After the Crucible
by Lyda Mae (RavenDove) Dameron
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Ben Cartwright soaked the cloth he held in cool water and placed it back on his sons brow. When they had found Adam in the desert he had been close to death and dragging a dead man behind him. Now he lie here in the clinic in Salt Flats. In the few near lucid moments he had had Adam had not given many clues about what had happened after being left there to die by thieves.
The nurse entered the small room carrying a bowl of what smelled like broth. "The Sheriff is down stairs and wants to talk to you Mr. Cartwright."
Ben was reluctant to leave Adam's side but stood from the chair anyway.
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"I have some questions for you Mr. Cartwright." the Sheriff said in a serious voice. "I'm told you left a man out in the desert when you found your son..."
"That's right Sir." said Ben. "When we found Adam he was pulling a man behind him on what looked like the side of a wagon using a mules harness. The man was dead and we left him in a shallow grave because we needed to get Adam to a doctor."
"I haven't had a chance to speak to Dr. Stone yet. What is your son's condition?"
Dr. Stone stepped in from the street carrying his bag and with a small amount of blood on his apron and sleeve covers. "Mrs. Persimmons had another girl John" he said jovially. "I think Jacob was still hoping for a son but he got over it once he counted all the fingers and toes."
"That's good to know Doc." the sheriff said as he turned to Dr. Stone. "I need to know how Mr. Cartwright's son is doing though."
The expression on the doctor's face changed in an instant from happy to a guarded half frown. "The younger Mr. Cartwright is resting as comfortably as possible at the moment, but if he makes it through the next few days he might not be the same man that entered that dessert." Ben frowned as the doctor continued. "His body temperature when he got here was hot enough to cook his insides and possibly damage his brain. His heart nearly stopped when we put him in the ice bath." The doctor stripped off his apron and sleeve covers placing them in a bin to be washed. "He'd been exposed to the dessert and gone without food and water for only God knows how long. His feet were blistered and bloody, plus he took a beating a few days back. I also suspect he'd been hog tied by someone and dragging that dead man behind him was starting to rip into his hide"
"He's been through his own version of Hell."said Ben "And all anyone can do is wait for him to recover enough to tell the story."
"If he can keep enough food and water down for the next few days he'll recover, but you may never get the whole story out of him." the doctor said as he shook his head.
Ben shook his head and looked down at his boots. "I've seen men go through terrible things in my life and it can do strange things to them." he turned to go back upstairs. "Once my son is strong enough I'm taking him back to my ranch."
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Ben dozed in the chair by Adams bed. Hoss and Little Joe had made him stay part of the afternoon in a room at the local hotel but he was determined not to leave Adam alone through the night. The cool night wind blew through the window and Adam shivered. The younger man's eyes opened and he bolted upright in the bed crying out. "I won't play your game Kane!!! I'll not be a killer..." His voice was still rough.
Ben stood and put his arms around his son. "It's alright Adam." he said in soothing voice.
"I'm not a killer..." Adam protested more weakly.
"No Adam you're not a killer." Ben said as his son's eyes closed again and he lowered him back to the pillow. He found the displaced rag and moistened it to put back in place on the boy's forehead and helped Adam to moisten his cracked lips.
The Door opened slowly admitting Joe who asked softly. "Has he been crying out like that all this time?"
"It happens every so often." Ben said as he sat back in the chair.
"I don't know what that Kane fellow did but It's a good thing he died before I got to him." Joe said with the bravado of a big man stuck in a little body.
"It may be a good thing he died before anyone could get to him Joseph." Ben said. "I'm sure that if he'd lived he would have been hung."
"It's my watch Pa." Joe said. "If you don't go get some rest I've got Hoss outside to drag you back to the hotel."
"You've got the doctor's instructions on how often he needs to drink more water?"
"Yes and I've got a nurse outside to bring more." Joe said. "Now go or I'll ask the doctor to slip you something."
Ben rubbed his brow and stood up. "You'd do it too." He walked out of the room and Joe took his seat.
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Adam became aware that he was facing a wall. Which was funny because he was certain that the last few times he'd opened his eyes he'd been facing a ceiling. He felt a wet cloth being wiped somewhere he would much rather not have someone else cleaning and strong hands holding him so that fresh sheets could be placed beneath him. He knew the strong hands holding him were his father's hands. Once clean sheets were in place he felt for something to cover himself and pulled what felt like another sheet over his bandaged body.
Ben rolled Adam over to lay him back on the pillow and found his son's eyes wide open and clearly aware. "Can you hear me Adam?" he asked with hope.
"I hear you Pa, but are you real or another desert mirage?" Adam asked softly.
"I'm real Adam" Ben said, "and you are safe."
The nurse left the room with the soiled linens. "I'll be back with Dr. Stone now that your son is awake enough to talk.
