Dr. Paul Martin covered Joe up and smiled down at him. "I think you're just a little anemic, son. You'll be fine." He sounded encouraging and Joe relaxed. Paul put his hand on Ben's shoulder and walked him out of the room. As they left, Ben said, "I'll be back in a second, Joe. I'll walk Paul out."
As they left the room, Hop Sing came in with a mug of beef broth.
They walked downstairs where Adam and Hoss were waiting. "What's wrong with him, Paul?" Adam asked.
"I don't know what caused it, but he's very anemic. It's come on so fast, though. I saw him last week in Virginia City and he was fine. Did he get hurt or something?"
Ben, Hoss, and Adam looked at each other and then back at Paul. "No, there's been nothing. He was fine Sunday. Monday morning Hoss had to go upstairs and wake him up, but that's nothing new."
Hoss thought back. "He was harder than usual to wake up. He dragged down the stairs, said he was tired. We had to move a small herd down to the south pasture, so I made him come with me. He kept complaining about being tired, but I didn't think anything of it. We got home for supper and he went to sleep at the table. I haven't seen him do that since he was a little fellow. And then this morning, well, he just couldn't get up."
"Did he do anything unusual on Sunday that would have worn him out?" Paul asked.
"No, well, we went to a dance on Saturday evening, and Joe danced every dance, but he always does." Hoss said.
"He stayed later than we did, and helped clean up, but he usually does that, too," Adam remembered.
"How was he Sunday morning?" Paul persisted.
"Sleepy...grumpy, but he got up and went to church with us - as always," Ben said. He thought hard for a minute. "Monday was really when we saw a difference in him. He just seemed tired - even at breakfast. Has he been working too hard?"
"No harder than usual," said Adam.
"Well, he needs to rest. Hop Sing's got the right idea - plenty of broths and teas to build him up. I'll be back to check on him later this week." Paul left as Hop Sing came downstairs with the empty mug. "I'll have supper on the table in just a few minutes," he told them.
Hop Sing went to the kitchen and pulled hot rolls from the oven. He gave the stew another stir and then poured it into the large tureen. He put everything on a tray and took it to the dining table. "Supper is ready," he announced. He poured coffee for the three men, and then slipped back to his room.
He pulled a trunk out from under his bed, and took out a small carving. It was made from the wood of a peach tree, and Hop Sing hoped it still had power. He fixed it on a cord that would fit around Joe's neck, and then went back to the kitchen. He prepared a tray for Joe, and took it upstairs. Joe was asleep, but he was restless. Hop Sing woke him gently.
"Here, Joe, I have something for you to drink and something for you to wear." He helped Joe sit up, and hung the small carving around his neck. Joe stared at it. "What is it?"
"It is a carving my grandfather gave me many years ago when I was a young boy and ill like you. It is made from the wood of a peach tree."
Joe held it to his nose. "I think it still smells like peaches." Hop Sing smiled. "Perhaps so. Peach is very powerful - it is one of the five elements. Now you must drink this." He held a mug to Joe's lips and helped him drink the herb tea.
"Mmm, that tastes good," Joe said. "Thanks, Hop Sing."
"It is my pleasure, Joe. Now you must rest, and I will be back." He helped Joe lie back down and then moved around the room, shutting the windows and closing the curtains.
That evening Hoss sat with Joe and watched him sleep. He was having a bad dream, tossing and moaning, and Hoss put a gentle hand on Joe's shoulder. "Wake up, Joe, wake up. You're just having a bad dream. I won't let anything get you, punkin. Wake up now."
Joe's eyes flew open and he sat up. "Hoss! There was something - something at the window!"
Hoss rubbed Joe's shoulder. "No, there was nothing. You were just having a bad dream. I won't let anything get you." He eased Joe back down in the bed. As he bent over him, he saw the carving. "What's this?"
"It's a carving Hop Sing gave me. It's made from the wood of a peach tree. He said his grandfather gave it to him." Hoss looked at it carefully, and then removed it.
"You're not used to having something around your neck. I'll just bet that's why you were having such a bad dream. I'll put it right here on your nightstand next to your mama's picture."
Hoss laid it down and smoothed the covers over Joe's shoulders. He leaned back in the chair and watched the young man. After a few minutes he could see that Joe had gone back to sleep, and he relaxed. Joe would be fine, he thought, he just needed to rest and eat a little more. The room was stuffy - no wonder the boy was having bad dreams. Hoss pulled back the curtains and opened the windows. A light breeze blew in - yes, that was better. Hoss returned to his chair, leaned back, closed his eyes, and began to snore.
