ENCOUNTER WITH THE PAST
By: DEBRA P.
FEEDBACK: Strongly encouraged!
(With
appreciation to John T. Dugan who wrote ‘The Crucible’)
PART
1 - THE ENCOUNTER
The
noisy bustle of
As
he approached the depot he saw that there was only one man standing at
the ticket window, speaking to the clerk inside. The man was tall
and strongly built with short grizzled hair, simply dressed in dark blue pants
and jacket over a lighter blue shirt. As Adam neared the window the man
turned his head slightly, allowing a glimpse of his face. And that one
glimpse caused Adam to freeze in his tracks, almost dropping the bag from his hand
in shock.
For
it was the face of Peter Kane. Kane, the man at the center of his
worst nightmare. Kane, the man who had taken him in when he was
stranded in the desert and then proceeded to torture him past endurance in a
sadistic attempt to prove that even the most rational and civilized of men
could be reduced to a killer. Kane, the man who had driven him to the
very brink of losing his sanity. In the end it had proved to be a twisted
attempt on Kane’s part to escape his own bitter failures by somehow proving
himself ‘a better man’ than his victim. Adam had come to the very edge of
the line that Kane had marked, but in the end he had stepped back from crossing
it. Miraculously, his family, almost ready to give up their search for him
in despair, had found him, delirious, making his way out of the burning
wasteland. The nightmare had ended with his collapse into his father’s
welcoming arms.
Even
as the memories threatened to overwhelm him the sheer impossibility of what he was
seeing struck him with full force. It could not be Kane! Kane
was dead and buried, having succumbed to exposure and the failure of his will
to survive, even as Adam attempted to drag him along out of hell. It
could not be!
But the man he saw now was certainly Kane’s exact double. What was
happening here? Though the very idea of approaching the man caused him to
shudder inwardly, he knew he had to find out. Taking a deep breath and
tightening his grip on his bag, he stepped up behind the man.
A
not too friendly exchange was taking place between the ticket agent and the man
concerning whether the man had received the correct change along with his
ticket...to
Adam
Cartwright was not normally the kind to approach an unknown person and attempt
to strike up a casual conversation, but these circumstances were extraordinary
and the need to learn more was overwhelming. Stepping up next to the man
he cleared his throat and did his best to keep his voice even as he began to speak.
“I
couldn’t help overhearing you back there. It sounds like you and I are
headed in the same direction.”
The
man raised his eyes to look straight at Adam, but there was no hint of
recognition in them. “Is that so?” he said. The look and the
sound of his voice
made Adam uncomfortable. They were too much like...too hauntingly
familiar.
“Yes.
My family has a ranch outside
The
man’s expression turned wary. “You’re mighty curious aren’t you
mister?”
Adam’s
discomfort was only increasing. “Sorry. I meant no offense. I
only thought that since we’ll be sharing the coach for such a long ride it
might be good to break the ice a little.”
The
man continued to regard Adam with the same intent stare until his stiffness
eased just a little and he held out his hand.
“Fair
enough. The name’s Ethan...Ethan Kane.”
Adam
hoped that his stunned reaction wasn’t too obvious. Attempting to appear
as normal and casual as possible he reached out to take the offered hand.
Ethan Kane’s skin was rough and weathered, his grasp almost painfully tight.
“I’m
Adam Cartwright.”
“Adam
Cartwright” this other Kane repeated, as if trying to commit it to
memory. Was it only Adam’s imagination or had his eyes showed a reaction
to the name?
“Well, Mr. Cartwright,” Kane continued, “to satisfy your curiosity, I’m not
going
to
Ethan
Kane looked directly into Adam’s eyes, and in that moment Adam knew without a
doubt that this man was aware of his identity, and, more than that, the man
intended to cause him trouble. What kind of trouble, he couldn’t tell,
but Ethan Kane had the look of being potentially as dangerous as his
brother. A chill crept through his body at the thought. He
tried not to let it show.
“I’m
sorry to hear about your brother,” Adam said quietly. Kane was obviously
not going to confront him right here and now, and Adam thought it wise to join
him in holding back from openly acknowledging all that was unspoken between them.
