The Hunt

by

Kathee Pafford

Chapter 1
Adam lean back against the support for the veranda roof with his head bent forward pinching the bridge of his nose with his right hand. It was starting all over again. His had thought that the argument between Little Joe and himself settled, but obviously it wasn’t.
What had started it he could not remember exactly. Probably him correcting Joe about something. Didn’t Joe understand that he just wanted him to be more careful? This latest set to had to do with the breaking of a horse. That last mustang Joe had tried to break could have killed him when it broke through the fence.
Adam could still hear Joe’s reaction to his suggestion that he should leave that one to more experienced hands. “I’m not a child any more! Stop treating me like a five-year-old!” From the there the conversation had gone way out of control. Granted Joe was not five, but he was only sixteen. Sometimes that boy was hard to understand.
Adam jerked his head up when he realized what he had just thought. Did he still think of Joe as a little boy? Maybe he had a point.
Well, Adam hoped that tomorrow would lighten the mood between them. Pa was going to be sending them up to the north pasture to look for a mountain lion that had been sighted. As of yet only a couple cattle had been killed, but they were going to try to keep that number from going up. At least that they could both agree had to be done. Yawning, Adam hoped that it would work, he hadn’t gotten a good night’s sleep since this argument had started and he was tired.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Adam’s hope for a truce that day was short lived. It lasted about five minutes into breakfast. After everyone arrived at the table and started eating, Ben started explaining what needed to be done.
“Hoss, Joe told me yesterday that Cochise has thrown a shoe. You’ll need to replace it and check his others. Also, would you check the other horses, some of them have not been checked in a while and they may be getting a little loose.”
“Sure, Pa,” Hoss said after he swallowed his mouthful of eggs.
“Little Joe, I’m sorry to pull you from the breaking, but you and Adam need to go up to the north pasture. The men have sighted at least one mountain lion. You two need to get it before we lose any more cattle. Since Cochise has to be re-shoed, take one of the other, but check his shoes first.”
“Why don’t I go after the cat, and Adam stay here and help Hose with the shoeing?” Joe asked, wanting to get out of having to spend the day with Adam. He was still a little mad at him for his comments last night.
“You know that I am not going to let any of you go after that cat alone. They are too tricky. Besides you and Adam need to sort out what ever it is that has been bothering the both of you. It has gone on long enough.” The tone of Ben’s voice, not to mention the look on his face, told Joe that the discussion was over, but Joe still did not like it. The expression on Joe’s face told Adam that it was going to be a very long day.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After getting their gear together and saddling their horses, Adam and Joe rode toward the north pasture together in body if not in mind. Adam wondered what to say to help Joe understand that he only wanted to help him not to get hurt. Maybe it would help if he let Joe lead on this hunt for a while. If Joe didn’t pick up the cat’s tracks for a while it would not make much difference, but it might let Joe know that he did know that he was growing up.
“Joe, which way do you want to start looking,” Adam asked as they reached the area where the cat had been seen.
“Me? You goin’ to let me lead?” Joe asked with skepticism in his voice.
“What better way to see if you are as grown up as you would have me believe?” Adam responded with a glint in his eyes.
So you really don’t think I can find that cat, do you, Joe thought. I’ll just have to prove it. “We’ll start where that last calf was found. It’s over there a ways.” Joe pointed to their left.
A couple minutes later they came to the spot where the dead calf’s remains had been found. Apparently the cat had been so hungry that it had tried to eat the calf where it had been killed. Charlie, the foreman, had marked the spot where the calf had been found with a stake and a piece of cloth. Thankfully there had not been any new snow since the calf had been found.
Upon arriving, Adam hung back so that Joe could examine the area with his interference. After only a couple minutes, Joe straightened in his saddle and pointed off toward a stand of trees, “Tracks come and return to those trees. He must have a den up in that direction.”
Adam breathed a sigh of relief that Joe found the tracks so easily. He knew that an offer of help from him would not be well received. Well, so far so good. This might just work out after all. As long as Joe didn’t try to impress him by doing something risky.
They rode together into the trees following the racks of the cat. The tracks continued for quite a ways into the trees. Some times they would have to ride single file because the trees were so close together. Other creatures rustled in the woods, but they just ignored them. All they wanted was to get that cat, and then to go home.
At the base of a sheer rock formation in one of the wide spots in the trees, Joe stopped abruptly. Adam realized that the tracks had stopped and he was trying to find them again. Joe dismounted in order to see better, handing the reigns of his horse to Adam. After several minutes of searching, Joe came back to his horse, took the reins, and remounted. “They’re gone. Let’s split up and see if we can find them again.”
Adam’s reply was definitely not what Joe wanted to hear. “No way! We stay together like Pa said.”
“All right. We’ll start this way.” Joe was too frustrated to think of this as only Adam’s concern for his safety. His thought Adam simply didn’t trust him to take care of himself. In his anger he urged his horse forward and to the right, cutting in front of Sport.
“WATCH OUT!” Adam’s shout and the cat’s scream were Joe’s only warnings before a large, dark shape hit him from the top of the rocks. Both horses reared in fright at the sight of the big cat.
Adam had been holding his gun at ready in case this happened, but Sport’s rearing threw his aim off totally. He was able to get a shot off before he was thrown from his saddle. His bullet plowed into the back of the head of Joe’s horse.
Adam was not sure if he lost consciousness when he hit the ground, all he knew was that when he opened his eyes, the cat was on top of Joe clawing at his back. This time Adam’s aim was perfect and he put a slug into the back of that cat’s head, killing it instantly. As quickly as he could, Adam got to his feet and staggered to where Joe lay. The cat was pitifully thin, so Adam did not have as much trouble as he might normally have had getting it off of Joe. Joe’s jacket was shredded and as was the shirt underneath. His back had some nasty gashed from the cat’s claws. Quickly, Adam removed his own coat to put it on Joe to act as a bandage on his back and keep him warm. He quickly slipped over his left arm, but as he came to his right arm he saw a bullet wound. Adam hadn’t thought that he had fired twice as he fell, but apparently he had. He was the only one there.
“Oh, no!” Adam whispered. He used his bandana for a bandage, but he knew it wasn’t going to be enough. Turning to where Joe’s horse lay, Adam quickly jerked the saddle bags off of him. He knew that they all would carry extra, dry clothes with them. It was too dangerous to have wet clothing on this time of year. Finding Joe’s extra shirt, he ripped it into strips. He knew this should be enough to get Joe town and the doctor. Adam had already decided to go straight to town. It was closer and Joe needed the doctor fast. After getting the bandage on, Adam finished getting his coat on Joe. Carefully grasping Joe’s shoulder, Adam turned him onto his back. Adam’s anxiety was compounded when he saw the gash that Joe had received from landing on a rock. The gash on Joe’s forehead was bleeding badly. Hurriedly applying another bandage from the clothes scavenged from the saddle bags, Adam worried about how to get Joe out of there. Sport had run off as soon as he was free of Adam. True, Joe was not a big kid as Hoss had been, but Adam did not think that he could carry him all the way to town.
