MY NAME IS MUD(D)
“Come on Hoss, it’ll be fun!” Joe practically begged his much larger sibling.
Hoss looked hesitant. “I don’t know Little Joe. It’s awful hard to pull anything over on ole Adam. Sometimes I could swear he has eyes in the back of his head he catches on so quick!”
“That’s the beauty of this plan! It’s so simple he’ll never expect it. He’ll be expecting something big!”
“A bucket of water over the front door? That’s the best you could do? Ya do realize you’ll make a mess we’ll have to clean up before Hop sing gets home don’t you?”
“Come on. With pa out of town till the end of the week and Hop Sing in town till tomorrow, this is the only time we can do this. Besides, I’ve built something to take care of most of the mess. See, I’ve built a small water trough just for this purpose.” Joe said as he proudly showed off his creation. “This little knob on the bottom? With a string connected to the knob, running to the doorknob, when the door opens, the string releases the trap door, the water runs out at an angle toward the outside world. The only person getting wet will be big brother and a small portion of the floor.”
Hoss was beginning to warm to the idea. “Ya know little brother,” he smiled, “this just might work.”
Joe practically bounced with the idea of pulling a prank on Adam, his green eyes glowing with mischief. “I knew you’d agree! Now, we have to hurry. He should be home from picking up the mail soon.”
The two spent the next half-hour working diligently to set their trap for their big brother. Finally, all was ready. All that was left was to pour in the water then wait for the fun!
As they were filling the trough, each was standing on a chair, buckets of water in hand. “Careful with the water Hoss, you’re splashing. Besides, he’ll be home any minute and we don’t have time to get any more.” Abmonished Joe. Each stood perched on a chair, one on each end, the chairs tottering under the weight.
“Or he could be sitting on the stairs watching every move you’re making.” Came a deep, rich baritone from behind them. The startled pair lost their footing, grabbed for the filled trough for support, and fell, taking the trap down with them.
Adam’s laughter reverberated through the living room as he watched his hapless brothers attempting to extract themselves from the wet, soppy mess they were in at the moment.
“Dadburn you Adam! Where’d you come from?” Sputtered Hoss finally succeeding in getting Joe off him and the bucket off his head.
“Boston.” Chuckled Adam as he stood over the two trying to figure how to help.
“You know what he means you joker. You were supposed to be in town picking up the mail. And where’s Sport?” Groused Joe over his missed prank.
Adam grabbed his little bother’s hand and hauled him to his feet. “In town getting at least three of his shoes replaced. I’ll be picking him up tomorrow when we go pick up Hop Sing…and if you’re worried about the mail, it’s on pa’s desk.”
Hoss thought for a moment from his seat of the floor, but he couldn’t understand. “Adam how did you figure this one out so fast.”
Adam thought for a moment. “I’d like to say it’s because of my strong, analitical mind.” Joe rolled his eyes. “Truth is, a few days ago, I went into the tool shed to put something away and Joe’s tools were scattered everywhere.”
Joe looked puzzled. “You never said anything”
Adam just stared at him for a moment. “To be quiet honest there are some days I feel like I’m just ‘preaching to the choir’ trying to get you to pick up after yourself. I was so tired I decided to just pick it up for you and be done with it. Lo and behold when I put your tools up, that…thing… was sitting beside the bench.”
Joe looked sheepishly at Hoss “Oops!”
“Anyway.” Adam said over his shoulder as he headed for the kitchen, “Clean up this mess. I’ve got to start dinner.”
“Oh joy!” Muttered Hoss under his breath. “First we gotta clean up your mess, then we gotta eat big brother’s cookin. Thanks a lot Joe!!!”
*****************
The following day found all three brothers aboard the wagon making it’s way to Virginia City to pick up Hop Sing. Their work all completed, Adam decided to treat everyone to lunch at the International House before going their separate ways. He figured it was the least he could do since he had to endure his own cooking the night before as well. The boys were to pick up Hop Sing and the list of supplies, and he planned to pick up Sport and do some banking business before returning home.
“You two head over to the International House and get us a table.” Adam said as he jumped from the wagon in front of the mercantile. “I’m going to check at the telegraph office to see if there’s any word from pa.”
“OK Adam.” Said Hoss as he parked the wagon and dismounted. “Just make sure you hurry up, I’m so hungry I could eat Little Joe over here!”
“I thought you wanted me to hurry?” He laughed, as Joe took a swing at Hoss from the wagon and knocked his hat into the dirt.
“Just hurry Adam.” Laughed Joe, “He looks like he means it!!!”
A half-hour later, Adam entered the hotel to find his brothers in a deep discussion over the upcoming roundup. They were so engrossed that they didn’t hear his approach. He sat for a moment, just listening.
“Do you two have any idea what you’re arguing about?” He asked, startling the two of them.
“Oh hey older brother, when did you get here?” Asked Joe, diverting the conversation. “Any word from pa?”
“Hey Adam.” Interrupted Hoss. “Ordered you a steak. Hope that’s ok.”
“A few minutes ago. Yes, but pa’s been delayed, he won’t be home for at least another week. That’s fine, just hope it’s a big one!” He answered the questions in order.
After a pleasant meal, they stood on the sidewalk watching the stage as it rolled to a halt outside the depot. Adam was leaning against a support pole, his mind wondering, not really paying attention to the disembarking passengers when his attention was drawn by his younger brother’s voice.
“Well, lookie there!” Adam’s eyes traveled to the passengers or one in particular. The woman in question was indeed beautiful with platinum blonde curls that fell to her shoulders and sparkling sapphire blue eyes that shone from her milky white skin. The deep, sapphire blue of her dress almost perfectly matched her eyes. Joe was already making a beeline for her. “I saw her first brothers, she’s all mine!”
Adam and Hoss followed at a more leisurely pace. Joe reached the woman just as she turned to pick up her luggage.
“Allow me to assist you with that.” Said Joe, reaching to take the bag from her hand. As he tipped his hat with his free hand he said, “Joe Cartwright at your service ma’am. If you wish, I can show you to your hotel and then around our fair city.”
The woman didn’t even notice. Instead, she was looking over his shoulder at the two men approaching. Her face lit up as she spotted Adam and brushed right past Joe without a second thought. She jumped into Adam’s arms as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Joe looked a bit put out as he stood beside Hoss, watching this very public display of affection.
“Think she knows him?” Hoss asked, laughing.
Adam finally succeeded in extracting himself from her embrace. “Gentlemen, I’d like to introduce you Miss Agetha Marie Booth, little sister of Edwin Booth.” He said to his brothers in way of introduction. “Aggie, these are my brothers. The big one is Hoss. The one to his immediate left is the one Edwin warned you about, Little Joe.”
Joe shot him an aggrieved look. “It’s just Joe ma’am.” He said taking her hand and kissing it. “And my offer to show you around still stands.”
Adam took her hand back from Joe. “I’ll be taking care of that little brother. We have a lot of catching up to do.” As she took his arm and they turned in the direction of the hotel, Adam shot over his shoulder, “and don’t forget to pick up Hop Sing from his uncle’s house and the supplies from the mercantile. Tell Hop Sing I’ll be home before dinner.” With that the two of them were gone.
Little Joe just watched the pair leave. Hoss laid his hand on his shoulder. “Well Joe, looks like big brother done beat you to another one.”
“Pity” sighed Joe. “She was a real Southern Belle too. Did you notice her accent?”
“Let it go Joe.”
*****************
After settling in to her hotel room, Aggie talked Adam into taking her for a ride to show her part of the ranch she had heard so much about. “OK.” Conceded Adam, “I have to pick up Sport from the livery anyway, guess I can pick out a mount for you as well.”
“Goody!” exclaimed Aggie as she clapped her hands in glee. “Edwin’s told me so much about the wonderful Ponderosa, now I get to see at least part of it for myself!”
Adam just smiled as he walked away. ‘She’s just Joe’s type, all beauty and very few brains. Tomorrow, think I’ll see what I can do about getting the two of them together.’ He thought.
