“ The  Fight for Sarah ”

 

The rambling log ranch house was very quiet, for a Friday  night. The three Cartwright brothers had gotten ‘scrubbed up, and dressed up ’, after a long week’s ranch work, and gone into town to a dance, for the evening. Even Hop Sing had gone to visit with a friend, for a few hours, leaving Ben and Sarah alone. A fire crackled in the fireplace of the great room - the only sound in the room, except the slow ‘tick-tock’ of the grandfather clock, and the occasional soft ‘swish’ sound of a page being turned by Ben, as he sat reading, in his high backed, leather chair, by the fireplace. Sarah sat on the couch, engrossed in a  jigsaw puzzle, that was spread across the low, rough-hewn timber table, in front of her. She picked up each piece, trying to make them fit together. She sighed at length, as the puzzle was harder than it had looked when she’d bought it earlier in the week. Her Uncle Ben lowered his book, and looked over his glasses at her, and smiled. “What’s up, Sarah ? Is that puzzle giving you problems ?” She barely took her eyes off her work, and nodded. “I guess it’s harder than it looked in the picture on the box.” She tried a few more pieces, then decided it was time to pack it in.  All the pieces were swept into the box, and she walked it over to the bookcase, and placed it on a top shelf, out of the way. She ambled over to the fireplace, and sat on one of the large, flat, hearth stones, then  gazed into the flames. Ben sensed there was something troubling his young niece, and quietly marked his page, then closed the book .He stood up, and walked over to the hearth, then sat down beside her. Sarah barely noticed him there, so he reached out one hand, and gently touched her arm. “You seem very quiet just lately, Sarah. What’s up - is something wrong?” The young girl turned to her Uncle, with sudden tears in her eyes.
“ It’s the kids at school, Uncle Ben. They tease me, and say I don’t have a REAL Ma, or  Pa. Then there’s that man in town who keeps saying he’s my Ma’s brother…” Ben’s eyes widened a bit. “ What man is that, Sarah ? Where did you see him?”  Ben reached into his pocket, and pulled out a handkerchief , which he passed to her. She wiped her eyes, and continued. “ I’ve seen him a few times, on the way to school. He hangs around the schoolyard a lot. Uncle Ben, I didn’t know my Ma had a brother ! Between Will, and him - didn’t he want me, either, after my Pa died ? ” The young girl started to cry again, and Ben took her gently into his arms. “ Oh, Sarah. Aren’t you happy here ?”  She buried her face in his blue shirt, then  said quietly, “ Yes, I think so, Uncle Ben . It’s just I’m really confused.” Ben smoothed her hair with one hand, and she sat back, again, to look at him. Ben cupped her chin, with one gentle hand. “ Sarah, don’t be too hard on your brother, Will. He does love you -  he just couldn’t give you the kind of home a young girl needs.” He paused for a moment, as he gazed into his niece’s tear stained face and realized, again, just how like her parents she looked . The same dark brown, wavy hair, and fine, delicate features of her deceased  mother, but the hazel eyes of his own late brother - those same eyes ! - and he smiled. “ Why,  WE wanted you - the boys, and I - we’re your family, Sarah. Adam, Hoss and Joe - they all look on you like their own little sister - their  ‘little gal’ - and we all love you, very much. Far as that man hanging around the school yard - your Ma didn’t have a brother, far as I know. Hmmm…. You leave it to me - I’ll sort it all out.” He winked at his young niece, and she smiled shyly. Just at that moment, the grandfather clock struck ten o’clock.  “ My, look at the time ! It’s past your bedtime, young lady. The morning will be here before you know it, and  Adam will be knocking on your bedroom door, to wake you up again ! Off to bed with you, now ”.  Sarah gave her Uncle a hug, then trotted up the stairs. Ben stood with a sigh, and  watched her go, but there was suddenly a dark cloud over him.  What if there WAS another Uncle, suddenly, in the picture ?  Was there a custody battle in Sarah’s, AND their, future ? Ben walked around the great room, and carefully extinguished each of the oil lamps, then  wearily mounted the stairs. He paused on the landing to look back over the familiar, darkened room. It was illuminated only by the flickering, low  light, from the fireplace, dancing over the log walls, and the furnishings. He sighed. The room held so many memories - years worth of memories - both happy, and sad. He was afraid that the battle of  his  family’s lifetime was possibly looming. He continued up the stairs, and went to bed.

Try as he might, Ben just couldn’t get to sleep. A short while later, he heard his sons as they entered the front door . He reached for his burgundy dressing gown and slippers, and made his way downstairs. The three of them were being as quiet as they could be, but their brotherly jostling, and beaming  faces, told their father that they’d had a great time at the dance. They were just hanging up  their holsters and hats, when Hoss noticed his Father, paused on the landing, in the darkness. “ Pa, what are you doing up ? Is everything alright ?” Ben continued down, and sat in the high backed, blue velvet chair. “ Sit down, boys, we need to talk.” Adam, Hoss and Joe looked one to the other, and just shrugged, then complied. Adam sat in his Pa’s high backed, burgundy leather, reading chair, opposite him, and Hoss and Joe made themselves comfortable on the striped settee. Joe swung his feet onto the table, then thought better of it. His Father’s expression was enough, and no reminder of  “Joseph, get your feet off the table !”  was needed. He lowered his feet to the floor again. Ben stood, and paced towards the fireplace. “ Boys, we may have a situation arising. Sarah was very upset this evening, and mentioned the fact that she’s been getting teased at school about not having a real Mother or Father. But that’s not the worst of it. A man has been hanging around, in town, and around the schoolyard, claiming to be her Mother’s brother. I’m afraid of him perhaps trying to launch a counter suit, to claim custody of Sarah.” Joe snorted. “ Hmmm. Did her Ma even have a brother, Pa ?” Ben stopped pacing for a moment. “ No, not  that I’m  aware of, Joe. But I just really don’t know !  I’m going into town, in the morning, to send a wire to Will. See if we can sort this all out.” Hoss nodded in approval.“ Sounds like a good start, Pa. But, why would anyone want Sarah ?” Ben half -smiled at the apparent absurdity of Hoss’s statement, but understood what he meant. Adam answered his question. “ If you’ll remember, Hoss, Sarah’s Pa had invested well during his lifetime. Sarah has a nice little nest egg , waiting for her to inherit, when she gets older. If some other, otherwise disinterested member of the family, AFTER the time of OUR petition to gain legal guardianship, found out about that, it might be reason enough, in THEIR eyes, to bring about a petition to find our legal guardianship  ‘null and void’ , and to try to adopt Sarah themselves”. An absolute silence fell on the room. All that could be heard was the  rhythmic  ‘tick - tock ’ of the old grandfather clock,  and the low crackle of the fire, in the large stone fireplace, as the weight of Adam’s words hung in the air. Joe was the first to break the silence when he spoke, some moments later. “Could he do that ? What are we going to do, Pa ? ” Ben finished his pacing, and sat down in the blue velvet chair again.
“ Joseph, to be honest, I’m not totally sure. I didn’t think so. We were told by the lawyer that legal guardianship was the first step towards adoption. NO ONE in the family seemed interested, or able, a year ago, in having Sarah. As you know, we planned to adopt Sarah, outright, following the legal guardianship period. It seems that our adoption may be getting challenged ” . Ben sighed, and continued. “ Far as ‘what are we going to do’ - well, first thing : Sarah can’t go into town alone anymore. Or, anywhere ELSE, for that matter, for the foreseeable future . She’ll get her schooling right here, from me, for now, till we find out just what’s going on. I’ll settle it all with her  teacher tomorrow, right after I send a wire to Will. I’ll make a visit to the lawyer’s office, too.  But Sarah will be coming into town, with me, tomorrow, to see if we can spot this man.” Adam smiled. “ You mean, WE’LL be going into town, tomorrow.”  His two brothers nodded in agreement. Ben smiled at his oldest son. “Yes, Adam. That’s exactly what I meant. Thanks, boys.” Hoss smiled.  “Don’t have to thank us, Pa. Sarah’s our little gal, too, after all…..” Ben rose up from his chair, followed by his sons, then the four Cartwright men climbed the stairs, and went to bed.

