2
It took an hour to get beyond the damage path of the avalanche. A lot of that time had been spent navigating the new, more rugged terrain caused by the snow. Without a rope some of the descents were tricky, and none of them were dressed for a climb. They were tired, wet and cold by the time they reached the road. There they found Sport and Chub. Sport was limping and Chub had a graze and large contusion on his flank.
"Probably got hit by a branch or somethin' on the way down." Hoss said, soothing the horse.
Adam ran bare hands over the back left leg of his horse, wincing at the heat there. "Not too bad. He'll heal but I can't ride him."
"Wonder where Cochise got to.." Joe said quietly. None of them mentioned the possibilities that Cochise and the mules were buried.
As they moved on Joe picked out his horse's tracks and further down the trail they found the pinto standing under an oak, pawing at the ground for grass that wouldn't come up for another three months. Joe petted the animal, looking it over from head to toe before the four men trudged on, leading the horses. The mules tracks were evident half a mile later and Ben eventually found them huddled together behind a large boulder. Both animals were sound, but had to be herded, with no bridles or rope to lead them.
"Do you think that was an earthquake that started the avalanche, or did the avalanche cause an earthquake?" Adam asked.
"What does it matter?" Hoss asked.
"If it was an earthquake, there might be more little quakes. If it was an avalanche I want to know what started it."
"Who cares what started it?" Joe asked.
"I care." Ben said, craning his neck to meet Hoss and Joe's eyes. "That avalanche just demolished a cabin and took a good supply wagon, and cords of wood with it. Cords that I chopped."
"If there's a way to stop them, or if the avalanche could have been prevented. I want to know about it." Adam said.
"And if it was an earthquake?" Hoss asked.
"Then.." Adam sighed, "We can expect there to be damage on more than just that side of the mountain, and we can expect a few more rumbles to come our way."
"It didn't look like the shaking on it's own did too much damage." Ben said, remembering back to the fleeting seconds between the first big shake and the second. "Best case scenario, we have a few dishes to pick up when we get home, and some shaken up horses and chickens."
A second later Sport whinnied and reared, tugging his reins out of Adam's hands. The other horses began to respond, either to the noise, or to whatever had spooked Adam's horse. The mules, fifty feet ahead of them on the trail, jolted to the left, then took off at a dead run.
Adam went after Sport, Joe turned to the rifle on Cochise' saddle and Hoss grabbed Chub's neck, squeezing hard and holding the animal still, trying to get at his own gun.
The black bear trundled through the snow ahead of them, emerging from the woods and sliding in the snow to a stop on the trail, his attention focused on the mules. He was huge. The biggest Ben could remember seeing on the Ponderosa. He filled the trail with his bulk, and looked like he could have finished off both the mules for an appetizer, if they hadn't bolted. Ben and his sons stood stock still, staring at the animal as it sniffed at the air, then slowly swung its great head their way.
"Don't shoot." Ben hissed, backing away, his hand out to push his boys back as well. "Just don't shoot."
They backed up the trail slowly, the horses fighting harder and harder to be free of their masters. The bear started ambling towards them, sniffing the air. Curious, cautious.
"Let the horses loose." Ben snapped, his voice still a harsh whisper. Hoss and Adam let their animals go and they reared and bolted back up the trail. Joe was yanked off his feet before he was able to turn Cochise loose. When Joe fell he took the reins with him and the animal got turned around, it's flank to the bear. The black bull picked up his pace, spotting a weakness and Joe slid around in the snow, yanking off a glove in his haste to turn Cochise loose. The animal bolted, dodging toward the bear instead of away.
The four men watched Joe's horse deftly side step the bear, watched the bear swipe a massive claw at him, then turn back to the only animals not running for safety.
"Run...run!" Ben shouted and they ran. Joe led the way back up the trail, charging through the snow and kicking it up behind him. Adam was hot on Joe's back, with Ben and Hoss bringing up the rear. When Hoss went down into the snow, Ben and Adam turned back, dragged him upright and forward.
"Why aren't we shooting at that thing?" Hoss wanted to know.
Ahead of them Joe had climbed up on a rock and was aiming at the bear. He shot once, pumped the action, shot a second time, then a third. Each shot hit the shoulders of the bear. Each shot produced a gout of blood and flesh. And each shot did absolutely nothing to slow it down or discourage it from coming after them.
"Because it's a waste of time. Joseph, run!" Ben shouted. Joe lept from his rock and took off after his family. They gained distance from the creature but were stopped at the start of the slide.
"Up and over, down? Which way?" Adam asked, bringing his rifle up to his shoulder.
"Down, down, come on." Ben said, charging down the slope. Apart from the snow that came off the mountain face most of the ground cover wasn't too deep. The problem was what lay under it. It was a hazardous climb without the snow fooling the eyes. With it, it could be deadly. The hope was that their flight through rough country would discourage the starving bear from wasting energy on prey it would take too long to catch.
He could hear his boys behind him crashing down through the underbrush, fallen limbs, rocks and snow. Ben led the way downward until they reached a ridgeline. The sudden drop was marked by a line of pine trees that Ben aimed for, halting his descent by grabbing hold of a trunk. Joe crashed down beside him, scrambling to his feet. Hoss was next, still scrambling down the hill, with Adam behind.
"Did it follow?" Ben shouted.
He watched Adam look over his shoulder, then back to the rough ground, skipping over a log and slipping on a patch of leaves before he slid the rest of the way on the seat of his pants.
Panting Adam said, "He might follow us down, but not the way we went."
Ben nodded, casting around him to gauge where they were before he pointed down the ridge. "This is an old indian hunting trail. It switches back and forth, goes down to the lake eventually. It should get us to the lower road. We can get home that way. Come on."