The pair stood on the ridge overlooking Lake Tahoe. Aggie was admiring the view, Adam was admiring Aggie. ‘Such a pity.” He thought. ‘If she wasn’t Edwin’s sister…’
“This place is just as Eddie described it! You really can’t tell where the water ends and the sky begins! And it all belongs to your family?” She asked, slipping her arm into his.
“Every square foot of it.” He said proudly. “When my father, brother, and I came here, we had nothing but pa’s dream and barely any money. After twenty odd years of more work than most people want to put into it; well, you see the end results.” He tried to change the subject. “So, what have you been doing since the last time I saw you? It was right before Edwin and I graduated wasn’t it?”
“Oh, I got married.” She said coyly, laying her head against his chest. “My husband should be meeting me here soon.”
Adam stiffened. “Aggie…”
“What? He’s very open minded.” She said suggestively, snuggling even closer and slipping her arms around his waist. “I’ve always been attracted to you Adam, you know that. We could make some beautiful music together before he gets here.”
“Aggie, you know me better than that. You’re a married woman for pity’s sake!” He said trying to loosen her grip.
“Well.” She sighed, loosening her hold minutely. “If you’re going to be like that, guess I should just go ahead and introduce you.” Over Adam’s shoulder, “Say hello Zeke.”
Adam heard the click of a gun just as it pressed into the small of his back. He had been so engrossed listening to the girl; he hadn’t noticed the man walking up behind him. He raised his hands as he felt his gun being lifted from its holster.
“So this is the great Adam Cartwright I’ve heard so much about?” He heard a deep voice coming from just behind him. “Turn around so I can see what ya look like.” Adam turned slowly to face his attacker; his hands still in the air. “You were right Aggie, he does look an awful lot like me don’t he.”
“Told ya!” She smirked, moving to stand at her husband’s side. “Adam, allow me to introduce my husband, Phenaus Ezekeial Mudd.” He looked questioningly at her. “Yes, before you ask, he is the son of the good dr. who attempted to help Johnny after that unfortunate incident in Washington.”
“You mean when he shot and killed President Lincoln.” Adam supplied. He knew he was tempting fate but, at the moment he just didn’t care. He was still disgusted with himself for being taken off guard by the couple.
“If you insist, when he shot Lincoln.” Said Aggie. “If his co-consperitors had not backed out on him at the last minute, we ahh…they would have wiped out his administration in one fell swoop and broken the spirit of the union army! Do you realize that if w..They had succeeded; we would probably living in two separate nations. The south would have been free to do as they saw fit! Johnny died a hero!” She concluded, singing her dead brother’s praises.
“Johnny died a traitor!” Stated Adam emphatically. He had apparently forgotten about the gun pointed at his gut during his discussion with Aggie. “He ruined your father in law’s practice and all but ruined Edwin’s career, or have you conveniently forgotten that you have another brother?” Adam, having all but forgotten about the gun, crossed his arms over his chest as he continued arguing with Aggie. “A brother, I might add, who loves his siblings just as much as I do! This thing with John almost killed him!”
Zeke had been standing by long enough. “Excuse me Aggie, sweetie, can you two give up the ‘jaw jackin’? It’s about time to get back to the business at hand?”
“Sorry darling, you’re right as always. Do you want to explain or should I?” She smiled evilly as she turned back to Adam.
“Would one of you?” stormed Adam. “This is getting really old, and I don’t appreciate having a gun pointed at me!” He took a tentative step in Zeke’s direction.
“Don’t even think about it pretty boy!” Warned Zeke, raising the gun just a little higher. “I’d love nothing better than to put a hole through you and be done with it!”
“Then what’s stopping you?”
Zeke nodded in Aggie’s direction. “She is. She’s got some hair brained scheme to hold you for ransom from your daddy to get enough money to get back to Virginia.”
Adam was getting really confused. “That’s silly. Aggie, Edwin would have given you the money for that. Better yet, I’ll give you the money just so the two of you will go away!”
“It ain’t that simple sweetie.” She said, “Besides, you didn’t let him finish. We need the money to hire some specialized men to help me find the so called friends of Johnny’s who abandoned him in Washington.” A dark cloud passed over her face as she continued. “I intend to make them pay for letting him die while they hid!” Her face brightened as she warmed to the subject. “Anyway, it was my job to lure you away from your overprotective brothers without them suspecting any more than a romantic interlude. This way they won’t come looking for you until it’s too late.” She pinched his cheek as Zeke looked on, the gun trained where Adam couldn’t miss it. “Your daddy will pay through the nose to get that beautiful face of yours back. Who knows, we may even give it back to him.”
Although he hid it well, Adam was beginning to get a little worried. What had started out as a simple, (albeit stupid) kidnapping was deteriorating rapidly. This person whom he had always thought of as Edwin’s cute little sister who would look at him with adoring, puppy dog eyes, was staring at him. Somewhere over the years, she had lost her mind!
“Well.” Said Adam finally; “You’re in for a surprise. Pa’s out of town and won’t be back for at least another week, maybe more. What are you going to do until then?” He asked sarcastically.
After a moment, Zeke admitted, “He’s got a point, what are we going to do with him for a week?” Adam could see the wheels turning in Aggie’s demented mind.
An idea formed in her mind. “First Adam, strip.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“You heard me, strip. Zeke here looks enough like you to fool most people from a distance. All we have to do is convince those brothers of yours that you’ll be ‘indisposed’ for a week. Then, we can have a little fun!!! Might even do a little shopping…on the Cartwrights of course.”
Adam began quietly unbuttoning his shirt. This was going to take a lot of planning on his part if he was going to get out of this and keep his brothers safe. For now, all he could do was play along with them. Zeke seemed rational enough but Aggie…that was another story.
Once he tossed the shirt to Aggie, Zeke joined in. “We can’t leave him here by himself while we carry out this plan.” He looked toward Sport. “Take the lariat off his horse’s saddle and tie his hands in front of him. My arms are getting tired of holding this gun.” When she was finished, he took the rope from her and handed her the gun. “If he moves, shot him.” Zeke then began scaling the tree until he was almost thirty feet in the air before tossing the rope over and back down to the ground. “Tie that to his horse’s saddle, I’ll be down in a minute.”
As soon as Aggie caught the rope, Adam made a break for it, running for the trees behind him. Zeke, watching from the branch above him, caught the rope as it started to slip past him. “SHOOT HIM!” He screamed to his wife. Adam almost made it to a small stand just a few feet away when the bullet hit. It hit just below his right knee, causing him to stumble, but he managed to just barely stay on his feet to keep running.
“No you don’t!” Yelled Zeke as he jumped the last few feet to the ground, pulling the rope with him. Adam was jerked backwards, landing on his injured leg. His involuntary scream of pain brought a smile to Aggie’s demented face.
“That’s more like it sugar. We can’t have you getting help before we get our money now can we?” she sneered. To her husband. “Zeke, as much as I’d like to do this part myself, take his pants.” As he approached, Adam kicked out at him with his good leg, connecting with Zeke’s groin. As Zeke doubled over with pain, Aggie looked on in frustration. “This is getting ridiculous.” Aggie smashed Adam in the side of the head with a nearby rock.
Zeke looked on in horror. “You weren’t supposed to kill him!” He choked out when he could stand without pain. He bent over the unconscious form to check for a pulse. He breathed a sigh of relief when he found it, although it was weak.
“Don’t worry sugar. The way Eddie tells it, the whole family has really hard heads. He said this one says the only way to hurt him is to kill him!”
Zeke finished dressing in Adam’s clothing. As he put on Adam’s hat, the unconscious form on the ground stirred. Aggie tied a gag over his mouth, than patted his face. “Lookie who decided to wake up Zeke! Told you that silly old rock wouldn’t do any permanent damage.” To Adam, “Wake up sugar, we want you awake for this part!”