 The sun had barely come up, as Adam drew the straight razor’s blade  one more time across his chin,  removing the last of the shaving cream, and his whiskers, when there was a knock at his bedroom door.  “ Come on in ! ”  It was Hoss. “ Adam, have you seen Sarah yet this morning ?” Adam shrugged, as he reached for his black shirt. “ No. I don’t usually knock on her bedroom door, to wake her,  till six o’clock”. He glanced out his window, as he pulled on his shirt, then buttoned it.  “ Not sure what time it is now, but I’m pretty sure it’s well before six.” Hoss grunted. “ Yeah,  it is, and, well, Pa’s a bit excited downstairs - he can’t find Sarah - can you come down ?” Adam looked a bit concerned, as he tucked in his shirt tail, then pulled on his boots. “ Sure. Let’s go.” They found their Pa in the living room, pacing, in a real state. “ Adam, Hoss - better saddle the horses - Sarah’s gone missing. We’ve got to go find her.” Hoss glanced to Adam  who barely, perceptively, shook his head.“ Now, relax, Pa. Have you checked the whole house  ? The barn ?”  Their Pa seemed agitated. “ Well, YES, Adam, of COURSE  I have - I checked EVERYWHERE  ! She knows the rules - it’s just so unlike her to go somewhere, without telling someone. Her horse is gone, too !” Now it suddenly sounded more serious, even to Adam and Hoss . “Joe’s already left on the main trail to town, but we’ll catch up. Well, come on, boys, MOVE !” Adam and Hoss were hustled out the front door, in front of their Pa. They’d barely gone halfway across the barnyard when Joe, and Sarah, loped around the corner of the barn together. They reined their horses to a stop, and Sarah was the first to dismount. She ran up to her Uncle Ben, Adam and Hoss.
“ Look what I’ve got - our breakfast !” She proudly displayed a long string of freshly caught trout. Joe stepped down off of Cochise, and, grabbing Rebel’s reins, tied  the two horses to the  hitching rail. “ I found her by the pond, Pa, about a mile from the house. Seems she wanted to surprise us, with breakfast…….” Ben looked suddenly relieved, and Hoss put one arm around his Pa’s shoulder. “See, Pa ? All that worryn’ for nothin’. Come on, Sarah, let’s take these to Hop Sing. They’ll make one FINE breakfast ! ”  Ben, Adam and Joe watched the two as they disappeared through the kitchen door. Ben slowly shook his head. “ I’m sorry, boys. I guess I panicked a bit too soon……” Adam smiled. “That’s okay, Pa. After the revelations of last night, you had good reason”. His Father nodded in agreement. “ I guess I’ll have to have a talk with Sarah about her new  ‘ rules of deportment ’ around here. But we have to handle this very carefully. We want her to be wary and observant, not scared half to death, of the whole situation. Come on - don’t know about you two, but I’m ready to eat.”
A short while later, they sat around the dining room table, digging in to the steaming, freshly cooked, fish. When the platter was emptied , Hoss pushed himself back from the table. “ Well, Sarah, I must say, that’s some of the best fish I ever  ate.” She grinned. “ I caught them right in that special place you showed me, Hoss. And I got up before they did, too, so they were really hungry, and took MY bait.”  The four Cartwright men laughed at the young girl’s comment. When the laughter subsided, Ben glanced around the table at his sons, then looked towards Sarah. “ I have something to discuss with you, Sarah. It’s about that man in town, who claims to be your Uncle. I think it would be better, just for now, that you stay out of town, because we don’t know what the man’s motives are in coming to find you.” Sarah looked a bit confused. “ But, he says he’s my Uncle !” Adam glanced towards his Pa, and his Pa nodded. “ What Pa means, Sarah, is we don’t know that he IS your Uncle. We have to protect you against people that may turn out to be strangers, and that don’t have your best interests at heart.” She nodded slowly. Ben continued. “ For now, Sarah, I want  you to stay around the house and barn area. If you want to go for a ride, one of us will go with you”.  Sarah frowned. “ But, I’m not a baby, Uncle Ben ! ”Ben struggled not to smile at his independent young niece.  Sarah was small, for nine, but what she lacked in physical size, she made up for in ‘spunk ’.
“ No, Sarah, you’re NOT a baby - and nobody called you one. But you’ll be better off, for now, riding with us. Besides, we always enjoy your company - don’t we, boys?” Adam glanced to Hoss, who glanced to Joe, and Joe just  smiled , “ Sure, Pa.” Ben nodded a ‘thank you’  to his sons.  “ Well, it’s settled then. That’s the way it has to be, for now. Now, Sarah, we’re all riding into town a little later, to see if you can show us this man. But, for now, we’ll get our chores done first.” Sarah smiled, and finished drinking her milk, then was the first to excuse herself from the table, and head for the front door. The four watched her go, as they finished their coffee, and Ben was the first to speak, when the front door closed behind her. “ Well, I think that went pretty well. I’m still concerned about the kids teasing her, though, about the lack of a Mother and Father ”. Adam sighed.
“ I  think can handle that one, Pa. I’ve lost three mothers in my lifetime. I think I know just what to say.” His Father nodded to him. “  I’m sure you do….Thank you, Adam.“
Sarah stepped out into the sunlit barnyard from under the large porch roof overhang, and headed for the barn. Adam jogged  up behind her. “ Sarah, how about I give you a hand with your chores  this morning, so we can get into town a little sooner ? ”  She shrugged.
“ Oh, okay, Adam. Thanks.”  When they got to the barn, Adam climbed up the loft ladder, and hurled down the hay . They spread the hay around the paddock’s perimeter, then turned out each horse. The horses were soon munching away contentedly. Adam topped up the trough with the old hand pump, then  rested his arms on the top rail of the fence, to watch the horses eat. Sarah climbed up a couple of rails on the fence, then did the same. Adam glanced to his cousin, and thought the time was right to talk to her, like he’d promised his Pa.  “ You know, Sarah, Pa told us about the kids in school teasing you. Saying you don’t have a real Ma or Pa.”  The young girl sadly hung her head.
“ Yeah, Adam, they’re really mean. It’s not my fault my parents are gone…….” Adam’s mind suddenly went back to the memories of the loss of  Hoss’s and  Joe’s Mothers. He, of course, couldn’t even remember his own Mother, who had died when he was barely hours  old. “ People CAN be mean, Sarah. But, you know what ? Sometimes when they’re being mean, they’re just envious of  you, in some way.” Sarah tilted her head, and looked up at him. “ Envious of ME ?  WHY ?”   Adam put one arm around his young cousin’s shoulders, and looked down at her. “ You’ve lost your parents. Nothing can change that. Same as nothing can bring back my Ma, or Hoss’s or Joe’s.” Adam grinned. “But, well, think what you DO have, though, Sarah. A nice home with an Uncle, my Pa, who loves you. And you’ve got Hoss and Joe and me, and even Hop Sing. We all love you, Sarah.” Adam  tilted his head thoughtfully to one side.  “ Hmm.. I just feel  REAL sorry for the first young man that ‘comes a courting’,  in a few years, with an Uncle, three cousins, AND Hop Sing,  keeping their eyes on him……”  Adam suddenly felt a real, physical pain, deep inside, as the reality of perhaps losing their young cousin,  really hit home. Sarah just wrinkled her nose. “ Oh - that’ll never happen, Adam. I don’t even  like boys very much - they’re just silly. Well, except you and Hoss and Joe, of course, but you’re my cousins”. Adam started to laugh. “Don’t you worry, Sarah. That will ALL change, too, one day. There’ll be a nice young man, that you’ll really like, that will come courting, because  you’ll have so much to offer to each other”. He paused, and sighed.
“ And, your family - ALL of us -  will be looking out for you.” Sarah wrinkled her nose again. “If you say so, Adam. But, I just can’t see it happening, myself………”  Adam smiled down at the young girl again. “  Hoss and Joe and I used to think that GIRLS were pretty silly, too, Sarah, when we were your age. We couldn’t see it happening, either. But, it did happen - it’s all part of growing up…….Now, how about getting those stalls cleaned ?”  Sarah reached her arms around his neck, and kissed him softly on the cheek. “You made me feel a lot better. Thanks, Adam”. She hopped down off the rail of the fence, and trotted towards the barn. She stopped, and turned at the barn door. “ You haven’t forgotten HOW to clean a stall, have you, Adam ?”  He shook his head, and smiled. “ No, I don’t think so. But, if I have,  at least I have the ‘Resident Expert’ to show me how ! ” Sarah giggled, and they walked into the barn together.
They worked hard, and after an hour or so, Adam was pushing the last wheel barrow of soiled bedding to the top of the manure pile, and tipping it out. They topped up the bright yellow straw bedding in each stall, and were just putting the cleaning tools away, when Ben, Hoss and Joe walked out to the barn. Hoss and Joe brought Sport , Buck, and Chubb in, then tied them in the barn aisle to be saddled. Joe and Sarah walked outside, to their own horses, to wait for the other three to ready theirs, for the ride to town. Ben hauled his saddle pad and saddle down from their stand, and lowered them onto Buck’s back. “Well, did you talk to Sarah, Adam - how did it go ?” Adam cinched up Sport’s girth, then reached for his bridle, as he told his Pa of the conversation he’d had with her. They both shared a smile over her feelings about “boys just being silly”, then, “ I think she understands, Pa.” Ben smiled. “ Good. You know, she really respects you, and what you have to say, Adam. You’ve been a real help, and I appreciate that, son.” Adam smiled at his father. “You’re welcome, Pa. Anytime.” Hoss finished tacking up Chubb, and they walked out to the barnyard, mounted up, and the five rode out of the barnyard, together.

