A/N: Up next we have Long Way to Ogden. This one didn't turn out exactly as I planned, but I think you'll still like it. Didn't mess too much with it since the original was great as is. As always, I own nothing but my OC. Enjoy!
Shout out to Myaroscava1860 for reviewing the last chapter and to Captaintjf for the PMs.
"Tom, what do you mean there aren't any cattle cars?" Annie couldn't believe her ears. Or her eyes when he handed her the telegram. "How can one person option every single car rolling down the track?"
"I'm sorry, Anne, but it's true. I wired the railroad Transportation Office twice to make sure." Her fingers closed over the paper before she could stay the impulse, crushing the telegram. She sighed and smoothed it back out.
"Sorry, Tom." She handed it back. "What now?" In the midst of a Texas drought, they should have been able to clear twenty, maybe twenty-five dollars a head this year, a great prospect by any standards but for some of the smaller ranches nearby, it would have been the best year they'd ever seen. Tom shrugged and stared at the dirt.
"I don't know, Ms. Anne. I just don't know." She hated the defeat in his voice and looked around, half wishing the answer would pop up out of the dust swirling down the street.
"Who optioned the cars?"
"They didn't say."
"Of course they didn't." She fought the urge to sling her hat. There had to be something they could do, wintering the herd wasn't possible. "We'll be in later, I have to give Pa the news." Tom nodded slowly and she swung into Reno's saddle and rode off.
Telling him wasn't as bad as she'd thought it would be. It was worse. Luther and Steve were with him, drinking coffee and planning the big drive. She'd never seen faces fall that fast in her life.
"We can't winter the herds," Luther protested. "We'd lose most of 'em if we even tried." Ben waved a hand to hush him.
"Who optioned the cars?"
"Tom couldn't find out, but whoever he is, he got every last one." Steve clenched his hands and stared down at his coffee cup.
"Then we'll all go broke," he said in a monotone, his throat working. Annie bit her tongue. Most of them would, only the Ponderosa really stood much of a chance to weather this storm. The three men looked at each other in silence, then Steve and Luther collected their hats and headed for the door, the map left abandoned on the table. The door closed behind them and her father swallowed hard.
"We've got to find out who optioned those cars and why."
"It has to be someone big, someone with money, and lots of it, who doesn't want to be known, or else they'd have told Tom who it was."
"Yes." He sipped at his coffee, eyes going distant as he stared into the cold fireplace.
"Pa, we've beaten the odds before."
"Get your brothers and Candy. We've got work to do."
"I rode all the way to Ogden, right up to the Transportation Office itself, and they still wouldn't tell me who optioned those cars." Candy slapped his hat against his leg and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Mr. Cartwright." Ben sighed heavily.
"It's not your fault, Candy, I knew it was a long shot when I sent you." He ran his hands through his hair and sighed again. "A notice was posted in town yesterday. Some meatpacker from Chicago is going to speak to all the cattleman this afternoon at the Silver Dollar." Candy straightened.
"He optioned the cars."
"That's what we all think," Annie said. "He doesn't have a reason to be here if he didn't."
"We'll find out for sure this afternoon." Ben stood up and headed for the old sideboard. "I'll let you know what I find out."
"You want some company, Pa?" He paused a moment, head tilted.
"No. If this Mr. Whitney is out to stir up trouble, the less he sees of the four of you, the better. At least for now." He settled his hat on his head and buckled his gun belt. "Let him think we can be played, because in the end, he'll be the one to lose. I'll be back this evening." The door closed behind him and they all sat down, staring at each other in silence, until Candy broke it.
"Well." He turned his hat over in his hands. "Anyone want to bet on how little this Mr. Whitney will offer a head?"
"Twenty," Hoss said immediately. "That's about what we'd get normally, he can't go much lower than that." Joe snorted and propped his feet up on the table.
"I wouldn't bet on that, big brother. Those cars were optioned for a reason." He raked a hand through his hair. "I say ten."
"Ten dollars?" Hoss shook his head. "Oh, no, little brother, no one would be that mean."
"Endicott," Annie said slowly. "Fillmore. Walker. Doug and Billy Slater. Hudson. Claude Booker. McKnight. I could go on, but I think I made my point. If Whitney optioned the cars, he'll go as low as he wants to and we'll have to sell or watch our cattle starve. I say five dollars."
"Five dollars?" Hoss' voice rose. "For a steer? Oh, no. No one would sell for that price, ever." Candy let out a humorless laugh and leaned back against the settee.
"You'd be surprised what a man will do when he's got hungry faces staring back at him, and the image of starving cows in his head. I figure a lot of ranchers around here won't have much of a choice, not if they want to keep their head above water." He looked up slowly from his hat. "Fact is, the Ponderosa is the only brand that stands any chance of survival."
"Yeah," Annie said softly, numbers floating across her mind's eye. "As long as he didn't do the same damn thing next year." And the next. And the next. Really, if he pulled it – whatever it was – off this time, there was absolutely nothing stopping him from doing it again.
And there was no way he was stupid enough not to realize that.
