Chapter 7, by KEM

"Now what have you boys gotten yourself into now?" Doctor Martin asked with a tinge of irritableness.

Despite the fact that he'd said earlier that it was all right for Joe to be taken home that evening, his gut feeling had told him that the Cartwright boys probably wouldn't be heading home until they found out who had beaten up their youngest brother. And sure enough there they were, still in Folly's room. And not only that, now another Cartwright son was badly wounded and without a doubt because of their need for not letting things be.

"Folly said Adam's been shot. How did this happen?" he asked as he made his way over to the bed where the eldest Cartwright son lay still.

"Adam said he was goin' to see the sheriff about what happened to Joe. Next thing we know a shot rang out and Adam's fallin' through the door with a hole in his leg," Hoss replied with a bit of distress.

"Adam? Adam! Can you hear me, son?" Doc asked.

Not fully unconscious, Adam slowly opened his eyes to try and answer the familiar sounding voice.

"Adam, can you hear me?" Doc asked again.

"Yeah, I can hear you," Adam finally replied still not fully clear on what was happening around him.

"Can you tell me how you got this hole in your leg?"

Adam took a minute to soak in his surroundings and then tried to remember what he'd been doing prior to coming back to the room. He remembered that he had gone to see Sheriff Coffee about Joe's attack. But after that, things seemed a little less clear. He'd been heading back to the Yucca through the back alley entrance to get Joe and Hoss so they could finally head back home when...

"I remember bumping into something or someone as I was coming up the back entrance to the saloon. But before I could be sure of what it was, I heard a crack and then my leg gave out. Someone ran past me and into the entrance of the saloon. All I could think of at the time was Joe and Hoss, they were in danger. The rest... I don't remember completely, just bits and pieces," Adam replied finally.

"Do you remember what the person looked like that ran past you?" Doc asked as he examined Adam's wound.

Adam winced painfully grabbing handfuls of bed sheet as Doc probed his leg. Taking a deep breath to steady his senses, he answered, "I don't know what the person looked like. But I can definitely tell you what they smelled like. It was one of those expensive tonics."

"A tonic?" Doc asked a bit confused still examining the wound.

"Yeah, I remember it well because Joe decided to take a bath in one the last time we were at the mercantile. Called himself trying it out. He reeked of it for days. Cochise didn't even want to get near him, ran off all the chickens, had Hop Sing hopping mad," Adam added with a slight grin before wincing again from Doc's handy work, all the while thinking if it wasn't for the fact it was Doc, he would've smacked him hard for making him hurt worse, if that was even possible.

"Yeah, I remember that too. Dang near went hungry that night," Hoss chimed in agreement.

"Boy need take bath! Boy stink! Boy scare chicken!" Hoss remembered Hop Sing ranting while waving a meat cleaver angrily as he'd gone in search for that evening's supper.

"Good thing one of them chickens couldn't seem to smell the stuff. And, didn't Sally Mae tell Joe to stand down wind from her at the church social?" Hoss said as he reminisced with amusement.

"Laugh it up you two. But, this is no time for foolishness. We need to know who shot Adam," Joe said quickly to change the subject of his all too recent embarrassment.

"Well, there's more than likely a number of people wearing this tonic."

"Not this one, Doc. Tom at the mercantile said it'd been special ordered, but he didn't say who it was for," Joe clarified, leaving out the fact that Tom had some other choice words for him for wasting the very expensive tonic that he would have to reorder. "Bet all we need to do is find the person wearing it and we'll know who shot Adam."

"That may be easy, because the person who was wearing it must've been in this room or near it. I can still smell it," Adam replied. Then he quickly added,"And, I think it's making me sick."

"One of you get something for your brother, and quick!" Doc ordered.

With all the attention being paid to Adam and the shooting, no one noticed the stricken look that claimed Folly's facial features.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. "It's Sheriff Coffee, open up!"

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"Hop Sing!" Ben called as he stood by the hitching post with his faithful riding companion, Buck.

"Yes, Mr. Cartwright," Hop Sing answered as he returned from the bunkhouse.

"Are the men ready?"

"Yes, they gathering things for trip."

A few minutes later the men began filing out of the bunkhouse, gear in hand, ready to see what their boss had in store for them.

"Sorry to have to wake you men like this but, I need your help. My sons went into town earlier last evening and should have been back by now. I have a bad feeling with the town's current unstable atmosphere due to the impending trial, they may be in trouble. I'm asking for your help, but only if you want to," Ben said addressing the men that Hop Sing had been able to gather.

Without needing further explanation,"I'll go with you," said one of the men.

"So will I," said another.

And, the chorus of willingness to help continued. Many had been privileged to receive the assistance of the Cartwrights whenever they needed help. Now it was their chance to return the favor.

"I appreciate this, and I won't forget it,"Ben said feeling like a man blessed. "Saddle your horses and get ready to ride out. We have a long trip ahead of us."

As he mounted his own horse, Ben said a quick prayer that his sons would be safe and that his feelings would be all for naught.

"We're ready, Mr. Cartwright."

"All right men, let's head out."

Ben Cartwright and his men quickly rode out, but not without having been observed by a lone figure seated on a horse at the edge of the woods. Once Ben and his men were out of sight, the figure turned his horse and headed back the way he came. He needed to quickly update his boss on this fortunate turn of events.

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