There was a fresh, earthy fragrance in the air, after an overnight rainfall. The dust that had previously coated the tall, waving grasses, at the edges of the road, had been washed away, and there was just enough moisture to keep the dust down . About halfway to town, Joe felt a little restless, then grinned. “Sarah, see that big Ponderosa pine, yonder ? ” He pointed off, about a quarter mile in the distance. “ I bet you Cochise and I, can beat you and Rebel, back to here !” Sarah, who always enjoyed a race with ANY of her cousins, smiled. “ Okay, Joe, you just say when ! ” Hoss laughed. “ How about I be the ‘starter’ of this little race ? On three…”  Joe and Sarah aligned their horses, side by side. Both horses started to prance and snort, a little, as they felt the excitement of their riders.  Hoss raised his right arm. “ One, two, THREE ! ” He dropped his arm, and Joe and Sarah lit off. Ben laughed, as the impromptu race began. “ Just look at those two go ! I sometimes feel like I have TWO youngsters, instead of just one ! ” Hoss grinned. “ Oh, I don’t know, Pa. I think they just BOTH  inherited the old ‘Cartwright spirit of competition’ ! ” He paused, and looked over to his Father, and he suddenly looked very serious. “ You know what, Pa ? I think if that man in town IS trying to get our Sarah, I just might have to bust him clean in half….” Ben held up one hand. “ Now, Hoss, I know just how you feel, son. But no one is going to bust ANYONE in half ! We have to do this all legally, no matter what happens.” Adam held Sport on a tight rein, as the horse tossed his head a bit, and called to the other horses, trying to get in on the race. He reached down to pat the horse’s  bright chestnut neck, to calm him. “ Easy, Sport . Hoss, I think we ALL feel like that. But Pa’s right - we have to follow the law to the letter.”  He paused, then leaned his head thoughtfully to one side. “ Though, I must admit, when everything is ‘said and done’, I would be tempted to do the same thing, no matter WHAT the outcome may be….” Ben nodded his head once, unconsciously, in agreement. A minute later, the race winner was decided, as the little buckskin mare just flew past the three on lookers. Joe followed, about three lengths behind, and the two reined their horses to a stop, then turned and trotted back to join the others again. Joe flashed a wide grin.  “Good race, Sarah ! That little horse of yours sure is fast. Of course, she’s carrying less weight, too…” Adam laughed. “ No, Joe, she’s just faster. I beat Sarah, who was riding my Sport , against me on Rebel, about a week ago. That little mare runs like the wind ! ”  Sarah chimed in.
“ Yeah, Joe JUST like the wind ! ” She leaned forward,  and threw her arms around the mare’s neck, and hugged her. Ben smiled wistfully at the banter between  his three sons, and young niece. This whole legal matter just HAD to go their way…

After another hour of riding, they arrived at Virginia City, and slowly made their way down the main street. It was busy with  buggy and buckboard traffic, and many more people, on horseback, as the settlers had come into town for the Saturday afternoon, to pick up supplies. Ben glanced to Sarah. “Now, as soon as you see this man, Sarah, you let us know.” She nodded . They rode up and down a few streets, with no luck. One more street, and they found themselves in front of the old, two story, ‘Palace Hotel’. The fancy, yet worn and  sun bleached wood trim, on the façade of the building, spoke of an earlier time, when the hotel probably did look more like a palace. With the sagging eves, and faded paint, it mostly looked just forgotten, and quite forgettable. The  formerly ‘grand’ main entrance stretched right across the corner, where the two streets intersected. Sarah glanced up at the second storey balcony, above the main entrance, and suddenly pointed. “ There he is, Uncle Ben !” Ben reached over quickly, and  lowered his niece’s arm down again, then said very quietly “ Just ride on, Sarah…” Ben looked up towards the man. Luckily, he apparently had neither seen Sarah point at him, or was even aware they were there. Ben studied the man, to memorize him. He looked to be about middle aged - tall and slim, with a tanned, weathered complexion, dark hair and a small moustache. His dark eyes looked like two pits of coal. He was well dressed : a light grey suit, over a white dress shirt, with a matching grey silk brocade waistcoat, and a grey brimmed fedora, with a black hatband. The man stood, gazing off into the distance, as he raised the stump of a cigar to his lips. A few  moments later, he tossed the cigar butt over the balcony railing, and ambled back through the balcony door, and disappeared from view. Ben looked to Sarah again. “Now, you’re sure that’s the man, Sarah ?” She nodded solemnly. “ Yes, Uncle Ben. I’m sure.” Adam suddenly exhaled loudly, as he, too, along with Hoss and Joe, had taken a good look at the man. “Hmm. Suddenly makes it all seem so much more real, doesn’t it ?” Ben nodded silently in agreement. “ Hoss, how about you and Joe go with Sarah, and grab a bit of  lunch?  We’ll meet you a little later, at the ‘Baxter’s Restaurant’ - Adam and I have a bit of  business to attend to….” Hoss nodded once.
“ You bet, Pa. Let’s go ! ” He and Joe and Sarah trotted off down the street together.

