"Well, look at the state of you two."

Cordell sat straight-backed in his saddle, his duster covering the flanks of his horse. His clothes were neat and clean, despite the days spent living on the road. Adam looked down at his own attire. His pants were scuffed and dusty, his shirt torn from where he had caught it on trees and rocks. Clara had fared worse. Her hair hadn't seen a brush in many days, her ripped skirt revealing torn and muddied stockings.

"Forgive us if we were unable to attend to our daily toilette while trying to get away from you."

Cordell cast his eyes down as a slow grin crawled across his face. "And did you really think you had got away from me? Cartwright, we've had you in our sights for the last three days. I must say, the way the girl dealt with that old coot while you were wobbling back and forth fighting over that rifle, I was impressed."

Adam looked up slowly at Cordell, his brows drawn low over eyes shimmering with anger. He climbed to his feet.

"Are you telling me you've been right behind us this whole time?" He spun back to point at the bedraggled child crouching on the grass with her arms wrapped tightly around her legs. "Look at her. Look at the state of her. She's barely had enough to eat, she's been sick, at the end of the day she can scarcely put one foot in front of the other. And you've been following us with food, blankets, horses! She's not a commodity you can trade. She's a child, for God's sake."

Cordell's eyes flashed. "Don't get all indignant with me, Cartwright. Not after you decided to let your tired little puppy have playtime on this hill."

Adam hung his head. "She needed a break after what…" he glanced at Clara who was following the conversation with wide eyes. Adam lowered his voice. "After what your man did to her mother."

Cordell frowned, looking away sharply. Adam wondered at his reaction. But Cordell soon composed himself. "Well I decided to hurry things along a little. You two were taking way too long."

Without taking his eyes off Adam he spoke over his shoulder. "Nate, get his rifle."

As Nate followed his boss's order, Cordell walked his horse over to Adam. "I believe this is yours." He threw Adam's hat down to land at his feet. The crown was squashed flat. "I'm afraid one of the horses trampled it."

Adam bent to swipe his hat from the ground and beat it back into shape against his thigh.

"Oh, and Cartwright, hand over the knife."

Adam shrugged his shoulders. "What knife? I don't have a knife."

Cordell shook his head and sighed. "You forget…" He reached behind him and pulled out a telescope from his saddle bag. "I had my eye on you every minute of every day." He thrust it back out of sight and held out a gloved hand. "Now, hand over the knife."

Adam met Cordell's cool gaze with one of his own, but he knew he couldn't out bluff him and remain in one piece. With a long exhalation of breath, he bent down, pulled the pocket knife out of his boot and slammed it into Cordell's outstretched palm.

Cordell turned the blade over in his hand and then, pulling his arm back, he threw it as far as he could. The sun flashed off the metal as it spun in an arc over Adam's head and disappeared out of sight.

"Time to mount up."

Adam held out his hand to Clara who jumped to her feet and took hold of it with both of hers. He hadn't felt so helpless since the day thieves stole his horse, gun and water, and left him to die in the desert. But he'd survived that, and he'd survive this too. If only for Clara's sake.

~8~

The sound of a horse being ridden hard up the road on the other side of the rise drove Ben and Joe to their feet, their hands ready on their holstered weapons. As the vibration along the track intensified, a large white hat appeared on the horizon, soon followed by the rest of the rider. It was Hoss, riding at speed towards them.

"Pa, Joe, I found something," he shouted, as he reined Chubb into a skidding halt which churned the dust up around them.

Ben and Joe wasted no time in bundling up their belongings and dousing the fire with the dregs of the coffee. All the while, Chubb was skittering on the track, aware of the tension in his master's body, impatient to stretch out his neck and ride. In less than a minute, Chubb got his wish as the three men retraced Hoss's steps, galloping along the track until coming to a standstill on the side of a river valley.

"I nearly got us a rabbit, chased the darn thing all the way down here, and then I saw that." He pointed at the ground before them and dismounted. "You can see where a ton o' horses were halted. See back there, where we just come from, the tracks are all facin' the same direction, but here they stop, they're all turned around." He looked up at his father. "There's a broken bottle back yonder, and here are boot prints."

