CHAPTER FIFTY ONE

"Wonder what that's about, boy?" Adam asked, patting his startled horse. "I didn't think anyone had been living out this way since Mr. Weaver passed."

Adam peered into the darkness, scanning the silhouetted landscape in the direction of the gunshot. He'd been riding for more than an hour and in the nighttime, open-range silence he'd become accustomed to hearing the occasional rustle of critter feet through the thick, dry brush and the frequent bay of a mother wolf singing sweetly to her mate and her cubs. Though the curious need for a timely return home to the Ponderosa still disconcerted him, Adam couldn't ignore the sound of a gunshot at that hour of the night.

"Let's go have a look, boy."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Can you see anyone, Carrie" Ben asked, holding his pistol at the ready as Alyssa hurried to lower the wicks in the guest room lamps.

"No," Carrie answered from the great room window. "It sounds like a buggy and I hear two horses."

"I can't imagine who would be paying a visit at this hour," Ben responded, frustrated with the limitations caused by his wound.

Joe lifted his arm, turning slowly onto his side. "Pa, I'll take a look . . ."

"Joseph! You stay right there in that bed!" Ben said firmly.

"But, Pa!"

"Wait! I can see a buggy and . . . it's a double-seater," Carrie said. "It's Doctor Martin! And he's got someone in the buggy with him and . . . and it's Sheriff Coffee riding alongside!"

Ben exhaled loudly, unaware he'd been holding his breath for some time. His relief quickly blended with apprehension as he wondered what could possibly bring the doctor and the sheriff to the ranch. Could someone have found Mercy before Hoss did? Or has something happened to them both? And who is with them?

Joe closed his eyes and relaxed, letting his full weight collapse heavily into the mattress and pillows. When he opened them, the look on his father's face stiffened his muscles once again. This must have something to do with Stu.

Alyssa raised the lamp she'd just lowered and started for the others out in the great room. Carrie's exclamation startled her and she froze in place just at the guest room threshold.

"Mr. Cartwright!" Carrie shouted as she ran into the room. "The doctor and the sheriff . . . They've brought Mrs. Brighton and the children with them! Danny, Mary, and AnnaLynn! They're here!"

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The enthusiastic trip from Virginia City had dwindled over time to a sleepy buggy ride. Danny's and Mary's chatter served to delight Mrs. Brighton and Doctor Martin, though thoughts of Stu Weaver and those he might choose to harm were, at best, held just below the surface. AnnaLynn, quite savvy for a girl of twelve and a half, was not as successful at hiding her true concerns.

By the time they'd reached the ranch, all three children were fast asleep, their heads leaning against one another. Danny, his hair once again going every which way, had wrapped his left arm around Mary, cuddling against her as they rode and eventually slept. AnnaLynn, once resigned to the fatigue of the day, had in turn placed her right arm around both children. Mary, seated between her protectors, her feet dangling beneath the blanket that covered them all, clung tightly to her dolly.

AnnaLynn stirred when the buggy came to a halt. Moonlight illuminated the house, and she was embarrassed when she realized she sat gaping at its grandeur.

"Can you manage Mary?" Paul asked Mrs. Brighton. "And I'll get Danny."

Paul glanced at Roy before nodding toward the house. "And the sheriff can go on ahead and let them know we've arrived."

Roy hurried to the door, knocking twice before it was opened. Paul and Mrs. Brighton watched from a distance as Roy was greeted by Carrie and immediately invited inside.

"Everyone's in the guest bedroom, Sheriff Coffee," Carrie said. "I'll go out and help with the children."

"In here, Roy," Ben called. "What's happened?"

"Joe? What happened to you?" Roy asked, unaware of Joe's encounter with Stu. "And where's Miss Kinkead? Paul said she was here!"

"We can explain all of that and find out why you're all here after we get those children inside," Ben advised. "Suffice it to say, for now, that Stu Weaver poses a threat to everyone here, as well as Mercy, Hoss, and Adam."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

It was quickly decided that to avoid frightening the two younger children, Joe would remain in the bedroom, his more obvious bandaged wounds temporarily hidden from the young ones' eyes. They agreed that should Danny and Mary awaken as they were carried to a bedroom upstairs, they'd be told that Mercy had gone on a walk with one of the sons of the man on the school board and that she would be pleased were she to return to the house to find them asleep in the bedroom they would share with AnnaLynn and Mrs. Brighton. As soon as the children were settled in their room, the adults and AnnaLynn would come together and more decisions would be made.

Alyssa hurriedly readied one of the upstairs guest rooms, turning down the bed where a sleeping Danny and Mary would be placed. She then rushed outside, signaling that all was ready.

Luckily, neither Danny nor Mary awoke as they were lifted from the buggy and carried inside. AnnaLynn, frightened by Miss Kinkead's absence at the ranch, followed Mrs. Brighton and Doctor Martin as they climbed the grand staircase of the Ponderosa.

Carrie was the last one to enter, closing and latching the door behind her. Much to her surprise, Ben had made his way from the guest room to the great room and had stood stoically at the doorway to greet his guests.

"Are you all right?" she whispered as she followed behind the group.

"Hmm? Oh, yes, I'm all right, dear," Ben said matter-of-factly, his eyes beaming at the sight of the three children Adam had told him so much about.

