The mail was of course long forgotten. Concerned about the second dog that might still be out there, and more worried by the potential master of said animal, Ben didn't want to send one person alone to ride into town and retrieve the doctor, but he was adamant that a doctor should take a look at Candy. In the end, he sent Hoss with Sam. Joe went out under the pretense of taking care of Buck and Cochise, but it was obvious he actually wanted to keep an eye on Randal.
They all knew those cur dogs belonged to Liam, but Randal was the one who'd had a problem with Candy. Nobody else in the Lowe family had any reason to dislike him. Even if it had been Liam that set the dogs on Candy, it had to have been because of Randal, and he had to have known. At least, that was the logic Joe was following now.
Meanwhile, Ben stayed home, and did his best to clean and stabilize the various wounds Candy had sustained. It was easy to dismiss wounds inflicted by animals, particularly domestic ones, as minor. But the fact was that the only reason Candy had survived aside from his own skill at doing so was the reality that -like most dogs- they had gone for the arm first. Not only had they had to unseat him from his horse, they'd gone for his hand or arm more than once, whereas a wolf was very likely to go for something softer. Wolves went for the throat, face and midsection when they went for the kill, and thus tended to inflict much worse wounds.
But cur dogs trained to hunt and protect property typically went for restraint first, and moved on to the kill when they encountered prolonged resistance and/or the absence of other instruction from their master. Candy had seen no man or horse on or near the road prior to the attack, suggesting that the dogs had been set on him from a distance and then left to finish their work on their own. Probably there had been no expectation that Candy would survive, much less kill one of the dogs in the process. Credit had to be given to Candy's ability to fight and to keep his wits about him under trying circumstances, even more than Ben at first realized.
The bite to his right elbow should have been a disabling hold, in a similar way to having one's arm twisted. This was especially true once he'd hit the ground. Ben found a gash on the back of Candy's head in the midst of a lump where he'd struck the ground, as well as bruising on his back from having hit the ground hard. The worst damage was probably to his left hand, which had also been bitten, but there were slashing bite marks all over his arms and shoulders, in addition to the deep holding bites that had cut to expose the bone in some places. The injuries were anything but minor.
A close brush with death didn't seem to have taken Candy's edge, however. He was worn out yes, but his sense of humor was intact, as was his focus and reason.
"You know, nobody's ever tried to kill me with dogs before," Candy said brightly, "Arrows, bullets, knives, somebody even tried pushing me off a cliff once... but not dogs."
"Should it concern me that a high percentage of the people you meet seem to end up wanting to see you dead badly enough to try and kill you?" Ben asked.
"Mr. Cartwright, I wouldn't presume to tell you what to be concerned about," Candy said, "It doesn't concern me, but then again I know why they were trying to kill me."
Ben decided not to ask about that, and instead asked, "And you think you know why someone was trying to kill you this time."
"Oh yes," Candy nodded, then winced and closed his eyes briefly as his headache was aggravated, "In fact I should've seen it coming. But I guess I've become a little too trusting lately."
It was hard to think of Candy as being too trusting. He was always the first to become suspicious or wary of a situation, the first to assume that someone might have an angle. And he was usually right.
"Candy," Ben said as patiently as he could, "I want you to tell me: why would Liam Lowe want to kill you?"
"Oh he wouldn't," Candy replied nonchalantly, "In fact, I don't think he had anything to do with it."
"They were his dogs, weren't they?" Ben knew full well that at least one of the dogs had been, but he decided to pursue his line of questioning in a non-aggressive manner.
"Yes, they were," Candy answered, and irritatingly did not elaborate.
"But you don't think Liam had anything to do with it?" Ben inquired, then added, "Why not?"
"Well because there's no motive," Candy said, "When I was out at the Lowe ranch the other day, Liam pulled one of his dogs back when it got to harassing my horse. Now, either he was tryin' to teach the dog to keep clear of horses or else he didn't want it to bother me. Either way, why would he then turn around and set his dogs on me and the same horse he pulled them off before? That seems a little backwards, doesn't it?"
"Perhaps, but that was then," Ben pointed out, "Things have changed some since."
