Chapter Twenty-One

Adam picked a place to camp well off the road just to the east of Pacific House, a little town with a pony remount station, a saloon and a hotel. When he dismounted at the edge of the road, he noticed fresh tracks…like someone had stopped here before them. "Hoss, what do you make of that?" Adam asked, pointing to the disturbed dirt along the side of the road.

Hoss stooped down and brushed his hand over the loose soil. "This is five or six horses, but I don't see no wagon tracks." He walked into to the road and looked around. "There's wagon tracks here in the road, but none of 'em leave the road. They could belong to one of the stagecoaches." He made his way back to the side of the road and followed the horse tracks into the woods. "Hey, Adam."

Adam walked up behind him. "What is it, Hoss?"

"Looks like they left someone behind," said Hoss, stepping aside so Adam could see the body lying face down in the dirt.

Adam knelt next to the body and turned it over. Dear God. They were twins. His hand went immediately up to cover his mouth as he leaned back on the heel of his boot.

Hoss searched the man's pockets and found a folded piece of paper. "Looks like some sort of a deed," he said as he unfolded it. He looked up at Adam with furrowed brows. "The name on the deed is Jennings. Robert Jennings," he said, handing the deed to Adam.

"Look at his face, Hoss." Hoss moved next to Adam and looked down at the man, swallowing hard.

"Why would her brother be mixed up in this?"

Adam took a deep breath and rose to his feet. "I don't know why that would surprise you. He left her to die. Maybe he found out she married a Cartwright and decided to cash in."

"The fella at the summit said somethin' about a blonde man talking about asking for money," said Hoss. "When we get to Placerville, we should send Pa a telegram to look for a ransom note. He needs to check over at your place." He waited for Adam to respond, but instead, Adam looked disgustedly at the body. "Come on," said Hoss. We should get him buried."

"Why? Let the animals have him."

"Now Adam, are you gonna be able to tell that little gal that you didn't bury her brother? I know you carry some hard feelings for what he done to her, but wouldn't she want him buried?"

Adam scratched the side of his head, let out an exasperated sigh and nodded. "I'll go find some rocks," he said as he shuffled away.

Once they had the body buried, Adam refused to say a prayer over him and dared Hoss to make a cross. "Just lay his gun and hat on top of the rocks. We'll tell someone at Pacific House tomorrow."

They rode a little ways down the road and made camp. Dinner consisted of coffee and beans, and when they were both settled, Hoss asked, "If her brother was mixed up with them other fellas that took her, what d'you s'pose made 'em kill 'im?"

"I don't know, Hoss."

"Maybe they was arguin' about the ransom."

"Maybe." Adam pushed his beans around on his plate, finally putting the plate down and picking up his coffee cup.

"You need to eat. You ain't gonna be no good tomorrow without something in your stomach."

Adam ignored him and sat, thinking about the promise he had made to Rebecca. He had promised her he'd see to it that her brother never hurt her again…that no one ever hurt her again. I should have known better than to make a promise I've never been very good at keeping. But she should've been safe. She was on the Ponderosa.

Hoss watched Adam's face; watched as Adam's eyes fixed on the fire while deep lines formed in his forehead. He knew Adam was taking full responsibility for Rebecca's kidnapping. "Adam, you didn't have any way of knowin' she'd be taken like that. Especially on the Ponderosa. We always felt safe there."

Adam moved over to his saddle and lay down on his bedroll with his back to Hoss, covering himself with his blanket. He was done talking for the day.

Hoss picked up the untouched plate of beans and threw them out. It turned out he wasn't very hungry himself. When he had their dinner cleaned up, he stoked the fire and lay down to sleep.

Adam lay still, remembering the last time he had lain with her, holding her, loving her…the night before she was taken. It wasn't often that Adam Cartwright said a prayer at night, but tonight he prayed.