"What are you talking about?" Hoss asked, a steaming cup of coffee in his big hand as he eased himself down on the sofa.
Joe replied before Adam could open his mouth. "Twenty dollars are missing."
Hoss furrowed his brow and suddenly started laughing.
"Oh that...no, Griff had asked me for an advance. Figured he wouldn´t be able to bail out of here anytime soon, so I gave it to him."
"Did he tell you what he needs the money for?" Adam asked, an icy edge to his voice.
"Should I ask about that?" Hoss replied. "Would be the first time."
"No. No, you´re right. But it´s funny somehow."
"Lot of things are funny at the moment." Hoss agreed and his face lightened up as Hop Sing placed a plate with warm biscuits in front of him. "With all this flood water we'll be breeding sea cows before long. And then we will never know if we are fishers or farmers." He laughed heartily and dunked the biscuit in his coffee.
"Good thing you were so stubborn, when you got ´that funny feeling´. If you wouldn´t have felt funny all the cattle would have drowned." Adam got up. "I think I´ll go for a walk." He grabbed his oil cloth coat. On his way out he greeted Jeffrey, who was still covered in soap foam and made a memorial performance of a human cloud. But Adam just raised an eyebrow and disappeared into the rain.
"What bit him?" Hoss asked after his brother was gone.
"I fear he will bite someone, very soon." Joe answered, and stuffed his mouth with the remaining biscuits.
~0~
Of course the stagecoach got stuck. Several times. And of course it was Candys job to get out and shovel the wheels free. Now he was sitting, dripping wet and covered in mud, in the rented buggy and tried not to touch anything.
The two stiff gentleman seemed to be quite amazed at the lightning dancing in the night sky and Candy was glad about every clap of thunder, because as long as they looked at the sky they wouldn't notice that the bridge they were crossing, was already a hand-span underwater.
The dried out ground hadn´t been able to take up the mass of water, now it gushed through the river currents and burst the banks. Candy had experienced that before, in his first year on the ponderosa. They had been totally cut off for one week, while they waited for the floods to decline.
"Nature at work here is quite spectacular." Observed Mr. Strack as a wickerwork of lightings shot across the sky. The resounding clap of thunder had them all ducking their heads.
"We should have stayed in town." murmured Candy suppressed.
Ben´s eyes kept glued to the road, but answered.
"Then we would have been stuck for days."
"In contrast to drown on the way home in minutes?" Candy couldn´t withhold the sharp answer, but regretted it immediately. He could vividly imagine how Ben would have reacted to his boys being shut off without him. A shaved tiger would have been more sociable.
"We are nearly there." Ben announced finally, as the outlines of the barn manifested themselves through the heavy rain curtain.
"What the..." Candy leaned forward and peered to the building.
"Somebody is on the roof."
Bens head shot around and Candy was able to hear his sharp drawn breath. A Silhouette tumbled over the barn roof, frequently blown over by the storm he pulled himself stubbornly forward.
"What is he up to?" Ben was aghast.
The Silhouette reached the gable and started to fumble at the shingles.
"He is crazy." Candy stated.
Then it´s probably Joe, the ominous thought shot throught Bens mind.
The Silhouette seemed to stick something between the shingles.
Now they were near enough, so they could see that it… was a red flag?
"Oh my god." Let out Mr. Strack: "There is a man!" he pointed at the roof " And he..."
"What´s that?" asked Mr. Schmied, as the cloth swelled in the wind.
"A Long John." Candy answered stoical.
"Is this a custom around here?" Mr. Strack asked irritated.
"An old tradition." Ben heard himself say.
"What´s the use of it?" asked Mr. Schmied and immediately corrected himself. "I mean, what's the significance?"
"It shall… bring a fresh breeze." Candy said and caught a stinging glance from Ben.
"You´ll climb up this barn, bring down whoever you find there and inform that person to report to me." Ben hissed while the two stiff Gents were busy staring.
"With his underwear?" Candy asked with barely suppressed laughter.
"I don´t care what..."
They had reached the court and Ben stopped suddenly, as he saw the ghost, sitting casually on his veranda. He was bright white and his contours seemed strangely foggy.
Even Candy had stopped with his cackle.
The ghost waved at them and stood up to knock at the front door.
