Mac and the others arrived at the prickly pear forest by that evening. They went in, knowing that there was a pool of water there and they wanted to take a look at that cabin to see if anything had been left behind. They cautiously went up to the cabin to make sure no one was there, but they found that the cabin was empty. "Sure is hot in here," Hoss commented. He wiped his brow and put his ten-gallon hat back on.

"It's hard for wind to stir in this mess," Adam replied as he wiped sweat too.

Mac walked into the cabin where there was a table and three chairs and two cots to sleep on. The fireplace was black with ashes from the fire before. There was also a potbellied stove in one corner and even still a few cans of beans in the place. He put his gun back in the holster and looked at his companions. "I guess we can stay here for the night," he said. "I don't think they will be coming back here. They know we know about the place."

"At least we won't have to sleep on the ground," Simpson said.

Mac walked back outside and looked around. There were lots of cattle tracks out there and of course, the hewn down prickly pears and other plants. That had all been mostly trampled now though so they were just about crushed into the sand. Mac removed his hat and wiped his face and hair with his bandana. Hoss was definitely right about it being hot in this place. It was like that wave of heat one felt when they opened an oven door but it did not diminish. Adam walked up beside him. "Feels awful muggy," he pointed out. "Must be a storm brewing."

"I hope not," Mac replied. "That would wipe out the prints on the other side of the desert."

Mac had to admit he had been in this kind of weather before. It usually meant a storm was coming that would wipe out anything and everything in its path, and it meant a lot of rain. "Let's just hope it isn't what we think," he said.

"I think I'll go and walk around a bit and see if I can find anything."

Mac nodded and went back into the cabin. He sat down in one of the chairs and dropped his hat on the table. He did not think he was hungry; he was just tired. The heat was oppressive. "Marshall, why don't you get some rest over there?" Simpson asked. "You look tired."

Mac looked at him. He was definitely tired but Simpson was a much older man than he was. However, he had not been able to get the rest he needed to after he got beat up and then he did not sleep much last night either. "I am tired, but I think if I just sit here a little while, I'll feel better," he said.

"I heard what happened last night in town. You should sleep while you can. We have a long trip ahead of us. Besides, it's nearly night anyway."

Mac could not argue with that. He seemed to feel sleepier by the minute. "Okay," he said. "But wake me up at the first sign of trouble."

Mac went over to one of the cots. It did not smell too good but he would sleep on it anyway. He was asleep almost instantly when he lay down.

Simpson sat at the table and drank some coffee. He looked at Mac as Hoss sat down. "He sure is young to be in the position he's in," Simpson remarked.

"He's a good man," Hoss replied. "As I hear it, he was in the army before he became a Marshall."

"I never joined the army. All I wanted to do was build my ranch, but my brothers did. One of them was killed in the war and the other went back East. He takes care of Mother."

"When was the last time you saw her?"

Simpson frowned. "Too long."

"Well, I'll tell you, Mr. Simpson. If my mother was alive somewhere, there wouldn't be enough land to keep me from going to see her. I was so young when she died, I don't have any memories of her. Mostly my memories are of Little Jo's mother. I was old enough to remember her."

"Must have been pretty sad for your father to lose three wives like that."

"Yeah," Hoss said thoughtfully. "After he lost Jo's mother, he left for a while, left us with some people at the ranch. I guess he had to get away and grieve."

"It must have been a hard thing to deal with. I thought I wouldn't be able to deal with the loss of one wife, let alone three."

Just then, Adam came bursting in through the door. "Marshall!" he said.

Mac sat up, instinctively reaching for his weapon. "What is it?" he asked as he rolled off the bed to his feet.

Adam paused a moment. "I'm sorry to startle you, but there's something you need to see."

Mac rubbed his face. He had been asleep and was resting. Now he felt achy again, but he must see what Adam had found. He put his hat on and followed him outside along with Hoss and Simpson. Adam led them around behind the cabin and through a "doorway" in the forest. And there were four graves. Mac stared at them a moment. It was hard to tell anything about them in the dim light. He struck a match and looked at the name that was on one of the grave markers. "Alicia Noles," he read. He looked at the other three. "Bob, Chester and Amy." Mac stood up and looked at the others. "Looks like a family but someone had to bury them."

"But who was it and where are they now?" Adam asked.

"They must have built this cabin or they had been living here. The dates on these markers are two years old."

"This mess would have had to be already here then," Hoss said.

"Why would a family be living here? And who buried them?"

"Maybe they didn't have a home and when they found this cabin, they just moved in," Adam said. "After all, we said when we got here that it was better than sleeping on the ground."

Mac nodded. "Another question is: why did they die?" he said. "Children don't just die for no reason and those graves look pretty small."

