Chapter Twenty-Nine
Snow coming down from the night sky had awakened Adam out of a sound sleep. He sighed. There was no point in trying to sleep anymore, so he built up his fire and prepared an early breakfast. It was still too dark to see his way, so he would wait for first light.
It was another two hours before light finally appeared. Even when it should have been full daylight, it wasn't. Snow clouds cast a gloom over the countryside, but there was enough light to see the clearing that was the road. He'd already spent two days on Henness Pass Road and hadn't gone but maybe fifteen or sixteen miles because of the snowstorm. In that time, he heard eight stagecoaches pass in the night, and dodged wagon after wagon during the day. Now there was so much snow, the wagons had stopped. He'd only heard one stagecoach this past night. The snow had gotten too deep for wheels.
Pulling his collar up around his neck, he shoved his hat down firmly on his head and continued on until he saw a light at a small cabin off the road in a clearing. He'd been on Henness Pass before, but with the snow, he was disoriented, and said to himself, "Could that be Patrick Henness' place? That would put me at Jackson Meadows."
Heading toward the light, Adam found himself at a cabin with a small barn. He dismounted and trudged through the deep snow to the covered porch. As he beat the snow off his coat and boots, the door opened. The barrel of a shot gun pushed through the crack of the door.
"Who's there?"
"Adam Cartwright. I thought this cabin might belong to Patrick Henness," said Adam as he held his hands up shoulder high.
The barrel of the gun lowered, and the door opened wider. "Adam Cartwright. What in Heaven's name are you doin' out here? Get in here before you catch your death."
Adam stepped through the open door and gave Patrick a wide smile. "You had me worried for a minute, Patrick. I thought I might have the wrong cabin," said Adam, peeling off his gloves.
"Take off your jacket and come over here by the fire," said Patrick. "I'll pour you some hot coffee."
While Adam got comfortable in a rocking chair in front of the fire, Patrick asked, "I don't often see you in these parts. You Cartwrights usually use that other road when you come out of the mountains. What brings you to this side?"
"I'm following someone…a man named Daniel Slater. He escaped from the jail in San Francisco, and he's been causing my family some trouble."
"Oh," said Patrick, passing Adam a cup of coffee. "Not bad trouble, I hope."
"He's trying to take my wife and son, Patrick. Bad enough."
"A son? I heard about the wife, but didn't know about a son. I'll bet Ben's happy he's finally got a grandson." When Adam smiled and nodded, Patrick continued, "Anyway, this Slater fella ain't going anywhere on this road for the next couple of days. Snow's too deep."
"He's not on Henness Pass yet. He was taking the stage out of Downieville," said Adam as he sipped his coffee with his long fingers wrapped around the cup, absorbing the warmth.
Patrick leaned his head back and gave Adam a long, confused stare. "Then why are you here? On Henness Pass Road, I mean?"
"Because I'm trying to get to Virginia City before he does whatever it is he's planning to do. I think he has help in Virginia City."
"Well, if it's a stagecoach he's on, he won't be gettin' there fast. But then, you may not be either if this snow don't let up. Had breakfast yet?"
Raising his brows, Adam nodded. "Beans and bacon a few hours ago. And I hate to drink your coffee and leave, but I have to keep moving," he said, rising from his chair. He passed the empty coffee cup to Patrick. "I'm going to try to get down to Webber Lake tonight."
"That's a good eleven or twelve miles, Adam. You won't be able to move that fast."
Pulling his gloves back on, Adam asked, "There's a way station between here and Webber's isn't there?" When Patrick nodded, Adam said, "I may stop there if the weather doesn't break. But I have to keep moving." He offered his hand to his host. "Much obliged for the fire, the coffee and the conversation."
Patrick shook Adam's hand. "I should be thanking you. I don't get many people up in this meadow. Most tend to stay close to the road."
Adam had opened the door to leave, but stopped and turned back. "Why are you here this time of year? I thought you came out here in the spring to start your hay fields."
"We had a break in the weather. I thought maybe we'd have a early spring this year."
Shaking his head, Adam chuckled and said, "It's January. It's still a bit early."
Patrick laughed. "Maybe. But it beats running the livery in Graniteville all winter."
Waving goodbye, Adam left, heading toward Webber Lake.
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As Ben pored over his ledgers, he heard Joe walk by. "Joseph."
Joe backtracked to the study. "Yea, Pa."
Without looking up from his books, Ben asked, "Would you ride out to the stables and tell Shiloh dinner's almost ready?"
"I didn't even know she went back today. She's been working with those horses for the last two days. She mentioned she needed to spend some time with Abel, so I thought she'd stay home today."
Ben chuckled. "Joe, she is home, and the way things are going, my grandson is going to be raised around her horses."
"What d'you mean, Pa?"
"Etta and Abel went with her today."
"Oh," Joe replied, heading for the door. "We'll be back in a few minutes."
