Chapter 7
"Pa, look that's sport. But where is Adam?"
"I don't know ,Hoss, but he can't be that far away. Adam must be in trouble some where."
"Hey, Pa. Adam's saddle isn't that dusty. He has to be close by."
"Ok, Joe. Grab sports reins and let's go find Adam."
~0~
Ab out five miles down the road they came upon Adam. Still laying where sport bucked him off. And there lay the rattle snake that caused all of this.
"There's Adam, Pa. He's hurt bad." Joe was beside himself looking at his older brother like that
Ben got off Buck and hurried to Adam. "Adam, Adam. Son, Hoss, get me some water for him."
"Right away, Pa."
"Thank you. Adam, son. Here try to drink."
But, Adam couldn't drink any water. He was out and with a bad gash on the side of his head where the bleeding had stopped and the blood had caked on his hair.
"Boy's, we have to try and get him to the doctor there. Joe, bring my horse over here and both of you help me get him on the saddle for me. He will be safe in my arm's until we get there."
Hoss and Joe helped with Adam to get him on Ben's horse and Ben got on behind him and they went on ahead to the next town that Adam had just come from. Ben held his son very close to him and had tears in his eyes as he thought about Adam's mother and how she would react about this. Unknown to him that she already helped Adam by talking to him and sending him back to the path he already came. The path that took him back to his father and brother's. And now she was about to talk to him.
"Benjamin, my love. Take care of our son. Help for him awaits you."
"Yes, Elizabeth, thank you for watching over him for me."
"Pa, what did you say?"
"What? Oh, Hoss, nothing. A voice from the past has just spoken to me."
~0~
They made it to the next town and found the town doctor , and he took Adam in his office right away.
"Bring him right in here Mr. Cartwright. This gentleman was here in town a few hours ago. He wasn't sure what his name was or where he came from. Other than a few people telling him he's Adam Cartwright, it didn't seem to change any thing."
"You mean he has had amnesia all this time?"
"How long has it been since you have seen him?"
"Going on eight months now. He disappeared after his wife died giving birth to his baby daughter. That was always his biggest fear as far as getting married and having children. His mother died giving birth to him."
"OH, OK. Well, if that is what it is then I can understand about his memory loss. OK, I need to get off the dried up blood washed off his wound so I can assess his injury better."
"Alright, thank you Doctor."
Ben went out of the room to let the doctor work on Adam. He told Hoss and Joe what the doctor said about Adam not remembering if he was Adam Cartwright or not knowing where he came from.
"Pa, you don't recken Adam will never know who he really is do you?"
"Hoss, I don't know. We'll know more when the doctor gets done with him."
~0~