"Three dollars?!" Annie sat down hard. "That's insane." Ben sighed and sat down behind his desk with all them gathered around.
"Insane or not, that's what he's offering. For one week only then it drops to two dollars. I already sent out wires to everywhere I could think of but no luck yet. Arizona beef went to California, and Santa Fe is full up even if it wasn't too far away. We can't winter the herd and we can't drive it, not without cattle cars. I don't know what else to do except wait him out." He raked his hands over his face. "If we can keep the bigger ranchers from selling, we might be able to make Whitney raise his price."
"You don't sound very hopeful," Annie said quietly, and he nodded.
"As long as he's got the cars, we're dancing to his tune."
"What if we change the music?" Joe leaned forward. "I'll ride into town tomorrow, get all the bigger ranchers together for a meeting out here."
"What's that going to change?" Annie flipped her braid over her shoulder. "We can refuse to sell all we like but with winter moving in and those cars out of our reach we can't hold out forever."
"No," Ben agreed. "But if we can hold out long enough for other beef to reach Chicago and start reducing Whitney's profit, he may start to see reason." Annie threw a glance at Candy, whose eyes were grim, and she knew what he was thinking.
If he didn't drop his price even more.
"Just what are you asking us to do, Ben?" Annie rolled her eyes behind the man's back. What did he think they wanted? She set her glass of brandy down and looked around at the eight ranchers filling the Ponderosa's front room. None of them looked very optimistic. She glanced at Joe. He'd told them about Luther selling out as soon as he got back from town this afternoon. Everyone here knew he'd done it, and that it would only be the beginning once word spread to the outlying ranches.
"I want us to make a pledge to each other not to sell."
"Don't you think Whitney expects that?" Steve asked. Ben nodded.
"Yes, he does."
"Well, then what good would it do? He's lowering the price in forty-eight hours. That's about as long as I can hold out."
"If the smaller ranchers see a big rancher like you sell out, they'll stampede."
"They already have, Ben. Joe told you about Luther. Ed Green sold out and so has Mike Jasper." Her father leveled Steve with the look he normally saved for when Joe did something incredibly stupid.
"Is three dollars a head going to save you?"
"I just might be able to hang on until next year." Annie shook her head. They just didn't get it.
"You just might," she said bitterly. "What's to stop Whitney from doing this again next year? And the year after? Or what's to stop him from coming back here and buying up your mortgages with the money he made selling your cattle?"
"Easy for you to talk, Ms. Anne," one of the other men spit out. "You Cartwrights have the Ponderosa, all that timber and mining stocks, you don't have to rely on your cattle to see you through to next year, you can afford to take risks. Well, we can't." A few heads nodded in agreement, then Ma Bricker shifted in her chair.
"Can none of you focus on the real issue?" She looked around in disgust. "Annie's right. We sell out now, there's nothing preventing that fat toad from coming back next year and doing this all over again. How long can you survive if he does?" Heads lowered and no one said anything. "He's already stomping over Lloyd in his own bank, how long do you think it would be before we're working for him in fact as well as name?" Silence filled the room and Ben cleared his throat.
"Who's for holding out?" Ma raised her hand, but only one other rancher followed suit. Steve looked up nervously.
"Ben, if you can talk to him and get him to raise his offer, fine. But if he won't, I'll do what I have to do. Not what I wanna do," he clarified to a scowling Ma Bricker. "What I have to do." He collected his hat and stood. "Is anybody with me?" Everyone but Ma and Tom followed him to the door and Annie swallowed hard. Their father sighed and sat down in his favorite chair.
"I've done all I know to do." He scraped a hand over his face and looked up, his gaze lingering on her and Candy. "You two have the best instincts, use 'em."
"Pa, don't you think one of us should –" He held up a hand and Joe snapped his mouth shut.
"I want him to underestimate her. And while he's trying to play Annie, Candy will be there to sow a little division." His eyes twinkled and she felt a smile tugging at her mouth despite the grim situation.
"Fillmore?" He nodded.
"Fillmore."
"Here we go, sweetheart," Candy whispered through the corner of his mouth as he stopped the buggy at the hitch rail. "Gun hand at one o'clock."
"I see him." She collected her handbag and waited until he hopped down to assist her from the buggy. As she'd expected, the man followed them into the bank, Candy's glare not stopping him in the slightest. Nose in the air, she made her way past the teller counter and stalked haughtily up to the second gun hand loitering near the door to Lloyd's office. The man looked her up and down and put out a hand to block her path.
"And who might you be, honey?"
"That's Ms. Cartwright to you, friend," Candy said with a dangerous edge to his voice. "The boss wouldn't like you bothering his little girl."
"Quiet, Canaday, I can speak for myself," she snapped with a hard glare over her shoulder, then turned back to the gun hand. "I have business with the man in there, not you." He looked her over again.
"Not with him carrying that," he gestured to Candy's pistol. She arched an eyebrow.
"Is your employer that afraid of his customers?"
"Lady, I either get the gun or he stays out here while you talk to Mr. Whitney." She huffed out a disgruntled sigh and flapped a hand in Candy's direction.