Adam felt his eyes moisten like they couldn't have back in the desert and he blinked away a few tears only to have his father wipe them from his eyes with his hand.
"The men who hurt you are all dead Adam." Ben said softly. "The men who robbed you got themselves shot and Kane had died from exposure by the time we found you."
Adams tears began to flow more freely. "I wanted them all to face the law."
Ben knew his eldest son was an Idealist. "I'm sure you did Adam but sometimes death takes a man before he can face a judge in this world." Adam shook a little but his tears subsided and Ben wiped Adam's face with a damp cloth. "You are in a clinic in Salt Flats and you've done nothing but sleep for two days."
Dr. Stone entered the room and took a place on the opposite side of the bed as Ben, then placed a stethoscope to Adams bare chest above the bandage around his bruised ribs. "I'm Dr. Stone Mr. Cartwright." Stone moved the stethoscope to a new position. "I need to check a few things now that you are awake." Stone placed his fingers to the artery in Adam's neck and looked into the air as he concentrated on what he felt. When he looked back to face Adam he said, "I need you to sit up for a few minutes for me." Ben helped Adam to a sitting position and Dr. Stone place the stethoscope to Adam's back. "You we're in really bad shape when you got here Mr. Cartwright."
Adam began to feel the room spin and he closed his eyes.
Ben felt Adam go limp in his arms then laid him back to the pillow and tried to revive him. "Adam..." he began to call out to his son.
"Let him come to on his own." the doctor said as he put the stethoscope to Adam's chest once more and felt the pulse at his neck. "I needed him to sit up so I could gage how much of a strain it would be on him. His heart is still struggling from what he's been through."
Ben looked at Dr. Stone with anger. "What kind of doctor are you?"
"I can't give your son the proper treatment without knowing how severe his condition is."
Adam began to stir again and looked at his father with bleary eyes. "W-what happened?"
"your heart told the rest of your body to lay down." Dr Stone said as he placed the stethoscope to Adam's chest once more. The doctor then stood up straight "I'll be back with some medicine and I'll send Madeline up with a few more pillows."
Dr. stone was back just after his nurse had come in and propped Adam into a more half sitting position on the bed. He handed Ben a glass of what looked like cloudy water. "Make sure he drinks every drop but give it to him slowly or it might come back up. Once he finishes that I'll send up porridge."
Ben looked at the glass. "What is it?"
"Something that tastes nasty but will make your son's heart stronger."
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It was several hours and a few bowls of porridge later that Adam was introduced to the Sheriff.
"I need your statement of what happened for the record Mr. Cartwright." The Sheriff said. "Did you kill the man you were found with in the desert?"
"No," Adam answered, "But I think he would have preferred that I had."
Ben put a hand on Adam's shoulder and and said. "We need to know as much of the story as you can tell Adam."
"If you don't feel you are up to it the sheriff can come back later." Dr. Stone said in a scolding tone.
Adam shook his head. "Better to tell it now and be done with it." Adam paused for a moment. "It began when two men overheard how much money I would be carrying in a bar back in Yuma..."
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Dr. Stone and the Sheriff walked down the stairs together and Hoss and Joe overheard them talking. "Can you imagine hearing your own father call out your name and not being able to call back because you have a rifle pointed at you?" Dr. Stone asked of the Sheriff.
"That Cartwright boy is one tough nut to crack." The Sheriff answered. "Still sticking to his principals after all that."
Joe and Hoss had to restrain themselves from running up the stairs to find out what their father knew of Adam's story.
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Ben stepped out of Adam's room and nearly ran into both of his younger son's. "He was taken prisoner and tortured," Ben said, "yet he never broke."
"How was he tortured Pa?" Hoss asked.
"He was forced to work a worthless claim by a mad man while being denied food and water." Ben answered. "Yet he still tried to bring his torturer to justice instead of leaving him to die when he had the chance."
"Dr. Stone says that Adam should be well enough to travel in a week but not well enough to ride." Ben began. "I'm sending you two back to the Ponderosa. You go ahead and ride Sport Joseph and lead Cochise behind you. Then Hoss can stay at the Ponderosa and Joseph you bring back the wagon that's got a cover and plenty of blankets so Adam can lay down in the back."
"Okay Pa," Hoss said, "but I'm going to tell Doc Stone to make sure you go and sleep at the hotel at night. It's bad enough having Adam in the state he's in. We don't need you so tired you fall off a horse or something."
"You do what you feel you need to do Hoss." Ben said. "I'll do what I need to do."
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The wagon went slowly as it came near the main house at the Ponderosa Ranch and Little Joe jumped down after setting the wagon break. He went around back and helped his father and then Adam climb down from the back. Adam was bathed and clean shaved. He didn't look at all like the man who had been found in such a desperate state two weeks before. He looked at he house he had called home with dreamy eyes. "I don't think I have seen a more beautiful site in my whole life."
Ben smiled. "I'm sure you haven't."
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The End