Sorry it took so long, i kind of didn't know what to do next and then i got sent back to school, and well yeah. If this seems choppy, i'm sorry about that too, my editor is kind of missing in action somewhere. I think he has homework...

Anyway, here's chap. two, please reviwe.

The sun danced around the cavern, allowing Joe to see the entire cave. The light was gleaming off of water running down the cavern walls, casting rainbows along the ground, and off the gold. It made the whole cavern seem like something out of one of Adam's books. It simply took Joe's breath away.

"Where's this all come from?" Joe asked as he wandered around the cave looking about. Every now and then he had to stop and catch his breath, the pain in his shoulder becoming too much for him.

"I can't stay down here…I need the doc. But with those two up there…I need to find a back door…" Joe told himself, moving slowly from pile to pile. As he walked he took mental note of how much gold he saw. There were about twenty different piles of at least sixty each; all leading him down a path deeper into the cavern.

With great care so he didn't disturb any of the dynamite, he followed it, hoping that it would lead to a way out.

Ben rode on silently, fear eating away at him. The farther away from the Ponderosa, the more his fear seemed to grow. Joe was hurt, the blood on the path and his gut told him that, and the farther away from the Ponderosa, the longer it took to get him help.

"Come on girl got to go faster. Joe needs us now," Ben said nudging his horse to speed up.

The horse complied and soon fell into a half gallop.

"What are we going to do Clay?" Mason said, his voice getting closer to panic with each word.

"Would you shut up and give me space to think! This is your fault you know!" Clay snapped at him.

"My fault! How the hell is this my fault!" Mason snapped at him.

"Lets think about this. You shot Kennings, got spotted by a kid, shot the kid, brought him back here to where we stashed the gold and then let him get away. Does that sum it up 'nough for yous?" Clay shot back at him.

Manson thought about saying something, but thought better of it and kept his mouth shut. Clay had that look that 'I'm thinking of a way to fix this,' and he didn't want to interrupt. Kennings, he and Mason had all met up in the mines, doing backbreaking labor. The three had made somewhat of a friendship between them, mainly one fuelled by drinking.

After awhile of risking their lives for pennies a day, Manson got a notion to take what he thought he should have. He told his plans to his two buddies, and that was how they landed in jail, but only after they had gotten a hundred bars from the mine. They only caught Clay and him, Kennings got away with the gold.

In prison it was Clay who thrived, seemed that the prisoners and the guards all like him. No one messed with him. But for Manson, it was different, everyone wanted a piece of him. Fighting was a constant part of his life there. He was put in solitary so many times that he pretty much lost it. Started talking to himself, started fighting like an animal too. Got to thinking that no one cared anymore, that Clay had forgotten, turns out he was wrong.

Clay had just been buying time, getting people to trust him. Got to know the prison, and the way out. It was because of Clay that they escaped, and were now free. The two wasted no time to tracking down Kennings to get their gold.

Well, Kennings was doing very well for himself while the others were in prison, and he wasn't too happy to see them. They would mess up every thing if they started bothering him, and it'd be even worse if they turned him in. So Kennings being the brain he was told them that they'd work for him or he'd send them back to prison.

Things were going well for a month or two. They kept with the old scheme, working in a mine and steeling what they could then leaving. But Kennings started getting greedy, and bossy. Manson hated it, he'd had enough of it in prison. Today he'd had enough and now he'd never take orders from him again.

But now they were back to where they had started, someone who could hold something over their heads. This time a rotten whelp who just happened to stumbled into their gold stash and…..

"Oh shit. Clay, the dynamites down there!"

Roy, Adam, and Hoss were riding at a gallop trying to catch up with Ben. The boys had Shown Roy where the body had been found and they found Ben's tracks. From the looks of it he had found something that Hoss had missed because he was riding close to full out and moving from the Ponderosa. The three had debated about their next move, weather they should ride back to the house and get the hands or if they should follow Ben. They deiced to follow Ben, knowing that at the moment he was thinking with his hart and not his head.

They rode in silence, each caught up in their own thoughts.

Adam's thoughts were of possible out comes, most involved bloody and horrific images of Joe dead or dying. 'Don't think like that Adam, it's not true. Joe's a tough kid he'll be fine…But there was blood, a lot of it…Pa'll get to him. Pa'll find him…But what if the guy who took Joe catches him? What if he shots Pa? That won't happen, it can't…but what if it does….?'

Hoss was also thinking about the possibilities that they faced, and it showed. His normally cheery face was set with grim determination, and his thoughts drifted from possibilities to prayers. 'God, I know I bother you a lot, but this time I really got something to ask…see Littl' Joe's been hurt, and dang gone it, but somebody took him. Now Pa's done gone off half-baked after him….all I'm asking fer is you to look out fer us…can ya do that? Please lord? Thanks….'

Roy's mind was full of worry for the family that he had come to love like his own over the years. 'Joe's hurt and missing, we got a man dead, Ben's gone after him, this could be a real mess. We should get some more men to hunt down the guy. Wait…'

"Hey Hoss, Adam, didn't you send some of your hands to the moutons around the ranch?" Roy called out to the two brothers.

It took a moment for them to put together what he said, but Hoss, who was the closes to him, answered, "Yes sir, Willy took 'em up that way. Why?"

"That's where we're headed, and I was thinking that we could use some help. One of us could ride out and get them," It wasn't a suggestion, it was an order.

One that Adam caught onto. He couldn't argue with Roy's logic. If they ran into trouble it would be nice to have the extra hands, but who would go get them? Roy needed to be with them, he was the law and in order for this to be fair he was needed. Adam knew that he wasn't willing to give up the hunt for little Joe, and was sure Hoss wouldn't be willing ether. 'Hoss is younger, keep him safe,' Adam's mind screamed at him. 'But Hoss is stronger, bigger, he's the best man for a fight, he's also the best tracker…but he's younger….' Adam's mind fought with the common sense and what his hart was saying.

His hart won, "Hoss, when we get close enough to the moutons I want you to split off and go get the posse, then pick up our tracks and join back up with us."

Adam was relived when Hoss only gave him a nod of understanding.

And there you have it, not much i know. Well, anyways, i hoped you liked it, and please reviwe.