With that, Zeke grabbed Sport’s reigns and slowly began leading the horse away from his human. Adam’s body was hauled over the ground, as the rope lost it’s slack. Adam made not a sound as the flesh was torn from his uncovered back and legs. He refused to let them have the satisfaction! He had very little fight left in him at the moment, but he intended to use all that he had! As his body left the ground, he began swinging back and forth, his battered body making contact with the tree behind him. He groaned involuntarily, glad the gag kept him from being heard. By the time he had risen far enough from the ground not to be seen, he had once again retreated into the blissful, pain free darkness.
“He don’t look like he can make any more trouble.” Said Zeke as he tied off the rope, suspending him about ten feet up into the foliage. Raising his gun, he put a bullet in Adam’s left leg as well, and watched with fascination as twin trails of blood ran down his legs and dripped onto the ground.
“What did you do that for?” Asked Aggie.
“For the fun of it. I owed him one for kicking me!”
“Oh, on the way out of town, can we pick up some honey and a paintbrush?”
“Why?”
“You’ve had your fun…I want to have some too!”
***************
The trip into Virginia City was a proving ground for the couple. As “Adam” kept his distance and let Aggie handle the business of purchasing their supplies (and charging it to the Cartwright’s accounts), the people of the city accepted him as the real thing. Aggie even hired a young boy to take the note they had forced Adam to write to the ranch explaining his absence.
Upon returning to the tree, Zeke lowered Adam to the ground. He took great delight in informing him that the townspeople were easily fooled. “Now, if your brothers are as stupid as the people in that city, no one will ever miss you!” He chuckled.
Adam, by this time had developed a high fever from the infection beginning in the bullet wounds. Little of what the man was saying was penetrating his fevered mind. The man’s face was weaving in and out of focus, and his voice sounded a little like the buzzing of a hornet. He thought he heard his brothers mentioned, but he couldn’t be sure. He looked around for one of them.
“They’re not here you idiot!” Said Aggie. She appeared to him as a very large, chattering chipmunk. Her words never registered, for he had once again slipped into unconsciousness.
“A pity.” Said Aggie taking out the small paintbrush she had purchased and the jar of honey she had purchased from a farmer on the way out of town. “I really wanted you to be awake for the signing.” She proceeded to dip the brush in honey and to paint her name on Adam’s right leg, and Zeke’s on the left. She then shaved all the hair off Adam’s chest and painted their names there as well.
“What did you do all that for?” asked Zeke. She was acting a little strange, even for him.
“Watch.” Was all she said as she produced two vials from her pockets and showed them to Zeke. “Fire ants” was all she said by way of explanation. She opened each and poured the contents on each of Adam’s feet. Zeke then began returning him to his hiding place in the tree. As Adam rose off the ground, Zeke watched in fascination as the ants followed the trail of honey, leaving a trail of painful bite marks in their wake. Adam, though unconscious, screamed in agony.
**********
Back at the ranch, Hoss and Joe had just set down to eat dinner when the messenger arrived. Joe opened the door to find one of the town’s youths standing there with a note in his hand.
“Thanks Billy.” He said, fishing a dollar out of his pocket. “Be careful riding back into town.”
“Thanks Joe.” The boy gasped when he saw how much he gad been given. “The lady that sent this gave me a whole dollar too.”
Hoss laughed, “Guess it’s your lucky day ain’t it?”
“The note’s from big brother ain’t it?” Asked Hoss as he closed the door on the youth. Joe wasn’t saying much, but the frown he wore spoke volumes.
“Yea,” he said finally. “It’s from Adam. Says he won’t be home for a few days. Says he and Aggie are having a wonderful time together, and he wants to spend as much time with her as he can. Says he should be home before pa gets here.”
Hoss frowned. “That don’t sound like our responsible big brother.” He said, reaching for the paper.
Joe handed him the note. “That isn’t all.” He said, “read the rest of it.”
Hoss looked at the note and picked it up from where Joe left off. ‘…I haven’t been this happy since I had Laura with me.’ A look of panic crossed his face. “He’s trying to tell us something ain’t he?”
“In big red letters.” Said Joe, taking the note back. “What do we do now? We don’t have a clue where to look for him.”
“I’d say start the last place we saw him…in town.”
**************
The next morning found Hoss and Joe preparing to ride into town just after breakfast. They explained to Hop Sing that they weren’t sure what time they would be back, that they would be heading out to the eastern range once they completed their errands in town. They didn’t want to worry him with their real mission.
He pressed an extra pack into Joe’s hands. “You take in case big brother needs medical assistance once you find him.”
Hoss just smiled. “Did you really think we could pull anything over on ole Hop Sing?” Joe just smiled and put the pack inside his saddlebag.
They arrived in Virginia City just as the town was waking up. They decided to leave Chubb and Cochise in the livery in order not to draw attention they were there for no apparent reason. Upon opening the livery doors, both stopped short. There, munching quietly on his morning meal stood Sport. Upon seeing his stable mates, the hay was forgotten as he attempted to break out of his stall. He was happy to se them. If Chubb and Cooch were here, that meant their humans were and someone could go help his human.
“Somethin’ ain’t right here Joe.” Hoss said as he checked Sport over for any obvious injuries.
“What do you mean?” He asked, finally getting the two horses in stalls before he joined his brother in Sport’s stall.
“Lookie here.” Hoss said, bending slightly to reach Sport’s underbelly. “He’s got small cuts on him like the last person riding him was wearing spurs.”
“Adam don’t believe in spurs.” Joe said, a worried frown creasing his brow.
“Yea,” said Hoss, patting Sport on the neck as he left the stall. “Don’t worry ole man, we’ll find him.” To Joe, “OK where do we start?”
Joe just smiled at his much larger brother. “How do you feel about eating breakfast again?”
Hoss just looked at him like he thought he was crazy. “I ain’t sayin no to another breakfast but…what the Sam Hill are you up to?”
“It’s easy.” Smiled Joe. “From what window can you see from one end of Virginia City to the other while watching the coming and going in the hotel lobby?”
Hoss just grinned. “You talked me into it.”
“Wasn’t hard.” Grinned Joe as he walked behind his brother.
********
For the next hour, the two of them set quietly in the dinning room, Joe sitting with his back to the lobby, watching the street while he sipped a cup of coffee, Hoss with his back to the wall, eating another breakfast, watching the lobby. With the early morning hustle and bustle on the hotel, no one seemed to notice just another couple of diners.
Joe’s hand stopped midway to his mouth with his fourth cup of coffee. He set the cup down with a bang. “There he his Hoss, outside of the mercantile!” Hoss turned to look out the window toward where Joe was looking. There, leaning on the hitching rail stood Adam. He seemed to be waiting for someone. As Joe and Hoss watched, Aggie joined him, carrying several packages. Instead of taking the packages from her, ‘Adam’ took her arm and led her across the street in the direction of the hotel. Joe and Hoss slipped down in their seats, hiding behind the other diners. The couple walked past, totally obvious to their presents.
As they rounded the corner at the head of the steps, Hoss stood abruptly and tossed some money on the table. “Let’s get out of here before they come back. I want to follow him when he leaves.”
Joe was a little confused. “Hoss, that was Adam. Maybe he really is just spending time with Miss. Booth.”
“Joe, have you ever known that big brother of ours to let a woman carry her own packages? And did you hear him? He’s wearing spurs.”
“Good point, lets go get the horses before he comes back out.”
**************
An hour later, Zeke was attempting to ride Sport down the street and out of town. For some odd reason today, he just wasn’t cooperating. Even when he applied the spurs to his flanks, the horse wouldn’t settle.
Sport felt the close proximity of his stable mates, he wanted to join them and lead them back to his human!
Joe and Hoss set quietly in the shadows hands on the each horse’s muzzle, attempting to keep them quiet. They didn’t want their presence known just yet.
“What took you so long?” Screeched Aggie once Zeke finally reached the lake.
“ Had problems with this crazy horse!” He stated as he attempted to dismount. Just as he swung his leg over Sport’s rump, Sport sidestepped, causing Zeke to fall flat on his rear end. Dusting his pants as he stood, he shot Sport a murderous look. “Once we’re done with Cartwright, I’m going to take great personal pleasure in shooting that animal!”
