Hoss was already in the bed when Adam walked in. He lit the lamp, undressed down to his long johns and then looked at the bed again. He wondered how he was going to sleep since Hoss, lying on his back, had taken up the whole mattress. He turned down the lamp and then went to Hoss and slapped his shoulder.

"What…what?" Startled, Hoss opened his eyes only to see Adam's glower. "What the hell?"

"Move over—you've taken up the whole damn bed."

With a huge sigh, Hoss rolled over and left part of the bed for Adam. Adam lay down, turning over to his side so that they had their backs together. Hoss sighed and smacked his lips as he settled into the mattress, then raised himself to punch his pillow and adjust it so that he was comfortable.

"Do you have to do that?"

"Do what?"

"Make all that noise. Can't you just shut your eyes and go to sleep?"

"What the hell's wrong with you? You try to kiss Miss Rigby and she slap your face?"

"The only thing that's bothering me is you. I come in and you're spread out over the whole bed. You're still taking more than half and…I swear, if you snore tonight, I'm holding a pillow over your face."

"Look, Adam, I don't like sharing this bed with you any more'n you enjoy sharin' it with me. An' I'm just as upset about Joe as you are—maybe even more."

Adam still lay on his side although Hoss had sat up. Adam could tell by the shift in the mattress.

"What do you mean, more? You think I don't care?"

"No, it's just that Joe and me, well, we got a different type of…look, Adam, you're so much older'n Joe that sometimes you're more like a father to him than a brother. Sometimes he needs that, especially when Pa's not around or there's somethin' he don't want to tell Pa but can tell you and I know you've bailed his sorry ass outta trouble more times than I can count, well, unless I take off my boots and use my toes and I might even have to drop my drawers…"

Adam smiled to himself in the dark. Hoss was invaluable. No matter what, Hoss had a way of keeping things in perspective. People always thought Hoss was a simple man and in many ways he was. He was content to live life and take things as they came unlike himself—he always wanted to change things, always wondered why things happened but Hoss just accepted they happened and went on from there. Hoss helped him see that he needed to be more accepting of events and not to "think so much," something Adam knew he always did. And Adam also envied Hoss' ability to live in the world and not in his mind.

Adam sat up. "I'm just tired. Oh, and we're invited to the Rigby's for dinner tomorrow."

"Oh, her daddy gonna feed us a load of buckshot?"

Adam chuckled. "I hope not—I've had enough of guns being pointed at me. Now let's go to sleep. I want to see Joe nice and early tomorrow. And then we'll wire Pa." Adam lay back down and pulled the blanket up around himself.

"Hey," Hoss said, "what was in that letter that Miss Rigby showed you that made you get shed of it so fast?'

"Evangeline."

"Yeah, her."

"No, it's that she told me to call her Evangeline."

"Awwww, ain't that nice? Maybe she's sweet on you." Adam felt Hoss' elbow jab him in the back. "How come you ain't answerin' my question?"

"It only said the things you'd expect a young girl to say if she was eloping-that she was happy and in love. Told her family she loved them and hoped they'd be happy for her. Things like that. Now let me sleep."

"You think only gals leave notes when they do things like that? If you was runnin' off, think you'd leave a note? I don't know that I would."

"If I answer you, will you finally shut that mouth of yours and let me sleep?"

"Sure."

"Yes, I'd leave a note."

"I figured you would." Hoss adjusted his position on the bed and was soon asleep. Adam could hear his brother's even breathing and envied him his ability to sleep just about anywhere—even, as he would say, "Hangin' on a nail." But Adam only stared at the wall in front of him, his mind going in circles, wondering what he could do to prove Joe's innocence, hoping that the key lay with Evangeline Rigby—and thinking of her mouth and her eyes and the smell of roses about her—and wanting her near. And then Hoss rolled on his back, throwing one arm over Adam, and started snoring.

~ 0 ~

Hoss and Adam soon discovered that the reason Joe was denied sending a wire to his family was a logical one—the town had no telegraph office. No lines had yet been strung across the area and Adam was embarrassed to admit to Hoss that he had never noticed the lack of tarred poles and wire.