"Yes, they have," Candy admitted, and the look in his eyes suggested that he realized Ben knew he'd had a very real, very dangerous altercation with Randal, but he didn't say so, "Still, if he wanted to kill me, why not just shoot me? Easier, cleaner, safer for his dogs."
"Alright, let's say I follow that as far as it goes," Ben said, "Who do you think set the dogs on you? Surely you don't think they attacked you unprovoked?"
"Attack a man on horseback they had no reason at all to dislike miles off their land?" Candy all but scoffed, "No. That's not what dogs do."
"Spend a lot of time around dogs?" Ben asked.
"Enough to know they're not stupid," Candy said.
Ben sighed, realizing Candy was in his usual careful and indirect way guiding the conversation towards something he thought was important. Or perhaps in this instance he was trying to steer away from something he didn't want to talk about or admit. Ben decided Candy had exercised his patience enough.
"So who set the dogs on you?"
Candy sighed, and briefly closed his eyes to shake his head in that way he had that suggested he was amused, but also surprised by the continuing mental density of the people around him. It was a habit which annoyed Ben. Come to think of it, a lot of things Candy did annoyed him, and nearly all of them centered around the man's tendency to showoff how clever he was, playing games before telling what he knew; ever challenging, ever testing, always with some hidden motive.
"Well, I've annoyed a lot of people this week," Candy continued when Ben refused to be goaded into responding to his lengthy pause, "But who do you think is the angriest with me? I didn't tell you this because I thought it was settled, but Randal and I had a pretty serious fight recently, and I pulled a knife on him. I didn't hurt him any, but he knows I could have if I'd wanted to. He knows I suspected him and his family of killing the cattle. He's been out to his father's place twice recently, including the day after we fought. I pulled a knife on Randal, Mr. Cartwright. Now, who do you think would take that as a reason to want me dead?"
Candy gazed steadily at Ben while he thought it out. Once he realized it, it seemed like it had been obvious all along. Not only who it had been, but why as well.
Seeing in his eyes that Ben had it, Candy dropped his gaze, then nodded slightly.
"Yeah. I thought it had to be," Candy said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Cartwright."
"So am I," Ben replied.
"Now what are you going to do?"
"I'm going to go and get a confession from the man that did this, and then I'm going to bring him in to Virginia City to be arrested."
"You don't have to, you know," Candy told him quietly, "This could just go away. As soon as my horse can carry a rider again, I could ride out, and you could pretend none of this even happened. Nobody would ever have to know."
"I would know," Ben said, "And so would Joe. And Hoss too."
"It's just me," Candy said, "I have this effect on people, in that they usually try to kill me. You pointed that out yourself. If I were out of the picture-"
"He would still be an attempted murderer," Ben told him firmly.
"True..." Candy said slowly, and by his tone it was clear he didn't entirely agree on some point.
Ben sensed a 'but' coming and let his impatience get the better of him, "Well, go on, spit it out."
"Well, Mr. Cartwright," Candy began, "I don't know a great deal about family ties... see, I haven't got any. But, if I'm not mistaken, his son being in danger is a plenty good reason for a father to kill a man."
The way Candy had phrased it made it very difficult to argue with him, even though to Ben's mind it wasn't at all that simple. It wasn't as if Candy had been holding a gun to anyone's head at the time, or even been threatening to do so in future. Still, Candy had easily cut out all the details of the surrounding circumstances and brought the base elements to the surface.
If roles were reversed, and one of Ben's sons were suspected of killing cattle, he certainly wouldn't set out to murder the one doing the suspecting. But, on the other hand, Ben didn't like deception. He didn't like being lied to, and he didn't like people keeping things from him. And there was no telling what Randal had told his father about his fight with Candy. Even if he'd said nothing, the tell-tale scratch across his throat spoke volumes. When his sons were threatened or hurt, Ben did tend to lose sight of reason and react emotionally, often with violent intent.
Candy was staring at him again, a steady look that held as much challenge as query. He was looking for how Ben would respond to his words. It was as if Candy could never entirely believe that Ben was the kind of man he appeared to be. At every opportunity, it seemed like Candy was ready to test Ben's morals, to test his tolerance, his patience and his authority. He tended to do it with a playful bent, but Ben knew that there was a dangerous edge to Candy.