“I’m
sure you are, Mr. Cartwright,” Kane returned with a trace of sarcasm so slight
that noone but Adam would have detected it.
At
that moment the stagecoach they were awaiting rounded the corner and pulled up
noisily in front of the depot. There were two other passengers, a man and
a woman, who were also taking this same stage. The driver jumped down and
began to help with the loading of the passengers and their bags. The
woman boarded first, followed by the man who was with her. Then, with a
final glance at Adam, Ethan Kane disappeared inside the coach. For one
moment Adam was sorely tempted to declare some last second excuse that would
let him miss this stage and take the next one. This trip home was
threatening to become a stage ride from hell. But he knew that the
situation he found himself heading into was not going to be resolved that
easily. Squaring his shoulders resolutely, he placed his foot on the step
of the coach and lifted himself inside. A minute later the doors
were closed, the driver mounted to his seat and took the reins, and with a
shout to the horses, the stagecoach was headed on its way.
PART
2 - THE MESSAGE
It
was Halloween night, and the two men sat together before the crackling fire,
each absorbed in thoughts appropriate to the occasion.
Ben
Cartwright could not refrain from casting anxious glances in the direction of
his oldest son, who sat on the settee beside him. He was deeply concerned
about Adam, and had been since the young man returned from his latest trip to
Ben
could hardly blame him. The revelation that a brother of Peter Kane had
come upon the scene had shaken him too. Ben remembered so vividly the
heartbreak of the prolonged search for his missing son, seeming to grow more
futile with each passing day. He shuddered to think just how close they
had come to giving up and missing finding him...forever. He shuddered
even more as he recalled the account Adam had finally managed to give them of
his treatment at the hands of Peter Kane. His son’s struggle to overcome
the ordeal and regain his emotional balance had been painful for the family to
watch, but they had thought that it was finished and done with. Now
Adam’s chance encounter with Ethan Kane at a
For
his part, Adam was indeed thinking of his meeting with Ethan Kane and the stage
ride that had followed. Through the entire long, dusty trip
Kane had hardly spoken a word to him. The two of them had spent almost
the entire ride eyeing each other warily, silently estimating each other...and
speculating. Altogether it had been the strangest stage ride that Adam
could remember. Even the man and woman traveling with them had seemed to
find the atmosphere disturbing. After a few attempts at conversation,
which had been rebuffed, they too had more or less settled into silence, speaking
softly only to each other. When the stage had finally pulled in and
unloaded at
Ethan
Kane, on the other hand, had lingered for a moment. Coming up behind Adam
he had tapped him on the shoulder, causing him to turn around abruptly.
“Good-bye,
Mr. Cartwright,” he said in a low, gravelly voice; “It’s been a pleasure
meeting you.” “I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other again,” he added with
an insinuating tone and a meaningful look. And without waiting for a
reply he turned and walked away.
Adam
had headed straight to the sheriff’s office to talk with Roy Coffee.
“Adam,
I’d like to help ya, but the man just got into
town. He hasn’t done anything to give me reason to bother him none.
I can’t just go around harassing a man for no cause!”
“I
know that,
“Well,
I’ll do my best, son, and I’ll sure let you know if anything comes to my
attention, but you know I can’t guarantee anything.”
“Of
course,
But
in the ensuing days, there had been no report from Roy Coffee, and Ethan Kane
had not attempted to contact Adam in any way. The uncertainty of the
situation was unsettling to say the least.
It
was the feel of his father’s hand on his shoulder that brought Adam back to the
present. He turned his head to look into the dark eyes of the man who
knew him and cared for him the best.
“Are
you all right, son?,” Ben was saying. “I had some trouble getting your
attention there.”
“I’m
sorry,
Ben
blanched a little at the idea. “I don’t think that would be a very wise
idea, Adam,” he began.
But
before he could go any farther a strange wild scream was heard coming from
somewhere outside the house. It rose in the night like the cry of a
wounded animal, eerie and blood-curdling, then faded away, leaving an echo of
pain hanging in the air. Ben and Adam rose as one and, with a look at
each other, headed for the door, grabbing their jackets along the way.
