II

From the bed of the buckboard where Hoss sat, Adam driving and Mr. Wilson beside him, Hoss asked questions about the building boom in San Francisco that was the reason for the demand for lumber. It seemed, Ben had said when he came back from the business trip to place the contract, that San Francisco changed every day, a road that wasn't there just the day before appeared the next and buildings seemed to go up overnight. But most amazing was the plan for a mass transit system called cable cars. That piece of news intrigued Adam and he asked more questions but Ben said that he was at a loss as to how it was to be done but it would be like a railroad track running through the middle of streets only they would be connected to a cable and run that way, not from steam.

During the ride, Wilson asked about the land; he was impressed by the vastness of the Ponderosa and the beauty of the countryside. Adam told him that the Ponderosa was so large that the terrain even changed from one end of the property to the other. They also happened to see some deer and a cougar sat high on a rock, sunning itself and Adam pointed it out while Hoss hefted his rifle in case it was needed. But soon enough they were at the Ponderosa and Ben came out to meet Louden Wilson and to welcome him to his home—all of it built with Ponderosa pine he pointed out to Louden Wilson's amusement.

Ben told Wilson that there was no need to dress for dinner; they were a casual bunch so if he felt comfortable in his traveling clothes, he was welcome to wear them to the table. Hoss was relieved when Wilson agreed; it meant that dinner could be served just as soon as they washed up.

As they sat eating, Joe asked Wilson about San Francisco as well, how it had changed since the one time he had been there. Hoss laughed and said that they were almost all shanghaied and Wilson laughed and said that he avoided the waterfront for just that reason. As wonderful and beautiful as San Francisco was, Wilson added, there was the darker side of the city peopled with criminals and prostitutes. But the culture, ah, that was the best thing about San Francisco. He had spent many a pleasant night enjoying the ballet company and considered himself an aficionado of the art of dance. His sister who lived with him, he said, considered him a dilettante and claimed that the only reason he went to the ballet was to see women in shorter skirts that showed their ankles. But Wilson raved about the visit by Marie Taglioni who danced en pointe; she was impressive, Wilson said.

"What's that mean?" Hoss asked, "On point?"

"Well" Wilson explained as he drank his after dinner cup of coffee, "it means that she wears specific shoes and dances on her toes. It's amazing how magical it makes the dancers look. They seem almost ethereal—otherworldly—as they move about the stage. And Taglioni, she's like an angel, so delicate and lovely."

Hoss and Adam exchanged glances; Wilson seemed a little too interested in ballet to them to be considered much of a man. Hoss and Joe, well, they enjoyed the dancing in the Mexican cantinas where the women held up their skirts while they danced on the tables with fast, sinuous moves while the audience drank mescal, or in the saloon where for a price, the girls would dance along with the piano, tossing up their skirts at the end and showing fancy underclothes. That type of dancing, the brothers would applaud but ballet didn't seem very attractive to either of them. A bunch of women dancing on toes and as they listened, Wilson talked about the great male dancers who leaped across the stage as if it was no effort. One could see the thigh and calf muscles flexing under the tights.

"Tights?" Joe asked. "You mean like what ladies wear?"

Adam smiled and looked at his father who smiled at him. Both knew how unsophisticated Hoss and Joe were when it came to things such as ballet.

"Yes," Wilson said. "And they have such magnificent physiques. They always put me in mind of a beautifully-formed stallion."

"Yeah, I bet," Joe said, more to himself than anyone else.

"They wear them special shoes too?" Hoss asked.

"No," Wilson said, "they wear slippers."

Before Hoss or Joe could ask any more questions, Adam spoke up. "I've never actually seen a ballet. I've seen photographs and such but never actually sat and watched one performed."

"Don't sound like he missed much," Hoss whispered to Joe who sat beside him. Joe giggled and Ben gave them both a stern look.

"If you like music and elegance and grace, then you should make a point of seeing one. But what I am most excited about is that there is a revival of Mozart's 'The Marriage of Figaro'. I have tickets reserved for when I return."

"You enjoy the opera?" Ben asked.

