8
The next morning, with clear skies overhead, Ben and Adam took the buggy out with one team, while Hoss began loading the wagon with the second team. Both of the two oldest Cartwrights had dressed in business clothes for the trip. Under his tan coat and hat, Adam wore a dark brown dress jacket, black pants and a white shirt and tie. Ben wore a dark blue jacket, vest, black pants and tie, and had put boots on both feet for the first time since his injury. They drove with a blanket over their laps for the first hour, but as the sun began to rise it warmed the air around them and they soon didn't need it.
It wasn't spring yet, not by far, but it was close enough that Ben looked forward to a pleasant day. A far cry from the day he'd encountered the cat.
"The railroad wants someone to help clear debris and brush from their established lines. Once that's done they want shoring put up on the hillsides that have a tendency toward rockslides in the spring. They want the timber now so that they can begin construction in the next few months. I offered a bid a week ago and they liked our proximity to Carson City, and there are men in the capital that would appreciate the work in the middle of winter." Ben paused, his wounded leg propped up on the dash of the buggy. He looked to the toe of his boot as he added, "And I thought I'd look at the orphanage."
"Pa…"
"Adam, not for her to stay, but as an agency to help us find prospective parents. Carson City is always growing, and it's attracting more and more wealthy families with the railroad and the mines. Good families. It's the state capital, it's established."
"What if I decide to adopt her?" Adam asked.
Ben watched his son's face for a long moment. "Can you? Would you keep her on the Ponderosa? Take her to live in Virginia City? Take her back east? Are you planning on marrying Sarah and providing Wi-Jah with a mother?"
"Did you marry Inger so that I could have a mother?"
"Adam…"
They were quiet for a moment and Adam's fingers were white on the reins. "If I had married Ruth, Wi-jah would be my child. But I let her go. And she ended up at the mercy of another white man. She trusted him, because of my relationship with her."
"You can't-"
"I can. I have every reason to believe that I was responsible for what happened to her. Sending Wi-jah off to live with strangers feels like a betrayal. I am responsible for her, just as I am responsible for what happened to her mother."
"My reasons for wanting Wi-Jah to be adopted are...very...selfish ones." Ben said, his voice dropping to a low growl. "I don't want to lose you boys. Much as I want you to marry, and start families of your own, I don't want to lose you."
Adam was silent, watching the road, knowing his father well enough to know there would be more.
"I also don't want you to go through what I did, raising you boys alone. You don't know the sleepless nights. Looking up from my work every minute to count heads, fingers and toes. You boys were fearless, and almost impossible to control. I'm amazed some days when I wake up and realize that my boys are grown, and responsible, capable of running the ranch on their own. The days and nights you boys put me through, sometimes, I can't imagine ever having the energy to do that again!
Elizabeth, Inger and Marie, Roy Coffey, and the others, they've all been angels of mercy, swooping in when I needed the help the most but, Adam...a man isn't meant to raise children on his own."
"Can four men raise one child?" Adam asked.
Ben gave Adam a look and sighed. "Give me time, Adam. Give me until the spring. My heart tells me that there is a family in Nevada that desperately wants a child. A wife and husband, unable to have children of their own, that would cherish Wi-Jah as much as we do. Give me til the spring round up to find them."
Adam didn't respond for a while but Ben could see his shoulders softening.
"Til spring round up." He finally agreed.
When they reached Carson City they found a place to eat lunch before heading their separate ways. Adam was welcomed into the governor's offices and sat for thirty minutes before Blasedale could see him. Their conversation was brief, and to the point. As little as Adam expected to come out of the encounter, the governor promised he would write to several army contacts that he had and push for an investigation into Woodman and the mistreatment of the natives around Fort Ruby. Adam left before the governor could turn their conversation into a campaign slogan.
Adam met Ben on the boardwalk after the older Cartwright had finished making arrangements for the timber contract. Adam offered to find some of the men that he knew wintered in Carson City, but were regularly looking for logging work. Ben took the buggy and went to the orphanage that had only been established a year ago. Most of the children there were the product of indian raids, mine collapses and accidents with the railroad.
From the start, Ben's conversation with the head master was a positive one. World's apart from the conversation he'd had in Portland, Oregon the previous summer. Ben was given a brief tour of the grounds, then welcomed into the headmaster's office where they talked about families that had already shown interest in adoption, and the kind of home that Ben was looking to settle Wi-Jah into.
There were two families, the headmaster said, that came monthly to look at the children. They wanted to adopt an infant, and were not able to have one of their own. One family was insistent on adopting a boy, but the second family were desperate for any child. The headmaster promised to send a note to them and offered to have Ben come back in a week to meet the man and wife. Ben agreed, and left, feeling sick to his stomach, even while his head told him that he had done what was right and true.
He didn't speak much when he and Adam turned back for home and he blamed the exercise for how tired he felt, going to bed early. He lay awake in his bed for a few hours, listening to his sons below. He listened to them talking, laughing, working together, playing with Wi-Jah. He loved and hated the sounds, wishing he could cherish them, knowing they would be short lived, but hating them for how good they made him feel.