Once outside, they looked around quickly, but saw nothing that was not as it
should be.
“Could
you tell where it was coming from?,” Adam asked tensely.
Ben
shook his head. “I was hoping you could tell me,” he replied. A
thought occurred to him and his face grew fearful. “It’s about time for
Hoss and Joe to be getting back from supper at the
Before
Adam could answer the noise of horses’ hooves could be heard and seconds later the
two younger Cartwrights themselves were seen riding
swiftly around the corner of the barn and into the yard.
“Are
you two OK?,” Joe asked as he pulled up in front of his father and
brother. “We heard the most awful yell a minute ago. It sounded like
someone was in real trouble.”
“We
were just taking a look ourselves,” Adam told him. “You and Hoss can
help.”
With
that his brothers dismounted and the four of them began an intensive search of
the whole area surrounding the yard, including the buildings. But they
found no trace of whoever had uttered that terrifying cry. Finally they
decided that it was too dark to pick out footprints or other such clues and it
would be better to try again in the morning. Hoss and Joe led their horses
into the barn to take care of them while Ben and Adam hurried back inside the
house, out of the chill air. They hung up their jackets and, rubbing
their hands together to warm them, moved to retake their seats in front of the
fire. As they did so, Adam noticed a piece of paper lying on the table in
front of the settee. He picked it up, observing with a start that it was
addressed to him He unfolded it and began to read.
“Time
to tell the truth, Cartwright. You know who I am and I know who you
are. To be specific, you are the man who dragged my brother’s dead
body out of the desert. The authorities from Eastgate
forwarded to me what I suspect to be a highly edited version of the statement
you gave them concerning everything that happened between you and the circumstances
of his death. You’ll understand if I
have difficulty accepting it at face value. Whatever they say, it seems
to me that my brother would not be dead if it were not for you, and if the
authorities are not prepared to hold you responsible for that, I am. You
will see me again at a time and place of my choosing and the issue will be
settled between us. Until then, I wish you pleasant
dreams.
Ethan Kane”
Adam’s
eyes widened and he looked up to his father who was staring at him with
questioning concern. He handed Ben the paper.
“It
looks like Kane has finally made his move,” he said as their eyes met.
PART
3 - THE CONFLAGRATION
Adam
Cartwright lay staring at the ceiling for a long time during another restless
night, Two things were revolving in his mind - a profound wish that he had
taken the autumn trip to Boston that he had contemplated earlier in the year,
and a fanciful musing concerning the ironic possibilities contained in the
words “pleasant dreams”.
The
letter left by Ethan Kane in which he declared his intention of calling Adam to
account for the death of his brother had ended by mockingly wishing Adam
pleasant dreams. But in the two weeks since Adam had received it a series
of unnerving incidents had ensured that his dreams were anything but pleasant.
It
started with his visit to the sawmill to check on the progress of processing
the lumber for their latest contract, when a pile of logs came tumbling down on
the spot where he had been standing. A couple of days later it was a
large boulder that came rolling down the rocky hillside next to where he was
riding and landed in the path behind him, spooking his horse. Most
serious of all, a shot had been fired in his vicinity as he knelt beside a
stream to refill his canteen. In none of these cases could Ethan Kane be
directly tied to the event. The falling logs and boulder could have been
purely accidental; the shot might have been from a poacher who was unaware of
his presence. And none of these “close calls” had truly been so very
close. There had always been a margin of safety. If these things
were being deliberately done, it seemed that they were intended to rattle him and
keep him on edge rather than to cause any real harm.
But
there was one incident that could only be attributed to Ethan Kane. Two
mornings ago Adam had come out of the house and begun to cross the yard to the
barn when he was brought up short at seeing the words “SOON CARTWRIGHT’
scrawled in large uneven letters in the very dirt itself.
All
this had, of course, been duly reported to Sheriff Roy Coffee. Ben and
Adam had sat in his office and discussed the situation at length. “This
letter he wrote you could sure enough pass for a threat,”
“You
don’t know where he’s been staying?,” Ben asked with a touch of impatience that
showed just how concerned he was.