"Maybe they got sick or something and someone came along and found them and buried them."

"That could be it."

Mac could not help but wonder but he supposed he might never find out. They all went back to the cabin. Hoss stirred the stew he was cooking at the fire. "This stew will be ready here in a little while."

Adam yawned. "I'll be ready to eat it," he declared. "Something about riding all day across a desert makes a man's bones ache."

"You can say that again," Mac said as he lay back down on the cot. He dozed as he listened to the others talk about cattle and ranching and repairing fences. He knew a little about that but he had not done much of it.

"Seems like every time I get that north fence repaired, the south one needs repairs," Hoss grumbled.

"A never-ending battle," Adam replied.

"Aw, what do you know about it? You're always riding off to San Francisco on business trips and the like."

"I've done my share of timber stacking and fence mending. You don't do it all."

"I think I do the most of it. Seems like I'm always the one that winds up carrying all the timber and stacking it while you two pretend to be measuring how long the poles need to be. And then when we go to buy lumber, I'm the one who always loads everything."

Adam smiled. "You always volunteer."

Hoss considered that. "I guess I do, don't I?"

"Yeah, so don't be acting like we just take advantage of you." Adam smiled. "Besides, you have more strength than all of the rest of us put together."

"And don't you forget it." Hoss went over to the stew again and tasted it. "Delicious…if I do say so myself. You fellas ready?"

"I sure am," Simpson answered.

Hoss dipped them all out an equal amount. Mac sat up and came to get his. "I guess I'm a little hungry now," he said.

"Don't you worry," Hoss said. "Adam and I will take the first watch."

Adam looked at him. "Are you volunteering me again?" he asked. "I would rather have the second watch."

"I'll take the first," Simpson said. "I'm not a bit sleepy right now and I would have a hard time getting to sleep."

"Then it's settled."

When they were done eating, Mac lay down on the cot and tried to rest. Now that he had eaten, he did not feel so sleepy. He could not help but wonder who that family had been and why they were there at that cabin. They must have had to go into a town to get provisions, and the nearest town was Virginia City. He had no idea what the people looked like so he could not ask anyone if they had seen them. However, someone might have known their names. He looked across the room at Adam who looked like he was sleeping.

"Hey," Mac whispered.

Adam started slightly. "What?" he asked.

"Had you ever heard of a family called Noles?"

"Not that I remember. I was thinking about that but I don't remember anyone by that name. That doesn't mean much though. We don't stay in town a whole lot. They could have gone to the General Store though and Mary Townsend might have known them."

Mac thought he would have to talk to her when he got back to town. He thought that would be several days now. He went ahead to try and get some more sleep. As he drifted to sleep, he listened to the sounds of the insects outside in the thicket. He did not know what kinds of insects lived in this but he was sure he was hearing a cricket. He thought those things lived everywhere.

Hoss and Nathan Simpson walked around the thicket. "This sure is a lonely place," Hoss commented.

"Yeah," Simpson agreed. "I can't help but wonder why a man would move his family in here."

"Something to hide?"

"Could be. There are a lot of people with something to hide."

"Yeah, but that doesn't explain what happened to them and who buried them."

Simpson thought while he chewed on a match stick. "Could be someone found them in here and wanted this cabin," he suggested. "Someone who had even more to hide than this family."

"And killed all of them? Even children? That's mighty cruel and drastic."

"It's a cruel world out there, Hoss."

"I guess I know that but I try to think that most children have as good a life as I've had."

"We were blessed, Hoss."

Hoss looked up at the stars. He could see a few, but the forest was so high on each side that it hid most of them. "You ever wonder what's out there in the stars?" he asked.

"Not really," Simpson replied. "If there's anything out there, I won't live to know what it is, so I might as well keep my mind here where I can be of some use."

Hoss chuckled. "I guess that's a way to look at it." He shook his head. "I just wonder if we're going to be able to find those cattle or if we will be able to find anyone willing to tell us about them if they've seen them."

"I would imagine there are still some people around who don't want to get their necks stretched."

"That might be a very good argument for us."

A while later, Hoss and Simpson woke Mac and Adam up to take their turn on watch. Mac felt a little better now. He got up and walked out on the porch and stretched. At least the coolness of the night could reach even into this horror, although it was not as cool as it probably was out there on the level ground. The air seemed fresher though.

Mac walked out into the area in front of the cabin and looked around the place. It was just dark and still with a few noises of things stirring in the brush. It was going to be a long, quiet night but the next day would be full of hard riding. He wished they could all sleep all night, but they had to be on their guard because the men who were here before could return and try to reclaim their hideout. Mac did not think they would be so bold as to do that but one never knew. Hopefully, it would all come together tomorrow.