By the time the doctor arrived, it was late. Ben decided there was no percentage in his riding out in the dark. Best to wait until morning. Given what he would be facing in the morning, Ben elected to stay home and leave the cattle problem in the hands of his sons for the moment. It didn't help to stay home, he still couldn't sleep. For more nights than he cared to count, Ben had been kept up worrying about his diminishing herd. But tonight he had all new concerns that made the others seem minor.
Finally he gave up on the idea of sleep and went downstairs.
Candy was still on the couch, lying down and sleeping fitfully now. The doctor hadn't stayed very long, just long enough to give them instructions and check the work Ben had done before giving his approval. Candy had seemed moderately annoyed by the whole process. Either he didn't like being the center of attention (unlikely) or he was uncomfortable with people making a fuss over him, especially when he felt they were making a big deal over nothing.
It was true that those dogs had nearly ripped him to shreds, but as far as Candy was concerned he'd won his life in the fight, and all he needed now was a little time to heal. Ben had to wonder how many times before now Candy might have crawled under a bush for shelter while recovering from injuries sustained. Certainly as a lone drifter in the desert, he must have had to survive that way.
The idea of anybody trying to help him, or offering to protect him when he needed it seemed less offensive to him and more utterly foreign. He didn't know what to do with it, or how to react.
For what seemed the hundredth time, Ben found himself wondering what kind of life it took to forge a man like Candy. He was such a mixed bag of traits that it was difficult to get much of a handle on who he was and what his intentions really were. He seemed to know it, and prefer it that way, despite the fact that this was often the cause of trouble for him with employers, coworkers and the law.
On the other hand, Ben had known Edward Lowe since Joe was little, before Randal was even born. He would have thought he could predict the man's actions. Everyone who knew Ed knew his tendencies, his likes and dislikes, his habits and his beliefs. He'd never been cagey about any of that. His bluntness and solid predictability were two things Ben had always liked. Ed had a way of making everything simple, clear and easy to understand. If anyone had asked him, he'd've sworn Ed simply wasn't capable of anything so rash, so foolish or so vicious as what Candy had suggested.
And yet... Candy made a compelling argument without really saying anything, and Ben found himself believing the hired hand he'd met only a few months ago over his own judgment on a man he'd been friends with for many years. Or maybe some part of him had already known but not wanted to believe what Ed was capable of when it came to his sons because he didn't want to contemplate what lengths he himself would go to for one of his boys.
It made him uneasy to realize how Candy had known so quickly and with such certainty not only that it was Edward Lowe, but also why he'd done it. Candy himself had no family Ben knew of, and if he did he certainly didn't seem to care much about them. In the time he'd been here, he'd sent no money, and taken time to visit no one. He'd been offhand and dismissive when it came to family, and the interactions between Ben and his sons seemed to both amuse and puzzle him, as if they were wholly strange. So Candy couldn't have drawn on his own vast personal experience for this particular knowledge. No, the fact was Candy had realized it because of what he'd seen from Ben during the time he'd been here. He knew how close Ben was to his sons, and Candy knew what it would mean if anyone tried to get between him and his boys. It was the closeness of the Cartwrights, and in particular the bond the father felt for his sons, that told him all he needed to know.
Ben knew he would be wiser, more cautious and more inclined to use the law... but the fact was he hadn't always been that way. It had actually been at Adam's prodding that Ben had begun to trust in the law instead of his own strength. The wild west wasn't as wild as it had been when Ben arrived, but it had taken his eldest boy going to college and coming back not only with knowledge but the ability to articulate it to get him to see that. None of Ed's boys had ever gone to college, nor had any of them taken much interest in civilized society. All three of the Lowe boys were rough and tumble, and believed in the law of club and fang as much as their father did, and as Ben once had.
It seemed a lifetime ago that he'd lived that way, but Ben knew it hadn't really been so very long ago. He also knew that, at the time, it had been necessary, because law and order hadn't made it out this far back then. Why, less than eight years ago, Virginia City hadn't even had a sheriff. There had been no law in that town except what a man could make for himself. There were certainly still towns like that, and towns with corrupt and evil men running them. But the world was changing, a new way of life was being conceived and birthed out here in the west. Ben didn't like some of the changes, and he wasn't sure what the future was going to look like, but he did know he wanted to help make it a good one, not only for himself and his boys, but for everyone.
