The first week of December brought a dusting of snow. Sam looked out the window at the Sierras and saw that the peaks were absolutely white and beautiful. She and Susan were finishing breakfast when Sam decided she wanted to go for a buggy ride. Susan's brow furrowed. "I don't think it be a good idea right now, Miss Sam. You don't know when that young 'un might decide to be borned."

"It won't be in the next hour, for Heaven's sake! I'll just ride around and look at everything and come right back."

Susan shook her head. "Then I go with you, just in case you runs into trouble."

"Susan, I just want some time to myself. I appreciate the fact that you and Rob are always near if I need something, but I just need to be by myself for a while. Can you understand that?"

"You ain't goin' unless I goes too." Susan was adamant.

Sam sighed. "Okay. If you'll hitch up the buggy, then we'll both take a ride. Let me put on some warmer clothes and I'll meet you out in the barn."

Susan brightened. She was already dressed warmly, having gone to gather eggs earlier, so she went to put on her coat and headed for the barn. As she hitched up the buggy, Susan thought of the strange dreams she had been having. She knew something bad was going to happen, but a strange blackness filled her mind's eye and she couldn't see what the problem was. She checked the gun she knew was under the seat of the buggy and tried to shake off the feeling of dread.

She heard footsteps behind her and knew that Sam had gotten ready in a hurry. Then there was a blinding pain in her head. Everything went black.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sam had been smiling as she opened the front door. Standing before her was Hawk! "You still are beautiful," he said. "And I still want you."

Sam struggled but she was no match for the big man. A cloth was held over her nose and she recognized the smell of chloroform. She felt herself slipping away into darkness. Slipping…slipping…slip…

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Sam awoke, her stomach queasy, and saw Hawk sitting in a chair nearby. Sam didn't recognize where she was, but there was a wood stove giving heat to the small room.

"Finally decided to wake up, huh?" Hawk asked. "I thought you'd sleep forever. Worse than that, I was afraid I'd killed you by putting so much stuff on that cloth."

"Where am I?" Sam asked, trying to clear the cobwebs from her mind.

"In a safe place. Nobody'll find you here. And, after the baby comes, you and I are goin' to Mexico." Hawk looked so sure of himself. "Now I'm gonna get you somethin' to eat and drink. Don't even bother trying to get out of here. There's a mountain on three sides of this shack. And the door can't be opened from the inside. I fixed this place up to be escape-proof."

Sam watched as Hawk left. She surveyed her surroundings. There was a small table, a chair, and the bed she was lying on. The only light came from the openings in the wood stove. She looked at the stove pipe and saw that it vented in an odd shape. What was that about a mountain on three sides? Was there a mountain over the roof of the shack too? Was that why the stove pipe was so peculiar – it would have to vent from the front of the shack if there was an obstruction overhead.

Hawk was right. Sam couldn't budge the door, either inward or outward. She talked to herself to calm the rising panic. Adam will find me. It won't take long. Just stay calm and try to think of what to do. Adam will find me. Adam will find me…

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Sam finally heard muffled voices outside the door. She heard boards being slid away. And Hawk came in – with Gretchen! Gretchen smiled happily. "Look, I've brought you a nice meal."

Sam glared. "I'm not hungry."

"Well, you can starve yourself. But you'll starve your baby too. It's up to you." Gretchen put the plate on the table. Hawk was carrying a metal cup of milk and put it on the table also.

"Just what do you plan to do with me?" Sam asked, trying to remain calm in the face of an insane woman.

"Why, surely you can figure that out," Gretchen smiled slyly. "When your baby is born, Hawk will take you to Mexico. And I'll keep the child that should have been mine."

"And just how will you explain that you have a baby?" Sam asked, careful to keep an even tone to her voice.

"I'll say I went to the orphanage in Denver and adopted a baby."

"You have to be married to adopt a baby," Sam said cautiously. "Everybody knows that."

"People also know that orphanages are over-crowded and low on funds. Money 'talks'. I'll make them believe that I offered a large donation in exchange for a baby. People are stupid sometimes. They'll accept what I tell them. If I can't have Adam, I can be mother to his child."

Sam looked at Hawk's smile and shivered. She knew better than to make Gretchen angry. One can't argue with an insane person.

"I suggest that you eat what's on the table. And be sure and drink your milk. We want to have a healthy baby, don't we?" Gretchen was talking in a sing-song voice. "We'll be back later to check on you."

Hawk and Gretchen left, and Sam heard boards being either slid across the door or being wedged against the door. There was plenty of wood in the room, so she wouldn't be cold. She looked at the food and then ate. If anything happens to me, I want my baby to live on.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Panic overtook Sam. The small room, the inability to know if it was day or night, the worry about the baby within her – she felt very alone. I know I have to eat, if not for myself then for the baby's sake. And if I panic now, I'll lose my perspective and my intelligence. I know that Adam will move Heaven and earth to find me. I must be strong and healthy. I know that Ilsa and Gretchen are deranged, so I need to be compliant and not cause trouble. They may decide to shoot me if I seem too strong-willed. So I'll play the part of the perfect, fearful hostage and let them think they've broken my spirit. In the meantime, I'll search every part of this room and see if I can find a way out. The first thing to do is to eat – that'll give me strength. Now, take several deep breaths and overcome this panic. And pray."