After a few minutes of calling, hoping that Sport would hear and return, with no success, Adam figured there was no other way. Carefully squatting next to Joe, Adam pulled Joe’s head up on his right shoulder and hooked his left arm under Joe’s legs.
Carrying Joe was no easy task, for Adam had the worst headache that he could ever remember having. But he managed to get to the edge of the trees in about two hours, having stopped a couple time to rest. He was immensely relieved to find Sport waiting nervously there. He had been afraid that Sport would run all the way back to the barn.
Adam knew he should not let Joe’s head hang, so he carefully propped Joe up on the front of the saddle, mounted behind him, and pulled Joe against his chest. Turning toward the road, Adam spurred Sport into an immediate gallop. He hoped it wasn’t already too late. He could see where the blood was already starting to seep through the bandage on Joe’s forehead.
“Hold on, Joe…you have to hold on for me. You have fought before, don’t quit on me now.” Adam whispered in Joe’s ear all the way to town.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Although Adam knew that Sport was going as fast as he could, it still seemed as if they were creeping. Riding Sport full speed up Main Street, Adam came to a screeching halt at Doc Martin’s office. Quickly sliding off his horse, he caught Joe as he fell off. Adam was about to drop from exhaustion, but he knew he had to get Joe inside fast.
“Doc!” Adam called as he tried to open the front door. Adam could not get his hand to the latch. The door was opened in less than a minute, but to Adam it felt like an hour.
“Adam? What’s wro…..?” Doc Martin did not bother finishing the sentence as Adam brushed passed him and walked toward the back room. “Just lay him on the table.”
Carefully Adam laid Joe on the table, but he did not leave. He could not seem to make himself walk away. Doc Martin quickly replaced the soaked bandage on Joes head. Looking up Doc noticed that Adam was still standing there. “Adam, you’ll have to…” Seeing that Adam was not paying attention he tried again. “Adam?..ADAM,” finally succeeding he continued, “You will have to wait in the outer room.” Adam nodded and went out.
When Adam got to the outer room, he realized that someone would have to go get Pa and Hoss. Peeking through door, Adam told the doctor that he was going to go find someone that could go get his father. Doc Martin’s only response was a grunt.
As Adam left the doc’s office the only person he could think of to take the message was Roy, so he went to find him. Thankfully, Roy had just returned to his office. Adam quickly outlined what happened and then returned to the doctor’s when Roy said that he send someone out to tell Ben. As Adam sat in the outer office, the only thing that he could think about was that he had shot his own brother.

Chapter 2
Ben had been trying to reconcile some accounts all morning, but they simply were not coming out right. He almost wished he could have taken Joe’s suggestion and sent him out alone and kept Adam there to help him. No, that was too dangerous, besides Joe and Adam needed to work out what ever had been bothering them for the last week.
Hoss walked in just as he finished work through that set of figures for the third time without getting them to line up correctly.
“Hey, Pa?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m finished with the shoein’. Cochise got two new’ens and Chub needed one. All the others look fine.”
“Good.” Ben muttered distractedly.
“Anything else need doing? I done most of my regular chores already, too.”
Ben stopped for a minute to think. “Why don’t we grab some food, then head out and give Adam and Joe a hand at finding that cat, then we can all go into town tonight?” They should have been able to work things out by now.
“That sounds great, Pa.” Hoss liked the sound of that. They hadn’t been to town in almost a month. Maybe that was one thing that was making Joe and Adam irritable.
“You go saddle Chubb and Buck and I’ll get Hop Sing to put together something to take out to Joe and Adam.” Ben said as he moved toward the kitchen door. Hop Sing might not be real happy about it, but Ben did think it sound like a good idea.
Hoss went out to the barn and saddled Buck. He was just turning to go back into the barn to saddle Chubb when Roy Coffee rode into the yard in a hurry.
“Hoss! Where is Ben? We got trouble.” Roy asked as he dismounted.
“Inside.” Hoss followed on Roy’s heels, wondering what was going on to get Roy so worried.
“BEN!” Roy called when he did not see Ben in the great room.
Ben enter from the kitchen with a confuse expression on his face. “Roy? What’s wrong?”
“Joe’s hurt bad. Adam brought him into town. Said to tell you ‘the cat got him’. Guess he meant a big cat. He’s clawed up bad and hit his head when he fell from his horse.”
At the first sentence, Ben had bolted out the front door. Roy was almost running to keep up with him as they made their way to the front yard. Roy finally had to grab Ben’s arm to stop him.
“Ben, I am sorry, but Adam also told me to tell you that he got the cat. Now, go.” Roy released Ben’s arm and stepped back to let his friend mount and ride off.
Hoss too had bolt at the first sentence, to get Chubb saddled, and now returned to where Roy was standing. In a few sentences Roy filled him in on what he had missed. “Did Adam say how Joe was doing?”
“No, he had just gotten Joe over to the doc’s then he came to find someone to tell you. He looked real worried though.”
“Yeah.” Both men mounted up and followed Ben down the trail to Virginia City.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Adam was sitting in the outer office with his head in his hands when his father barged in.
“Adam? What happened? Is Joe going to be all right? What exactly is wrong?” Ben was so worried about Joe that he did not take a good look at Adam for a few seconds.
Adam used the time to compose his face and remove the traces of tears from his cheeks. By the time Ben actually looked at him, his face showed no signs of the turmoil that he had been experiencing. The only thing that Ben noticed was that he was very pale, but he put that down to the stress he had to be under, though he did not know the half of it yet.
“The cat jumped down on Joe from some of the rocks in the north woods. We had just lost his tracks so the best I can figure he climbed one of the trees and jumped from the tree to the rocks. Joe had been doing a great job of tracking until then,” Adam explained, a trace of forlorn pride in his voice for his brothers abilities. Adam looked away from Ben as he continued, “Both of our horses went crazy when the cat jumped at Joe. He hit his head on a rock when he fell. I tried to get the cat, but when Sport reared, all I managed to hit was Joe’s horse, and….” Adam’s voice trailed off as he remembered where his second shot had ended up.
“And?” Ben urged Adam to continue, wanting to know exactly what had happened.
Adam’s eyes were filled with pain when he looked back to his father. “I hit Joe in the arm, Pa,” Adam whispered.
Ben could barely hear Adam, but understood that Adam was blaming himself for all of his brother’s injuries. First for not having figured out where the cat was before it attacked, then with a stray bullet. Ben started to try and reassure Adam, when the doctor entered from the back room.
“Ben,” Doc Martin greeted Ben as an old friend. “Glad you got here so fast.”
“Paul, how is he?” Ben asked anxiously.
