-Part 4-
"You know, it just ain't like pa to sleep in this late." Hoss said a day later as they waited for Ben to come down for breakfast. Hoss knew it was probably nothing, but he couldn't help but shake the uneasy feeling he had.
"Yeah, pa's usually the first one up, yelling at us to get up and get to work." Little Joe said.
"Well, yelling at you maybe. The rest of us don't need to be told to do our work." Abbie said, grinning. Adam smiled, trying not to laugh to himself.
"You know, Adam, it's good to see being sick didn't take any of that attitude out of her." Joe said sarcastically, though, even he had a small grin on his face. It wasn't that Abbie and Little Joe didn't get along, quite the opposite, actually. She thought of both Joe and Hoss as brothers to her. They just liked to tease each other as Joe, being Joe, likes to torment his siblings, and Abbie with her attitude and tendency for sarcasm. It was just how they got along.
"I'm gonna go check on pa." Hoss said before heading up the stairs and down the hall. A few moments later, Hoss reappeared at the top of the stairs, looking clearly upset.
"Hoss, what's wrong?" Sarah said, walking over to the bottom of the stairs.
"I think pa's real sick." Hoss said.
"What?" Joe said.
"I think pa's sick. I reckon it's the same thing you and Abbie had." Hoss said. He led Sarah down the hall to Ben's room, and the others followed behind them. Ben was laying in bed, his face pale and covered in sweat.
"You're right. It does seem like the same thing." Sarah said. Just then, they heard a knock on the door.
"I'll see who it is." Abbie said. She left the room, walked down the stairs, and opened the front door. There stood the sheriff of Virginia City.
"Sheriff, what brings you here?" Abbie asked.
"There's something I need to tell you all. Is Ben here?" the sheriff said.
"Ben? No, he's... he's sick." Abbie answered.
"Even Ben now?" the sheriff said, casting his eyes to the ground, then looking back to Abbie, "Virginia City is under quarantine."
"Adam mentioned there was talk about it. It was going to happen sooner or later." Abbie said. It was then that Adam walked up behind her.
"Abbie, who's...?" Adam started to ask, but stopped when he saw the sheriff.
"Adam." the sheriff said.
"Sheriff, what's going on? What are you doing here?" Adam asked.
"As I just told your fiancee here, Virginia City is under quarantine." the sheriff said.
"If the city is under quarantine, then why did they let you leave?" Adam asked.
"They didn't. They don't know I left. I plan to be back before they find out." the sheriff said.
"So, you risked leaving a quarantine area just to come out here and tell us about the quarantine?" Abbie said.
"No. That's only part of it. The doctor told me that a few people on the Ponderosa were sick with the fever." the sheriff said.
"That's right. Abbie and my brother, Joe were sick. Now, pa is." Adam said.
"Yes, your fiancee told me about Ben." the sheriff said, "Look, some of the people in Virginia City have gotten scared and desperate. Some of them have formed a mob. They're going to the houses of the people who are sick, killing them, and burning the house and the body. They're trying to get rid of the disease the only way they know how. They're not above riding out here to the Ponderosa and doing the same. I wanted to warn you."
"Can't you do anything to stop them?" Abbie said.
"I'm not saying we're not trying. I'm just saying, there's a lot of them. My deputy and I are only two men. We may not be able to stop them. I wanted you to know, so you can defend yourselves if you have to." the sheriff answered.
"Thank you, sheriff." Adam said.
"Yes, thank you. We appreciate your help." Abbie said.
"Your welcome. And, it's good to see you're feeling better, miss." he said, "I have to get back to Virginia City." the sheriff tipped his hat to them before getting on his horse and riding away.
"As if we didn't have enough problems." Abbie said. Just then, Hoss, Sarah and Joe came down the stairs to see what was going on.
"What's goin' on, Adam?" Hoss asked.
"Yeah, who was at the door?" Little Joe asked.
"The sheriff." Adam answered.
"The sheriff of Virginia City? What was he doing here?" Sarah asked.
"Well, apparently, Virginia City is under quarantine." Abbie said.
"He rode all the way out here to tell us that?" Joe asked.
"No. There's more." Adam said, "Apparently, some of the more desperate citizens of Virginia City have formed a mob. They're killing people who are sick and burning their houses down."
"What? Isn't there anything the sheriff can do?" Sarah asked. Her blue eyes were wide and her face was pale as a ghost. She was shocked, and she couldn't be more disgusted that there were people who would do that to fellow human beings who haven't done anything wrong.
"Apparently, the sheriff and his deputy are trying, but there are a lot of men against just the two of them." Adam said.
"I... can't believe people would... I think I'm going to be sick." Sarah said.
"There there." Hoss said, placing his large hand on her shoulder. She threw her arms around Hoss, burying her face in his broad chest.
"Well, somebody needs to go and stop them!" Little Joe said, heading towards the door when Adam grabbed him by the shoulder, stopping him.
"No, you're not, Joe. All you'll do is get yourself killed. Even with you, the sheriff, and his deputy, you're still only three men against an angry mob. You won't stand a chance." Adam said.
"Just because pa is sick doesn't mean you get to boss us around, Adam. Now, let go of me." Joe said, trying to break free from his oldest brother's grasp.
"Joe, that's not what Adam is trying to do here. He's just trying to stop you from getting yourself killed. Even with you there, it won't make a difference. There's still too many of them. Adam is just trying to protect you, Joe. Can't you see that?" Abbie said.
"Well, then, what are we supposed to do, just do nothing while innocent people get murdered?" Joe said, though he had calmed considerably.
"Right now, we have to concentrate on protecting pa and the Ponderosa." Adam said, "The sheriff came to warn us because he thinks the Ponderosa might be a target."
"What?" Joe said.
"I reckon that makes sense, what with Joe and Abbie bein' sick before, and now, pa." Hoss said.
"I... I'm going to go take care of Ben." Sarah said quietly before leaving the room. She didn't like violence and the whole thing made her uneasy. If she concentrated on taking care of Ben, she felt that maybe she could forget about all of the horrible things that were going on, at least for a little while.