Ben and Adam rode back  to the hotel’s hitching post, then stepped down to the ground, and wrapped their horses’ reins firmly around the well worn, wooden rail. They strode into the hotel, then Ben approached the registry desk, with Adam at his heels.
“Hello - I wonder if you can help me ? I think I saw an old friend standing on your balcony, just now.” Ben described the man, then “ He’s an old friend - Frank Connors -  we go WAY back !” Ben smiled broadly. The clerk  behind the registry desk said simply,
“ Sorry, sir, no man registered here by that name. But we do have a Calvin Armstrong registered here, a businessman from Carson City, fits that very description.” Ben nodded his head. “ Calvin Armstrong ? Hmm.. No, I guess I was mistaken. Well, thanks for your help, anyway.” They were just about to leave, when Mr. Armstrong walked down the old, well worn, wooden  staircase,  and into the lobby, from the second floor. His gait was nonchalant, yet confident, as he swaggered down the stairs. He continued on, right past Ben and Adam, and walked out into the street. Adam went to take one step,  towards the man, and Ben suddenly threw one strong arm against Adam’s chest, to stop him. He could feel Adam’s heart just  pounding, as it was practically beating right out through the black cotton of his shirt. “NO, Adam”, he whispered hoarsely, “ We know who he is, but he doesn’t know us. Yet. Let’s keep it that way.” Adam’s gaze went from Armstrong’s back, as he disappeared into the building, on the other side of the dusty street, to his own Pa’s sombre face, and he nodded in agreement. “ Sorry, Pa. I just suddenly felt so damn angry. That man, perhaps going after custody of our Sarah …”  Ben lowered his hand from his son’s chest again.. “ It’s alright, son - no need to apologise. Come on, let’s go send that wire to Will, visit Sarah’s teacher, then see if we can’t  find that lawyer of ours…” They walked back out into the  hustle and bustle of the busy road again, mounted their horses,  and loped off down the street.
Within a few minutes, Ben and Adam had entered the small telegraph office. Ben reached a piece of paper from an inside pocket, with Will’s address scrawled on it, and quickly wrote the message he wanted to send. He laid the dollar fee on the counter, then handed the note to the telegraph operator,  who quickly set the telegraph key tapping, sending it down the wire. Ben took a seat just inside the office door. “Well, Adam, I hope Will gets back to us soon. ONE telegraph message, from him, could sort this whole thing out.” Adam leaned  one hip against the counter, then folded his arms casually . “ I just hope that address of Will’s is still good, Pa. You know what a  ‘free spirit’ he can be. Wouldn’t be the first time he’s apparently disappeared off the face of the earth…..”  Just a very few years before, Will and Adam’s then fiance , Laura Dayton, had fallen in love, and left together, to be married. The marriage had ended disastrously a mere one year later. In spite of everything, there was still a bit of ‘bad blood’ between the cousins. Adam realized that his Pa suddenly  looked a bit worried, so hurriedly back peddled a bit. “ But, on the other hand, I’m sure he wouldn’t disappear altogether, you know, since we have Sarah… He’d want to keep in touch with her….” Ben forced a smile. “ I hope you’re right, Adam. I just hope you’re right………” The operator handed Ben the receipt for  a “message sent”, and the two headed for the teacher’s house.
By the time they’d explained the situation to the teacher, she seemed to be quite moved. 
“ Oh, my - poor Sarah ! Mr. Cartwright,  I can’t think of ANY other family that would be better for Sarah than you, and your sons. She has really come out of her shell these past few months. She’s such  a delightful young girl. She can be the class clown sometimes, like your own Little Joe was, but she also works very hard on her lessons. Whatever you’re doing, it’s working for Sarah.” Ben smiled, as he lowered his tea cup to its saucer again. “Thank you, Miss Jones. She seems to be happy, but this stranger claiming to be her Uncle really has upset and confused her, and thrown a lot of doubts in her mind. We’re just trying very hard to find a resolution, so we can ALL just get on with our lives - lives that include our Sarah, of course ! ” Miss Jones  stood, and walked to an old, well used bookcase in the small sitting room. “ I’ll loan you a few text books, Mr. Cartwright, and I can make out a  general curriculum for you to follow, too.”  She made herself busy at a nearby desk. Adam and Ben  sat drinking tea, and eating the sweet cakes she had arranged on a small platter, on a side serving table. A half hour later, Ben and Adam were leaving the small, tidy home with the curriculum list, and their arms full of books. Adam smiled as he loaded  his share into his saddle bags. “ Well, I must say -  I had NO idea a nine year old would be using SO many text books……” Ben just grunted, as he filled his saddlebags . “ Hmm…I guess things have changed a bit since you and Hoss went to a one room school house….” They pulled the closure straps tight on the saddle bags, mounted up, and rode to the lawyer’s office.
A small bell rung out over the doorway, as they entered through the door. Mr. McCall hurried out of his inner office, and extended his hand to Ben and Adam. “Ben, Adam, how are you ? ” All three men shook hands, and exchanged a few pleasantries, then,
“ Ben, I was going to contact you tomorrow. I’m afraid a custody challenge has come up, far as your final adoption of  Sarah goes.” Adam looked to his Pa, and his Pa just sighed. “ Is that  ‘challenger’ called Calvin Armstrong , by any chance?” The lawyer looked surprised. “ Why, yes, Ben. How did you know ?” Ben and Adam filled their lawyer in on the events of the last few days : Sarah’s revelations of  ‘the man in town, claiming to be her Uncle ’, a reminder about her inheritance, and their fear of someone - perhaps this man - going after it, and their own ‘detective’ work, in the hotel, earlier that day, finding out just who the ‘man in town’ was, and Will, connecting it all together. Ben folded his arms across his chest. “ The question is, Jacob, just where DO we stand in all this ? Could this ‘Uncle’ really just swoop in, and claim Sarah, after all these months ?” Mr. McCall slowly nodded his head. “ I’m afraid so, Ben.  The way the law is written, for the first twelve months of ‘legal guardianship’, just about any blood relative can file a claim of  “final custody” - adoption - it all comes down to what each ‘adoption applicant’ has to offer the child, and what the judge overlooking the case, decides.” Adam’s hazel eyes suddenly flashed with anger. “ You mean, to tell us, that a complete stranger, to ALL of us, could end up adopting Sarah ? I don’t care if he’s her Uncle or NOT. Where the hell was he a year ago, is what I’d like to know ? We were the ONLY family members that stepped forward, and wanted her, and were able to give her  the home she deserves. Now this guy comes along, ‘a day late, and a dollar short’, wanting to adopt Sarah, HIMSELF ?   It would TEAR her APART - it would tear ALL of us apart. She’s a nine year old orphan,  Jacob - hasn’t she been through enough, already ?!” Adam just waved one hand  dismissively, as he slumped into a nearby chair, and leaned his forehead into his hand. Ben felt a sudden tightening in his throat, as he gently squeezed his son’s shoulder, then looked to his lawyer again. “ Where do we go from here, Jacob?” The lawyer looked from Adam to Ben. “I really feel, as you do, that the inheritance IS the key to all  this, Ben. As you know, I’m the one holding it in trust for her. The question is: Has this supposed ‘Uncle’ found out about the inheritance from somewhere, or someone, and is THAT the reason for his sudden interest, after all these months ? Well, the bottom line  to all this is - Is he REALLY her Uncle ? That’s the one thing we have to find out. And it looks like your nephew, Will, is the ONE man we really need to reach, to do that….” Ben nodded his head slowly in agreement, as Adam stood up again and commented, simply,“ The wire to Will has been sent, Jacob. All we have to do now, is wait for a reply…….” Jacob reached out his hand, again, to shake theirs. “ I’ll keep in touch, Ben, Adam,  and let you know if I hear anything at this end.”  As Ben and Adam walked out the door, Jacob shook his head sadly, then wondered : Why was there something, in his mind, that suddenly felt a familiarity about the name  ‘Calvin Armstrong’ ?

Ben and Adam had soon joined up with the rest of the family at the restaurant. They were greeted with the booming laughter of Hoss, as they spotted the three of them at a table, in a back corner. “ Pa, Adam, come on, sit down. We were just about to order dessert ! Sarah here didn’t KNOW you could order dessert at LUNCHTIME !  I had to set her straight - you can order dessert at ANY meal you want, in a restaurant !” Sarah turned, in wide-eyed excitement, and grinned at her Uncle Ben and Adam. “ I’m gonna order chocolate cake! ” Ben and Adam just looked at each other. It was time to put the unsettling events of the day behind them, and just enjoy the company of their family again. They sat down, and Ben smiled. “Sarah, that sounds like just what we ALL need - chocolate cake for five, I’d say !” He winked, then leaned over, and gently kissed his young niece on the cheek……

When they had arrived back at the ranch, about a couple of hours later, Ben sent Sarah on ahead of them, into the house, so he could fill Hoss and Joe in on the details of the day. The four shared the feeding chores, and talked about the events of the day, as they worked. Joe topped up each horse’s pail of water in their stall, as Adam tossed some hay down from the loft. Hoss passed the hay around to each grateful horse. When they were done,  Ben extinguished each lantern in the barn, before they walked wearily towards the house. “ Now, boys, remember, we can’t say anything to Sarah, just yet. No need to worry her needlessly, till we know just what’s going on.” His three sons nodded in agreement, as they all walked into the house. Ben tapped on the door of Hop Sing’s room, next to the kitchen. “Come in, Mr. Cartlight !” He opened the door to see his faithful housekeeper sitting at his desk, writing a letter in his native Chinese script. “Hop Sing - no need to make dinner tonight -  we all ate in town. If you’ll just draw Sarah a bath, you can take the evening off.” The Chinaman grinned. “ Okay, Mr. Cartlight!” He replaced his quill pen in its holder, then  got busy heating water, in several  smoke- blackened cauldrons in the kitchen fireplace, and filling the tall hip bath, near its hearth.
Ben walked back into the great room to see Adam, stretched along the settee, strumming his guitar quietly, as Joe, Sarah, and Hoss  were involved in a game of  “Go Fish”,  around the small round table, nearby. After a few hands, Sarah was declared the winner. The ONE game she COULD beat her cousins at, apparently ! Hop Sing stepped from the kitchen a while later. “ Bath all ready, Mr. Cartlight.” He then retired to his room for the night. Ben looked to his niece, from  his reading chair. “ That’s you, Sarah. Get your nightgown, please, bath time !” She trotted up the stairs, and soon returned, nightgown in hand, and disappeared into the kitchen. Joe and Hoss had gotten into a very heated game of checkers, as the familiar “ clack, clack, clack ” sound of another player’s playing pieces being jumped over, and  claimed, rang out in the room. As usual, they were Hoss’s playing pieces…… “ Dadgum it, Joe, I just don’t know how you do it ! ” Joe just laughed. “Neither do I brother, I only know I enjoy it !” Hoss took a playful swing at his younger brother, which only made him jump up from his chair, and sprint back a few steps. He accidentally stumbled right into the seat of  the blue velvet chair, which made him laugh even more ! Adam paused his guitar playing, and smiled.  “ Hoss, I gave up playing checkers with Joe a long time ago - you must just be a sucker for punishment…” Hoss’s blue eyes twinkled. “ I ain’t no quitter, Adam! Odds are, I gotta beat him sometime ! ” Adam laughed. “Good luck with all that,  Hoss - I think he has us BOTH beat… ”
Ben’s reading was interrupted a short while later by a small girl, in her nightgown. He smiled at his young niece, “If you get a book, I’ll read to you ! ” Sarah grabbed her new favourite, ‘Grimm’s Fairytales’, then curled up on her Uncle’s lap. Ben had barely read more than  a couple of chapters, when he glanced down from the book, to his niece. The chair by the crackling fire was so cosy, and her Uncle’s lap so comfortable, and his deep voice so gentle, and reassuring, that Sarah had fallen fast asleep.  Ben stood up slowly, and carefully, with the small girl in his arms, and headed for the staircase, to carry her up to bed. His three sons smiled, as they watched him go. A bitter sweet moment, as they each wondered just how long  they’d have Sarah, still, as part of their family.
The floorboards creaked under Ben’s feet, as he carried Sarah along the darkened, carpeted, upstairs hallway, to her  room. As he reached down, to pull the bed  covers back, the young girl awoke. Ben laid her down gently, and pulled the covers up to her chin, then sat on the edge of her small bed. She looked up at  her Uncle, through sleepy eyes. “ You know what, Uncle Ben ? Sometimes, when I’m really missing my Pa, I just look in my  mirror…” Ben thought that was sort of a strange thing for the young girl to say, and looked at her quizzically. “ Why is that, Sarah?” Sarah tried to smile, but one small tear trickled down her cheek. “ Well, everyone says I look so much  like my Ma and Pa. If I look in the mirror, I can pretend I’m looking at them, again….” Ben felt a sudden catch in his throat, as he gazed into the young girl’s eyes, and saw his ‘brother’s own eyes’, looking back at him, and he understood. “ Sometimes, Sarah, I do the same thing with you !” Ben smiled, but it was with a certain sadness. “Hmm……You know, as long as you’re  alive, Sarah, your parents will never really be gone…..” Sarah reached out her arms, and Ben hugged her warmly. “ Well, it’s getting kind of late - I think it’s time for you to go to sleep. See you in the morning, Sarah, pleasant dreams….” Ben stood, and walked to the door of the darkened room. He paused at the doorway. “ Opened, or closed ?” Sarah peeked over the edge of her covers. “ Opened, please.”  Ben left the door ajar, and as he walked back along the darkened hallway again,  he could hear Sarah, softly singing herself to sleep. He thought how strange it was -  sometimes funny, yet, more often, poignant - how his sons, while growing up, and now his young niece, whom he was raising - would often reveal their most private, inner thoughts, wishes, dreams and, indeed, fears,  while they were being tucked in, and just before they went to sleep…….