"I thought they can walk through doors." Candy observed.
The two stiff Gents sat even stiffer.
"What´s that?" asked Mr. Strack.
"Oh, that, that is…" Candy struggled for words, as a figure in a dark coat swept around the bend, with a drawn weapon in his hand. It determinedly approached the buggy and Candy involuntary reached for his gun.
"Did you see him?" the figure shouted.
"Adam? Is that you?" Ben called surprised.
"Who else should I be?" Adam still gathered speed.
"Have you seen him?"
"Seen who? Oh hell" Candy froze as the smell reached him.
Even in this rain the stench was unmistakable. Once Adam neared one could recognize the dung, which colored his coat dark and hang in lumps on his shoulders and arms.
"Adam." Ben´s voice could let iron corrode: "What are you doing here?"
"There was somebody on the barn. I nearly got him, but I slipped." He looked down on himself and was taken aback.
"Probably near the dung heap."
"Whoever it is, he isn´t here. So would you please search for him somewhere else?" Ben growled.
"Ah, so this is one of your sons?" Mr. Strack interjected. He had finally taken his attention from the white form on the terrace. He turned to have a good look at Adam.
"Yes, this is my… Son." Ben visibly tried to keep his composure:
"Normally he isn´t so ...Adam, would you go and search for this intruder? Please?" Adam turned in place.
Mr. Strack watched him leaving and carefully stated
"He is…. extraordinary isn't he?"
"Pa? You're back already?" Hoss, armed with an umbrella, hurried to the buggy his younger brother not far behind him.
"I – yes we are. This is..." the rest of that answer was drowned out by a roll of thunder.
Hoss shook hands with the guests and helped them from the carriage as the bunkhouse door was pulled open.
A giant of a man tossed a smaller one out into the rain and yelled,
"This should cool you down." He looked up, recognized his employer and his face got chalky.
"Evening Mr. Cartwright. You had a nice journey?"
Mr. Strack and Mr. Schmied were frozen to the spot and just gaped at him.
Their eyes darted to the white figure on the terrace, to Adams quickly disappearing back, to the two dumb founded guys in front of the bunkhouse, all was suddenly interrupted as a loud bang reverberated around the barn. As all heads turned it bolted again and a lightly deranged Goliath darted his upper body from the barn window and stated.
"Everything is peachy. But I could use some wood, it´s getting awful wet in here." Then he recognized the carriage and he quickly disappeared.
Joe´s riotous laughter stalled under the look he received from his father.
Mr. Strack was the first one to regain his composure and his voice. He righted his jacket and said
"A highly unusual paradise, Mr. Cartwright."
~0~
Candy closed the huge stable gates and locked them so the wind wouldn't rip them open again. He had brought the rented buggy and the horses in already and was more than happy to not have to be a guest at the Cartwright dinner table tonight.
Mr. Cartwrights look easily could have been used as mordant dye. Candy kept on chuckling while hanging the gear and providing the horses with water. If the animals had looked up on the way with their mouths open, they wouldn´t have needed water for about a week such was the torrential rain.
More out of a habit he checked the other boxes and was surprised to find Griff in Thunders stall. He sat in the corner on Thunders manger, his upper body leaning against the horses head and his eyes closed.
Candy sighed. This meant trouble. Griff came here if he got problems. Normally Candy would give him a couple of hours and then find something to do in the barn until Griff started talking. But this time Candy hadn't been there for the kid.
He felt a sting of guilt. It had been a tough piece of work to get Griff out of his shell. He didn´t trust easy. And even as he did, he stayed reluctant. After the years of abuse by his father who had finally send him to jail everything else would have been a miracle.
Candy opened the box door quietly. Thunder glanced in his direction but didn´t budge a single millimeter and stayed perfectly still.
"Griff?" Candy spoke gently but still startled the boy.
A moment later the youth looked around wildly then his face changed. A hand wrapped protectively around his ribs he curled up and let out an indefinable sound.
"Hey" Candy was surprised again at the half growling laugh Griff gave.
"Didn´t expect you." It took some time till Griff started to right himself and looked up into Candy´s concerned face
"You´re back."
"What was that?" Candy asked, ignoring Griff attempts at casual conversation.