“That’s
just the thing. The day he came into town Kane went to Emma Daniels’
boarding house, but it seems he checked out of there three days later, leavin’ no forwarding address, and nobody I’ve talked to
seems to know where he went from there. And believe me, I’ve talked to
just about everybody. Jim over at the General Store sold him some
supplies....”
“What
kind of supplies?,” Adam broke in.
“Basically,
everything he’d need to camp out for quite a while. Only he didn’t happen
to say where he was plannin’ on doin’
it and Jim didn’t know to ask.”
They
had gone on to talk about.
Adam
continued to stare up at the ceiling while his too active brain kept spinning
with the same question. Just what did Ethan Kane have up his sleeve
now? Finally, hoping that a breath of fresh air would help, he got out of
bed and padded over to the window. He opened the window and peered out
into the cool November night. Everything seemed still and peaceful, with
an overcast sky subduing the light of the moon and stars leaving the yard
enfolded in a murky darkness.
Except
for....
His
eyes detected a slight trace of a glow which seemed to come from somewhere
behind the barn. As he watched the glow began to grow and intensify,
taking on a flickering quality.
Suddenly
realizing what it meant, Adam caught his breath and abruptly turned away from
the window, grabbing the pants that hung from the back of his desk chair.
A moment later he was out in the hall, pounding on the doors of his father and
brothers and shouting “Fire! Wake up! Fire out by the barn!”
Hurrying
outside as quickly as possible the Cartwrights joined
up with a number of the hands from the bunkhouse who were already responding to
the fire. The flames, which had broken out in a small, little used shed
behind the barn, were now beginning to spread to the larger structure. A
line was quickly formed to pass water from the large trough in the yard.
Hoss and a couple of the other men ran inside to attempt to bring out the
horses. The shrill neighing of the alarmed animals combined with the
shouts of the men and the crackling noise of the fire itself to create a
frightening din. The smoke rising from the flames choked the lungs and
blurred one’s vision, adding to the overall chaos.
It
took some time to extinguish the fire completely, but finally it was done and
the exhausted, grimy men were able to take a rest. Ben, Adam and Hoss
gathered in front of the barn and attempted to assess the damage.
“It’s
repairable,” Ben was saying with a frown, “but it’s going to take some time,
and the winter weather will soon be coming on. We’ll have to make some
temporary arrangements for the horses. It’s just lucky that all of them
were gotten out safe!”
“Sure
is,” said Hoss, frowning at the idea of losing his faithful Chubb.
Adam’s
eyes were darting here and there, looking for something. Not finding it,
he turned to his father in concern. “Where did Joe get to? I don’t
see him around anywhere.”
“I
don’t know, son. Last time I saw him he was with the men taking care of
the horses, but that was some time ago. Maybe he wanted to check on
Cochise again.” Ben found himself shivering. “Let’s go back
inside and try to get a little rest. We’ll need it tomorrow.
I’m sure Joe will be around very shortly.”
They
turned and headed for the house. As they approached the front door, Ben
was the first to notice that something was nailed there. When he was able
to recognize it he felt a sudden lump rise in his throat. It was one of
the kerchiefs that Joe liked to wear around his neck. Ben hurried
forward, followed by his two sons. He grabbed the piece of cloth and
pulled it down from the door, revealing a piece of paper that was nailed up
behind it. Ben pulled that down too, and his face turned grim as he saw
who it was addressed to. He turned to his oldest son and held it out to
him. Adam reached out slowly to take it. He opened it up and stared
wide eyed at the now familiar writing.
“I’ve
chosen the time and the place, Cartwright. If you value your younger
brother’s life you will come to the old mine they used to call the Strike Back
at
Adam
looked up into his father’s fear filled eyes and felt the same fear
coursing through his own body.
“Oh
God,” he whispered, his voice unsteady. “In all the
confusion...somehow...
Kane’s gotten his hands on Joe!”