Joe spurred his mount on a few feet to look down at the churned-up earth. "Couldn't they have just stopped for a break?"

Hoss put his hands on his hips and looked up at Joe. "I don't think so, little brother. Each time they've done that before they've veered off road, found themselves someplace where they cain't be seen. This is the first time we've seen footprints on the road itself."

He turned to Ben, and took his hat off, hitting it against his thigh in a distracted manner. "There's something else, Pa, a little ways down the track." He kept his face lowered, avoiding his father's eyes.

"What is it?"

Hoss shot him a glance and then turned to grab Chubb's reins. "It'll be better if I just show ya."

The three men trotted along the track. Hoss stopped where the road forked with one path branching downwards through a thick forest of trees, and the other rising steeply to the top of the ridge.

"It's just up this a-ways." He seemed reluctant to go any farther, flicking a glance at his father before walking Chubb a short distance up the steep track. He dismounted and with a heavy step and stooping shoulders walked off the track and into the scrub.

Hoss didn't have to indicate to them what he had found. Ben stared and then slowly stepped down from his horse. With a faltering tread he moved to where his middle son was looking at a long pile of heaped-up stones. It was a freshly dug grave.

Ben's legs threatened to give way and within moments both Joe and Hoss were either side of him, their hands hooked around his arms to keep him upright. He shook them off gently.

"I'm alright, don't fuss, I'm alright."

They released their grip but stayed by his side, watching as Ben bent down to softly caress one of the stones.

"Pa," Joe's voice drew a slight head turn from Ben. "Pa, just because we've found a grave, doesn't mean its Adam."

"It ain't Adam." Hoss's sure tones grabbed both Ben and Joe's attentions.

"How can you be so certain?"

Hoss moved to the other end of the grave and dropped to his haunches. "Look at it, Pa. Someone took a lot of time and care with whoever is buried here. All the rocks are the same size, that'd take a lot of searchin'."

Hoss was right. Every rock was nearly identical in size, laid with great attention and care over the body. Not the action of someone burying a kidnap victim.

"And lookee here." He lifted a single rock which was larger than the others and placed centrally on the top. Beneath it was a powder blue pendant faced with a cameo of a young girl. "I figure this here's a woman's grave, maybe the woman taken the same time as Adam."

Ben was ashamed to feel relief flooding his body. He nodded at Hoss and turned to find his youngest. Joe's back was turned, his hands splayed across his hips and he was gazing down at the ground. Ben recognised the signs: Joe was struggling to contain his emotions. He watched as Joe picked a pebble up from the ground and threw it violently into the valley below, muttering something under his breath.

"What's that, son?"

Joe turned and Ben looked upon a face dark with anger. "I said, they killed a woman. How could… why would…?" He looked away.

Ben reached out a hand to grip his boy's arm but Joe was too consumed with rage to feel the comforting touch of his father. He spun around to stare over the valley again.

"Son, these men don't care. I know it's tough to deal with but we've encountered people like this before. It doesn't make it any easier, but—"

Joe twisted back to face his father. "Pa, if they can kill a woman, what about Adam? They wouldn't think twice about...about dealing with him if he caused trouble."

"And what about the girl?" Hoss's question caused Joe and Ben to look at him with stunned expressions. "The townsfolk said the woman had a child with her. What's happened to her?"

And then all three men were moving in unison to their horses. No words needed saying. It was suddenly clear they couldn't waste any more time. And with Hoss in the lead following the horse tracks up and over the ridge, they spurred their mounts on, the urgency in their search suddenly stronger than ever.

~8~

Adam refused to let Clara ride her own mount, despite the rifle aimed at his head. He gripped the girl's hand tightly within his own and stood defiant, staring hard at Cordell.

"Is it really worth a bullet?" he spat.

Cordell's eyes bored into his for several long seconds before he pulled his rifle back into his lap and with a half-smile and shake of the head, indicated with a lazy wave of his hand that Adam had won this battle.

"But if you try anything, Cartwright," he said, as Adam boosted Clara up onto the horse he'd been assigned, "I'll put a bullet in your back."