"Soon, he'll call them his grandchildren," Carrie thought. "And how lucky they will be."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

While Mrs. Brighton and AnnaLynn saw to the children upstairs, Paul and Carrie carefully examined Joe's injuries.

"Carrie, looks to me like you did a fine job," Paul admitted. "How's the shoulder, Joe?"

"Doesn't hurt much at all, Doc. It sure did before, though!"

"Dislocated shoulders are pretty bad," Paul added. "You say Hoss helped to slip it back into place?"

"Yeah," Joe replied, his mind drifting instantly to the questions at hand. Where was Hoss? Had he found Mercy? And why weren't they back yet?

"Paul?" Ben interrupted. "As soon as you're finished, we need to talk this through and the sooner we get started, the better."

"I'm finished now, Ben. But I'd like to check under your bandages . . ."

"There'll be time for that later," Ben insisted. "Can Joe make it out into the living room or should we gather in here?"

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Joe shifted uncomfortably under the watchful eyes of Ben, Paul, and Carrie. His shoulder ached no matter his position and his leg throbbed as if he'd been trampled by one of their prize steers. Yet he had insisted, with the support of both Roy and Paul, on making his way to the settee.

Ben's chest stung with alternating twinges of fire and stabbing threads of flame. For his own purposes as well as those of being the ever attentive host no matter the circumstances, he'd offered brandy to the other adults and all had accepted save for Mrs. Brighton and Carrie. Turning to shield his actions from watchful eyes, Ben poured himself a second glass, hoping to ease the pain he fought to suppress.

Mrs. Brighton sat next to AnnaLynn, knowing the girl would soon learn some shocking information - that Adam had survived the blaze at the orphanage. She wondered just how long the girl's patience would hold with the secrecy and suddenness of the events of the evening.

At Ben's nod, Mrs. Brighton made an introduction that AnnaLynn would never forget. "AnnaLynn," Mrs. Brighton began, "I'd like you to meet the school board member who's invited us all to visit his ranch. AnnaLynn, this is Mr. Cartwright. Mr. Ben Cartwright."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir," AnnaLynn said, rising to face Ben's towering form.

"The pleasure is all mine, AnnaLynn," Ben replied, his voice catching on every word. "I must tell you, dear, that I am . . ."

"Pardon me for interrupting, sir," AnnaLynn said, "but I already know. Miss Kinkead told me about you when I arrived in Virginia City. You are Mr. Adam's father."

Surprised by her statement, Ben steadied himself against his burgundy chair. "That's right, dear . . ."

AnnaLynn lowered her eyes. "And Miss Kinkead came here today to deliver some news to you and your sons."

"She thinks Mercy came here and told us that Adam is dead!" Ben realized.

"Please, AnnaLynn," Mrs. Brighton said, "won't you sit here next to me and listen to what Mr. Cartwright has to tell you?"

AnnaLynn did as she was asked, wedging herself between Joe and Mrs. Brighton on the settee. Suddenly, the gentleman who'd towered over her when she was standing became an even more imposing figure. She looked up at him, her green eyes scrutinizing his softening face.

Ben smiled at the young girl as he gingerly lowered himself to the table. "AnnaLynn, what I have to tell you is wonderful news, so there is no need to mince words or look for a delicate way to say it. You see, my dear, my son, Mr. Adam, did not perish in the fire at the orphanage. He is very much alive and well."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"NO!" Mercy cried, not knowing which direction would lead her to an escape.

Stu released the post he'd clung to and stepped out into the yard. "You and Fat Hoss shouldn't oughtta have done that!" he yelled.

Mercy turned and ran to Chubb, slamming her foot into the stirrup and swinging her leg around his wide body.

"You ain't goin' nowhere!" Stu hollered as he lunged forward, catching her foot and dragging her from the saddle.

Mercy hit the ground hard, groaning as her wrist popped from the impact. "LET ME GO!"

"I ain't finished with you, sweetheart!" he yelled, pulling her roughly to her feet. "You and your little trick got me a broken nose and went and got ole Fat Hoss a bullet!"

"NO! HOSS!" she cried.

"And somebody's gonna pay for that and it looks like that somebody's YOU!" Stu slapped Chubb, leaving Mercy to watch, helplessly, as the horse galloped into the blackness of the night.

With his fingers painfully gripping her arm, Stu dragged her to the barn, hefted her onto his horse and tied her broken wrist to the saddle horn.

"Please," she sobbed, tears flowing along her bruised face, "let me help Hoss!"

"You ain't gonna help Hoss 'cause Hoss is dead!"

"How can you be sure?" Mercy asked.

"'Cause if he ain't dead now, he will be. See, ain't nobody gonna find him for days all the way out here! Tied up 'n' bleedin' the way he is, he'll be dead before daylight!"

"Oh, Hoss," Mercy cried. "I'm so sorry."

"OH, Hoss, I'm so sorry," Stu mocked as he swung himself into the saddle, his body wedged against hers.

Mercy's blood ran cold. Her mind tangled with bits and pieces of fact and fiction, past and present, reality and the unknown. So lost in her own turmoil, she seemed unaware that they were moving, riding together away from the house, away from Hoss and whatever fate had claimed him. And even if she had shaken the internal turbulence, she would not have recognized that Stu was traveling along the road to the Ponderosa.