PART
4 - THE CONFRONTATION
The
sun, nearing its zenith, threw a cool light upon the bleak autumnal
landscape. But for Adam Cartwright it might just as well have been
blazing down on desert sands with mid-summer fury. As his horse picked
his way carefully up the rocky path toward their destination, Adam was paying
little attention to his immediate surroundings. His mind was
elsewhere. At one moment he saw before him the smirking face of Kane. But
was it Peter or Ethan? Adam couldn’t say for sure. Then that
disturbing vision would be replaced by another one - the face of his father as
Adam had set off a couple of hours ago to meet his would be nemesis.
Finally that picture gave way to the image of his brother Joe with laughter in
his eyes and on his lips.
The
discovery that, in the confusion surrounding the previous night’s barn fire,
Ethan Kane had abducted Joe, produced a good deal of agonized
indecision among the rest of the family. It was hard to decide if it was
riskier to obey Kane’s instructions, leaving Joe in his hands and taking no
action until the time he had appointed, or to defy his threats and make at
least some attempt at locating them right away. They had finally
concluded that the best course was for Adam to go meet with Kane, as
instructed, with Ben and Hoss following shortly after, accompanied by Sheriff
Coffee.
As
Adam had mounted his horse and prepared to leave that morning his father had
reached to take hold of Sport’s reins and looked up at him with an open
entreaty clearly written in his face.
“Don’t
worry, Pa,” Adam quietly answered the unspoken plea. “I‘ll see that Joe
gets back all right...whatever it takes.”
Ben’s
eyes grew even darker with worry. “Just remember, son,” he replied,
fighting to keep his voice under control, “I want to see you both come back.”
Adam
nodded with understanding and, turning Sport around, headed on his way.
Now,
as he rounded the last bend in the path approaching the abandoned mine once
known as the Strike Back, Adam thought how appropriate the name was for the
place that Kane had selected as a site for revenge. Adam pulled Sport up
in front of the entrance to the mine, looking around carefully, and dismounted,
drawing his gun from his holster as he did so. Taking a deep breath he
stepped through the opening.
The
entrance shaft of the Strike Back was a short one, going only about twenty feet
before opening into the mine’s first chamber. Adam could see light from
the chamber spilling into the shaft, illuminating his path. Keeping his
gun ready he came up to the chamber opening and peered into it. What he
saw set him to trembling.
At
the center of the chamber was a large vertical beam. Tied to this beam
was Joe, apparently unconscious, his face badly bruised, a gag in his
mouth. A lantern hanging from a hook attached to the beam above him was
the source of the light.
Adam quickly holstered his gun and hurried to his brother’s side.
“Joe.
Joe, can you hear me?” Adam spoke low and urgently. He began to
loosen the gag in his brother’s mouth.
“I
wouldn’t do that, Cartwright,” another voice intruded. From out of the
shadows along the far wall of the chamber a figure emerged, tall and imposing
with burning eyes, holding a gun pointed straight at Adam. The older
Cartwright cursed himself for having put away his own gun in his concern for
his brother.
“All
right, Kane,” he said, his voice edged with anger. “You’ve used my
brother to make sure I would come to you. Well I’m here. You don’t
need him any more.
Let him go!”
“Can’t
do that, Cartwright,” Ethan Kane replied, holding his gun steady. “At
least not until we settle a few things.”
“And
exactly what is it you want out of me,” Adam demanded, his anger growing.
“
I want to hear you say that you killed my brother.”
“And
then what?”
“Well
then, of course, you pay for it.”
“A
life for a life, is that it?”
“That’s
the standard payment, isn’t it?”
Adam
was just about ready to explode. “Well I didn’t kill Peter Kane!
Oh, I came close all right. He actually tried to make me do
it! Do you understand that? He was a twisted, bitter
man who couldn’t cope with the fact that everything he tried went bad. If
he could get me to kill him then he would at least die knowing there was
someone he could feel superior to. He thought he had done it! But
he started to gloat too soon, and when he did that, I stepped back! That
was his final failure. It broke his will, and that, along with exposure
is what killed him!”
Ethan
Kane looked at him, the fiery intensity of his gaze as unwavering as the aim of
his gun. “And just why should I believe one word out of your mouth?,” he
asked, his voice deepening in an anger to match Adam’s. “You’d say
anything to get you and your brother out of here.”
“Well,
if you aren’t willing to believe me, why do you care at all what I say?
