Chapter 3, by LizK

Joe didn't reply, he merely closed his eyes and nodded grimly. Hoss laid a hand on his shoulder, and gave Adam a look.

Adam caught the unspoken message; Hoss would stay with Joe. Turning to Doctor Martin, he walked with him to the door. "Thank you, Doc. Is there anything else we need to watch out for."

"Nothing, Adam, I think you all know the drill by now. Just try to keep him as quiet as possible until those bruises heal." He gave Adam a sympathetic look as Adam grimaced. Doctor Martin knew how difficult it was to keep Joe down. "I'll be out to the Ponderosa in a few days to check on him." He turned to leave then stopped and turned back. He hesitated a moment, then spoke his voice low. "It might not hurt for the rest of you to make yourself scarce for awhile as well. This was no random incident, Adam. Someone in town is stirring people up, and they don't have kind feelings towards any of the Cartwrights."

"Because of the trial?"

"Partly, that's the catalyst anyway, but it seems to me there's something else behind it." He smiled fondly at the young man. "Just watch yourselves and get out of town as quick as you can, and then stay there until this blows over."

Adam gave a nod. "Thanks, Doc. We'll be careful."

"Good night, Adam."

Adam turned, chewing thoughtfully on his bottom lip. Doctor Martin wasn't a man to strain at gnats. He looked over to where Hoss sat beside Joe.

"You heard?"

"Yep, I'm afraid Doc's right. I didn't notice it at first, but it seemed the longer we stayed in town the worse the feelin' got. Seemed everywhere we went there was people starin' at us. Made me feel like I had the crawly skin. " Hoss shuddered at the thought.

Adam briefly considered asking Hoss why in the world he and Joe had stayed in town then, and what in the world they were doing in The Yucca in the first place after Pa had told Joe to stay out of the place. But he realized Hoss was already blaming himself for not protecting Joe as it was and he didn't want to make it worse.

Instead he leaned over and laid a hand on Joe's forehead. He was slightly warm, but there was no sign of fever. Relieved he sat down in the chair next to Hoss. He leaned back and closed his eyes, as weariness threatened to overwhelm him.

He felt a hand on his arm, and opened his eyes to find Hoss's anxious face inches from his own.

"Adam, you all right?" Hoss's voice was low with concern.

Adam tried to give a reassuring smile. "I'm fine, Hoss, just tired." He studied Hoss a little closer, noticing the tell tale signs of weariness on his brother's face as well. "You look like you could use a little shut eye yourself." He commented.

Hoss lifted a corner of his mouth, and chuckled. "I'll be all right. The way things are I doubt either on of us is gonna be gettin' any sleep fer awhile yet."

Adam acknowledged the truth of Hoss's statement with a grunt. "No. No sleep for us until we get Joe safely back to the Ponderosa." He heaved himself to his feet with a sigh. "And we won't be doing that until I let Roy know what happened. I shouldn't be long." He placed a hand on Hoss's shoulder. "You'll be all right here?" It was more a question than a statement, and Hoss replied accordingly.

"We'll be fine. Folly said we could use the place as long as we needed, and ain't no one gettin' in here while I'm alive"

"Folly." Adam repeated. The name sparked an idea in Adam's mind, and his eyes narrowed thoughtfully. Hoss could almost see the wheels turning, and he realized Adam hadn't heard a word he'd said after he'd spoken her name.

"Adam?" Hoss tried to bring his brother back to the present.

"Hmmm?" Adam responded but Hoss could tell he was still thinking.

"Never mind, I'll stay here with Joe, you go on and do what ya gotta do, then get back here so we can get Joe home."

"Right, I won't be long." Adam headed out the door with hardly a backward glance.

Hoss watched him go with a smile on his face. Older Brother was on the scent of something he could tell. He looked over at Joe who slept soundly, with only occasional twitches to indicate his injuries were still hurting him some.

"Well, Little Joe, you sure got the bum end of the deal this time, but ole Adam's gonna make sure whoever did this pays fer it. I could see it in his eyes. And you jus' don' worry about a thing 'cause I'm here with ya, and I'm gonna make sure nothin' happens to ya. Ya got my word on that."

*******

Adam stood on the landing near the bottom of the stairs and scanned the crowded room below him. Even with dawn not far away the place was still humming, the added population from the impending trial and the feverish excitement caused by it gave the town a party atmosphere that at the moment was anything but reassuring to Adam. As it was, the crowd, the dim lights, and the smoky haze made it difficult to see and it took him some minutes to find what he was looking for. Finally he spotted Folly sitting alone in a far corner.

Swiftly he worked his way through the crowd toward her; keenly aware of the hostile glances being thrown his way as he did so. Hoss was right, it was enough to give a person the crawly skin. The town's mood was worse than Pa had realized, if he had known he never would have allowed Hoss and Joe to come into town.

