Standard disclaimer: I don't own the Big Valley or its characters.

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Chapter 5

Tom knew Jarrod and Nick wouldn't lie, which meant the stranger had to be dead or alive somewhere. "Jarrod, I want you to head upstream and see if you can see any tracks that aren't yours or Nick's from earlier today. I'll go downstream with Nick and do the same."

Nick reluctantly agreed. The boy was still afraid but he felt a little better knowing that his father would be with him.

"Father, what should I do if we find the tracks or a body?" Jarrod asked hesitantly. He hoped he wouldn't come across a dead body, but he still wanted to know what to do in case it happened.

Nick visibly shuttered at the question and shot Jarrod an angry look. Tom noticed Nick's fear and pulled the boy close. "I don't think you will come across anything more than footprints or horse tracks. Just let me know if you find anything. Can you do that son?"

"Yes sir," Jarrod replied confidently.

"Good. Call out if you find anything and be careful son." Tom advised.

"I will Father," Jarrod promised, before heading upstream along the bank before heading upstream along the bank

The three Barkleys searched the area looking for any sign that would corroborate Jarrod and Nick's story. Tom figured the most likely clue they would find would be prints in the soft, wet dirt.

Jarrod slowly walked upstream, being careful where he stepped. The boy checked many of the bushes and trees to no avail. Jarrod found some boot tracks and bent down and examined them. Jarrod noticed the size of the boot prints. There appeared to be two pairs of boot prints. One pair was smaller than the other. Jarrod had a hunch and placed one of his boots above one of the larger boot prints, being careful not to touch the wet dirt. Jarrod's boot and the boot print were the same size. Jarrod smiled to himself. At least he now knew that he and Nick had really been there earlier.

Jarrod searched the area for more prints in the ground, hoping to bring back a good report to his father.

Tom and Nick walked hand - in-hand along the bank of stream. Nick found courage in being so close to his father. Tom found some prints from horseshoes a hundred yards away from where their search began. Tom bent down and examined the prints made by some boots and horseshoes.

"Nick, what do these prints tell you about who or what has been here?" Tom, asked, using this as an opportunity to teach his son more about tracking.

Nick bent down next to his father and stared at the tracks in front of him. 'I see some horseshoe prints and footprints."

Tom pointed to the footprints in the wet earth. "Now, what kind of shoes made these prints?"

Nick thought for a moment before answering, "They look like boot prints Father. Like the kind mine make in the mud, only bigger."

Tom Barkley looked over at Nick and smiled. "That right. Very good Nick. Was the person wearing these boots tall or short?"

"Well, since I'm short and I remember that my boot prints are smaller, I think he's big like you father," Nick answered.

"Excellent. I think we're done with our lesson for today Nick," Tom announced.

Nick looked at his father quizzically, "What about the horseshoe prints Father?"

"Alright son. What can you tell me about the horseshoe prints?" Tom asked, pleased that Nick had forgotten his fear.

Nick bent over to get a closer look at the prints from the horseshoes. The boy examined them carefully before looking up at his father with a look of disappointment. "I don't see anything special about them."

"That's okay son. We'll go find Jarrod and talk about this later," Tom reassured.

Tom and Nick headed back upstream to meet up with Jarrod. They came upon the horses and noticed that all three of their horses were still there. Tom looked around saw no sign of Jarrod. Tom began calling out to Jarrod. There was no response after the first call so Tom called out to his son again. Still no response.

"Come on Nick, let's go find your brother Jarrod," Tom announced as the walked upstream, leaving the horses behind.