Adam had his foot in the stirrup, and as he pulled himself up into the saddle, gathering the reins in his hands, he gave Cordell a sharp look. "Because that's what you people do, isn't it, Cordell? Shoot them in the back." And with his top lip curled in disgust, he reined his horse around to follow Nate.

The youngster had stayed silent throughout the exchange, choosing to stay back and only moving when ordered to do so. His face was badly bruised and judging by the looks he threw at his boss, he was clearly harbouring some animosity towards Cordell. As the group moved off, he spurred himself ahead and rode as lead along the track.

Clara's body was rigid; her muscles so tight she almost quivered in Adam's arms. The girl was terrified of Cordell after the shooting of her mother and flinched away each time the man looked at her or rode nearby. Adam lowered his mouth to her ear. "Remember what I told you about fear." She nodded and gradually her body began to relax.

Judging from the direction of the sun, they were travelling south which surprised Adam. Cordell had been behind him but now hurried his animal along so they were riding abreast. Adam put a comforting hand over Clara's when he felt her shrink away.

"You're wondering why we've not changed direction; why we're not heading west."

Adam wouldn't give him the satisfaction of an answer and kept his eyes fixed on the road ahead.

"Before we head over to San Francisco, I've a little transaction to take care of. The matter of a ransom. You, in return for a tidy pay-out."

"I told you my father and I are not—"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Cordell's voice was a sneer. "I know what you told me." He looked over at Adam. "I didn't believe you then, and I don't believe you now."

They rode on in silence. Adam had been determined not to ask, but he could keep quiet no longer.

"What's your plan?" He glanced at Cordell who wore a triumphant smile on his face and met Adam's look with one of smug satisfaction.

"We'll be at the beautiful Lake Tahoe in a matter of hours. It's not my first visit. I'm looking forward to seeing her again. We'll hole up there whilst Nate here redeems himself on a visit to your Ponderosa. Once your daddy has handed over what you're worth, we'll be on our way to Frisco to return this young lady to her father."

"Taking me with you?"

Cordell grinned. "You don't expect me to let you go free, do ya? I know you, Cartwright. You'll be a thorn in my side until one of us ends up dead. So I either take you with us, or kill ya. I haven't decided which yet."

They continued on until they crested a rise. There in front of them, shimmering calmly in the afternoon sun, was the alpine blue lake of Tahoe. All three men reined in simultaneously, struck dumb by the beauty before them. Even the ruthless natures of Cordell and Nate appeared bewitched.

For a moment Adam couldn't draw air. It was a sight he had seen only in his mind's eye for the last six years. A feeling of belonging, of being home, enveloped him, and he wondered why he had ever left. Clara was as transfixed as the rest of them and turned to look up at Adam, a rare smile on her face. Adam winked at her, but his pleasure was disrupted by Cordell.

"Quite a sight, ain't it? I can understand why you'd want to make this place your home. Play your cards right, Cartwright, and maybe you'll see it again."

Adam moved his horse on, his mood darkened by Cordell's words. But he wasn't to escape that easily as Cordell caught up with him.

"Once we've found a spot to camp and sent Nate away on his little errand, maybe I'll let you take a swim, seeing as how you like to be wet any chance you get."

Laughing to himself, Cordell motioned for Adam to ride ahead of him. Adam could do nothing but bristle with suppressed anger. But a gentle touch on his thigh made him turn his gaze to Clara who had twisted around to look at him.

"Don't worry, Adam, you'll think of something. I know you will."

His anger faded as he realised Clara had placed her faith, and her life, in his hands. He nodded. He'd think of something. Only, right now, he had no idea what.

~8~

It hadn't been difficult to follow the tracks of a dozen horses through the forest as it angled down towards the raging river. The remuda had cut a furrow across the forest floor, churning up the pine needles and the earth beneath. Branches and saplings were broken or twisted out of shape as the beasts had rampaged past. But there were other tracks. As Ben, Hoss and Joe had left the road and entered the forest, it was clear the gang had separated, following different routes down the slope. They split up, each man choosing a different path down the hillside.