“He’s stable, but he is still unconscious. He’s got a slight concussion, but it should be minor. I’ve stitched gash on his forehead and the deeper ones on his back. He is weak from blood loss, but time is the only cure for that. He has no life threatening injuries, though the blood loss could have been if Adam had not gotten him here when he did. The only thing that has me worried is that bullet wound in his arm. I have gotten the bullet out, but it chipped the bone. If it caused any nerve damage, he may lose the ability to use the arm. You can come back and see him in a few minutes, but not quite yet. I’ll come and get you.”
When the doctor spoke of the damage that his bullet might have done, Adam dropped his head back into his hands. Paul knew that Adam was not usually a demonstrative person, but did not realize the significance of this particular act on Adam’s part. Ben, however, did and he knew the reason behind it. As Ben started to reassure Adam, he was interrupted again. This time it was Hoss rushing in from the street.
“Pa! How’s Joe?” Hoss was obviously worried and did not notice Adam sitting dejectedly in a chair by the wall. “Is he going to be all right?”
“He’s still unconscious, but Paul said that he’s stable. He has a slight concussion, a lot of cuts and scratches, and…” Ben’s voice trailed off just as Adam’s had earlier. He cast a glance at his eldest son, not knowing if he should be the one to tell Hoss what else had happened.
Adam settled the problem by speaking up, “A stray bullet may have caused permanent damage to Joe’s right arm.” Adam quickly got to his feet and walked over to the door. “I’m going over to the hotel and get us a couple of rooms. I doubt that Joe will be able to go home tonight.” He then left the office before Ben and Hoss had a chance to say anything.
“Bullet?” Hoss asked in amazement. “But…Adam never misses. I don’t think he has missed a shot since he was Joe’s age!” Hoss couldn’t believe that Adam could have missed.
“Sport was rearing. It’s amazing that he managed to get a shot off at all,” Ben replied.
“Yeah,” Hoss murmured, more worried than before, now for both brothers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Adam was almost to the hotel when he became very dizzy. Adam stopped and grabbed the hitching post out front to help regain his balance. Breathing slowly, Adam’s balance returned and he made his way is side. He reserved two rooms, figuring that one of them would be with Joe the entire night. Since nothing else bothered him, he shrugged off the inconvenience to himself. He was just tired and worried. He would be fine as soon as he knew that Joe was going to be all right. Adam headed back to the doctor’s as soon as he had reserved the rooms.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After Adam returned, they each allowed to go back and sit with Joe for a few minutes.
Ben went first. His first sight of Joe was far from encouraging. Joe was almost as pale as the sheets on which he lay and his head was swathed in bandages. His breathing though was regular and unlabored. That was a good sign.
According to Paul, Adam had done a good job of getting Joe to the doctor’s quickly. He had said that Adam had used his own coat to keep Joe warm and act as a bandage on his back on the way in. Doing this had probably save Joe’s life for it had warned of shock to a certain extent, but Adam did not seem to realize that. All he could think of was the bullet that had been in his arm.
Ben didn’t try to talk to Joe, he simply sat there and rubbed his hand and arm as he thought.
He knew he had to talk to Adam, but did not know how to go about it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When Ben’s time was up Adam took his place, while his father and Hoss waited in the outer office.
“Joe?” Adam whispered. There was no response.
“Joe, I’m so sorry. I …” Adam could not continue as his voice cracked. Suddenly dizzy again, Adam rested his forehead on the side of the bed as tears ran down his cheeks. After a few minutes, the dizziness and nausea faded. Adam knew if it kept up he was going to have to ask the doc about it, but right now he knew his time was up and it was Hoss’s turn. Adam wiped his face and composed himself and went out to get Hoss.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hoss entered the room tentatively. He and his father had not spoken while they waited in the outer office. Each had been lost in his own thoughts. Hoss had been remembering some of the good times that he had spent with both his brothers. Specifically he was remembering the many races they had enjoyed, and wondered if Joe’s arm would ever be strong enough to allow him to do some of the crazy stunts he loved to do on horse back.
“Joe?” Hoss called softly. Joe still did not react, but Hoss hadn’t really expected him to. Adam had told them that Joe had not moved while he had been in the room.
Going to the left side of the bed, Hoss picked up his hand and started rubbing it. “Well, Short shanks, Looks like you found a way to get out of fixing that fence that that stallion broke yesterdee.”
Hoss kept his tone very light and filled Joe in on some of the things that had happened that morning. It wasn’t much, but it was all that Hoss could think of to do.
By the time his few minute were up, Hoss realized that he was crying, and had been for a while. After he dried his eyes, he returned to the outer office.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After Hoss left the outer office, the silence was almost unbearable.
Adam still sat with his head in his hands, while Ben sat trying to think of how to approach him.
“Adam?” Ben said tentatively.
“Yeah, Pa,” Adam answered. “I know you are going to tell me it wasn’t my fault. I could not control where the bullet went when Sport reared. But it was still my hand that pulled the trigger!” While Adam did not actually shout, it was said so forcefully that Ben did not know what to say to it. “At least I got the cat with the third shot.” Adam whispered.
Ben was still trying to come up with an answer when Paul returned from getting his dinner.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When Hoss rejoined them, Paul started telling them what needed to be done that night.
“Joe should be regaining consciousness in a little while, so I would suggest that Ben stay for the first few hours. But I want you all to go over get something to eat first and then Hoss and Adam need to get some sleep. You will all need to maintain your own health too. I know that you are worried about Joe, but it will do him no good if you get sick.”
“All right, Paul.” Ben answered and stood to lead the way out. All three of them went to the hotel and order dinner. None of them had the best of appetites, but Adam barely ate at all. Ben noticed, but nothing he said would get Adam to eat any more. Adam just said that he wasn’t hungry. Ben hoped that he could be convinced to eat in the morning.
When Adam told his Pa that he wasn’t hungry he was being perfectly honest. He was so nauseated that he thought if he ate he would be sick. Adam hoped that some sleep would help his stomach and his headache. The headache he had had while bring Joe in had returned full force.
After only a token resistance Hoss and Adam got the keys to their rooms and headed to bed. It had been agreed that Hoss would come and relieve Ben at about midnight.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Adam walked into his room with his head spinning. He knew he was getting sick, but did not want to worry his father further. He was sure that if he got some sleep he would be fine. Staggering over to the bed he collapsed.
Adam was unconscious before he actually touched the surface of the bed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ben went back to the Doctor’s off and sat down beside Joe’s side. Within a few minutes Joe’s eye lids began to flutter. When he opened them the first thing he saw was the worried face of his father.
“Pa?” Looking around he noticed that they were in the doctor’s office not their home. “What happened?” Joe was very confused for the last thing he remembered was Adam’s shout.
“You’re going to be all right. You got knocked out and scratched up badly when the cat jumped you. Adam managed to kill it, but it had already done some damage to you back,” Ben explained. “Adam did have some trouble though.” Ben took a deep breath as he continued. “When Sport reared, it threw off his aim and he hit you in the arm.”