"Give him the blasted thing so we can take care of Pa's business and return home." Candy sighed heavily and removed his pistol. The gun hand snatched it up and led them into Lloyd's private office.
A fat man with thinning hair and a bushy mustache looked up from a stack of papers in his hands as he perched on the edge of Lloyd's desk. "Oh, who are you?"
"Anne Cartwright," she said frostily, glaring at him down her nose. "The –"
"Ponderosa," he finished. "Of course. Here before the prices drop, eh?" He thumbed through the papers and tugged one out. "Here we are. Bill of sale made out for thirty, excuse me, 3,000 head. Is that close enough, my dear?"
"I heard that, and no. We're not selling." He froze and looked up.
"Then what is a young lady such as yourself doing here?"
"The major ranchers have asked Pa to speak for them, and he sent me in his place. He's very busy, you know, what with running a thousand square mile ranch and all." The man laid his papers down and rubbed his hands together as he came around the desk.
"My dear, Ms. Cartwright, won't you have a seat? I shall, of course, speak to the other ranchers individually. As for the Ponderosa –"
"You're a thief," she said evenly, one eyebrow arched. "We all know what you stand to gain from this charade so let's not mince words. Offer a fair price for our livestock and you can have them."
"A thief, am I? With no gun? No force?" He gestured to the papers on Lloyd's desk. "The people who signed those came in here voluntarily, as you did," he said with a patronizing sneer. "I don't know why your father sent a little girl to do a man's job, but he should have taught you a few things while he was at it. Anyone may sell me their cattle – or not – it is entirely up to them. We're all here to make money, Ms. Cartwright, and your father is no different."
"Remember who you're talking to, mister." Candy advanced several steps, his hand slipping down to the empty holster at his hip, and Whitney's eyes followed his every twitch. "She's a Cartwright, and Cartwrights have a nasty habit of coming out on top."
"Thank you, Canaday, that will be all," she said dismissively, keeping an extra careful eye on Whitney as she said it. If he was as smart as she'd pegged him to be based on her father's description, she didn't think he'd be above exploiting a division in the ranks if he could be convinced into believing it was there.
"Actually, Ms. Cartwright, it's not." She whirled around, feigning shock, as Candy folded his arms over his chest. "Your father seems to be forgetting one thing: he's always come out on top because he held all the cards and this time he doesn't."
"If I wanted your opinion, I would ask for it. Wait outside."
"Thank you, no." He took off his hat and turned it over in his hands. "You see, I like to eat, ma'am, and if your father won't sell and loses his herd to starvation, where will that leave me?" His fingers tightened on the brim. "Thrown out in the dead of winter to fend for myself after all I've done for you."
"Exactly why you wouldn't be turned out," she hissed. "Now, please leave. You're the foreman, not my keeper." Candy shrugged casually and flipped his hat back on his head.
"You can't say you weren't warned, sweetheart." The door slammed behind him and Whitney chuckled under his breath.
"Smart man, your foreman."
"He's too mouthy by half," Annie muttered, then turned blazing eyes on Whitney. "But he, at least, has a conscience, which is more than I can say for you." Whitney shrugged.
"It hasn't bothered me yet, and I don't expect it ever will. Last chance." He held out the contract and she drew herself up straight.
"The Ponderosa will sell its cattle in Chicago or not at all." He ripped the contract in half with a sneer.
"You can't get a single steer to Chicago without me, and the price of Ponderosa beef just dropped to a dollar a head. And you can tell your father's friends they have forty-eight hours."
"Mr. Whitney," Annie said with an overly sweet smile. "If you think yourself the only man who's ever tried to beat us, you're sadly mistaken. Far better men than you have tried and we're still standing." She turned and swept out of the office, head held high.
Candy waited in the buggy, looking none too happy. She settled into her seat and he slapped the lines over the gelding's back and they took off at a trot. "Well?"
"Endicott mixed with Fillmore for starters. I wanted to knock that smug sneer off his face and blow a hole in him for good measure. Did you hear how he dropped the count? He'll have cause to regret that."
"There's a reason I don't cross you, sweetheart, and I'm looking at it right now." Candy reached out and squeezed her hand. "We'll get him, I know we will."
"We have to, this is a fight for the Ponderosa itself."
"Do you think he took the bait?" Ben looked between the two of them and Annie tugged at the waist of her dress.
"I would have, if I didn't know better," Candy spoke up with a half grin. Joe huffed and crossed his arms.
"He asks around, he's gonna find out he's been played."
"Not necessarily, Joe." Ben stood and walked around his desk, head tilted in thought. "You see, Candy's reasoning will sound plausible, even to people who know us. They could jump to conclusions without too much effort, and all we really need to do is keep Whitney focused on the Ponderosa so he'll leave the smaller ranchers alone."
"He ain't gonna do that forever, Pa."
"We don't need him to, Hoss, just for a little while until we hear back from one of those telegrams. There has to be someplace we can drive those cattle to sell them."
"Better pray it comes soon. He said we have forty-eight hours before the price drops."
