"Okay you in there come out with your hand's up and no funny business or you'll all die," a voice from outside the coach called.
Joe and his companion's stepped out of the coach with their hands in the air. Joe looked around them and noted how these men wore their guns, loose and low, and knew that if they didn't do what they were told they would be killed.
"Alright, now turn around and lean on the coach," the gruff voice came again and Joe let out a shocked gasp when he realized who it was.
Without thinking Joe stood up and turned around, "Tate?"
"Who wants to…Joe?"
"Yeah Tate it's me," Joe said to the outlaw.
The outlaw looked shocked but quickly recovered, "Boy's would you please continue while me and this man go and talk in private?"
"Sure thing boss," one of the men said.
When they were a fair distance from the coach Tate took of his mask. "Joe what in the world are you doing here?" Tate asked.
"Well Tate I got married to the most wonderful woman..." Joe started but was interrupted by Tate.
"You mean to tell me that you got out of Jess' clutches?" Tate asked curiously.
"Yeah," Joe said with a smile, "but I don't get it how did you get out of Matt's clutches?" Matt was another boss in the P. G. Assn. Matt was in charge of the south-western section, and Jess was in charge of the north-western section.
"Well... He sorta thinks I'm... dead," Tate said reluctantly.
"Dead?" Joe echoed, "but how?"
"Well about six months ago I was up in New York," Tate started.
"You mean you got transferred?" Joe asked.
"Yeah, well anyway I was up in New York and the guys you saved me from that time you remember don't you?"
"Yeah how could I forget," Joe said and thought back to the first time he and Tate had meet. Joe and Jess had gone to visit Matt so Joe could see how things ran with him. When they'd arrived at Matt's there had been a man in the yard and he'd waved to them and kept walking when suddenly five men jumped out of the bushes and started to beat him. Joe had pulled his horse to a stop and without even thinking about his own safety started pulling the men from the lone man.
So before to long Joe and the lone man were almost done in but they kept fighting until the last man fell then the lone man had turned and held out his hand and said, "My names Tate."
"Joe," Joe breathed, slightly out of breath.
"So anyway those men showed up again and we got into a fight and next thing I know I wake up in a hospital and they tell me that they thought I was dead for sure. So then, I sweet-talked the nurse so that she'll tell the doc to write down that I died and I left. Now here I am holding up stages because I don't know anything but gambling," Tate finished.
"Where have you been," Ben asked John.
"I'm sorry I'm late sir but Cochise wanted to run so much so I let her and before I knew it, it was dark," John explained hoping that Ben would believe him.
"Alright then John I just was worried about you and about Cooch," Ben said trying to relax.
"Um... Sir I was wondering... well can I..."
"Just spit it out John," Ben said in an irritated tone.
"I was just wondering if I could take Cooch into town tomorrow," John asked.
"And why do you need to go to town," Ben asked.
"Well you see sir I have a package to pick up and then send to a good friend of mine. You see sir she got married about a year ago and I just found out a couple of weeks ago when I found out that she was pregnant."
"By all means go and get that done," Ben said with a smile, "and tell your friends congratulations for me."
"Thank you sir I'm sure her and her husband will be happy that you know," John realized he'd slipped, "I mean they'll be... you know what I mean."
"Yes John I do," Ben had a hard time keeping a strait face when he thought about the way John had looked so confused a few minutes earlier. "Now go get some sleep John."
John watched Ben as he walked away and couldn't help but feel sorry for him.
Christy's wagon train had just arrived in Salt Lake City, Utah when Doctor Martin of Virginia City stepped off the stage he was coming to visit an old college friend, and noticed Christy standing in front of the General Store.
"Young Lady why don't you sit down?" Doc Martin went over and asked.
"I'm fine sir," Christy said in an irritated tone, 'Why can't anybody leave me be, let's see how many is that he's at least the fifteenth person to ask me that today!'
"Ma'am I think it would be a good idea if you did you don't want to faint do you." Doc Martin was very persistent. 'She reminds me of Joe Cartwright at least in the stubborn area of things.'
"Sir I'm fine I don't need to…"Christy started.
However, Doc Martin would have none of it, 'Already she looks faint,' he thought as he proceeded to pull her over to a bench. "I swear you're more stubborn than Joe Cartwright ever was," Doc Martin fumed.
Christy sat down on the bench with a thud; she stared up at the man who'd been helping her. "How do you know Joe?" She asked somewhat surprised.
Doc Martin looked at the young woman he'd been helping, 'How in the world does she know who I'm talking about," he asked himself. "I was his doctor. Why do you know him?"