Griff quickly thought about what he should tell. He didn´t want Candy going back into the mode where he wouldn´t let him out of his sight for weeks. But as he looked up into this worried face, he nearly laughed despite himself. This was Candy. Just Candy. The Candy who always took his side, no matter what. His stomach clenched painfully. The Candy who could never know about what he was doing. The Candy who would beat him to hell and back if he ever found out.
Perhaps it was the pain that made his shoulders tighten and constrict his breathing. Perhaps it was the stress of the last few weeks. But suddenly the walls began to close in. Candy´s hand, at first reassuring and calming grew heavier, nailed him to the barrel. Trapped him.
Nonsense, he scolded himself. But he couldn´t shake the sudden panic. Thunder started to prance and Candy shot him an estimating look but quickly returned his attention to Griff.
"Griff?" Candy watched in shock as the color drained from the youths face and for a moment he thought he even saw fear in his eyes.
"Hey, buddy, what is it?" Griff seemed to struggle at first, but suddenly he wore that shit eating grin Candy knew too well. The bigger it got, the more Griff could hid behind it.
"Had a little accident in the corral this morning." He looked at Candy with this smile for a while. The smile which told everybody he was doing good, a little too good even. Which could fool everybody, if they just saw it long enough. But Candy wasn´t everybody.
"An accident?" Candy scanned Griff's face attentively
"How bad?"
"Some bruises." The smile remained.
"Doc had a look at it?"
"No, Lukas. Stuck to me like a damn hen. You´re sure you got nothing to do with that?" Griff asked.
Candy´s lips stretched themselves into a grin
"No idea what you´re talking about."
He wanted to help Griff back to his feet, but the boy shooed his hands away and gingerly got up from the barrel.
"Just bruises, huh?"
"Didn´t say they don't hurt."
"Bruises my ass." Candy scrubbed a hand over his face. If he had it his way he would have packed Griff on the buggy and dragged him to town. The way he knew this kid, he hadn´t told the half of what really went on which made Candy wonder about how much he was told?
The rumbling sound of thunder overhead reminded him that the bridge would be unpassable by now, so every thought of bringing Griff to the doctor was just a waste of time.
"How was the trip?" asked Griff. He managed to haul himself up from the manger and flash an even bigger grin.
"Good." Candy retorted staring grimly at the youth.
Only for a brief second hurt feelings clouded Griff´s features, but it passed just as quickly as it came.
Great, exactly what Candy didn't want, so he quickly added
"Sorry, yes, it was quiet good."
Griff´s answer was interrupted by a squeaking as the small side door opened. Lucas got himself out of the rain and swore extensively.
"Evening." He greeted and marched through the barn to the back end where the supply stacks were kept.
"Just need some of, ah, there they are."
He griped himself an arm full of battens and came back.
"Goliath fell through the barn roof." He said, as if it explained everything.
"What was he doing on the barn roof?" Griff asked with a curious look at the battens.
"Hoisting his long johns." Lucas said deadly serious.
"His what?" snapped Griff.
"Ask him yourself. I guess he kind of enjoys the attention. And I really haven´t the time for explaining." Lucas said but then grinned.
"I could use a hand though"
"I´ll help. I´m soaked through already." Candy interjected. He sensed Griff´s answer before the boy gave it and send him a warning glare.
"You get to your bed." He muttered as he squashed through the door behind Lucas. He lightly let one hand rest on Griff´s shoulders on the way out.
"I know, you don´t need to. And I´m a pain in the ass, but do it so I don´t fall off the roof worrying about it, alright?" Candy squeezed Griff´s shoulder assuring.
"All the way back I looked forward to beating you in a game of checkers. So don´t think you can get out of it because of some blue spots."
Griff nodded and watched the two leaving. Feeling somehow lighter, now Candy was back.
~0~
Hoss gazed over the party who crowded in front of him. The huge wooden table had been set. There was steak, green beans, boiled carrots, mashed potatoes, white bread and a creamy, dark sauce. There was wine too. Which Hoss knew nothing about, but enjoyed nevertheless. And he could look forward to Hop Sings famous apple pie.
In the enormous fireplace, which dominated the living quarters, the flames crackled and filled the room with their cozy warmth.
It could have been a pleasant evening.