When he fell asleep he was further plagued by dreams, pleasant wonderful dreams and the indelible image of himself, long into his years, leading a blushing bride down an aisle toward a nervous young man. When he woke, there were tears on his face, and his pillow was damp.
Ben got up, long before the sun, dressed and went out to the barn with his cane to saddle his horse. He left a note for his boys, packed some food in his saddle bags, pulled coat, scarf, hat and gloves on, and left the Ponderosa heading north and east.
By the time Joe, Hoss, Adam and Wi-jah were awake and preparing for the day, another snow storm had rolled in. The boys kept an eye on the time and the snow as it accumulated, aware of the danger it posed to their father, but as always, trusting that he could take care of himself. They worked on chores around the house, and Hoss rode briefly into Virginia City to check for the mail. There was at least one letter for Adam, and a note that Roy had left at the post office.
When Hoss returned to the house the snow had hit six inches.
Hoss brought in the mail and Adam read the note and laughed. "Roy says he's had one wire a day, sent to him, the sheriff in Reno, Washoe and Carson City, demanding to know the status of our trial."
"One of them fellers is gonna need to spill the beans and let that colonel know you boys had the charges dropped." Hoss said.
Adam opened the letter and read it quickly. "Colonel Wilcox retired last year and moved to San Francisco. My letter was forwarded to him."
"That's one less good officer helping to hold the army accountable." Joe said.
"We can hope he left better officers in his wake." Adam offered, stuffing the letter back in its envelope.
Dinner was nearly ready when they heard Buck's hooves in the dooryard. The man who dismounted was stiff, covered in snow, and looked exhausted even from the house. Adam went out to care for Buck and Hoss went out to make sure Ben made it into the house without falling over. Ben left a pile of melting snow in front of the door, and gratefully accepted the hot coffee his youngest brought him.
When Hoss found a tri-folded piece of parchment in Ben's pocket, his father was quick to snatch it away before Hoss could open it. The move was followed by a deeply guilty look, but Ben insisted that they start dinner before he would explain.
Ben stalled as long as he could, asking the boys to tell him about their day and asking superfluous questions about the letter Adam had received. Hoss was about ready to gnaw through the table when Ben finally told them where he had spent the day.
"I went out to the orphanage in Carson City. I was anxious to meet with the couple that the headmaster had told me about and they were gracious enough to invite me into their home. They seemed like very nice people, but when I explained that Wi-Jah's mother had spent some time with the Shoshone, and that some of her heritage was unknown, the husband seemed reluctant to take her in. I offered to have them come out to the Ponderosa to meet Wi-Jah and they will be joining us sometime in the next couple of days.
I also found a different family, who might take her. We'll see how Mr. and Mrs. Newman feel about Wi-Jah first, before we consider this second group. They're very respectable. They have a few children already, and a lot of land for Wi-jah to grow up on. I spoke to the father and he mentioned that he had always wanted a daughter, but he had only sons. He was...very interested in Wi-Jah."
His boys were quiet for a few minutes before Hoss said, "Well that...that sounds good. Wi-Jah should have siblings."
"And if this second family doesn't work out, maybe the Newmans will. Maybe they'll adopt other kids in the future." Joe said.
"Where does this "other" family live, Pa? What are their names?" Adam asked, casually.
"They live around here." Ben said. "It's the Jones family."
His boys cast confused glances around the table, each wracking his brain to identify a single person named Jones that they might know in Carson City.
"Are they new to the area?" Joe asked.
"Um." Ben paused then said, "Well they must be. I'd never heard of them until now."
"But you know them well enough to know that they're respectable, and have a lot of land." Adam said.
"I spoke to the father." Ben said. "He seemed like a good man, a responsible head on his shoulders."
"Did you speak to the mother?" Adam asked, pointedly.
Ben hastily put some food into his mouth to save some time, and eventually nodded emphatically. "I did. I did indeed. Beautiful young woman."
"What's her name?" Adam asked, a little too quickly.
"Betty." Ben said through the corner of his mouth. By then both Hoss and Joe were watching the conversation like it was a game of catch.
"And the husband's name?"
"Joe." Ben said, through a mouth full of beans.
"So...you went to Carson City, and you met with the Newmans, and then you met with Joe and Betty Jones, and their sons, and you toured their "lot" of land, and talked to them, and have decided that they might be good candidates to adopt Wi-Jah?" Adam asked, summing it up with a smirk on his face.
Ben sat up and back and put his fork down. He wiped his mouth with a napkin and set it down in his lap. "Speak your mind, Adam."
"You made it up." Adam said. "You've only found one possible candidate so far, and you've already rejected another. So you made up a third. You're driving up the price by creating false demand."
"I did not make it up!" Ben said, his voice gaining steam.
"You made it up, and you did a terrible job, pa." Adam said, laughing.
"I did not! This family is real and we're going to consider them!" Ben barked. Both Hoss and Joe immediately swung their heads back to Adam for the response, their faces expectant and entertained.
"Prove it!" Adam said.
"What?"
Adam shook his head, laughing wryly. "Prove that they exist. Invite them over for dinner tomorrow. I'll go out with the buggy and bring them to the Ponderosa myself."
