Chapter 4: Secret Mission

Breakfast was almost finished, when Mary cleared her throat. "Uhm… Joe, if you wanna, I can do the dishes today… the thing at the table was my fault, too."

Joe didn't know what to say and just stared at her before glancing at Ben. "Is it alright, Pa?"

Ben put his cup down. "Sure. That is very nice of you, Mary."

"Yeah, thanks.", said Joe, still puzzled.

A little later, Mary scrubbed the dirty plates and kept looking at Hop Sing. "Ain't there any more dishes on the table?"

"No, we bring them all here.", he answered and dried up the clean plates.

"I think there was some dirty napkins left."

"Alright, I go look."

The second Hop Sing disappeared behind the corner, Mary grabbed a hand full of silver spoons and let them disappear in her pant pocket. She finished cleaning up and went to her room, carefully putting the spoons in a drawer underneath some clothing. In addition to the cutlery, she had already collected a silver box, two silver plates, and a five-dollar-bill from Adam's pant that she had found searching the pockets in the laundry pile. Clutching her Pa's pocket watch, Mary laid down on her bed and sadly realized that it probably wasn't enough to buy her father's freedom. Before the sadness could overwhelm her, Hoss knocked on the door and asked if she wanted to play checkers while he took a break from his chores.

"I tell you, Mary, it's more fun to play with you than with Little Joe 'cause you ain't cheating.", said Hoss in the middle of the game. Mary smiled at Hoss and made her next move, when the door opened and Adam came in.

"You two are living the life, playing checkers in the middle of the day."

"Well, big brother, we just get our work done faster than you.", grinned Hoss.

Adam rolled his eyes, went to the study and put his satchel on the desk. "Tell Pa that I put the money from the timber contract in the safe." He was about to open the green steel box when he heard a knock on the door and foreman Hank calling for Ben. Adam sighed and went outside to take care of the issue while Mary had her eyes pinned on the satchel.

"Hoss, I'm kinda hungry. Can you get a sandwich or something?", she said meekly and Hoss smirked.

"I'm kinda hungry, too. I'll make sandwiches for both of us." He disappeared in the kitchen and Mary jumped up and headed towards the desk. The moment she had laid a hand on the satchel, she heard the staircase squeaking und quickly turned her head.

"What are you doing?", asked Little Joe, standing on the staircase.

"I was just looking at the satchel." She noticed the wolf that was carved into the leather.

"Get away from it. It ain't yours."

"It ain't yours either."

Joe was about to snap back at her, when Adam came through the door and frowned at the scene. "I's just looking at the wolf.", she said. Joe went outside to tend to his chores and Adam gave Mary a suspicious look as he emptied out the satchel and put the money in the safe.

oooOOOooo

Forcefully, Joe scrubbed the brush up and down his saddle when Ben lead his horse into the barn.

"Hi Joe, going for a ride?"

Joe kept working and stared at the saddle. "Maybe… ."

"Something wrong?"

He looked up. "I think Mary was gonna steal money today."

Ben raised his eyebrow. "That's a pretty serious accusation."

Little Joe told him what he saw and Ben's face slowly hardened. "I'm sure she was only interested in the wolf motive. She probably has never seen something like that before." Ben noticed the angry flare in Joe's eyes. "Joseph, I know you two have your quarrels. But this goes a bit far. What would she steal money for? She couldn't spend it without one of us noticing."

"I just told you what I saw!"

"… and I'm glad you did. But there's no proof and we shouldn't jump to conclusions.", Ben said calmly and left the barn with an uneasy feeling that Joe might be right.

Mary had four more days to gather money and information. She was able to get a few more pieces of silver cutlery and a broach with a blue stone from a cabinet that looked quite valuable. At the dinner table, Mary asked about the herd and Ben was happy to explain the cattle business to her. When she questioned him about watchmen and cattle thieves, all Cartwrights frowned at her. It was a rather unusual topic to be brought up by a young girl.

After everybody else had gone to bed, Hoss approached his father, who was going through some books at his desk. "Pa, you gotta do something about Joe. During chores today, he acted like a wildcat that got its tail stomped." Ben took a deep breath and Hoss continued. "I was thinking, maybe we could all go to the lake on Saturday and have some fun, so everyone can relax… and maybe Joe and Mary will get along, too."

Ben smiled. "That's a very good idea. We'll do that."

"You know Pa, I feel kinda bad, spending more time with Mary than with Joe. But I can't help it… I feel sorry for the gal with her Pa gone and everything."