"For us, it already has," Annie said bitterly, and he glanced at her sideways. "Ponderosa beef is only worth a dollar a head now as far as Whitney is concerned, so unless we find a way to beat him, we're in trouble." Ben sighed heavily and patted her shoulder.
"We'll think of something. A lot can happen in two days."
He couldn't have realized how right he was. Annie stood in the middle of her brothers and Candy as they hovered behind Ben at Luther's graveside service two mornings later. Candy held himself stiff, probably blaming himself for not stopping Luther, but who could have expected the man to make such a stupid move, even drunk out of his mind?
"I'm sorry, Martha," Ben said softly, her hands clasped in his. "If you need anything, just let me know. Anything at all."
"Thank you, Ben." The woman sniffed and swiped at her face with a soggy handkerchief. He smiled sadly and moved away, nodding for them to follow.
"I'm going back to the bank with Lloyd," he said tersely. "If I can just keep a few of them from selling …" He raked a hand through his hair and sighed. "Whitney had to make a mistake somewhere, no one can think of everything." He looked around and sighed again, then took Annie's hand in his. "Go back to the Ponderosa and wait for me. We'll put our heads together after I speak to Lloyd and see if we can't come up with something."
"Yes, Pa." He squeezed her hand and walked away. The four of them watched him leave, shoulders slightly bowed. "He's worried," she said softly.
"I am, too, sis, and I don't mind saying it." Hoss plopped his hat on his head. "Let's go." They mounted up and Candy untied the buggy. Annie settled in beside him, her heart pounding in her chest. They had to figure out a way to beat Whitney or else possibly lose everything they'd built.
It was a quiet trip home, followed by an even quieter meeting in the front room, gathered around Ben's desk in silence as they listened for his horse in the yard. Hop Sing poked his head out of the kitchen, took one look at their faces, and disappeared again, mumbling something in Chinese.
At last, Candy sighed and leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling. "Anyone got any bright ideas?"
"Fresh out," Joe mumbled under his breath while staring at the floor. "We're between a rock and a hard place."
"Focus so much on cannot," Hop Sing said as he approached with a tray of coffee and cookies. "You not look elsewhere. Can always climb over rocks or cross hard place."
"If we had a way, sure." Hoss scratched his head. "But Whitney has the cars, them steers can't sprout wings and fly to Chicago. Ain't nowhere else they can go."
"Will think of something." Hop Sing offered them a knowing smile. "Always do." He turned and left them alone. Candy sighed and picked up a cup of coffee.
"I hope he's right. Whitney sure is smug about it all." He glanced up and swallowed hard. "Even offered me a job in Chicago." They all looked at him and he shrugged. "I told him I'd think about it and my answer would depend on the wages he offered." He shrugged again. "Mr. Cartwright's idea seems to be working."
A horse neighed in the yard and they all straightened. The door opened and Ben walked inside, determination etched on his face. "Steve will hold out until tomorrow, but that's as far as he can go. Ideas?" They shook their heads, then Candy told him what he'd just told them. Ben frowned, collected a cup of coffee, and sat down behind his desk, then regarded them one by one as he drank slowly. "So, he can be played. Do you think he made another mistake?"
"Anything is possible," Annie said. "But even if he missed one or two car options that won't help us any, it would take weeks to ship 10,000 cattle on two cars. And that's if he didn't option them immediately after the first trip."
"No, he wouldn't have missed any cars." Ben folded his arms and leaned against his desk. "But he can't have thought of everything, I mean, some aspects would be beyond his control."
"Like what?" Hoss asked.
"Where everyone else took their cattle for one thing. Not to mention the cost of drovers to move ten thousand head to Ogden, and feed for –" He trailed off at the same instant her mind lit up with the spark of an idea. How long was that one stretch without public grazing?
"Oh, Pa, do you think –?"
"He might not even realize he'd need it. If all that concerned him was the options on those cars …"
"What did he forget?" Joe interrupted and Annie leaned back in her chair.
"How many steers could you get down the trail from Lovelock to Winnemucca without buying feed?" Understanding dawned on three faces at once and Hoss grinned. Joe slumped in his chair with a morose shake of his head.
"He's not gonna forget something that important."
"He might have," Candy put in. "City fella like that … I doubt he's gonna know much about herding steers when all he's had to concern himself with up to now is bidding on them and turning 'em into steak."
"Price of feed is gonna be awful high, Pa." Hoss rubbed his hands together. "And getting our hands on enough for ten thousand head …"
"We can do it, though it won't be without considerable risk."
"Risk?" Joe sputtered. "Pa, we could lose everything."
"Yes. Yes, we could. But we can't winter-feed the herd, Joe, we've accepted that. It's either drive them and sell them, or let winter storms take them."
"But why bother? The ranch could still survive."
"Yes, we could survive," their father said slowly. "But the Ponderosa is more than a ranch, it's our home. And a home is a place surrounded by friends and neighbors." His face darkened with the weight of knowledge. "And our neighbors just cannot survive it. There's no way they could survive it." He turned his chair and opened the safe, drawing out a strongbox and removing the deeds inside one by one. Annie bit her lip, stomach churning, as his gaze landed on each of them in turn. "If we take that chance … if we do this … we're putting everything we've ever worked for on the line." He stacked the deeds back in the box. "If we're wrong …"
"If we're wrong, we walk away with nothing but the shirts on our backs," Hoss interjected. If they were lucky.