Joe looked at his arm and lifted it slightly. Ben was quietly ecstatic, if Joe could move that arm that easily then there could not have been any nerve damage. “He hit me? Oh, well. Did he get the cat or just scare it off?”
“He got it.” Ben thought over that for a moment. When the cat had been sighted before, it had run at the sound of gun fire. This time it seemed to have gotten over its fear of guns. “Adam is feeling very guilty because he hit you.”
“But…” Joe dosed back off as he thought of that. He knew that Adam should not feel guilt over this but he could not stay awake to say it. After that Joe would wake for a few minutes then dose back off frequently. By the time Hoss arrived at midnight, Joe had been convinced to try to sleep for the rest of the night. Paul had agreed to let him go home the next day since there was no sign of nerve damage.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hoss awoke at a few minutes to midnight. His sleep had been, as usual, untroubled, but his first thoughts when he awoke were of Joe and hoping that he had woken up. Hopefully his arm would be fine and Adam would not feel so guilty.
On his way out he stopped to check on Adam. Opening the door, he saw Adam stretch out on the bed fully dressed. That was odd, he still had his holster and boots on. He must have been really tired.
Hoss shrugged and was on his way.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Adam was bordering on consciousness when Hoss looked in on him, but it took him a few minutes to get the strength to get up. When he finally pushed himself up into a sitting position the room spun like a top. He shut his eyes and tried to breathe deeply. After another minute, the room stopped spinning, but he knew something was wrong. He had to get down stairs and to the doctor’s.
Adam was just stepping out of his room when Ben came through the front door. Adam walked to the stairs and grabbed the rail to stop himself from falling. “Pa?”
“Adam, you supposed to be asleep.” Ben said in frustration as he got the key form the clerk, not having looked up at Adam.
“Pa?” Adam said again.
“Yeah?” Ben finally looked up at Adam and could not believe what he was seeing.
Adam stood on the first tread of the stair case, whiter than Joe had been. As Ben watched in horror, Adam’s knees buckled and he fell down the stairs. Ben raced to try to catch him, but he only managed to stop the fall three steps from the bottom and a second too late. Just before he could stop the fall, Ben heard the sickening crackle of breaking bones. When he looked up he saw that Adam’s legs had gotten tangled in the railing to the stair case. Each leg looked as if it had two joints where there should only have been one. And to make it worse it was the lower leg.
“Adam?” Ben called softly.
Adam’s lashed fluttered a little then stilled momentarily. Adam’s eyes opened, but the pain in the depths made it difficult for Ben to look in his son’s eyes. “I’m…sorry…Pa. I….” With that Adam lost consciousness again.
Ben and the clerk, Tom, carefully pulled Adam’s legs out of the railing. Though Ben was not young he was still very strong, and carefully hoisted his son into his arms and carried him over to the doctor’s office in unknown imitation of Adam’s actions earlier in the day.

Chapter 3
Ben and Hoss waited in the outer office, the worry on their faces clear to even the dullest observer.
“Ben, Hoss, come back here please,” Paul called from the back room where he had been examining Adam.
Ben and hoss looked at each other for a moment then hurried back to see what the doctor wanted. Their first look at the doctor’s face told them that he didn’t have good news.
“Ben, this is real bad. He must have hit his head when he fell off his horse originally. That combined with the fall down the stairs,” he broke off shaking his head then continued. “He probably has a skull fracture. You have seen the damage to his legs already. There might be damage to his spine, but only time will tell there. He has three broken ribs and he is starting to develop a rattle in his breathing that worries me also. I am going to have to perform surgery, but it is a type of surgery that I have only performed once before, it is very tricky and I will need help. Ben, I need you to get Mrs. Harper. She has worked as my nurse before, and I think she would be willing to help even at this time of night. Hoss, can you do fine work on a forge?” At Hoss’s affirmative nod, he continued. “I need a thin steel disk about an inch and a half in diameter. It has to be as thin as you can get it. No thicker that a couple of sheets of paper. And perfectly smooth. All right?”
“Yessir.” Hoss took off for the black smith’s shop to borrow his tools, while Ben headed for the Harper’s place to get Mrs. Harper.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ben returned with Mrs. Harper a few minutes before Hoss got back from his errand. “Here ya go. Will this be good enough?” Hoss said as he handed the doctor a disk as thin as a piece of paper. The disk shone like a mirror from the polishing that Hoss had given it.
“Perfect. Now every one but Mrs. Harper, out. We need to get started right away. I’ll come out and explain later.” Paul commanded.
Ben and Hoss filed out to the waiting area and sat down to wait. After a few minutes Hoss spoke up.
“Pa? You think I could go sit with Joe?” Hoss asked. “Doc wouldn’t want Joe left alone for long, right?”
“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea, except we both will go and sit with him.” Ben was relieved when Hoss the suggestion. Right now he felt that he needed to be with both his boys, but since he could not be with Adam, Joe and Hoss would have to do. Ben had worried about his sons for years, but never had he seen Paul so worried.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
About four hours later, Paul found them sitting one on either side of Joe’s bed asleep. Joe was awake now and held his finger to his lips. “What’s going on? They should have gone to get some sleep long ago.” Joe whispered.
Paul, suddenly very glad that he had thought to remove his bloodied smock, wondered how much he should tell this young man. True, his injuries were not a serious as Adam’s, but he was still weak and should not get excited. He settled for as little as he could get by with. “Adam was hurt in all the ruckus with the cat, but he did not let on until a little while ago. Ben brought him in a couple hours ago.”
“How is he?” Joe asked anxiously, but quietly as he was starting to drift off again.
“As well as can be expected,” Paul figure it was about time, so he mixed Joe’s medicine and gave it to him. He added a dose of laudanum to help Joe sleep for a while. “Now you need to rest, while I talk to your father.” Paul waited until Joe was asleep before he spoke again.
“Ben?” Paul called softly hoping to get his attention, but not startle him.
Ben looked up quickly, and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. “How is he, Paul?” Ben asked quietly.
“We need to talk.” Paul stated and nodded his head to the door behind him. Ben got up and followed him out leaving Hoss and Joe to sleep.
Once in the waiting area, Ben and Paul sat down.
“Ben, Adam’s chances are still bad, but they are better since he survived the surgery. I almost lost him twice during the operations.” Paul began.
“Operations?” Ben interrupted.
“Let me explain. I had to surgically set the bones in he legs. Those were straight forward, nothing strange, but the other was more tricky. The first time he hit his head, he must have had the worst headache in the world, for he had a massive concussion. But the second time, he fractured his skull and started to hemorrhage. I had to go in and relieve the pressure in the skull. Do you follow me so far?”
Ben was totally bewildered, but nodded for him to continue.