"It's only normal to give someone new more attention. But she is here for over a week now and likely to stay on for a while, so I guess we should all treat her… you know… like part of the family and not so much like a special guest. It'll do her good and Joe as well."

Hoss nodded. "Yeah, I guess so."

oooOOOooo

Came Saturday noon, Hoss and Ben were sitting in the grass, playing checkers, with Mary watching them and awaiting her turn, while Little Joe walked along the side of the pond. Adam had stayed home, enjoying a quiet afternoon with a book and his guitar. Joe looked around, when suddenly, a little frog caught his eye. He picked it up with a flounce, put one hand over the animal to prevent it from jumping off and peeked at it.

"Ribbitt.", he said but the frog didn't feel like answering. With the animal still in his hand, he walked to the checkers-tournament, kneeled next to Hoss and put his arm around his shoulder.

"Hoss, you're such a good player.", he said and dropped the frog down his brother's shirt.

"Well, thanks.", frowned Hoss and suddenly felt something cold on his back. "Joe! Did you throw mud in my shirt?!" He jumped up and tried to reach down his back.

Joe laughed. "No! Honestly! I didn't put mud in your shirt!"

Ben stood up. "Wait, Hoss…" He walked to his son, who was wildly waving his hands trying to grab the cold slimy thing.

"Deadburnit… it's moving! Joe! Wait till I get my hands… ugh!", screeched Hoss and Joe and Mary laughed loudly. Ben quickly pulled Hoss' shirt out of his pants whereupon the frog fell on the ground and hopped off.

"Aw… too bad. He was just starting to feel at home." Joe giggled.

Hoss was about to take revenge on his little brother when Ben held him back. "Please, son, I'm his father. I'll handle it…", he said with faked sternness. Ben rolled up his sleeves and strode towards Joe. "Do you know what the punishment is for putting a frog in your brother's shirt?" Ben suppressed a smile.

"I was just making fun…", stammered Joe, but before he could say anything else, Ben picked him up, made a swing to the left and threw a screaming Joe in the pond. The sound of splashing water and laughter filled the air with Hoss' laughter being the loudest. Joe puffed and blew as he slowly stood up. Then he staggered back on shore and grabbed Ben's wrist. "Help me, Hoss!", Joe laughed and pulled his Pa's arm. Hoss was no longer angry and decided to join.

"Mary, you gotta help, too!", shouted Hoss and waved at her and he didn't have to ask twice. With united forces, the three tried to drag Ben into the pond. After pretending to struggle, he gave up and they all enjoyed the cool water, splashing each other and nobody cared about the soaking wet clothes. While he splashed her, Joe forgot about his aversion against Mary and even she enjoyed his company.

On the ride home, the sun quickly dried them up and Mary savored the breeze in her hair. She sat behind Ben, clutching his waist and for the first time in a long time she felt something close to carefree. They rode slowly through a rocky area, when Mary saw something moving in the brush. It didn't take long before she knew what it was and out of reflex, she pulled Ben's gun out of the holster, cocked it and shot at the snake. The horse reared up and Ben screamed out. Mary grabbed his shirt and avoided falling off the horse but dropped the gun on the ground. She had missed. However, she had managed to scare the snake away.

Ben patted his horse on the neck to calm him down, before dismounting and picking up the gun from the dusty trail. "Mary, what's gotten into you?!"

"T'was probably a rattler!", she yelled. "When I rode with my Pa, he often gave me his gun and I looked out for snakes."

Ben was speechless for a moment and looked at her. "Mary, I'm proud of your reflexes but the next time you tell me and let me do the shooting, is that understood? You can't just grab somebody else's gun!" Joe and Hoss watched the scene in awe.

"Alright.", she said a little insulted.

"Promise me that you'll never touch a gun again without explicit permission! You could get yourself and others hurt or killed!"

Mary saw the concern in Ben's eyes and nodded. He put the gun in the holster and swung himself back on his horse.

When they entered the house, the smell of cherry pie welcomed them, as well as Adam, sitting in the blue chair, munching a piece.

"Didn't know when you were coming, so I already started.", he said with his mouth full. The four sat down in front of the fireplace and divided the pie among them, while Joe told Adam about Hoss' frog encounter.

"Do you wanna see somethin'?", said Mary, after she had finished her piece.

Everybody looked expectantly at her, so she stood up, ran upstairs and came back with a shiny, little object.

"That belongs to my Pa and he got it from his Pa, now I take care of it until he's back."