"That's right," Ben said softly. "That's why we must all be in agreement if we're to try this." Hoss sighed.
"We ain't got much choice, do we?" Ben didn't reply and Joe lowered his head, then looked up, the hint of a grin on his face.
"You promise I can keep this shirt?" A ripple of laughter broke out and then it was her turn. It was true that they could survive this, but they'd be the only one and who knew how long they could hold? Even their timber and mining interests couldn't sustain something the size of the Ponderosa indefinitely.
And Whitney would never stop, not if he won this round. He'd be back, and next time, there would be no oversights, he'd make sure of it once his mistake was revealed. If he'd made one at all; they were banking everything on that tiny possibility.
How much did he really know about livestock and driving a herd? Did his knowledge begin and end at the stockyard?
It was a terrible gamble, but it was the only hand they could play.
"Yes."
"Candy?" Their foreman's face dissolved into confusion.
"What? I'm not family, I don't have a vote here." Ben held up a hand like he was calming a spooked horse.
"In every way that matters, you are family. The Ponderosa is your home, too, and you stand to lose just as much as we do should I be wrong." Something in Candy's face seemed to flicker, then it was gone. He looked down at his hands and sighed.
"The whole lot of you are rubbing off on me. I say yes." Ben actually smiled, a first in at least two days.
"Good. Now, someone needs to ride over and wake up Lloyd Walsh, ask him to get to the bank as soon as he can. Also," he scribbled up a brief note. "This telegram needs to go to Mineral Wells to be sent to Chicago, with the answer held for me at Elko."
"Wait, Pa," Hoss sat forward. "You can't go, without you, the other ranchers will sell out and Whitney might abandon his attempts to get our cattle and head for Ogden before you can return."
"Yeah, he's right, Pa." Joe shifted in his chair and crossed his legs. "I could –"
"If any of us leave now, he's going to know something is up," Annie cut in and straightened in her chair. "There's only one person he wouldn't suspect." Four sets of eyes landed on Candy and he shook his head.
"Oh, no. I – I … all that money?" He looked faintly green, totally unlike himself. "You'd … you'd trust me with everything?"
"She's right," Ben said slowly. "Thanks to your charade, it would look to Whitney like you were cutting your losses, though he might wonder why you didn't accept his offer." He laced his fingers. "So we'll give him something else to worry about. You take the money and buy up every bale of hay and alfalfa you can get your hands on, while their attention is focused on Annie and where she's going."
"But, Pa –"
"Joseph, your sister is perfectly capable of handling herself in any situation. We crafted this advantage and now we must use it." Her brother lowered his head and mumbled an apology. "Candy, I want you to ride out and wait to the east of town. Annie will come by after we meet Lloyd at the bank and pass you the money. If you should pick up a tail … deal with it as you see fit."
"Of course, Mr. Cartwright."
"Get upstairs and pack your saddlebags, we've got work to do."
The night was dark and Virginia City deserted when Annie rode in beside her father. They drew rein in front of Lloyd's bank and swung down, Ben collecting the bulging saddlebags in front of his saddle. He knocked sharply on the door and Lloyd opened it wide, then shut it quickly behind them. The hairs on the back of her neck rose and she knew they were being watched. It wouldn't be long before Whitney was informed that they were up to something.
"What's this about, Ben?" Lloyd's voice shook. Her father dropped the saddlebags on the banker's desk and dug out the box of deeds.
"Everything I own. Mining stocks, timber, the mill, the deeds to the Ponderosa, the cattle herd, everything." Her blood ran cold seeing it all laid out like that. Oh, if they were wrong …
"But what do you want?"
"A hundred thousand dollars. Cash. Sight drafts." The banker's eyes widened and his mouth fell open. "Anything you can scrape together in a hurry."
"Ben … my cash reserve is at rock bottom. I … I couldn't lend you a nickel."
"On collateral like that?" His voice was sharp and Annie bit her lip. Lloyd bowed his head and fidgeted in his chair.
"Well … I, I know it's more collateral than I normally ask, but these are not normal times, Ben." Lloyd pushed his chair back and stood. "This town is scared. Money's very tight." The man's voice shook. "Whitney and the mine owners are the only people in town with any cash. And Whitney keeps his in a strongbox in my safe. But it's not on deposit, Ben." Hands scraped through his gray hair and he paced the office. "Most of the cash on deposit belongs to the mine owners. One big withdrawal would ruin me."
"Twenty-one days," her father said sharply. "A twenty-one day loan, that's all I'm asking." Lloyd shook his head.
"If one mine comes to me with a need for extra cash … why, even if I sold you out to pay off, I'd never have another bank."
"Who says Whitney won't take this one anyway?" Annie pushed off the edge of the desk and crossed her arms. "He pretty much runs it now and if he gets his hands on all our cattle, what's to stop him from coming back and setting himself up as the new power in Virginia City? You want another Sam Bryant on our hands?"