“I had to remove a small section of bone to relieve the pressure below. After I drained away the accumulated fluid, I replaced it with the steel disk that I had Hoss make me. The scar will be under his hair so the will be no visual effects from the surgery. One concern is that the pressure may have already caused brain damage, but that I don’t consider that likely. I have bound his ribs. He is running quite a fever at the moment, but Mrs. Harper has volunteered to stay the night and help try to bring it down. Riding in carrying Joe with out his coat on may have caused him to catch a chill. You know how dangerous that is.” Paul paused a moment, then shook his head as he continued.
“I still can’t believe that I did not see how badly he felt. His hair may have hidden the knot on his head, but I should how badly he was hurt.”
Ben quickly reassured Paul that none of them could have known. “Adam is very good as disguising discomfort and pain as well as his emotions. He hid them a little too well this time.” That he had been scolding himself for exactly the same thing for the last four hours, he did not tell him.
“Yeah.”
“When can Hoss and I go in to see him?” Ben asked tentatively.
“Give me a couple of hours to try to bring his fever down. He will have to stay here for a few days. We will have to be very careful to avoid infection. Oh,” Paul quickly went into the back room and returned with Adam’s gun belt, hat, and boots. “He left his hat here earlier, but we had to cut the rest of his clothes off.” Paul handed these few things to Ben. “Hoss got some sleep earlier, Ben, so I want you to go over to the hotel and get those couple hours of sleep. I will send Hoss if there is any change. I don’t want to see you back here before six o’clock. All right?”
Ben wanted to argue, but he knew that that would get him no where, so he acquiesced. Ben looked at Paul. “Thank you, Paul.” Ben gathered the things that he had just been given and headed for the hotel.
When Ben got there, he went up to one of the rooms that Adam had engaged for them earlier. Adam. Ben was so worried that he did not even start getting ready for bed for over half an hour. By the time Ben got his boots off, laid his holster and gun on the table beside the lamp, and dosed off it was nearly five o’clock.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ben tried to sleep, but all he managed to do was dose off for about thirty minutes, before sitting bolt upright in bed from a nightmare. Ben did not normally have nightmares but this one disturbed him greatly. Adam was being pulling away from him be something, and no matter how hard he tried, Ben had not been able to reach him.
Ben lay back down, but he could not fall back to sleep. Too agitated to lie down any longer, Ben rose, lit the lamp on the table, and picked up the things that he had brought back for the doctor’s office.
Ben remembered when he had gotten that hat for Adam. It had been a birthday present when Adam had turned twenty-five. Joe had been envious of that hat with the silver decoration around it. As much as he hated for his sons to argue, he would have been overjoyed to hear them cross words one more time.
The boots Adam had gotten last year for Christmas. They had been special made in Texas for Adam. Ben could remember the conversation he had had with Adam prior to ordering the boots. Adam had made the comment that he needed to go into town to get Mr. Jenkins to work on the boots he normally wore as the heels were getting loose. Adam hadn’t worn his old boots since he had received the new ones. Tears came to Ben’s eyes at the thought that Adam might never again wear those boots.
The holster and revolver had been Ben’s gift to Adam when he returned from college. He had picked them out at the time for Adam with the hope that he would not have to use them often. Ben thought of the times that that gift had saved lives. Adam’s. Joe’s. Hoss’s. Ben’s. And others. At different times Adam and that gun had spared their lives. Would he ever see his son standing, dressed, as was his habit, all in black, looking as if he could take on the world and come out on top?
Out of habit, he pulled out Adam’s revolver, spun the cylinder, and checked it.
What he saw made him drop everything else he had in his hands. Ben bent closed to the lamp and checked the gun again.
Ben quickly slipped into his boots and grabbed his hat and holster. He did not care what time it was, he had to see Hoss and Roy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
First, Ben went to the doctor’s office to get Hoss. He slipped into Joe’s room and gently shook Hoss’s shoulder.
“Hoss?” He whispered. When Hoss looked up at him, he continued. “Come with me. We may have some more trouble.”
Hoss looked up at his father and quickly got up to follow him. The last thing he wanted was more trouble, but if it was already here, he knew that he would face it with his father. Ben stopped to tell Paul that they were going to go down to the Sheriff’s office to talk to Roy.
“What’s wrong?” Paul asked. This day had been frantic enough without any more hurt people.
“I’ll tell you later,” was Ben’s answer as he rushed toward the front door. Suddenly he stopped with a thought. “Paul, do you have the bullet that you took out of Joe’s arm.”
“Yeah. I reported the wound to Roy, but I still have the bullet. Here it is.” Paul handed Ben a small envelope with the bullet in it.
Ben looked in the envelope and muttered, “That’s what I thought.”
“Ben?” Paul began. When he looked up Paul continued, “One piece of good news I can give you, Adam’s temperature has already started to come down.”
A small smile pulled at the corners of Ben’s mouth. With a nod, Ben disappeared out the front door with Hoss trailing confused behind him.
“What’s goin’ on, Pa?”
“I’m not sure yet.” Ben was trying to figure out what had happened to his sons. “But I am damn well going to find out!” Ben quietly promised.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ben did not bother to knock on the door to the jail and walk right on in.
“Ben! What brings you here? Is Joe going to be all right?” Roy was surprised to see Ben at this hour of the night. The expression on his face told Roy that this was not about anything pleasant.
“Joe’s going to be fine, but Adam is still on the edge. Roy, look at this.” Ben handed Roy the gun. “Adam thought that he had shot Joe as he fell from Sport. Adam told me that he saw his first bullet hit Joe’s horse, and when he looked up after the fall, he shot the cat that was on top of Joe. That should have been three shots, right?”
“Ben, there are only two used chambers in this gun!”
“Yeah, that means that there was some one else in those woods. And this,” Ben dumped the bullet from the envelope into his hand and held it out to Roy, “is a rifle bullet.”

Chapter 4
The next day Roy went out and back tracked the boys trying to find out as much as he could about the fellow that had fired at them. About all he could find out about the man was that his horse had been newly shod and he used a Sharps rifle. For the rest of the week Roy asked around town if there had been any strangers asking about Adam or Little Joe without any success. Meanwhile the Cartwrights were still living in a vacuum of pain, worry, and frustration
Ben and Hoss insisted that one of them be by Adam twenty four hours a day. Paul Martin kept Joe in his office for two days before he gave up and had him moved to the hotel. It was the only way he could think of to get Hoss and Ben to get some rest. Paul convinced Ben to get a suite with bedrooms off of a sitting room so that they could keep an eye on Joe. As long as Joe occupied a bedroom, whoever was with him could lie dosing on the settee in the sitting room.
Ben’s worry over Adam only increased as the days went by with no word as to who had shot at Adam and Joe. While could not be absolutely sure, It looked as if someone had followed Adam and Joe all morning. Whoever it was had fired at the same time as Adam, so which of the two boys he had been aiming at was questionable. When he had seen them lying still, he had either thought them dead, or left them for the cat to kill. Either way Ben shook with anger at the thought that anyone could be that cruel. He thanked God that Adam had come to in time to kill that cat.
