Joe stood at the window and looked out. The street lamps burned dimly through the evening fog. "Hey, Adam, come here - look!"
"Joe, come away from the window now! That's an order!" Captain Adam Cartwright's voice was sharp and sounded angry. Ben, Hoss, and Joe turned to look at him in surprise.
"But, Adam," Joe protested, "I can hear an army marching - let's go out and see it."
Adam's face was white, and Ben reached for him, thinking he was going to pass out.
"No! Joe," and this time his tone was pleading, "Joe, come away from the window - it isn't what you think."
"Adam, Joe isn't doing any harm," Ben tried to reason with him.
"He needs to get away from the window, Pa. It isn't safe." Adam buried his face in his hands.
Hoss looked at his older brother, and then motioned to Joe to come away from the window. "It's all right, Adam. Joe's minding you - see, he's come away from the window."
Adam looked up to see his father and brothers standing in front of him.
The war had ended a year ago, and Adam had been assigned to Charleston, South Carolina to help in the state's reconstruction. His commanding officer had contacted Ben a few months before and told him that Adam was ill and needed to be taken home. Dreading what they might find, Ben, Hoss, and Joe had left the Ponderosa under the care of their foremen and Hop Sing, and made the long journey across country. When they arrived in Charleston, they'd gone straight to the Army hospital only to learn that Adam was billeted at a former hotel on King Street. They had found him sitting in his room; he was pale and thin, and his hair - his thick dark curly hair - had fallen out. He was almost completely bald. He'd looked up when Ben called his name, and Ben realized that Adam didn't believe he was really there, didn't believe his eyes. He'd finally put his hand out, and Ben had taken hold of it. Adam had drawn a deep breath, and almost cried, "Oh, Pa." He'd reached out for Ben then, something he hadn't done since he was a tiny boy, and Ben had held him until he'd stopped shaking, until he'd stopped crying.
He was a far cry from the confident brave man who had gone to war, believing that the Union had to be preserved at all costs. He was a shadow of his former self, and it broke Ben's heart to see him. Hoss and Joe didn't know what to think. Adam had always been the strong smart brother who protected them from real and imaginary dangers.
Ben had planned to take rooms somewhere in the city and to go out for dinner, but he realized - they all realized - that Adam's condition was too precarious. Hoss and Joe went out and managed to find some bread and cheese. They brought it back to Adam's room, and ate there. Ben had put his son to bed, and was sitting beside him, holding his hand.
"Pa, what are we going to do with him?" Joe whispered.
"We're going to take him home." Ben was determined. "Tomorrow you and Hoss will stay here with him while I go see his commanding officer and see about getting him discharged. Then we leave for home." He continued to sit beside Adam and hold his hand. Whenever Adam roused, Ben smiled at him, and repeated, "You're going to be all right, son. We've come to take you home." Adam drifted back to sleep.
Hoss stretched out on the floor and snored. Joe stood by the window and looked out on the city streets. Then the sun began to go down, and the fog came in. As the day's sounds died away, Joe could hear the sound of marching feet - an army on the move. He saw that Adam had waked up, and he called out to him, "Hey, Adam, come here - look!"
"Joe, come away from the window now! That's an order!" Captain Adam Cartwright's voice was sharp and sounded angry. Ben, Hoss, and Joe turned to look at him in surprise as he sat up in bed.
"But, Adam," Joe protested, "I can hear men marching - let's go out and see them."
Adam's face was white, and Ben reached for him, thinking he was going to pass out.
"No! Joe," and this time his tone was pleading, "Joe, come away from the window - it isn't what you think."
"Adam, Joe isn't doing any harm," Ben tried to reason with him.
"He needs to get away from the window, Pa. It isn't safe." Adam buried his face in his hands.
Hoss looked at his older brother, and then motioned to Joe to come away from the window. "It's all right, Adam. Joe's minding you - see, he's come away from the window."
Adam looked up to see his father and brothers standing in front of him. He had to explain. "There's no army there, Joe, not a live one. It's the army of the Confederate dead. They march every night. I hear them - we all hear them - but there's no one there. They're marching north to support Lee. When the dawn comes, the sounds go away. They go back to their graves."
Adam lay back down in his bed as his father and brothers stared at him in horror.
The next morning Ben was up at dawn and knocking on the door of Adam's commanding officer. The paperwork was ready, and Ben signed for his son's release.
"I wish Captain Cartwright all the best," the Major said. "He's a fine man, a fine officer, and I hope he recovers."
Ben hesitated, and then decided to confide in the man. "Last night we thought we heard an army marching. Adam told us it was the army of the Confederate dead."
The Major looked at Ben. "The Confederate dead march every night to join Lee in the north. Some of my men, including your son, can see them. As the dawn comes, when the rooster crows, they return to their graves."
"Surely you don't believe - " Ben broke off.
"I believe that you need to take you son home as soon as possible. For his sake and your own, you need to get him away from this city as soon as possible." The Major shook Ben's hand and sat back down at his desk.
That evening four men were on a train heading west. As they passed through the city, Ben looked out the window. He could hear the sound of an army on the move, and, through the mist, he saw the ghostly shapes of men.
Adam was sitting across from him, and Ben saw him look out the window, shudder, and hide his face in his hands. Beside him, Hoss put a comforting arm around his shoulders, and whispered, "It's all right, Adam, we're leaving here. Whatever you believe you see, it won't follow you home."
Hoss looked out the window and saw the mist but nothing else. He looked at his father and Joe sitting across from him. They were staring out the window, and Joe's face was pale. He didn't know what they saw and heard, but he was glad he couldn't see it. Perhaps it was because he was so grounded in this world or he lacked the imagination of his father and brothers - whatever it was, he was glad for once that he was different.
He stood up and took off his coat, and then he helped Adam up and changed seats with him. "We'll get you away from that window, brother - there's nothing there you need to see." He wrapped his coat around Adam, and started to sit down. He noticed that Ben and Joe were still staring out the window, faces pale, and he reached over and closed the shades. They looked up at him.
"I don't know what you all are seeing out there, but it's nothing to do with us. Besides, it's night and you need to sleep." Hoss's tone was kind but very firm.
Adam looked up at him. His face was pale and his hands were shaking. "I guess you think I'm pretty pitiful, Hoss." He tried to smile but couldn't. Hoss put his arm around him and pulled him close.
"I think you've been through some awful times and seen too many bad things, Adam - times and things that would have killed a lesser man. You just need to close your eyes and rest - let me take care of you." He gently pulled Adam's head onto his shoulder, and sat there with his arm around his brother as the train traveled away from Charleston and its ghostly army.