It was still dark out, when Sarah awoke, well before dawn, and the conversation she’d overheard between her Uncle and cousins in the barn, the previous night, played again in her head. She laid in bed for a few minutes, mulling over what they’d said. All the talk about “strangers, lawyers and adoption” had really frightened her, so she made a decision.  She pulled on her clothes, then emptied out her piggy bank. It held two dollars and fifty three cents. She thought that would be enough, for now, anyhow, and shoved it into her jean pocket. After she sat down at her desk, she reached for a pencil, then removed a sheet of paper from her top desk drawer.  She wrote a note to her Uncle Ben and cousins, and placed it on her pillow. She looked around the small room, then closed the door, and crept down the darkened upstairs hallway. The only noise coming from any of the other bedrooms, where her Uncle and cousins were still sleeping, was the soft sound of snoring from Hoss’s room. She crept down the stairs - being careful to miss the second one - it creaked so - and walked to the kitchen. She grabbed some bread, and dried beef, and left the house through the side door of the kitchen. The full moon bathed the whole ranch house and barnyard in an eerie white light. She hurried into the barn, and by the moonlight that shone through the windows,  saddled Rebel .She borrowed the spare saddle bags, and packed her provisions inside, then tied her bedroll and jacket onto the back of her saddle. She led the mare outside, then filled her canteen at the pump, and swung up onto the mare’s back. She took one last look at the ranch house, looming large and dark yet, somehow, very peaceful, then she turned Rebel’s head, and trotted around the corner of the barn, and was swallowed up by the darkness.
Adam was awakened by the sun’s rays, as they  crept over his windowsill. He rolled over, stretched leisurely, then swung his legs over the edge of his bed. He pulled on his jeans and boots, then went through his usual morning routine, preparing for the day. He was still buttoning his shirt, as he knocked at Sarah’s door, a short while later. “ Sarah, six o’clock. Time to get up.” There was no answer, so he knocked again. “ Come on, sleepy head !” Still no answer, so Adam opened the door, and peeked around it. “ Sarah?” He thought she was perhaps hiding, as she sometimes would , so threw the door wide open, expecting a gale of giggles from her wardrobe chest, but there was no sound at all. Adam rushed into the room, and flung the wardrobe open - nothing but clothes. He glanced around the room, then he saw it - a note on her pillow. An overwhelming feeling of utter sadness swept over him, as he read the short note. He stood slowly, then left the room and headed downstairs, to share it with his Pa and brothers. The rest of the family was already seated around the long dining room table, and he was greeted by the usual family banter, as Hop Sing served breakfast. Ben looked up, and smiled, as Adam reached the bottom stair. “Adam, where’s Sarah?” Ben could suddenly tell, by the look on his son’s face, that something was terribly wrong. Adam walked to the table, and dropped down into his chair.“ She’s gone, Pa. I found this.”  Ben looked incredulous. “ GONE ?!” Adam passed the note, written in the scrawl of a nine year old, into his Pa’s hand. Ben read it once, and just shook his head, then read it aloud to his sons. “Dear Uncle Ben, Adam, Hoss and Joe, I overheard what you said in the barn last night, on my way to the outhouse. I don’t want to have to maybe  live with that man, so I think it is better if I just leave now.  I’ve got bread, dried beef, and money from my piggy bank,  and  I know how to fish, so I can look after myself - Rebel and me will be okay. Thank you for looking after me. Love, Sarah” Ben looked forlornly around the table, to each of his sons, then said, simply, “ Let’s go find her….” They stood as one, and headed for the door.
The four of them were saddled up, and ready to go, in record time. They were just leading their horses from the barn, when Hop Sing suddenly rushed out the kitchen door, carrying four packages. “ Can’t find Sarah without food. Need energy, Mr. Ben.”  Ben smiled at his faithful housekeeper. “ You’re right. Thank you, Hop Sing.”  The Chinaman smiled.
“ Hope you find Missy Sarah. Good luck, Mr. Cartlight, Mr. Adam, Mr. Hoss, Mr. Joe!”  They each took a food package gratefully, then mounted their horses. Ben looked around to his sons. “ I think it’s pointless riding together - we can cover more ground if we split up. Boys, I’m heading to the north. I know of some of her favourite places out that way, where she might hide.” Adam nodded. “Okay, Pa, I’m heading west, towards the alpine region, and Lake Tahoe. Sarah, Hoss and I discovered some caves there, a few months back, that would be just the place for her to take cover. ” Hoss grunted in agreement.
“ Guess that leaves east and south. Joe, I’ll take east - you head south.”  Ben looked to each of his sons.  “When you do find her, boys, don’t get mad at her. She’s just a confused, little girl, running scared. I guess I should have told her the truth from the start….” Adam looked to his Father. “ We couldn’t have known this would happen, Pa. It’ll all work out - we’ll bring her home.” Ben nodded once. “ We’ll meet back home at sunset. Good luck, boys.” They rode around the corner of the barn, then each loped off in a different direction, when they reached the sweeping, wide open meadow land, on the far side of the stable.
Ben walked Buck along the main trail that lead north and, ultimately, Reno. As he rode along, he looked for bent grass, broken dead fall branches, hoof  prints, just about anything that would indicate that a rider had been through the area.  There was nothing fresh, only the occasional deer or antelope trail leading into heavier brush, where a horse just couldn’t get through.  He retraced his steps several times  to check the narrower, lesser used side trails off the main trail. At one point, Buck stopped dead in his tracks, and snorted, as he’d heard a noise just ahead in the under brush, but it was just a coyote with her pups. They scurried back into the brush when they spotted the horse with his rider. If ever there was a moment when Ben hoped a noise would turn out to be Sarah, that had been it. He continued on, for several hours, checking each trail he could think of, stopping periodically to give his faithful old horse, Buck, a rest stop. At one point, he patted the gelding’s buckskin neck. “ Well, Buck, I hope the boys are having more luck than we are….” Ben continued on with the search.
Hoss had spent the last few hours riding the acres and acres of  mostly open, lower pasture areas, towards the eastern end of the large ranch. He was checking every trail, thicket and small stand of trees he could think of, too. A few times, he and Chubb flushed out various small animals that were hiding in the tall grasses. Lots of rabbits, ground hogs and even the occasional raccoon, that was still prowling around. At length, he stopped at a river, so Chubb could drink. After Chubb had had his fill, they climbed  back up the river bank, and flushed out  a big  deer buck that had been laying down in the tall grass.  Chubb snorted, and spun, and Hoss laughed. “ Easy, Chubb. It’s not the first time you’ve seen one of them !” He patted the big, dark gelding’s neck, to calm him, and they rode on.
Joe was covering every trail he could think of that headed south. He criss- crossed back and forth, checking every main trail, and side trail. Through open pastures, higher, rocky outcrops, and forest trails. Like his Pa and  Hoss, he had only found older horse tracks, that could have been there for days, or even weeks, or narrow deer trails that only lead to heavy undergrowth: the preferred places for deer to hide out, during the heat of the day. A couple of times, he came across some of the ranch hands, that were watching over various  different populations of the Ponderosa’s massive beef cattle herd. They, too, had seen no other rider. By the lowness of the sun in the sky,  Joe knew it was getting on into early evening. He pulled Cochise to a stop, and patting his pinto’s neck, reluctantly turned around, to make the long ride back to the ranch house.
Adam had spent his day following every trail he could think of, too.  Through alpine, grassy pastures, and forests of  Ponderosa pines, that seemed to stretch for miles. He, too, had criss-crossed , back and forth,  looking for something, anything, that would indicate that another rider had ridden through the area recently. He even checked several of the caves in the area, but to no avail. It was getting late in the day, and Adam was sadly thinking it was time to head back home. He had paused, again, to give Sport a break, and a drink, at a narrow creek, when he suddenly heard the panicked whinny of a horse. A moment later, he saw Rebel galloping around a rocky outcrop, about forty yards away. The terrified mare rushed past him, the fenders and stirrups of her saddle just flapping, and her knotted reins drooping on either side of her neck.  She was moving just too fast to be grabbed, so Adam let her go, and booted Sport in the direction he’d seen the mare coming from. As  he rounded the rocks, he saw Sarah, absolutely paralyzed with fear, her back pushed against a sheer rock wall, not fifty feet away to his right. Off to his left, and high above him, he heard the unmistakable low, rumbling growl of a cougar, ready to pounce. In one fluid motion, he pulled his rifle from its scabbard, cranked the lever- action rifle with a loud “click- click”, to load it, and raised the weapon to his shoulder. Adam took aim, and squeezed the trigger, just as the cougar leapt from its rocky ledge.  The sound of the rifle shot ricocheted off the surrounding rock walls, and the animal fell, lifeless, to the ground. Adam stepped down off of  Sport, and slipped his rifle back into its scabbard. For just an instant, Sarah hesitated, not quite knowing what to think, or do. Adam just smiled slowly, then held out both arms, and his young cousin rushed into them. He picked her up, and just held her tight for several moments, saying a silent prayer of thanks. He heard Sarah’s  little voice, barely a whisper, in his ear, saying, “ Adam, I want to go home…..”. He put her gently down again, and fired off three more rounds into the air, in fast succession, so if any of the other family members were within ‘earshot’, they’d know that Sarah had been found - safe and sound. Sarah gripped Adam’s hand tightly, and she leaned into him, as they walked past the dead cougar, and back over to Sport, again. Adam lifted the small girl onto the saddle, then swung up behind her. “Adam, will Rebel be alright ?” He reached  his left arm around Sarah, and grabbed the saddle’s horn, then lifted his reins, with his right hand. “She’ll be fine, Sarah. She knows the way home, too…” He “clucked” to his horse, and they loped off down the trail, towards the distant ranch house.
The sunset was glowing a deep red and purple, when Adam and Sarah rode into the barnyard nearly three hours later. The ranch house door opened, and Ben, Hoss and Joe hurried out to them. Adam held one finger to his lips : Sarah sat, slumped in the saddle, fast asleep. Adam’s tan jacket partly covered her, as she nestled beneath it, and her head rested against his chest, as he gently cradled her with his left arm. “ She’s exhausted, Pa. I think she’s learned her lesson, though - a cougar was just about to take her, when I found her. Did Rebel make it back okay?” Ben nodded. “ Yeah, about half an hour ago - got home just after us. We cooled her out - fed her. A little scratch on one leg - I wrapped it  -  but she’ll be alright. We had each heard your rifle shots carry from way off in the distance, Adam, on our way back. We knew Sarah was alright.” Adam swung down from behind Sport’s saddle, reached Sarah down, and passed her to his Pa, then lead Sport into the barn, to look after him. Hoss smiled. “Pa, I can’t remember the last time I was so relieved to see anyone !” Joe nodded his head in agreement. “ Me, too, Pa…” Ben had just held her  for a moment or two, when the little girl awoke. “Uncle Ben !” Sarah threw her arms around his neck, and just cried, as the events of the day caught up with her. “Come on, boys. Let’s go have dinner.” They were joined by Adam a few minutes later, as Hop Sing served up the roast beef. “ Glad to see Missy Sarah home again, Mr. Cartlight !” Ben smiled. “ Thank you, Hop Sing. We’re all glad, AND relieved…” After they’d been eating for a few minutes, Ben looked to his young niece. “I hope in the future, Sarah, you’ll talk to us before you decide to do something as serious as run away. We discuss things in this house, and help each other - we don’t run. That’s what being a family is all about.” Sarah gazed down at her lap, and nodded silently, then asked, “ Am I going to be punished ?” Ben sighed. “ No, not this time. I partly blame myself, for not being honest with you, to begin with. I was just trying to protect you, as were the boys. It’s been a very long, tiring day. For ALL of us. I think it’s best if we just put it behind us….”