"Of course not! But that's beside the point, Anne. Look, I've backed you Cartwrights before, but this time could prove a disaster."
"Lloyd, I'm asking you for the people that helped you build this bank." The man swallowed hard.
"What do you even want the money for? You can't get those car options, he's got them locked up tight."
"We're still going to fight."
"But how?"
"I'd rather you not know, then you won't have to lie to him." Lloyd swallowed hard and looked at her.
"You're sending her off somewhere, aren't you?" Her father said nothing, but that only seemed to confirm the banker's assumption. "Ben, I don't know what you think you can do."
"Lloyd … if you don't back us now, it will be a disaster. For everyone, including you." He swallowed again, and she could see the wheels in his head spinning. If he refused … then, his shoulders fell and he bowed his head.
"I'll have to use sight drafts mostly." She exhaled sharply and Ben breathed a sigh of relief. "Then, I'll fill out your loan papers."
"Get the money first, so Annie can start out. I'll wait and fill out whatever you need me to."
"You know he'll send one of his men after her if he finds out."
"Then he'll be short a man," Annie said evenly and Lloyd gulped. "Come on, Lloyd, we don't have that much time." The banker sighed and headed for the vault. It only took about ten minutes, but it felt far longer to her before the saddlebags were stuffed with cash and drafts.
"Good luck, Anne." Lloyd clasped her hand as she picked up the bags. "I'm afraid you're going to need it."
"Thanks, Lloyd." Ben quickly shook his hand, then swept her up in a tight hug. "Be careful, Annie. And hurry."
"I will, Pa. We'll beat Whitney, I promise." She turned and rushed from the bank, slung the saddlebags over Reno's withers, and mounted up, quickly scanning the empty street. There was someone out there, she could feel it.
Time to give them a show.
She kicked Reno into a lope and took off. The moon wasn't full, but it still gave off just enough light she could allow Reno his head. Every second counted now.
Candy waited just off the trail in the trees five miles out of town. She snatched up the saddlebags, dropped her reins, and they swapped bags on the run, as fast and smooth as any Pony Express rider back in the day. He melted into the forest, while she kept riding. Whoever was back there shouldn't suspect a thing, but they might have picked up on the second set of hooves.
Annie slowed Reno, listening for the sounds of pursuit that carried better at night. As long as her tail kept coming, Candy had free rein to wreck havoc on Whitney's plans. The faint thump of hooves reached her ears and she smiled.
She was going to enjoy this.
After two quiet nights on the trail, Reno woke her with a muffled snort. Annie was instantly awake, hand on her pistol, as she slowly inched out of her bedroll. Finally. If she'd hired him, she would have been disappointed with how slowly he moved.
Leaving the saddlebags resting on her bedroll, she slipped into the trees and waited. It wasn't long before the taller, dark man of Whitney's crept up to her empty bedroll, eyes gleaming in the moonlight as he stared at the bulging saddlebags. He slipped into a crouch and opened the flap, the smile falling off his face as he pulled out clothes instead of money. Frantically, he dug into the other bag.
"Looking for something?" she called out; he jumped and fired. And missed. She didn't. He fell back, clutching his shoulder, and she stalked closer, crouching just out of kicking range. She tipped her hat back off her forehead with the barrel of her Colt and offered him a feral smile. "You see why Pa sent me now?" The gunman's mouth thinned and he glared down at his boots. She clicked her tongue. "I told him better men than him have tried to bring us down and he should have listened." She jerked her gun at him. "Get moving, we've got a ways to ride to the next town."
"You'll never get to Ogden before he gets your cattle," the man spit. "It won't do you no good anyhow, Whitney didn't miss a car. And where's the money? We saw you stuffing it in the bags."
"We know he didn't miss any cars," she said sweetly. "But it doesn't matter, since I'm not going to Ogden anyway. Now, get up." He struggled to his feet, one eye trained on her gun.
"Not going to Ogden? But what's all the money for then?"
"You just can't forget the blasted money, can you? Fine. I'm sure you'll enjoy knowing that you helped us beat Whitney at his own game."
"I have not," he hissed through his teeth as he stumbled towards his horse.
"Don't think about even looking at the rifle I know you've got on that saddle. And yes, you have. Only one of you followed me out of Virginia City and since you're here, you're obviously not in any position to stop Candy." He staggered to a halt and stared at her over his bleeding shoulder. She gave him a feral smile. "You really think this is the first time we've pulled that charade?" A dark laugh escaped. "Your boss saw what we wanted him to see, now get moving before I lose my patience." She circled past him and slipped his rifle from its scabbard.
Grudgingly, he mounted up and waited, blood sliding down his arm, while she quickly saddled Reno and swung aboard. "I'm beginning to think Whitney underestimated you, girl." She snorted.
"He won't be the last, either." They rode in silence for several miles before he spoke again.
"What did Whitney forget?"
"You'll find out soon enough." She adjusted her hat and her grip on the rifle. "We've still got a day to Elko."
"But I need my arm looked at."
"Someone will. At Elko."