Ben knew that Candy was looking for something and someone to believe in. So far, Ben seemed to have his respect, trust and loyalty, but it was clear that all of that could be lost in an instant. If that happened, at best Candy would leave. At worst, he would turn on the Cartwrights like a rabid animal. Ben had known even when he invited Candy back to the Ponderosa that the man was dangerous. But he was also convinced that it was worth the risk. Candy was worth it. However, when Candy was being pushy and annoying as he was now, it could sometimes be a little difficult to remember that.
Ben just had to remind himself that this cleverness, this sharp mind and razor wit was exactly what had made Candy so valuable on the trail where he'd found Ben and the others. Sure, he could be a little abrasive, and seemed to enjoy playing mind games, but that had to be looked at as merely the cost of having him around, though Ben hoped that some of those rougher edges might smooth given time.
For the moment, however, Ben had to figure out how to answer Candy. Not only because a response was needed for Candy to make whatever internal decision he was working on now, but also because Ben himself needed to carefully consider and decide what he really believed rather than dive into this thing with anger at the forefront of his mind.
"It's true a man becomes capable of doing almost anything when his son's life is directly threatened," Ben answered gradually, considering each word before he said it, "And he might be excused for a lot of things if that is the case. But that does not apply here."
"Doesn't it? I did pull a knife on Randal. Some people would call that a direct threat."
"I wasn't there, and I don't know what happened because neither you nor Randal has seen fit to tell me about it. But what I do know is that you had the opportunity to kill Randal, and even a passable motive for doing so," Ben said, "Now, it's my opinion that the two of you could have worked out your differences without resorting to violence. But in that moment, I can't say whether or not you were justified in what you did. But I do know that you didn't kill Randal when you could have. Instead, you let him go. Had it been my son..."
"You'd be very angry," Candy interjected when Ben paused.
"Yes, probably so," Ben admitted, "But I would also know that you had made a clear choice not to kill, meaning there was no reason to resort to murder. It is perfectly obvious to me that you have no intention whatsoever of killing Randal at present. I would still know that even if your fight was with Joe or Hoss. I might handle it differently, I suppose, but I would not resort to attempted murder."
The answer appeared to satisfy Candy. What wasn't clear was if he'd been looking for further insight into Ben's character, or a deeper understanding of where the line between right and wrong was, or perhaps he just wanted Ben to acknowledge how he would feel in the reverse situation. Perhaps he was in some convoluted way looking to hear that he'd done the right thing in letting Randal go by seeking out information as to what -in Ben's mind- constituted a justified killing versus murder.
Whatever Candy's reason for pushing as he did, Ben had become convinced that the man never said anything idly.
"Still," Candy said, with a lightness to his voice that was more irritating than anything, "You and Edward Lowe have been friends for a lotta years. What he did doesn't just erase all that."
"No," Ben agreed with a heavy sigh, "It doesn't."
Apparently that was as far as Candy intended to take this line of reasoning, because he did not suggest letting Edward Lowe get away with it a second time. Perhaps he figured that had already been addressed earlier in the conversation. More likely, he realized that it would not be right or fair to tempt Ben a second time. The fact that Candy had brought it up in the first place told Ben that they both knew what was the right thing to do here. Ben also knew that Candy's offer had been genuine, even though he suspected the younger man would have been disappointed in him if he'd accepted, and not just because it would end with Candy leaving the Ponderosa and Cartwrights, perhaps forever.
Despite his often bad manners, he habit of getting into brawls and his tendency to get himself on the bad side of sheriffs all over the country, Candy actually seemed to have a very well developed sense of right and wrong that was not dissimilar to Ben's own. But knowing the difference wasn't the same as living it, and Candy seemed to never quite believe anyone actually did the latter.
Having raised three boys in his life, Ben was good at recognizing when one of them was looking to him as a role model, an example of good and proper behavior. That was the way Candy was starting to look at him now. Bit by bit, he was opening himself up to a new way of life, a new way of thinking and being. He was starting to think about letting his rougher edges be smoothed. That wild look which used to be so much a part of him was gradually beginning to fade, letting the truth of who he was start to shine through. He was starting to trust Ben with who he really was.
It was what Ben had hoped for and wanted, but the thought of it unnerved him a little. It was a lot of power to have over a man, especially one as potentially dangerous as Candy could be.