"Do I know him? Of course I know him he's my husband and the father to my unborn child," Christy said.
Doc Martin looked at her in shock, "You mean Joe is married!"
"Okay Cooch today's the day, Lo said she wanted you to be at the Death Star by the time that her and Joe are there." John spoke to the horse in a manner that spoke of his love of animals. "I hope I can pull this off you see I've never stole anything that was alive before." As John said this he hoisted himself into the saddle, "I hope this is worth it Lo if not I'm going to kill you."
"I got an idea Tate why don't you ride to Overton, Nevada and I'll give you a job," Joe thought that this made perfect sense.
"Maybe I'll take you up on that Joe, but I have a few things to settle before I do," Tate replied.
"Okay, then why don't you and your men leave the other passengers personal effects in tacked and leave?" Joe asked.
Tate looked at Joe wondering what had happened to the Joe he used to know the one that was carefree and reckless. "Why do you want me to leave the other passengers alone Joe?"
"Because Tate, I don't think my sister-in-law or the two men on the stage appreciate the idea of getting robbed."
Tate chuckled, "You mean to tell me you actually got yourself hitched that it wasn't a fraud?"
"Yes Tate I'm telling you just that," Joe smiled, "And since I'm pretty sure that my wife would kill me if I let anything happen to her twin sister. Well let's just say that I don't want to take a chance."
Adam looked out the window of the stage as it pulled into Virginia City and he was shocked to see a man, a stranger to him, riding Cochise into town. "Hey Carl do you know who that is riding my brother's horse?"
"Why yeah I do Adam, that there is John Winston your Pa hired him about a week after you left," Carl answered.
"But what is he doing on Cochise," Adam was somewhat amazed at the fact that his father had allowed Cooch out of his sight.
"Oh, well rumor has it that your Pa hired him to exercise that horse every day," Carl replied.
Ben had had an uneasy feeling all day; at least since, he walked out to the barn only to find that John had already left. 'Why did I let that man ride Joe's horse, why?'
Hoss had ridden out to the herd to check how it was the whole way there he was thinking about the past.
"Has it really been three years since I last saw him," Hoss asked aloud. He was remembering all the crazy schemes that Joe had gotten him into when he heard a shot and almost as soon as he heard the shot everything went black.
Kate had just come home from town when she heard a horse come in the yard she walked out to see who it was and she nearly fainted when she saw Chubb, with blood on his saddle. She screamed bringing Ben and Hop Sing out of the house almost immediately. When Ben saw Chubb without Hoss he paled and would have fallen had Hop Sing not caught him, and even then it was hard because of the thin layer of snow on the ground.
"Easy Chubb easy boy," Ben spoke softly to the horse, "Where's your master huh boy?"
Kate was still in shock as she watched her father-in-law ride out in search of Hoss. Her mind drifted back to the night before when Hoss had taken her out for a mid-night ride around the lake it had been so wonderfully beautiful that it was beyond words. Hoss and her had sat on a rock as Hoss made her laugh with stories of how it was before Joe had disappeared. Soon though he'd gotten to chocked up to speak and they just sat there in silence waiting for the sunrise. At about one in the morning Kate reached up to grab the head of her big man and kissed him lovingly, Hoss had returned her kiss with such passion that she was speechless by the time they broke apart.
"Thanks Kate I needed that," Hoss had whispered in a husky voice. So for the rest of the night they'd not left each other's arms and by the time that dawn broke they'd had the most romantic evening since their wedding night.
"Doesn't anything scare you," Doc Martin asked Christy. They had just finished talking about how Christy had met Joe and what had been happening since Doc had last seen Joe.
"Well yes I get scared every time I think about what might happen to Joe on the way out here. I also get scared when I think of what might happen when I have the baby." Christy had been quite surprised to find out that Doc Martin had been Joe's doctor before he was taken.
"I think that's a natural reaction for most wife's and mother's, but I am quite glad we could see each other and talk." Doc was slightly curious about Joe's wife and it showed on his face.
"I guess you want to know about me now huh, Doc," Christy said with a sigh.
"Is it that obvious," Doc asked, a bit startled.
"Yes," Christy said with a smile.
"You scared now big man," the man who stood in front of Hoss asked, as he waved a burning branch in front of Hoss.
Hoss was tied tightly to a tree and he'd already been shot, burned, whipped, you name it, it probably had been done to him, yet he still said, "No."
"Man doesn't anything scare you," the man let the branch down.
