CHAPTER FOUR
Throughout the rest of April and into May, the family continued to follow the news from the war. In early April, things continued to go well for the Union in the western theater as General Grant celebrated another victory at the Battle of Shiloh, which opened access for the Union to northern Mississippi. But in the main theater of the war, progress was painstakingly slow, when it was being made at all. The Army of the Potomac, including Dr. Jacob Cartwright, had finally left Washington, DC, in March to head toward the Confederate capital of Richmond. By early April, more than 120,000 Union troops had moved into the Virginia Peninsula between the York and James rivers and were ready to march overland toward Richmond. As the month of May progressed, the army came within six miles of Richmond, where they engaged the Confederates in the Battle of Seven Pines on May 31 and June 1. The battle was inconclusive. Both sides suffered about the same number of casualties, and both, therefore, claimed victory. But the new Union general, George McClellan, lost his confidence and refused to press on to Richmond, and President Lincoln soon replaced him with General John Pope.
Josie waited anxiously for word from her father. Finally, in mid-June, she received a telegram from Hannah saying Jacob had written her and he was all right, though very busy tending to soldiers injured in the battle. Josie shared the telegram first with Ben, who wiped his brow in relief and gathered her into a warm embrace.
As the war raged, work continued on the Ponderosa. In late June, Adam and Little Joe would lead a cattle drive to Eastgate, about 100 miles east of Virginia City, and they had to round up the cattle. It was a small drive by Ponderosa standards, only 200 head, but it would test whether Eastgate would be a viable new market for their beef.
In mid-June, on what felt like the hottest day any of them had lived through, Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe rode out to round up the cattle for the drive. The oldest and youngest Cartwright brothers were grumpy from the moment they stepped out of the house. The sun was already broiling at seven a.m., and Adam immediately regretted wearing a black shirt. Little Joe groaned, tipped his hat low over his eyes, and shuffled along behind Adam as they made their way to the barn to get their horses. Hoss, however, was his usual cheerful self. His brothers typically welcomed his optimism, but today it made them murderous.
"Nothin' like a hot day to really get your blood flowin, eh fellas?" Hoss said, grinning broadly. Adam and Little Joe glared at him.
"You said that about cold days back in February when we had to ride to town through waist-deep snow," Adam grumbled.
"Works on cold days, too, I reckon," Hoss chirped, still grinning.
The three brothers mounted up and rode out to the pasture where the cattle were grazing. Hoss was annoyingly cheerful the entire way. As they rode through a copse of ponderosa pines, he inhaled deeply.
"I love that smell," he said blissfully. "It's even better on hot days 'cause the sun bakes out the scent."
Adam and Little Joe shot each other an irritated glance. "This is going to be a very long day," Adam thought.
He was right. Every time they encountered a hiccup, Hoss explained why it was actually a good thing. A broken fence was convenient: now they didn't have to ride all the way around to the gate. Finding some Lucky Star cattle mixed in with theirs gave them an excuse to visit the Crofts. When they broke for lunch and discovered their sandwiches were squashed nearly beyond recognition, Hoss quipped how lucky that was because now they wouldn't need to use so much of their precious energy for chewing.
"Would you cut it out?" Little Joe snapped. "Sometimes a miserable day is just a miserable day." Adam nodded in agreement.
"Aw, c'mon now, Joe," Hoss said, his smile never fading. "Pa always says every cloud has a silver linin'."
"Well, Pa ain't here," Joe retorted. "Can we please just have black clouds today?"
"You mean like those big ones rollin' in?" Hoss asked, pointing up at the sky.
Adam followed Hoss's gaze and groaned. Ominous black storm clouds were gathering in the distance and heading their way. The brothers wolfed down the rest of their sandwiches so they could try to finish their work before the storm arrived, but it was to no avail. By midafternoon, the storm had broken loose, and they had to finish their roundup in the driving rain. All three were soaked to the bone in seconds, making Adam and Little Joe even grumpier.
"Name one upside to this, Hoss!" Adam shouted at his brother. "Name ONE!"
"Well," Hoss said, grinning through the rain streaming down his face, "you ain't hot no more, are ya?"
Little Joe drew his gun.
"Don't shoot him," Adam said unenthusiastically. "If you shoot him, then we only have two people to finish the work of three."
Little Joe scowled but dropped his gun back in its holster. The brothers finished their roundup as quickly as they could, secured the cattle in a pen, and hightailed it home through the pouring rain.
