Chapter 5: Desperate Acts

"I ain't hungry.", growled Mary when Hoss knocked and called her for breakfast. He opened the door slowly and peeked in her room.

"Are you feeling alright?"

Mary sat on her bed and glared at him. "Yes!"

Hoss got the message. "Alright… I'll go."

Later, when Ben called her for lunch, Mary's appetite had grown too big, so she dragged herself downstairs. She noticed everybody staring at her red eyes, so she avoided eye-contact and quietly ate her lunch.

"Do you wanna go riding, Mary?", asked Hoss.

"I don't."

"What's the matter?", said Ben softly.

She looked up. "What'cha thinkin' is the matter?! I can't go back home and I never see my Pa again ever, that's what's the matter!" Mary threw the fork on the plate, spreading some gravy on the table cloth and jumped up, causing her chair to fall over. She hurried to the staircase, leaving the three Cartwright boys puzzled. Ben went after her, grabbed her shoulder, kneeled down and turned her around.

"You will see him again… and until then you're not alone. You have us. Am I right, boys?" All three affirmed Ben's words and Mary calmed down. Even a light smile flashed over her face.

"I wanna go now." She wiggled out of Ben's grip and went upstairs. Ben sighed, set the chair back up and continued his lunch.

Mary's mind was racing as she looked at the trees waving in the wind in front of her window. The two men were probably still thinking that she trusted them. They were likely to come back to the meeting point next week or approach her in town and whenever she met them, she wanted to be ready. She was taught the basics of shooting, but was all out of practice and Mary knew that Ben kept a spare gun in his desk, because she had seen him taking it out for cleaning a few days ago.

All day she waited for the Cartwrights to leave the house, however, one of them was always home. So, she helped Hoss with the chickens and played checkers with Little Joe, who had felt truly sorry for her during her outburst at lunch and decided to be nicer. The dinner conversation was mainly about new strategies for protecting the herd from rustlers and Mary hardly listened. During desert, when everybody ate quietly, Ben suddenly cleared his throat.

"Today I opened the cabinet in the study to look for some contracts and I re-discovered the little black box that I had put there temporarily because there was no more room in the safe. When I picked it up, I noticed how light it felt, so I looked inside and the broach was missing. So, I'm asking you, does one of you know anything about it?"

Adam, Hoss and Joe looked at their Pa and negated the question, Mary kept eating and said no with a full mouth.

"Are you sure?"

Everybody nodded.

"Look, the broach belonged to Adam's mother and it has little monetary value, however it is very valuable to me." Ben looked at Mary, who gave him a questioning look regarding the word monetary.

He took a deep breath and spoke a little louder. "I just want the truth. If one of you wanted to look at it and accidentally broke it, or if someone lost it and fesses up, there'll be no punishment."

"I didn't take it!", exclaimed Joe.

"Me neither.", said Hoss and Adam almost in unison.

"I don't have it.", said Mary and it wasn't a lie.

"Alright." Ben sipped his coffee and scrutinized Mary's face. He had a strong hunch but no proof and he did not want to invade her privacy by searching her room. Then he noticed that his sons were exchanging suspicious looks, as if they knew who was behind it. Ben made a mental note to question Mary again in private tomorrow.

The next day, Ben, Adam and Hoss left for work right after breakfast and Joe cleaned up the barn. Mary helped Hop Sing in the kitchen and suddenly found herself alone in the house after she was done. Seizing the moment, she dashed to Ben's desk, pulled out two hair needles, bent them into the right angle and stuck them in the lock of the drawer, just the way her Pa had shown her. It took a minute until she heard the desired clicking sound. Ben's silver revolver felt cold and heavy. Swiftly, she put it in her pant and pulled her shirt over it, before filling her pant-pocket with extra bullets from the drawer. Mary looked out of the window and when she didn't see Joe nearby, she tip-toed outside and headed for the main road. A thirty-minute walk should be enough, she figured, then the shots would hardly be heard around the house. Mary had just left the yard, when she heard Joe behind her calling her name. He had heard the footsteps and wanted to see who it was. Mary stopped, however, did not turn around and told him she wanted to go for a walk.

"You can't just walk off without telling anyone."

"I told Hop Sing."

Joe felt strange talking to her back. "Are you hiding something?"

Slowly, Mary turned around, her back lightly bent, to prevent the gun from showing under her shirt. "Why should I hide somethin'?" Joe frowned and came closer, which made her take a step back.

"Is that the broach Pa was asking about?" Joe's eyes narrowed as he focused on her upper body.

"No." Mary turned and started running, pressing the revolver to her stomach. Joe went after her and soon caught up. He grabbed her arm, Mary stumbled, and the gun slipped out of her pant and fell on the ground with a loud thud.

Joe's eyes widened. "That's my Pa's! Are you outta your mind?!"

She picked it up. "I gotta do some shooting practice! I didn't tell 'cause I can't take a little kid like you along… who is gonna wet his pants!"

Joe stared at her. "I'll tell…"

"That figures… blabbing it to your papa like you're five! I bet'cha wouldn't even dare to touch one of these!" She pretended to give him the gun and pulled it away as soon as he reached out.

"Uh-uh-uh. First, I gotta show you how you handle it. I bet nobody's ever showed you, since you're just a little boy!"

"I saw it lots of times!", shouted Joe. He would have never admitted it, but he had been deeply impressed how she had taken a shot at the snake a week ago and he was eaten up with jealousy that a girl hardly older than him knew how to handle a gun when he didn't.

Mary put the gun back in her pant. "Come on!" She turned and ran, leaving Joe no time to object.

They were both exhausted when they reached an area away from the main road, surrounded by rocks and trees, so they would not be seen by people riding by. "There… try to hit that stone.", said Mary, cocked the gun and handed it to Joe, who took it with both hands.