The second man looked over at his partner, "I told you not to go for the big one. The big one's don't scare as easy."
Hoss had yet to figure out what these men wanted, since he'd come to conciseness that had done everything in their power to scare him.
"We've got to find Hoss soon," Ben told the hands. "If we don't it maybe to late."
All the hands nodded they knew how much their boss had went through in the past two years and they didn't want anything more to happen to this family whom they loved.
"Let's go men," Charlie the Ponderosa Forman shouted.
"Where is he?"
Well Hoss now knew that they were looking for someone, but who?
"Where is he, big man," Hoss' capture asked again.
"Who," Hoss asked his voice cracking from disuse and lack of water.
"Your younger brother Joe that's who," The young man was getting impatient, "Now I know you know where he's at so, where is he?"
"I don't know I haven't seen him in two years," Hoss was shocked these men thought he knew where Joe was, but how could he when he hadn't seen his brother in years. Then a thought hit him, "Why do you want Joe?"
"Like you don't know," the young man said.
"Maybe he doesn't know, Curly," the older man said. He'd been sitting there watching the younger man torture Hoss. "Did you ever think of that huh you idiot, and if he doesn't know then we're wasting our time and we're never going to get our money back."
"Aw, Dave I know he knows just think I've got five thousand riding on this," the man named Curly said.
"I bin thinkin', Curly, I figure thet, thet Cartwright we ran into in New Orleans was playin' fair," the one called Dave said.
"How can you say that Dave you lost five thousand to him too," Curly said.
"I can say thet 'cause I figure thet if we don't leave right now we's goin' to be eatin' lead," Dave said pointing off to the south where about twenty men including Ben were riding towards them.
"Oh, shoot," Curly said, "Let's get out of here."
Both men turned and saddled their horses and took out of there like their tails were on fire. Hoss looked after them and thought, 'Their going to be hard pressed to escape from the Ponderosa.' But he didn't have time to think much else as the Ponderosa hands thundered past him and his Pa was there untying him and telling someone to get a doctor.
"Pa," Hoss muttered.
Ben whipped around, Hoss hadn't come to for nearly three days, "Hoss you're awake."
Hoss tried to laugh but it hurt too much, "Did ya catch 'em?"
Ben frowned, here they'd been worrying about Hoss and he was wondering if they'd caught his abductors. "Yes we caught them."
"Good, Pa did they tell ya why they took me?"
"No, they won't speak to anyone, now you need to quit worrying about that and get some food in you," Ben said with a stern voice.
"They said they'd been cheated," Hoss struggled to get the word's out, "They'd said Joe was cheating."
Ben's brow furrowed, that's all Hoss had talked about when he'd been out of his head he'd said Joe'd been cheating. "Hoss what do you mean son?"
"Those men thet took me they said that a man in New Orleans, a man named Joe Cartwright had been cheating and thet he'd cheated them each out of Five thousand dollars."
Ben looked to where Adam stood on the other side of the bed, Adam shrugged and turned to look out the window, it was at that moment that Ben realized that Adam hadn't told him everything. Ben went to say something else to Hoss but he was already asleep, "You sleep son and when you wake up we'll talk some more," Ben whispered as he got up motioning Adam to follow him.
'I'm going to die,' Hoss thought not for the first time in the last few minutes. Ever since his Pa'd found him he'd been thinking he was going to die. Hoss opened his eyes and looked around the room he spotted his wife Katie asleep in the chair next to his bed.
"Kate..." Hoss whispered.
Almost immediately, Kate woke up, "Hi honey how are you feeling?"
Hoss didn't reply for his mind had drifted elsewhere, to why those men had tried to kill him. They'd said that they had done it to try and get his youngest brother Joe, but why had they said that Joe had been cheating? Then his thought's turned to when he'd first come to he could've swore he heard Adam's voice, but Adam wasn't here, was he?
Suddenly Kate's voice cut in to his thought's answering his question about Adam, "Hoss honey Adam came home today, he really want's to talk to you so please honey get better."
Hoss was beginning to fade out when he heard voices coming from downstairs, 'Why is Pa yelling at Adam?' Hoss wondered, 'I think I'm going to die,' was Hoss' last coherent thought for awhile as another wave of pain ran through him.
"HOW COULD YOU NOT TELL ME!" Ben shouted at his oldest after Adam had just told his Pa that Joe was married and that his wife was pregnant.
"Pa, calm down you'll wake Hoss up," There was almost an immediate reaction, "Now to answer your question's, first off I didn't tell you 'cause you were so worried about Hoss at the time. Second I hadn't even been home long enough to even say hello when you lit into me about Hoss, and why those two men did this to him."
