pup here something special to you, Cartwright?”

Joe bristled at the slight but managed to keep silent.

“He’s my brother,” Adam acknowledged

Durant raised his brows.  “No kiddin’?  You know, I had this naggin’ feeling that I oughta recognize him, but somehow I couldn’t quite place him.  I thought I knew all of you Cartwrights, but I guess if I ever met younger brother here he must not have made much of an impression.”  He grinned malevolently at Joe, who glared back at him angrily.

Adam thought it was a good idea to try to divert the man’s attention from Joe to him. “There are a number of other men out looking for you, Durant,” he said. 
“You’re not going to get away with what you’ve done, you know. The best thing you can do is turn yourself in.  It might just get you a jail term instead of a rope.”

The malevolent grin was turned toward him.  “Well now, I wouldn’t be so sure that I won’t get away with it,” Durant said.  “As long as I have a Cartwright as a hostage it seems to me I’m in pretty good shape.” He considered for a moment.  “Of course, two Cartwrights is an embarrassment of riches.  I don’t think I’ll be able to handle the two of you at once.  So it looks like I’ll just have to get rid of one of you.”

And he pointed the gun directly at Joe.

For a second Joe was frozen with fear.  The next thing he felt was Adam pushing him out of the way.  As he fell awkwardly to the ground he heard the crack of the gun being fired and a gasp of pain in his brother’s voice.  And as he was trying to sit up he managed to turn his head just in time to see Adam fall forward onto the ground...and lay there still.

“Adam!,” Joe cried out.  And he quickly scrambled over to kneel at his brother’s side.

In the uncertain light of the campfire he couldn’t even tell for sure if Adam was breathing, and that frightened him.  He reached out a trembling hand, meaning to turn Adam over onto his back so he could check him out better.  But before he could actually touch his brother Durant was on him, roughly grabbing his arm and pulling him unsteadily onto his feet.  Durant began to drag Joe toward one of the trees at the edge of the clearing.  But Joe, desperately wanting to stay by his brother, fought him at every step.

“Let go of me!”  Joe spoke through clenched teeth as he tried, unsuccessfully, to pull away from his captor’s grasp.

“Cut it out, kid!,” Durant growled harshly.  “I think there’s somebody out there and I aim to be hid before they come on us.”

Joe continued to resist, but he could not break free.  Finally, just before he was dragged behind the tree, Joe turned his head to take one more look at his brother, who continued to lie unmoving in the shadows just beyond the fire’s light.  Joe could still not detect any signs of life with any certainty.

“Oh God, Adam...why did you do it?,” he thought to himself.  He felt the moisture beginning to well up in his eyes and a lump rising in his throat.  He knew very well why.

They had barely concealed themselves when Joe thought he detected movement among the trees on the other side of the clearing, and a moment later two figures stepped out of the darkness into the firelight.  Joe felt Durant’s hand close over his mouth.  He suppressed his reaction of surprise as he recognized the two men.  They were his father and Sheriff Roy Coffee, each carrying a rifle.  Ben and Roy stood there for a few seconds, their anxious faces illuminated by the flickering flames as they began to glance around the glade, looking for something.

“Can’t be too far from here,” Roy was saying, Neither of them had yet caught sight of the figure lying on the ground.  Evidently Adam’s all-black clothing was making it difficult for them to spy him. 

Joe decided it was time to take action.  He bit down as best he could on the hand that was covering his mouth.  With a little yelp of surprise, Durant pulled back his hand.  Joe was quick to take advantage.

“Pa!  Roy!  Over here!,” he called out.  Durant immediately clamped his hand back down over Joe’s mouth, but it was too late.  Ben and Roy’s attention had been caught.  They quickly began to move in the direction of the cry. 

“Blast it, kid!  You shouldn’t have done that!”  Durant pushed Joe ahead of him around the tree and into the clearing.  He raised his gun to Joe’s head.  At the sight of them  Ben and Roy both stopped in their tracks.

“Well hello there, Sheriff Coffee, Mr. Cartwright,” Durant said snidely.  “Seems we’ve got quite a little Cartwright family reunion going here tonight.  As you can see I’ve got one of your boys right here with me.  And, in case you hadn’t noticed, there’s another one of ‘em right over there.”  He nodded in the direction where Adam was lying.  Roy and Ben glanced over in that direction, and Joe felt a sudden twinge of pain at his heart when he saw the look that came to his father’s face.

“Adam.”  Ben breathed the name almost inaudibly.  He turned fear filled eyes to Joe.  “Joseph, is your brother...?”

Joe understood the question his father wasn’t able to complete.  He shook his head.  “I don’t know, Pa.  I really don’t know,” he choked out.

Ben turned a stony gaze on Peter Durant.  He was obviously just about to say something, but Durant forestalled him.

“The one thing you know for certain, Mr. Cartwright, is that I’m holding a gun on this boy here.  And I don’t have to tell you what’s gonna happen if you and the sheriff don’t do just what I say.  So here’s the deal.  You’re both gonna lay down your rifles real careful like.  Then you’re gonna put up your hands, turn around and walk right out of here to where you left your horses and you are gonna head back to town just the way you came.  I was planning to camp here for the night, but it looks now like it might be better to be moving on right away.  The boy will be coming with me.  And if anybody tries to interfere...well, you don’t even want to think about that.”

“And what happens to him once you get away?,” Ben demanded.

“Oh, I suppose I’ll just let him go at some point.  He’ll make his way back home somehow.  Doubt me, do you?  Well, do you really want to take the chance of my killing him right now?”

