Last Resort

Chapter 1

"It sure is dark in here," Joe commented, shivering slightly. "Smells terrible, too."

"Hoss probably wouldn't think it smelled so terrible."

Joe chuckled. "Yeah, I bet he wouldn't. Nothin' smells better to him than moldy potatoes." In the dim light, Joe saw Adam's cheek ball up and knew he had smiled. "We gotta get outta here, Adam."

"That's just what I've been thinking, brother."

Little Joe struggled with the ropes that bound his wrists together. "If only I could get my hands untied, I bet I could find something useful in here!"

"Forget it, Joe, we've been over this cellar a hundred times."

"And what would you have us do? Sit and wait until Pa and Hoss can save us?"

"No, after this morning, I think we both know that's impossible. They're using us, Joe. We're their ticket to freedom."

A sudden, overwhelming sense of despair overtook the younger man, and he sighed heavily. "There wasn't a thing Pa or Hoss could do."

"Well, not a thing they would do, anyway."

"What do you mean by that, Adam?"

Even though he could barely see him, Joe knew his brother well enough that he could see his movements clearly in his mind... leaning forward, setting elbows to knees, looking away for a moment as he collected his thoughts. "It's like this, Joe, when a man takes another human being hostage, it's because he knows that someone cares for that person enough that they won't want them hurt. Take this morning, Gaffon and his pal had us right there, at the end of a gun, in front of Pa and Hoss."

"Nothing they could do."

"Nothing they could do if they didn't want us hurt."

"Adam, you're talkin' in circles; would you get to a point?"

"Think about it, Joe. What if they shot us down?"

"Us?"

"Yeah, you and me. If they shot us down, then what would Gaffon have?"

"Nothing."

"Right. That would be the end of it."

"Are you saying you think Pa and Hoss should have shot us?"

"Of course I didn't think so at the time, but hindsight is clear vision, brother. That's the only way out of that kind of situation."

A cold silence settled over them, and then Joe heard Adam's boots scrape the dirt as he got to his feet. "What are you doing?"

"I'm goin' over this place again. We gotta find a way outta here."

"Here's a bunch of tracks, Pa," Hoss called. He hopped down off of Chubb and squatted to look at them more closely. Before long, his father and the Sheriff squatted beside him.

"Looks like they headed up the Slackee Wash Trail."

"Too much time wasted! They're miles ahead of us by now. Miles!" Ben slapped his hat against his leg angrily, and a puff of dust greeted the air.

"Hoss, ain't there a little homestead out by Slackee Wash?"

The big man turned to the sheriff and grinned slightly. "Danged if there ain't, Sheriff. I'll bet anything they stopped and holed up in there!"

As they prepared to mount, Ben felt the Sheriff's hand on his shoulder. "Comin' for me didn't waste no time, Ben. We've got enough men now to match 'em, gun for gun, if we have to."

Ben frowned, nodded slightly, and swung himself into the saddle.

"Joe, come here!" Joe headed in the direction of Adam's voice, his bound hands groping in front of him. "Ow! Watch where you're goin'!"

"Sorry, Adam."

"Squat down here," Adam said, immediately forgetting the incident. Joe did as he was told. "You feel that?"

"Feels like a breeze or somethin'."

"It is a breeze. I think there's a hole behind this barrel. Help me move it?"

"You betcha!" Joe moved to the opposite side of the barrel and the two men struggled to shove the barrel a foot away from the wall. "Well?" Joe asked impatiently.

"Seems to be a cave." Adam's voice was muffled by the rock around him. "There's no telling if it's a way out or not."

"Well, there's only one way to find out!" Joe said, and followed his brother into the tunnel.