“Never mind the horse, did you loose his brothers? I saw them riding down the street from the hotel window not long after you left.”
“Were they following me?”
“No, as a matter of fact, they cut off and headed out the opposite end of town.” She grinned evilly. “Told ya it wouldn’t take much to fool them!”
“Want to lay a few odds on that one?” Came a rather low, growl from the trees behind Zeke. Joe dismounted his horse, his gun trained on Zeke. Hoss remained seated but had his rifle trained on Zeke as well.
“Mr. you’ve got about half a second to tell us where our brother is before I blow you in half.” Hoss said, his face a dark thundercloud that would have a sane man trembling in his boots.
Zeke’s rational side kicked in. “It was all her idea. I didn’t want to do it…it was all her!”
“I don’t care whose idea it was!” Screamed Joe, grabbing Zeke’s collar. He was nose to nose with the man. “Where’s my brother?”
“Around.” Smirked Aggie. “Zeke and Adam look so much alike, how did you figure it out so soon?”
“If you must know.” Explained Hoss; (Joe’s anger rendered him beyond coherent speech at the moment.) “The note you sent to the house. Laura dumped Adam to marry our cousin Will. If she came back to him, he’d probably shoot himself just sos he wouldn’t have to deal with her! In the second place,” he pointed to Zeke, still in the grip of a very angry little brother who was trying hard not to let loose his anger. “He’s wearing spurs. Adam don’t believe in them. Says they’re cruel and inhuman.” Hoss raised his gun just a little higher. “Now, either tell me what I want to know or I turn Joe loose to tear him apart bit by bit.”
No one had noticed the small handgun Aggie had hidden in a pocket of her dress. Before anyone could stop her, she shot Zeke in the heart, killing him instantly. Out of sheer instinct, both Joe and Hoss fired at Aggie. As she crumpled to the ground, they raced to her side, Hoss placing her head on his lap.
“Aggie please!” Begged Hoss, “Where is he?”
“Guess you’ll never know.” Said Aggie as the life drained out of her, and her sightless eyes stared up into the trees. The last thing she saw was the battered, bruised, and bloody face of the one they sought so desperately.
Tears formed in Hoss’ eyes as he lowered Aggie to the ground. Not for the senseless deaths that had just occurred but for the loss of their only hope of finding Adam. They figured he was still on the ranch but…where? It was a big ranch! He looked to Joe to find that the same thoughts were running through his head.
“How are we going to find him now Hoss?” Joe asked, unchecked tears running down his cheeks. “What did they do to him?”
“I ain’t got no idea Little Joe, but we gotta do something.”
Joe wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, a need for action taking over. “I guess the first thing we need to do is get these bodies back into town, then go round up as many of the men as we can and start looking. And I guess we’d better tell Roy what happened while we’re at it.”
Hoss looked at the couple in disgust. “Can’t we just toss em in the lake and not mention them again?”
Joe seemed to seriously consider it for a moment. Finally, he shook his head “No, it wouldn’t be right. Remember she is still Edwin’s little sister.”
“OK,” said Hoss wiping his eyes as he stood up. “How’s this? We take the bodies back to the house. We can send one of the hands into town with the bodies and have him send Roy in the direction of the lake while we search.”
Joe appeared to consider the plan. “I think I can live with that. But…you have to put one of the bodies on Sport. He doesn’t seem to be cooperating to well without Adam. It’s like he knows they hurt him.”
Hoss and Joe loaded the bodies onto the animals. Aggie was easy. They wrapped her in Joe’s saddle blanket and placed her over the rented horse. Zeke, however, was another story. The first attempt, Sport sidestepped Hoss’ attempt and he dropped the body.
Hoss shot him an aggravated look as he picked up the body for another
try. “That wasn’t very nice ya dern animal!” Sport just gave him a snort
and moved back to his original position. Hoss got the body situated on Sport’s
saddle. Before he could tie it down, Sport bucked him off. He looked at
Hoss with what could only be considered a smirk. “Carn sarn it Sport! You
do realize that the longer it takes to get these bodies back to the house,
the longer it’ll take to find Adam don’t you?” Sport stopped immediately
and walked over to stand by the body he had just tossed.
Joe sat on Cooch, amazed. “You would almost think he understands.”
“I hope so.” Said Hoss as he tied the body down. “I want to get started as soon as possible.” With that were off to the house, Joe leading Aggie’s horse, Hoss leading Sport, or rather held on to his reins, the horse was trying to break into a gallop. From the branches, a feverish Adam watched helpless as his brothers rode away from him, or at least he thought it was his brothers, he couldn’t be sure anymore. He attempted to call out to them but couldn’t due to the gag still in his mouth. He quickly returned to the land of darkness that he found so inviting.
Once back at the ranch, Joe pulled one of the ranch hands out of the bunkhouse to send to town with the bodies and to get Roy. The second the body was removed from his back, Sport pulled loose from the corral fence and bolted back the way he came. He slowed just long enough to look over his shoulder at Chubb and Cochise before calling to them.
Joe watched for a second before a sudden flash of intuition hit him. “Come on!’ He shouted to Hoss as he vaulted onto his saddle. “I think that crazy animal knows where Adam is!” The two horses took off after their stable mate, almost unseating their riders in the process.
They were really getting confused. Sport ran full tilt back to the lake and the same area they had left not an hour earlier, Cochise and Chubby not far behind. He stood; pawing the ground under the tree where Aggie died.
Hoss dismounted, looking around. He pushed his hat back as he scratched his head. “OK, I guess this is where we start.” Sport continued to paw the ground around the tree. Hoss looked closer at the ground, but could see nothing beyond the marks made when Aggie fell. He glanced to the tree itself. Something looked ‘off’ but he couldn’t really be sure. Upon closer inspection, it came to him.
“Joe look at this.” He said, touching the bark. “There’s blood on the bark.” Looking down. “And on the ground right here.” He pointed to an area not far from the tree. He looked up, thinking, but didn’t see anything.
Joe stood with his hands on his hips. “Can you tell which way they took him?”
“No.” He said, throwing the blade of grass in his hand to the ground. “Lets look over there next to that stand of trees, maybe we can find something from there.”
From his vantage point, Adam watched his brothers walk away from the tree. At least he thought it was his brothers. He was delirious at this point, and couldn’t be sure of anything. He was aware of an insatiable thirst due to the gag in his mouth, and an all-consuming pain that seemed to cover his entire body, and little else. He wanted to call out but he couldn’t work up enough strength to even moan.
Sport stood under the tree watching them as they looked around the area trying to find some clue as to where to look. This was getting exasperating! How could he get them to just look up?!? He looked up into the branches and called to his human, hoping to get a response out of him.
Joe stood, watching Sport. The feeling he had at the house that the animal knew something they didn’t was still there, but he just couldn’t figure out what it was! At that instance, an acorn sailed through the air and knocked his hat to the ground.
“What the heck was that?” Asked Joe, retrieving his hat.
“A really strong squirrel?” Asked Hoss as he rose from the ground. “Joe I don’t find anything. It appears he was shot here, cause there’s a little bit of blood on the ground but, the drag marks all lead back to that tree Sport’s taken up residence under.”
Sport whinnied loudly again into the branches. At that moment, an acorn launched from the area and knocked Hoss’ hat to the ground. This was followed by a barrage of nuts! Hoss and Joe both ducked to the ground. “Either we’ve stumbled upon a mess of really mad squirrels,” said Joe standing up, “or…” he spied something in the tree, the color draining from his face. “Oh God!’ He muttered under his breath. Without another word, Joe took off running for the tree. Sport moved closer to the tree and held perfectly still so Joe could use him as a stepping stone.
With a quick kiss on the cheek, Mickey* whispered in his ear. “Took em long enough. Bye Adam.” She disappeared just as Joe reached for the first branch. Joe had made his way to the third branch of the tree before he saw anything. “Hoss he’s here!” He shouted, the excitement clearly in his voice.