“If you do that, what’s to keep us from gettin’ you the very next second?,” Roy interjected.

“Nothin’ I suppose.  Only, I have the idea that getting me wouldn’t be much good to either of you if it meant this one was dead.”  The wicked grin was back on his face.  “Am I right?”

“What about Adam?”  Ben gestured toward the figure still lying face downward in the shadows.  “You have to let us check on him...take care of him if he’s still....”  There was a catch in his voice.

“I don’t HAVE to do anything.  As long as I get away what happens to him is of no concern to me.  Now you have about ten seconds to decide.  Are you gonna do as I said?”  Durant tightened his grip on Joe’s arm and cocked the gun next to his temple.

Ben and Roy looked at each other, and finally Ben nodded.  They laid their weapons on the ground and turned with hands raised as they had been directed.  Slowly they began to move toward the spot where they had first entered the clearing.  Durant’s eyes followed them as they went.  As the two men neared the edge of the clearing Durant moved to Joe’s side, still keeping a hold on his arm.  Then he aimed his gun at Ben Cartwright’s retreating back.

Suddenly the sound of a gunshot echoed through the glade.  But it wasn’t from Durant’s gun.  Durant’s own gun fell from his hand while his other hand let go of Joe’s arm.  With a groan he clutched at his stomach, then sank to the ground.

Startled, Joe began to look around to see where the shot had come from, as did Roy and Ben from their position at the edge of the glade.  They saw Adam, who was now evidently fully conscious and had managed to raise himself up from the ground enough to get off a shot.  His gun was still smoking in his hand.

“Adam!”  Both Ben and Joe shouted it at the same time, and they both hastened toward the spot where Adam was attempting to sit up.  Ben reached him first with Roy following close behind him.  Joe arrived a couple of seconds later.  Ben dropped to his knees beside his son.

“Thank God you’re alive!”  Ben drew Adam into a tight embrace and held it for a few seconds.  Then he pulled back slightly and began to run his eyes over his son.  “Are you hurt?”

Adam grimaced as he put a hand to his side.  “Well, Durant’s bullet caught me right about here.  It seems to be just a graze, but it hurts like blazes.  I think I did as much damage to myself when I tripped over my feet a little pushing Joe aside.  I guess the wind was knocked out of me for a little bit.  I came to myself just in time to hear your conversation with Durant.”  He looked directly into his father’s eyes.  “I saw him aim his gun at you as you were leaving, Pa.  He was ready to shoot you in the back, and probably Roy afterwards.  That’s why I had to shoot.”

“I’m grateful you did, son,” Ben told him solemnly. 

There was a brief pause, which was broken when Roy spoke up.  “Ben, I’m gonna check on Durant.”  Ben nodded.

“How did you and Roy happen to turn up here, anyway?,” Adam asked his father as Roy moved away.

Ben smiled.  “Very shortly after you left us Roy and I came across some hoof prints, apparently from Durant’s horse.  But they were headed in the opposite direction to what we were.  So we turned around and began to follow the trail downstream, the direction you had gone.  It seems we weren’t  very far behind you all the way here.”

“Well, I’m glad you came along when you did.  There’s no telling what Durant might have done to Joe if he hadn’t been interrupted.”  Adam glanced up at his younger brother standing there and a look passed between them. 

Roy returned at that point, looking sober.  He gestured to Ben, who rose to join him. 

“Durant’s dead, Ben,” Roy began.  “I looked through his pockets and I found the wallet with the money he stole from the livery.  Ben, there’s only two hundred dollars in it.”

“Two hundred?,” Ben returned in surprise.  “But I thought you said he had gotten away with a thousand!”

“That’s what was reported to me.  But Sam was pretty flustered at the time.  I imagine he must have forgotten about depositing the rest of it in the bank earlier in the day or something like that.”  Roy shook his head.  “Two hundred dollars. Hardly worth a man’s life.”

“Two men,” Ben reminded him.  “Don’t forget Mike Newman.”  Roy nodded.

Ben looked down to where Adam was sitting up with Joe kneeling next to him.  “I’m just grateful that there weren’t any more lives lost here tonight,” he said in a husky voice.

“Amen to that!,” Roy responded.  “Well, I guess we had better go and bring the horses around.  “The sooner we get Adam back to town and get that wound looked at proper, the better.”

“I agree.”  Ben clapped his friend on the shoulder.  “Let’s go.”

Joe had latched onto a canteen that had been left by Durant near the fire.  He drew a clean handkerchief from his pocket, poured some water onto it and proceeded to work on cleaning Adam’s wound.  He looked at his older brother with a serious expression. 

“About this pushing me aside and taking the bullet yourself,” Joe said.  “I don’t want you doing that again.  Understand?”

Adam gave a sigh.  “I’d certainly hope it would never become necessary again,” he answered carefully.  “But I can’t make any guarantees about what I’d do if I were to see someone else aiming a gun at you.  Protecting you is something of a habit, I guess.  And I did promise your mother.”

Joe lowered his eyes.  “I was really worried about you Adam.  When I saw you lying there...it brought to mind some very unpleasant possibilities.”

Adam was startled at hearing the echo of his own words.  He stared at his brother for a moment.  Then he reached out his hand

“What do you say we make a bargain...each of us promises to TRY not to worry the other one this way again. How about it?”

Joe smiled as he took the offered hand and grasped it firmly.

“You’ve got a deal, brother,” he said.

THE END

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