Ben led the way, setting his heels deep into the snow for traction and using the trunks of the trees to keep his balance on the narrow trail. His boys followed him.
"I don't like leaving the horses up there, Pa." Joe said. "They got no place to go except up and over that slide. No horse would willingly go over that snow."
Ben glanced up and over his left shoulder at the steep incline and shook his head. "We're going to have to trust that they have the sense to stay out of danger."
"It's the wagon." Adam shouted, pointing over Ben's shoulder and out at the slope of the mountain side before them. The front end of the wagon, and the wagon tongue, were sticking out of the slide like a schooner cresting a wave in a storm.
"It didn't go too far." Ben said, continuing to pick his way down the trail. "Might be in good enough shape once this all thaws a little."
"Good thing you fell out of it." Joe said.
"I...jumped." Ben said, turning the corner where the trail switched back on itself, continuing to descend.
Joe cast a grin up to Adam who rolled his eyes and looked to Hoss. Hoss smirked.
"I jumped!" Ben insisted before grumbling about ungrateful, discourteous children.
"Yeah, you jumped, just like Hoss flew."
"I did fly, dadburnit. Not my fault you all weren't lookin'."
Two hours later the sun had fallen behind the mountains. While the flat lands might have still had some light and warmth, the mountain was cold, dark and quiet. Ben stepped down onto the blessed flat of the lower road that he had cut long ago across the Ponderosa. His knees and the fronts of his thighs thanked him as he took a few steps with a full stride.
"These boots aren't meant for mountain climbin'." Hoss said and Ben nodded, only imagining what his feet would look like.
"At least that was all down, instead of up." Joe said, hands on his hips as he scanned the road.
"I don't think my legs know the difference." Ben groaned before leading the way home.
"Hey, Hoss."
"Yeah, Adam."
"What was for dinner tonight?"
"I was wonderin' when you was gonna ask." Hoss said. He paused and bent at the waist, drawing in the deepest breath he could manage, his eyes closed in concentration.
"Mmmmmmm corn bread, garlic green beans, chili, Black Butte pickles, apple sauce and…" Another deep breath. "Shortbread cookies for dessert."
Ben stared in macabre wonder at his middle son, heard his stomach growl loudly, and softly said, "Ah...now I'm hungry."
They began walking again.
"Shortbread cookies?" Joe asked.
"Mmhm." Hoss nodded eagerly, "With little slivers of almonds on top."
"Yes but now it's.."
"All dlied up." The four men said together.
"That's right, by the time we get there, Hop Sing will have thrown it all out and we will be eating cold beef sandwiches for supper." Ben said.
"Fortunes of war." Adam said softly.
"You know-" The ground began to shake again. It started out as a subtle thing, making Ben think he might have hit his head at some point and was now swooning, to his shame. But when he saw his boys casting glances around, then saw the trees overhead quivering, he knew it was an aftershock.
Needles and branches began to rain down around them and fifty feet down the road the trunk of a dead tree fell with a crackle and a boom. There was no place to go, no place any safer than anywhere else. Ben kept hold of his boys and swiveled his head constantly, trying to see where the next tree might fall. A violent heave upset Adam's balance and he stumbled backward then fell on his back. Seconds later a bough that would have crushed his skull fell where he had been standing, burying itself partway into the ground.
Above them the earthquake was shaking loose rocks and boulders, snow, leaves, dirt and whole trees were going with the stone down the hillside.
"Run, boys, run!" Ben shouted, pushing his sons in the direction they had been traveling. Desperate now to get off the mountainside. He didn't see the rock that hit him, but he felt it. Like taking a cannon ball in the side, he felt something heavy and hard crash into his right side, spinning him in a circle and dumping him on his stomach. His right arm was trapped under his chest and for a moment he couldn't breathe.
When he managed to pull air in it was to the familiar stabbing pain of a busted rib. Smaller rocks and branches were pelting his head and back, reminding him that he should be moving. He felt hands dragging him upright, his arms were guided over strong shoulders and he tried desperately to breathe out, so that he could breathe in.
His legs began to respond to him and he took as much of his own weight as he could, scrambling down the trail with them until the earth took a moment to rest. His boys stopped, and Ben felt himself being lowered to the ground. Even as he sat on what felt like solid, immovable earth, a tree ahead of them on the trail came crashing down, splashing them with snow and branches and pieces of bark.
Ben felt like a fish out of water. He couldn't get a decent breath no matter how hard he fought for it. He felt his coat being unbuttoned, then his vest, then cold air as Adam ripped through his shirts. "It's a broken rib, maybe two. The end of the bone is sticking out."
"Pa, can you walk?" Joe asked.
"He can't even breathe." Hoss said.
"We can't move him."
"What?" Joe demanded.
Adam's eyes met Joe's. "Unless I can secure that rib, or we carry him on a stretcher, that rib could puncture a lung..if it hasn't already."
"You said the end was sticking out."
"One end, Joe. The other end is stickin' in." Hoss said gently.
"I...I...can...walk."
"No, Pa. Just...rest." Adam said, searching the ground around them. "I'll get some poles, we'll use this blanket, and the ties holding it, make a stretcher."
"What about a travois?" Joe asked.
"A travois wouldn't get over that tree, and it would bounce him around too much." Adam said, standing and jogging to the recently fallen timber.
"What about one of us goin' on ahead, Adam?" Hoss called. "We send little brother here to get some help, maybe a wagon."
"No...no." Ben was shaking his head, trying to reach Joe as he stood.
"I gotta go, Pa." Joe said, jogging to where Adam was wrestling a branch free from the trunk.
"Joe, a wagon may not help us, but having the doc at the house when we get Pa there, will. Do you think you can-"
"I'll make it. Keep an eye out for that bear." Joe said.
"Be careful." Adam said, watching his brother vault the tree and take off at a jog down the snow covered road.