"Well," Adam said, "I suppose that precludes sending for a new lawyer and letting Pa know we found Joe."

"Yeah, he's gonna be worried." Hoss stood and looked around the small town, his hands on his hips. He hadn't liked this town from the moment they arrived and he liked it even worse now.

"Maybe you should ride to the next town and send a wire."

"Ain't no way in hell I'm gonna leave you here alone. I don't wanna find you and Joe strung up beside each other when I return."

"I swear…" Adam said. "I don't need a nursemaid—I can take care of myself. Hoss, you act like I'm Joe."

"Well, both of you's easy to rile—only difference bein' you plot and plan and wait your chance before you take a man down. Now Joe, he acts from the gut—not the head like you. But you both need watchin' over."

Adam just shook his head in disgust and headed to see Amos Spencer, Esquire.

~ 0 ~

"Ain't you gonna eat your breakfast?" Hoss asked Joe. "Smells good."

"I don't have an appetite," Joe said. "Go ahead and eat it if you want it."

"Don't mind if I do." Hoss picked up the tin plate that held strips of bacon, a buttered biscuit and two fried eggs and began to eat. Joe and Adam smiled at one another.

Adam sat on the cot beside Joe. "Well, I went to see Spencer and he's not as much of an idiot as I initially thought; I tend to agree that if the time comes, you forgo a jury trial and just have the judge hear your case."

"But, Adam…."

Adam put up his hand and Joe stopped talking. "Listen, I get the strong impression that this town in general wants us gone." Hoss nodded in agreement and just continued eating.

"Why do you think that?"

"Well, like I said, it's just a general impression. But I know that they would just as soon see you hang as spit on you—and Hoss and me swinging alongside you. Now listen, I think that…there's more to this than just the Rigby girl…"

"Melora. Her name was Melora."

"I'm sorry—than just Melora's death. I think the doctor is involved somehow. Did you know that there is an elder Dr. Branson?"

"No. What's it to me?"

"Well," Adam shifted uncomfortably. "Look, you said that the son, the younger Dr. Branson was coming back from delivering a baby that evening, right?"

"Yeah. What of it?"

"Has it been corroborated?"

"What are you getting at?"

"Didn't anyone corroborate the doctor's story because if there was no baby, no patient, then he doesn't have an alibi for the time of the murder? I mentioned it to Spencer but he said that it wouldn't do any good to throw suspicion on Branson; he's saved too many lives around here and he's viewed as a saint. Spencer said he's a good, able, compassionate man."

"And he's courtin' Evangeline Rigby," Hoss said, putting down the now-empty plate. He pulled a bandana out of his back pocket and wiped his mouth. "Sounds a bit suspect to me. So Adam and me, well, we're gonna visit the good doctor next and find out just who his patient was."

"I don't know about this?" Joe looked anxious.

"You need to get some sleep-you look drawn. Eat something too—appetite or not."

"I can't sleep, Adam. I just keep going over and over in my head how things would have been different if I'd just left town earlier to meet Melora."

"Joe, things might have been different had you been there earlier; you might both be dead." Joe dropped his head and Adam placed an arm about his brother. "They treating you all right? You need anything we can bring you?"

Joe shook his head and wiped his nose on his shirt-sleeve. Adam raised his eyebrows, Joe looked at him and laughed. They were both remembering how many times over the years their father had chastised Joe with, "Your sleeve isn't your handkerchief!"

Adam slapped Joe on the back and both he and Hoss smiled and put on a front as they said good-bye to Joe. "Don't worry too much," Adam said. "We'll…" Adam was going to say "get you out," but with Sheriff Murphy holding the cell door open, he was afraid if he said anything that even sounded like a possible jailbreak, the sheriff would slam the barred door shut and keep all three brothers locked up so all Adam said was that they'd see he had a good defense.

Outside, Adam looked to Hoss. "Let's go see the doctor," Hoss said. And the two walked down the sidewalk, their boot heels clicking in the wood, until they reached Branson's office near the outskirts of town.