And that meant defending what was right and fighting what was wrong. Not just when it was easy, not only when it was convenient, but whenever and wherever he could. It wasn't hard to know that's what he intended, and it wasn't difficult to say. But when it involved an old friend such as Ed in the way it did now... that was when it became difficult. Really difficult. Not because it was hard to see what was right or wrong as sometimes was the case, but because it was all too easy to tell which was which and he didn't like the answer.
It would be so easy even now, so terribly, cruelly easy, to simply fire Candy, send him on his way and pretend this had never even happened. Candy would accept it, in the way he always seemed to accept it when life wasn't fair to him. He was used to people turning on him, so used to it that it not only didn't surprise him, it didn't even really offend him. He'd ride out and be gone as if he'd never been. He wasn't like a Cartwright, who would turn right around and go after Lowe -not for his own pride- but in the defense of what was right. Candy wouldn't do that. He was used to running to survive.
But as Ben had said earlier, he would still know. And, more importantly, his boys would know. They would know he had ignored the law. Worse, they would know he'd ignored what was right for his own personal gain. They would know that he had knowingly laid aside his values for what he wanted, and what was easiest. They were old enough now to make their own decisions, and not need their father to be a constant example of what kind of men they should aspire to be. They were old enough they would not be able to respect his decision. And they were independent enough that they might fight him on it. But it would be far worse if they didn't, because then they too would be ignoring the right in favor of their own wants. Ben didn't want that for his boys, no matter how painful the alternative was.
This was so much bigger than just Candy, and the man knew it, just as he'd somehow known not to blame wolves for killing the calves. Candy had risked the respect of his peers, and even Ben and his boys when he'd pursued his line of investigation. He'd done it for the same reason Ben now had to go see Edward Lowe. He'd done it to find the truth, because it was the right thing to do. It was no simpler and no more complicated than that. Candy knew it then, and he knew it now. And so did Ben.
Before dawn, Ben tired of wrestling with his conscience and went out to saddle his horse. Though reluctant to leave his stall so early in the morning, especially after having worked hard for so many nights patrolling around the herds, Buck was quiet and cooperative when Ben led him out. The faithful buckskin had been Ben's preferred horse for many years now, largely due to his amenable disposition and steady temperament. The horse was calm, easy going and very trainable.
The sky was gradually turning gray when Ben rode out of the ranch and headed for the Lowe place. Despite concerns the day before that the dogs and their master might still be out, now that Ben knew the who and the why, he wasn't worried.
Candy hadn't intended to sleep through the night, but he didn't wake up until Joe and Hoss came trailing in, looking worn-out from the night before and quite ready for the breakfast Hop Sing was no doubt preparing in the kitchen.
Candy sat up stiffly, blinking slowly and half-baffled by the light that came streaming through the living room window. Every inch of him felt beat up and bruised, but he didn't feel anywhere near as bad this morning as he had the day before. He vaguely recalled talking very intensely to Mr. Cartwright about something, but he wasn't clear on anything that had happened after the attack itself.
"'Morning, Candy," Hoss greeted him, noticing he was sitting up, "Glad you could join us."
"Yeah, you were really out last night," Joe remarked, "Didn't expect to see you sitting up until sometime next week."
"Think you can make it to the breakfast table?" Hoss asked, "Or should we carry you?"
"I... uh..." Candy faltered, "I'm not hungry. You go ahead."
He'd eaten with the Cartwrights many times, but this was the first time he'd been invited to their table. He wouldn't have expected it, but it made him feel uncomfortable. Shyness wasn't normally something Candy could be accused of, but that's what it felt like when he thought about going over there to the table. It was different out at a hotel or on the trail. Out there, he was just a hired hand and they were his employers. Out there, he felt free to act any way he liked. But at the table, it would be a family meal, and he would be a guest, and he was scared he wouldn't remember how to behave.
Hoss either sensed this, or else knew Candy was lying about being hungry.
"Well, so long as we don't tell Pa," Hoss suggested, "I guess we could eat breakfast here in the living room."
"Yeah, if Hop Sing'll let us," Joe replied.