"You're saying this Spanier fellow is in cahoots with Emmett Whitney and Oliver Stark to kill you?" The Elko sheriff looked her up and down. "Why?"
"They thought I was carrying $100,000 for my Pa and they wanted it." She nodded at the gunman glowering at her from his cell. "He was sent to kill me and bring Whitney the money." The sheriff glared at Spanier over his shoulder.
"That true?"
"He underestimated her, underestimated all of them Cartwrights. I ain't going down for his stupidity, I'll tell you everything I know." Spanier rubbed at his bandaged arm and grimaced. "He never should have tried this fool venture."
"What venture?" By the time Spanier had finished his explanation, the sheriff's eyebrows resided in his hairline. "That's got to be the most low-down, despicable scheme I've ever heard of. I'll get the judge to write up that warrant, Ms. Cartwright, and you can take it to Sheriff Coffee."
"Gladly." The man stormed from his office and Annie stood, intending to follow, when Spanier stopped her with a grunt.
"You really played us, didn't you?"
"I told you we did," she said without turning around. "How else do you think we always come out on top? It certainly isn't because we sit around and wait for others to solve our problems. If we don't hold all the cards, we get the cards. Enjoy prison, Mr. Spanier." She settled her hat in place. "I'll give Mr. Whitney your regards."
Annie stepped outside and scanned the dusty street. Candy should be arriving any time now, if he'd been successful. If he wasn't … she didn't want to think about what would happen.
"Took you long enough, sweetheart." She spun and found him leaning against a building across the alley, arms crossed over his chest, a smirk on his face. "I was beginning to worry." He tipped his hat back, blue eyes dancing.
"I'd have been here sooner if that oaf hadn't gone for his gun." She crossed the alley and he opened his arms, engulfing her in a tight hug. She pulled back and looked up into his face. "Were we right?" Her mouth went dry and her heart skipped a beat. Surely, he wouldn't be joking if they'd failed. His grin widened and he led her to his horse tied at the hitch rail. From the depths of his saddlebags, he withdrew a thick stack of papers that had her smiling, too. "As much thought as he must have put into this, how did he overlook something that basic?" She took the stack in trembling hands and thumbed through them.
"Don't know. I'm just glad he did." Candy retrieved the stack and tucked it back in the saddlebags. "I sure wasn't relishing the thought of returning empty-handed."
"We've got him over a barrel. As soon as the sheriff comes back with that warrant, we ride." She glanced past Candy at the setting sun. Emmett J. Whitney of Chicago was about to discover that turnabout was fair play.
They made excellent time back to Virginia City, but they were still a day later than expected. A small crowd was leaving the saloon when they rode down the street, a crowd that included her father and brothers.
"Oh, I hope we're not too late," Candy breathed as the rest of the Cartwrights rushed to meet them.
"You're late," Ben announced without preamble. "Everything all right? We were worried."
"Nothing we couldn't handle," Candy said easily as he dismounted. Annie followed suit and looked around.
"Are we too late?" Ben glanced at Ma Bricker and Steve, then shook his head.
"You're just in time. They were headed down to sell right now."
"Spanier delayed me a little bit." Annie looped Reno's reins over the hitch rail. "He got himself hurt." Her brothers exchanged a knowing look and she glanced at Steve. "We have to see him first. Please," she added after they gave each other confused looks. "Just trust us this much farther." The ghost of a smile touched Ben's mouth and she nodded slightly, making it widen. Steve glanced between them and nodded slowly.
"If that's what you want, but I don't see how it's going to change anything."
"You will, Mr. Lance." Candy swung the saddlebags over his shoulder with a grin. "In about ten minutes." They hurried inside and were quickly stopped by Whitney's other hired gun.
"You know the rules. Hand it over." Annie complied and stalked past him into Lloyd's office, Candy on her heels. Whitney looked up from the papers on the desk and seemed to start, which he covered with a nasty smile.
"Has your father seen reason at last?"
"Sell the cattle back and give up your rail options." He blinked several times then looked past her to his hired gun. "He can't help you, Mr. Whitney, any more than Spanier could." She studied her nails. "I didn't have that money, Candy did. And he's been busy while your gunman was chasing the wrong threat."
"Excuse me?" Whitney stood and leaned menacingly on the desk. "You want me to what?"
"You heard her," Candy said tersely. "Give up the rail options and sell back those cattle." Whitney plopped back into his chair and began to laugh.
"You must be sun happy. I've got your father tied up with the rest. Oh, but of course you couldn't know that I bought the note for your cattle herd, could you? It may not be due for two weeks, but with no way to sell, how could you possibly pay?"
"Half the price you paid. And I advise you to take it." She nodded at Candy and he opened the flap on the bags. Whitney's gunman slapped a hand on the bags, then Whitney himself pulled them across the desk. Annie bit her tongue to keep from laughing. What would his face resemble once he realized he was trapped? He dug out the stack of papers and stared at them like they were cow pies.
"What are these?"
"Something you forgot to buy," Candy said with more than a touch of enjoyment in his tone. "They're bills of sale for every bale of hay and alfalfa for the eighty miles of cattle trail between Lovelock and Winnemucca." Whitney's face creased in a frown.