"They're busy."
"Ha!"
"They have a lot of work to do on their...land, and they are very busy." Ben insisted.
"Doing what? Building snowmen? Harvesting icicles?" Adam asked. Both Hoss and Joe laughed until Ben shot them warning glares.
"I don't appreciate your tone, young man, and I don't appreciate your lack of faith."
"They exist? The Jones family?" Adam said, almost shouting.
"They do." Ben said, his posture easing. "And you will meet them when they are free to join us."
The conversation idled as Ben went back to his meal. There were a few soft giggles from Joe, and shared looks between the brothers, until Adam said, "What's the name of the youngest?"
Ben froze, his eyes on his plate, mouth chewing through a mouthful of food like a cow through cud.
"Pa?"
"Yes, Adam." Ben said, patiently.
"What's the name of the youngest boy?" Adam asked.
"I don't remember."
"What's his middle name?" Joe asked, barely holding in his laughter.
Ben's glare didn't last long, and neither did Joe's self-control. He burst into giggles that knocked him over into Hoss.
"I don't remember, I don't know Jones." Adam said, "Right Pa?"
Ben gave him the benefit of a faked laugh and went back to his plate.
Two days later they got word from the Newmans that a child had arrived in the orphanage the day after Ben left their home and they had quickly adopted her. They apologized for not making it out to Ben's ranch, but thanked him for his consideration.
For almost three weeks, while Adam worked to build a case against Colonel Woodman and Ben worked to find suitable candidates to adopt Wi-jah, Joe and Hoss watched the snow fall, melt, and fall again, waiting for the arrival of spring like a guilty man waits for the dawn.
By the end of February an army investigator was sent to Virginia City to meet with Adam and Thomas. Adam presented every shred of evidence he had been able to gather about Woodman, including allegations from his posting in the east. His most damning evidence was a testimony from a woman who refused to be named, but claimed that Woodman had been engaged to her, had caused her to fall pregnant, then beat her until she had lost the baby, and left her, claiming she had slept with another man. The woman had since remarried and moved to California, but her fear of Woodman finding her was so great, she'd hardly been willing to testify at all. Adam's letters had convinced her to testify in writing under the promise of anonymity.
The investigator sat with Thomas and Adam in the sheriff's office for half a day, reading, asking questions and taking notes. He had little to say in return, and no matter how astonishing and horrible the accusations, the man seemed unfazed. When the questions ran dry and the man's pen finally stopped, Adam and Thomas sat waiting. The investigator let them sit for five minutes before he said, "Well. I'll take this all into advisement. If I need anything else from you, I'll let you know."
The following morning the investigator had left on the morning stage, and they never heard from him again.
March brought rain, wind and storms. By then most of the logging had been done for Ben's timber contract, and the boys were focused on the mending, repair and preparation needed for the spring round up. Some of the storms dumped torrential rain, some snow, some sleet, and two or three left sheets of ice inches thick.
Inside the main house Wi-jah had continued to grow. She could soon roll onto her back and onto her stomach, hold her head up on her own, and had begun grabbing for anything in reach. She loved the feel of Ben's face, and often responded to his smiles. Joe was her source for giggles and dancing. Adam read her stories, putting her to sleep every time with his voice, or sang to her with his guitar. She would only eat if Hoss was there to feed her. Hop Sing fascinated her. Her jaw went slack, and her eyes bulged from her head any time the Chinaman entered the room, spoke, or smiled at her.
As the weather warmed the boys would take her outside for walks around the dooryard. Ben introduced her to Buck, guiding her hands to his soft muzzle. Adam worked with Hoss to create a wooden pen for her to stay in when she started moving around too much in the cradle. All of her toys went into the pen along with a mattress and bedding. As her hair began to grow, covering her head in fine, blonde strands, Hop Sing began to attach tiny bows to hair pins, winding cloth around the metal before he bunched her hair into a single tail and kept it together with the pin.
Towards the end of March the Truckee River flooded, putting parts of Reno underwater and washing out settlers all the way west to the California border. The mayor of Reno and the state governor called out an order for all available men, wagons and teams to go to Reno to help the citizens evacuate, build sandbag walls to prevent further damage, and to help remove the dead from the streets. While the damage wasn't as bad as the flood in 1861, the work took priority over preparations for the spring round up.
The Tungsten ranch, and others like it, became a launching point for refugees and workers alike. Adam and Sarah had more time together, and while Ben could see they were now cordial to one another, he didn't see the affection he'd seen before. When Reno's new sheriff, a man named Vince, rode up to the ranch house late one night, Ben watched Sarah greet the man with an embrace. Before he left, they had shared a kiss. When Ben asked Adam if he knew the man, Adam confirmed that Sarah had been looking to snare Vince before she had met the eldest Cartwright, and he wasn't surprised that she was after him once more.
By late March the Truckee had receded back to its banks, the weather had begun to dry up, and the round up was a week away. An idea of Adam's had done a trick and made it easier to collect some of the cattle from the areas that received the most snow during the winter, saving time and energy, but the hard work was going to begin soon, and Ben had run out of time.