As Joe left, Annie came down the stairs with her hand on her stomach. Ben looked away from his ledger to see his other daughter, obviously with child, slowly coming down the stairs. He smiled. It felt good that his sons finally decided to have families."
"Pa," said Annie with a bright smile. "Have you seen Hoss? The baby's moving," she said, moving her hands to her belly and smiling down at it."
The door latch clicked and Hoss stepped inside. "Hey, Pa. Where's Joe going?" He kept walking toward his wife and looked down at her with furrowed brows. "Sump'n wrong?"
"No," she replied, taking his hands and moving them to her belly. "Do you feel it?"
Hoss's mood was transformed. His eyes widened at the same time a smile slowly invaded his face. "Dang if that don't beat all," he said quietly, following the baby's movements with his hands. "He's a strong little feller, ain't he?"
Frowning, Annie asked, "Will you be disappointed if it's a girl?"
"Shucks no," he said with a smile and slightly turned head.
Ben had leaned back in his desk chair to watch whatever developed in the sitting area. Smiling, he said, "You two need to get ready for dinner. Hop Sing says it's almost ready."
Later at the dinner table, Annie told Shiloh how active the baby had been, and the two were immersed in their own conversation, missing the muted discussion between the men.
"Boys, I want you to go to town with us tomorrow," said Ben.
Hoss stopped the bite of mashed potatoes heading for his mouth. "You think she'll have problems in town?" he asked, slightly nodding toward Shiloh.
Ben looked at Shiloh and Annie, and when neither seemed to notice the question, he shook his head, and said quietly, "Keep your voice down. I don't want to deal with any objections tonight."
"So you think there'll be trouble?" asked Joe.
Taking a deep breath, Ben replied, "I don't know. We should have heard from Adam by now. I don't want to take any chances."
"Should I tell Mark to bring more men?" asked Hoss.
"That wouldn't be a bad idea, Hoss. Try to get word to him tonight. I don't know what he needs to do split his men up. He still has to leave some with Abel."
Joe took a long drink of water. "Well, why don't we invite Etta…with Abel and Rachel?"
Ben pursed his lips in thought. "No. I have concerns about Shiloh. I don't want to put Abel within easy reach if something's going to happen."
"Etta can take them to see Mrs. Murdock," said Hoss with slight smile. "She dotes on the boy like she's kin or sumthin'."
Ben allowed a quiet chuckle. "That's true." After he wiped his mouth with his napkin, he said, "Hoss, find Mark tonight. Tell him we're all going into town tomorrow."
"Yessir."
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Adam had been two more days on the road, and even though it was cold and there was snow on the ground, the stagecoaches had started running again which turned the road to inconsequential slush. It was late, and it was getting dark, but Adam knew he was only a few hours away from Virginia City. Considering he knew the Geiger Road like the back of his hand, he continued on, arriving in Virginia City just before midnight.
He went into Babcock's Saloon on B Street to have a late meal and a drink before he took a room for the night. It was late, and he was too tired to make the long trip to the Ponderosa. He'd go home tomorrow and fill Mark in on what Daniel was doing.
It took longer than usual, but his meal finally arrived along with a beer. He swallowed half of the beer and began to eat his steak. It blurred. Squinting, he looked at the plate again, and as it began to fade, he fell to the floor, unconscious.
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The parade that rode into Virginia City early this particular morning was unusual enough that people stopped and watched the throng ride by. There was a buggy, but it was hard to see who was in it. It was surrounded by three of the Cartwright men and ten other men no one recognized.
They stopped in front of Maguire's Opera House on B Street, and it was then that Shiloh Cartwright, and her employee, Etta Wright could be seen. Mrs. Cartwright exited the buggy, wearing a dress far too fancy for a normal visit to Virginia City. Even Ben Cartwright was wearing a suit. One of the men surrounding them tied his horse to the back of the buggy, and then took over the reins.
Hoss and half of the men then followed the buggy down to C Street where it stopped in front of Mrs. Murdock's Mercantile. Hoss's wife, Annie whom the women in the city were quite fond of, and Mrs. Wright were then helped down out of the buggy, Mrs. Wright holding a baby in her arms while a little girl held tightly to her skirts, all of them disappearing into Murdock's with several men getting comfortable around the outside of the store.
At the opera house, Ben offered his arm to the other Mrs. Cartwright, and the two entered the building. Another man who seemed to be in charge of the parade, pulled the door closed and stood in front of it, seemingly daring anyone to try and pass. The rest of the men surrounded the opera house.
It was then that the whispers began, wondering if Shiloh's father-in-law had taken it upon himself to keep the wife of his older son away from Mr. Asher, who it was said, had eyes for her and had made advances that were only barely shunned.
Then again, all of them assumed that the Cartwright's had no idea that the eldest Cartwright son had stayed in town the night before, choosing accommodations at Babcock's Saloon with a companion named Lily. In fact, it was only recently that he'd left Lily's company.
Every resident who had witnessed the procession through town thought it unfortunate that Babcock's Saloon was two buildings down and across B Street from the opera house.