While Joe was improving with each passing day, Adam’s condition remained basically status quo. Although his temperature had come down and he had not developed the chill that Paul had feared, he did not regain consciousness as he had expected.
Many times Adam seemed to be close to regaining consciousness, moving around, and calling for his Pa and brothers. Once Adam even called for Papa, surprising Ben greatly. Adam hadn’t called him that since Inger’s death. More often than not though, he would call out for Joe.
Ben and Hoss had heard from Joe that Adam had tried to warn him when the cat attacked, so they were not surprised to hear Adam telling Joe to watch out and such. It pained them to hear him trying to apologize for what they knew was not his fault. They tried to tell him, but he did not seem to hear them.
As the week progressed, Paul added some more worries to his list for Adam. First, the longer Adam remained unconscious, the greater probability that there had been brain damage caused by the hemorrhage. Second, Adam was not getting nearly enough nutrition for his body to heal properly. While he was unconscious, they would have to feed him by liquids, but he didn’t want to take them. Hoss had been the most successful at getting him to take the, but it wasn’t enough. Adam had never been heavy, and he was losing weight rapidly.
“Ben, I am getting very worried. Adam has got to come out of this soon. Every day he stays under increases the likelihood of brain damage,” Paul told Ben at the end of the week. “I have done very thing possible, but he doesn’t respond. The only thing that I can think of is that he keeps calling for Joe. Usually I would not want Joe out of bed yet, but I want you to have Hoss carry him back over here. Adam might respond if he could here his voice.”
Ben nodded as he stood to go get Hoss and Joe.
“Ben,” Paul waited until Ben turned back to him. “Pray this works, because if it doesn’t…” He left the rest of the statement unsaid.
“Paul, I haven’t stopped praying since this started.” Ben said before he slipped out the door.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Hoss, Paul wants us to bring Little Joe back over to the office,” Ben said without preamble when he entered the hotel suite.
“What’s wrong, Pa? Is Adam worse?” Hoss said anxiously.
“No, but he is not getting any better. He is hoping that hearing Joe’s voice might bring him around since he calls for him so much. You’ll have to carry him.”
“Pa, what you guys talking about? Is Adam all right?” Joe’s worried voice came from the bedroom.
Both men went in, and Ben filled Joe in on what Paul had said concerning Adam. “Hoss will have to carry you over, for you are not strong enough to walk that far yet.”
“But…” Joe started, but one look at Ben’s face made him break off. “Yes, Pa.” Joe pulled back the covers as Hoss went over to get the clothes they had bought for him to return home in. After Joe was dressed, Hoss carefully lifted his brother as if he were a child. Joe did not like being treated like a child, but he knew that he was still week from blood loss.
Joe’s first sight of Adam made him suck in his breath quickly. Since Joe had not seen Adam since the cat jumped at him, he was totally unprepared for the sight of his brother lying there as white as a ghost. Ben had explained that Adam had had to undergo surgery, but his first sight of Adam with his entire head covered in bandages and heavy casts on both legs, brought home exactly badly Adam had been hurt in trying to help him.
“Adam?” Joe whispered as Hoss set him in the chair beside Adam’s bed. “Can you here me?”
At first did not seem that Adam heard, but after a few minutes of Joe’s constant talking. Adam started to respond.
Adam called for Joe, saying that he was sorry, but Joe immediately reached out and grabbed his hand. “Adam, I’m all right. I’m right here and I am fine.” This simple statement calmed Adam as Hoss and Ben had not been able to.
Joe continued to talk and the longer he spoke the more emotion was in his voice. He desperately wanted Adam to open his eyes and say something, anything. Even if it was to scold him for get jumped by the cat.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Adam knew that he had hurt Joe, but in the fog of dreams, he kept see Joe shot again and again. He called to him, but Joe never answered. Joe just looked at him with anger in his eyes then turned away.
Once again Adam called out, but this time he finally got an answer. Joe turned and looked at him, this time not with anger, but with … sympathy? Compassion? Adam could not figure out the emotion in his eyes, but it was not anger or hatred. “I’m all right. I am fine.” Joe said.
He’s all right! Adam knew that Joe never lied. Adam closed his eye briefly in thankfulness. When he opened his eyes, he saw Joe standing in from of him beckoning to him. “Come over and talk to me.” Joe said.
Adam tried to follow Joe, but found that his feet would not move. He looked down but could not see anything holding him. Looking back at Joe, Adam could hear a hint of desperation in Joe’s voice and saw a look of pleading on his face. Joe was really upset about something.
Adam struggled to moved, but he could not. Again closing his eyes, Adam tried again. This time when he opened his eyes, he saw Joe sitting in a chair beside him. The dreams had ended and this was reality.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When Adam opened his eyes, Joe wasn’t sure exactly what to say, but Adam fixed that problem.
“Are……. you really……….. all……… right, Joe? Adam whispered.
Joe could barely hear him, but he understood that Adam must have been tearing himself apart about it. “Adam, I am fine. I was not hurt all that badly except for blood loss. Adam, you did not…” Joe tried to tell Adam that he hadn’t shot him in the first place, but Adam interrupted.
“I’m ………. sorry, Joe,” Adam whispered as he started to slip back into unconsciousness.
“But you didn’t shoot me!” Joe exclaimed quickly, hoping to get Adam to understand before, he slipped away.
“Wha?” Adam murmured, trying to pay attention. He knew this was important, but he just could not concentrate.
“You only fired twice, and they pulled a rifle bullet out of my arm.” Joe explained. Adam’s only response was a muffled “But…?” before he drifted off.
Paul Martin had been standing in the doorway since the Cartwrights had arrived. “He should be all right, Ben,” He said after Adam drifted off. “If he was lucid enough to understand that, it will go a long way toward improving his state of mind. He should wake up with a million questions next time.” Paul added with a smile. His friend was going to get both of his sons back sooner or later. That was better than what happened many times. Paul vowed to do everything possible to make sure it was sooner not later.

Chapter 5
After another week past Adam was well enough to go home. Over the next month both of the boys improved, Joe was back to normal in less than a month but Adam’s recovery was not nearly was quick or as complete. Paul had totally immobilized his legs and said that he would have to stay that way for at least six weeks. The forced immobility grated at Adam, but he knew that he could do nothing about it. Hoss would carry him down stairs in the mornings and back up in the evenings. While Joe got back to working on the ranch, Adam was still waiting to get rid of his casts.
When the casts did finally come off, the muscles in his legs had atrophied so badly, that he could not stand, let alone walk or ride. Weeks of therapy only caused intense pain, but did little to improve either his mobility or his state of mind. Adam was beginning to wonder if he was ever going to be able to get around again. While every one else went about the business, the round up, branding, and various other things, Adam was stuck in that chair, unable to do anything but paperwork.
