Hoss had wired his family before leaving Placerville; so Ben was not overly concerned when Hoss failed to arrive at the ranch in time for dinner that evening. Ben realized that his son might have had to spend the last night in one of the Ponderosa line shacks depending on how the trip had gone. Yet as a loving father, he always felt uncomfortable when there was even the slightest possibility that something had gone awry and prevented one of his sons from getting home in a timely fashion. However when Hoss still had not arrived by supper the following day, Ben grew antsy and anxious, pushing his food around his plate and not participating in dinner time conversation.
"Pa, Hoss probably just decided to spend a couple days fishing. You know how much he loves that area just beyond the borders of the ranch," Adam offered as reassurance.
Ben looked up from his plate and grumbled. "Yes, but how many fish can one man bring back on a horse?"
"On Chubb, a couple of barrels full," Joe winked at Adam and snickered.
"Right!" Ben growled. "Tomorrow morning I'll be leaving early just to make sure nothing has happened to him." He forked a bit of meat and forced himself to eat it, though he had no appetite for it.
Adam and Joe looked at each other in resignation. They knew from experience that there would be no changing their father's mind and that he would get little sleep until Hoss was located. The next morning Ben was not entirely surprised to find Adam and Joe standing at the hitching rail with their horses and Buck who was also saddled and ready to go.
"So you boys don't have any work to do this morning?" Ben asked tongue in cheek.
"Nothing that won't keep," Adam said, unable to hide his smirk.
Joe shrugged and mounted Cochise. It was too early for him to make an attempt at something humorous to say.
Ben gave his sons a sympathetic smile. "Let's go find your brother."
The plan was to ride toward the line shack that sat near Lake Tahoe at the southwest border of the Ponderosa and check some of Hoss' favorite haunts along the way. They reached the shack around noon, but there were no signs that Hoss had passed that way or spent a night in the line shack. Ben decided to push on through to Taylors Landing even though it would be getting dark by the time they arrived. There were raucous voices coming from the East Bay Saloon as the threesome tied their horses to the rail.
"Give us three beers," Adam asked the husky bartender who proceeded to pour three mugs in short order. "Any chance we can get something to eat?"
The rough-cut man looked at Adam like he was half crazy. "What do you think this is, some fancy hotel or somethin'?"
Ben gave the gruff man a conciliatory look. "Most other places are closed up for the evening, but if you've got anything edible, we'll take it. We've been riding hard all day."
The bartender huffed and dried his hands on his towel. "I'll go see if the cook left anything on the stove."
Joe gave the bartender a questionable look when he returned with three plates of stew. "That'll be three bucks. Take it or leave it."
Adam reached into his pocket to retrieve three coins. "We'll take it. Thanks for your trouble." The bartender's expression softened a bit. Adam used the opening to try to get some information. "By the way, would you happen to have seen a great big fella wearing a tall white hat in the the past few days?"
The bartender shrugged. "Nope, can't say that I have. You can ask around, but good luck findin' someone in any condition to give ya a straight answer!"
The Cartwrights scanned the room for an open table and came to the same conclusion as the bartender. They found some seats and began eating the unappealing stew that they had been given.
When finished, Joe covered his mouth with his fist and belched uncomfortably. "Man I sure hope that stays down. Wishing now I had just waited for breakfast." He pounded his chest hoping to settle his food.
Ben arched a brow at his youngest and pushed back his plate. "So where do we go from here, boys?"
Adam chewed his last bite and set down his fork. "I'm pretty sure that little creek Hoss likes to fish is not far from here. I say we head that direction and see what we can find."
"Alright then. Let's grab an early breakfast and head out to this fishing spot. I hope and pray we find your brother sitting on a rock surrounded by a pile of fish!" Ben's voice grew louder with each word he spoke.
Adam and Joe recognized their father's frustrated humor as his way of covering for his ever increasing concern for Hoss. They, too, were beginning to wonder what had delayed their brother and hoped for the best.
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Hoss mumbled incoherently and thrashed about in the bed from the pain in his arm and his inability to change position due to the shackles. He had a sense that someone in the room kept fussing with the bandage on his arm. He moaned and called out for his family in his delirium.
The young blonde meticulously tended Hoss' snakebite, changing the herbal poultice on his arm every few hours. She had a feeling about this big man. Even in his debilitated condition she sensed goodness and sincerity in him. She had pity on him when he called out for his family, but it was his calling for his mother that tore at her heart. Misfortune had landed her at this abandoned farmstead over a year ago. Her own family had come west for a new start and occupied the farm, but, when sickness took her parents and siblings, she was forced to hire herself out as an indentured servant to a man named Josiah Bolton. Beaten into submission for even the slightest infraction, she was now carrying his child, and though she was not bed-bound like Hoss, she felt poisoned by Bolton and had grown to hate him. Yet when she ran her hand over her ever expanding belly, she could not help but have feelings for a child that was half hers. Sally began praying that this giant of a man that she was caring for would somehow help her get out of her deplorable situation.
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The following morning, the Cartwright men rode southeast from Taylors Landing and picked up a creek not far from town. The grasses and brush were lush and green along the babbling waters making it an obvious place where Hoss would enjoy spending time. Joe crossed to the opposite side as they rode along checking for sign.
Joe whistled and waved for Adam and his father to cross over. "Hey, there's a path leading away from the water and it looks like a horse might have been tied up here."
They dismounted to get a better look at the area.
Adam pointed to the rocky shelf nearby. "Those rocks would be a great place to sit and fish. I'm going to go have a look." He returned in minutes with a sapling pole and Hoss' leather pouch of hooks and line. "There's no doubt now that Hoss was here. This is his pouch with his mark."
Ben was not sure whether to be relieved or more concerned.
Adam now examined the trees intently. "There! See those. He left us a marker. We better see where that trail leads."
Within seconds, they were back in the saddle and following the worn path with renewed hope.