But there were two very stiff gentlemen sitting at the table, doing their very best to get everything wrong. Of course it had been bad timing. Goliaths long Johns, Adams dung, Jeffrey's fall in the nettles and the ranch hands fooling around, it just came together. But that's the way it was. The quirks of the people living and working on a Ranch made it what it was. So what was the point in this whole shebang?
"I heard you´re not natively from America?" Adam asked, in a visibly strained attempt to loosen up the atmosphere.
Mr. Strack turned towards Adam, the fork, loaded with green beans, paused between his plate and his mouth.
"That's accurate. How do you know?"
Adam nodded to him.
"My father mentioned it before he set off. You´re from Germany, am I right?"
A smile spread over the face of the cultivated, well-groomed little man
"Ah Yes. Das alte Land. Your forests remind me a little of it, you know?"
"Really?" Joe interjected.
"Sure." Mr. Strack lowered the fork back to his plate
"I was born in a diminutive town in one of the poorest, but most beautiful regions you can imagine. It was the land of my grandmother, and the land that raised me. But there was no work, no future. Not like here. So I left. I worked as a seaman to pay for my passage. I lost my home, but I found a friend. Isn´t that right Mr. Schmied?"
Mr. Schmied nodded, while he chewed.
"I´m quite interested in languages." Adam moved on as he cut his steak.
"Unfortunately, till now, no opportunity afforded itself for me to master German."
Mr. Strack beamed
"We will have you gabbling in no time. What about we start with something for the home use? For example: ´Dieses Hemd steht mir gar nicht´"(This shirt doesn't flatter me at all).
Adam repeated the sentence, and Mr. Strack made some minor remarks about the pronunciation.
"What does it mean?" Adam asked.
"It´s like a greeting for an old friend. Nice but maybe a bit old-fashioned."
Mr. Schmidt, still chewing, nodded his agreement.
"And how do you say: We are happy to have you here on our ranch?" asked Hoss.
"Well that's a bit tougher I suppose. But it would be something like: ´Ich gehöre zu den größten Dummköpfen dieser Ranch."
(I´m one of the biggest simpleton on this ranch.)
Hoss repeated the sentence and Mr. Strack nodded, smiling.
"But more useful at the moment would be: ´Ihr Trottel versteht gottseidank wirklich nichts. Das hilft uns außerordentlich."
(You morons really don´t understand a word. That will be extraordinary useful for us.) he said as Hop Sing entered the room to refill the bowls.
Mr. Strack looked around expectantly, his looks were answered with polite interest.
"What does it mean?" Joe asked finally.
Mr. Strack affably turned to the youngest
"It means: We can count ourselves lucky to attend such a delicious meal." While he talked he righted his cravat, which was the exact same color as his suit.
Hop Sing beamed and even Bens shoulders toned visibly, he raised his glass and announced,
"I would like to propose a toast to our guests. Perhaps you may be able to teach us one from the old country?"
Mr. Strack nodding amiably, also raised his glass and said.
"Mögen unsere Feinde in uns Freunde sehen, bis zum Tag ihres Todes (May our enemies see friends in us, till the day they die) – May our enemies become friends and may our friends live forever." Translated Mr. Strack. The dinner party returned the toast.
The remaining part of the dinner became a more lively affair and after the apple pie and a glass of brandy the two German Gents excused themselves to enjoy the magnificent night air for some minutes before going to bed.
Ben watched them leaving with the definitive hope that first impressions wouldn´t be as important as he feared.
~0~
The bunkhouse was still crowded, so Griff just took the time to grab his coat and the chaser quilt. The ground behind the barn, where he normally slept beneath one of the old trees, had changed to a mud puddle. So he laid his quilt in a covered corner of the veranda near the main house. He lowered himself down on the planks and stretched his legs. His upper body supported by the massive wooden walls of the house he listened to the night. It was pleasantly quiet, only the comforting sound of rain lingering in the air. Griff cherished the cool night air and closed his eyes.
Slowly his body started to relax, the sharp tearing in his back and shoulders subsiding to a dull pressure. After awakening in the bunkhouse he couldn´t believe he slept in the first place. At first he thought that if he just kept going his body would right itself. It had worked a couple of times in prison and with his father. No he interrupted himself- so not going there.
But this time it didn´t seem he would get that lucky.