So Samantha ate everything that was on her plate and found that the food actually was very good. She had to eat with a spoon – obviously she wouldn't be trusted with a knife or a fork, but that was okay. She found that the milk had a strange taste to it – a slightly bitter taste but she drank it anyway. Almost immediately, dizziness overtook her and she wobbled to the bed. She fell asleep quickly.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Adam and the ranch hands finished throwing out bails of hay for the cattle and returned home much earlier than they had planned. Adam knew that Sam's time was drawing nearer and wanted to be home as much as possible. As he and Rob entered the barn, the first thing that Adam noticed was that the horse and buggy were gone. Damn that Sam! She must've taken one of her rides into town.

The second thing that happened was that both Adam and Rob heard a moaning noise from one of the stalls. It was Susan, rubbing her head, too dizzy to stand up. Rushing to her side, Rob put a protective arm around her. "What happened?" he asked, deep concern in his voice.

"I don't know," Susan answered, holding her head and wobbling slightly. "I come to hitch up th' horse an' buggy for Miss Sam and I felt a pain in my head. I gots a big lump there."

Rob and Adam examined her head and found that she had an enormous lump from the top of her forehead to the back of her head underneath her hair. Adam sprinted to the house, calling Sam's name. No answer. But a chair had been turned over and there was a plate on the floor broken into pieces. A chill went up Adam's spine.

Rob was bringing Susan into the house and fetched a cold rag for her head. Adam was still looking at the chair and the broken plate, and the two men looked at each other with tacit understanding passing between them. Rob looked at the floor and saw drying puddles of water – a perfect outline of a man's boots. Silently, he pointed to the floor. Rob was a born tracker and could read signs of nature that other men might miss. He looked out the door onto the front porch and beckoned to Adam. Susan followed behind, the wet cloth still pressed to her head.

Rob spoke as he put his own boot in one footprint. "This print be mine. Adam, put your boot over here." He pointed to the spot. Adam's boot print fit perfectly. Susan's high leather moccasin prints were easy to spot because of the pattern that they left. There were scuffle marks unaccounted for, and Rob bent to inspect them closer. "These be partial prints of a woman's boots. See the heel mark here? But these other ones be made by the boots of a man with large feets." Rob looked farther and saw a slight scrape mark. "The woman's boots disappear here. But the man's prints fade away toward the barn. They be deeper. My guess is that he be carryin' somethin'." He sighed. "Or somebody."

Susan gasped. Adam's face paled. Rob sprinted toward the barn with Adam close behind. On his hands and knees, Rob investigated the marks left by the wheels of the buggy and followed them out of the barn for a short distance. The ranch hands had ridden in – and so had Adam and Rob – and the hoof prints obliterated any more wheel tracks.

Adam took control. He sent Ted into town for Sheriff Coffee. He sent another man to the Ponderosa to fetch everybody he could find. "Tell them that Sam's been kidnapped!" he snapped.

Back into the house went Adam and Rob. Susan was sitting in front of the fireplace, staring into the flames. Adam thought she had lost her mind, but Rob knew better. He spoke quietly in Cherokee to his wife then turned to Adam. "She don't remember nothin'. She feel responsible for this whole mess. She was s'posed to watch over Sam, and she let you down."

Adam knelt beside Susan. "It's not your fault, Susan. You got ambushed."

"But, Mister Adam, I been havin' bad dreams. I knowed somethin' bad was gonna happen soon. And it did." Susan wept. She returned her gaze to the fireplace. Rob added another log.

"She tryin' now to use her mind. She kin 'see' things that other folks cain't see. Sometimes it work, sometimes it don't. But she be tryin' hard. We leave her be for now and we go look 'round. We might kin find more sign."

Adam instructed his ranch hands to spread out as he and Rob rode together. Snow was falling again and, by the time the Cartwrights with their ranch hands arrived, Roy Coffee had joined in the search. Rob followed hoof prints in the snow and through the woods with Adam cautioning everybody to be careful where their horses stepped. Night fell, and Adam was told that half the town was out looking for Sam. But the snow was falling harder and Adam knew there was no sense in continuing the search until the morning. He returned to his house with his family, refusing to eat until Susan scolded him.

"Mister Adam, you ain't gonna be of any use if you fall over from lack of food. If you wants t' help, you eat what's in front of you."

So Adam ate. Susan was right. His Pa and his brothers were here. Ted was here. Rob was here. And Susan had returned to sit in front of the fireplace. Doc Martin had sent word that he was removing an appendix and would be here when his patient showed no signs of infection. Nobody slept well that night.