Joe was having a nightmare. He dreamed that there was a creature - its face was greenish with decay and its head was covered with long white hair. It loomed over him, covering his mouth with its own. He couldn't scream, couldn't move - he was being drained of - something.
...
Adam woke up and listened. He could hear snoring coming from Joe's room and shook his head. Hoss had gone to sleep - well, he couldn't blame him. He knew how tired Hoss was. Adam got up and put on his robe. He went down the hall to Joe's room and opened the door. The lamp had gone out, and it was dark. He felt his way in and lit it. Hoss was leaning back in the chair, and Joe - Joe was barely breathing.
"Hoss! Wake up! It's Joe - get Pa!" Adam bent over his brother as Hoss ran down the hall. "Joe! Joe, can you hear me?"
Joe's eyelids flickered. "Adam?" he whispered. He felt so weak - it was an effort to speak. "It was here, Adam. I couldn't move or call out."
Suddenly Ben was there, gently pushing Adam away and bending over his youngest son. "Joe?" He took Joe's hand in his and shuddered - it was cold as ice. "Son?"
"Pa, it was here." Joe's voice was weak, and Ben could barely hear him.
"What? What was here, son?" Ben put his ear to Joe's lips, but there was nothing. He looked at the young man, and saw that his eyes were closed. He was very still, and Ben was frightened. He put his ear to Joe's chest and listened for his heart beat. It was very faint but it was there.
He stood up, and looked at Hoss and Adam. "He's still alive - Hoss, can you send someone for Paul?" Hoss turned and ran downstairs as fast as he could go. In a few minutes they heard the galloping hoofbeats of Chubb as Hoss raced him towards Virginia City.
...
Hop Sing heard noises upstairs, and a feeling of foreboding struck him. He slipped out of bed and dressed quickly. He ran up the stairs, moving silently in the the dark house. Lamps were burning in Joe's room, and Ben and Adam were bending over the young man in the bed.
Hop Sing went in and saw the carving lying on the nightstand. He could see that Joe was barely alive. He exhaled, slowly and quietly. They didn't understand - they didn't know the signs of the creature that was killing Joe, that would kill all of them.
He looked at Ben, and considered the older man carefully. Ben was intelligent, strong, and compassionate, but could he believe - no, he was practical and while he had faith in his own Christian God and had shown respect for Hop Sing's beliefs, Hop Sing knew he'd laugh at anything he considered superstition.
But there was Adam. Hop Sing stared at the younger man. He was very much like his father - intelligent and strong but he was also imaginative and creative. Hop Sing made his decision - he would choose his time and he would tell Adam what they were up against. Meantime there was Joe to tend...
...
The sun was coming up when Hoss returned with Dr. Martin. Paul went to Joe's room to find Ben and Adam standing aside while Hop Sing helped the young man drink an herbal tea. The room smelled of peaches, and he noticed that a kettle was steaming on the room's stove. More herbs, no doubt. Well, they couldn't hurt anything and smell was pleasant.
Hop Sing stepped out of the way while Dr. Martin examined his patient. The boy was paler than usual - even his eyes looked different. Normally an emerald green they seemed to be turning white. There was a rash of some kind around his mouth. He'd never seen anything like it. Joe's heartbeat was slow and irregular, and Paul realized that he was dying. He couldn't last much longer, that was for sure. They were all watching him closely. Paul straightened up, and motioned for them to follow him out of the room. He went downstairs where Ben, Hoss, and Adam gathered around him.
"What's wrong with him, Paul? He's worse than before, he's having nightmares. Last night when Hoss called me to his room I could barely hear his heart beat."
"I don't know what's wrong with him, Ben - I wish I did. I've never seen anything like it before. He's not only pale - his eye color is changing, becoming lighter. There's a rash around his mouth. He doesn't have a fever, and he's barely alive. He's dying, Ben, and I don't know why." Paul's voice shook with frustration. The Cartwrights had been his patients ever since he'd come to Virginia City. More than that, they were his friends, and he couldn't help them.
Ben looked at his old friend, and put a hand on his shoulder. "All right, Paul, thank you." Adam handed the older man a cup of coffee and Ben led him to the settee. Hoss sat down across from him, and they began to discuss how Joe might have caught this strange illness.
Hop Sing walked down to the landing. He stared at Adam, willing him to look at him until the young man finally looked up. Hop motioned to him, and Adam quietly excused himself and followed Hop Sing to Joe's room. "Is he..." Adam's voice died away. He couldn't ask the question.
"He is no worse, Mr. Adam." Something in Hop Sing's voice made the young man look at him. "You know what's wrong with him, don't you? That's why you gave him the carving and put it around his neck, isn't it?" Adam's voice was beginning to rise.