"Very much," Wilson said. "And I am so looking forward to this. I have never seen one of Mozart's operas and I do so like the idea that his…well, he is a bit naughty, you know, and I am looking forward to an entertaining production."

Hoss barely suppressed a grin at the term that Wilson used-naughty. He knew not to look at Joe or Joe would giggle again; they both knew they were being rude but couldn't help themselves.

"I would like to see that," Adam said, "and we have a fine opera house here, Piper's Opera House, but at the moment there is nothing in the offing. They have resorted to what appear to be traveling actors of sorts who perform one-act plays to draw revenues. No Mozart."

"Why you should visit San Francisco as my guest, Adam. We have more than enough room to have guests and while you meet with the Bronson's engineer, you can also take in the culture. When was the last time you went to San Francisco for pleasure?"

"Actually, never. It's always been for business and I was always more than eager to leave."

"Well this time, come for pleasure. Pack a bag and return with me. I would enjoy having a traveling companion who is interested in more things than passing around a flask of cheap whiskey and spitting tobacco out the window and not having it fly right back into the coach."

They laughed as all four Cartwrights had experienced such things, a wad of tobacco flying back into the offender's face.

"Pa," Adam asked, "can you spare me for about two weeks?"

"Course," Hoss said, "since you barely do anythin' anyway."

"That's because most of my work is done with my brain—something with which you're totally unfamiliar."

"Funny man," Hoss said and Joe laughed. Even Ben smiled and so did Louden Wilson; he was enjoying the conversation since he spent his time at home in San Francisco with his younger sister and she didn't entertain any men at their home, actually, not anyone, satisfied to remain alone. Nevertheless, he and his sister's quiet way of life found him starved for the companionship of someone of like-mind and he delighted in Adam's company, so unlike the rough, ignorant men with whom he worked whose only purpose was in making money and spending it on vulgarities such as mistresses and expensive, gaudy jewelry for the wives in order to placate their own adulterous consciences. Louden Wilson had seen how money can corrupt a man and bring out the worst in him but Adam Cartwright seemed to have been able to sidestep that effect of having too much money.

"You think Alicia can do without you for a week or two?" Ben asked. He knew that Adam was skittish about marriage, always had been but it appeared that he had finally found a woman he could care for and who loved him in return. She also had two sons who adored Adam and he seemed to relish the idea of having a ready-made family to make up for lost time. After all, Adam was nearing forty and Ben was beginning to wonder if he could ever find happiness in marriage.

"I think she can do without me just fine," Adam said.

"Why not bring her along," Wilson said. "I love company; the house is usually so quiet that it could use a little livening up."

"I couldn't impose." Adam wasn't sure that he wanted to invite Alicia. "She has two boys and they tend to get a bit rambunctious…"

"I'll watch Sully and Timmy," Ben said. "Let Alicia know and I'm sure that she would be comfortable leaving them and going to San Francisco. She works hard and could use a little vacation—a romantic getaway?"

Adam smiled but it was more like a grimace. "Thank you, Louden. I'll ask her tomorrow. Are you sure that it'll be fine with your sister—to have a guest or guests barge in?"

"It's my house, not hers—as much as she runs it as if it were—and I can invite as many people as I like into my own home."

Adam wondered about Louden's sister, if she was as negligible as he implied for he did seem to be a bit nervous as he tried to convince Adam that all would be well. Sweat actually broke out on his forehead. Adam concluded that his sister must be formidable.

They moved into the great room for brandy and Ben offered a cigar to Wilson who gratefully accepted. Adam took one as well and lit the end, puffing until the tobacco caught, but Hoss and Joe declined and when Adam began to ask about cable cars and their inception, Hoss excused himself for bed and Joe quickly followed suit. But Adam was fascinated by the mechanical aspect of the contraptions and to the idea of making it easier to haul heavy loads up the steep streets of San Francisco and also, how they could be used to transport people for a small fee. The city could make a great profit by investing in such a project.

Adam found that he enjoyed Wilson's company; the man was educated and intelligent and as Adam did, enjoyed not only the complexities of engineering but had a love of the arts that no one else in Virginia City shared to such a degree. He decided that he was looking forward to San Francisco and he decided that having Alicia along would be nice if only he could convince her to go with him.

TBC