By the time they reached the house and handed their horses to Jimmy, who kindly offered to groom them, all three men were coated in thick, goopy mud from head to toe. They peeled off their boots, socks, and shirts on the porch and gratefully accepted the towels Josie handed out as they tumbled, exhausted, into the house.
"Oh, I hope this isn't a bad omen for our drive tomorrow," Adam said as he rubbed his hair with his towel. Josie giggled when he pulled the towel off his head; the sticky mud had made all his hair stand on end.
"You look like a porcupine," she said.
Adam glanced in the mirror and sighed. "I'm going to take a bath," he said and tromped upstairs.
Before long, Adam was lounging in cool water up to his chest. He leaned his head against the back of the tub and closed his eyes, knowing this was going to be his last bath for at least a week. He tried to figure out why he was dreading this drive so much. One hundred miles was a short drive, and 200 cattle were certainly no trouble. And despite their tendency to butt heads at home, Adam was fond of traveling with Little Joe. Away from the concerns of running the ranch, he could relax and better enjoy his brother's antics. Joe's lust for life was infectious if you let it get to you. He was probably just uneasy because this would be the longest he'd been separated from Josie since she arrived on the Ponderosa nearly a year ago. He reassured himself that she'd have fun spending extra time with Ben and Hoss, who could also comfort her if they received bad news from the war. Noticing his bathwater had turned brown from all the mud he had scrubbed off, Adam hopped out of the tub, got dressed, and joined his family downstairs for supper.
Adam and Little Joe rose early the following morning, hoping to get a few miles in before the heat of the day fully descended. After a quick breakfast, they said their farewells to the family, each of them going back to Josie for a second hug.
"Sorry I'm going to miss the Fourth of July," Adam told her.
"It's all right," Josie said. "Hoss said he would buy me some ice cream, and Uncle Ben offered to stand in for you on the dance floor."
Adam grinned and ruffled her hair, purposefully knocking it loose from its braid. "Have fun," he said. He kissed her forehead, and he and Little Joe set off.
The heat was every bit as brutal as it had been the day before, and the terrain they crossed as they headed east was rocky and mountainous. The near-desert offered no shade, and both brothers were sunburned by the end of the first day. Adam cursed himself again for wearing another black shirt. Their evenings, at least, were pleasant. When the sun set, the temperature dropped dramatically, bringing much-needed relief to the two sweltering men. The cooler air injected some life back into them, and Little Joe kept Adam in stitches telling him funny stories of some of his and Hoss's shenanigans that Pa knew nothing about.
"Did I ever tell you how I got Josie into trouble with one of her dormitory mothers last year?" Adam asked Joe one night. Little Joe shook his head, and Adam relayed the story of him kissing Josie's cheek on the dormitory steps and then running off while the house mother screeched at her. Joe cackled.
"Older Brother, I certainly am proud of you," Little Joe said, slapping Adam on the back.
When they rolled into Eastgate after a week on the trail, the brothers were exhausted and filthy, but pleased. The terrain had been tough and the heat merciless, but they had successfully driven all 200 cattle to the buyer. While Adam went to the bank to collect their payment, Little Joe retired to the saloon. Adam finished up quickly at the bank, stuck their money in his wallet, and sauntered across the street to the saloon, where he found Joe already polishing off his first beer. He was delighted to see that Joe had ordered one for him, too.
"Hey, brother, how'd you do?" Little Joe asked as Adam breezed through the saloon doors and sat down next to him at a green, felt-topped table.
"Oh, pretty good," he replied. "Five thousand dollars." He smiled.
"Hey, five thousand! Pa was right when he said the people around here were hungry for meat."
Adam pulled a fifty-dollar bill out of his wallet and slid it to Little Joe. "Little celebration money," he said. After a week on the hot, dusty trail, Adam was overjoyed to be out of the sun and drinking beer with his little brother, and the feeling made him generous. He ordered a second round for himself and Little Joe.
Joe thanked him for the money. "I don't know what I'm gonna celebrate in this town," he said, folding the bill and putting it in his pocket. "Hey, bartender," he said as the bartender set down his and Adam's fresh beers, "what do you do for celebration in this town besides getting heat rash and sunstroke?" He grinned.
The bartender thought for a second. "Well, we got a big trial starting up tomorrow. Folks'll be coming in from miles around."
Joe thought this sounded interesting. They didn't get many trials in Virginia City, so he asked what the case was about.