Ben had had to let Hoss and Joe take the round up as he would not let Adam stay in the house alone. Hop Sing had been promised that he could go visit his family for a week after round up. Since Hoss and Joe were gone for four weeks, Ben was able to keep a close eye on Adam. While Adam faithfully did all his exercises and worked hard to improve his legs, Ben could still see the depression that was slowly seeping into Adams mind.
“You did well, boys,” Pa said at dinner the night after Joe and Hoss returned. Joe and Hoss had done well on round up, getting a good price for the cattle. Hop Sing would be leaving the next morning early, so he had prepared a special dinner for them. Ben, Hoss and Joe talked about the round up and what needed to be done now, but Adam remained silent. Anytime one of the others addressed him, he answered in monosyllables.
“That’s it for me,” Joe said as he pushed back his empty plate and leaned back in his chair.
“Yeah,” Adam turned his chair away from the table and wheeled himself beside the settee and picked up the book that he had been reading the night before. Joe and Hoss walked over to set up the checkerboard. Joe looked at Adam wishing that there was something, anything he could do to help him.
Ben walked over to his chair and sat watching his sons. As glad as he was to have Hoss and Joe home, he still was very worried about Adam. Adam was sitting there reading his book, not looking at anyone, not wanting to show that he was in need of help. Ben wondered how long it was going to take Adam before he realized that the book he was ’reading’ was upside down. ‘I hope the appointment with Paul tomorrow goes better than the last one,’ Ben thought as he picked up his own book.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“It just takes time, Adam.” Paul tried to reassure Adam for the twentieth time. “I know you are trying hard, but sometimes it takes a special opportunity to get a person back on their feet. I will tell you, if you let yourself get depressed about this, it will only slow your recovery.”
Ben brought Adam into Virginia City for his appointment the next day. It was the third time they had done so. Having to be lifted on and off the buckboard had not helped Adam’s mood. Neither had the stares of the townsfolk. Adam had noticed the first time, as Ben set him into the wheeled chair, that everyone had stopped and was watching him. He had kept his eye fastened on the door to the office on the way in from then on, and on the buckboard on the way out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Adam wondered if any of his family could possibly understand how he felt. He could not do anything to help around the ranch. His whole life had centered on his family and the ranch. He had protected his brothers for all his life, and now he was helpless, and they had to protect him.
One of the things that was bothering him, almost as much as his helplessness, was the fact that they still had not clue as to who had shot at Joe. Who ever it was, was still running around and could try again at anytime. And he could do nothing about it.
Roy was still working to find out, but Adam knew that most people would no longer be looking, for it had been nearly two and a half months.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With no new hopes offered, Adam went home in one of the worst moods his family had ever seen him in. Now he was sure that he was never going to walk again. He could not imagine how to try any hard than he was. He and Ben had planned to work that afternoon on the ledgers, while Joe and Hoss stayed in the city to get supplies. They had all seen Hop Sing off before they left for the appointment.
While they worked Ben tried to broach the subject of Adam’s future, but for his trouble all he got in reply was a grunt and a look pleaded with him on to talk about it.
Ben sighed and pulled another bundle of papers out of a drawer. “These are the receipts from the last three months of bills. Would you double check that all of them had been entered in the ledger?” Ben handed the stack of papers to Adam along with the ledger.
They worked in silence, neither knowing what to say.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Excuse me? Are you Roy Coffee?” came a soft voice.
Roy looked up to see a young woman in the door to the jail. “Yes, I am. How may I help you?” Roy did not recognize her, but maybe she had just gotten off the stage or something.
“My name is Jean; I work as a waitress over in Carson City. I found out a couple of days ago that you were looking for a man that might have been asking about the Cartwrights a couple of months ago?” She said this as if looking for conformation.
Roy nodded. He was beginning to hope that they might finally get some information.
“Well, there was a man that came to Carson about five months ago and asked all sorts of questions about the Ponderosa and the Cartwrights; he said that he was going to be asking for a job. He looked more like a gambler than a cow puncher though. Anyway, he was back at about the time that you were asking about.”
“What did he look like? Do you remember?” Roy stood as he asked this.
“Yeah, he was tall, maybe six foot two. Dark hair. Blue eyes, though. And he had some kind of scar on the back of his right hand. Looked like it had been cut badly. Ran from the base of the pinkie finger to the base of his thumb. He usually wore gloves, but once in a while he would take them off.” Jean replied. “He was riding a beautiful black horse with a perfect white star. I remember he asked me where the blacksmith’s shop was, because his horse had thrown a shoe.”
That fits, Roy thought. “Thank you very much, miss.” Roy said as he reached for his hat and gun belt.
“There one other thing thought, sheriff.”
“Yes?”
“I saw him ride into town again this morning. That’s why I remembered him at all. He was still in Carson when I left, but ….”
“Oh, no,” Roy practically ran out of the jail to go get his horse, not even letting her finish her sentence.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ben looked up from the ledgers he and Adam were working on when the heard a horse in the yard. ‘Who could that be?’ he thought.
“I wonder who that is?” Adam said. He really wasn’t that curious, but it seemed like something to say. An uneasy silent can descended on the two men as they worked, neither knowing what to say. Adam wheeled his chair around the desk to continue working with the numbers while his father went out to see who had arrived.
As Ben started to open the door, he looked back at Adam. Nothing they had done had had any effect. Adam’s depression was deepening and he had no idea what to do to help. Sighing, Ben went out to greet the stranger in the yard.
“Hello, how can I help you?” Ben greeted pleasantly. The man dismounted from his horse before answering.
“Does Mr. Adam Cartwright live here?” His voice was pleasant, Ben thought.
“Yes, he does. I am Ben Cartwright, his father.” Ben introduced himself.
“My name is Jonathan Critten. I met Adam about a year ago, and I promised that I would look him up sometime. I heard about the trouble he had a while back and thought that I would come and see him since I was in the area,” the man explained.
“He’s inside. I’m sure that he would like to see you.” Ben didn’t remember Adam mentioning this man, but hoped that seeing a friend would help lighten Adam’s mood. Ben led the way into the house. But the reaction that Adam gave to the visitor was anything, definitely not what he expected.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Adam glanced up to see who had come in, then stared at the man that enter the great room. Ben was taken aback at the expression on Adam’s face. It was a combination of surprise and revulsion.
“What are you doing here, Critten?” Adam demanded. His voice was quiet, but Ben saw the struggle going on behind the words.
“Finishing what I started.” He replied pulling his gun to point it directly at Adam. His smile was feral, reminding Ben of a wolf.
“What’s going on Adam?” Ben backed up unto he was standing in front of the desk, across from Adam. Critten stood to the side watching the two men enjoying the advantage he had over them.
“This is Jon Critten. About a year ago, when I was in San Francisco, he tried to force a woman at the restaurant. When I stepped in he was foolish enough to challenge me. I hit his hand instead of killing him,” Adam explained the incident. He had almost forgotten the man totally, until he walked in the door.