He couldn´t afford the luxury of being under observation. He had… stuff to do. He slid a little to ease the strain on his right thigh and panted as a furious pain ripped through the leg. Perhaps he hadn´t a choice in the matter what so ever.
Candy was the only thing his muddled brain came up with. Perhaps he should tell him. This idea had been discussed and dismissed some time ago thank you very much. At the moment would the rain prevent them working and give him some much needed time to heal?. The Cartwrights wouldn't lose too much because of his clumsiness. He smiled. After being nothing but trouble at the start now this storm became more and more of a friend.
He coughed and needed ten full minutes to be able to focus on something outside of his body. Talk to Candy. Old but gold. He would talk to Candy. As soon as he finished this barn roof. To be honest the effort of getting up and walking over suddenly seemed too much. Candy would find him. He had promised to. Till then he would just sit tight and listen to this beautiful rain.
~0~
Schmied and Strack settled into two of the comfortable seats on the terrace. Schmied pulled out a silver etui and withdraw a cigarette from it, while Strack lit a nut wooden pipe. They smoked in silence for a couple of minutes their silhouettes illuminated by the oil lamp on the desk.
Then Strack said:
"Sie verstehen es wirklich nicht. Glück für uns. "(They really don´t understand us. We are so lucky.)
Schmied grinned: "Wie artig sie alles wiederholt haben." (How well-behaved they repeated everything.) He blew blue smoke out into the rain.
" Meinst du nicht, es war riskant? Wenn sie es vor jemand anderem wiederholen?" (Don´t you think it was risky? What if they rerun those phrases in front of someone else?)
"Wem sollten sie es hier sagen? Und selbst wenn irgendjemand diese Sprache spricht, wird er denken sie hätten etwas verwechselt." (To whom should they talk? And even if somebody out here speaks the language, they will simply assume they made a mistake.) he puffed away on his pipe, a satisfied expression on his face.
" Diese Ranch ist ein Tollhaus. Gerade richtig für uns. Als dieser Idiot seine Unterhosen gehisst hat hätte ich fast gejubelt. Hier könnten wir einen der Söhne um Mitternacht vom Scheunendach werfen und man würde uns jede Ausrede abnehmen." (This ranch is a bedlam. Perfect for us. When I saw that idiot hoisting his Long Johns I nearly started cheering. We could drop one of the sons from the barn roof around midnight. Nobody would suspect a thing.)
Schmied shook his head:" Nicht jeder. Dieser Älteste. Er ist schlau." (Not nobody. The oldest one. He is smart.)
"Mag sein. Aber Leichen sind nicht allzu gut darin ihre Intelligenz zu nutzen." (A corpse maybe has a brain, but how should he use it?)
"Wann sollen wir anfangen?" (At which time should we start?) Schmied asked.
"Noch nicht. Das Wetter ist zu schlecht für eine Abreise. Außerdem hätte ich gerne einen glaubhaften Unfall. Zum Beispiel ein Hangrutsch. Auf dem Weg zu unseren neuen Mienen. Keiner Untersucht Körper auf Gift deren Schädel eingeschlagen sind." (Not now. The weather is too bad to leave. And I want a proper accident. Perhaps a landslide on the way to our new mines. No one will examine a body for toxin if the head is smashed in.) Strack hummed, pleased.
Both brooded silently for some time.
Behind them someone sneezed. Schmied got up and walked some steps in the dark. Suddenly he lunged at something in the shadows. There was a struggle and he returned into the light with a Youth who he pushed into one of the chairs.
"Saß dahinten doch tatsächlich einfach in der Ecke." (He was just sitting in the corner.) He mustered the black mop of hair with suspicion.
"Was hattest du da zu suchen?" (What are you doing here?) Strack asked.
The Youth frowned.
" What? I… I´m sorry if I disturbed you, I just wanted to nap… the ground is dry over here." his face split in a huge, apologizing smile.
Now Strack looked at him re-evaluating.
"Never mind. We were just surprised. You are one of the hands?" Strack smiled disarmingly.
"Yes, Sir." Griff wanted to get up, but Schmied held him in the chair.
"Where have you worked before?"
"Here´n´there."
"So you´re pretty new?"
"Pretty." Griff nodded, looking from one to the other.