What on earth does it matter?” Something clicked in Adam’s mind then and
he looked back at Kane with a kind of resignation. “It really doesn’t
matter, does it? You’ve got your mind made up and whatever I say it won’t
make any difference. You intend to kill me in any case.” He took a
couple of steps toward his antagonist. “So why don’t you just go ahead
and do it? Don’t you have the guts?,” he challenged.
“Adam,
no!” It was Joe’s voice. He had been roused by the sound of voices,
and had somehow managed to throw off the loosened gag. The sound of the
voice he had not expected to hear startled Kane for a second and that gave Adam
his chance. He lunged forward, slamming Kane back against the wall of the
cavern, and causing the gun to fall from his hand. As Adam drew his arm
back to deliver a blow Kane managed to twist away from him and push him
backward. Adam fell to the floor and a second later Kane was on top of
him. They rolled on the floor together, each trying to get his hands
around the other’s throat and being repulsed in the attempt. Finally,
with a convulsive shove, Adam threw Kane off of him and scrambled to his
feet. Kane was up quickly too and came charging back at him. But
Adam was ready for him and absorbed his assault. They stood locked
together for a moment until Adam was at last able to get Kane slightly off
balance. As Kane attempted to right himself Adam got in a hard blow to
the side of his head that sent him to the wall again. He slid down the
cavern wall and wound up sprawled next to it, unconscious.
Adam
paused just long enough to catch his breath, then moved quickly over to Joe and
began to free him from his bonds. It took a minute, and when it was done
the two brothers fell into each other’s embrace. When he pulled back,
Adam gestured with his head toward the shaft that led outside.
“Get
out of here, Joe,” he said hoarsely.
“Adam,
I...”
The
older brother shook his head. “Just get outside. Pa and Hoss and
Roy should be coming any minute now. Wait for them.” He looked over
to where Kane lay. “I’ll take care of him.” With a long look
at his brother and a silent nod Joe reluctantly obeyed.
As
Adam picked up one of the ropes that had bound Joe and moved towards Kane he
saw with surprise that the man was rousing himself. His hand scrabbled
along the floor, finding the gun that had fallen there earlier. As Adam’s
eyes widened in alarm, Kane, barely conscious, raised himself to a half
sitting position and took aim.
“No!,”
Adam shouted
Kane
got off his shot and, not even noticing its result, fell backward. A few
seconds later he heard a rumbling noise, and he looked up in horror at the
cracks that were spreading rapidly across the ceiling. His scream was
drowned out by the noise of the rocks that were beginning to come crashing down
on top of him.
PART 5 - THE AFTERMATH
Joe
Cartwright came stumbling out of the mine entrance, panting hard. He
stood there for a minute, bent over, with his hands on his knees and took
several deep breaths that turned into a choking sob. Finally he stood up
and cast his eyes down the approaching trail with a kind of desperation.
At that moment three men on horseback appeared, coming around the final
bend. As he recognized the riders as his father, his brother Hoss
and their friend Sheriff Coffee, Joe felt a great sense of relief flow
through him. He stifled his sobbing and hurried forward to meet them.
“Pa!...Pa!”
he shouted.
The
terrible apprehension that lay heavy on Ben Cartwright’s heart seemed to drop
from him as he caught sight of his youngest son, only to return in full
force a second later as he took in the boy’s disheveled appearance and
obvious distress. He and his companions reined in their horses and
hurriedly dismounted. As Joe came within reach Ben held out his arms and
grasped him by the shoulders.
“Joe...son...are
you all right?”
Still
short of breath, Joe nodded. “I’m OK, Pa, but Adam...,” he choked out.
His
father’s grip on his shoulders tightened, and his brother looked on in fear.
“What
about Adam?” Ben managed to get out.
Joe
made an effort to collect himself and get out the story between gasps.
“He’s trapped in there, Pa.....a cave in...Kane’s brother is in there
too...they had a fight...
Adam knocked him out...untied me...he told me to come outside...wait for you...