The four Cartwright men were already seated around the bright red and white checkered tablecloth, that covered the dining room table, the following morning, when Sarah sheepishly came down the stairs. She practically slithered across the great room’s floor, trying to be as inconspicuous as she could be, then sat down quietly in her chair beside Adam. Ben looked to her. “ Well, Sarah, I hope you’ll remember the important lesson you learned yesterday. ” She gazed down at her lap.  “ I will, Uncle Ben, but you know what ? I’ve decided I’d rather live with a damn cattle baron and his sons, than with that man, anyhow..” Ben’s eyes just about popped right out of his head. “ WHAT did you say ?!” Joe, who had just taken a mouthful of steaming, hot coffee, suddenly spewed it right back out again, all down his shirt, and sat, shaking with laughter, as Hoss joined in. THEY’D heard what she’d said… Sarah sounded suddenly apologetic. “I didn’t say it Uncle Ben, Mr. Armstrong did, a couple of weeks ago. He said, ‘Wouldn’t you rather live with me, than that damn cattle baron, and his three sons?’ I told him ‘no’…… ” Adam raised his eyebrows momentarily, as a smile spread across his lips. “ ‘ Out of the mouths of babes’, hey, Pa? Nice to know what some people REALLY think of us, though….” Ben knew he was ‘losing control’ ( yet, again…) as he raised one hand, to try to quell the laughter of his two youngest sons, then looked to Sarah . “ Well, Sarah, I’m relieved to hear that. But we don’t use that sort of language in our home. Now, eat your breakfast, please, then go do your chores.” Sarah sat eating in silence as her Uncle, and three cousins, tried not to look at each other because, every time they did, the laughter very nearly ‘bubbled’ to the surface again…..
A week went by, then nearly two, and there was still no word from Will. Ben had ridden into town so many times, to check with the telegraph office, he could practically do the ride in his sleep.  He finally asked for a messenger to be sent out to the ranch house, instead. After the end of two weeks, a messenger rode out to the ranch early one evening, and approached the ranch house’s heavy, dark pine, door. He knocked the door crisply, and it was opened by Hoss. “ Hi, Hoss. We finally found out why your return telegraph message has been so long coming. A long ‘auxiliary section’ of wire, between here and Reno, is down. It’s the one that services many of the smaller towns. Just finally got word today. Sorry, Hoss …” Hoss lowered his eyes a bit. “ That’s okay, Johnny, ain’t your fault.” Hoss reached into one pocket, and pulled out a large silver coin, and handed it to the young man. “ Thanks, Johnny.” The young messenger took the coin gratefully, mounted his horse, and loped back around the barn, and disappeared from view. Hoss closed the door again, then plunged his hands into his pockets, and walked back into the large, living room again. The rest of the family was lounging around the great room, as his Pa sat working at his desk. Ben stood, and walked towards his son.  “ What is it, Hoss?” Hoss always hated being the bearer of bad news, so explained quickly, to all of them, what had happened. Ben  felt his heart drop, as he glanced around the room to his other two sons, and young niece. No one had to say just what a blow this bit of news was to their case, for Sarah. It just meant that the adoption hearing, coming up in a mere few days, was just more confusing, confounding,  and murkier than ever.
The few days went by quickly, and it was the night before the adoption hearing. Emotions were running high, just below the surface, out on the Ponderosa, since there still had been no word from Will. It was late, and Hoss, Joe and Sarah had all made an early night of it, and had already gone upstairs to bed. Only Ben and Adam sat in the darkened great room, gazing into the fire, wondering what the next day would bring. There was a quiet knock at the front door, and Ben looked to Adam.  “Are you expecting anyone, son?” Adam just shrugged. “ No, Pa. But, who’d be coming out to the ranch at this time of night ?”
Ben stood, and walked to the door. When he swung it open, who was standing there, but Will. “Ben, sorry to come by so late. I just couldn’t get in touch with you by telegraph - I just arrived in Virginia City earlier this evening. May I come in?” Ben opened the door wider, as he stepped back. “ Of course, Will, come in.” Adam stood, as his cousin entered the room, and walked over to shake his hand. Will looked uncomfortably from his Uncle to his cousin. “ I think you’d better both sit down.” Ben and Adam just looked questioningly to each other, but complied. Will started to speak. “ I can solve this whole adoption thing with Sarah. But there’s more to the story than either of you know about. May I ?” He gestured towards a chair, and Ben nodded. He sat down. “First off, my Mother didn’t have a brother. So that solves that part of it. But, I do have a letter from my late Father, written before the time of his death, and a birth certificate. I’ll read the letter to you.” Will unfolded the yellowed paper, and started to read.