“Well, how is he?” Hoss asked anxiously from the ground beside Sport.
“I can’t tell from here, all I can see is his foot.” Joe got closer. “Hoss, his foot’s covered with blood…both of them are. I’m going on up.”
Hoss waited impatiently at the bottom. He was just before going up himself when he Joe finally spoke again, the agony all to clear in his voice. “Hoss, he’s…he’s…” he couldn’t say it.
Hoss sunk to the ground, and lowered his head to his hands. His whole world had instantly changed! How was he going to get through the rest of his life without his big brother to keep him out of trouble? What was this going to do to pa? He and Adam had been together his entire life, he wasn’t sure he could face it. He suddenly remembered there was one who was going to need him even worse. Even if he didn’t admit it, Joe had idolized Adam his entire life. He had been his ‘hero’. Now, Joe was up there, alone with Adam’s body, it had to be tearing him apart! Wiping the tears from his face, he stood and faced the tree again. “We can’t leave him hangin there, we gotta get him down Joe. Can you do it yourself or do you want me to come up?”
Joe’s voice cracked as he reached out to touch his beloved older brother’s face. “I’ll take care of him Hoss. There’s a rope tied to his hands that’s tied…”as his hand touched the large, purple lump on the side of Adam’s forehead, Adam involuntarily twitched. A low moan escaping his lips. “HOSS HE’S ALIVE! MY GOD HE’S ALIVE!”
Hoss brightened immediately, a new hope surging through him. “How is he?” He shouted, pacing back and forth under the tree.
Joe placed one hand on the side of his face and the other on his neck, feeling for a pulse. “It’s weak Hoss, very weak. But at least it’s there!” He worked to untie the knots around the tree. “Stand right where you are.” He yelled. “This rope’s about 30 feet long. I think we can get him down without too much trouble.”
“OK but be careful with those other branches, I don’t think he can stand too much more damage!”
Joe sat for a moment just studying the problem before an idea struck him. He maneuvered himself to the other side of Adam’s swinging body. Upon seeing his injured back, he paused. It was in such a mess, he was afraid to even touch him! “Hoss” He yelled down, “Send me up your shirt!”
“What for?”
“Because we need something to cover his back, and mine is way too small.”
Without another word, Hoss stripped off his shirt and tied it to the rope Joe lowered. As Joe buttoned the collar around Adam’s neck, another thought occurred to him. “Hey Hoss, go get our lariats off the horses and tie them together.”
“What for?”
“I’m going to make a harness and slip it around my chest. That way I can hold Adam and you can lower us down together.”
“Can’t you just use the rope he’s tied to?”
“No cause he’s hanging up here by his wrists. If you lower us both by that, my extra weight could rip his hands off. If I hold his rope and cut him loose, he could fall and I don’t want to risk it.”
While he was explaining, Hoss had returned with the ropes and was fashioning a harness. Joe hadn’t even noticed he was gone.
Once Joe had the harness on, he was ready to cut Adam loose. Hoss waited impatiently at the base, “Dad burn it Little Joe, what’s takin you so long?!?”
“Give me a second! I’m trying to get a good grip on him. I’m going to hold him up and take the weight off his hands. Do you think you can lower both ropes at the same time?”
“Course I can. Just you don’t drop him, he’s heavy.”
“I won’t.”
The two of them worked carefully together to get their brother down from his current location. Joe took a position between the tree and Adam, with his body facing toward him so he wouldn’t put any pressure on his back, almost holding him on his hip like a toddler. The second Joe’s feet touched the ground; Hoss reached for Adam, catching him as he started to fall backward. Adam groaned weakly as Hoss’ arms went across his back.
Hoss lowered him to the ground; almost gagging at the damage Adam had sustained. He wanted to help him, but didn’t know where to start. “The wound on his right leg went through, but the left one’s still in there. Looks like they’re both infected.” He could feel the immense heat radiating off his body. Upon closer inspection, “What’s these funny lookin curly red marks on his legs though?”
The anger showed on Joe’s face. “Open his shirt, you’ll find out.” He said through clinched teeth. Hoss looked at his brother for a second then did as he was told. He found that where there should have been a massively hairy chest, he was completely bare. The red marks on his legs extended up each side of his chest and spelled out the words Aggie on one side and Zeke on the other. There were still red ants walking in a few places. Hoss brushed them off.
“Those two better be glad they’re already dead!” Hoss’ anger bubbled to the surface once again. He was normally a passive, fun loving man with an incredibly long fuse but…this was his brother, and they had tortured him!
Joe could tell he was about to loose it. He laid a hand on his arm, hoping to defuse him just a bit. “Hoss, he needs help, not an explosion.” He said quietly. “I’d like to kill them all over again myself over this but,” nodding toward Adam’s inert body. “He needs us.”
Hoss rubbed a hand over his face. “Yea, you’re right.” He laid Adam’s head back on the ground before standing and looking in the direction of the house. “It’ll take too long to get back to the house to get the buckboard and he needs more attention than we can give him.” He looked in the direction of town. “I know Sport would be gentle with him but, there’s no way he can ride by himself. How about if I carry him in? We can put him on Chubb with me. You head on and get a buckboard and the doc and meet us on the way. That way doc can work on him while we ride the rest of the way in.
With a plan in place, Joe and Hoss worked to get their injured sibling on the horse, sidesaddle. Hoss climbed on Chubb’s rump and leaned Adam against him, his uninjured check on his shoulder. Joe vaulted onto Cochise’s saddle and turned toward town.
“Joe.” Hoss called as he carefully adjusted Adam to a more comfortable position. “Hurry.”
Joe smiled as he watched Hoss cradling Adam as if he were a tiny infant. “I will.” He said. “And you be real careful with big brother there.” He smiled, trying to lighten the mood just a bit. “He’d be real unhappy with you if ya dropped him.”
Hoss chuckled softly as he wrapped his arms a little more securely around Adam’s waist. “Yea know Adam, our little brother is sure full of himself ain’t he?” He spoke quietly into his unresponsive brother’s ear.
The brothers separated Joe at a full gallop toward town and help, Hoss and Adam at a slow but steady cantor.
A short while after separating, Joe met Roy and Dr. Martin coming toward him in the doctor’s carriage.
“Boy am I glad to see you two!” Exclaimed Joe, pulling alongside the carriage.
“After Buzz brought in the bodies and told me what happened, I figured we’d need Paul here’s help.” Said Roy from the passenger’s seat. “Where’s your brothers?”
“Headed slowly this way.” Explained Joe. “Adam needs help fast and town’s a lot closer than the house.”
“Paul had remained silent up to this point. “Is he in that bad a shape Joe? What are his injuries?”
Joe thought for a moment. “You’ll just have to see for yourself doc. there's just too many of them. Just take my word for it, he needs help…a lot of help!” The threesome picked up the pace toward the lake.
Their efforts were soon rewarded when a slow moving pair of horses topped the ridge. Joe raced back to meet them.
“How is he?”
“Not good. He stopped breathing on me for a second, but he started again on his own.” As an afterthought, “When we get him settled a the doc’s house, somebody needs to ride back to the lake and get Sport.”
Joe grinned in spite of the seriousness of the situation. “Uh Hoss? Look behind you.” Hoss turned slightly in the saddle and chuckled softly. Not three steps behind, standing guard over them walked Sport. “Guess he’s just as worried about Adam as we are.”
The parties soon joined forces and made their way into Virginia City. Hoss and Joe dropped the animals off at the livery and paid the stable boy extra to take special care of them so they could get back to their brother.
Paul drove his carriage around back of his house so they wouldn’t attract attention when they moved Adam inside.
As Adam was placed on the examining table, Roy finally asked. “OK which one of you wants to tell me about the two dead bodies at the undertakers?”
Joe was completely focused on his silent brother’s face, the anger building in him once again. How could anyone treat another human being like that, especially his big brother?