"I'll go try the idea on him," Hoss said, and headed off for the kitchen.
In the meantime, Joe took a seat in the chair nearest to the fireplace.
"How'd it go last night?" Candy asked.
"Badly," Joe replied, "After hearing what happened to you, every man out there was as nervous as a cat in a roomful of rocking chairs. Frankly, I'm surprised nobody fired a shot, they were all so spooked at every shadow. Bunch of nervous men on nervous horses in the dark tryin' to keep a herd of nervous cattle contained." Joe said.
"It's amazing how terrifying dogs can be," Candy remarked, "I seem to recall some jokes bein' made at Sam's expense about shootin' what he thought was a wolf."
"Sam found another dead calf this morning, and nobody's laughing now," Joe told him, "Not at Sam... or you. "
"Not even Randal?" Candy inquired.
"Especially not Randal," Joe confirmed, "Though I can't see why Pa's letting him keep working after what happened yesterday. You could've been killed."
"Well, you're not wrong there," Candy admitted with a tilt of his head, "But I think maybe he's letting Randal keep workin' because there's no evidence he had anything to do with that, or even that he knew about it. He looked pretty shaken when he saw us ride in yesterday, that I do remember."
Joe ignored the implication that Candy's memory was a bit hazy for the moment and said, "Maybe he was surprised to see you alive."
"Maybe," Candy said, "But I don't think so. And neither does your father. And it wouldn't be right to fire a man for somethin' he hadn't done and knew nothing about, would it?"
Joe frowned, looking unconvinced, so Candy persisted.
"I don't recall bein' fired when that deputy from Olympus came walking through your door not long after I came on to work for you. In fact, I seem to recall no small amount of evidence suggesting I was guilty of murder. But you and Hoss stood by me, and so did your father."
"You were innocent," Joe pointed out.
"So I was," Candy said, offering Joe a small smile, "And I think you'll find that Randal is too," here he paused uncertainly before adding, "That is, if you try lookin'."
The sun was well and truly up when Ben arrived at the ranch house. The design of the house, location of the barn and corrals was similar to what Ben had on the Ponderosa. As Ed's friend when he started up his ranch, Ben had been encouraged to make some suggestions, many of which Ed had taken.
He was about to go knock at the door when he saw Liam coming around from behind the barn, looking preoccupied, worried and unaware of Ben's presence.
"'Morning, Liam," Ben called.
Liam looked up, clearly startled. But there was no wariness or fear in his eyes, no sign that he felt he'd done anything wrong lately or that he had any reason to see Ben as anything other than a friend. Perhaps Candy was right, and Liam had nothing to do with it.
"'Mornin', Mr. Cartwright," Liam said, pulling off his work gloves and putting them in his pocket before coming over to shake Ben's hand, "What brings you out this way at this time of day? Those wolves still getting at your cattle?"
"Not wolves," Ben corrected coolly, "Dogs."
"Dogs!" Liam said incredulously, crossing his arms, "What makes you think it was dogs?"
"I'm afraid I didn't come here to discuss that," Ben said, "Is your father around?"
"He's out on the range with the cattle. I should be out there too, but Duke's missing and Baron's out behind the barn cowering. He's wedged himself between the wall and a trough, and I can't get him to come out," Liam frowned, "He's got blood on his muzzle too. I thought maybe they'd tangled with your wolves and been outmatched, but since you say it was dogs..." he trailed off.
"No, it wasn't wolves that attacked your dogs, or dogs either," Ben said slowly, "It was Candy."
"What!?" Liam shouted in what clearly sounded like both shock and anger, "WHY!?"
"Because they attacked him first," Ben replied evenly.
"No, not my dogs," Liam growled, "Not unless he was after the cattle. Not without my say so."
"No?" Ben asked, "Don't they take commands from anybody else?"
"Pa and John; Randal's tried but they don't take him serious so they sometimes don't pay attention..." Liam broke off sharply and shook his head, "But what's that got to do with-"
"Liam," Ben said, "I think your father set those dogs on Candy, and I think I know why."
"Why?" Liam asked skeptically, clearly unhappy with this line of conversation.
"Well I'd like to ask him about it," Ben told him, "You're welcome to come along."
"You couldn't stop me if you tried," Liam snapped, "Lemme get my horse."