"Oh boy…", sighed Mary, took it back and held it with one hand. "There… this is how you hold it."

"I know that!", he hissed, took the gun carefully, closed one eye, pointed at the rock and pulled the trigger.

"Ahhh!" The recoil made Joe stumble backwards.

"Not even close!", cheered Mary and waved her hand at Joe. "Now let me do it."

She put her feet shoulder width apart, set her back straight, focused on the rock and hit the left corner of the target, before stumbling backwards just like Joe. "Well, not bad… but I wanted to hit it in the middle."

Joe breathed heavily and tried to conceal his envy. "Let me try again.", he hissed and held out his hand.

oooOOOooo

Adam winced as he was sitting on the ground. Ben kneeled next to him and touched his rib cage. "You're gonna be alright.", he said confidently. Over the years, Ben had developed an expertise for the seriousness of injuries. With an agonized expression on his face and Hoss' and Ben's help, Adam stood up, dusted off his clothes, and patted his horse. It had thrown him off as it was stumbling over some wet stones. Slowly, Adam mounted up, still pressing his hand against his rib.

"Son, you better get on home and take it easy."

"We're almost done anyway… just a couple of more fences.", added Hoss.

"Yeah… I wouldn't be of much help anyway.", he moaned. "See you later." He turned his horse around and slowly rode off.

On the way home, Adam heard gun-shots in the distance and immediately pulled the reins. It couldn't be one of the ranch hands target practicing since they were all out with the herd. He followed the noise and felt like his heart was about to stop when he heard a very familiar voice cheering. Ignoring the pain in his upper body, Adam quickly dismounted and started walking. His jaw almost dropped as he looked through the brush and saw his little brother pointing at stones and tree-stumps with Mary standing next to him. Adam clenched his teeth. He couldn't risk startling Joe while he was holding a gun, so, he waited for him to fire the next shot, then dashed out of his hiding spot and ripped the gun from his hand. Joe froze to the ground and Adam held his ribs, breathing heavily.

"Oh, sh…" Mary covered her mouth and Adam put the gun in his pants.

"You get on home.", he said in a dark voice, took Mary and Joe by the upper arms and led them to his horse.

"Adam, it was all her idea…" After seeing the look on his brother's face, Joe, decided to keep quiet, therefore the ride home was dead silent. When they entered the house, Joe saw his brother stretch and wind, as he put down his hat and gun belt, so he asked him meekly if he was hurt.

"I got thrown off… and I'm glad I was, so that I left early!" His eyes pierced through Joe's. "You two sit down and don't move a muscle." He pointed at the seating area and went to the kitchen to get washed up.

Little Joe didn't feel like facing the door, so he chose the settee. Mary laid down in the blue chair, staring at the ceiling, with her feet dangling over the armrest and with Joe avoiding to look at her, scared he might say or do something that he would regret later. Mary started counting the roof beams in order to distract herself from the dwindling chances to ever get her Pa or his watch back. The ticking of the grandfather's clock seemed especially loud at the moment, as Joe hoped for a hole in the ground to swallow him up.

"Do you remember the cowboy in town last year, that shot himself in the leg?", asked Adam sharply as he came back from the kitchen.

Joe nodded. The memories of the soaking red pant and the man's screams of agony were still in his head. "You were darn lucky.", added Adam and headed to the desk.

Half an hour later, the door opened and Ben and Hoss entered, but neither Joe nor Mary looked up. "Joe, Mary… what's with you?", Ben asked before discovering his spare gun on the cabinet. "Adam!"

Adam walked from the study to the door. "Why is that gun out here?"

"Those two will gladly explain it." Adam passed his father and motioned for a confused Hoss to follow him outside.

Ben waited for an answer, but none of them spoke up. "Joseph, turn around… what is this all about?"

Joe slowly turned his head but was too ashamed to look Ben in the eyes. "I… we… I mean she took your gun outside, I tried to stop her but she talked me into doing some target practice and Adam caught us. I'm sorry, Pa."

Ben was taken aback by what he had just heard. "Mary… what… how did you open that drawer?", he stuttered.

"With a hairpin."

Little Joe closed his eyes and prepared for his Pa's thundering voice.

"Up to your rooms, now.", said Ben in a low voice, which scared Joe even more. He quickly strode upstairs without looking up and Mary followed him hesitantly.

Ben picked up the gun from the credenza and put it back in his desk drawer. He closed the drawer with full force, almost breaking it, and locked it. Then he sat down and wiped his face, fighting off the thought that Little Joe or Mary could be lying on the ground somewhere, wounded or dead. Knowing very well that Mary had been the driving force, he began to doubt whether his decision to bring her into his home was the right one. In order to calm his nerves, he went to the kitchen for some coffee and ran into Hop Sing who was sitting at the table, graining fresh coffee beans.

"You look upset.", he said and interrupted his work.

Ben poured himself a cup and sat down. "I am.", he said tensed and told Hop Sing what had happened.

"Little Joe must make own decisions. Mister Ben cannot protect him forever."

"Of course, Joe is responsible for his own actions… and I know that Mary is just a child herself, one that has gone through a lot in her short life and it's no wonder that she makes mistakes. But I'm not sure if I've also made a mistake by bringing her here."

Hop Sing gave Ben a concerned look. "Never feel bad for helping someone in need or world will become sad place."

Ben took a deep breath and tapped his fingers on the table. The two men sat there in silence for a while, when Hop Sing spoke up again. "You not really regret bringing her here. You care very much about her… or you would not be so upset."

Ben smiled lightly and nodded. Then he stood up, patted him on the shoulder, and left.

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