Hoss finally spoke. “We’re not rightly sure Roy.” He started. “All we know is Adam knew her; she’s Edwin Booth’s little sister. Him, we never saw before he rode into town, pretending to be Adam. After Adam and her rode off together, we’re pretty much in the dark. We think they had ever intention of torturing him to death.”
“Now how are you going to prove that?” Asked Roy in exasperation.
“Open his shirt.” Said Joe quietly through clinched teeth. Paul had by now gotten the remains of his long underwear off and covered his lower body. He was in the process of removing Hoss’ shirt. When he removed the shirt, he gasped. Roy was immediately at his side.
“That proof enough for ya?” Asked Hoss, the anger building in his face once again. “Now look at his hands!!! They had him hangin in a tree all night by his hands for pete’s sake! HOW MUCH PROOF DO YOU NEED?” His anger was getting to a dangerous level.
Dr. Martin knew he was getting out of hand, and was on the verge of hurting someone. “Hoss? HOSS?” He screamed. Hoss jerked in his direction, fire shooting out of his eyes. “I don’t normally condone such actions but, see that door over there? Hit it…do something…but calm down! You’re not doing your brother any good like this!”
Hoss took one giant step toward the door, balled up his fist and let it fly toward the door. The door broke from its hinges, slammed into the opposite wall, and remained there, embedded in the plaster. The action had the desired effect as Hoss, breathing hard, returned to his brother’s side.
“Thanks doc. I guess I needed that.” Looking toward the mess he’d made he turned sheepishly back to Paul. “Sorry about that. I’ll fix it.”
During the entire exchange, Joe had remained with Adam, one hand resting lightly over Adam’s wrist, the other brushing the hair away from the large purple lump on the side of his head.
Paul looked to Hoss then Joe as he examined the bullet wounds in Adam’s legs. “Now that you have that out of your system, I want the two of you out of here. Go contact your father, he’ll want to know what’s happening. “
The brothers looked sharply at one another. Joe was the first to speak. “Hoss…pa…”
“Yea, we gotta tell him something and get him back here.”
Roy at that moment glanced out the window. The stage had pulled into the station in the last few moments and the passengers were disembarking. Among them stood Ben Cartwright. “Ah boys, I don’t think that’s going to be a problem. Look out the window.”
“He’s early isn’t he?” Asked Joe, finally moving away from Adam.
“Yea.” Said Hoss with a sigh. “Let’s go get this over with.”
Ben spotted his two sons approaching him in the distance, but didn’t see which way they approached. He made his way through the crowd to them. “Boys, I’m glad you’re here. I was afraid you didn’t get my wire.” Ben looked around for his other son.
Joe coughed lightly getting Ben’s attention. “Pa the last wire we got from you said you wouldn’t be home for at least a couple of weeks yet.”
Ben smiled and laid his hand on Joe’s shoulder and turned back to Hoss. He didn’t like the look both boys had in their eyes. They were hiding something, he just knew it! “Where’s your brother, I really need to talk to him.” Neither would look him in the eye. He just started talking. “I ran into Edwin Booth in San Francisco. He said he was worried about Adam. His little sister Aggie ran from the asylum she had been residing in since the incident with John. Edwin said she always had a fascination with Adam and now, it had manifested tenfold, and…” Joe’s eyes strayed down the street to the undertaker’s. This didn’t go unnoticed by Ben, but he kept talking anyway, the fear growing in his soul. He was afraid if he stopped talking, his worst fears would be realized. “I have to warn Adam, to try to protect him, to…” his triad came to an end. “Please boys, where is he? Where’s my son?” Ben’s voice cracked. He was close to losing control, fearing the worst.
Hoss laid a hand on Ben’s shoulder as he spoke quietly. “Pa, Aggie got here two days ago. She had a friend waiting for her here that looked an awful lot like Adam.”
Ben sagged against the side of the building, his eyes straying to the undertaker’s building. “Where is he?” He asked, his voice weak and trembling.
Joe noticed where he was looking. “No pa, Aggie and her friend are there. He isn’t dead, but he’s in bad shape at the moment. He’s at Dr. Martin’s.” Joe laughed slightly. “Paul sent us to fetch you so we’d get out of his hair.” Ben took off down the street at an almost dead run. He had to see for himself that his son was alive.
The threesome arrived at the good doctor’s in short order, Ben in the lead. A blanket hung over the examining room door, which he found strange, but he didn’t say anything. He walked on into the small room without knocking. Paul was on the opposite side of Adam’s bed, working on shaving the hair off Adam’s right leg. The more he shaved, the graver his expression became. He didn’t notice the anxious father standing on the opposite side of the bed, gently brushing the hair off his son’s forehead and away from the bruised lump that seemed to cover most of the left side of his forehead and down onto his cheek.
“Paul?” He asked quietly, afraid any loud noise would awaken his sleeping son.
Paul looked up from his work. “Ben!” He exclaimed. “I’ve been waiting for you.”
“Paul, what’s wrong with him?” Asked Ben as Dr. Martin handed him another straight razor.
“I know this is going to sound strange but, shave all the hair off that side of his body, I’ll explain while we work.” Ben looked confused but complied.
“Now.” Paul began. “He has a bullet wound in each leg. The one in the right leg went all the way through, but the left one is still in there. I’ll have to operate as soon as we’re done here, but they’re both badly infected. They apparently covered him and honey and turned loose fire ants on each leg and up his chest. Once you get the hair out of the way, you’ll see that’s what proved their guilt. The ant bites are also infected but not as bad as the bullet wounds. He has a severe concussion due to that large lump on the side of his face. His hands are in bad shape, due to hanging by his wrists for almost twenty-four hours. I’m not sure we can do anything about them, but I intend to try.”
Paul laid the razor down and looked across his patient. “Are you finished?” Ben was staring in horror at the names revealed once the hair on his legs was gone. “Ben, it’s on his chest as well.” He said, lifting the sheet the rest of the way off Adam. His hands were hanging off the table in hopes of getting the blood circulating again and take some of the swelling out.
Paul interrupted Ben’s thoughts as he ran his hand lightly over the names on Adam’s chest. “We need to get the boys back in here.” He said. “As serious as his head injury is, I can’t risk giving him anything while I operate. The boys and you are going to have to hold him down in case he wakes up while I’m working on him.”
Following the dr.’s instructions, the three of them positioned themselves around the table, each holding on lightly. Dr. Martin was getting worried. Even though Adam was still out, he should have had some reaction to what was happening to him. He didn’t say anything to Ben because he didn’t want to worry him further.
“Well, doctor?” Asked Ben as the last bandage was applied.
Paul sighed. “I don’t know yet Ben. The wounds to his legs were not as severe as we first thought, but both are still infected. I’ve removed all the infected areas I could find. The ant bites should clear up in a few days, as long as we keep them clean, and he doesn’t scratch.” He looked toward the unconscious figure before him. “The only thing is, the head injury. Luckily he has a hard head but, we need to get the swelling down to make a proper assessment of that one.” To the other two. “Boys, run down to the saloon for me and pick up some ice please. The ice chunks would be too heavy but I want to try ice water compresses to see if we can get the swelling down.” Hoss and Joe, with one last look toward their brother, left for the saloon.
“Now, Ben…Ben…”
Ben looked away from his son’s peaceful, unconscious, misshapen face. When they got the swelling down, (he refused to think ‘if’), Adam’s face was going to be an interesting shade of purple.
“While they’re gone, I want you to take his left hand like so,” he demonstrated. “I saw one of his fingers twitch when he was first brought in, and they have just a hint of color to them now. I want to see if we can’t stimulate the circulation in his hands and get them working again.” He proceeded to show Ben how to massage Adam’s hands, and exercise the fingers.
“How often do we need to do this?” Asked Ben, copying Paul’s movements.
“At least three times a day.” With that he grinned. “Look at it this way, at least you’ll have something to do while you’re sitting here watching him sleep!”
“You mean you’re going to let me stay?” Ben was a bit surprised.
“Would you leave if I told you to go home or at least to the hotel and get some rest?”