“ My dear Ben,
If you are reading this letter, it means I have passed away, and the information that it contains, can finally be revealed. I will be telling you of a family pact, and I hope you’ll understand the reason behind it. Sarah is not my daughter, but the daughter of my wife’s niece. When she became with child, her parents disowned her, and she came to live with her Aunt ( my wife), and me. She made us swear that the young man that was the child’s father was  not to be told of the child, and that we take Sarah in as our own. Well, we agreed, Ben. Her parents had made her move so far from them, and so poisoned her mind against the father of the child, and made her feel so ashamed, it’s all she felt she could do. It was a family secret between my niece, my wife, my son and I. We raised Sarah as our own. After both my wife and niece fell ill, and died, in the scarlet fever outbreak, it was up to me to raise Sarah. I am enclosing a birth certificate, Ben, that reveals Sarah’s true Father. I hope you can forgive me this deceit, Ben, but we did it for a very young, scared, disowned niece, who had just had a baby girl.
Love, your brother,
John.”

Will folded the letter, and passed it over to Ben and Adam, who just sat in shocked silence. Will looked uneasy.  “Ben, I think it’s best that I just go back to town tonight.”
Ben just stood numbly, and escorted Will to the entrance again. Will slipped the birth certificate into Ben’s hand, just before he closed the door.  Ben walked slowly back to the settee, as he opened the document, and read it. He passed it to Adam, then sat down beside him again. Adam’s eyes made their way across, and down, the page:

‘ Record of Live Birth’

In the City of :      Carson City, Territory of Nevada, U.S.A.
Dated this:            10 th. Of December, 1850.
Name at birth:       Sarah Elizabeth Cartwright ( Female )
Mother:                  Beth Emily McCord, Carson City, Nevada Territory, U.S.A.
Father:                   Adam John Cartwright, Ponderosa Ranch, Nevada Territory, U.S.A.

There was silence in the great room, as the implications of  the document became clear.
“ Well, son, is it possible ?” Adam’s mind went back to his college days, in Boston.
He had been courting another young student, by the name of Beth McCord. As the months went by , they both realized their love for each other. Adam’s letters to home had always been filled with ‘Beth’, much more so than his schooling, so even Ben, at the time, knew it was serious. Adam sighed. “ We’d been to a Spring dance, early March time. We hadn’t danced with anyone else, all evening - just each other. It had just felt SO right, Pa.  When the dance was finished, I drove her back out to her parent’s farm, outside of town. It was a full moon - just a beautiful night. Part way home we stopped, to rest the horses. We both got down off the buggy, to stretch our legs. Sat down on a blanket…….. I asked her to marry me, Pa. She said  ‘yes’. I just wanted her so much, Pa, and she wanted me too, and, well…” Adam’s voice trailed off, as he hung his head. Ben finished his sentence for him - “Sarah was the result.” Adam still gazed down at the floor, and just nodded his head.  “Apparently…….My god, Pa - what have I done ?!” Ben put one arm gently around his son’s shoulders, and smiled sympathetically. “ Nothing that men haven’t done since the beginning of time, Adam. You had a baby, with the woman you loved. I did the same thing myself. Three times..….” Adam turned his head towards his Father, and there were tears in his eyes. “ But, I didn’t know, Pa ! Her parents told me she didn’t want to see me any more, and had transferred to another College , out of state. No real explanation, no anything. I didn’t even get to say  ‘good-bye’.” Adam just emotionally collapsed, and his Pa held him. Several moments later, Adam raised his head again, and tried to compose himself. “ I have money set aside. I can get us a little ranch, somewhere…” Ben smiled sadly. “ Well, Adam, if that’s what you want to do. But, why move away from home, just to get another  ‘home’ ? I raised three sons without their Mothers, Adam. It’s a lot of hard work, believe me. Hoss and Joe and I can help you raise that little girl of yours. Why perhaps deny her the opportunity of a family? Nothing has changed, as far as I’m concerned, son - just the  ‘labels’ of each of us ! Sarah had  ‘a Cousin, a Cousin, a Cousin, and an Uncle’. Now, instead, she has  ‘an Uncle, an Uncle, a Father and a Grandfather’. And, to be honest with you - it does resolve this whole adoption issue, like Will said. They can’t take a child away from her biological Father, especially since the  ‘Uncle’ isn’t REALLY her  ‘Uncle’. Ben smiled again, as he thought of his now grandchild. “ Why, you just have to look at her, Adam ! She does look so much like you. The same dark hair, her features, even her eyes.” Ben shook his head, and chuckled. “I always thought she had my brother’s eyes but, I realize, now, YOU were the one that had inherited the similar eyes of my brother - family resemblance, if you will. Now, I realize that Sarah’s eyes weren’t  from my brother at all - they were from YOU, Adam.” Adam finally smiled at his father. “It’s funny, Pa. When Sarah used to come stay with us each summer, Hoss and Joe would be the ones rough housing with her a little. I was the one that taught her things. I taught her how to ride, how to swim, and even enjoyed the occasional ‘tea party’ with her. Hmm.. That used to be a real comedy point with my two brothers, I remember. I guess I just always had more of a paternal feeling towards her. I thought it was just because I was older than them.  Maybe it WAS more than that. I just ALWAYS felt so connected with her, Pa, in some way, almost on a spiritual level…” Ben grinned at his son again. “Well, welcome to ‘Fatherhood’, Adam. Imagine - you didn’t save a cousin from that cougar the other week, you saved your OWN daughter.” Ben stood. “Come on son, it’s late. Let’s get up to bed. It’ll be a long day tomorrow, even if we DO know the outcome, ahead of time. It’ll be REAL interesting to see what happens to Calvin Armstrong, after all his fraud and deceit, though…”

