Chapter Twenty-One

"Son, can you hear me?" said Ben quietly.

"Shiloh."

"Joe's with her. Now let me take a look." Ben turned Adam on his side, tearing the shirt away from the bullet hole in the back of Adam's shoulder.

"We need to get you back to town," said Ben calmly as he pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket, folded it and pressed it against the wound to stem the bleeding. Turning Adam on his back, Ben said, "Now, you lie still. I'll go check on Shiloh."

Adam's eyes were closed, but he nodded, and Ben stood and ran in the direction of Joe's voice. "Joe!" he called.

"Over here, Pa."

When Ben entered the clearing, he sucked in a breath, falling to his knees next to Shiloh. "Dear God," he choked. Looking over at the body lying behind Joe, he asked "Who is he?"

"It's Stewart. He's dead."

"We'll need something to stop the bleeding when I pull the knife out. Tear her petticoat into strips."

"Adam," she said faintly.

Leaning close to her, Ben spoke softly. "Shiloh, it's Ben."

"Adam," she whispered.

"He'll be alright. Lie still now. We have to take care of your hand and get you to the doctor."

Joe handed his father several strips of cloth, and Ben folded two into thick squares. "Joseph, hold her shoulders." He moved next to her hand, took the handle of the knife and pulled hard, removing it in one smooth motion. Shiloh jerked, and then fell back into unconsciousness.

Once Ben had her hand bandaged, he lifted her, carrying her to where Adam lay. Adam turned and saw her bandaged hand, her battered face and all the blood. Reaching out to touch her, he called to her in a strangled cry.

"Joe, get the buggy," said Ben as he looked at the blood-soaked handkerchief covering Adam's wound. By the time he had the handkerchief replaced with extra strips of Shiloh's petticoat, Joe had arrived with his horse and the buggy.

"Help me get Adam into the buggy. Then I'll hand Shiloh up to you."

When they arrived in town, Hoss was just coming out of Paul Martin's office after carrying Mr. Riley in. He scooped Adam out of the buggy and disappeared inside the office. Ben took Shiloh from Joe, and the two men followed Hoss in as a crowd began to gather outside.

Paul asked Hoss and Ben to lay them on beds in the same room so he could decide who to work on first, then ordered them out and closed the door as Joe was about to step in.

The three men stood staring at the door, each man afraid of the worst. When Roy rushed into the office, he stopped and gasped at the look on their faces. "Ben?"

Looking at Roy gravely, Ben slowly sat down on one of the chairs lined against the back wall. He removed his hat and held his head in his hands.

"Joe?" asked Roy.

"They're both in bad shape, Roy."

"Well, what happened?"

"Senator Stewart beat Shiloh pretty bad. And someone back shot Adam."

"Was it Stewart who shot 'im?"

"I don't think so. The shot had to have come from behind Adam, and Stewart was ahead of him. Roy, Stewart's dead. We left him in a clearing a couple of miles west of town.

"Well, who shot Stewart?"

"I don't know. He was dead when I got there."

"I'll have the undertaker go fetch the body. But just as soon as you hear something from Doc Martin, I want you all to come to my office to sort this out."

Mrs. Murdock stepped inside the office with Mrs. Riley. "You sit down here, Sadie. I'll see if I can find out something about Walter. Knocking lightly on the door of the back room, Mrs. Murdock entered, closing the door behind her.

"Mrs. Murdock, I'm glad you're here. With my nurse in Denver visiting her folks, I could use some help," said Paul.

As he finished listing the things he would need and sent Mrs. Murdock off to get them, he heard Adam whisper, "Shiloh?"

"She's right here, Adam. She's resting. The first thing I need to do is get that bullet out of your shoulder and stop the bleeding."

"No. Shiloh first."

"Mrs. Murdock is going to take care of Shiloh while I work on you."