“I promised you that I would get you for that. No one interferes with me and gets away with it. At first I thought about killing you, but now I think I have a better way.” Again Critten smile that sneer of a wolf. “You,” he pointed at Ben with his gun. “Sit down over there.” Critten briefly waved his gun to the chair that Ben had been sitting in behind the desk beside Adam.
Ben sat down in the chair and waited. Critten pulled a piece of cord from his pocket and tied Ben’s hands behind the chair, connecting them to the slats in the back of the chair.
“I think that I’ll wait for the whole family to get here,” he continued after he was finished. He didn’t bother tying Adam up. He had heard in Carson that Adam would never be able to walk again. “I can’t figure out how you survived the last time, but this time I’ll be sure that you’re dead before I leave. Sorry about the kid, but it couldn’t be helped.”
“That kid happens to be my brother!” Adam yelled at the man. “I’m the one you want so leave my family alone!” His inability to protect his family from this man was making Adam desperate.
“Sorry, can’t do that either. I found out after the last try that your family is much more determined than I thought. It has taken this long for the search to ease off, but I am a patient man. As long as I get what I want eventually. I am going to get rid of all of you if I don’t want to be looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life. Now, first things first, when are the other two coming back?” Critten spoke pleasantly, as if he were just discussing the time of day not the murder of four men, but the feral look never left his eyes.
Ben and Adam looked at each other, both knowing that Joe and Hoss could be back at anytime. “I’m not sure when they will be back, should be before sun down though,” Ben hedged.
“I can wait, I got all the time in the world, like I said I’m a patient man,” Critten said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“What do you think is going to happen with Adam?” Joe asked.
“I dunno, but if we don’t get back to the house, Pa’s goin’ to have our hides for wasting too much time,” Hoss replied. “I hope he’s in a better mood when we get home.”
“Yeah,” Joe agreed readily as he loaded the last of the sacks onto the back of the wagon. “That’s it. I don’t know which is bothering Adam more, that he isn’t able to walk, or that the man that caused this is still running around and may try again.”
Hoss silently nodded. He suspected that not being able to walk was compounding Adam’s worry over who had done it. Well, they could work on figuring out whom later. Right now they needed to get home and get ready for the round up.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
About an hour after he asked, Ben, Adam, and Critten all heard the wagon returning at the same time.
“That should be Joe and Hoss if I’m not mistaken.” Critten still spoke pleasantly, but he stood, walked over to Ben, and aimed at Adam over Ben’s shoulder.
“Pa, we got all the….” Joe’s voice trailed off as he saw his father tied to a chair. He looked at man standing behind him with his gun pointed at Adam. “Who are you? What do you want here?” Joe demanded.
Critten sneered at him, “Well, aren’t you just full of questions. I suggest you just go sit over there, boy.” Critten motioned to one of the kitchen chairs with his gun. “Unless you’d rather I just shoot you were you stand,” he continued when Joe looked like he would like to argue.
Joe went over and sat down, still with a belligerent expression on his face. Critten went over and tied Joe as he had tied Ben earlier and waited for Hoss to come in. A couple of minutes later, Hoss entered unprepared for what he found.
“Over here,” Critten said as soon as Hoss came in the house. Hoss looked at his family securely tied up and Critten with his gun now pointed at Joe’s head. Hoss obediently walked over to another of the kitchen chairs and sat down. He picked one he knew had a weakened support in the back. Critten tied him to the chair as he had Joe and Ben.
“Now, what shall I do first?” Critten asked as he holstered his gun. “First I am going to find out if what I have been told is true. Stand up!” This command was directed to Adam.
“I can’t,” Adam said quietly, not knowing what this man wanted now. Wasn’t enough that he had crippled him for life!
“So I have been told, but I’m not sure if I believe it. I want to make sure that it’s true.” Critten walked behind Adam’s chair and wheeled him out from behind the desk. Abruptly, Critten stuck his foot beside the wheel of the chair and jerked it over on its side, dumping Adam onto the floor behind the sofa table.
Adam lay on the floor unmoving for a moment, then, slowly, he used his arms to push himself off the floor to look up at Critten. Critten moved to stand beside Adam and delivered a well aimed kick to Adam’s ribs. Adam dropped back to the floor gasping for breath. After a few more kicks to various parts of Adam’s body, Critten took a few steps back and stood beside Ben.
Ben, Hoss, and Joe were all straining their bonds when Critten walked to Adam’s chair and the exclamations of ‘No!’ had no affect on the man kicking Adam. They each pulled as hard as they could on the cords that bound their hands.
“Well, seems they were right,” Critten noted as Adam lay on the floor moaning.
Just as Critten pulled his foot back for one more kick, Hoss was able to break the slat in the chair to which his hands had been bound. “NO!” he shouted as he lunged for Critten.
Critten turned and started to pull his gun.
Even though Adam was in a great deal of pain, he realized that Critten’s attention was off of him for a moment and he would have no compunctions about shooting Hoss. Using all the strength he had he grasped the leg of the table to pull himself up off the floor. Bracing against the table momentarily, Adam took a deep breath and lunged at Critten as the man took aim at Hoss. The gun went off, but did no damage to anyone. Critten was knocked out cold when his head bounced off the edge of the desk.
“Adam!” Hoss said as he knelt beside Adam, who was sitting on the floor beside Critten’s body. “Are you all right?”
Adam looked up at Hoss with wonder in his eyes. “Help me up!” he practically shouted.
“Huh?” Hoss was confused. Adam didn’t wait for Hoss to figure it out. He simply grabbed onto the edge of the desk, pulled himself up, and leaned against it for a moment. Hoss stood up beside him with his hands stretched out to him. Adam waved Hoss’s hands away and took a shuffling step away from the support. And he stood for the first time in over two months!
“ADAM!” Ben shouted with joy. Joe was silent, but the smile on his face spoke volumes.
Adam looked at his father as tears of joy ran down his face. After only a few seconds his legs started to wobble. Hoss immediately lifted him off his feet and carried him to sit on the settee.
“Don’t bother with me, just get Pa and Joe untied,” Adam ordered. Hoss grinned at him and turned to do as he said. Ben was sitting beside Adam on the settee when Roy walked in. Hoss was still untying Joe.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“That’s about all,” Adam finished telling Roy what had happened. He was sitting back in his wheeled chair, but now he knew that he would not have to stay in it for the rest of his life. Paul had been right; it had been a matter of wanting to badly enough.
“You’ll have to testify at the trial tomorra, Adam.” Roy reminded him as he turned to leave.
“With pleasure,” Adam grinned in satisfaction.
After Roy left, all of them decide to go to town for dinner and spend the night at the hotel. Adam agreed readily. He wouldn’t mind people watching him this time. Adam knew that he would soon be out of the chair and everything would be back to normal.