"Obadiah Johnson," the bartender answered. "He owns the Lucky Seven mine with a man named Jeb Early—the late Jeb Early, that is. Seems Obadiah up and killed his wife and his partner both. Claimed the partnership was going too far." He raised one eyebrow knowingly and returned to the bar.
"I'd kinda like to see that trial," Little Joe said. "How about you, Adam?"
"Nah," Adam said, stretching back in his chair. "I think I'll just get away for a few days." Since there was no possibility of making it home by the Fourth of July anyway, a few days free of responsibilities sounded wonderful. "No people, no cattle. Just peace and quiet," he said, lifting his mug and taking a deep swig of his beer.
"Yeah?" Joe said. "What do you have in mind?" He had never understood Adam's delight in solitude. Little Joe found being alone depressing.
Adam swirled his beer in his mug. "Oh, I think I'll cut east over the mountains, do a little hunting, work my way over to Pyramid Lake, get in a little fishing, and head home." He took another long draft from his mug.
Little Joe stared at him incredulously. "Come on! You must be out of your mind. That country you're gonna go through is ten times tougher than we just brought the cattle through."
"What's the matter? Can't take it anymore?" Adam teased.
"Nope," Little Joe replied, and they both chuckled.
"Well, I'm gonna get some supplies, get a nice, hot bath, and head on out. You ready?" He looked over his mug at Little Joe.
Joe shook his head. "I'll go with you as far as the bath is concerned, but riding through that terrain isn't my idea of a rest. I think I'll just hang around town for a while and take it easy." He drained his glass. "Tell you what I'll do. I'll meet you in three days up at Signal Rock."
"All right," Adam agreed. "Signal Rock in three days. Now let's get that hot bath."
The two men rose, and Little Joe thanked the bartender for his hospitality. Noticing that Adam hadn't finished his second beer, he grabbed the mug from the table and took one last quaff before they headed out the door toward the bathhouse down the street.
They never noticed the thin man who followed them out of the saloon.
The man ambled over to his friend, a shorter, stockier fellow, who was waiting by the hitching post just outside the saloon doors.
"The dark-haired fella," the thin man said, "he's carrying five thousand dollars."
The friend watched the Cartwright brothers as they entered the bathhouse. "A live one, eh?" he said.
"But not for long," the thin man replied with a twisted smile.
Less than an hour later, Adam was dressed in clean jeans and a cream-colored shirt—he'd learned his lesson about wearing black in the middle of the summer—and was combing his hair while Little Joe luxuriated in the hip bath behind him.
"Adam," Little Joe began, folding his arms lazily behind his head, "I can't for the life of me figure out why you want to wander around in the wilderness when you can stay here in town for a couple of days and just relax and take it easy. Besides, we can take in that trial together." This was as close as Joe would come to admitting that he wanted Adam there to explain some of the more technical legal proceedings to him.
"No," Adam said, trying to brush back the lock of hair that still insisted on flopping over his brow. "The cattle buyer told me about the case. The man confessed, so he'll hang. I don't want to watch that."
"How do you know he's gonna hang?" Joe scoffed. Adam was smart, but even he couldn't predict the future.
"Simple logic. He's guilty. He'll hang. It's the law."
Joe managed to look annoyed even as he poured a cup of water over his head. "Does everything have to be so logical?"
"No, not if you don't want to use your brains," Adam said, sticking his hat on his head. At least that would keep his hair out of his eyes. "Look, Joe," he explained as he belted on his gun, "a man's responsible for what he does. If he loses control of himself, he has to be punished for it, and that's the way it is."
"Yeah," Little Joe conceded. "I just wonder if you'd feel that way if you were in Obadiah's shoes."
"Well, I could never be in Obadiah's shoes because nobody could ever drive me to murder. With one exception." Adam stepped behind the bathtub.
"Oh, yeah? Who's that?" Joe asked innocently.
"You!" Adam said and shoved his little brother underwater.
Joe flailed for a moment and then resurfaced, sputtering. He grabbed a towel and wiped the water out of his eyes. "Doggone you, Adam!" he squawked. Adam burst out laughing. "I'm gonna get you!" Joe threatened.
"Oh no, you aren't, 'cause I'm leaving!" Adam shouted, still laughing, as he darted out the door.
Joe nearly leapt from the tub, but then, remembering he was stark naked, grabbed his back brush and hurled it toward his brother's retreating figure.
Adam waited a moment, then poked his head back in the door. "Signal Rock. Three days," he said, pointing a finger at Little Joe. "And be on time for a change." He grinned and darted back out the door.