There was splash that woke Wolf up. She moved from the corner she was huddled in to help whoever it was.
Imagine her surprise when it turned out to be Candy pulling his body from the cold murky water. He shook his head and grabbed his hat as he looked up to the top of the pit. He groaned and looked around.
When his eyes stalled on her, he sighed and treaded water to get to her. The water level had risen in the last several days. Instead of being at her shins, it was now up to her thighs. There were some areas where she could sit without drowning but they were few and far between.
Candy's arms went around her and his body heat started to soak through her wet clothes. It made her shiver against him. His breath was warm against the back of her neck as he hugged her tightly.
"No wonder we couldn't find you." He whispered.
"How did you find me?" she asked, her teeth chattering the entire time.
"I rode fences most of the morning. Mr. Cartwright told me after I did that I could begin my search. How long have you been in this cistern?"
"Three days and every day the water rises higher and higher."
"It's fed through an underwater spring. This is our back up well. No wonder we didn't think of using it. It's about half a mile from the house." He rubbed her arms to warm her up. "Unfortunately I'm as soak as you. I have no way of warming you up."
She let her head drop to his shoulder. She didn't care if he was as wet as she was. He was here and that's all that mattered.
Suddenly a though hit her hard and she looked back at him, hitting the top of her head on his chin in the process.
"What about Bear?" she asked.
"He's fine. He's with Hop Sing. Joe and Hoss said that man can defend himself. He won't let anything happen to our son." Candy replied. "Now stop talking. You're going to get colder if you do."
Wolf moved into the corner she had been sitting in sat on the muddy incline. Candy followed her and the two huddled together for warmth. This was going to be a long day of cold and from the slight smells she could get, it was going to rain tonight, making the water level rise even more. This could be a very dangerous night for the two of them.
"These clothes won't keep us warm through the night." She said.
"And neither will taking them off. We're much better off not moving or talking as much." He replied.
She didn't say another word as she shivered against him.
Later that night
Joe looked out the window as the storm howled outside. Candy had ridden out earlier in the afternoon in search of his wife. His horse had returned right before the storm hit, but Candy wasn't on him. In those few hours since then, neither hide nor hair of the man or his wife could be found.
Bear was staring into the fire. He had been restless since the early afternoon. His mother had been missing for the last three days and he knew it. Now his father was missing. This was not something he could understand but he knew the warmth that was usually associated with the house had been extinguished.
He wasn't the happy baby he had been just three days before. He didn't cry but he didn't laugh either. Lately he'd been climbing on the dining table chairs to look out the window. There was no doubt in the Cartwrights' minds that this little boy was looking for the mother he loved. They all knew Wolf wouldn't desert her son, not after bringing him so far west and then marrying someone who loved him for who he was.
The Cartwrights felt the lost of the woman's presence. She knew how to light up a room and make everyone smile without doing much. The spot on the couch where she usually sat at night making a dream catcher was strangely empty without her body there.
Joe walked over to the couch and picked up the piece of circular wood with twine running along it. He felt the beads and feathers along the twine and the one that fell in a tassel.
"What are we going to do now, Pa? Candy's missing too." Hoss asked the question his little brother had been afraid to ask.
"We'll ride into town tomorrow and gather a few men to help ride the Ponderosa." Ben replied.
"What makes you think they're still on the Ponderosa?" Joe asked.
"Candy's horse came from the north 40. That means Haynes has them somewhere on the Ponderosa."
"I can't think of anything he could use to hide them out there." Hoss said.
"There are a few caves and alcoves we should look at, hence the reason we need a few more men."
"What about the other ranch hands?"
"I won't risk losing them in another of Haynes traps. We go into town and get Roy and some others."
"So in other words you want us to stay away from the north 40 tomorrow?" Joe asked.
"At least until I can get back with Roy."
There was a loud clap of thunder that made the windows rattle. "I hope they're not out in this."
North 40
Wolf ducked her head at the loud clap of thunder that sounded as if it were overhead. Trying to keep from getting wet was not going very well. The rain pounded down on them in the open cistern and stung like bullets. As the water rose, they had to start swimming. To make matters worse, they were now buck naked trying to stay afloat.
If this had been any other time, Candy would have been getting ready to go after his wife but this was not the right time. He watched as his clothes floated next to him. There was no doubt in his mind that he would lose them because they would get so saturated they would sink.
Wolf sputtered water as she broke through the water. Her legs were getting tired and there was nothing to hold on to besides Candy. He was having a hard time as well. The water was cold and getting colder as rain hammered down and made the level rise even more. She was still surprised he had ordered her to strip to nothing. That seemed like it was even worse than being in wet clothes, but she found out she was surprisingly warmer.
Candy grabbed a root that was protruding from the dirt wall and held on. "Wolf, come here." She swam over to him as best she could. "Hold on to me. Maybe we'll be warmer and not have to swim as much."
"Candy, your arms will give out." She argued. Her teeth were still chattering and that made her hard to understand.
"Just get over here woman." She didn't argue this time. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on. "Wrap your legs around me as well." He felt her legs slip around his waist then he wrapped his free arm around her snugly. "You know, if this were any other time, I would have been going for something."
"I know."
"Don't go to sleep on me." He heard the drowsiness in her voice.
"I'm so tired."
"If you go to sleep on me, you will never wake up. Stay awake. Joe and Hoss will be here shortly."
"How do you know?"
"My horse would have made it back by now. They'll know I'm with you and that we're both in trouble."
"How will they know where we are?"
"I'm not sure but they'll find us." He felt her warm breath against his chilled neck. "What is it?"
"I heard war drums."
That made his blood turn cold, colder than it was already. War drums meant only one thing. The Sioux had arrived in Nevada. They would ask one person as they went through the towns and once they found the people they were looking for, there would be no one safe from them. The only person who could stop them was clinging onto him for dear life.
His hand slipped and they went into the cold water. He launched out of the water and grabbed for the root again, coughing water from his lungs as he held on again.
"I don't know how much more strength I have." He heard her whisper.
"Don't give up. Please. For our son if for nothing else." He felt her nod against his chin. He sent up a nice, silent prayer that someone would find them soon.