IV.
A LITTLE WHILE AFTER ADAM LEFT THE SALOON
"Adam, I don't know what I can do for ya right now," apologized Roy Coffee. "You don't have any proof. For Pete's sake, you barely have any suspicions!"
Adam sighed. "I understand, Roy. I just thought you should know, because my Pa wasn't going to tell you…"
The door opened. Beth stepped in, wearing a dark blue cape over her dress and looking worried. Automatically, Roy and Adam got to their feet.
"Miss Rawls!" Roy greeted her, making his way over to her. "What brings you to my office?"
"I…was looking for Adam," said Beth softly. "I wanted to talk with him."
"Is something wrong?" asked Adam.
"Maybe?" she said, making it sound like a question.
"What is it?" asked Roy curiously.
Beth cleared her throat, giving Roy a nervous look. Sounding like a fool in front of Adam was bad enough; if what she was going to say was dumb, she didn't really want the Sherriff to hear. But maybe he should know. "Ah, that man – the one you said could be Bulls-eye Lee…"
"I didn't say that."
"Not in so many words, but you looked like it," she said. She knew him very well, indeed. "Anyway," she continued, "He was spending a lot of money, buying everyone whiskey. I don't think he was thinking so straight after you put all that drink in to him. Someone mentioned it to him, but he just shrugged it off. He said, 'Don't worry about it. I'll have money to burn real soon,' and then… I think I was the only person who heard, because I was standing near him…"
"What?" asked Roy impatiently, raising his eyebrows.
"He said, 'Thanks to Benjamin Cartwright.'"
Adam nodded, his face smooth as he tried to act unaffected.
Beth blushed, feeling suddenly silly. "I know it isn't much, but I kept remembering what you said about bounty hunting and shady deals, so I came to find you."
"He could've been talking about getting a job. You said he wanted one, Adam," suggested Roy.
"Not with the way he said 'real soon'," insisted Beth. "Maybe he's planning on robbing you?"
Adam shook his head slowly. "It's possible, but it seems like a lot of trouble to go to, when a man like that could make more by pulling a trigger than he could find in our safe."
"Then what do you think?" asked Beth.
"The letter. I've got an idea," said Adam suddenly. "Beth, my father should be with Doc Martin. Get them both."
She nodded eagerly and left the Sherriff's office.
Coffee looked at Adam expectantly.
"Don't worry," said the cowboy, smiling as though he found the situation a little funny. "This should clear things up, whether it proves me right or wrong."
AN HOUR LATER
"It'll be a fantastic bit of playacting," said Ben. "I don't think I've tried anything like this for years."
"It is better to make things happen on our time, not his," said Beth.
"Wait," said Roy, trying to understand. "Let me think." He couldn't help feeling that this plan of Adam's was weaker than most, and that it would end badly.
It was about an hour later, and Adam had just finished explaining his idea to Roy, Beth, Doc, and his father. They'd looked for Hoss and Joe to no avail, and eventually decided it could be explained to them later.
"So," continued the Sherriff, "you want Doc Martin to declare Ben dead, because then this Lee will check on it himself as soon as he can, instead of waiting to attack at his own leisure?"
"I think it's a marvelous idea!" cried Beth, who was sitting near the door and listening to Adam with an expression of admiration.
"I think there's a million ways it could go wrong," said Doc Martin slowly, "but I'm for it too. If he doesn't try to see Ben, he might just leave. That's what I would do."
Roy shrugged. "Adam, I hope you know what you're doing."
Adam looked at Ben, the last to give his consent. Did he not like the idea? But Ben nodded readily enough.
"It will be a relief to have everything settled," he admitted.
"Alright," said Adam, picking his hat up from Roy's desk and putting it back on. "I want to do this now, before Francis Lee starts 'thinking straight' again."
"Should I go find Joe and Hoss?" asked Beth.
"If you see them alone, explain. Otherwise I'll tell them myself, later," said Ben, and then he and Doc Martin left the office.
Roy sat back in his chair, having second thoughts. "I hope that the citizens of the town don't do anything they'll regret."
"It wouldn't be the first time," added Beth, at once worried.
"Don't worry," Adam assured them both, "I won't let anyone get ahold of me before I make my escape."
Beth's face cleared immediately, and she smiled.
"If you want to make yourself useful, Beth," he added, "get Sport and put him near Doc's place for me."
She nodded, and he gave her a quick kiss.
"Good luck," she called as he strolled out of the Sherriff's office, completely stoic.
Beth waited several long seconds, and then she left to take care of the horse and find Adam's brothers. They weren't in a saloon or the hotel. She was heading to the stables to look when she saw them.
Joe and Hoss were standing in front of Doc's, listening to the rest of their family arguing — along with half of the town.
Darn it, she thought, knowing she couldn't get a chance to talk to them alone now. Then she stopped and listened, wondering what the eldest Cartwrights had found to fight about. She heard them shout angrily back and forth, and she nearly chuckled in surprise and amusement.
Her! They were fighting over her! Oh, her man was a cheeky one, alright!
THE PRESENT
Beth made her way across the rocks, looking for telltale signs of a camp. She'd just gotten off the horse, her backside sore, and was walking, calling out Adam's name. Irritation was growing up inside of her; the stupid man couldn't have camped just a little closer to town?
Adam found her, rather than the other way around. He heard Beth calling, mounted Sport, and rode over to her. "Well?" he asked, stopping in front of her. "What happened?" He climbed down from his horse.
"When Frank heard Ben was dead, he cursed about a loss of good money and left town. Not long afterward there was a telegram from a man named Greg Mayeaux. They caught that Malone man, and he admitted to offering a thousand dollars to the man who killed Ben Cartwright. Around sundown Sherriff Coffee told everyone a shortened version of the truth. Of course, Hoss already knew, and he agreed with your idea all the way."
"And Little Joe?"
She bit her lip. "He left town right after you. I think he tried to trail you, but lost you once you went onto these rocks. Hop Sing told him you didn't say where you were going, so Joe went off toward Carson City."
"Then he doesn't know."
"No."
Adam sighed. "Then I'd better find him in Carson City before he does something he regrets."
Beth was horrified. "You're going after him? Adam, he might kill you!"
The oldest Cartwright boy shook his head, looking solemn. "He's my brother. I can make him understand. Besides, I thought Pa was dead once, and if someone could have saved me even a few hours of heartache by telling me the truth…I wish they had."
"I think you should stay here," said Beth weakly, faltering under his determination but wanting to keep him safe.
"Goodbye, Beth," was Adam's only response. He jumped back onto Sport and rode away before she could say another word.
"Stupid man!" she muttered. "I'll go find Hoss. He'll help me."
She climbed back onto the horse she'd rented from the stables and rode to the Ponderosa, where Ben and Hoss were probably awake and fretting over the missing members of their family, especially impetuous Little Joe.