"Shh, Mr. Adam. You must be quiet. I need you to help me, but only you. I know your family - I have been with your family for many years. Your father will not believe me, because he is very practical. Mr. Hoss cannot believe me because he is so very good. You must believe me and you must help me save your brother's life."
Adam stared down at the small Chinese man, and waited for him to explain. "I have seen this illness that Joe has once before - many years ago when I was a boy in China. My grandfather saved my life then, and I believe that I can save Joe now. I cannot do it alone - I need your help."
Adam was quiet. Hop Sing took a deep breath and went on. "I believe that Joe is the victim of a jiangshi."
"A what?"
"A jianshi - a type of monster who feeds off the energy - the life force - of others. I believe that it marked Joe as its victim on Saturday night when he was in Virginia City, and I believe that he is only the first of its victims. If we do not stop it before it kills Joe, it will come after you and the other members of the household."
Adam had folded his arms and was leaning against the door. What Hop Sing said sounded crazy, but Adam had known him since he was a young boy, and he knew Hop Sing loved him and his brothers as if they were his own sons. He was suffering as much as any of them over Joe's illness. He looked at the older man, and realized he was waiting for Adam's response.
Adam took a deep breath and exhaled. "All right, what do we do?"
...
The room was dark. Hop Sing sat next to Joe in the chair while Adam squatted in the corner. He had managed to persuade Pa and Hoss to go to bed, telling them he would take the first watch, promising to call them if there was any change. He knew they probably weren't asleep, but they shouldn't be here, if what Hop Sing suspected were true. The windows were open, the curtains pulled aside. The kettle on the stove was steaming an herbal infusion, and Joe was wearing the carving around his neck. Adam's legs were beginning to cramp, and he started to stand up when he smelled a foul odor - something dead somewhere - there was a light breeze and then - there it was!
It was leaning over Joe - a greenish white decayed thing with long white hair. It reached down and put its hand under Joe's neck, pulling the young man's face up to its mouth when suddenly it stopped - it saw the carving around Joe's neck. It dropped Joe back on the bed and backed away.
Adam grabbed the steaming kettle from the stove and threw the hot infusion on the thing. It howled and turned towards him. Before it could take a step, Hop Sing knocked it down on its face. He and Adam began to nail jujube seeds into its back - one on each shoulder, one on each hip, three down the spine. Adam could barely bring himself to touch the disgusting thing, but it had to be done. When the seven seeds were in place, he and Hop Sing stood back and looked at it. It didn't try to stand - it lay on the floor, writhing and howling. How could Pa and Hoss not hear it, Adam wondered.
Adam looked out the window, and saw the sun's rays coming up over the mountains. A rooster crowed, and the thing on the floor suddenly disappeared.
...
Ben Cartwright sat next to his youngest son's bed, watching him sleep. Joe was stronger today - no doubt about it. The rash around his mouth was gone, and his eyes were returning to their normal color. He wasn't as pale, and he'd eaten two bowls of soup.
"How is he, Pa?" Adam leaned in the doorway. Ben had been put out with Adam for not calling him to sit with Joe during the night, but Adam hadn't said anything. He'd just gone to bed and slept most of the day. Hoss had been stuck doing everyone's barn chores, but he hadn't complained about it.
"I think he's going to be just fine - I asked one of the hands to get Paul for us. I know he was stymied by Joe's illness, but I'd like him to take a look at him - just to be sure he's all right."
...
Hop Sing entered the grocery store of his friend, Bao Eng. "Good morning, Bao Eng.
"Good morning, Hop Sing. How may I help you today?"
"I have a list of herbs I need and also I need more wood of a peach tree." The grocer looked at the list and then looked at his friend. He took a deep breath.
"I sent for my grandfather's ashes, Hop Sing. All the way from China so that our family could be together."
Hop Sing waited.
"The thing that came in my grandfather's place was not he - it was a great evil - a jianshi. I sent it away from Virginia City to protect the people here."
"It found the Ponderosa and I had to act to protect the people there. It attacked Joe Cartwright. Ben Cartwright and all of his sons have been good friends to our people, Bao Eng."
The man hung his head in shame. "I thought it would not find anyone to steal a life force and would fade away. I am very sorry that it found your friends, Hop Sing. Is Joe Cartwright dead?"
"No, his oldest brother and I destroyed the jianshi. It will not harm anyone else."
Bao Eng filled Hop Sing's order and handed him a branch from a peach tree. Hop Sing handed him a bag of coins, but Bao Eng refused to take it. He handed Hop Sing a small carving instead. "For your service to my family. You kept a great shame from coming on us. The carving is made of the wood of the peach tree. It has great power."
"Thank you, Bao Eng." Hop Sing accepted the gift and left.