He also realized that Doc had been on to something. This was more than people taking sides over Dirk Farrow's trial, and being upset about Pa's part in it. Though that was probably a part of it, there seemed something more sinister behind it. He pondered it as he sidestepped a cowboy who had fallen drunk at his feet, then pushed it aside as he approached the corner where Folly sat staring into the whisky glass in front of her.

She looked up as he approached and she wasn't pleased to see him, Adam could tell that. The look in her eyes became closed and wary. And Adam couldn't help feeling pleased with himself. Folly knew something, just as he had suspected. He smiled at her as he took the seat across from her.

"Mind if I set awhile?" He asked politely.

"Do I have a choice?" She retorted. Her words were slurred, and he wondered how many of those glasses she'd already had that evening.

He looked at her from under hooded eyes, and gave her a half smile. "Not really."

"I didn't think so." She waved a hand at him wearily. "All right, have at it. But I'm telling you right now," her green eyes snapped. "I don't know nothing." She stated boldly.

A smile hovered around Adam's mouth. "Which means you do know something." He pointed out.

Her only answer was to lift the whiskey glass, and give him a look over the top of it as she downed it.

"Come on, Folly. You and I both know this attack on Joe was no coincidence. The man said it was a warning. If you know something that will help me find who did this and why, please tell me."

He could see her wavering as uncertainty crossed her face. He laid a hand on hers and leaned forward looking deeply into her eyes. "Please, Folly." He pleaded softly, "I need to know."

Folly melted beneath that gaze, and all her defenses crumbled. It amazed her how this man could affect her like that, but he always had, from the very first moment she'd seen him. Though she tried hard to keep him from knowing that. He'd never look twice at a girl like her, not seriously anyway. She knew that, but it didn't make a difference. Everyone thought she was soft on Little Joe because of the way she had stood up for him and protected him from that miner. No one ever suspected that it had been his big brother she was thinking of at that moment. If she had her way no one would ever know.

As it was she knew she could never refuse him anything, especially not when he was looking at her as he was now. She pulled her hand away and sighed.

"I don't know much, Adam." She said woodenly. "It's just that I saw Cal Turner and another fella I didn't know, give each other a look and walk out just after Joe did. I didn't think much of it at the time, but then later I got to wondering." She stopped. Adam's face had hardened at the mention of Cal, and his jaw clenched. The look in his eyes frightened her.

"Thank you, Folly. That's all I needed to know." He started to rise, but she stopped him with a hand on arm.

"Adam, feelings are running high against your family right now." Her voice was low, intense and almost a whisper. "There's some who think your Pa should stay out of Virginia City's business, and it's making them do and say things they wouldn't normally do." She searched his face, trying to decide if he was hearing her. "Please, be careful. What Joe got, it's only the beginning..."

She stopped short, not knowing how much more to say. Talking too much could get a girl killed. She'd learned that lesson long ago. She paused, then looked earnestly into his eyes once more. "Just be careful." She repeated softly.

Adam knew she had been going to say more, but didn't press it. She had already told him as much as he needed to know. He squeezed her hand gently, and smiled at her. "Thanks, Folly, I'll be careful."

She gave him a tight smile and let him go.

As he made his way through the saloon once again, he could feel the hostility coming from every direction. The Yucca wasn't a saloon he frequented often, its clientele being made up of the seamier sort, and he'd often wondered at Joe being so enamored of the place. But the looks he was receiving now had nothing to do with the fact that he wasn't really one of them. There was an ugly undercurrent in the room directed toward him, and all he wanted to do was get out of there as quickly as he could.

He breathed easier when he stepped out of the saloon into the cool night air and heard the swinging doors shut behind him. He stepped forward to lean against one of the poles that held up the saloon's wooden awning. The sky to the east was lightening as dawn approached. Adam ran a hand wearily over his eyes and down his face, stopping at the feel of rough stubble on his chin. He needed a shave, though how long it would be before he got one was anyone's guess. He let his eyes travel up and down the street. Up here near the saloons the sounds of loud music and even louder voices made an almost eerie contrast to the deadly quiet of the rest of the street.

His thoughts turned to his brothers waiting for him upstairs in Folly's bedroom. He wondered at the wisdom of leaving Joe and Hoss alone now that he realized the extent of the animosity built up against them. He debated returning and moving Joe first then returning to speak to Roy later. Doc Martin had told them to get out of town as soon as possible, and after seeing with his own eyes what the doctor had been talking about, he had to admit the doc was right. On the other hand, if he waited, any evidence might be gone and the lead he had about Cal Turner might turn cold. He passed a hand over his face once again. If only he wasn't so tired, maybe it would be easier to decide what to do.