"There isn't enough public graze on that trail to feed ten head, let alone ten thousand," Annie added with a feral smile. Whitney dropped the bills of sale like they were hot coals and swallowed hard. "Without that feed, you couldn't get one steer through to Ogden alive." His grand plans died a cold death in that instant and his eyes betrayed that he knew it was over. But it didn't stop him from attempting to salvage something from the ruins. He chuckled nervously and stood, coming around the desk.
"Look, Ms. Cartwright, you might only be a young woman, but surely you can understand how these things work. I'm sure we can come to a deal –"
"Sell now," she spit, her blood boiling. "Or get your cattle off our range lands and start trying to buy feed." A conniving look filled his eyes.
"You pay me full price for –"
"Half," Candy cut in. "And the rest goes to Luther's widow." He scooped up the bills of sale and thumbed through them. "I guarantee you I didn't miss a single bale." Whitney's face reddened.
"I thought you didn't agree with them." Candy chuckled dangerously.
"That's what you were supposed to think, and it worked like a charm." He tilted his head and grinned. "I'd sign over those options for the rail cars if I were you, because she's liable to drop the price again."
She could see his mind working desperately to come up with an angle they hadn't covered, but it was pointless. They had him backed into a corner with only one way of escape. According to the clock on the wall it was only two minutes, but it seemed much longer before his shoulders slumped and he sat down hard in his chair. Without a word, he pulled a piece of paper from the desk and began to write.
Annie's heart leaped and she squeezed Candy's arm. He nudged her foot with his boot and grinned. She reached back and Whitney's gunman returned their pistols with a disgusted sigh. Whitney looked up from the page and sniffed as he handed it over. "You've won this round, Ms. Cartwright, but I'll be back some day."
"You're not the only one who's ever said that, either." She and Candy left the office and headed out to meet the crowd that had doubled in size in just those few minutes. Ma Bricker pushed her way through the crush and cornered them with a worried frown.
"All right. Do I sell or watch my cattle starve?" They traded glances and smiled. The crowd began to whisper, which turned into a roar when Annie spoke.
"Neither, Ma. We're moving them. Whitney is selling everyone's cattle back at half-price!" The crowd cheered and Steve hollered above the din.
"I got just enough cash to buy drinks for everybody so don't nobody go home thirsty!" The crowd rushed for the nearest saloon. Ben and her brothers pushed through, headed straight for them, and Roy joined them.
"When do the people get their cattle back?"
"As soon as they get their bills of sale in to Whitney."
"Well, how'd you do it, missy?" He hugged her before she could reply. "Never mind, it don't matter no how, you pulled it off and that's all that counts."
"I'm proud of you," Ben said, his voice rough. "Both of you."
"Well, looks like I underestimated all of you." Whitney sighed as he approached them. "Financially, you've given me a big surprise, but if we can –" He turned back towards the bank and she jerked her chin. Candy snatched the gunman's pistol from his holster and trained it on the both of them.
"I have another one for you," she said sweetly, and dug the warrant from her pocket. "Read that, Roy." The sheriff fumbled with his spectacles and quickly studied the paper.
"It's a warrant for the arrest of Emmett J. Whitney and Oliver Stark." Ben and her brothers traded stunned looks. Whitney frowned.
"On what charges?" Roy went back to reading.
"Charge of conspiracy to commit murder," he intoned. "It also states that Anthony Spanier confessed that his employer, said Emmett J. Whitney, sent him to deliberately murder Anne Cartwright." Roy's bushy eyebrows rose and he glanced at the two stunned men. "Oliver Stark was present and also implicated. Signed by the sheriff of White Pine County." Roy finished reading and hid a smirk as he took the gun Candy offered. "If you two fellas will come with me down to the jail, I'm sure I can find a couple of cells for you." Whitney glowered and she smirked, not needing to say the words. He stormed past her and Roy escorted them down the street.
"Oh, Annie." Ma Bricker hugged her. "And Candy. Thank you, all of you." She turned to Ben. "You could have weathered it, there was really no need for you to get involved and risk everything like you did."
"I had the best reason of all, Ma." He touched her shoulder. "You can't buy friends." His eyes twinkled. "Especially friends who can make biscuits as good as yours." She sputtered a second, then they all burst into laughter.
"Yes," her father mused as he stared into his brandy. "I couldn't be more proud right now. Even taking into account how much it cost to buy all that hay, we'll still clear enough to turn a handsome profit. And all of our friends will have the best year they've ever had." He shook his head. "And to think, just a few days ago all seemed lost." He looked at all of them gathered around his desk. "We've weathered another storm." He raised his glass. "To the Ponderosa."
"The Ponderosa." Annie took a sip of her brandy and studied Candy over the rim. He looked at ease, more than he'd ever been. Now that he knew they – literally – trusted him with everything, would his need to drift finally fade into the past? He hadn't spoken of moving on in almost a year now, maybe the pull to leave wasn't as strong now that he'd found what he never really had. A chill raced down her spine.
If he did want to leave one day, how could she let her best friend go?