The next morning dawned early, as the Cartwright family sat around the dining room table, eating their breakfasts in silence. Sarah finished her breakfast first, then excused herself, to go do her chores.  Ben dabbed his mouth with a napkin, after she’d closed the door behind her.  “Well, boys, we had a visitor last night - your cousin, Will.” Joe just grunted.“ Nice of him to finally get back to us…” Ben reminded him. “ Now, Joe, it wasn’t Will’s fault that the telegraph lines were down.” Joe’s eyes flashed. “Seems to me, he always has an alibi, Pa. ” Hoss grunted in agreement, and Ben held up one hand. “ He had a bit of news for us about Mr. Armstrong, and Sarah. Seems Mr. Armstrong isn’t Sarah’s Uncle after all. So that ends that part of the situation. And, I’ll leave it up to Adam, to fill you in on the rest.” Ben glanced to his eldest son, who shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “ Yeah, well…” After a few minutes, the story about that ‘one fateful night’ had tumbled out. Hoss and Joe just looked to each other, then to their older brother. Hoss grinned broadly. “ You’re kidding, Adam, right?” Adam sat, stone faced, and cocked one eyebrow. “ Do I LOOK like I’m kidding, Hoss ?” Hoss shrugged. “Hmm.  No, I guess not.” He paused, then grinned. “ Why, Adam, you dog !” Joe just chirped in. “How about that Adam -  ‘a hole in one’ - what are the chances, hey ?!” Adam just braced himself, for even more kidding from his younger brothers, when Ben held up his hand, again. “Now, boys, this IS serious. Sarah doesn’t know anything about this yet, so you have to keep quiet about it, and let Adam decide when to tell her.” Joe and Hoss looked one to the other, and calmed down a bit, then nodded in agreement. “ Sure, Pa.”
Three hours later, they were saddled up, and leaving for Virginia City. When they arrived, they went straight to their lawyer’s office. Adam glanced to Hoss and Joe. “How about you take Sarah, and get her a drink? We can meet you in the courthouse, in half an hour.” Hoss and Joe both smiled, then  winked exaggeratedly. “ Sure, Adam”, and the three of them left. Adam sighed, then smiled, as he watched them go. “Those two brothers of mine WILL be the death of me, Pa, IF I don’t kill them both FIRST, myself……..”
Ben laughed. “ Come on, son. Let’s go see Mr. McCall.” Mr. McCall came from his inner office, as Ben and Adam entered. “Ben, Adam, have I got good news for you.” Ben smiled. “ And I bet I know what it is..” He told Mr. McCall of his nephew’s visit the previous night, and the revelations about Mr. Armstrong, and the true parentage of Sarah. “Yes, Ben - so I understand. Will did stop by yesterday, and he signed an affidavit to the fact that Mr. Armstrong is NOT related to his Mother, and provided the proof of Sarah’s true parentage, as revealed in the letter from his late Father, and Sarah’s birth certificate. But, it must have come as a bit of a shock, to both of you, though.” Ben placed one arm lightly around Adam’s shoulder. “Well, yes it did, Jacob. Nothing makes you feel suddenly older than being told you’re a Grandfather !” Adam smiled, then added. “ OR a Father !” The three men laughed. “ Well Ben, Adam, I thought I’d vaguely recognised Armstrong’s name, when you first mentioned it. So, I sent out a few telegraphs, to some of my colleagues. Did a bit of digging… Seems this man is a well known fraudster, who deals in deceit, throughout the Southwest of these United States. He does that by getting clerical jobs in lawyer’s offices. Then he just goes through the files, and chooses his victims. And he has been able to do that quite easily, as he uses a string of aliases…
With your case, we should be able to nail him for good, and send him off to prison, to do hard time. But, our case is due to be heard in half an hour, in the Judge’s chambers. We’d better get along.”
They all sat in the Judge’s chambers, half an hour later, when the distinguished looking, silver haired, elderly man, came out from his private chambers. They all briefly rose, as the Judge took his seat. The bailiff handed some papers to the Judge, and he read them quickly. Mr. McCall had a sidebar of several minutes, with the Judge, after the documents were read. “ Hmm. Now, Mr. Armstrong , I understand that you are making an application to adopt one  ‘Sarah Cartwright’ - your apparent niece, and the daughter of your sister?” Armstrong shifted in his chair. “ Yes, your Honour.” The Judge looked over his glasses at him. “Well, Mr. Armstrong. I have been given a signed and witnessed sworn affidavit, in the last twenty four hours, saying that you are NOT this girl’s Uncle, nor are you related to her in any way. It would seem the woman you claim is your sister, is not - nor is she young Sarah’s Mother. So, THAT , Sir, takes you RIGHT out of the picture, in this case. Any further information on that point has been asked to be kept confidential, by the lawyer of the Cartwright family, on their behalf.” He paused, as he took a drink of water, and gazed at the man. “Mr. Armstrong, I have seen you many times, in my court, under many different names. I am tired of little men, like you, whose sole purpose it is, to make life miserable for the good citizens of not only Nevada, but several surrounding territories, and states. You are to be remanded in custody, till a jail sentence has been issued.” The Judge waved his hand dismissively. “ Just take him out of here.” Sarah looked excitedly around to her Uncle Ben, and her Cousins. “ That means, I get to stay with you ?!” Ben smiled at his excited young niece. “ Yes, Sarah. That’s just what it means.”  She was beside herself. “ I don’t know what to say - just that, I want to go home !” The little girl was so happy, she just started to giggle. Adam suddenly swept her gently into his arms, in pure joy, and held her, as she giggled into his ear. He winked over her shoulder to his Pa, and his Pa smiled back at him…….
When the Cartwright family rode into the barnyard some two hours later, it would be an understatement to say they were both happy, and relieved. They looked after their horses, sharing  the feeding chores, and it wasn’t long before they were all seated around the dining room table. The banter was light, and the mood relaxed, as they dug into the delicious lamb stew Hop Sing had prepared. “ Missy Sarah - she is staying with us, Mr. Ben ?” Ben smiled at his housekeeper. “ Yes, Hop Sing. We’re all  glad, that it’s finally all over.” The Chinaman smiled. “ Hop Sing happy for Cartlight family !” When the meal was over, they each  retired to their favourite seats in the great room, to relax around the fire. It had been a tumultuous day. Calvin Armstrong had been found to be little more than a well known liar, and a fraud, who was being sent away to prison for an, apparently, very long time. The Cartwrights had retained custody of Sarah, with the birth certificate being recognised, with Adam as her Father. As they sat in the great room together, Adam thought the time was right to tell Sarah just who her real Father was…
“ Sarah, come outside with me, for a while - I have to talk to you about something…”
The little girl took his hand, and they walked out to the porch together. They each took a chair on either side of the small table, that stood under the porch overhang, outside of his Pa’s office. Sarah leaned on her hands, and looked eagerly towards Adam. “ Well ,Sarah, this may be hard to understand, but I’ll explain it the best way I can. You see, when I was in college, about eleven years ago, I fell in love with a girl.  Our love was so great for each other, we were going to be married. Then, one night, we loved each other so much, we had a baby.” Sarah looked at him quizzically. “ In one night ? I thought it took longer than that…” Adam tried not to smile. “ Well, yes, Sarah, it does, it takes nine months, but it starts out as…” His voice trailed off - well, this was going to be harder than he had thought. Sarah’s little face lit up. “ Oh, you mean like ‘sex’ ?” Adam’s eyebrows shot straight up.
“You KNOW about that ?! How do YOU know about that ?!” Sarah just looked at him in a matter-of-a-fact- way. “In the school yard - kids talk, you know…” Adam rested his chin on his hands, and cocked one eyebrow. “ In the school yard, hey? Just what is it, that the kids say ?” Adam sat in absolute rapt attention, as Sarah explained it all to him - right from ‘soup to nuts - with him correcting some of the ‘terminology’, here and there. She finished with “… and then the baby comes out.” Adam nodded his head. “ You mean, it’s ‘born’ ? ” Sarah just nodded, too. “ Yeah, that’s right. Any questions ?” Adam just smiled at his precocious little girl. “ No - I think you pretty much covered  all of the bases.” He just sat back, and looked at his daughter for a few moments. “ There’s more to the story, though. You see, the girl’s parents didn’t understand how we felt about each other, so they sent her away, and she lived with the people you’ve been told were your parents. They were actually your Aunt and your Great Uncle. She was so confused by what her parents had said about us, that she never talked to me, or saw me again. I didn’t know about that baby till yesterday. And, well, this may be hard for you to understand, Sarah, but that baby was YOU.” A puzzled look came over Sarah’s face.
“ You’re my Pa? But, I thought you were my cousin….” Adam sighed. “ I thought that, too. For all these years.” Sarah tilted her head thoughtfully to one side. “It’s been such a long time - maybe she’d talk to you NOW ! Couldn’t we just go see her?” Adam reached across the table, and took Sarah’s small hands gently into his own, and gazed into her little face. “ No, Sarah. She passed away in the scarlet fever outbreak, too, with your Aunt, when you were just a little baby.” Sarah gazed down at the table top. “ Oh. So, it’s like I lost both my Mothers? A ‘pretend one’- my Aunt, AND my real one?” Adam squeezed her hands a little. “ That’s right…” She stood up, and walked around to his side of the table, and climbed onto Adam’s lap. Adam wrapped his arms around his daughter, and rested his chin on the top of her head, as she cuddled against him. “ What was her name ?” Adam reached a small, faded picture from his shirt pocket, and handed it to her. “ Her name was Beth.” Sarah studied the little photo for several moments, then grinned.
“ She was real pretty !” Adam smiled. “ Yes, she was. But no prettier than her daughter.” Sarah tilted her head back, and smiled up at Adam, and he kissed her gently. “ So, Sarah, what do you think? I know this has been a lot to take in, in one day. For both of us, I guess. As far as ‘ what do we call each other ?’ Well, I’ll call you ‘Daughter’, but, till you get used to the idea, you can call me ‘Adam’, ‘Pa’, or anything you feel comfortable with, for now.”  Sarah looked up at him again, “ I’d rather you called me ‘Sarah’, Pa .”
Adam looked down at his daughter, and held her just a little tighter, and smiled. “That’s fine with me, Sarah.” The two of them sat in mostly silence, together, for a long time: Adam and his little girl, curled up on his lap.  They watched as the sky turned a bright golden colour, as the sun went down. A short while later, Adam realized that Sarah had fallen fast  asleep. He stood up, to carry his little girl off to bed…
If feeling like this was what ‘ Fatherhood ’ was all about, Adam decided he liked it……

The End    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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