Turning his head, Adam looked over at Shiloh's still body. He struggled to sit up, and Paul tried to push him back down, but Adam fought to stay up. Tears welled in his eyes. "She's not breathing."

"Yes she is, Adam. She's unconscious, but she's as alive as you and me. Now lay back down."

Roy left the doctor's office when the undertaker returned with Stewart's body. He leaned over the back of the wagon and raised the blanket that covered it. "I never met the man. I'll have to find someone who can identify him." Looking around at the two dozen or so men and women standing quietly, waiting for some word from inside the office, he asked loudly, "Is there anyone here who can identify Senator William Stewart?" He got no response. He looked at the undertaker. "It's gonna have to be one of the Cartwrights." Roy went back into the office. "Which one of you can identify Stewart's body?"

Joe stood up and put his hand on Roy's shoulder. "I can, Roy." Once he had confirmed Stewart's identity, Joe turned back toward the office, but the crowd engulfed him.

"Joe, how are they?" asked Sally Cass.

Joe looked at her with hollow eyes. "I don't know yet, Sally. They could use some prayers, though." The crowd split and let him pass.

Several hours passed before Paul came out of the back room. The three Cartwrights and Mrs. Riley all stood. Paul gave Mrs. Riley a kindly smile. "Sadie, Walter will be just fine. He's going to have a headache for a few days. Make sure he takes it easy until I come by to see him. I don't want him working in the store until then."

She nodded. "Thank you, Doctor."

"Mrs. Murdock will bring him out in a few minutes, and you can take him home."

She turned to the Cartwrights. "Ben, boys, I'll be praying for your two to come through this."

"Thank you, Sadie," said Ben, taking her hands.

Paul took Ben's arm, pulling him to the other side of the room and motioning for Hoss and Joe to follow. "Adam will be alright, Ben, with some rest. The bullet went pretty deep, and he lost a lot of blood, but it's out and he's sewn up. I want to keep him here at least overnight."

"Shiloh?"

"She hasn't come to. I'm sure she has a concussion. You just don't take that kind of beating to the head and not end up with one. She has a good many cuts and bruises all over her, and we've cleaned those up. I still need to work on her hand, and there's one bruise on her abdomen I need to watch. I don't know how long, but she'll have to stay as well. Now, I want you and the boys to go get a room at the hotel, and then get a bite to eat. It won't do either of them any good if I have to bring you to the back and treat you, too."

"Paul, I want to stay here tonight."

"I thought you might, Ben. There's a cot in my office you can use. I'm sending Mrs. Murdock home in a few minutes. She'll come back tonight to spell me. Now, they're both resting. Go on and get something to eat. I'll send someone for you if anything changes."

By that evening, Adam was awake and alert. At the moment, neither Paul nor Mrs. Murdock was in the room. He pushed himself up to a sitting position with his good arm, and sat for a few minutes, letting the fog clear from his mind. Looking around for his shirt, he realized they must have cut if off of him. His left shoulder was bandaged, and his arm was in a sling. He looked across the room at Shiloh. She was so still and pale. A blanket had been pulled all the way up to her chin, but her shoulders were bare and uncovered, and he could see the dark shadows of bruises even from across the room. Sliding slowly off the bed until his feet touched the floor, he tentatively stood, not yet trusting his balance. He gradually made his way to her side, and gently touched the bruises on her face and the swelling around her eyes and mouth as a tear dropped onto her shoulder. "I'm so sorry. I promised you I wouldn't let him anywhere near you. Now look what he's done to you." He lifted the cover and caught his breath at the bruises all over her body, and then he saw the heavily bandaged hand. Wiping his face with the back of his hand, he pulled a chair to her bedside and sat next to her, watching her chest rise and fall with each shallow breath. "Why did I ever believe I could have a life with you when everyone else I've ever really loved has left me? My mothers…Ruth." Taking her right hand in his, he whispered, "Stay with me, Shiloh," then kissed her hand and lay his head on the side of the bed.