Ben realized that what Adam was saying was all true, he'd been so worried about Hoss he'd just lit into Adam and Adam didn't even have a clue what had been going on. "I'm sorry Adam I'm just so worried about Hoss."
Adam smiled, "I know Pa, and when Hoss gets better I'll tell you every thing I know about what Joe's been doing for the last two year's right now I want you to get some rest."
Ben smiled at Adam, "Alright son, but what are you planning on doing."
Adam looked right in his Pa's eyes and said, "After I change my clothes I plan on riding to town too talk to those varmint's that almost killed my brother."
As Joe and Tate walked back to the Stagecoach, they talked about old times and then Joe asked Tate if he'd ever stolen anything.
"Ahh shoot, Joe I haven't stolen anything yet, this was my first job," Tate said.
Joe nodded, "It's a good thing you haven't stole anything, 'cause I don't think my wife would like me hiring a thief."
Tate laughed, "I guess she wouldn't, by the way what's your wife like?"
Joe smiled, "She's an angel."
Tate smiled, "You must really love her."
"Yes I do," Joe said.
After Christy told Doc Martin about her past he was silent for a few minutes, but then he looked at her and asked, "You were stolen right from under your families nose and they didn't know it for two day's?"
Christy looked at Doc Martin before answering, "That is true, but Doc you gotta understand that I loved to wander away and I'd stay away for a day sometimes."
Doc stared at her for a minute, "Well my coriosity is satisfied now. I've got to go now I'm glad I met you Christy." Doc said as he got up to go.
"I'm glad I met you to Doc, and Doc could you do me a favor," Christy asked.
"Anything."
"Well," she was a bit cautions, "Could you forget everything I've told you about Joe or at least not mention him?"
Doc was startled by her request but said, "Of course I can."
"Thanks Doc and Good-bye"
"Good-bye Christy."
"He'll be fine in time," the doctor who'd been filling in while Doc Martin was away told Ben. "With a little rest and some food he should be on his feet within the next two weeks."
Ben let out a sigh of relief, "Thank you doctor we've been so worried."
The doctor smiled, "It's a family's right to worry about their loved one's Mr. Cartwright."
"I know that Dr. Jenn, but I can't help it," Ben smiled, "Let me walk you to the door doctor."
"Roy I demand to talk to them!" Adam yelled.
"Now Adam I want you to calm down, or I won't even let you back there," Roy said calmly.
Adam immediately calmed, "Roy all I want to do is talk to them."
"Alright, but I don't want you to get any closer then you need to."
"Just between you and me Joe I never wanted to be a gambler I just wanted to live a normal life like anybody else," Tate admitted to his friend as they continued to walk back to the stage.
Joe looked a Tate sympathetically, "I know the feeling Tate, and to tell the truth I never thought I'd leave home yet here I am. I can't contact my family for another eight years, and I want to tell them everything that's happened in the past two years but I can't." Joe was beginning to get frustrated as he spoke, "And then Jess has the nerve to tell me that my first two children will be taken away when they turn eighteen!"
"Joe calm down I think my men are getting nerves," Tate spoke softly trying to calm Joe down.
Joe quit ranting when he saw the looks on the faces of the other robbers, "Sorry Tate."
Tate smiled, "That's alright Joe I understand."
Once Roy had let him into the back Adam sat down and looked at the two men that had tortured his brother for information that he didn't posses.
"So you think you're a big man don't you," Dave said breaking the silence. "You come in here and demand to talk to us as if you own the whole world then you don't say a thing."
"Would you just shut up Dave," Curly said in an annoyed tone.
"Would you both please be quiet," Adam asked in as calm a voice as he could muster.
Dave almost said something else but when he saw the look in Adam's eyes he decided against it.
"Thank you. Now you're probably wondering why I came to see you two lowdown scum."
Dave tried to protest but was cut off by Adam.
"I don't care what you think of what I'm calling you, you will listen to me without interrupting or I will be forced to take actions ensuring that you will not be leaving prison for a long, long time."
After that the two men kept quiet and just listened, "Now I will tell you this just once and I don't want you to repeat it to anyone not even each other. You both almost killed my little brother and I'm not to happy about that, but I have the capability to make your time in prison a little easier if you will cooperate."
So Adam made his proposal telling them if they didn't say anything about Joe he would make life a little easier on them, but if they said one word about what Joe did for a living they would more than likely never see the light of day again.