“No.”
He laughed quietly. “There you have it.”
Hoss and Joe soon returned with the ice, and the work began. Dr. Martin gave them a ‘crash course’ in what needed to be done while he was out of the building. He also asked them to try to get their pa to at least rest in the vacant room next door, but knew it was asking a lot for any of them to leave before Adam woke up, or at least showed some sort of improvement.
***************
It had been almost three days and Adam still hadn’t shown any signs of waking up. The boys had at least talked Ben into taking a short nap in the room provided by Dr. Martin. He had not been out of Adam’s room since he got off the stage earlier in the week! Hoss sat on one side of the bed massaging one hand while Joe sat on the other, working on it. They were discussing all that had transpired over the last few days, and wondering about what went on at the lake while Adam was still being held captive.
“She was such a sweet little Southern Bell though Hoss. Do you think she was the brains behind the whole thing?”
“She was insane.” Came a weak whisper from the bed.
Hoss fairly shouted, “Adam!”
Ben, sleeping lightly in the next room heard the commotion in Adam’s room, and was instantly awake. He dashed to his son’s room to find both his younger sons standing closely by Adam’s bed with Dr. Martin completely blocking his view.
“Paul what’s wrong?” He asked, afraid to come any closer for fear of what he would find. He failed to notice Hoss and Joe’s beaming faces.
“Well.” Started Paul, in a stage whisper over his shoulder. “Hoss got over excited and screamed, Joe knocked over his chair, and Adam…” he moved aside to allow Ben to see Adam’s face for the first time, “has a headache that could knock over a pine tree all by itself.”
Ben just stared for a second in amazement. “Hi pa.” Came a weak whisper from the bed. He tried to raise his hand to wave, but his brothers still had them.
Ben advanced slowly toward his son. “How are you feeling?” He asked in a stage whisper. He didn’t think Adam could stand much more noise than that.
“Aside from the fact that the room won’t stand still, not too bad.” He whispered, back. He was still so weak; he couldn’t manage much more than that. “That and my head feels like it wants a divorce from the rest of my body.” Joe laid his hand on his chest and reached for the iced towel in the bowl beside Adam’s bed. He placed it across Adam’s forehead to cover the entire bruise. “Thanks little buddy, that feels good.” The swelling had gone down, but was still evident. The left side of his forehead, past his eye, down to about center cheek was in several interesting shades of purple, black, and sickly yellow. His left eye was bloodshot, and both eyes were just a bit crossed.
Adam tried to focus on his father’s face, or rather faces, hovering just above his. “Did you get the railroad contract?” He asked, trying to deflect a small portion of his father’s concern.
“Sure did son. They agreed to every modification you asked for.” He said softly, brushing the hair off his undamaged forehead. “You know, you’re the only son I never thought I’d say this to but…you need a haircut!”
Adam tried to laugh, but it ended in a grimace. “Don’t make me laugh, it hurts!” He moaned, placing his hand over his undamaged eye. “Can I ask you a question please?” He asked, looking from his father to Dr. Martin who had been hovering close by Ben’s shoulder.
“Sure son, anything.”
He looked from one to the other again. “What am I doing here?”
Joe and Hoss looked at one another in shock, then at their father. Ben was looking to Dr. Martin, hoping for answers.
“As severe as this concussion was, it’s no wonder he doesn’t remember what happened.” He explained. “It could be years before he fully remembers, or he may never remember.”
By now, Adam was getting rather aggravated. “Would somebody clue me in here?”
“What’s the last thing you remember?” Ben asked, laying a hand on Adam’s shoulder.
Adam thought for a moment, then grinned. “Those two trying to rig a bucket of water over the front door.” Joe and Hoss looked sheepish.
Ben looked at the two of them. “You can explain later.” To Adam, “Anything else?”
Adam shook his head, and immediately regretted it. Dr. Martin handed a glass with pain medication mixed in to Ben. Hoss positioned himself behind his brother and raised him just enough for him to drink. “Now young man,” he said as Adam finished the glass and Hoss lowered him carefully back to the pillow. “I want you to get some rest. You’re family won’t be too far away.” Adam’s eyelids were already getting heavy. Ben, Hoss, Joe, and Dr. Martin walked quietly out of the room.
Once out of earshot, Ben turned to his old friend. Before he could open his mouth, Dr. Martin replied, “I want him to remain here for at least another week. That way his vision will have time to return to normal, and he won’t be seeing so many of you.” He chuckled.
“What about the insect bites?”
Paul hesitated, scratching his head, trying to think of how to explain.
“Until they clear up completely, we’re going to have to keep him clean shaven…and
I don’t mean his beard.”
He watched as both Joe and Hoss tried hard to contain their laughter. Ben,
while trying to contain his own amusement, shot a warning look at the two
of them.
“While he’s been unconscious it was easy, but he’s awake now.” He explained once everyone had calmed down. “He’ll want to do it himself, but his hands aren’t up to par yet, and he could seriously hurt himself.”
Joe was biting his lower lip, trying not to burst out laughing. Ben shot him a look. “This is serious son. Your severely independent, modest, emotionally restrained big brother is going to need help doing something that would be embarrassing to most of the human race.” They sobered immediately. “Now, you know he’s going to recover so I want the two of you to go home and get back to work. Like Adam’s so fond of saying ‘The Ponderosa won’t run itself.’ You can come back tomorrow and bring me some clean clothes while you’re at it.”
“OK pa.” Said Hoss, getting ready to leave. “Is it ok if we tell Adam bye before we git?” He asked Dr. Martin.
“OK.” Said Paul, “Just be quiet and don’t wake him, he needs his rest.”
They found their brother was somewhere in the land between asleep and fully awake. He was just barely aware of their presence. Each placed a hand on his shoulders. “We’re going back to the ranch now big brother.” Said Hoss. “You behave and don’t give the dr. and pa too much trouble.” He said quietly in Adam’s ear. Then he did something he hadn’t done since he was a small child; he laid his head on Adam’s shoulder and hugged him close. “I love you.” He whispered in his ear before standing up. Adam gave him a little smile.
Joe leaned close and kissed the top of Adam’s head. “Don’t ever scare us like that again ok?” He whispered “I love you” in his other ear. Adam flashed him a little smile before his eyes closed completely.
Ben stood quietly by watching the exchange between his sons, a tear in his eye. He quickly wiped it away before the boys turned around. “Now.” He whispered, “I’ll see the two of you tomorrow.”
******************
The days that followed developed into a routine for Adam. In the morning, he worked with two small balls designed by Hoss to use to get the strength back in his hands. After lunch, and before Joe and Hoss came for their daily visit, came the most embarrassing part. He reluctantly agreed to his father and Dr. Martin shaving him, just as long as they were done before Joe and Hoss got there. (He was even getting used to not wearing clothes!).
“Well, Adam.” Said Dr. Martin as he and Ben entered Adam’s room with the tray of shaving implements they would need on the seventh day since his arrival “We’ve almost got the infection cleared up. I think one more day of this should be enough.” He laughed as Adam looked up at him, his face beaming.
“I told Hoss and Joe to bring you some clothes.” His father interjected. “Paul said your vision is cleared up enough for you to be able to go home tomorrow.”
“I said you could go home if you take it easy for a few more days!” Said Paul, waving a finger in his direction to make his point. “You still have a way to go to get your strength back in both your body and your hands!”
“Thanks doc.” Said Adam with a sigh. “Now, can we get this over with before those two brothers of mine get here?”
Dr. Martin removed the sheet and uncovered Adam’s naked body. Along with the fading purple, yellow, and blue of the bruises, his face was also bright red. He stared straight ahead at the ceiling, not making eye contact with either man. They were almost finished when the front door burst open. Before they could toss the sheet back over Adam, the blanket that served as a door was tossed aside to reveal a very flustered Abigail Jones!
“Dr. Martin I need you assistance!” She practically screamed.
“What’s the trouble Mrs. Myers?” He said, trying to block her view.