"Can I hold it?", asked Ben and took the pocket watch carefully in his hand. "That is amazing craftsmanship." On the backside, he read the engraving James O'Conner 1815. He weighed it in his hand. "Appears to be pure gold. You have something very special there."

"Can I see it?" Hoss held out his hand. Mary nodded and proudly watched him and later Adam admiring her heirloom. She gladly let Joe scrutinize it and was pleased, how gingerly he treated the piece. After Mary had put it back in her drawer, she joined the family listening to Adam's guitar play.

oooOOOooo

It was almost midnight when Mary walked from the house to the barn. The valuables were wrapped in a pillowcase and she carried it like she was holding a baby. Frank was already waiting behind the barn and happily received the bundle, while Charlie was standing in the distance next to the horses. She informed Frank where the herd was and that the Cartwrights had hired three additional watchmen. In the dim light of the lantern, Mary saw a smile on Frank's face. He unwrapped the pillowcase and made her hold the lamp closer.

"Not bad, but not enough."

"You still can't get him out?"

Frank shook his head and gave her a concerned look. "We're close. 300 Dollars more and you could get your Daddy back… in… maybe a week. But horses and nitro cost money!"

Mary looked at him and felt fear and hope mixing in her stomach while Frank wrapped up the loot.

"Gimme three minutes." Mary turned and ran back into the house, leaving Frank puzzled. Slowly he walked over to his horse and prepared to ride off in case one of the Cartwrights stepped out of the house. After what felt longer than three minutes, Mary came back and gave him a small object. The weight alone revealed that he held pure gold in his hand.

"That might do." Frank looked at the watch in awe.

"Can you get him out now?"

"I guess so. Come back next week, same time… and try to get some more cash." Frank walked off without looking at her.

A picture slowly formed in Mary's head. Soon her Pa would ride along with the two men. He would lift her up, put her on his horse and they would go home. Mary snuck up to her room, crawled under the blanket and fell asleep with a smile on her face.

The week went by quickly and Mary failed to find any money or valuables in the house. More than once she had wanted to hold her father's watch and was puzzled for a second when she didn't find it in the drawer. After Ben had given her riding lessons, she felt sorry for stealing from him but she told herself that she had a valid reason for doing so. He had also given her a few chores that Mary was reluctant to do at first, but after a while she enjoyed helping Hop Sing and taking care of the horses.

Shortly before midnight, Mary laid in bed, still fully dressed, wondering whether the men had already freed her Pa or if they needed another week. When the grandfather's clock chimed, Mary tip-toed over the hallway and saw the glow of a dim light coming from downstairs. She peeked around the corner and saw Adam reading in the red leather chair. She bit her lip and went back to her room, waiting for Adam's footsteps on the staircase, hoping that the men would not ride off but wait for her. Finally, after more than half an hour, Adam decided to go to bed and Mary hurried quietly downstairs. Afraid that Adam might open the window in his room or draw the curtains and therefore see her running over the yard, she took a detour and walked towards the barn from the other side. As she came closer she heard voices.

"We can't keep it up forever.", said one of the men.

"Well… let's see how long we can stretch it… you don't throw away easy money." Mary stood still and listened.

"What if'n she tell them about us.", whispered Charlie. Now she could distinct the voices.

"She wouldn't. She stole that stuff. They'd throw her out for sure. You don't risk losing a soft bed 'n three meals… and she don't even know our names."

"Dunno, when she realizes that we're not getting Matt out, she'll scratch our eyes out, that's fer sure."

"If she's dumb enough to think that you can just walk into Yuma Prison like that, she has it coming. It's almost one o'clock… don't think we're getting our week's salary tonight."

"Week's salary… I like that.", chuckled Charlie.

Mary was frozen to the ground and held her hand in front of her mouth, so her sobbing would not be heard. The two men rode off and Mary ran inside, locked herself in her room, laid down on her bed and muffled her cries with a pillow. It felt like her bed was falling down an endless abyss. Eventually, she had no more tears to cry and fell asleep.

In the morning, the bright sunlight woke her up, her mouth being dry like the desert and her head aching. Dizzily, Mary stood up, grabbed the jug that was used for washing and poured the water down her throat. It wasn't exactly fresh but she did not care. Yesterday's conversation rushed back in her head, but she did not give in to crying. Instead, she felt a sudden strength and imagined how she would point a gun at the con men, demanding all the things they had taken from her. She would cock the pistol and they would stand there shivering, handing over the pocket watch and everything else.

Thank you all for your comments! :D