"You like the work?"
"Yes."
"Du fühlst dich zu Hause?" (You feel at home here?)
"Ja?" (Yes)
"Wie heißt du?" (What´s your name?)
"Griff."
Strack's questions got faster, giving Griff less time to think. He realized his mistake too late.
Strack´s smile became genuine.
" I thought so." He emptied his pipe and began to stuff it again.
" Where did you learn German?"
Griff remained silent. Suddenly he felt cool metal brush against his neck. He closed his eyes and as he opened them again his chair was no longer standing on wooden planks. He could feel the pressed clay beneath his feet, hear the barking of the guard's three cells away and the screams of terrified inmates. He stared into Strack´s eyes. Eyes he remembered. He had seen them hundreds of times. Eyes of a murderer. You couldn´t explain it. But something in them changed. If you have seen them once you would recognize them everywhere. Griff felt his hackles rise.
"But Mr. Schmied, take down this weapon. I´m confident we won´t need it with this gifted young gentleman. Not after he knows, what we are. He surly would like to have a nice friendly chat with us, if we promise not to go in the house and shoot the Cartwright's right in their beds. Wouldn´t he?" Strack lit his pipe and drew on it self-indulgently.
"It would have been too loud."
"Pardon me?" asked Strack, still stuck in his affable ways.
"It would be too loud to shoot them." Griff repeated. He wouldn´t plead for mercy or justice. Or, how ridiculous, appeal to their better nature. He had grown up between people who would torture for entertainment and suddenly this came handy. His mind became perfectly calm. He couldn´t afford to panic or lose his temper, it would get friends killed.
"You would wake everybody. And I would assume they're not long in bed."
"Oh dear boy. There is more than one weapon with a trigger, and not all of them produce any noise."
"It would be dumb. At dawn their bodies would be found and you would have problems explaining." Griff said firmly. " There is a bunkhouse full of guys. You can´t kill them all."
Strack nodded " Accurate. Jetzt sag mir. Wo hast du Deutsch gelernt?" (Now tell me: where did you learn German?)
"Bin als Kind häufiger Mal an einen deutschen Rancher ausgeliehen worden." (I have been rented to a German farmer for some time.) Griff focus on Strack, still trying to work out if it would pay out to scream, even if he would get shot for it.
"Ausgeliehen worden?" (Rented to)
Strack said and brought his lips forward, then began to smile.
"Du hast völlig Recht. Wir können die Cartwrights noch nicht töten. Aber" (Your right, we couldn´t kill the Cartwrights now. But...)
Schmied needed less than a second to let the gun slip through his hand, grab the barrel and hit the handle against the back of Griff´s head. He just needed one hand to prevent Griff´s body from sliding on to the floor.
"Wir können sie nicht warenen lassen." (We couldn´t let them be warned.)
Schmied tucked the gun away.
" Wir könne ihn nicht hier umbringen." (We can´t leave him here.)
„Nein. Können wir nicht." (No. We certainly can´t), Strack´s smile stayed unchanged.
"Wir sind doch über diesen fantastischen Fluss gefahren. Man sollte meinen ein Bewusstloser würde in diesem Wasser nicht überleben." (We came over this marvelous river. One should assume an unconscious person will not survive such a water.)
"Gefällt mir nicht." (I don´t like it.)
Schmied growled. " Warum es nicht richtig erledigen." (Why not do it properly.)
"Weil ich will, dass sie seine Leiche finden." (Because I want them to find his corps.)
Strack patted the shoulder of his associate reassuringly. " Eine Leiche, die bei einem Unfall gestorben ist. Ich möchte nicht hören, dass hier ein Mörder frei rumläuft. Am Ende zweifelt man so an anderen Unfällen." (The young man died in an accident. I don´t want to hear anything about a murderer on the lose around here. In the end it will make all accidents suspicious.)
Schmieds face remained expressionless." Ich finde es immer noch besser…" (I still don't know….)
"Dann gib ihm noch einen Über den Schädel, bevor du ihn ins Wasser wirfst." (So smash his scull before throwing him in the river.)
Strack rose from his chair. " Ich werde mal zusehen, ob ich solange nicht ein bisschen Ärger machen kann." (I´ll try and cause some interferences.)