She took no notice, and entered further into the room. “My husband has…” at that instant she noticed the object of her greatest desires lying before her! The hastily tossed sheet had only just covered his private parts, so she got a wonderful eyeful! “Oh Adam, my darling, I didn’t see you there.” She took another step closer to the table.
Adam’s eyes grew wider as Dr. Martin stepped back in front of Abigail and placed his hands on her shoulders, turning her toward the door. “Mrs. Myers, you said there was a problem with your husband? Hank? Don’t you think we should get back to him?”
Abigail looked at him in disappointment. “Yes, I suppose you’re right. Hank’s waiting” She turned back to the table. Dr. Martin stood between, blocking her view. She tried to look over Dr. Martin’s shoulder, but he kept blocking her. “Adam, darling, I hope you get well soon.” With that, she was ushered out the door.
Adam covered his eyes, his face getting redder and redder by the moment! “Pa, I’ll never be able to face that, that…PERSON again!” He looked to his father. “As soon as Hoss and Joe get here, I want to go home!”
Ben tried to placate him. “Son, Dr. Martin said you could go home tomorrow, isn’t that soon enough?”
“You don’t understand pa! I don’t want to be in the same TOWN with that woman!”
Ben smiled to himself, “Yes, I suppose you’re right. I’ll ask Paul as soon as he gets back.”
At that moment the door opened and the unmistakable sounds of the returning Cartwrights could be heard in the hallway. Adam sat up quickly, covering himself with the sheet. “Hi you two…where’s my clothes?” He asked. The agitation in his voice was apparent.
Joe looked confused. “Pa said you weren’t going home until tomorrow, we didn’t bring any.” Hoss stood behind his little brother, looking from Adam to his father. From the amused look on his father’s face, and the look of panic on Adam’s face, he could tell something had transpired before they arrived.
Ben placed his hand gently on Adam’s shoulder. “Son.” He started gently. “We don’t have the buckboard, and you still aren’t strong enough to ride Sport. It’ll be ok to wait one more day.”
Adam shook his father’s hand off. “I told you pa, I’m not staying in this town one second longer! Hoss, please go to the mercantile and bye me some clothes. Joe go rent a buggy.” The two of them stood their ground, looking to their father for further instructions. “I’ll crawl if I have to.” No one moved. “Pa…please…” he practically begged.
Ben relented, “I’ll talk to Paul. One day early shouldn’t make any difference.” Adam relaxed as Hoss and Joe left to do as instructed.
“What do you suppose that was all about?” Joe asked as they went out the front door.
“Not a clue Little Joe.” Said Hoss as he spied Dr. Martin approaching. “But there’s somebody who can tell us.”
The two of them met Paul before he got to the bottom step. “Hello boys, where are you off to so soon?”
“To get big brother some clothes and a ride out of here.” Said Joe. “Do you have any idea why he’s in such a hurry to go?” He asked suspiciously.
Dr. Martin’s face turned a bit red as he lowered his eyes to the ground. “I think you should let your family explain that one. Now If you’ll excuse me.” He disappeared inside before they could ask him anything else.
Hoss looked at Joe, shrugged, and the two of them went on to perform their appointed tasks, still very much in the dark.
After much difficulty, Adam was dressed, and making his way out to the awaiting buggy. His new hat was pulled down over his eyes, hoping to hide as much of his still very bruised face from prying eyes, and under Dr. Martin’s insistence, was wearing work gloves to keep him from scratching. He still flatly refused to discuss with his brothers what had caused this mad dash out of town, so they rode on each side of the buggy, keeping a close eye on him. As they approached the Jones house, Adam slumped down further in the seat and pulled his hat down further over his eyes. Abigail was standing on the front porch, watching the small procession make it’s way past.
“Hello Mr. Cartwright, boys, see you in church this Sunday.” Ben waved cautiously, Hoss and Joe tipped their hats, acknowledging her. They noticed Adam was trying his best to blend into the back of the buggy. He wasn’t getting away that easily. “Hope you feel well enough to join them Adam. It’ll be good to see you again!”
Once they were out of town, and on the way back to the ranch, Joe rode closer to Adam. He just had to ask. “Care to tell us what that was all about?”
“NO!” Was the only response he got.
“You know they’re going to drive you crazy until they find out don’t you?” Ben asked in sympathy.
“Wouldn’t be the first time.” Adam said, crossing his arms in defiance.
“Jeez pa!” Exclaimed Hoss. “From the way he’s acting, you’d almost think she saw him neked or somethin’!”
Joe stopped his horse; a sudden thought came to him. “That’s it isn’t it? She walked in on him while he was uncovered?” Adam slumped down further in the seat, and his father continued driving in silence, a smile playing around his lips.
“Ah pa, Adam, I think Joe and I should ride on ahead and tell Hop Sing you’re on the way. OK?” Asked Hoss, the mirth barely hidden. Joe was a basket case. He tried his best not to laugh, but he was losing the battle rapidly.
Ben just nodded, and watched as their horses sped off at an almost gallop. They were barely out of earshot when the sound of their laughter echoed back to them.
“I’ll never hear the end of this!” Moaned Adam.
***********************
Adam’s predictions proved all too accurate. Hoss and Joe took every opportunity to bring her into the conversation, and as the days passed, and Adam’s strength returned, they tried to talk him into going into town for any reason they could think of from picking up the mail to offering to buy him a beer at the saloon. Adam flatly refused to leave the ranch for any reason short of the place being on fire!
************************
Ben and Adam were seated on the front porch, enjoying a glass of lemonade, just waiting for the boys to return from their day’s work.
“I sent a wire to Edwin inviting him to the ranch.” Ben suddenly brought up. “I figured we should be the ones to tell him about his sister.”
“Thanks pa.” Said Adam, his eyes downcast. He remembered nothing of the incidents but felt Edwin should hear the news from him. “I’m not sure what to tell him though. All I remember is greeting Aggie when she got off the stage.”
“Don’t worry son,” said Ben, patting Adam’s arm. “We’ll be there to help fill in the details.”
“Thanks.” He saw Hoss and Joe riding into the yard. “Here they are now. Glad you’re back, how does the South pasture look.”
“Just fine.” Said Hoss, dismounting from Chubb and tossing the reins over the hitching rail. “We should be able to move the herd in a few days. By then you may be able to join us.”
“I hope so.” Said Adam. He was well and truly tired of sitting around the house! He longed for the open range, the sound of the cattle in the distance, even the hard work that went along with it.
Joe wasn’t far behind his much larger brother. “We picked up the mail while we were out pa.” He turned to Adam with a grin, “Mrs. Myers said she wanted to come to the ranch for a visit to make sure you’re healing properly. I told to come ahead, that you would LOVE a visit. I hope that’s ok?” He asked, trying to look innocent. Adam just covered his eyes. To date, he had let them have their fun, and not fought back.
“Well boys,” said Ben standing up. “Hop Sing should be calling us in for dinner soon. Maybe the two of you should get washed up before he does.”
“Good idea pa.” Said Hoss, heading for the door. “I’m hungrier than a bear!”
He and Joe took off for the front door while their father and brother stood on the porch. “I don’t know what he’s cookin’ but it sure smells good!” Said Hoss.
“For once big brother, I may out eat you!” Said Joe, reaching the door first. As he pushed the door open, the trap door sprung, and several gallons of water poured over the pair in one long sheet! They turned to find Ben and Adam standing behind them each with a towel and soap in their hands.
“Gotcha!” Said Adam with a hugh grin.
“Pa aren’t you goin a say anything?” Stammered Joe, wiping the water out of his face.
Ben just laughed and passed the towel to his youngest. “You two’ve had this coming for a while so…nope!”
Joe and Hoss stood on the porch and tried to dry themselves off as the two elder Cartwrights went on into the house.
“And by the way.” Said Ben sticking his head out the door again. “Clean up this mess when you’re done.”
Hoss glared at Joe. “Dadburn you Little Joe! Ain’t we right back where
we started?”
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*The Cartwright’s “guardian angel” from my previous stories.