I just got out...there was a gunshot...I started to run back in...there was a
scream and everything started coming down...the entrance to the chamber ...it’s
blocked up solid...I started trying to dig through...didn’t have any
tools...and there’s so much rocks and dirt...Pa, I don’t know if we can get
through in time!”
Ben
looked past him, his eyes shifting to the mine entrance with dark
determination. “We can,” he said in a voice that allowed for no
contradiction.
“And we will. We have to. Now let’s get going.”
The
Cartwrights and their friend hurried down to the mine
entrance and disappeared inside.
****************
Ben
Cartwright stood up and stretched to ease the ache in his back. He had no
idea how long they had been digging. He seemed to have lost all
track of time. The light spilling in from the entrance to the shaft was
barely enough to work by and progress was discouragingly slow. Roy Coffee
had left them early on, saying with real regret that he thought the best help
he could provide was to go and bring back some extra men and tools. The
look in his eyes as he said it showed plainly that he didn’t believe there was
very much hope, and that he was deeply saddened at the thought. How long
ago had that been? Not long enough for him to get back. More than
that Ben couldn’t say.
In
truth it was hard to hold onto hope. In their time the Cartwrights had seen too many cave ins similar to this from
which noone had emerged alive. They knew the
odds. But the odds meant nothing to Ben Cartwright. From the moment
he had set foot in the mine he had resolved that he would not abandon the
effort to reach his son until there was absolute certainty regarding his fate...one
way or the other. His love for his son demanded no
less. Ben was still haunted by the fact that, when Adam was lost in the
desert, they had been on the verge of giving up their search at the very
moment that he came into sight. He vowed that such a thing would not
happen again.
Looking
over at Hoss and Joe Ben was gratified to see them continuing to toil with
dogged persistence. Their love for their brother would not allow
them to quit either. Wearily he told himself that it was time for him to
go back to work too. Bending down, he pulled a large rock from the spot
where it was wedged and lifted it to cast it aside.
“
The
voice came so softly that at first he wasn’t sure if he was only imagining
it. But a quick glance showed that Hoss and Joe had their ears cocked
too. They had all heard something.
Then
it came again, just as softly. “
Finally
pinpointing where the voice was coming from, Ben quickly turned to look back
toward the mine entrance. His eyes grew wide, he drew in his breath and
the rock fell from his hands as they began to tremble.
Framed
in the entrance way stood a familiar figure, leaning against the side of the
opening. He was dirty and bedraggled. There was a trickle of blood
running down the side of his face from a wound near his right eye.
And Ben had never been more happy to see anyone in his life.
“Adam!,”
he breathed.
Ben’s
legs seemed to take on a life of their own and, without conscious
thought, he found himself hurrying toward his son, with Joe and Hoss at
his heels calling out their brother’s name in their excitement.
Eagerly he reached out to grasp Adam by the shoulders. Then he
could let himself believe that this was real.
“Son...you’re
hurt.” Ben found his voice as he raised his hand to the wound on Adam’s
head. Adam seemed somewhat dazed, trying to brush away his father’s hand
and mumbling something that sounded like “It’ll be OK.”
Ben
would not be deterred. “Adam, how did you get out here? We thought
you were trapped back there.”
“Yeah,
older brother, how did you ever get out of that mess?,” Joe echoed, waving his
hand toward the rubble that still blocked off the chamber entrance.
Adam
was definitely having difficulty focusing, but he made a valiant effort to
respond. “A side tunnel,” he said hesitantly. “Barely had time...
to get into it... before everything came down. Just big enough to crawl
through. It came out on the other side....”
“And
Kane?” Ben almost whispered it.
Adam
could only shake his head Finally, the effort was too much for him.
His head dropped forward as his eyes closed. And then, as he had done
once before, Adam Cartwright fell, unconscious, into his father’s arms.
As
he had done once before, Ben Cartwright lowered his son carefully to the ground
and knelt there, holding him close and rocking him gently while a silent prayer
of profound gratitude rose from his heart. Joe and Hoss hovered over
them, their eyes never leaving their brother. And in that moment
the scene in the dimly lighted entrance of an abandoned mine became the perfect
echo of a tableau that had once been seen on burning desert sands.
It
was over.
THE
END