"Pa! Joe!" Hoss's urgent call brought them back together. "I reckon Adam's got a lead on 'em."

Ben looked down at the ground where Hoss was looking and frowned. "Why do you say that?"

"Because they came down every which way rather than together, and they ain't split up like that afore. They were on foot and in a hurry." He dismounted and picked his way over to a section of the ground near the root of a tree. "Look here, you can see where one of them slipped." He knelt and ran his fingers over a smooth flat piece of mud in the shape of a long elongated footprint. "And there." He pointed. "There's a scrap of material. Looks like someone caught their shirt on that tree." He walked over to where Ben was studying the ground with new understanding. "Back there's where they brought the horses down. If this was the way they was intendin' to come all along, why didn't they all come down at the same time with the rest of the horses. Why slip and slide their way down on foot?' He looked up at his father. "Pa, I reckon they was chasin' someone, and seems to me the only person who would give them this much trouble is Adam."

"You don't know that for sure."

"I don't. But I got me a gut feelin', and I cain't rightly explain why, but I reckon older brother is suddenly makin' life a whole lot harder for those kidnappers."

Hoss's belief was infectious. Ben looked over to Joe whose face had puckered into a grin and then back to the unblinking gaze of his middle son. He shifted in his saddle.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go find your brother."

Joe whooped as he turned his horse.

And feeling more hope than they had since this whole ordeal had started, the three Cartwrights grinned and resumed their path down the hillside.

As Buck picked his way carefully downwards, Ben found himself picturing Adam in flight, fleeing from the gang who had taken him, and mumbled to himself, "that's my boy, that's my boy."

The river's roar grew louder as they descended the forest slope, and when their trail came to a sudden end at the top of a cliff, they got their first look at the raging waters beneath. Dismounting, the three men inched slowly to the cliff edge and peered down. The river was a formidable caged beast, fighting to escape the narrow confines of the canyon walls, and roaring so loudly it drowned out their voices. But this wasn't the time to admire the river's power, so after a few moments of shaking their heads in awe, they remounted and returned to the trail. It turned ninety degrees to run parallel with the river and gradually lowered until it was level with the river's surface. By this time it had broken free of the canyon and widened, its ferocity instantly diminishing. However, it was as the river quietened that the remuda's trail abruptly ran out. The horses had clearly been run into the water as the bank was broken and pitted with many hoof prints.

The men looked to the opposite bank and Joe's keen eyes instantly spotted where the horses had been driven out of the water and into a valley of undulating pasture.

They stayed in pursuit, fording the shallows and following a swathe of broken-down grass up the green valley. Through forest and up ridge they rode, across dry scrubland dotted with brush and pine, and they only stopped when necessary to water themselves and their horses.

The wilderness was true to its name. They encountered no one else as they rode, just an expanse of untamed, wild country. Only when the tracks led them to a newly abandoned miner's shack, did they come close to any semblance of human habitation. The detritus of mining equipment lay all around, and the building showed evidence of recent occupation, but it now sat alone in a clearing, all but ready to collapse and be reclaimed by the land. Joe shrugged his shoulders as he exited the small cabin, and he and Ben waited for Hoss to stumble out of the darkness of the mine into the blinding light. He shook his head, and without a word they continued on their way.

Making camp as the moon was rising, they slept for a few well-earned hours then rose before dawn while the light was still a grey haze.

Joe was slow in mounting up, fiddling unnecessarily with an already tight cinch.

"What's on your mind, Joe?" Ben recognised the signs in his distracted son.

Joe leaned heavily on his saddle. "What if they've caught up with him, Pa? He's one man. They're goodness knows how many with a supply of fresh horses. What if they've caught him, hurt him, what if—"

"Joe." Ben's voice was soft. "We're all thinking it. But worrying will only slow us down." He straightened his back. "And there might be just three of us, but I'd go up against an army to get one of you back."

His fierce gaze stirred his boys with his unyielding determination. Joe nodded and mounted, and soon the three riders were back on the trail, moving ever closer to the big blue lake and, God willing, their errant family member.